Gestational Diabetes Update

Since I’ve been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I’ve been experiencing a lot more stress (I know, it's bad for the baby). My sugar levels were still occasionally high and not completely under control. It’s been frustrating because there have been days when I think I ate a proper meal and yet my sugar level was too high. Or, I ate the same thing for lunch two days in a row and one day my sugar level was fine but the next day it was too high. I’m tired of eating the same things day after day, and I’m tired of eating things I don’t want and not eating the things that I do. Most days I’m experiencing hunger throughout the day.

I still have appointments twice a week to monitor the baby’s heart rate and check the level of amniotic fluid. The baby’s heart rate has always been really good. Each nurse always comments that my baby is either, “crazy,” “very active,” or the nicer way one put it was, “she’s very happy.” At one appointment, it took 15 minutes to get her pinned down so that we could capture her heart rate. She wouldn’t stop moving.

At my last few appointments, I was getting some kind of non-favorable news. The level of amniotic fluid was nearing too high at one appointment and that was a cause for concern. It wasn’t technically “high” but to my dismay I was told what could happen if it did get to that level (fortunately, it was fine the following week). At another appointment, I was told that one of the doctors wanted to increase my medication to get my blood sugar levels under control. I’m not a fan of medication, especially while pregnant, and it discouraged me because I had failed to get my blood sugar levels under control.

But at last Friday's appointment I heard nothing but good news. Finally! The doctor was pleased with my sugar level numbers. I’ve had a few that were slightly high last week (but not much above the desired level), but the majority of the numbers were good. She did another ultrasound of the baby. She said that the baby looks good physically. The amniotic fluid level has decreased which is good -- typical as the due date approaches and a sign that the diabetes is under control.

The best news is that the baby is about 6 lbs 1 oz which is right where she should be. Babies typically gain a half of a pound per week, so with two weeks to go (and assuming my blood sugar levels remain under control), the doctor estimates that the baby will be between 7-8 lbs. This baby may actually be smaller than Karis (born at 8 lbs 2 oz)! I have been concerned about the possibility of having a C-section, but I should be able to deliver this baby with no problem.

With my last pregnancy, I mustered enough faith to know that God was in control and I trusted Him for the health and development of the baby. After all, there was only so much that I could do. But now with gestational diabetes, I have felt more ownership of the welfare of the baby. What I’m eating and the amount (or lack of) exercise that I do are having direct effects on her. Ultimately, I know that God is in control, but I can’t help but to feel a burden of responsibility. I’m trying to let it go and I'd like to think that I’ve been getting better with it. Since my last appointment, I've been resting easier and just trying to enjoy the last two weeks.

Here is a photo of the baby at 36 weeks. It’s a shot of her face with her hand in front of it.

Karis' 1st Concert

A couple of my friends and I took our girls to a local church where Jana Alayra was performing. Jana is a singer who started out a long time ago at Saddleback Church. She has a full line of music for both kids and adults. I have heard her as a speaker at a retreat and she is amazing.

My friend text'd me this morning to see if I wanted to go. I had so many things I wanted to do today. I had already vacuumed the whole house and I wanted to mop, paint the nursery, and hit a couple grocery stores. I knew Karis would much rather enjoy some music with other little kids instead of sitting in a shopping cart. So, I dropped my plans for the day and jumped in the shower to get ready.

Here are a few pictures and a video of Karis dancing that shows I made the right decision. =)

Hair

Karis finally has some hair! Not a lot, just some. Compare her at 10 months vs. 14 months.

That's it... just wanted to share that. =)

When Bad Behavior Goes Funny

Like most kids Karis' age, she throws food on the floor when eating in her high chair. When Karis does this, we reprimand her and tell her to put the food she doesn't want in the cup holder and not on the floor. For the most part, she's been pretty good about doing what we ask.

But then, she started putting food behind her head... most often when we're not looking. She finishes her meal and we think, "Wow, she ate great today." And then we take her out of her chair and half her meal is falling down behind her back.

So, whether putting food on the floor or behind her head, we firmly tell Karis "no." But her most recent "misbehavior" is not as easy. It's quite humorous and it's hard not to just laugh. Now she tries to see if she can get her food to stick to her head. It's the funniest thing. She knows that bananas and mandarin oranges stick best in her hair and pears and strawberries will stick to her forehead, if pressed up against it just the right way.

I try not to laugh or encourage her to do this. Here is my response (and hers) to sticking food on her head.

Baby Shower for Baby Girl #2

My Wednesday morning mom's group surprised me with a baby shower. We were scheduled to have a playdate, but when I arrived I found out we were celebrating the arrival of our baby girl. What a sweet surprise! We had a great breakfast spread, we hung out, I opened gifts and they prayed for our family.

Joy (our table leader) and Karis

The breakfast spread

Lots of kiddos playing

The whole gang (except for Chaundel, our mentor mom)

WANTED: One Little Bath Buddy

Karis loves her baths, but I know she would love them even more if she had a bath buddy. Maybe then, she'll do something else besides try to drink the bath water with her little toy tug boat. I can't wait until her little sister is old enough to join her in the tub. She's going to love it!

Five more weeks until Karis' baby sister arrives!

Wet Kisses

We finally found a renter to rent the downstairs room. He is a friend from church and it's been working out well. He brought his dog with him. The dog's name is Sierra and she is a very well-behaved Vizsla. Now Karis gets to live with a dog without us having to take care of it.

Karis of course loves to see the dog. Every time she hears her tag rattle, she gets excited. She enjoys watching Sierra from the baby gate (the dog doesn't come into our living area). Now that she's gotten used to the dog, she hangs out at the gate and lets Sierra lick her face. Bleck! I keep telling her, "Karis, dogs lick their butts," but it just doesn't seem to phase her.

Here are a couple of photos of the first time she let Sierra lick her face.

Cheap Thrills

One place I like to take Karis to that is free and close by is Petsmart. It's always nice to have a place to go to when you need to get out of the house for a little bit -- or feeling guilty b/c you're dragging your daughter around on a bunch of errands.

The Petsmart in our neighborhood has a Doggie DayCamp (a daycare for dogs). They have two large rooms, with floor to ceiling glass windows, where the dogs run around and play. Karis loves to watch them, especially when they interact with her through the window.

The dog area is usually the first spot we go to. Afterwards, we explore the aisles and then go look at the cats, birds and fish. We also try to find some dogs to pet since customers always bring their pups to the store.

Today was different. Karis went straight to the toy aisle to first pick out a couple balls she thought the dogs would like.

She grabbed two of them and took them to the dogs.

And then, she was off to explore (by herself) the rest of the store.

Lucky or Well Beyond Her Year?

Lately, Karis has been enjoying her favorite video called "Treehouse." The video was made by a local church, and it has some good lessons and catchy songs. There are three segments to the video. Karis and I watched one of them as a way to keep quiet while Derek slept in. When Derek came downstairs, I turned the DVD player off and told Karis, "No more, all done."

Since she couldn't watch her video, she wanted to play with the remote control. She's never played with this particular remote, but I let her have it since the DVD player was off. Little did I know that in less a minute, she turned the DVD on, scrolled down to "Scene Selection," and then picked a scene to play (that had to have been 4 or 5 buttons). Derek and I looked at each other in complete shock, while our content daughter continued watching the DVD.

We don't know how she managed to press just the right combination of buttons to get the DVD to play. It could have been an accident, but it sure did look like she knew just what she was doing!