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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

No Cake for Me

As I have been saying from the get-go, this pregnancy has been a lot different--and more difficult--than my first. And the difficulties continue...After scoring a few points too high on my regular 28-week glucose screening test, I had to take the 3-hour test. And last week, on my birthday no less, I found out I have gestational diabetes this time around. Of course, this news totally freaked me out. Diabetes has never been something I've worried about--I am a pretty healthy eater, I workout regularly and I don't have it in my family. The doctors say that it's a result of hormones being out of whack and that it's nothing that I did. But, I still can't help but feel like I've screwed up somehow.

I met with a specialist and a dietician yesterday and both of them made me feel a little better. While it is a serious condition and now puts me into that "high-risk" pregnancy group, the specialist said that my case is mild and that he was pretty confident we could get it under control by putting me on a special diet for the remainder of the pregnancy. Luckily, the doctors have all told me that in the majority of cases it goes away after I deliver the baby. So that's good news. The bad news: there are more risks to the baby--namely, having low blood sugar when he/she is born and being larger than a baby whose mom doesn't have gestational diabetes. Neither of these are certainties, but the risks are greater. I am trying to stay positive, but the hypochandriac in me is freaked. Having anxiety about how the baby is doing is a standard part of pregnancy for me, and this now adds another layer to it.

But, I am following this diet to the tee and hoping that it helps regulate things. That means no more chocolate and ice cream for me (so cruel to do to a pregnant lady!). That also meant no birthday cake on my birthday last week. I told Jody we could celebrate my birthday in October on my half birthday because too much of my actual birthday was spent being bummed out about the news.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Monday, April 4, 2011

Achoo...and Then Some


Sick Z getting some much-needed couch cuddle time with Daddy


So-long March 2011, we certainly won't miss you around the Schirel house! March was a rocky one for us thanks to an awful cold that none of us could shake. Zoe was sick for almost three weeks with a stuffy head, a nasty cough and more snot than you can imagine. Sorry for the visual! I quickly caught the cold from her, since I am a germ magnet in my pregnant state. I swear, if someone even glances at me as they sniffle, I catch whatever they've got going on. I think I have been cold-free for maybe 3 weeks of this entire pregnancy. Zoe and I were both pretty miserable girls for a couple weeks since neither of us could take any of the good heavy-duty cold meds. And, although Jody managed to avoid the bug for a while, he unfortunately caught it in the last week. He was pretty congested and miserable too, but by taking some meds he was able to function a little better than us. The only nice thing about being sick was that when Zoe gets sick, she's extra cuddly, which is always a plus. Since our little monkey girl is always on move, she's not much of a snuggler these days. So at least we got our cuddle fix during these long days/nights.



Oh yeah, and amid all this sickness, we were apartment hunting. We decided to rent for a year in large part because we wanted minimal stress. But, rental searching was way more stressful than we imagined...and going to check out places all over the city after work and on weekends with a sick, cranky kid in tow was not ideal. But, alas, we found a place and we've all finally managed to knock out this cold. So bring on April, bring on spring and maybe, just maybe, we can remain sniffle-free for a little while.