Diabetes in Pregnancy

Hey L.! First off congrats on the new baby...don't stress, what is meant to be will be! Plus, you get to love a new special little one for the rest of your life, what could be wrong with that??
I have just recently started to lose weight with a bariatrics doctor here locally in Boise. When I went for my first appointment, I had had my 3 kids and I was pushing diabetes. My numbers were as high as they could be, fasting for 12 hours...not to be considered diabetic. I have since then been on a low sugar diet. I count the teaspoons of sugar I consume everyday. I am only allowed 15 teaspoons of sugar, but I can eat whatever I want, as long as it fits in my 15 teaspoons. I am not sure how much my sugar has come down yet, but I have lost 22 pounds and 8 inches off my body so far. Not that you need to be losing weight right now by any means!
I wanted to tell you that I found a low carb cook book at a local dollar store....shock huh! It is called the low carb bible and it has tons of great recipies in it! I have enjoyed cooking out of it very much. One of my favorites for lunch is a low carb BLT...on a Mission low carb wrap made out of whole wheat. I eat alot of cottage cheese, high protein low sugar. I also like to make a tuna melt with the low carb wrap, I just make it a quesadilla with cheese...it tastes great and it is only like 2 teaspoons of sugar for the whole thing. I have lots more recipes, too many to share on here, so I would suggest you look for the Low Carb Bible...it should be cheap in a used book store maybe, as I found it in the dollar store this summer!
If you would like more information about counting teaspoons, I could help you with that, just write me a message. I am not sure what your diet is like, but this has been very easy for me....and hopefully my adult onset diabetes will not set in until I am 80 or so! Since you are pregnant, I am sure you would require more than 15 teaspoons a day, but I could help you read labels and figure out exactly how much sugar is in a food that you are going to eat. Le me know if you are interested...and good luck with baby number 3!

I realize the stress you are going through right now must be enormous. You are so blessed! This is your miracle baby. Let everyone know asap, so they can support you in this very trying time. I would suggest going to the chiropractor and make sure all is well with the spine. Then if possible do a liver cleanse. The liver and diabetes is closely related. The pancreas is only one organ involved. The health food store will be able to help you with that. Thay will be able to also tell you if it is safe for pregnant women. Stay in the zone for eating lots of green vegies. The greener the better. Green vegies has an alkalizing effect on the body. Most of us get soooo much acid in our diet that it causes every disease there is. Make sure you are getting 1 quart of water for every 50 pounds we weigh. This will keep your blood cells cleaned out, and your body also needs it for other needs also. Make sure you are walking 30 minutes to an hour a day. Take the kids with you, as they need to get out of the house also. Try to stay completely away from soda, candy, and pasteries. Limit pasta and meat. It is very difficult to be healthy, but this pregnancy might prove to be the turning point in your life. I realize that this is definately the no fun diet. Get a book called the "PH Miracle" by Robert Young. This book was written by a microbiologist that has studied nutrition for many years. He says that every disease is cause by too much acid in our diets. He believes that there is a cure for every disease by following his plan. Well enough said. Good Luck and congratulations

Congratulations on the pregnancy! I know this must be stressful, but they know so much more about diabetes and how to effectively manage it so as long as you take good care of yourself I wouldn't worry too much about long term affects on your health. My daughter is diabetic so I thought I would pass along some of her favorite carb-free snacks. Some of them are very kid-oriented, but when your a preganant mom with two little ones that may not be so bad. She loves to eat peanut butter; she will just eat a big spoonful of it when she wants a snack but no carbs. You can also dip carrots and celery in peanut butter or almond butter (very tasty). Cheese is nice and she loves nuts. We really push walnuts in our house because they are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids. These are extremely important when you are pregnant and when you are diabetic. She also likes to experiment with different vegetables. If I am on the ball I will cut up a whole head of cauliflower or other vegetables and put them in a container so they are always ready to eat. Lately her favorite snack has been red cubes of red cabbage and red peppers are really yummy raw. We have learned to think outside of the box when it comes to snacks. Other suggestions are chicken salad, tuna, and cold cuts. I know most women don't like the thought of sardines, but if you like them, they are a fabulous carb-free snack. Another good resource is the book, "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetic Diet." He is a huge advocate of a carb free diet and has lots of meal and snack suggestions/recipes in that book. Good luck!

Hi, L.! I'm a nurse and would SO encourage you to contact Humphrey's Diabetes Center for help. You probably will need a referral from your OB/GYN to get in, but they have so many programs, recipes, and help for you, it's just unbelievable! They're just fantastic!

I'm proud of you for doing what you can to protect your own health and your baby's. There are only so many things you can control, as you know, and you're doing everything you can do take care of the things you can control. The rest is up to God. Pray a lot!!! I'll be praying for you, too!

Good luck, and may God bless your pregnancy!

Love, M.

L.,
I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my third pregnancy so I know what you are going through. Please see a diabetes specialist and a dietician whom your doctor can recommend you to. I saw Dr. Wilkes at Rose Hospital. They can put you on a diabetic diet which wasn't so bad when you get the hang of it. It's all about portion control and you are limited on certain foods but the dietician can go over that with you. They can give you suggestions on what foods you can have. It's all about less carbs, more protein and veggies. I lost like 14 lbs after 2 months of being on it. So when I went to have the baby, I only gained 6 lbs but my baby was a healthy baby girl of 6 lbs 14 oz. The diabetes didn't affect her at all bc I really monitored my glucose numbers. The key is to talk to the dietician about your diet and how you can modify it. Good luck to you and your new addition!

I have to say congrats. I too was on clomid for my first two children (high doses for many months) and then my wonderful son came to us...surprise...while I was even breastfeeding..wow talk about a shocker. I think I was still in denial the day i had him.

I am a nurse and take care of new moms and babies. I see women and babies all the time come in all the time who are diabetic who are very healthy. Talk to your Doctor and a Diabetic educator about your options. Don't stress out so much, this is a wonderful time.

L. -
Congratulatios on your upcoming arrival! I know you are nervous. I would say don't worry about your parents - it sounds like they were supporting your decision of not having children and are genuinely concerned for you. I would guess that they will also support you with a new baby.

As for snacks, as you know, look for things low in carbs. The best option is veggies. They have a lot of flavor, are good for you, have fiber to help you feel full, and are low in net carbs. You can eat them raw or steamed. I've liked to have broccoli, cauliflower, and celery in the fridge all ready cut up and in baggies so you can grab and eat. I also love carrots (they're higher in carbs though) and sugar snap peas and edamome (not sure of the carbs in those). The 'veggies' that are really a fruit (squash, peppers, tomatoes) are higher in carbs and so you need to be more careful with those.
Beef jerkey is a good low-carb snack once in a while (be careful of the sodium). Some people also like pork rinds as a substitute for chips - but sparingly!! (I personally think they are disgusting, they're nothing but fat)
You can have small stash of sugar free candy (Hershey's make some, they taste as good as the 'real' stuff). They should be a special treat though, as the sugar alcohols used to sweeten them can have a laxitive effect.

we have a gift child also!!! There are SO many out there. Don't tell them at Thanksgiving. Seriously, don't add that stress to the holiday! I was diabetic with 2 of my 7 pregnancies. Nuts are great snacks and Sam's Club has prepackages snack sized that are great to carry in a bag. I have some vague memory of cucumbers in vinegar water being a favorite.
Good luck...this baby will be your easiest, happiest and most "portable"...just like my little guy. I now wouldn't know what to do without him!

GOod luck.

Don't stress so much. It won't help your baby or anyone else. It sounds like you have very loving families so they will accept this baby as soon as they get over the shock.
I had gestational diabetes with my second child so I have a vague idea where you're coming from. Unfortunately, it's going to be a boring diet and you're just going to have to dig in and do what's best for your baby and yourself. I wanted fruit so badly when I was pregnant but with my blood sugar levels, I couldn't have any except for maybe some berries late in the afternoon and that still pushed the limits. For breakfast, almost every day, I would make egg beaters (I got the big boxes of them at Costco) with different veggies and proteins in them. My favorite was to put feta cheese inside the eggs and cold tomatoes on top at the end. If you can handle fruit in the morning, cottage cheese with berries (any kind) is great. For lunch I would make a big salad, again with any combination of veggies and protein in it. Good snacks are nuts...tons of them, all kinds, string cheese, turkey slices rolled up with peppers or scallions inside, tomatoes cut up with capers, raw veggies with dip, a low carb tortilla with some cheese and salsa, triscuit crackers with cheese, an apple with cheese. (My nutrition counselor said it was best to pair a carb with a protein, if you're going to have the carb at all). Some low sugar yogurts are okay, too. Dinner was usually some sort of grilled fish/meat with an interesting veggie. Sugar free jello (with whipped cream...woo hoo) and sugar free popsicles got me through the whole ordeal. It was very boring, especially when you're pregnant and you want Ben & Jerry's for every meal but just focus on having a healthy baby and you can get through anything. The very best thing I did was to see a nutritional counselor (specifically for diabetics). They'll be able to tell you everything you want to know. I found out about the diabetes around my fifth month and on the upside, I lost about 10 lbs. I gained a bunch of weight after the pregnancy (binging after being deprived for so long) and since then I re-adopted what I call the "diabetic diet"(although I was able to loosen it up a bit and eat fruit) and I've lost 50 lbs and I'm at a very good weight now.

The best of luck to you. You'll do what you have to and have a healthy, wonderful baby.

I would talk to your Doctor. They deal with diabetes and pregnancy everyday and will have great suggestions on what to and what not to have. Good Luck!

You sound like an amazing person. I'm sure that everything will work out okay! Best wishes to you!

We had almost the exact same situation with our third pregnancy. It took both of us awhile to get used to the idea of having another, and our family was worried at first also. Then, I ended up with Gestational Diabetes for the first time with that pregnancy also. Our daughter is 4 months old now and the light of all our lives, including the grandparents. I am a doula in the Aurora area and am happy to help if you want it!

That's amazing, and wonderful. My easiest low carb meals, particularly breakfast did take some getting used to. I have one of those little electric grills and grill lean cuts of meat with seasoning or use steak sauce after. And then steam veggies in the microwave. Those already in steaming bags are great if you don't have steaming containers. I also cook whole grain brown rice in the microwave... there's a recipe for it on the bag of one of them sold at walmart. I was surprised how much more flavor brown rice has compared to white. For breakfast, I scramble eggs up with milk as soon as I get them home from the store, and then I only have to microwave them every morning. They'll last a week that way. I also cook up a whole package of bacon or sausage links (you can get turkey meat links/patties) to reheat. Whole grain bread, the stuff that's really dense and has seeds in it... Pepperidge Farm has some, so does Great Harvest... with peanut butter spread on it works well. I use my carbs on either steamed veggies or fresh fruit. Apples and cheese are helpful. Nuts, already suggested. Salads work great, particularly Ceasar salads. They are very low in carbs and high in protein and the dressing has the taste. I just had to get used to meat and cheese. It took time and now I can't stand food with a ton carbs or sugar, tastes too sweet and just icky to me. Good luck and congratulations.