The pregnancy has been going great! The only real complaint I have is how huge my belly is! I have looked like I am about to pop for the past few months and get comments constantly about how huge I am, thanks for those comments, I hadn't noticed! The thing is, I have only gained 12 pounds total since the beginning. I have no idea what's going on because I look like I have gained at least 25 but it is really only 12. It was 16 which I was not very happy about but since I have started my diet, I lost four pounds and counting (hopefully). Since I was overweight to begin with, my goal was just to gain a total of 15 pounds, maybe I will make that goal, I guess we'll see :)
Medically, I have run into some problems that aren't so great. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes a few months ago and am now on a strict diet, have to check my blood sugar four times a day, and have weekly doctor appointments. Because of my family history, I knew this was coming but it was still a little upsetting when I was officially diagnosed. This is the most common problem in pregnancy so I know there are tons of other women who have gone through this and I also know there was really nothing I could have done to prevent it but I still feel bad about it. I have been doing a decent job controlling it with diet but my blood sugar numbers have been high in the mornings which I cannot control so a very low dosage of Glyburide was prescribed for me to take at bedtime. So basically, this is a typical day for me:
Breakfast - Whole wheat toast, egg, and milk
Snack - Apple with peanut butter
Lunch - Sandwich with raw vegetables or a salad
Snack - Fruit and cheese
Dinner - big salad with some sort of meat and bread
Snack - Sugar free pudding
Ya, fun, huh! Although it's not all that bad. I can have something "bad" every once in a while if I just take a 20 minute walk afterwards. You wouldn't believe how big of a difference a little exercise does, so this is something I do about 30 minutes every night. Of course, still no sugar but a slice of pizza every once in while is nice.
The diabetes isn't so bad and I hope to not be put on insulin but having diabetes also means I am at a greater risk for other problems. The most common is having a large baby (19lb baby in Indonesia). While 19 pounds is extreme, uncontrolled diabetes can cause my baby's pancreas to overwork which essentially causes her to be overfed and fat. I'm trying hard not to let this happen. Another problem is that I am more at risk for preeclampsia which is high blood pressure that puts the baby under stress. This is something I do not want to have! With that, I may have to put on bedrest or have an emergency c-section. A lot of times you start seeing signs of this in the 3rd trimester, such as major swelling, headaches, blurred vision, and the most serious is blood pressure that starts creeping up. I have not had too much swelling other than when I stand on my feet all day or choose to walk a mile in heels, which is more than common for someone who is pregnant. I never have headaches and my blood pressure actually seems to be lower, possibly due to all the walking and healthy eating. Let's hope these are good signs, but I guess we'll find out for sure in time. Either way, my doctor says I will be induced between 39-40 weeks if I don't go into labor before. I definitely do not want to be induced so maybe she'll start to make an appearance at about 39 weeks, that would be great!
Ok, enough about the boring medical stuff, let me update you on something more exciting. So the name we are highly considering is Audriella. I like the name and it's what we've been calling her but I just don't want people to nickname her Audrey. I am pretty sure that name is sticking. We have finally started on the nursery this past weekend. Walter cleared out all the boxes and started laying the floors. Without furniture, I have not been in a super big hurry to do anything but we should have the floor done this weekend and then to the painting. I plan to paint the nursery pink (surprise). The theme will be Wizard of Oz. I am having a quilt made with various squares of movie scenes with lots of Glinda the Good Witch to tie in the pink. Then, of course, they'll be red sparkly stuff like the ruby red slippers. Obviously, there was no actual baby gear in Wizard of Oz so I am going to have to be creative. I'll post photos as soon as I start.
On another good note, we have a maternity photo session scheduled next weekend. I am not super excited about this but my mom's friend who is a photographer offered to do the shoot for free just because she loves maternity photos so much. I am just praying my face doesn't blow up before then, please please please don't blow up! Then we will be having our baby shower on October 24th, again, so hoping my face doesn't blow up by then!!!
The baby is now about 16 inches long and about 4 pounds or so. She moves around constantly but I am told this may start hurting soon. I don't know how she is going to grow any more, there doesn't seem to be any more room whatsoever and if my belly pops any more I'm not going to fit into a booth in a restaurant! We are very much ready to meet her and although this month and a half will probably go by fast, I'm not sure if it will go by fast enough. But at the same time, I have a lot left to do so maybe it won't be so bad if it drags on just a little bit.
I promise to post photos soon of the nursery, our maternity session, etc. Maybe I will try and write more too so I don't have to have these super long posts every few months.
