28 weeks!

Okay, here's the fabulous 28-week belly shot for which I know you've been waiting with bated breath!!! ;)


My short torso spit that baby straight out!!! (I'm pleased to say that my, um, backside has shrunk in comparison. Never thought I'd say THAT in my lifetime.) Little Bird only goes up and out, though, as you can see I've barely grown out to the side - YET! Fortunately, we're back to measuring "on time" instead of a week or so ahead.


I put together the crib this week...I'm trying to have all of my ducks in a row by ~35 weeks (because in my world, everyone has a baby by then, right??!!). So the crib is together, and obviously some decorating needs to be completed, but I have to wait for the new carpet to be installed at the end of the month. I do plan to take down the stuff that's hanging over the crib. And, just to clarify, the cutesy little things in the crib will be promptly removed as soon as there's a baby in it to comply with the "safe sleep" guidelines per the American Academy of Pediatrics (guess who's the Safe Sleep "champion" at Holland Hospital?). Like I tell the parents I work with: the cutest and softest thing in the crib should be the baby! So here's the crib and some cutesy stuff:


Yep, it's a mini-crib: same as the other cribs only smaller dimensions for a smaller room! It's absolutely perfect!


I found the quilt on Etsy.com, the blanket was knit by California Mommy (we have a pink one too), the froggy lovey is from my aunt Sue, and the bear in the corner was in Matt's crib when he was a baby!!!


And of course the birdie mobile I ordered off Etsy as well!!!

So that's that for now!!! Thanks for enjoying with me!!

Awwwww, MAN!

I had my 28 week appointment today. I drank my fizzy, delicious little beverage full of sugar and went and had my finger pricked.

Bad news bears, man.

My blood sugar was so high (>200!!!) that I can basically forgo the three-hour test to confirm that, yes, I'm a gestational diabetic.

AUGHHHH!!!!! I KNEW things were going too well!

I burst out laughing when my OB told me - I mean, it just sounded so absurd - because I honestly thought she was kidding and would say, "HA HA! Never mind! Your sugar was actually 120!" or something like that, but she was, um, NOT kidding. I mean, I don't fall in any risk category, I exercise frequently, and eat well (I'll admit that sweets have been a major downfall of mine during pregnancy, though, and my pancreas is probably like, "Forget it").

It's just that....arghhh....it's so easy to get frustrated when you see infants of a diabetic mom. Particularly one who doesn't control it. You have to be diligent. A lot of people have to make significant diet changes. And they don't want to, nor do they see the need to, because they feel just fine. They end up having an enormous baby that looks like it was inflated with a bicycle pump (and there's a royal difference between just a "big baby" and a really, really, REAAAAALLLLY fat infant of a diabetic mom), and they think that that's just the way it is because everyone else in their family is diabetic and large, and well, "Diabetes runs in my family anyway" (to which I usually - kindly - reply: "It doesn't have to").

So when I think of being a gestational diabetic, I think, oh no...that'll be ME!

But - "It doesn't have to."

Everyone thinks it's fabulous when you have a big baby, because bigger is better, right? Wrong. It's one thing to just have a big baby if bigger babies just run in your family. It's another thing to have a big baby who is big because it's been feeding on the sugar train for months. When mom's blood sugar isn't well-controlled (and the control has to be tight), her body kicks out insulin. Insulin is a growth hormone that starts pumping that kid up. Insulin also interferes with the development of chemicals that mature the baby's lungs. And the baby's body is kicking out insulin to combat mom's high blood sugar...and when it's born, as soon as you cut the cord, yeah, mom's blood sugar supply is cut too - BUT - tell that to the baby's pancreas, which is still in the process of kicking out insulin. So baby's blood sugar takes a major dive, and it could potentially need an IV if it can't be regulated with feedings...another frustrating task, because often those babies are so huge that you can't find their veins, and your friendly Special Care nurse is muttering unholy words under her breath.

So you've potentially got a huge baby with respiratory distress and low blood sugars. And that's why bigger is not better.

In addition to the fact that the potential need for a c-section significantly increases. Most diabetic moms have to be induced because you can't just wait for labor to kick off while your (possibly) enormous kid keeps growing. Inductions usually end up in c-sections. Etc etc.

So, I'll have to follow a strict diet - which for all intents and purposes isn't that different from the way Matt and I normally eat anyway; I'll just have to be even more fussy. I may need to be induced around 39 weeks, which I don't want. I'll have ultrasounds every two weeks to monitor the baby's growth, and if it's estimated to be bigger than 8lbs 5oz, then we'll have to schedule a c-section. I don't want that. But sometimes you don't get a choice. And I'm not so all about the way *I* want things to go that I have a whole lot of room for pitching a fit. I just know the risks and benefits of all the options, and I'll start praying NOW that at the very least I'll go into labor naturally before said scheduled induction or c-section, so the baby at least has the benefit of those good labor hormones that tell it, "Get ready for the big world now!!"

It's humbling, but I'm choosing not to make a big deal about it. I want to do whatever I can to make sure we're both healthy (especially Little Bird). And hey, more ultrasounds means more pictures, right? :) I have no choice but to just roll with it. I'd far rather have gestational diabetes than pregnancy-induced hypertension or pre-eclampsia.

So if you have any words of encouragement or great food suggestions if you've been a gestational diabetic before, send them my way!!!!

27 weeks!

Hellooooooo third trimester!!!!! I can't believe it's here already!! I know I haven't posted a picture in a while, but I'll do it soon. I'm feeling less "cute" and more "fat" and it doesn't make me very inclined to whip out the camera, but I know I'll regret it if I don't. Even in the past couple of weeks I've grown a lot, but it's still all baby, and I'm so grateful to have had no swelling anywhere so far, no back pain, no hip pain, only one day of round ligament pain...all those things that can make you so uncomfortable. I know that that can still come on with a vengeance, but still - I know plenty of people who dealt with any or all of those things from very early on.

Baby is moving even more vigorously now, which is way too much fun. I'll feel a head grinding into my left hip, and then a series of popping kicks up near my right ribs. He or she stays fairly quiet thru the night and then starts to rock & roll around 4 or 5 - and that's fine with me if we maintain that kind of schedule. If I have a baby who will settle down nicely but be an early morning baby, that would be great. But I know better than to think too wishfully...!!!

I remember thinking this past spring that when the leaves change color and start to fall, then it'll be "almost time." Well, I'm seeing the first of the leaves already start to change...granted, it's definitely far from being "almost time" but you know what I mean...life will be changing sooner rather than later now! Woah!

I'm still humbled at the number of people who faithfully are praying for us. Praying for us!!! I mean, it's so simple, but so profound that this baby is so loved and lifted up on a regular basis before the throne of Heaven. And they're not giving me churchy lip-service - they really are praying for this child. That just blows me away.

Well, this wasn't the most newsy update, but I wanted to update nonetheless. Not much else going on in the Gouveia household, and sometimes that's a really nice thing!!!

So stay tuned for that picture!!!