Diagnosed w/ Gestational Diabetes

I had my 3-hour glucose test 2 weeks ago, and last week I got the news. I have Gestational Diabetes. So, what is it? Certain hormones made in the placenta interfere with the ability of insulin to manage glucose. This is called "insulin resistance." Usually the mother's pancreas is able to produce more insulin to overcome this resistance. If the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin, glucose levels go up, resulting in gestational diabetes. The usual misconception is that unhealthy, overweight people get it, however with GD that's not the case. You can be an active, average-weight woman and still get GD. The real kicker is that, as my endocrinologist put it, I "barely failed." I failed the fasting portion by 9 points. They like it to be no greater than 90, I had a 99. I passed the 1-hour, 2-hour, and failed the third hour with 152, they don't like to see anything greater than 140. Since I have been diagnosed I've been to appointment after appointment. I met with my endocrinologist and a dietitian. Basically, to control it, I have to eat a diet that's high in protein and low in carbs. But after meeting with the nutritionist, I've learned that I can eat everything I usually eat except cakes, cookies, donuts, etc. And I need to maintain healthy portions. So, what happens if I can't control it? Well, I'd be put on insulin injections. I'm hoping I can control it! It's not so bad, but I do feel like I'm eating all the time. I have 3 meals a day and 3 snacks. I test my blood sugar 4 times a day, once in the morning and after every meal. At least my meter is pink and tiny. But all of this is for the good of our little girl, and it's forcing me to eat right. So far, in this pregnancy, I've only gained 5 pounds. With Jacob, by this time, I had already gained 20! I vowed not to do that again. Here's hoping we have a healthy, average-sized, adorable little girl!

Her Nursery Letters

They've been sitting around for weeks now. I finished them up quite awhile ago and I still haven't put them up. I'm waiting for her crib mattress (I need to order it), and then I'll put them up, along with her bedding and stuff. Jacob's bed is actually set up but I haven't really tried to put him in it. He's played with it/in it, but that's about it. We did try to put him in it once but he wanted no part of it. However, I think the reason behind that was he wanted to go with his dad to the store. Ugh, I hope that's not an early sign. I've actually been lagging. I'm not in a nesting mood at the moment. I'm in party planner mode. I'm having so much fun planning my sprinkle. These days I love looking at party blogs for inspiration! I can't believe it's in a month! Hello, time? Where the heck are you going?! Any who, I've got to get back on her nursery. I was on a roll and then fell off, but in the next few weeks I have to finish up some (a lot of) projects. But here are her letters:

Disneyland pt 2

Last week we headed back to Disneyland, and CA Adventure, for one final trip. This time the park was empty, compared to the last time we went. Average wait time for rides was 5-30 minutes. Just like the last time, we went after Jacob's nap. And this time we ate before we went to the park. The first thing we did when we got there was to get Jacob his "1st visit" pin (they ran out the last time). We then headed to Fantasyland where we conquered that portion of the park in a little over an hour. Jacob seemed to like these rides since he didn't cry or scream out of terror. After that we went on It's A Small World, and Jacob really liked that one. He danced to the music and pointed things out. Our next stop was Toon Town, more specifically, Mickey's House. He loved that too. He loved exploring Mickey's house, and he didn't freak out when we actually saw Mickey. It was the cutest thing. He actually ran up to Mickey and gave him a big hug. I was so bummed my sister missed it (she had the cam). And of course, Jacob's favorite thing about Mickey was his nose. He had a hard time letting it go.

We also headed back to CA Adventure for a bit. The older kids wanted to go on Tower of Terror, and the others wanted to go to Burrrbank for some ice cream. Back in the day, when we had passes, I used to love Burrrbank's Loco Mocha Fudge sundae, it was dreamy. Now they have some other substitute, it was okay, but definitely not the same. After dessert we went back to the park to work on Tomorrowland. We all wanted to see Captain EO, so we waited in line, got into the theater, took our seats, and we're moved out due to technical difficulties. Boo. That sucked. By this time it was getting late and we decided to go stake our claim by the castle to watch the fireworks. Jess and Jas took Jacob on Nemo, and they were almost late due to some other technical difficulties. But the firework show was worth the wait. Jacob LOVED them. Again, he danced to the music and pointed things out. He seemed so mesmerized by them. It was awesome to see him enjoy the show.

Our night didn't end after the fireworks. We grabbed a snack, and half of us headed for some big rides while the other half went to the Tiki Room. By this time it was getting late, almost 11 pm. Jacob was still wide awake and doing well. Momma, not so much. I was tired. But we pulled through, and watched the show, again Jacob liked it. I thought he would at least get a little freaked, but he didn't. Once the show ended, we met up with everyone and headed out. But not before stopping to buy some souvenirs. We got Jacob a retro baseball Mickey shirt and a Mickey plush, and Isabella came away with 2 adorable onesies. One just might be her coming home outfit. I love to brows Disney stores. All in all, we had so much fun. And we can't wait to get back.

Fantasyland...






Mickey's house...




Meeting Mickey for the 1st time!








Goin' for a ride...


Waiting outside the Tiki room...

Crazy Weekend Update

I was very lucky to have a four day weekend. My weekend started on Thursday when we went to Disneyland for our last and final trip of the year. I'll post more on that later. But my Friday morning was spent completing my 3-hour gestational diabetes test. In all honesty, I have to say it wasn't too bad. Of course it sucks, and it's long, but I kept myself entertained. I took 4 different magazines, an ipod, and I had my BB. And thank goodness I had my nieces iTouch! That thing made time go by fast. She has a bunch of games, movies, videos, and music on there. I was extremely exhausted from the day before, and I went in as early as I could, around 9am. I was also fasting, but surprisingly I was not very hungry after the test. And, that night, my family received some devastating news, my aunt Lucy had passed away. She was my mother's sister, and she was a funny, crazy one. She will be missed.

Saturday I spent most of my day at my niece's colorguard championship show. Her group did really well, and there were only 2 groups in her category. They did so well. They got 1st place! I was so very proud of her. The theme of their show this season was Cancer survival, and the song they performed to was Adam Lambert's Time for Miracles. *Short video of their performance below.*

Finally, Sunday most of the day was spent recuperating, and shopping. We hit up Costco to pick up some essentials. And we had a family dinner. It was most definitely a looong weekend!

25 wks: Baby Update

I had my monthly OB appt the other day. Isabella seems to be looking good. She had a heart rate of 175! I think it was because she was moving around a lot when the Dr was trying to find her HB. Any who, she seems to be looking big, since I'm measuring ahead by a few weeks. But I also measured ahead with Jacob, and while most of it was baby, some of it was mommy too. And I have to take the 3 hour gestational diabetes test. I failed the 1 hour. Boo. I'm NOT happy about that, at all. Does food have an affect on those tests? Before I had taken the test I had a bag of Cheese-its (it was non-fasting) and I was chewing a piece of gum. And I have finally gained weight. Boo, to that too. Getting my appetite back is not helping, and sometimes I feel like I'm starving. It's unreal. But other than that, I haven't changed my diet too much. I think that will change depending on the GD test results. I will be doing that test in a few days. Wish me luck! I don't want GD, but I know it can't be helped just controlled. Lastly, because Isabella is looking big, we're going for another U/S! Yay! And nay. I love that we get to see her again, but I'm not happy about the reason. I'm really hoping she doesn't get too big. I'd really like to try for a VBAC. Oh, well. Things could be much worse. I have minor pregnancy pains like minor heartburn (nothing that 2 tums can't fix), sciatic pain every once in a great while. Oh, and waking up a lot to go pee at night, and calf cramps. Gosh, I hate those. They can wake me from the deepest slumber. But other than that, I'm feeling sooo good, and I know this will be a distant memory in my uncomfortable future.

Craft Time!

The other day, I had an itching to do a craft project. I went through my stash and found some stuff to work with - picture frame, spray paint, scrapbook paper, ribbon, button, glue, and Cricut. I decided to make a picture frame for Isabella. I started with a $ store frame that I had on hand (I have a few!), found a pattern I liked in my stash of paper, went through my ribbon, and found a button that I loved. I cut out her name, and from start to finish, this project took me only 30 minutes. I love it, and I already have some requests for more.

On another note, as I mentioned before, I finished Isabella's nursery letters. I'll be sharing those when they go up, hopefully in the next few weeks. And if I can't wait, I'll share them with you soon!

After:

Before:

Our 1st Trip to Disneyland

Actually, it was Jacob's first trip to Disneyland. Jess and I used to get yearly passes when we were dating, but we hadn't been since '06. Jacob enjoyed his first trip. The park was full, but nothing as bad as it could have been. When we got there, the first thing we did was eat. It was lunch time and we all decided on the French Market. And the menu has changed! This used to be one of our favorite eats, but I don't think we'll be going back there again. After lunch we went on Pirates of the Caribbean. Jacob's first ride! I don't think he loved it or hated it, but he just sat there taking everything in. He basically took everything in with every ride we went on. After Pirates we went on the Haunted Mansion,the Pooh ride, and the jungle cruise. We bought Jacob his first pair of Mickey ears, and we then headed to CA Adventure. First thing we did there was have a snack. One of the things we used to love were the Full Throttle Fries from the Taste Pilot's Grill, all I can say is they've gone downhill. Don't know if we'll going back there either. Definitely not as good as they used to be...oh well. After that we took Jacob on a few rides at A Bug's Land, and he also went on the ferris wheel. We also saw the Electrical Parade and Jacob liked it. He did really well for his first trip, but I think it helped that we went after his nap. And he was in a good mood the whole time. We'll see how he does on the other rides when we go again in a few weeks. Yup, we're going back! This time we'll be hitting up Fantasy Land and Toon Town. I can't wait! Although I'm pregnant and can't go on some of the thrill rides, I love getting to experience everything again through Jacob's eyes. It was so much fun!

His 1st pair of Mickey ears!




Ready to go...


Waiting to start the Pooh ride...


"What's on my head?"


It's Mickey!






Stretching his legs...


Waiting for the Electrical Parade to start...

24 weeks: Her Name

I can't believe I'm going into my 6th month, and I have a little more than 3 months to go until we see our baby girl. This pregnancy is whizzing by so much faster than my last. I feel like I blink and it's a new month. We've been preparing little by little, and slowly things are falling into place. And as I've mentioned before, we've decided on her name. I've been flip-flopping on revealing her name, but since most of my extended family knows it, and we call her by name, I thought it was time to tell it. Actually, I'll just be revealing her first name because I'm still undecided on her middle name. I think I have it, but then I hear a new name that I like. Anyway, without further adieu, her name is Isabella! We decided on her name back in January. It was on my list, I just had to get Jess on board, and luckily he was. I had a couple of concerns with her name, the first being the obvious, Jacob and Bella?! No! It's not Twilight inspired. Don't get me wrong, I loved the books, but not that much! So, I'm hoping no stigma with that, which has already started *insert eye roll* and second, it's a popular name. But why should I care about popularity. Jacob has been the #1 name for the past 5 years. But I'm happy that we were able to agree and decide quickly. I had issues with Jacob's name. I remember signing his birth certificate thinking, should I?! Again, all because of popularity, and a distant (super far) cousin w/ the same name. But I loved his name, and I love it still. Any who, now that her name is out there, I will be sharing some projects that have involved her name. I made her wall letters to match her bedding set, and another fun project just for fun. Stay tuned for those!

Easter Wrap-Up

Our Easter was quite eventful! First of all, we had a nice day, a bit chilly, but at least the sun was out. Family and friends gathered at my sister's house, and the kids had a blast. They colored eggs, decorated cookies, and found Easter eggs and, besides that, their baskets kept them all entertained. Jacob was a bit of a grump. I think he was getting progressively tired as the day went on. But he participated in all of the festivities, with a bit of a frown on his face. The egg dying wasn't very fun for him, but the cookie decorating was yummy. As soon as he got the cookie, he started eating it. I helped him decorate the cookie, and as soon as we were done, he started eating off all the little sprinkles and frosting. Then we had the egg hunt. There was plenty of eggs for everyone, and they were "hidden" in low open places so Jacob could get a few on his own. He made out pretty well, with a little help. And this year Jacob got 3 baskets! Actually, it was supposed to be 2 but my brother couldn't fit everything into one basket. He got some cool stuff like clothes, a Mickey DVD, an Old Navy Gift Card, Hot Wheels, crayons, markers, paint, coloring books, and a bunch of other stuff. I can't wait to go through them and use some of the stuff.

And our Easter would not be complete without some kind of unexpected event...like an EARTHQUAKE!!! So Cal residents felt the remnants of a 7.2 earthquake that was centered just south of the boarder in Baja CA. It was crazy. Quite unbelievable. We were all in my sister's backyard, and some people were sitting and some were standing. A couple of people sitting, started saying "earthquake, earthquake." I was standing still, facing my sister's pool, when I felt the rolling motion. I kept my eye on the pool and I could see the waves building as the earthquake went on. Finally, after some build up, waves started spilling out of the pool. The most unique thing about this earthquake was the fact that we were all with our loved ones. However, there is one major concern, my grandfather lives in Baja CA, and we have no idea how he's doing. He doesn't have a phone and, if he did, we probably wouldn't be able to get a hold of him for awhile. He is only 100 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake. So needless to say, this will be an unforgettable Easter!

Waiting to dye an egg...


Waiting for his egg to dry...


His is the blue one...


Decorating a cookie...


Eating some frosting...


Grubbing on sprinkles and frosting...


3 baskets!!!


He found his 1st egg...


A second egg...


Shaking them to see what's inside...


The yummy bunny cake I made...

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a beautiful and wonderful day with family and friends! We're looking forward to it, and to Jacob enjoying an Easter egg hunt and his basket. And may all of you enjoy a chocolate bunny, or two!

Bubble fun!

Or as Jacob would say it, Buh-bohs. A few weeks ago, when the temp was in the high 80s, Jacob learned how to blow bubbles. He was actually taught by his little cousins who are only 4 and 6 years old. We were at a family get together and we had bubbles. They had a ball with them, and I wish I had pictures of them, but that's when I was sick. So, Jacob has been loving these bubbles. I made the mistake of taking him shopping and showing him some bubbles. It blew (pun intended) the whole trip. He would not stop whining the whole time. And since the weather has been somewhat nice, we've been out just about everyday blowing buh-bohs. And being the independent little boy that he is, Jacob has to dip the stick himself every time. And every once in awhile, he'll let you blow some bubbles, too.