There’s nothing quite like the breakdown after the phone call of a gestational diabetes diagnosis, especially for a first time mother.
So many things that had to be done, specialists to see, decisions to be made. After that phone call resulting from failing the three hour glucose tolerance test, even where I would have my baby was up in the air. The need for insulin would automatically result in a “transfer of care”, and the birthing center birth I’d dreamed of would be non-existent.
What Happened?
After the diagnosis, I had to see an OB-GYN specializing in gestational diabetes, for starters. There was a consult, an ultrasound (to make sure the baby hadn’t grown too large to be delivered naturally), and many, many blood sugar tests.
As of this writing, I am required to self-test my blood sugar four times per day until my son is born. Coming from a background of NO blood sugar testing, and a fear of needles, this was a huge obstacle for me.
Although I have not required insulin to manage my diagnosis, and my son was in the 48th percentile for his size as of the last ultrasound, this diagnosis has still hung around my neck as the proverbial millstone – and has certainly transformed my pregnancy.
Gestational Diabetes Transformed my Pregnancy
Aside from the obvious – regular blood sugar testing, extra doctors appointments, and all of the “fun” *read in a very sarcastic tone* extras that come with a gestational diabetes diagnosis, there were less visible transformations that occurred when I was diagnosed.
- I became more aware of how what I ate impacted my blood sugar. Even as someone who has been a Trim Healthy Mama for years, I had never seen the actual numbers and had no actual clue what my blood sugar was doing.
- An intense fear my blood sugar number developed. If my number was “high” (my highest ever reading to date was 148 two hours after a meal, and I’ve only ever had one other number even close to that level after nearly a hundred and fifty readings) I wouldn’t want to eat for fear of making the number rise further. If my number was low (lowest number to date has been 77) I wouldn’t want to eat for fear of bringing the number up too much. The number on the meter started to define me.
- I started eating more “junk”, otherwise known as off plan foods. With my blood sugar numbers often within fasting ranges, even after heavy, carb-laden meals, I started resorting to quick, easy fixes to bring my blood sugar up to an appropriate number, but not too high. *Disclaimer* I am NOT recommending this approach. Listen to your doctor, and follow their advice for you and your pregnancy.
- The number on the meter became my excuse to eat what I want, instead of what my body (and baby) need.
What I’ve Learned So Far
Gestational diabetes is no joke, and should definitely be carefully managed. With that being said, I’ve learned quite a bit throughout this process.
The OB-GYN specializing in gestation diabetes came in for our appointment, and one of the first questions he asked me was, “are you eating ANY carbs?”
I about fell over.
I’d been eating carbs day in and day out, healthy and unhealthy, with and without fat (E or XO meals for the Trim Healthy Mamas). Apparently, I still wasn’t eating enough carbs. There were even ketones in my urine. The specialist told me that when you are pregnant, the fetus consumes carbs – and that’s essentially all (from what you eat).
After having been told previously to “basically eat keto” to manage my gestational diabetes diagnosis, this was a shock. (Fortunately, I had not followed this advice).
Pssst! Are you Preparing for Motherhood as someone who suffers with a mental illness too? You might want to read the linked article to discover some of the ways I’ve been preparing.
Although there were other lessons learned, other things discovered along the way, this article is getting exceptionally long.
Please let me know in the comments below if you have/have had gestational diabetes (especially as a Trim Healthy Mama) and how you have managed it. From mama to this mama-to-be, I’d be thrilled to learn more about coping with this diagnosis.
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
Katie says
I’ve had gestational diabetes 2 out of 4 pregnancies so far and expect to have a positive diagnosis this 5th pregnancy. To regulate blood sugar, I’ve started using recipes from the Trim Healthy Table cookbook and my energy levels and hunger are no longer fluctuating between meals (ie no longer hangry in the hour or two before the next meal.) I don’t eat strictly THM, but just making the main dishes THM meals has helped dramatically. I make all my meals cross overs, or possibly S helpers (I’m not tracking numbers for my food right now so I’m not sure which category it is). I’m using up higher carb gluten free items from my pantry right now so I eat refined grains and even sugar, but am replacing those off plan items with on plan items as I run out and have the budget. Amazingly, the swaps aren’t as expensive as I expected – carby gluten free foods are pricier than I realized. I’ve also got low hemoglobin, so I’ve been focusing on recipes with red meat (we have deer in the freezer from my husband hunting last fall), leafy greens, or legumes as the basis for my meals. I often eat leftovers from dinner for breakfast because oatmeal (even THM oatmeal) doesn’t fill me up and keep me from getting hangry later unless I eat a couple eggs or sau as ge patties with it. If I do eat leftovers, I’ll add a carb to the meal, because I’ve noticed I do better if I have a little higher carb at breakfast. I haven’t started testing my glucose yet – since I’ve had GD before, I know pretty well when I’ve got high or low blood sugar and have been very successful controlling blood sugar with diet and exercise. I’m waiting on a positive test result to start monitoring glucose. Speaking of exercise, I walk during pregnancy and have done pelvic floor exercises to prepare my body for delivery (the Katy Bowman DVD Nutritious Movement for a Healthy Pelvis is an excellent resource that I highly recommend. There are a couple exercises that need to be skipped in later pregnancy, but they are pretty obvious because they are uncomfortable. She might even say on the DVD to skip them if you’re pregnant, but I can’t remember for sure.) I haven’t been as good about exercising this time around because I’m a wimp when it comes to cold so walking hasn’t happened much and I’ve got 4 littles running around so getting on the floor to do an exercise DVD is begging for little people climbing all over me which is fun, but the exercise doesn’t get done. 😅 It’s spring now, so I’m gradually adding in walking and will probably putter in the garden soon. Gradual is the key – it’s kind of late in the game to start exercising now at 32 weeks. I’m listening to my body and getting off my feet when I get tired or light headed and don’t even think about pushing limits. Pregnancy is the time to grow a baby not sculpt my body. I focus on exercises that specifically help with pregnancy and skip the extras.
Nicole says
Thank you for the insightful comment! You are so right that later in “pregnancy is the time to grow a baby not sculpt”. I love that you have been doing gradual swaps – that makes so much sense. It’s hard to exercise with littles running around, but it sounds like you are doing great listening to your body with nutrition and chasing littles is exercise too! 🙂