gestational diabetes

ugh, so if you read my baby post last week you would know that i was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes about a week ago after my glucose screen.  at first i was so annoyed.  it just seemed like it would be such a hassle to figure out what to eat, what to make for dinners, checking my blood sugar 4 times a day and recording all the data to send to my midwife once a week, and any complications that may occur.  for instance, if for some reason my blood sugar can't be controlled by diet and exercise, then i would have to inject insulin, be induced at 39 weeks, go in for non-stress tests twice a week and possibly have more interventions that i am comfortable with in general.  so, after i learned about the diagnosis, i went online and researched, of course.  i found out that if GD isn't under control, the baby could be big which could make a vaginal delivery hard or impossible, that baby could have low blood sugar after birth or jaundice and would require interventions for that, that baby could be more susceptible to having type 2 diabetes later in life not to mention the fact that i already have a 50% greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes myself within the next 10 years.  this is what was so annoying to me.  and kind of scary.  but then i found some resources for how to eat well with GD and what kind of exercise would help the body to use insulin efficiently.  and i found some sample menus and information on how many grams of carbs i should be eating at each meal and snack and total for the day, some tips on how to avoid big spikes and drops and approximately the amount of grams in certain food items.  having information made me feel better, and then being able to put a plan together made me feel a lot less annoyed.  also, i realized that the meals that i make and eat are not that bad, they are not very different from the sample menus, i just needed to increase the amount of vegetables, which i always want to do anyway.  the difference, really, was in the snacks.  most of the time z and i are on the go, or if we are at home, i'm not really focused on taking the time to make myself healthy snacks, i usually will eat a granola bar or some dried fruit or cereal or something like that.  so having GD has forced me to take the time that i need to eat healthily in between meals,  and eat a better breakfast, too.  so it's really not that bad at all.  in fact, i feel like i am eating all the time since i am supposed to have a mid morning snack, an afternoon snack and a bedtime snack.  eating smaller meals several times a day is a good way to maintain a more constant blood sugar level and avoid over eating at mealtimes.  so i spent a little extra time to prepare our weekly dinner menu and figure out what kinds of things i should eat for snacks and breakfasts.  i am careful not to eat too much potatoes or rice at mealtimes and as suggested i eat some carbs and protein at every snack, too.  and i have been eating more veggies as well.  i am not opposed to eating veggies, i just am not very good yet at how to make them a snacky type food.  but i'm getting there.  on days that i am particularly active and can get some sort of exercise in, i will have a little treat.  but instead of having a popsicle and some chips and some chocolate, i will let myself have a small square of chocolate, or a half of a cookie.  this is much more reasonable.  and i have noticed that in this past week, my cravings for those sugary treats is way less intense than before.  i think mostly because i am keeping myself satiated by eating healthier foods.  another benefit to this diet modification is that it makes z eat better, too.  and hubby as long as he is eating at home.  i was already using some of the tricks from the books that i read about french parenting, like serving the veggies first before the rest of the meal, but this is forcing me to use veggies more and in different ways.  today i picked up the supplies to check my blood sugar and tomorrow i go in to meet with the nurse to learn how to use it all. i still have to meet with a nutritionist in a week and a half. so after tomorrow i will be able to keep track and see how i am doing by diet regulation with the info that i found. here are some of the resources i found helpful:

http://gestationaldiabetesrecipes.com

http://www.the-diabetic-voice.com/sample-diet-for-gestational-diabetes.html

https://provider.ghc.org/open/caringForOurMembers/patientHealthEducation/conditionsDiseases/diabetes/gestationalMealPlan.pdf

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/NutiritionandPhysicalActivity/Documents/MO-NUPA-MyPlateforGestationalDiabetes.pdf

in a few days i think i'll post some of the new recipes that i found that were super yummy.