Gestational Diabetes. I has it.
Pregnancy is a little freaky (well, it is). Especially the first one, I’m guessing. It’s all the unknown. It’s not like you’ve ever done it before. You have no idea what to expect. Well, other than the basic stuff – maybe getting morning sickness, eventually forgetting what your feet look like and having a baby at some point. Oh and the waddle. It will get ya.
You can read lots of books and you can do all that is within your control to prepare for every possible symptom or outcome, but at the end of the day you can’t help but feel awesomely unprepared for it all. Each person is different and each pregnancy is different!
I am adopted and this makes life more interesting. I am learning stuff about me (and evidently those before me) for the first time during this experience! Now I finally know my blood type. And soon I will know what my biological relatives will look like (oh please let them be pretty)! Oh, and there’s the small matter of discovering the hard way that my genes carry a history of gestational diabetes.
Yes, gestational diabetes. I has it.
Despite the (usually misinformed) stigma attached to all forms of diabetes, there is nothing I did wrong or nothing I did to cause it (the dietician said this about five million times so I believe her). I just have to manage it as best I can and hope it goes away when the baby is born. I am not obese and although my rash (yeah that other thing I’ve had to deal with) got in the way of more regular exercise for a while, I am not living an entirely sedentary life! Have I fallen victim to a sweet tooth during this pregnancy? You betcha. But apparently that’s not the cause. It just exacerbates an already existing condition.
I now have to prick my finger four times a day (to test my blood sugar levels), keep an entirely honest food diary (EEK!) and attend class/meeting thingys on healthy eating and gestational diabetes weekly…for the rest of my pregnancy (and maybe even beyond because now *sarcastic hip hip hooray* I’m more prone to developing Type 2 diabetes later in life!
Not to mention the fact that I have to give up any cake, biscuits, icecream, chocolate and all the little treats that can sometimes make pregnancy seem so much sweeter (literally)! I’m a bit bummed that my family history is no longer a clean slate. I can no longer pretend I am 100% healthily awesome – the pioneer of a new superhuman legacy. Turns out, some bugger of an ancestor started this and I can’t even tell them off because I do not know who the hell they are. DAMN YOU, ANCESTOR!!!
At the end of the day, knowledge is power and I will do everything I can to make sure the baby and I stay safe and sound. I will shake off the fear of judgement surrounding pregnant people and their habits (it’s amazing how much people watch you like a hawk if you let them) and stick to what the professionals tell me. I will make the most of being healthier (can’t be a bad thing right?) and I will just have to put on my big girl pants and get on with it.
So, here’s to a new challenge along the pregnancy journey. I am awesomely unprepared (understatement of the decade) but I am gonna face this and I’m gonna make it my bitch.
That’s the spirit, ‘eh?
What genetic quirks/conditions run in your family? Or are you adopted like me?
For more information on gestational diabetes, you can click here.
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Oh no! So sorry to hear you have it but I suppose the upside is that you can control it? Are you scared about this whole thing? You sound determined and I am sure you will make it your bitch! <3
I am determined! I did have a little pity party on the day I found out about it, but now I just have to do what’s right. My dietician seems really supportive and being accountable to not just me and the baby but her and my doctor helps too…let’s hope this baby doesn’t overcook – I do look forward to getting past this crap!
Ugh! So sorry to hear this – but I have to agree with Courtney, you are going to totally make GD your bitch.
Hip dysplasia runs in my family – my mom had it (but back in the 40s they could only treat it with a Forrest Gump style leg brace and she still walks with a limp) and I had it too. Luckily, by the time I was born it was easily treated. I was really worried that my daughter would have it too as the first born girl but luckily she’s totally fine! What a relief!
I think one of the worst parts of pregnancy is imagining all of the what ifs that could happen to your little one.
Too right. You start looking at the genetics you know about and wondering how it will affect the little one! I have a friend who’s also adopted but nervous about starting a family because of genetic worries. I guess it’s all a game of chance. Some things are worse than others and GD is definitely not the worst thing, even if it is damn inconvenient and a little worrying.
I’ve got a grab-bag of diseases that run in my family (heart, type 2 diabetes, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, etc.) and I totally agree that all you can do is take care of yourself and that’s it. It sounds like you’re doing a great job! I tend to have low blood sugar and sometimes have to prick my finger, too. It makes me feel like a ninja! Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy – almost there!
I wish I felt like a ninja! I just feel like a wuss right before I have to press the trigger to prick my finger! It’s not that bad, but the anticipation of it sucks! I actually cringe! This being the preggo woman who has had a million blood tests already! haha.
I guess the good news is that now you know and can treat it so you and the baby are healthy. Pricking your finger even once a day sucks–but 4? Lordy. I can’t imagine (mostly because I’m a big baby!). But hopefully you won’t have to prick yourself after 40 weeks and can just enjoy being a mom.