Below is a picture of the adorable sock-monkey-themed quilt that my mother made for El Jefe (click it for a bigger version so you can see all the monkeys):

Sock monkey quilt by Sherrie

Speaking of which, el jefe is doing very well. Still squirming quite actively and has its tushy wedged in to my right side with its head down, which is a decent position for being born. Although I have stopped gaining weight (!) my uterus is still growing (rapidly) and so the midwives that take care of me are not concerned.  In fact, they may take steps to make sure I don’t go past my due date since gestational diabetes can cause the baby to get too big.

I just barely failed the first test, so I had to take another, longer test involving fasting overnight, drinking a sugar solution, and having my blood tested hourly (while I continued to fast) for three hours. This would be pretty unpleasant for anyone, but not eating while pregnant is no joke! I was mentally wrecked for the entire day.

Two of my four glucose scores on the second test fell just outside the healthy range, which means the midwives diagnosed me with gestational diabetes. Interestingly, the local hospital has a slightly higher threshold, and don’t consider me to have G.D. This just shows what a borderline case it have, which is good – it means that I can almost certainly manage my blood sugar by eating better and increasing my physical activity.

However this prescription – “be more healthy, duh!” – isn’t as simple than it seems, since being pregnant makes eating complicated (squished stomach, heartburn, etc.) and also makes exercise more of a challenge (out of breath, sore joints, off balance, etc.). But I have made some changes, and I think they’re paying off. I have cut down on carbs, and replaced simple ones with complex (or as one midwife said: “don’t eat anything white”). I have drastically reduced the sweets, which I had been eating mostly to fill in my increased need for calories. And I try to waddle around the neighborhood more often, although the weather and my pubic symphysis have not been cooperative of late.

Unfortunately, this healthy eating has further lowered the number of calories I get which has the nutritionist telling me to eat more food, especially fats! So, today I obliged with a Carolina blue sundae, followed by a lengthy walk around CostCo (whose gates have recently been opened to me). I do what I can…