A Guide to Gestational Diabetes

Disclaimer:  I am not a health professional.  This advice only comes from empirical knowledge of having gestational diabetes during both of my pregnancies.  These are simply tips that I am passing along to those who are seeking a little more guidance on the topic.

The first piece of advice, do not beat yourself up.  This was not because you indulged in sweets or didn't have the perfect diet.  Gestational diabetes is simply a response your body is now having in regards to your pregnancy.  That is why it is gestational diabetes.  During my first pregnancy when I failed both the 1 hour and 3 hour glucose tests, I was shocked.  My BMI was in the normal range, I did not have a sweet tooth besides the occasional chocolate, I had never kept sodas or juices in the house or a lot of junk food.  Initially I could not wrap my mind around the fact that this was something beyond my control at this point.  In order to effectively manage your GD, a positive attitude is necessary.  Let go of the mommy guilt.  There will be enough of that as you raise your child.

Mentally it can be very challenging to diet manage your GD.  Especially if you are already raising little ones or you work full-time or both.  Usually when meal times roll around you may be exhausted and the temptation to give into foods that are readily available will be great.  It is obvious that salads take more prep time than grabbing a sandwich and a bag of chips or hitting up a drive thru on the way home.  The largest motivating factor for myself was hitting my blood sugar target range.  I hated seeing a high number after a bad meal.  The disappointment that I felt left me regretting the cheeseburger and fries.  After a few of these experiences your brain won't even want those foods that cause your blood sugar to spike.

Cost is also an additional challenge.  We all know a big pot of spaghetti is certainly a cheaper and easier alternative than buying the various ingredients for a more healthy meal and preparing them.  You will learn quickly that pasta is a big no-no on with this diet.  The amount you are allotted is not worth the time and it can really spike your blood sugar.  Everyone will react differently of course but after attempts at eating my favorite pasta dishes, I ended up omitting this from my diet.

Take heart!  You can keep costs down, it is not all salads and prep work.  If you are a fan of chicken, buy lots of chicken breasts.  In my grocery store you can frequently find sales or bulk packs of chicken.  For my evening meal I would pair baked chicken with any kind of veggie.  We live in a wonderful age of microwavable steamers.  I frequently find these on sale at Target.  It is very easy to bake a chicken and then microwave your veggie.  Voila!  There is your meal.  If you are pressed for time bake lots of chicken at once and have it for the next couple of days.  Then all you have to do is wait the 5 to 7 minutes for your vegetable to cook.  I know when I started this diet I thought a meal like that would not fill me up.  But it did.  In between the protein and the fiber from the veggies, I felt full.  I also had extra energy from all the protein I was eating.

We also live in the age of thin breads.  Remember the sandwich I mentioned earlier?  I loved my sandwich and chips for lunch.  Now they sell these quaint little thin breads that I would fill with chicken or egg salad.  And I would have a side of baby carrots with that.  It is a variation but you still get the crunchy part with a slightly smaller sandwich.  You could also use a tortilla and make a wrap.

At this point I need to mention water.  Drink, drink, drink.  We should be drinking a lot of water during pregnancy but with GD you need to be even more vigilant about your intake.  This is especially important if you have had a heavy meal.  Slipped up and had a few too many slices of pizza?  Start drinking that water girl like a camel and your bump is a hump.  Water will help stabilize those sugars.  It will not exactly fix the mistake but it will bring your levels down faster.  Do not think you can eat bad and drink water everyday.  I had a St. Patty's day where I indulged a little too much in cake and no amount of water was bringing that number down.

Speaking of pizza.  There is no need to part ways with this friend that is beloved around the world.  Two words: thin crust.  With GD I was able to eat 2 relatively large slices of thin crust pizza from a take and bake place.  Again, this is not something you would do every night but I used it as a little reward for a good week of eating.

While on the topic of fast food, I know that many major chains offer salads or wraps now.  My willpower is not very good so I ended up saying goodbye to most of these places.  It was just easier for me.  Places that serve tacos seemed to have the best carb counts.  I could have two soft shell tacos and not be over the allotted number of carbs for that meal.  If you travel frequently you will need to have access to the number of carbohydrates at these restaurants.  Thankfully most places now have that available and it shouldn't be too large of an issue.

It is afternoon and you need a snack.  Traditionally you could probably grab a muffin or a banana but with GD those are not very good options.  Bananas are loaded with sugar as are muffins.  I ate a lot of hard-boiled eggs.  They do take time to peel and if your blood sugar is dropping than a faster option is yogurt.  Buy lots of yogurt.  It is usually on sale and is a quick way to get that snack in.  For my snack at night I made my own trail mix.  The trail mix that you buy at the store is usually more expensive and comes with unnecessary sugar.  I would buy the big containers of almonds from any grocery-selling store, dried cranberries from Target (they are super-cheap there), and throw in some pieces of dark chocolate chips.  Dark chocolate is easier on your blood sugar.  I could eat about a handful or so of this for a snack.  It was actually a snack that my husband I still enjoy.

These are just a few of the many tidbits that I picked up while having GD during my first pregnancy and now again with my second.  I may do a second part to this because there is much more to cover.  It may seem daunting at first to overhaul your diet but after a few days it just becomes second nature.  And after a couple of weeks your are a pro.  Keep your chin up!  Remember it is only something that lasts for a few months out of your life.  It may be difficult to keep that perspective as you jab your finger four times a day but think of it as a science experiment or a challenge.  Personally, having a glucose monitor changed some of my eating habits forever.  :) 

               

Where Have All The Flowers Gone

“How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.” – Mother Teresa

Abortion.  Say the word on social media or in certain company and you are likely to regret bringing it up.  But the practice remains and so the debate will wage on as long as it is acceptable within some circles.  In my over three decades on the planet, few things shock me or leave me wondering.  However since becoming a parent for the first time, mothers who support abortion have me puzzled.

The experience of growing a life is a profound experience.  It sounds cliche but there is really nothing like it.  With both of my babies I felt the changes happening in the first two weeks.  It literally feels like something growing, rooting into your body.  With my first pregnancy I didn't understand what the experience would mean for me or how it would change me.  Now with my second, I am in awe of how quickly life forms.  Even at an ultrasound at 10 weeks, I could see tiny little arms and legs sprouting from my child's torso.  It took only those few weeks and my baby was already a tiny human.

Of course science would disagree with me.  At this stage, I believe it is called a fetus and before that an embryo.  To me my children were always my children, they were always my babies.  And as they grow older and come home from school talking about those clinical terms, I will tell them that sometimes teachers aren't always right, sometimes scientists aren't always right.  I will tell them that they were always humans who deserved to be here as much as anybody else.

 I believe that is why I have such a hard time understanding how a mother, who has gone through the experience of pregnancy, could support abortion.  From your very first appointment you hear the heartbeat, and later on you may have one or more ultrasounds, showing you exactly what is happening inside your body.  With technological advances, there is little mystery to the process anymore.  And I had hoped this demystification would lead to a revolution of thought, that life forms very quickly and that is should be treated with respect.  

In the state of Minnesota, for instance, there are fines and punishment if you are caught uprooting the state flower, a Ladyslipper.  Why do we not afford the same protection to our fellow humans?  The quote from Mother Teresa seems to speak of her own puzzlement at the situation.  How can we disregard something that brings such joy to our hearts and to the world?  Is parenting challenging?  Sure it is but the child that we grew, will allow us to grow in ways we could never even imagine.  I only know this from going through the process and this is not said from not having experienced it myself.

My hope is that one day humanity will look back and wonder why we let this detestable practice continue.  Why did we allow millions of opportunities for growth and joy to be cruelly ripped from this planet with less regard than taking a weed out of a garden.  While I may never understand why some mothers agree with abortion, I know that eventually technology will be a force for good in this situation.  It will show us even more of how human life progresses and why we need to protect the voiceless because they are the most in need of guardians after all.  

  

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Information Noise Age

A few years ago I read a paper entitled, "The Mind Has No Firewall".  This was in relation to the potential for psychological warfare on the battlefield and how to protect the mind from external stimuli.  I have read it a few times since and the topic endlessly fascinates me.  Here is a quote that will give a better understanding of this type of warfare:

"Solntsev also examined the problem of "information noise," which creates a dense shield between a person and external reality. This noise may manifest itself in the form of signals, messages, images, or other items of information. The main target of this noise would be the consciousness of a person or a group of people. Behavior modification could be one objective of information noise; another could be to upset an individual's mental capacity to such an extent as to prevent reaction to any stimulus. Solntsev concludes that all levels of a person's psyche (subconscious, conscious, and "superconscious") are potential targets for destabilization."

Upon reading this I began to wonder, what sort of information noise do I already have in my life that is not allowing me to fully interact with my environment?  Of course the usual suspects pop up: social media, texting on my cell phone, online gaming, a television that is on too much.  It struck me as highly ironic and funny that a tactic the military considers using against their enemies is one that we voluntarily engage in on a daily basis.   

Information noise is probably the least understood but most relevant issue facing humanity today.  The rapid progress of technology has fundamentally changed the way we perceive and interact with our world today.  Recently, I unfriended someone on a social media site because we simply were not getting along well online.  I was then accused of erasing them from my life.  Our online presence has become so immersed into our real lives that we forget that the two are separate but not equal.

So how do we deal with all of this external stimulation and remember that we are carbon-based beings and not online avatars?  How do we create a firewall for the mind but still engage in facets of modern society?  We simply press the button.  Shut off the computer and literally shut off the phone.  Technology breaks are a necessity of our society. 

I recently took a forced break due to circumstances beyond my control.  I have to say it was very refreshing and it actually wasn't long enough.  My brain had become accustomed to checking my phone every 10 minutes and it was difficult at first.  A lot of self-talk helped.  I had to remind myself that if someone was really hurt or in trouble they would contact my husband.  I had to remember that I grew up in a house with a land line and that was the only way people could get in touch with me.  It was perfectly acceptable then and it shouldn't be any different now. 

So while we cannot truly create a firewall for our minds or block everything out, we can unplug from the system.  The constant barrage of information noise is not a necessity of a healthy lifestyle.  In fact, many recent studies are showing how harmful it can be overall to a person's health.  From sitting too long, or staring too long at a screen, or forgetting that we are not our online personas. 

Here is the link to the article, "The Mind Has No Firewall".

http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/articles/98spring/thomas.htm        

         



  

Happy Birthday A-Fresh

It is my husband's birthday today and in honor of this occasion I am devoting a blog entry to him.  I met Andrew almost 13 years ago.  We were both working at a casino.  He was a fresh-faced youth right out of high school and I was on my way back to college after the summer spent working.  I never expected a friendship to last after that summer and I certainly could not foresee eventually marrying and having children with him.    

When we were parting ways that August, he wrote his university contact information on a piece of cardboard.  It is funny the things that we remember.  Maybe that cardboard was symbolic.  It wasn't on my hand, which could be wiped off, or a piece of paper easily ruined.  It was something more solid and stable than that.  I didn't see that in him at the time but that is who is he, someone steadfast and true to his word.  Someone who wouldn't go away.   

We kept in contact through email mostly and over Christmas break we met up at the casino again.  I was seeing someone else by this time and he tried to persuade me to end it.  But geographically it would have been difficult so I declined the offer.  Soon we were both seeing other people.  The emails stopped coming and I believed that was the end of our friendship.  Looking back, I see how God had to have had a hand in our eventual marriage.  The sequence of events were too uncanny. 

Eventually our relationships ended at the same time roughly and we sought each other out again.  But I still saw him as the young guy from the casino and while we dated, I didn't think he was to be my mister forever after.  If there is one thing about Andrew that should be noted,  he is persistent.  I have watched him call people over and over again until he gets an answer.  It used to annoy me but now I see that is probably why we are together.  A less hearty man would have given up on me, as I sent out the vibes that I was no longer that interested.  But he stayed and I began to see in him the potential that existed for a long-lasting, happy life together.

Time and God's will took over, and we eventually married.  I am not going to whitewash it and say it was idyllic.  The first few years we were still very young and not emotionally developed.  He was 22 and I was 24.  There were times when I didn't know how long we would last.  But we forged ahead and stuck with it.  And then we had a child together.  I thought I had seen all sides to my husband in the course of over 10 years together but then I saw how he loved our child.  He has a patience with her and a tenderness that only make me love him more.  I don't know why I thought there was a cap on the amount of love you could feel but he has proved me wrong.

So this blog is my ode to him.  To the man who helped me get through college, stood by me during my darkest times, held my hand when there were tragedies, makes me laugh every day, pokes fun at me so that I don't take things too seriously, does the dishes for me when I cut my finger, walks the dog every day even in bitter cold, grabs me Burger King to indulge my pregnancy cravings, etc...Happy birthday my dear husband.  P.S. If I ever make you mad, just refer to this blog and remember all the nice things I told the world about you. ;)   

                  

True Colors

We all have bad habits.  Some of us bite our nails, some of us smoke, or drink.  I have an unusual bad habit: I like to assume that people know my heart.  I don't know when this started or why.  It could be the product of small town life.  Gossip travels fast in those communities and you don't want to be known as a bad apple, or at least I didn't.  I got decent grades, showed up for jobs on time, and tried to keep my side of the street relatively clean.

After a while you know that others view you as a trustworthy person.  So this is the naive attitude I took with me into the wide world after graduation.  It worked fine in college dorms because they are like small communities.  But then I got into the corporate world.  Suddenly, it didn't matter anymore.  It didn't matter what my heart said or who I knew myself to be.  If you swiped your badge more than three times, you got punished.  If you accidentally took a longer break than you were supposed to, there was feedback.  If you missed work too many times due to things out of your control, well you get the point.

Ever so slowly, I realized that I didn't matter.  My core being meant nothing to society.  I was a cog in a machine and I had to act accordingly.  My worth only came from fulfilling certain functions.  So the person that I presented to the world, the one that lives in my heart began to hide, to disappear.  You learn to compartmentalize yourself.  Now as a parent, I see that same theme repeating itself.  I am not complaining about parenting but with a second child on the way, I find myself disappearing even more.  I see that I need to fulfill certain requirements and that what I have in my heart doesn't matter.  If I complain about it, I am seen as a bad parent or selfish, although I know I love my children very much. 

And while the rest of the world doesn't seem to understand my worries or concerns, my mother does and she sees my heart.  I came across a passage in the Bible that helped me understand why people, even close to me, just didn't understand me, or know that while I may have grievances about life, my heart was true.  In Matthew 11:27 it states,

"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

This is the bond I believe God gives us between parent and child.  Your child may be acting out in rotten ways, throwing things, or screaming, but you can look in their eyes and see their heart.  You can see that these things are external, that their actions are not who they are.  This passage helped me make sense of why time and time again it only seems that your mom or dad understands you.  Not even your spouse, or your friends.  

Most parenting is unconditional love because they brought you onto this planet and bear a great responsibility for you, even as you age.  There are certainly conditions with the love you have between you and your spouse and you and a friend.  Those are people that can walk away but it is harder for the parent to break that bond with the child. 

I have heard stories of people saying they could feel something was wrong with their child, even hundreds of miles away.  They would call and find out that the child needed to talk.  I don't understand how this works but it seems to belong to a realm we are unable to see.  So while the whole rest of the world may only need you to fulfill certain roles to keep our societal machine moving, there were at least two people in your life who saw your eyes as a baby.  They know that in your heart you still have that innocence, that need to be loved, and that you are more than what the world wants you to be.  

         

My Happiest Blog Ever

In the last few years I have explored a variety of topics on this blog.  My college experiences, spiritual warfare, and being a parent for the first time.  Like a true looking glass, my blog has reflected my increasing negativity with the world around me.  I mean, come on, what's to like these days?  Do we really like the rapid pace at which information bombards our neurons on a daily basis, desensitizing us and making us feel small and helpless?  Do we like the ever-multiplying tentacles of government reaching into our lives, suctioning on, like leeches, siphoning off money and our privacy?  The increasing noise and light pollution as population centers become a living organism showcasing the materialism and greed that feeds our dysfunctional system?  Susan Powter is in my head now crying out, "Stop the insanity!"  So I will listen to Susan and her closely cropped hair and focus on what I love about this world and what I am grateful for.

I love my family.  My husband has been my biggest fan and supporter in whatever I have decided to do.  He had no qualms about me returning to school and finishing my degree.  He waited patiently while I decided whether I wanted to try and have a child or to pursue a career.  I really am not equipped to do both and he totally understood that.  He makes me laugh every single day with the exception of when we had Norovirus.  But we may have cracked a few jokes about not having anything left to throw up, totally underestimating the power of that virus.  Yes, you will throw up when there is nothing left and it will hurt.  Do not make fun of Norovirus, it is the Sean Penn of the virus world.

I love my daughter.  She also makes me laugh everyday but she does more of a Three Stooges routine.  She literally has tried to poke my eyes out and it is funny.  My little family is everything to me and, for the moment, they are my purpose on this planet.  God has gifted me with beautiful souls and it is an awe-inspiring, humbling experience.

I am eternally grateful for the bond I have with my mother.  She had me at a young age and in some ways we have grown up together.  Frequently, I will call her or she will call me and we will be thinking of the same things to cook for dinner.  I see now in my relationship with my daughter, the psychic link that develops between mother and child.  It transcends anything measurable or evidence based.  It is of great comfort to know that there is at least one person on the planet who is feeling the way you do or at least has the capability to look into your eyes and immediately understands, with no questions.  This often leads me to wonder about Mary and her son Jesus.  If she felt what he was going through when he bore the cross for the rest of humanity.

Finally, I love and am grateful for me.  Hey, I wouldn't be here without me.  That makes sense in my head and Susan Powter agrees.  I believe we all go through moments where we gaze into our own looking glasses and say, "Who the hell are you?"  Maybe it happens after a night of too many cocktails, or after you have lost your temper with a loved one.  A moment of self-loathing.  If you haven't been there, well you are probably delusional and I'll send Ms. Powter to help you.

Too much of my life was spent not appreciating the hazel eyes that were looking back at me.  I didn't see the funny, sweet, strong person in my looking glass.  I think only because of my daughter I see someone different.  Through her new eyes, I see the person that I know I am capable of being.  She doesn't know my past, she doesn't see how hard I am on myself.  She just sees mommy.  The one who feeds her everyday and plays with her.  The one who sings to her, sometimes slightly off-key, okay, maybe a lot off-key.  But that is all she knows and really, that is all I would like to know too.  The person who tries her hardest but still sometimes fails and picks herself back up again.  As Mary watched Jesus and only saw his humanity.  That is what I want to see, just me through the lens of resurrected sight.  :)            

 

         

Angelina Jolie Did Not Have Breast Cancer

Recently, in an Op-Ed for the New York Times, Angelina Jolie talked openly of undergoing the procedures to remove her breasts due to the occurrence of the BRCA#1 found on her genetic testing results.  The words 'brave' and 'beautiful' are being splashed alongside pictures of the glamorous actress as she becomes the new poster child for breast cancer.  And therein lies the problem: she did not actually have breast cancer.  But that all seems to have been lost in the glare of Hollywood lights, as fans roll out in support of the actress calling her their hero.  

While most are commending her decision, some see this as merely another symptom of a fearful, insecure society.  A culture that has embraced even the most extreme preventative measures for what the future might actually bring.  Because the future is and will always be, uncertain.  This is a society living with science at the helm, and not putting our faith fully in God's plan for our life.  A society that removes portions of their bodies out of the fear of the unknown.  Without God there is no certainty of what may happen when the body breaks down.  Angelina used many resources to have these procedures done on a body that did not have cancer, only the genetic capability for it.  Instead of using the knowledge to remain vigilant of her health, she let fear lead her.    

Fear is not heroic.  The woman who is actually battling breast cancer and who decides to have a double mastectomy is heroic.  The highly paid actress having expensive procedures done on a healthy body is not brave or beautiful, it is unnecessary and maybe a serious cry for attention.  She did not battle something and then live to tell the tale, as many women have done.  Yet now she is, for the moment, seen as a survivor of a cancer that was never there.  A hero's journey that was never undertaken.  She never spent months on chemo and radiation, watching her hair fall out, barely able to crawl out of bed, and feeling sick to her stomach every day.  

As this story makes its way through the media, may we remember the real heroes, the women who did not have unlimited finances and dealt with breast cancer on God's terms.