Stace and Living with Gestational Diabetes

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and I will be honest, it made me a little bitter. Not at the baby of course, just general bitterness. When I was diagnosed I truly couldn't believe it and a part of me thought there was a mistake. They gave me a giant packet to read over on what to do and what it means. Talk about overwhelming. It helped that my mom was in town and could help me try and make sense of everything. 

I wanted to post about this because it was a very overwhelming thing and for about two weeks I was stressed and not sure if I was doing things right or if I had or was going to ruin my baby and of course there is the fear of having a giant baby because those who have gestational diabetes are more prone to having larger babies. People want a full term baby but no wants a giant baby. I know everyone who reads the blog is not pregnant but there might be someone you know who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes and its not a fun thing to have but it is not as hard as I thought it was going to be. It is a little annoying because at first they want you to check your blood sugar 4 times a day which means pricking your finger 4 times a day. No one wants to do that. I am finally at the point where I only need to check my blood sugar twice a day, first thing in the morning and before my bedtime snack, and its still annoying to have to prick my fingers but you gotta do whats best for the baby.

Basically the diet, though they don't call it a diet but a lifestyle, is having a balance of carbs and protein. Obviously there is more to know then that but it helps to have it be more simplified because that truly is the basic thing you need to do for the gestational diabetes, balance between carbs and protein. What has really saved me is a veggie steamer. My mom bought it for me because you can basically eat all the vegetables you want and I've never been a big veggie eater and a part of the reason was because I didn't know how to prepare fresh vegetables. So, mom and I went out and found a rice cooker that could also steam veggies. Its so cool! And sooo easy to use. Its almost like the crock pot where you just put the the veggies in there and let them cook. The longest something takes to steam is like 25 mins, its awesome. Another thing that has helped is my parents found already made protein drinks that have only like 5 grams of carbs in it (knowing how many grams of carbs are in something is very important, always check the carbs) they are called Premier Protein drinks and I have one almost every morning for breakfast along with like toast or a waffle. Balance people.

Having gestational diabetes does not mean no more sweet stuff. Hallelujah because this girl loves the sweets. I have had a major sweet tooth this pregnancy and I have had to cut back on the sweets, which really isn't a bad thing considering, but, its helped to know that I don't have to go completely off sweets. That would have been really tough. I was just told to only have kiddie sized portions of desserts. I can live with that. There is a slight chance that I might get type 2 diabetes after the baby is born but I would be pretty surprised because I have been eating how I am supposed to and diabetes does not run in my family. 

My husband and family have been very supportive which has really made it a lot easier to deal with. They have helped me figure out the changes I need to make and then helped me find the things I like so that I don't feel like I'm just eating gross food for the sake of the baby but can actually enjoy my meals and snacks. Gestational diabetes does kind of suck to have but its really not as horrible as I thought it was going to be and its very doable. 

Here are just some of the snack and foods that I eat pretty regularly.

Breakfast: Premier Protein drinks with toast, waffle or half a muffin. Also a breakfast burrito is good balance as well.

Snacks: Square cheddar cheese with Wheat Thins and some fruit. Light or Greek yogurt with granola.

Lunch/Dinner: Rotisserie chicken with veggies and half a yam or potato. Lime chicken tacos. Enchiladas. Hamburgers. The occasional pizza.

Dessert: Ice cream, brownies, cupcakes, and cookies.