Oklahoma

Well, Michael and I made it safely to and back from Oklahoma! We had a great time, but of course for me, it is never long enough. The shower was fabulous and we got tons of cute stuff! Instead of cake, we had a chocolate fountain and it was alot of fun to play in! The girls even got a few sugar free things for me to use in the fountain!Here is a pic of me and the hostesses! From L-R: Sharla, Carrie, Andi, Me, Shayla, Leanna, Kathy and Tammie. Missing from the pic- Starla and Heather. My mom and sisters and I! (L-R)Kristen, me, Mom, and Carla.

Other updates: I am going to tons of appointments these days! I went in today (Monday) to Diabetes Management again to go on the insulin shot. The medication was not working as well as they hoped, so we went to plan B! Now we will try the shot and see how it goes. I also went for my first non-stress test which I will be going every Monday and Thursday from now until delivery for these tests. They measure the amniotic fluid, my blood pressure, the baby's heartbeat and any contractions. Hannah of course did not want to cooperate (those of you that have unsuccessfully wanted to feel her move should not be surprised by this) and so it took longer than I expected. All the results came back great and so it doesn't matter that she didn't cooperate well, except that I don't want it to take an hour and a half two days a week! Maybe she will do much better on Thursday. On Thursday I also go for an ultrasound and for my regular OB appointment. I am ready to see that she is still measuring on target and not getting too big too fast! I know it will be a pain to keep up with all of the appointments, but it is so great to know that I will get to listen to and see Hannah twice a week from here on out! I know that her moving lets me know that she is alive and well, but this way, I also get to know that she is healthy and on target!

The Weekend

Well, this weekend was really good! We had our first shower at the church and it was incredible! I can't tell you how much work went into it and it was everything I could have hoped for and SO much more! The girls had so many homemade touches everywhere, which made it so special for me. We had a great turnout and Michael and I got lots of great stuff for baby Hannah! Here are some pics!

Pic of me with the hostesses (L to R): Stacia, Cindi, Ginny, Me, Yolonda, Angie, and Christina.

The girls had a surprise for me and Michael. When he showed up toward the end to thank everyone for coming and all they had done, they had this "Daddy Duty" apron for him that had everything you can imagine shoved in all the pockets! It had a pacifier hanging off it, teething toy, baby food with spoons, bottle, diapers, wipes, booties, hair bands, bath time soap and lotion, toys, hand sanitizer, diaper cream...you name it, and it was there! Michael was a good sport and wore it during the remainder of the shower. Of course, I think part of that is because he liked the toy!

We feel so blessed to be loved by so many people here in Utah! I never thought that living here less than two years we could make such great friends and have a church we truly feel a part of. God is truly a great God!

Prayer of the week:

"He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled." Joshua 24:17b

Michael and I are very much looking forward to being in Oklahoma to spend some time over the holiday with family and friends and have a shower for Miss Hannah! However, we are not overly excited about the drive there! Pray that we would have safe travel and that we would be able to get the rest we need along the way. Pray that my blood sugar levels would be within the limits. I will be going on oral insulin this week and really want to get my number where they are supposed to be so that Hannah stays healthy.

Diabetes Update

Well, I went in and met with a diabetic specialist yesterday and got the 411 on the plan of action. I have to admit it was alot different than what I expected, but much easier to watch and keep track of than it used to be! I was given a meal plan guideline of how many carbs and proteins to eat at each meal and snack. I am now supposed to eat 6 times a day, three meals and three snacks, and check my blood sugar levels 4 times a day. I am sure it will take a few days of trial and error to get it all balanced like it is supposed to be, but I wrote out a plan for every meal and every snack up until we get back to Oklahoma and then went to the grocery store. Hopefully I have everything I need and that it will all go smoothly! The specialist kept telling me that I was making it harder than it has to be, but I just wanted all the details possible so that I could do well. I felt like I was back in school and wanted to know all the ways to be the teacher's pet! I go back to my OB next Thursday (the day we leave for OK), so I will find out what his plan of action is now for the rest of the pregnancy. They mentioned they would monitor me a little more, but I don't know if that is by ultrasound, non-stress tests, or what, so I am anxious to see what more we are going to do to make sure Hannah is doing alright in there!

Results

Well, I never posted after my last Dr. appointment because I was waiting on my test results. I got the call on Tuesday that I failed my 1 hour glucose tolerance test so I went in on Wednesday for the three hour fasting glucose test. I got the results on Friday morning that I failed it too! SO, I officially have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I will go on Tuesday to Diabetes Management for an appointment to find out how bad my numbers were and what the plan of action will be. Luckily, I am somewhat knowledgeable of diabetes with having an insulin dependent sister, so I am not as shocked and scared as most people when they get the diagnosis. I luckily know there are alternative ways to cook some of the sweets that we all love and my mom made alot of adjustments to recipes until she got them to taste pretty close the high sugar ones so I have some good resources to help through the holiday months! I was pretty prepared for this news since I knew that I had two of the biggest markers (being overweight and having diabetic family members) for it before I ever got pregnant! They say that there is only a 2% chance of having it after the baby is born, but if it doesn't go away, I know it isn't the end of the world. At this point, I just want to make sure that Hannah is healthy and that I do not grow a 10 pound baby, so I will do whatever it takes!

Michael and I went this weekend on the Deacon Retreat and we had a great time. We played a game on Friday night that was hilarious and based on information that the wives had turned in about their husbands. Then on Saturday (today) we had a speaker that I thought was highly entertaining and then we went to lunch with a bunch of people in Midway. I was kinda dreading going because I thought it might be boring, but all the people made it really fun! Next week we have the church baby shower in Utah and I am so excited! I have not bought Hannah one thing since I have been pregnant because I wanted to wait and see what we needed after the showers, so I have all these ideas of what I want for the nursery and for the baby in general, but I have resisted so far! The week after that (the 18th) is our shower at the church in Oklahoma and we are going to leave out that Thursday before and drive. Not looking forward to the 36 hours in the car, but glad that we are driving so that we will have a vehicle the week we are there and a way to get presents home! Plus it is a good way to force myself to do the Thank You's from both the showers since I won't have much else to do in the car!

The Utah Baby Boom has begun! We have 6 of us pregnant and due within three months of each other and Holly Malec was the first one to pop! She had a little girl, Isabella Marie, on Friday and Crystal Harper had her cerclage removed so she should go into labor any day now with little Ava! I think her scheduled C-Section is sometime this week, so if she hasn't gone on her own, I imagine they will still keep that date planned! I think that there is only one boy expected out of the six of us! Well, that is all for now! Hope you have a great week!

Prayer of the week:
"They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong." Psalms 73:4
Pray that I will be able to keep my blood sugar under control and have the self discipline needed to make it through the holiday temptations. Pray that Hannah will not be affected and that she will continue to grow into a healthy, happy, regular size baby!