What's Next...

Last week I wrote a post concerning the results of my glucose tolerance test.  The results weren't as great as I wanted and yet not as bad as I anticipated.  I mentioned at the end of the post that I had set a few goals and spent a nice chunk of money, but I said I'd tell you more later.

Well now it's later! 

When I was still pregnant with Q I informed B that I wanted a gym membership for my birthday.  I wanted the means to get out and work out since we don't have the space for any type of work out equipment nor the disposable income to purchase it.  After losing so much weight during my pregnancy with Y I kept it off for about a year and then it began creeping back on, this time I am determined to not let that happen.  So on Thursday, I officially joined a gym!  Now this is huge for me because I typically hate gyms.  Mostly because I always feel like the elephant in the room (pun intended).  When I went for the first time to try it out I was extremely anxious about it and quite nervous.  I went in and I was given a tour of the gym and allowed to try it out before I committed.  I was amazed at how relaxed I felt there!  I didn't feel as if anyone was staring at me or judging me or even paying me any attention at all.  I LOVED it, and more importantly I loved how I felt after I had a great workout.  So after I was done I handed them my credit card and became a member.  It's not one of the local fancy-schmancy gyms but it'll do the job for me.  I'm excited to go in and workout when I go, it's a nice feeling!

As for the goals I've set, they aren't major.  In the end I don't care how small I get or what size I end up, my goal is just to be healthy.  I've set my goal low - to 5 pounds a month on average.  That should be relatively easy to accomplish, especially now in the beginning.  My other goal is to complete a 5k by next spring.  Not a lofty goal for most but for me it'll be quite the accomplishment! 

I'm determined to become more healthy and there's no one that can stand in my way except myself!  Wish me luck!  In order to keep me on track I plan on updating you guys on how things are going, be sure to hold me accountable!

A Visit With My PCP

On Friday afternoon I had a visit with my primary care physician (PCP) regarding the results of my 75 gram glucose tolerance test.  Since the hospital where I had the tests done, my OB-GYN, and my PCP are all in the same health system it was as simple as pulling up my records on the computer, which makes it super convenient for me.

After quite a long wait Dr. S came in and we had a pretty long discussion about where things stand.  My blood glucose was 164mg/dL after two hours.  He says that while this does show a slight glucose intolerance it's not something that they would really treat with medication - that typically is for those with a blood glucose of 180mg/dL or higher with anything over 200mg/dL being considered diabetic.

So as of now, he wants me to check my blood sugars once per day - either before breakfast, before dinner or before bed - alternating the time each day when I check it.  I'll go back in six weeks and show him the results.  It's interesting that he wants me to check it BEFORE I eat as typically the test is done after eating.  But he really wants to know what they are before I have eaten to know what my blood sugars are like then.  He also had blood drawn in order to have a Hemoglobin A1c done and try to get a baseline number.  If you remember from this post, I had one preformed before I got pregnant with Q and the results weren't so great.  I'm interested to see what it will be this time around.

UPDATE:  Heard from the doctor's office.  My A1c came back as 6.1, before getting pregnant it was at 7.2.  6.1 is definitely an improvement but not yet target range (4.0-5.9) but at least it's not too far off.  He wants me to come in again in 3-4 weeks to have the test run again and see where we are at that point.

The Results Are In (Again)

When you have Gestational Diabetes you have to then be tested for Diabetes about 6 weeks after you deliver your lovely new bundle of joy!  I went in early Saturday morning to do my test, the 75 gram glucose tolerance test.  Basically I had to go in fasting, have my blood drawn and tested.  After the fasting results returned (about 30 minutes after the draw) I then had to drink the Glucola, wait 2 hours, and then have my blood drawn one more time. 

Testing this time was done a bit differently from the previous time, after my pregnancy with Y.  That time I only had to go in for a fasting blood sugar and didn't have to drink the Glucola.  However, with the testing we had done before my pregnancy with Q seemed to indicate that I was in fact already diabetic so Dr. L wanted to run a test which would give a more clear result than just a fasting blood sugar.  While fasting blood sugar is one of the most important indicators of diabetes, my fasting sugars are always excellent, but not so much for my evening blood sugars.  So he needed a test that would show my fasting number as well my blood sugar level shortly after so as to be totally clear about my status.

I called for the results yesterday in the early afternoon but they couldn't find them.  Later in the evening while we were out, Dr. L called and left a message with the results.  The results are not as bad as they could have been - I'm NOT diabetic.  The results are not as good as they could have been - I have a glucose intolerance.  According to the National Institutes of Health a normal fasting blood sugar should be between 60-100mg/dL, mine was 85.  After 2 hours a normal level would have been anything less than 140mg/dL, anything above 200mg/dL is considered diabetic and everything between those two numbers (140-200mg/dL) is considered impaired glucose tolerance - mine was 168.  So there you have it, I have a glucose intolerance.

So what's next?  I have scheduled an appointment to meet and discuss it with my primary care physician on Friday.  Dr. L's recommendation was medication but now that I'm no longer pregnant, it's not really his call anymore.  I've only seen my primary care physician twice, regarding my blood pressure, and his opinion on whether to medicate or not was vastly different from Dr. L's.  Will this be the same result, I guess I'll find out on Friday. 

The one question that I asked Dr. L was if glucose intolerance is reversible.  The answer:  with proper diet, weight loss, and exercise it is totally manageable and reversible.  But then again we've already seen proof of that.  I've had two pregnancies where I had to follow the diabetic diet and I ended up losing 26 lbs and 30 lbs respectively during those pregnancies.  But this time I can't afford to relax and put that 26 lbs back on.  It's so easy for me to follow the diet while pregnant, my decisions could directly affect the health of my child.  When I'm not pregnant it only affects my health.  But I have to change my thinking on that because I may not be pregnant but my decisions could still affect my children in a very different way.

I have a long family history of diabetes and I've seen what it can do.  In my family, at least on my father's side, the minority are those that die of natural causes.  The majority die from diabetes related complications.  From amputations, to heart disease, kidney failure, loss of eyesight, diabetic neuropathy, you name it and my family has probably seen it.  I had resigned myself to "one day" having diabetes but I always envisioned that being when I was 50 or 60...not 30!  But the more I think about it, the more annoyed I get with myself.  Why would I ever resign myself to having diabetes?  No one on my mom's side of the family has it, so why should I throw in the towel and just assume I'll one day get it. 

The truth is, I have no way of knowing what will happen in the future but I'm making the decision now that I'm not going to help "it" along, I'm not gonna sit idly by and wait for diabetes to "happen" to me!  If I do end up with it one day, it will not be because I didn't fight hard enough to avoid it, it will definitely be due to genetics and not due to my lack of action to fight it.

 I've set some goals, I've spent a nice chunk of change, now the only thing left to do is take action.  But more on that in another post!

3 Year Stats

Y went in for her well child visit on Wednesday.  She is 38½ inches tall and 33½lbs.  She did exceptionally well during the visit, always saying please and thank you and just doing a super job of being cooperative through all the poking and prodding.  She is still one of the sweetest little girls I've ever met, I'm so lucky to be her mommy!

She's starting to dress herself...this is the evidence!

6 Weeks!

Never mind that I am a week late writing this post...only 1 day before she turns 7 weeks but it has been a crazy sort of week.  Though the post has been on my mind for most of the last week this is my first opportunity to sit down and actually write it.

Monday, September 12th actually began Q's 6th week with us.  Things are beginning to get back to normal, or the new normal that is.  We've had issues with gas, reflux, colic and sleeping but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The gas kind of went away on it's own so I'm thinking it wasn't the real culprit of all her crying,  it was likely just an added bonus for a few days here and there.  We're still battling the reflux and no matter what I seem to eat, or rather avoid eating, she still has to suffer through it.  During Y's well child visit on Wednesday I had the opportunity to ask him some questions about reflux and he instructed me that if it gets any worse to call in and he will prescribe something for her - calling in is definitely on my todo list after this weekend.  I felt so bad for her, you could really tell that it was bothering her by the cry which she let out after each time she spit up.  I think I have deduced that anytime I have any tomato based product that it is substantially worse but it's always present, just at varying degrees.  As for colic, it's nothing like I thought it would be.  By definition colic is 3 or more hours of crying a day on 3 or more days per week for 3 or more weeks.  That is one of the broadest definitions I've ever heard for anything and so it leads me to believe that colic is more a symptom of a problem than the problem itself.  Also by that definition, yes Q was definitely colicky, but the likely culprit was the reflux and being overtired.  That brings me to the other major issue we battled/are battling - sleep.  Q was a great sleeper until the reflux really kicked into high gear and then she'd wake up every half hour screaming because she had spit up.  We lifted one end of the mattress, put her in the car seat to sleep, none of it seemed to help. And when she'd wake it'd be super difficult to get her back to sleep and by the time we did get her to sleep again she'd wake up because it was time for her to eat.  It was a never ending cycle and caused much frustration on our part and even more crying on her part.  As a result her sleep got all off whack and I would often misread her signals and well, it was an uphill battle.  I started keeping a sleep log and paid more attention to her sleep/wake cycles to get a better grasp on knowing when she was ready to go down to sleep.  I still haven't perfected it but she's napping much better now than she was just over a week ago.  I am hoping that as she sets more of a schedule for herself that it will get easier for me.

Now that she's spending less time crying we've begun to see the smiles and hear the cooing that I love so much.  We've also been able to take more pictures of her which I will share some of below.  While we took Y to her well child visit on Wednesday I put Q on the scale to see approximately how much she weighs currently and she was at 10lbs 4oz.  Granted that was with clothes on (they normally weigh babies with only a diaper on) but being as her clothes don't weigh a heck of a lot I figure it's probably somewhat close to accurate, give or take a few ounces!

 

I LOVE this picture!!

 

Surprise! Grandma Pays A Visit.

Ever since Dr. L gave us a gift I had been thinking of a way to return the favor.  One of the biggest things we have in common is our appreciation for barbecue (or pulled pork as most people outside of NC or surrounding states call it).  So I set out on a mission to have it shipped overnight from one of NC's best barbecue joints.  Unfortunately my parent's favorite place, which just happens to be, arguably, one of the best in the state would only ship a minimum of 5 pounds and that would cost just under $100 (the overnight shipping and packaging is the bulk of that price because BBQ is generally pretty cheap).  Well as much as I like my doctor I'm not about to spend $100 on him!  So I started looking elsewhere and was about to order it when another option was presented.

Apparently my uncle has a friend who, though originally from NC where he currently lives used to live here in the Detroit area.  Said friend has a grandson who still lives in Detroit but had spent the summer visiting in NC with his granddad.  Well he was scheduled to bring his grandson back over the Labor Day weekend so that he could start school, after being asked he agreed that he would drive a little farther than Detroit and drop some BBQ off to me at my house.  I, of course, thought this was the perfect solution.  That is until the next day when I found out that my mom would not only be coming with him to drop the BBQ off but would be staying from Thursday until Tuesday (Sept. 1-6)!  It was perfect!  She would get to meet Baby Q for the first time, be here for Y's 3rd birthday, and give me some much needed help, plus - after having a baby a girl could really use her mom around!

It was awesome having my mom around for a few days!  And I was so very happy that she got to meet and spend time with Q while she's still so new, even if only for a few days.  The next time she'll get to see her she will probably crawling or walking around and not want to be held by anyone for long periods of time.  Y also really enjoyed having my mom here.  One of the gifts given to Y for her birthday was a Dora paper doll book which has paper doll versions of Dora and Boots as well as like 40 different outfits.  My mom has always loved paper dolls!  She used to buy them and we'd sit and play with them when we were kids. So I thought it was really neat that she got to share that experience with her granddaughter.  The only bad part about the visit was having to say goodbye, but the joy of having her here greatly outweighs the sadness of seeing her go.

The entire time she was here I had the intention of taking lots of photos but when you have a super fussy baby who seems to want to nurse constantly it can tend to change even your best intention.  But I did manage to take a few pictures just before she left on Tuesday morning.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

On Sunday, Y turned 3 years old!!  She has been talking about her birthday for weeks now and in the days leading up to her birthday she kept asking, "is today my birthday?"  She was able to choose what she wanted to do, so on Saturday she and B went to the bounce house for several hours (I didn't wanna take Q because of the deafening music).  And when they came home, we all went out to dinner at Red Robin.  On Sunday, we went to church and I had bought cupcakes for her and her friends in nursery and that night we had cake and watched the videos that family members had made for her on her birthday. (Side note:  for much of the year Y has been making birthday videos for her grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents and so we thought it'd be cool if they made videos for her on her birthday.)  As gifts we gave her a Mrs. Potato Head (which she has been asking for for months) with over 40 interchangeable pieces as well as a Dora the Explorer bag which she can use to take her coloring books, crayons, and toys to church.  She also received a Dora paper doll book and the book Alligator Baby from Aunt J and Uncle R in Toronto.  A counting book with a CD of counting songs from Grandma G in Sarnia. And a Tinkerbell umbrella and matching backpack and a little cash from Grandma and PopPop in North Carolina.

At three Y is a smart, vibrant, curious, funny and fairly well-adjusted preschooler (she's no longer a toddler).  She loves to run, sing, dance, use her imagination, play in the pool and at the playground, she still loves to snuggle and she loves to talk and ask questions.  She is very observant of everything that goes on around her and she has one amazing memory.  Don't ever think you can tell her something and she not remember it.  She loves to be around other kids and will mimic whatever it is that they happen to be doing, regardless of their age.  She has found a love for all things Disney, especially princess and Tinkerbell movies, in fact she can frequently be heard singing or even re-enacting various scenes from Cinderella. When asked what she wants to be for Halloween she alternates between Tinkerbell and an astronaut.  She loves to touch and try to play with Baby Q and is very curious about her jerky movements.  She also can't wait for Q to get bigger so that she can really play with her.  Sometimes she tries to play with Q and gets a little too rough but she loves to hold her and take pictures with her.  One thing is for sure Q is going to have to be one tough cookie and will probably quickly learn to hold her own against her sister.  Y has had a bit of difficulty adjusting to Q being around but when we take her out one-on-one you can tell that she really appreciates having the alone time with either B or myself.  She always returns home excited to tell the other parent all about what she did while out. 



 I cannot even begin to put into words the unconditional love that I feel for my beautiful first-born child.  She brings so much joy to our lives whether it be in warm kisses and hugs, funny statements she makes, or bringing us something like a leaf from a tree while out on a walk.  I love to see how bright and wide her eyes get when she learns something new and the questions that she often asks amaze me at times.  I am often saddened at the idea of her growing up, in just 2 short years she will be starting kindergarten and it just makes me want to hold on to her tighter in hopes to slow time down.  But it also gives me the motivation to enjoy each moment with her, to take advantage of the time we have together.  She brightens our lives in so many ways and while there are many moments of frustration they seem pale in comparison to all the joy we have.  I love my little monkey!



Disney Fairies Cake, each  fairy has a ring and the box can store them all.

With it just being us and my mom this year, we opted for the 1/8 sheetcake and so there wasn't much room for writing and her name had to be written below.

The Dora bag we bought before we knew she was getting the bag seen below.



Blowing caution (and superstition) to the wind and playing with her umbrella indoors.  She's also wearing her backpack.  She had been begging us for months for a Mr./Mrs. Potato Head and wouldn't you know it was trumped by the umbrella.  That was apparently her favorite gift of all...who woulda thought?!?

Y holding Q on Y's big day!

1 Month

We survived the first month!!!  It hasn't been easy but we did it.  We've had sleepless nights, issues with nursing, times when I sit holding her while she cries not knowing why she's crying, and times when I've held her while I was doing the crying.  We've struggled through those first "getting to know you" weeks and it seems we are slowly emerging from the fog of it all.  She's healthy and that in itself gives us reason to celebrate.  We are grateful to Heavenly Father for the newest blessing he has added to our family.

Here are some photos which I snapped yesterday to mark her 1 month-day (as I like to call it). 

Defiance

Yesterday Y was pretty upset with me.  I told her it was time for her nap and to go to her room and go to sleep.  In an act of defiance she went to her room, grabbed her pillow and blanket, and instead of sleeping in her room she informed me she was going to sleep on the kitchen floor.  And so she did.  Little did she know I didn't care where she slept as long as she slept!