Craziness

So, I am now in my 3rd trimester and I will in fact be 29 weeks pregnant tomorrow! (I can’t believe I’m almost to the 30s!) I feel like our house is a complete disaster, maybe because it is?! Actually, I guess it’s not that bad, but it feels worse than it is, maybe because I’m so pregnant and hormonal?


Cary has started to tackle the awful upstairs bathroom and we have to have it done before the baby comes. He has been demolishing the awful “cave shower” and pink and purple tile for a few weeks now. It is something he has been working very hard on, but, like all household projects, always takes longer than you think. I told him we need to set a goal for finishing it and he said “end of January.” Let’s hope so because we can’t move on to the other projects that need to be completed before the baby comes.

We have an awful backroom that was added to our 1920s house sometime, I would guess, in the 70s? It’s got all sorts of issues, but the main one is it is FREEZING! I swear there isn’t any insulation in this room at all and it’s right off the kitchen so the kitchen is also always very cold. The problem is, we need to move Cary’s office back there but we can’t move his office back there until the core temp of the room is above 30 degrees.

Once the backroom is finished we can move his office out of the bedroom downstairs and make that our guestroom. Our current guestroom is upstairs with our bedroom and needs to become the baby’s room. So we can’t get moving on the baby’s room until we get the GIANT bed out of the guest room and moved to the downstairs room which is currently Cary’s office. See how all these projects depend on the one before getting done? See why I’m going crazy!?

In the meantime, I am taking a 75 hour nursing course. It’s a Certified Nursing Assistant Course offered through the American Red Cross. It is a requirement before I can apply to the nursing program (of which the deadline is May 20). I am taking one portion online and must complete it before the beginning of January to be able to take the classroom portion. So, this is what I have been doing in the mornings before work and in the evenings after work. Fun, fun!

Oh yeah, and did you know Christmas is on Saturday? So there’s all that craziness too. So, we have a lot to get done before this baby comes! I hope he stays put for the full 40 weeks. Oh and if you read this and we talk on a regular basis, please don’t ask me how the nursery is coming along…this question really makes me want to scream. :)

Hilarious!

So I haven't laughed this hard in a really long time and I just had to share. My new found friend at "Death of a Pancreas" has created a fantastic video. I'm not sure if it's as funny for someone without Diabetes or a kid with Diabetes, but judge for yourself. I laughed so hard, I cried. Love it! Great Job Joanne! :)

Check out the video here: What Not To Say...The Video

OUCH!!!!

As of yesterday, I am 28 weeks pregnant! Wow! Time has flown since I finished that awful first trimester. My tummy is growing and growing as this baby starts to pack on the pounds.


 I had my monthly OBGYN appointment today. My appointment was at 11:30am and my work schedule begins at 10:30am. Since we still have ice covering every surface in the Louisville area, I asked if I could work from home from 10:30-11am and then go to my appointment and then come into work so I wouldn’t have to be on the icy roads so much. My boss complied. I left the house at 11, which gave me additional time to drive really slow and carefully to my appointment. The only thing is, I should have been more slow and careful before I even got to my car.


I walked out the front door with my snow boots on and my 50 Christmas cards in hand. I was walking so carefully but it didn’t matter. As soon as I stepped on the last step of my front porch, I went flying. Before I even knew what happened I was on the ground with wet jeans. Man, did it hurt! I fell on my left hip and butt area, the contents of my purse spilled out and my cards flew everywhere. I just sat there stunned for a few seconds and then carefully got up and made my way to the grassy area next to the driveway to regain my footing. Did I mention it hurt?! OUCH!


I drove to my appointment and started to worry that I had hurt the baby. At least I was on my way to my OBGYN, so he could make sure everything was ok. I was feeling really shaky and my head began to ache from the jolt of the fall. I almost started to cry, but I was able to hold it together. I got to my appointment and into the office without any trouble.


They called me back for my appointment and I told the nurse about my fall. She said “let’s do a ‘bottoms off’ exam, just to make sure everything is ok.” My doctor didn’t think it was necessary as he explained I am 28 weeks and the baby is still well cushioned in his baby bubble. He said I would be fine and that it would take a bad fall, landing on my belly for it to possibly have caused harm to the baby. He explained that he has seen very bad accidents for the mother where the baby was completely fine. He did say of course that if I experience any bleeding or cramping to go straight to labor and delivery. I felt reassured by his calmness.


When I pulled my pants down to give my urine sample, I found an unpleasant surprise. My pump had completely ripped out when I fell. The pod was still stuck on one side, but the canula was completely disconnected and I had a blood and insulin spot in its place. Lovely! I had extra pods on me but no insulin. I had to drive back home after my appointment to do a new pump site. AHHH!!! As if I wasn’t a wreck already?! Now, I wasn’t getting any insulin. Awesome! Everything ended up being fine, my blood sugar was actually still dropping from breakfast, but man, I just didn’t need that!


My weight, blood pressure and urine sample all looked good. My doctor informed me that he would see me in two weeks for a full ultrasound and appointment. After that appointment, I will be seeing him twice a week for non-stress tests and biophysical profiles. He said that complications in high risk pregnancies usually creep up at the end of pregnancy and since he will be seeing me twice a week, those complications won’t sneak up on us. That is a very comforting thought. I needed a comforting thought after the day I had. :)

Uncomfortable

I am almost 28 weeks pregnant and I am starting to get uncomfortable. This kid is kicking, moving and grooving all the time now…not that I should be surprised, he is related to my husband. :) My skin is itchy because of the stretching skin and he is constantly elbowing me, head butting me or maybe just “butting” me. He is turning summersaults in there! It’s so crazy to be feeling all of it.

 

I am having trouble getting comfortable at all. Sitting at my desk at work, my belly is in the way as I try to get closer to my desk. When I’m lying down to sleep at night, I am incredibly uncomfortable. I hate lying on my sides. I am a back sleeper and I am still constantly waking up on my back. When I do lie on my sides, I wake up because my hip hurts and roll to my other side. My stomach is so much bigger now that it needs support of its own. I can’t seem to find the right support for it; each pillow either seems too soft or too big. Between being uncomfortable and waking up to my CGM vibrating (false alarms, bad sensor that I just can’t seem to pull out and give up on) and peeing, I doubt I sleep more than 1 hour at a time without waking. I don’t feel like I’m getting a good rest.

 On the blood sugar front, I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong because it seems like it’s been a while since I had to increase my basal rates and bolus ratios…until now. It started Saturday night and then Sunday was also a sucky day. I was constantly correcting high sugars, trying to be aggressive but also worrying about “rage bolusing” and going way too low. Well on Monday morning I finally gave in and increased my basal rates by .05 each and up-ed my bolus ratios by 1 each. It seems to be working and I am much more stable now.


It’s so hard to know when your pregnancy is actually causing your insulin needs to increase (as is the normal process for diabetics) or if it was something you ate, or a bad pump site, or a bad pump, or stress, or something you ate that you didn’t carb count correctly. Just too many factors to make changes too quickly. I’m glad to get those sugars down because seeing constantly high numbers can really take a toll on an emotional pregnant woman. It is so easy to get discouraged when you just can’t seem to figure it out quick enough.

 Oh, and since I haven’t been posting very frequently, I did make “A”s in both my classes! YAY! I also had my appointment with the pediatric cardiologist (a standard appointment for women with diabetes since the main birth defect for diabetics is a heart defect) and everything was PERFECT! While we were peaking at him, I asked to see his little boy parts again and the cardiologist complied. He is definitely still a boy! :) I have my next OB appointment on Friday!

Traveling Bolus

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we traveled from Louisville, KY to Gulf Breeze, FL. It’s about a 9 ½ hour trip. It actually took us only a little over 8 hours since we couldn’t leave until I got off work on Wednesday at 7pm. We traveled through the night and arrived about 4:15am! I was so tired when we got there because I couldn’t get comfortable enough (with my big belly in the way) to sleep.


Traveling and eating with diabetes is a pain in the butt. If you pack snacks that you know the carb count for (which I do) then you can time your bolus and have no problems, but bolusing for meals along the way is difficult, especially when all I want is Whataburger (a burger chain that only starts to appear once we get to Alabama). I love Whataburger. It is one of my favorite things and my heart has only grown fonder of it since we don’t have them in Kentucky.

It’s hard enough to figure out a bolus for fast food because all the extra fat can spike your blood sugar hours later. It’s so crazy to think you have it all figured out with a flat, constant sugar showing on your CGM, only to look down 4 hours later and see an upward arrow. So frustrating! Add to this the unknowns of traveling…When will I be hungry? When will we need gas? Do I need to pee, AGAIN!?

I worry when we plan to stop for food because I need to take my insulin 30 minutes before divulging into the bad, yummy food. What if I take my insulin and we have a flat tire before we get food? What if we were to get into an accident? How horrible would that be to take insulin for an 80 carb meal and break down on the side of the road with no food!? Nightmare! I sometimes wait until we have the food in the car and then take my insulin but then I have to wait and my food gets cold and cold fast food is just gross.

I guess the correct answer to all this is to pack the perfect diabetes food with us and not stop for the bad stuff, but get real. I need some self-indulgence every once in a while and I’m not going to let stupid diabetes keep me from enjoying a good Whataburger and fries.

Tis the season for cards...

Christmas cards are one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season. Photocards have always been my favorite kind of Christmas card to send and receive. I love seeing everyone in the pictures, especially the little ones as they get bigger, and the cards themselves just seem to be so much prettier than store-bought cards. There are so many relatives and friends who live far away and who we never get to see and photocards are a great way to make the standard Christmas card seem more special and fun. I have been wanting to do one this year, but with the new baby coming, I was thinking we really need to save money where we can, so I thought about not doing them at all.

Then I got a very pleasant surprise!!! I read in another blog about a promotion that Shutterfly is running. If you blog about your Shutterfly Christmas cards, then you get 50 Christmas cards for free! YAY!!! I am so excited about this! I’ve used Shutterfly in the past, and it has always been super easy to use and the products are always beautiful and professional.

Designing stuff on Shutterfly is so easy to do. You don’t have to be creative or good at graphic design because they handle everything for you. They make it look like you are creative and all “artsy fartsy” but really you are just following the simple steps to design the card. I’ve created Shutterfly calendars and holiday cards in the past, and they always come out looking great.

And the best part is it's super cheap and they always have a bunch of deals going! For instance, right now you get free shipping for spending over $30 (which is easily 2-3 Christmas present worth of stuff) and 20-30% off of almost all of their products. You can find 200 personalized, printed Christmas cards with photos for less than $1 per card and another 600 designer cards that are around $1.50 per card!! Meanwhile you can also spend $3-4 per card (or more) in Hallmark for the mass-produced Christmas cards. That is just ridiculous!

These are my favorites: 

Can’t wait to get started on my cards, I’m running a little behind, but hopefully I will get them out soon! J

While I was away...

So we left for Dothan, AL last Wednesday night after I got off work. We drove to my aunt’s house in Hendersonville, TN, just north of Nashville. We stayed there for the night then got up early the next morning to make our way to Dothan. We got to Dothan about midday on Thursday. Thursday was the family viewing of my Papa. It was so hard. Everyone was crying, no make that bawling. It was really hard. Not to mention, I am almost 6 months pregnant with crazy hormones and there’s also this stupid disease that’s constantly craving attention, the big “D”. I had a pretty bad low on the way to the viewing which surprised me because I thought with all the stress, I’d be running higher. I got down to the 40s and was constantly eating the candy stuffed in purse to try to recover. We got back to the house and oh my goodness the food. People were bringing food in like crazy. And this is really good southern food too, no salads or low carb options here. The many choices included items like macaroni and cheese (heavy on the cheese), casseroles of potatoes and squash, chicken and dumplings, congealed salads with fruit, and various breads. The huge dinning room table had nothing on it but desserts including chocolate cakes, pound cake, cookies, pies, banana pudding, you name it, we had it.



Carb counting was pretty much a nightmare. I definitely guesstimated. I mean how can you even possibly guess how many carbs are in something when you aren’t even sure what ingredients are in it. Overall, I did OK. I’m not saying I deserve a gold star or anything because I could have done better, but I’m cutting myself a break.


The funeral was on Friday. It began with a lunch at the church. The lunch included items like fried chicken tenders, potatoes, and green beans. And, hey there was even salad (of which I had none). :)  I did have a piece of something resembling a coconut chess pie…it was amazing. After the lunch, we had the public viewing, then the funeral service. During this time, I was so upset (not to mention the food I had) my blood sugar rocketed to the 200-250 range and was hard to get down. I swear, diabetes just doesn’t cooperate no matter how down you get, it just doesn’t care.


We stayed at my grandparents’ house while visiting from Thursday through Monday. We slept on a blow up mattress, which was pretty hard on my hip bones considering I can only sleep on my sides now. I thought I was really starting to have problems sleeping, but once we got back home in our bed, I was fine. Must have just been the blow up mattress.


So, we are home now and I am back at work. I have an A&P test on Tuesday and I have been doing nothing but studying since returning home. This test may just kick my butt. We’ll see. Hopefully not. If I do well, I could be exempt from the cumulative final, but we’ll see. I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself.


It was nice to see all my family while in Alabama. My mother and my Mema (grandmother) even got to feel the baby kick. I do, however, miss my Papa. I’m so sad he’s no longer with us. I know I will always have wonderful memories of him. I love you Papa.

Papa

Tomorrow I will be 23 weeks pregnant, but there won't be an update. My grandfather passed away last night. I am leaving tonight to go to Dothan, Alabama for my grandfathers funeral. I will be gone through early next week. This is the first grandparent I've lost, and it is really, really hard. My Papa had Alzheimer's and was progressively getting worse, so it wasn't completely unexpected but nevertheless, it doesn't make it any easier. Please keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.

D-blog Day: Top 6

November is Diabetes Awareness month. Since I have diabetes, I am making you aware. :) Today is D-blog day, a day started on November 9th 2005 to help unite diabetes bloggers and create awareness about diabetes. This year the online diabetes community is blogging about the six things they wish people knew about Diabetes. So, here are my top six:



1. Living with Diabetes is really hard. No matter how easy I or other people may make it look with our pumps, continuous glucose monitors, and other technology, living with diabetes is hard. You can do all the “right” things and still have terrible consequences. I just can’t imagine being hungry and going to get something to eat. No, a diabetic’s life is more like this: I’m hungry, check my blood sugar, count carbs for what I plan to eat, take insulin for said carbs, wait for insulin to take effect, then eat, check blood sugar 1-2 hours later to see if all that carb and insulin measuring turned out right. No matter how well you eat and how much exercise you get, EVERYTHING affects your blood sugars….stress, illness, hormones….everything!


2. There isn’t a “look” associated with diabetes. I hate it when people say, “You don’t look like you have diabetes.” What is that supposed to mean? People with diabetes all look very different. How does someone with diabetes typically look? Am I supposed to be fat?


3. There isn’t an age associated with diabetes. Just because all you ever see on TV about diabetes includes old people in Medicare advertisements, doesn’t mean that includes all diabetics. Diabetics can be infants, teenagers, adults, and even the elderly.


4. There isn’t a “bad” kind of diabetes. There are different types of diabetes: Type I, Type II, and gestational. They all suck. Just because you take insulin, doesn’t mean you have it any worse than someone who doesn’t. It’s all about how you take care of yourself and if you don’t take care of yourself, they all have BAD consequences.


5. Just because you have diabetes, doesn’t mean you can’t have sugar. I hate it when people ask me, “Can you have that?” While sugar should probably be limited for better control, it doesn’t mean I can’t have a piece of chocolate. Lots of things have sugar (such as milk and apples) and no one would question me if I ate either one of those, right?!


6. There isn’t a cure for diabetes. I love the show The Biggest Loser but if they tell these people one more time if they lose enough weight they won’t have diabetes anymore, I’m going to throw up. Losing weight doesn’t cure diabetes. Maybe they won’t have to take medication anymore and be able to control it with diet and exercise, but diabetes doesn’t just disappear. There isn’t a cure. And there certainly isn’t a cure for Type I. It doesn’t matter how well I eat or how much I exercise, my diabetes isn’t going away. I didn’t do anything to deserve diabetes, nor did anyone else. We still need a cure. We deserve a cure.

22 weeks

I am 22 weeks today! It’s been a pretty uneventful week, especially compared to last week. ;) I am feeling the baby move a whole lot more but you can’t feel it nearly as much from the outside. But he’s definitely moving around in there. It’s such an amazing feeling! I’m trying to talk to the baby lately, but I just feel stupid talking to myself. It doesn’t seem as crazy when Cary does it since he’s actually talking to my belly, not his own. I’m trying to get used to it, but it’s weird. I read on babycenter.com today that around week 22, stretch marks may start to appear. Luckily, I don’t have any yet (I also don’t have that dark line in the middle of my belly yet), but I know they may still be on their way. I’ve learned in Anatomy that no matter how much lotion you use, it won’t stop them, you have so many layers of skin that it can’t penetrate that deep. It’s pretty much mostly genetics, if your mom had them, then you probably will to. And just so you know, my mom had them. The lotion does however help with the itching from the stretching.

I had my second Anatomy and Physiology lecture and lab tests a couple of weeks ago. I did really well. I got a 92 on my lecture test and I got the highest grade in the class on my lab test: 104! I was shocked. Overall with all the extra credit she offers, I have a 100 in the class! Very, very happy about that. Hopefully, I won’t have to take the cumulative final. If you are in the top 10% of the class, you don’t have to take it. I still have one more lecture test and lab test to take, so we will see. Our professor let us know today that this is by far the hardest test. It covers the spinal cord, brain, nervous systems, etc. Hopefully it won’t be too bad. We dissected a sheep’s brain today in class. It was awesome (but I love gross stuff like that J).

I had someone ask me today if I had everything done for the baby’s nursery. I was like, um no. I haven’t gotten a thing for the nursery. I am trying to find a crib and bedding right now. I have been looking online and when we went and registered at BabysRUs, I looked at some there. It seems like there are so many more choices for girl stuff. Speaking of registering, that was so overwhelming! We spent a few hours in there and then basically just gave up, we had had enough. I know babies need a lot of stuff, but I never knew it was that much stuff!  I can’t wait until my classes are over, then I can focus more on the baby stuff. I just feel like when I am looking at baby stuff online, I should be studying instead. I guess maybe I just have a guilt complex.

As for my diabetes, I haven’t had too much trouble. I increased my basal rates by .5 a couple of weeks ago when my numbers started to climb, and they’ve been pretty stable since then. I also had to increase my carb to insulin ratio for breakfast, but I don’t know that’s it’s helped that much. It seems like I can’t eat anything in the morning without a spike. And when I say spike, I mean spike. I even wait a full 30 minutes between taking my insulin and eating and I still spike, only to come crashing down around lunch time. I’ve tried tweaking my morning basals and bolus’ but nothing seems to get the right combination. Another thing that seems to be spiking me anytime of day is any kind of dairy product. It’s weird, because I’ve heard other people say they have this problem but I never had before. For example, I had half a cup of cottage cheese the other morning with strawberries all carefully measured for a total of 17 carbs. The cottage cheese only has 5 carbs! It’s weird. Anytime I have milk the same thing happens, although it’s not nearly as bad in the afternoon or night.

OK, I’m done rambling….here is my 22 week picture. 

Very Personal

So, I haven’t blogged in quite some time. I have to admit, I was on a high after my 19 week appointment and ultrasound. I also had a nasty lecture and lab test in Anatomy and a few quizzes and a test to complete for my online course. Anything I thought to write about just didn’t seem as fun or exciting as finding out what I was having…until last night. I will try to leave as many gory details out as I can but I just have to let you know what happened. Warning...this may be TMI for some...but aren't most crazy things that have to do with pregnancy?! :) 

Cary and I were….how should I put this…getting intimate. At some point a gush of fluid came out. We both freaked out because we weren’t sure what this fluid was. Did my water break? Did I just pee? What the heck happened? I wasn’t having any cramping or contractions. So we called Cary’s brother who is an ER doctor. He said we should go to Labor and Delivery just to make sure everything was ok. We then called my OBGYN office and they forwarded my message to the on call doctor. By the time the on call doctor called me back, we were already at the hospital. As I was talking to him on the phone, we were completing our registration at L&D. It turns out he was the doctor who checked me out.

They took me back to L&D triage (sounds very comforting, right?). They took my blood pressure and medical history. I peed in a cup and undressed. They did an ultrasound to make sure the amount of fluid was ok. Everything looked great. {Side note: The doctor left the ultrasound machine in the room when he went to get the stuff for the internal exam…Cary and I had a good time playing with it. ;) It was at least fun to get to see Betus the [male] fetus again. :) } But we still had to do the vaginal exam just to make sure everything was fine (yuck!). It was awful, so uncomfortable. But, everything was perfect.

So, in conclusion, I don’t’ know what that fluid was. I’m still not sure. It didn’t feel like I needed to go to the bathroom and when the fluid came out, it didn’t feel like I went to the bathroom. But maybe I did pee myself. How embarrassing is that?! At least I have a husband who loves me no matter what and wasn’t concerned about that but was very concerned about me and our baby. I have to say, I stayed pretty calm the entire time and Cary was actually making me more nervous than the actual situation (can’t wait until I actually give birth!). I am so thankful that everything was fine. We went out to dinner afterwards to celebrate. :) Sorry if I have scarred or offended anybody, I'm all about sharing...get over it. :) 

I am 21 weeks today! Here are my latest belly pictures….

19 weeks

20 weeks

 

21 weeks

It's a BOY!!!!

Sorry for the delay in posting the ultrasound results. Yesterday was such a crazy day, trying to call and text everyone and updating facebook was just nuts. But, we are surprised and excited to announce it is BOY! We were so shocked after eveyone saying "oh you are having a girl", the doctor saying it was girl and all the online gender predictor tests giving the prediction of "girl". We couldn't get the video to upload or the pictures to scan correctly, I'll try to post them later. :)

Boy or Girl???

Tomorrow we find out if Betus is a boy or a girl (assuming Betus isn't shy). Can't wait to find out! What do you think it is?








My appointment is tomorrow at 3pm.
I'll let you know tomorrow!

18 weeks

I was going to do another post, but I'm too tired and ready for bed, so I will just share pics. :) Gotta get up earlier than usual tomorrow for work and we are leaving to go out of town for my cousin's wedding. I am 18 weeks this week and the baby is the size of a bell pepper. I think I have gained somewhere between 8 and 10 pounds which is right on target.

Here is my 18 week pic:

Here is a pic from last weekend with two of my friends who are also pregnant:

Vallory (32 weeks), me (17 weeks) and Katie (11 weeks)

So fun going through this together! :) Vallory is due December 2nd and she is having a girl! Can't believe it's right around the corner. I find out in one week whether Betus is a boy or girl!

Getting Back on Track

So remember when I took that Anatomy test and didn’t get my backpack out of the car? Well, I have been slacking ever since then. I have gotten my backpack out of the car when not going to class, but I got so overwhelmed by my lack of keeping up with the class, I just continued to play the avoidance game. As the chapters piled up and I went to class every Tuesday and Thursday, I just got more and more overwhelmed and I couldn’t bring myself to start the process, mostly because I was already so far behind.

 Well, I finally MADE myself get it together this week. I have gotten up between 7 and 7:30am every day this week to read and study. It sucks, but I feel a lot less overwhelmed. At least I’ve started. Our teacher provides us with study guides for each chapter, so I’ve done a study guide every day. I’ve done chapters 5, 6, and 7. I still have 8, 9, 10 and 11 to go. I had class this morning and we just got our Chapter 10 study guide today, so I am really not that far behind. It’s just so much info: Chapter 5-Integumentary system, Chapter 6-The Skeletal System: Bone Tissue, Chapter 7-The Skeletal System: The Axial Skeleton, Chapter 8-The Skeletal System: The Appendicular Skeleton, Chapter 9-Joints, Chapter 10-Muscular Tissue, and Chapter 11-The Muscular System. These are all the chapters on my next test! Not to mention the separate lab work. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like learning this stuff and I find it very interesting, but I just don’t have enough time to get all this information in my brain.

 I’m not freaking out as much as I did about the last test. I need to remain calm and not so stressed, not only for me but for this baby. I keep reminding myself, I can do this and if I don’t get everything, IT IS OK. The world will go on. Even if I don’t get an “A”, I’m sure I won’t fail (I just really, really like those “A’s”.). I have to give myself a break. At least I’m getting back on track.


I will post again later with week 18 updates. :)

17 weeks

I am now 17 weeks pregnant (as of yesterday). According to babycenter, the baby is now the size of a turnip. Here are pics of my belly with this little turnip in it. :)


Picture with bare bellly



Picture with belly covered

 Again, these pics were made at 10pm without a stitch of makeup on. Deal with it. :) Less than 2 weeks to go until we find out if Betus is a boy or girl! YAY!!!!


P.S.  More football this weekend....YAY!!! It's another important week for my Crimson Tide, we play Florida tomorrow. Roooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllllllllll TIDE ROLL!!!

Perfection

I read a blog post from a blog I usually read everyday, and it really struck a cord with me. So in honor of that, I am going to take a second to be “real”. The post that I read was actually inspired by another post. (See links at end of post if interested.) These posts are about perfection and how we all try to look like we always have it all together. So, I realize that my blog is really positive and I try to be funny and share all the positive things in my life. But today, I am going to let you know that I don’t have it all together. I try really, really hard, but sometimes (or a lot of the time) I just don’t measure up. I have a lot going on with a full time job, taking classes, house work, pregnancy, and not to mention the Big D. When others ask how I’m doing I say fine or great, but sometimes I’m not. Sometimes I am overwhelmed. Sometimes I am scared. Sometimes I am uncertain. But I know it’s normal to feel this way and I shouldn’t feel bad about it and no one else should either.



When you ask how someone is doing, really listen to the answer. That standard answer of “fine” probably means “Well, you probably don’t want to know how I’m really doing, so I’ll just say fine.” We should all be an ear to someone else who may not be “fine.”


Starting my own blog and reading others blogs has made me feel much more normal. We all struggle with the same things, we aren’t perfect and we try really hard to make others think we are. Even if I do everything “right” with my diabetes, crap still ensues. Cannulas bend, stress crops up, and well, life just generally happens. Knowing other people are going through the same crap makes me feel better. I think it will make you feel better too. :)






Link to original post: The disease called "Perfection"






Link to post inspired by original post: Using the F-word



**Note: sorry for my overuse of the word "post" :)

16 week update (4 days late)

Well, today I am 16 weeks, 4 days pregnant. I apologize for not having a 16 week “bump” picture. I kept remembering when I looked awful and I didn’t want to see another bad picture of myself (selfish I know). The pregnancy seems to be going by much faster now than the first part of the pregnancy did. That first trimester seemed like an eternity, but this past month has flown by. I am still anxiously awaiting the ultrasound where I find out if Betus the Fetus is a boy or a girl. Can’t wait for that, only 2 weeks and 3 days, but who’s counting, right?!

I haven’t talked about my pregnancy symptoms very much, but one of the worst ones is the acne. I have never had skin this bad in my whole life, not even during puberty. It’s awful! I get it not only on my face, but the worst is my neck and I also get it on my back and chest. Speaking of my chest…it’s gotten huge (well at least for me, no offense to you big breasted women out there)! I’ve never had boobs like this and I think they are still getting bigger, which sucks since I bought a new bra last week and it already seems tighter. I have gone from a 32B to a 34C! How crazy is that?!

I was very excited to reach the 16 week mark because that is when some women feel the baby move for the first time. It says in my pregnancy books you will feel the baby move for the first time anywhere between 16 and 22 weeks. I have had some movement, but I’m unsure it’s just normal stomach movements (ie: grumbling, digestion, gas….) or the baby. I think I will have to wait for a good swift kick before I can be sure it’s the baby, otherwise I keep talking myself out of it.

My next doctor’s appointment is October 14th. Can’t wait! I, unlike most of my diabetic mommy online pals, have only had 1 ultrasound and that was at 7 weeks, which means I haven’t seen this child since it looked like a tadpole (tail and all). I am very excited to see an ultrasound that resembles a baby. I am looking forward to seeing those arms and legs, head, hands…etc. It will be so crazy to see that profile! Ahhh! So exciting!

My last post I mentioned that my blood sugar numbers had been creeping up, but it turns out when I changed my pump I had a bent cannula (the small tube that stays under my skin after the needle is retracted). Thank goodness! So my numbers have been better since that pump change and each subsequent pump change. No insulin resistance yet, YAY!

Results

I got my results back from the A&P I Lecture test and Lab test I took last Thursday. I’m happy to say I did pretty well. I got a 92 on the lecture test and a 91 on the lab test. I also got the 10 point extra credit (drawing of an animal cell with 10 organelles and their functions). So, I’m doing pretty well in the class, thank goodness. Only problem is I haven’t looked at anything A&P related since studying for my test. Oops! As I was looking for my backpack this morning, I found it still in my car (where it had been since my test).


It seems I always do this, I feel like I’ve earned a break after an exam, which is stupid. I still have the rest of the semester to go and had a chapter to read before the class I had this morning. Maybe one day I’ll learn that the class does indeed continue even after an exam. Oh well, hoping to get back on track this week. But, getting back on track this week will be difficult because all the new fall episodes of my favorite shows are starting back up, GEEZ! Hopefully I can exhibit some sort of self control. That’s what the DVR is for. :)

I’ve also been very tired this week. I didn’t rest enough this weekend. We went out for my birthday on Friday night with friends. We had dinner at Olive Garden (never-ending pasta bowl, breadsticks, and salad, YUM! ) and my blood sugars actually behaved, what a nice birthday present! We then went to the bowling alley where we bowled and did a little karaoke. The karaoke was “sad”. By “sad” I mean, lights on, a scattering of drunk older people, slow depressing song choices and monotone singing. Cary sang “Sweet Caroline” and I sang “Sweet Home Alabama.” We had a good time, but next time we will be going to Karaoke bar instead of the bowling alley to do karaoke. Lesson learned. We ended up getting home at about midnight and I didn’t fall asleep until about 2:00am. I can’t remember the last time I stayed up that late. This messed me up for the rest of the weekend. We had to get up early on Sunday morning because it is our week to teach Sunday school. I did take a little nap on Sunday but it wasn’t enough to recover. I’m a little less tired today, but I have to work on Saturday so the only day I have off is Sunday, blah!

On the diabetes front, my blood sugars have been creeping up on me. I’m not sure if it’s just a bad pump site or if the insulin resistance of the 2nd trimester is beginning. Hopefully it’s just the pump site because my numbers have been higher since I changed it on Sunday and it seems like I’ve had a much larger appetite this week. It’s time to change the pump site again tonight, hopefully better blood sugar results will follow.

Roll Tide, Baby!

My parents got me a new Bama shirt for my birthday. Here it is:

Front view

Side view

The shirt is a little big now which is good, I have plenty of room to grow and football season is just beginning! Bama beat Duke today 62-13, ROLL TIDE, BABY!!!!

Note: It seems like I always think to take pictures at the end of the day (or night) when I look terrible. I'll try to post a decent looking pic soon. Maybe I should just crop my face out. :)

It’s been a while

I have been trying to post at least twice a week, but I haven’t posted since last Thursday. I had my first Anatomy and Physiology lecture and lab tests today. I have been studying continuously since this past weekend until I took my first test at 7:45am this morning. I’m glad these tests are over. I was so completely stressed out about these tests, it was ridiculous. I guess it’s been way too long since I had to take a test. I’ve never been so nervous to take a test. I think I did pretty well. I know I did better on the lecture test than the lab test, mainly because the lecture test was scantron (ie. Multiple choice) and the lab test was completely fill in the blank, answer/question (terrifying). So glad it’s over.

On the pregnancy front, I am 15 weeks today! I am feeling better overall, not so tired. I even did laundry for the first time since I’ve been pregnant. Boy was Cary happy. J I’m tired right now, but I’m sure it’s because I couldn’t go to sleep last night thinking of things like the cell model, skin model and tissues…etc, etc, etc. I got some good sleep from about 2:30-6am, that was it.

Our house is a disaster right now, well the upstairs anyway. We live in a house that was built in 1920, which means we have plaster walls. The plaster started to peel on our bedroom wall. Cary scraped it, sanded it and patched it. Now, the whole room needs to be painted. The other bedroom upstairs is a “lovely” shade of dark green with a teddy bear border across the middle of the wall (Yes, it’s as pretty as it sounds.) Cary has now removed the border. (It only took us 4 years to tackle this project.) This room also needs to painted. Cary began to paint on Saturday but the paint sprayer kept getting clogged and now both rooms have some white paint on the walls, furniture covered with tarps, and furniture moved to the hallway. I hate living in a chaotic mess. Hopefully something will get finished soon.

Here is my 15 week belly picture:

Also, tomorrow is my birthday! I will be 29! When I say “I’m going to be 29” it reminds me of people who are definitely over the age of 29 but continue to say they are turning 29 every year. I promise this is not the case. I was born in 1981, so you do the math. Next year I will not only be 30, but I will also be a MOTHER…wow, how about that for a double dose of OLD. J  

3rd Doctors Appointment/14 weeks

I am 14 weeks pregnant today! I had my 3^rd Doctors Appointment this afternoon. It went great: good urine specimen, got weighed (I’ve gained 4 pounds.), perfect blood pressure and (my favorite part) got to hear the heartbeat again. The heart rate was 161. The doctor is pretty sure it’s a girl based on the heart rate. He said that 2/3 of the babies he delivers with that heart rate are girls. I’ll have to wait another 5 weeks to find out for sure. This is the second comment he has made about it being a girl, so I’ve gotten used to the idea. If it ends up being up boy I think I will be in shock. I don’t care either way, I just want to know….NOW.  Most gender predictor tests found online also use the heart rate as a gender predictor. They say that if your baby’s heart rate is over 140, it will be a girl. We’ll have to wait and see. Cary said it could just be an ADD boy.  Since this child is related to Cary that could definitely be true. 

My next appointment is October 14^th. I will be 19 weeks. I will get to have an ultrasound to determine the sex. I was hoping to have it done the week before because my cousin is getting married 10/10/10 and I will be with family that weekend. It’s so much more fun to announce exciting news in person. Oh well.

I wore a dress today that my sister-in-law sent me (Thank you Laura for the maternity clothes!). It made me really look pregnant, not just like I had a chubby tummy. It’s more the way the dress hangs than anything, but it’s still pretty cool. I didn’t realize it until I caught a side view of myself in a window and was like “Whoa, is that me?!” I’ve always heard from pregnant women that they are treated so well during pregnancy. Everyone I’ve come in contact with today has been especially nice, I guess it’s because I actually look pregnant. (Bonus!)

A friend asked me Sunday “Don’t you just love being pregnant?” At the time I said “No” because I just felt exhausted and just generally terrible and have felt that way for about 7 weeks, but now I think I am enjoying it a lot more. Amazing how just a few days have changed my whole attitude. Ahhh, Hormones! 

Here is a picture of me in the dress I wore today and a picture in a t-shirt for comparison. I definitely look more pregnant in the dress. Yay for baby bump! 

A Diabetes Meme

A Diabetes Meme, courtesy of Kerri at six until me

What type of diabetes do you have: Type 1


When were you diagnosed: November 15, 1999


What's your current blood sugar: I just had an awful low, started at 61, dropped to 40 and now I’m on my way back up. That sucked.


What kind of meter do you use: One Touch UltraMini


How many times a day do you test your blood sugar: 10-12


What's a "high" number for you: Anything over 140 mg/dl.


What's do you consider "low": Anything under 65 mg/dl.


What's your favorite low blood sugar reaction treater: I mostly use juice boxes (the size for toddlers, 15 carbs) or Smarties. I hate Smarties. My favorite treater would be orange juice.


Describe your dream endo: Non-judgmental, helpful and Diabetic.


What's your biggest diabetes achievement: Getting pregnant.


What's your biggest diabetes-related fear: Not being able to treat a low BS reaction in time.


Who's on your support team: My husband, parents, and close friends.


Do you think there will be a cure in your lifetime: Honestly, no I don’t. I have always heard “in the next 5-10 years” for too many years now.


What is a "cure" to you: To have my body produce insulin again.


The most annoying thing people say to you about your diabetes is: "You don’t’ look like you have Diabetes." (What am I supposed to look like?)


What is the most common misconception about diabetes: That my type 1 diabetes can be controlled with diet and exercise. I hate that misconception. As if I'm on insulin because I didn't work hard enough or something. Or as if a healthy diet and regular exercise are only recommended for diabetics. (Taken from Kerri at sixuntilme.com, I completely agree!!!)


If you could say one thing to your pancreas, what would it be: "Why did you decide to stop producing insulin?”

Ignorance is NOT Bliss

Sometimes people can be so ignorant and the funny (or not so funny) thing is they think they know what they are talking about. In the past few weeks, I’ve heard some ridiculous diabetes related comments. Some, let’s say, not so nice comments. Granted I could have avoided these comments had I not shared the fact that I am diabetic, but just ask my husband, I like to share information and most of the time it’s personal.

Situation #1: I am standing in line for a pasta dish in our work cafeteria. The man asks if I would like bread, I say no. He gives me a puzzling look to which I feel I must reply “I don’t need those carbs, I am diabetic.” (of course I am already getting pasta. J )  He says “You don’t look diabetic.”

Reaction: The only thing I could get out (as dumbfounded as I was) was that “I’m Type I.” AS IF every diabetic person is FAT?! Really? If I’m diabetic, I must be fat or even obese?! What a stupid stereotype! Just because I am not fat, I can’t be diabetic. Come ‘on! I guess maybe he thought he was giving me a compliment.

Situation #2: I am in lab class (today actually), and we (a group of 5-7 people) were looking at a model of the human body. The girl points to the pancreas and says “This is the pancreas, it makes hormones such as insulin.” I say “Well mine doesn’t, I’m diabetic…ha ha.” She looks at me and says “You’re too young to have diabetes.”

Reaction: Once again I am dumbfounded and all I can get out is “I’m Type I.” (This seems to be my go-to response as if anyone probably even knows what Type I is and as if that response actually explains why I’m not too young to have diabetes.) AS IF anyone is too young to have diabetes?! You can get diabetes no matter how old or young you are! AHHHH!!!! Why can’t I think of intelligent things to say in the moment?

So what have we learned today? Just because most of the commercials geared toward diabetics involve old or overweight people DOES NOT MEAN that either one is a requirement to have diabetes. You can get diabetes no matter what you have or haven’t done, no matter how fat or thin, no matter how old or young. While some diabetes is preventable (or can be delayed), not all of it can.

I didn’t do anything to get diabetes. I have an autoimmune disease where for some reason my body has decided to attack and destroy the insulin-producing beta cells of my pancreas. Only 5-10% of people with diabetes have this form of the disease, so I guess I am pretty special. But really people, don’t make comments on things you know very little about. It really annoys me (if you couldn’t tell)!!! You are basically looking at me and thinking: Wow, she’s so young and already has diabetes, she must really not take care of herself. This is NOT the case. Your ignorance is not my bliss! 

Tired

I am so tired. I have ZERO energy. I am convinced, or at least hoping now, that my first trimester is not over. Because, if it is over, then I am in my second trimester and I am NOT getting the energy and generally “feel-goodness” that every previously pregnant woman has told me about. Please tell me it’s coming soon. I cannot live like this. I am working full time but also taking two classes. I am taking Anatomy and Physiology I with a lab and a communications course. The communication course is online and I can deal with it, but A&P I is seriously kicking my butt. I know this is only the beginning as I am going back to school to become an RN but the pregnancy part of the equation is making everything seem harder than it really is. I tidyed up the house a little bit last night (as in I put the dishes in the sick into the dishwasher and picked up trash and dirty clothes around the house) and you would have thought I had just run 5 miles! I was exhausted! My house is an embarrassment right now, but I really don’t have the energy to do anything about it, so I am trying to get over it. Here are some new pics from my 11^th and 12^th weeks....(I've only gained 2 pounds, but my belly is definitely protruding.)

11 weeks

12 weeks

I’m too tired to write anything else! OH, and one more thing, I am certain that no one understands what it means to truly be tired until they are pregnant! Trust me, you have no idea! (If you know what’s good for you, you won’t argue with a pregnant woman. J )

Day off.....Off day

Yesterday I had a day off, or rather a comp day. I work one Saturday a month and when I work a Saturday, I get a comp day either the week before that Saturday or the week after. I will unfortunately be working this Saturday. I had some errands I wanted to get done, but the thing I most wanted in the world was to take an afternoon nap. I love naps. Always have, and I think I always will. I especially wanted one now that I am pregnant.


So I got up at 7:30am and had my quiet time and then took the dogs for a walk. I ate half a bagel before walking and I started to spike (double arrows up on the dexcom with a 132 reading). Knowing that walking in the mornings usually increases my blood sugar, I checked my sugar to confirm the dexcom, took the full correction bolus and proceeded with my walk. After being home for about 15 minutes, I started to drop. I ate some jelly beans to try to even out the drop, but then the dexcom blared at me with a 79 and double arrows down. I checked my sugar and I’m at 64, so I ate some more jelly beans and waited 15 minutes. I check again and I’m at 41, blah!!! I go get a juice box, sit there for another miserable 15 minutes, and I’m finally back at in the 60s and increasing. Whew, what a fun morning.

I head to the dry cleaners. I drop my clothes off at the dry cleaners and then head to Target. I took back a dress I bought and decided I didn’t need (or really want). So I return the dress and at this point I should have headed out of the store, but I just had to see what was available in maternity. I actually bought my first pair of maternity pants! They were on clearance for $14.95 and they were basic black dress pants, come’ on I had to buy them. I bought a notebook (for my Anatomy and Physiology lab) and proceeded to checkout. In the checkout line, I feel it coming, another low. I look the candy over and grab a small package of gummy bears. Once I’m in the car I check my sugar and sure enough I am in the 60s again. I eat 8 gummy bears at 2 grams of carb each for a total of 16 carbs and I’m on my way.

I get home and I’m starving and ready for lunch. It’s only 11:30am. I check my sugar and I’m now at 123 and according to the dexcom arrow, I’m climbing. BOO!!! I take my bolus and fix my lunch: chunky peanut butter and sugar free strawberry jelly on whole wheat, an Asian pear (thanks Kerri!), and some green peas. (I know this may sound like a weird pregnancy meal, but it’s really not out of the ordinary for me.) I wait another 15 minutes because my arrow is still going up slightly. I can’t wait anymore, I’m starving!

I have an endocrinologist appointment at 1pm. I get ready and head out with a 130 and level arrow on my dexcom. I sit and wait and wait and wait. My endo is never on time or even 30 minutes from being on time. It’s always at least an hour in the waiting room. I am stuck on the dexcom at 140, I check twice within the hour and take the recommended boluses and I finally start to come down. I saw the endo and I have gained 2 pounds and my A1C was 5.3%. That’s about all the endo is good for in my opinion.

By the time I get home it’s 3:15pm and I have a hair appointment at 4:30pm and it takes 30 minutes to get there. So…no nap for me today. But I did get my hair done which always makes me feel good.

It was just one of those days where I didn’t feel like I had a day off but rather I had an off day…ha ha. When diabetes is constantly messing with you, it’s a full time job all on its own.

First Trimester Fun

I’m sick of crying uncontrollably. I have NEVER been what you would call a “crier.” I mean don’t get me wrong, I cry at really sad movies and songs, but I’ve never been this emotional. These days I can cry at the drop of a hat. I can’t listen to country music for more than 10 minutes without sobbing uncontrollably. I cry multiple times every Sunday at church. I even cried when Cary and I were teaching preschool Sunday school the other day and it was nothing to cry over. We were in children’s chapel and one of the little girls saw her daddy and jumped up and kept waving at him and saying “that’s my daddy” and smiling so big, it made me melt…..and cry. I knew pregnancy was supposed to cause all these emotions but I was thinking these emotions happened to “other people.” Not me.


I’m also very sensitive. NOT LIKE ME. I am one who appreciates sarcasm, I love it in fact. But, lately, I am overly sensitive to even joking remarks. I can’t handle it. The baby has apparently found my sarcasm button and turned it to off.

Something else I just discovered is there seems to be some controversy over what is really the end of your first trimester. I have been using the pregnancy calendar via “justmommies.com” and it has stated that the end of your first trimester is the 12 week mark. Now, I find out from another site that they use the 14th week as the end of the first trimester. I guess if you divide the 40 weeks of pregnancy by 3, you would get 13.3, so that would technically be the end of the first trimester. Not sure which my doctor uses. Oh well, for now I’m sticking with my pregnancy calendar which means the first trimester is over Thursday!

Football Season

I cannot wait for football season to start. I am a HUGE football fan. I love all football, but I especially love college football, specifically SEC college football. Football season is almost here and that means football weekends that start on Thursday nights and don’t end until Monday night…I mean does it get any better?!



I am a HUGE Alabama football fan. That’s right, I love the Crimson Tide! I have an affection for my team that most would call “unhealthy” (mainly my husband). I love this team so much that if they aren’t on TV, I will listen on radio. I love this team so much that I must watch the game in “real-time”, (no DVR, because if I am cheering for my team, it obviously does not do any good if I am rooting for something that has already happened) but once the game is over, I will watch the game at least 1 to 2 more times (granted we win) on DVR. I love this team so much that I will change my shirt at halftime if we are loosing (because obviously my shirt is the cause of their demise). I love this team so much that I dress my dogs in their game day bandanas before every game. I love this team so much that I have watched the replays of the BCS Championship game several times (most recently ESPNU just showed it last night.:)


I am also excited about football because with football comes fall. I love fall. It is my favorite season. I love the cool weather, the warm foods (such as chili) and the fall clothing. I love wearing jackets, scarves and sweaters, not the winter ones where you are all covered up except for your eyes, but the cute ones you wear when it’s crisp outside (see, I am a girl, in case you thought differently due to my fanatic love of football).


As much as I’m looking forward to fall and football, I am looking forward to the coming season even more because it means the start of my second trimester! Hopefully some of the constant exhaustion will ease a bit. Here’s hoping at least! My second trimester officially starts August 26th.


Happy (so-to-be) football and fall, Y’all!!!

Saturday Night

Saturday night was a really fun night. We went over to a friend’s house and ate dinner and played games. It was great. My PDM (personal diabetes machine, the remote that controls my pod) had been going off every hour alerting me to the fact that my pod (pump) had expired and needed to be changed. I know from experience that I have at least a good 4-5 hours with an expired pod (granted I have ample supply of insulin), so I ignore it and plan to change it when I get home.


When we get home at 11pm, I change my pod and my site to the area right above my butt; I guess you would call it lower than my lower back towards my hip area. I do my normal increase of temporary basal and a small bolus to make sure things are flowing good and head to bed (with my dexcom monitoring as well). I wake up at 2:30am with a vibrating buzz alerting me that I am at 160, I take my blood sugar to confirm, take a bolus and go back to sleep, hoping it’s not a bad site. I wake up at 5:00am to another buzz but this time I am at 220….no good at all, must be a bad site, which means another pod change, woo hoo!!! And, at 5 in the morning, double woo hoo! So I check my blood sugar to confirm my dexcom and heck yeah, I’m high (not that I couldn’t tell already by the fact that it felt like someone had stuffed cotton balls in my mouth while asleep). I give myself an injection before my pod change so I know my blood sugar will come down quickly, regardless of my pod issues. So, I change my pod (blood comes gushing out confirming my bad site suspicions), do my temp basal and bolus and drink a whole lot of water. I stayed up for an hour and checked my blood sugar twice to make sure I was coming down and my dexcom confirmed with a nice downward arrow. :) I went back to sleep, good pod, good sugars, end of story, right?! Oh, how I wish that was the end of my story….

I began dreaming when I went back to sleep at 6am and I had a very vivid dream. I dreamt I had to go to the bathroom really, really bad. In my dream, I ran around this huge public restroom, running into random people from high school along the way. Some of the stalls I went into had no toilet, so I kept running around the bathroom and finally found a toilet. I run in and being to well, use the restroom……this is where I wake up in my bed and I’m Peeeeeeing!!!! Yes, that’s right, I peed in my bed. Luckily, I woke up before I was completely finished and was able to make it to the bathroom. I couldn’t believe what I had done. You may be thinking, oh gosh, what about poor Cary, well it was 7:30am and Cary was already awake getting ready for church, so luckily he was not in the bed at the time of said incident. I went downstairs to tell him what had happened. We both laughed so hard, I was crying and I have to admit, I still think it’s pretty hilarious. Good Times!

Belly Pictures

Here are a few of the belly pics we've taken so far....

This was the day we found out we were pregnant. I had my pod on my belly at the time. (Yes, I am a robot.)

This next picture is at 6 weeks, I thought I was at 7 at the time, but after having my first ultrasound, we found out I was a week behind what they originally thought.....

Babycenter.com said at 7 weeks your baby is the size of a blueberry, but I was really 6 weeks, so pretend I'm holding a lentil :) 

I wasn't feeling so great for the next few weeks, so I don't have another picture until 9 weeks....

9 weeks, please forgive the background of our messy office. :) 

And, now the most recent belly picture, at 10 weeks....

Yes, I think I definitely have a little pooch, not that I couldn't tell already by my tight waisted pants. 

There you go, that's my pregnancy so far. Many, many more pictures to come as Betus-the-Fetus grows and my belly continues to expand. :)