She has gestational diabetes. Now what?

For those of you who have not had a child yet or are unfamiliar with the timeline of a pregnancy, at 28 weeks, all preggos need to take a glucose test which checks the blood sugar level of the mom and whether or not she has developed gestational diabetes. Turns out that in our case, Lizzy is one of those cases.

Initially hearing that diagnosis is scary. More so because of what it can do to both the mom and the baby. Mom can have complications during birth and worse, she has a 50/50 chance of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. The baby can grow to be larger than a typical newborn (in our case a 9lb baby is being predicted!) and if not cared for, the baby can be born hypoglycemic and need to be given shots and medicine right after being born. Scary stuff!

Once we knew she had gestational diabetes, we immediately went to an endocrinologist in order to figure out what to do in order to keep it under control. And this is where I say that Lizzy isn't the only one who is dealing with it. The number 1 thing we have to watch is the amount of carbs we eat with each meal. So our diet is now a bit altered which means our meals are different which means visits to the grocery store are no longer a free for all!

I think its important to note that Lizzy and I are not unhealthy eaters in general. We are actually pretty good about eating well. We just like our desserts. We love to indulge in a few oreos and a glass of milk whenever we have them...But not anymore. Let me rephrase that. Not right now until after the pregnancy is done and we know the diabetes have gone away :)

Obviously sweets is one thing we have to cut out. but some other things you take for granted are foods like bread. Yes bread. Lizzy cannot have more than 2 slices of bread with any meal because it causes her blood sugar level to shoot through the roof. No more fruit juices either. OJ, Apple juice, etc. all gone for now. And the worst of all?!?!?! Ice cream. Ice cream with flavor that is. Because lets be honest, sugar free ice cream is NOT real ice cream. No offense to those who have to eat it.


I love to indulge in almost every single food that is on the "do not eat list" but this is something we have to do together. It's not to say I don't sneak the occasional piece of chocolate, I just don't do it with Lizzy in the room. Most of the time. :)

Diet isn't the only thing we have to watch. Obviously with high blood sugar, it has to be monitored. So Lizzy is forced to check that 5x a day and that means 5 pricks in the fingers. I know I am not getting stuck with a needle so I can't directly relate, but I do my best to remind her of when she has to, so we don't have to progress to a more serious case where she would need insulin. Just another example of something the woman goes through that a man never can. We are just casual observers who can either support their partners, or ignore them.

Motherhood is definitely the hardest job in the world.