37 Weeks

37 Weeks and 1 Day

Well, this is officially the longest I've ever been pregnant! 37 weeks and 1 day. I am SOOOOO done. This pregnancy has been the hardest. While my sickness improved sooner than with the girls, there have been lots of other difficulties this time around that I haven't really had to deal with. I have leg cramps in both my calves and shins pretty much every night. After spending several nights screaming in pain on the floor with Jordan trying to stretch out my legs, I've learned that the only way to alleviate the pain is to jump out of bed and start walking around as the first sign of pain. So I can often be found stalking around the house in the middle of the night. My hips are also killing me this time, no matter how many pillows I sleep with. I can't bend over, put shoes on or walk for very long and even driving is starting to be difficult. And don't even get me started on the heart burn!! 

All of this would be enough to drive me crazy but the worst part by far has been being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I got the news at 30 weeks, two weeks before Thanksgiving, and I was devastated. I already really struggle with finding things to eat that don't make me sick, so this has always been my worst nightmare. Plus, my Mom had gestational diabetes that never went away and turned into type 2 diabetes after she delivered, so I'm very afraid of that. When my doctor told me I had diabetes, he referred me to a specialist, who of course couldn't get me in for two weeks, partly due to the holiday. And then my Dad died, and I had to push my appointment out even further. Thankfully, the specialist agreed to give me a prescription for the testing supplies and let my Mom help me learn how to use them since she's pretty much an expert at this point. So I completely cut out all carbs and sugar from my diet and have been testing my blood sugar four times a day ever since, seven long weeks. For a girl who LOVES pasta, this has been really hard. My favorite food is cereal!! Not anymore. My breakfast every morning has been scrambled eggs, and I'm so sick of it!! I never want to eat eggs or peanuts again after this!! All I hear is protein, protein, protein. Who wants to eat a chicken breast at 10 pm??? Anyway, it's been really tough. I've controlled things pretty well with my diet but am still having trouble with my fasting number, which is taken first thing in the morning, so I've been put on medication to help with that. In addition to drastic diet changes, perhaps the hardest part has been all the extra doctor appointments. I now have to be seen twice a week for monitoring and can't bring my kids, which has meant lots of babysitters! I hate asking for help but I'm so grateful to the many friends who have watched McKinley and Reagan for me.

There are a couple silver linings to all this. The first is that since I'm on medication, my doctor will induce me between 38 and 39 weeks so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Given my history, I don't think I'll make it that far, but at least there's an end in sight. Secondly, all the extra monitoring has meant I've gotten to see Dirk a lot!! I've been told he has lots of hair (I can't really tell on the ultrasounds) and he loves to have his hands up by his face :) He's measuring perfectly and looking good so no worries! Lastly, I've actually lost weight during these last 7 weeks, which is kind of crazy!! But I'll take it :)

So there's my pregnancy update. I'm seriously ready to meet this boy! Any day now!!!