So last post I wrote about Bean's story and I briefly mentioned that I developed gestational diabetes. To be honest I didn't even really know about gestational diabetes. When I was told about the test I was nervous because I knew that eating a lot of sugar without eating anything else I usually felt buzzy so I was afraid I would fail the test. And I did... Then I had to take the awful 3 blood draw test, which I was sure was going to make me pass out- it didn't, and failed again.
I was devastated. Pregnancy was supposed to be the time when I had a reason to eat what I wanted and it can be stressful and I stress eat :-) Thankfully once Lizzie was born the diabetes disappeared. But it was a real eye opener for me. Here is what I learned about diabetes during those last few months.
8 Ways Gestational Diabetes Changed My Life
1. I realized that diabetes isn't a death sentence. ( Ok, I didn't think it was that bad but close) I thought pricking your finger multiple times a day would be awful and that all you could eat was boring bland food. I got better at pricking my finger but it was still awful. As for food I learned that you can eat more than bran muffins and drink water.
2. I learned that not sweets aren't the only dangerous thing for a diabetic. When the nutritionist showed me a sample list of items and their sugar levels I was surprised that corn and pizza were so high. I learned that some vegetables are extremely high in sugar and some are neutral.
3. I started reading labels. I know what to look for, sugars and protein, and read items that I don't know the amounts.
4. I learned to balance my meals/snacks. I learned that I can't eat just sugar or just protein. I need protein to keep my sugar from spiking too high and sugar to keep it from dipping too low. I also know which foods are neutral and I don't have to limit my intake of.
5. I am actually am more careful about the way I eat sugar. While I'm not still diabetic I think my body still processes sugar worse than other people. I have to be careful about just eating sugary foods. I need to balance it out with protein or wait until I've eaten something less sugary.
6. I'm careful about the amount of sugar I feed Bean. Bean doesn't have diabetes (as far as I can know) but I don't want her to experience low sugar levels or highs so I'm careful how I feed her. I balance out her sugar and protein just like I do to mine. Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes also have an increased risk to develop diabetes and obesity. I want her to learn to eat healthy now.
7. I eat more cheese sticks. Did you know that cheese is high in protein (but milk is high in sugar- go figure!) They are one of the best snack for me and Bean. They are quick to eat and really portable and tasty.
8. I'm more at risk to develop gestational diabetes next time we have a baby and at a much higher risk to permanently develop normal diabetes later in life. This makes me nervous. Diabetes isn't fun. I don't want to have it again or permanently. 2 out of 3 moms develop gestational diabetes again with their next pregnancies and over half of moms who have gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years. This makes my lifestyle choices now more important. I'm trying to be proactive about preventing diabetes instead of just reactive when it happens.
So there it is. How gestational diabetes changed me, for the better. I'm hoping to avoid it it again in the future but genetics and statistics are not on my side. But at least it motivates me to try to eat healthier. Now I want some ice cream... ;-)
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