As of yesterday's OB appointment, I am sitting at 3cm dilated and 95% effaced. Baby has been passing the non-stress tests (standard procedure with gestational diabetes) with flying colors and the doc keeps calling him a "Happy Baby" based on his movements.
Oh, did I mention that I do have gestational diabetes again this time around? Had it with J also. The first time around, it was almost... fun. I was so gung ho about it. Watching what I ate, "beating" my sugar numbers as I tested my blood sugar 4x a day. It's really nothing- just a finger prick and feeding a blood droplet into a tiny machine, takes less than 30 seconds. I could even do it while sitting at a red light. (Not that I ever did... or did I?) I ate so healthy and did moderate exercise each night. It's easy when you have only one other kid and he's like almost 4 years old. I actually lost weight during that pregnancy. My net gain was 10 lbs and baby J was 9 lbs so...
This time around, it's a whole different ballgame. With 3 kids to chase after and being in temporary housing quarters, it's a bit tougher. Plus I've been through it before and it's just not so fun this time around. I just want to eat what I want to eat. In Shenyang I thought it was challenging because it wasn't as easy to find or cook foods that were low carb and low sugar. Ironically, it's harder in the States because I'm SURROUNDED by foods I want to eat that are so easily accessible.
All I want are some Cheetos, a root beer float, a big plate of white pasta, a cookie and some fries. Is that really too much to ask?
As you probably guessed, I have to be on a strict diet while gestionally diabetic. That means no more than 20-30g of carbs per meal, and mandatory snacks in between meals with no more than 10-15g of carbs. I also need to stick to whole grain carbs and eat as much protein as I can. This means almost all fruits (berries are better than most) are out, as are dessert and juice, anything white carby.
Some of my go-to snacks have been: hard boiled egg, string cheese, Greek yogurt, trail mix. Trader Joe's has an AWESOME trail mix that I absolutely adore. It comes premeasured in packs so I'm not tempted to eat a gallon of it and it comes with chocolate in it. Chocolate! All in a nice little 9g carb bundle. I mix that with some plain Greek yogurt and we're good to go
The good news about gestational diabetes is that it usually goes away after the baby is born. It's one of those freak hormonal things. I'm already making a mental list of all the things I want to eat even while I'm still at the hospital. In addition to the above items, I'd like sushi, a glass of orange juice, Korean black bean noodles, and a nice Belgian ale.
If Baby isn't here by April 24, I will be induced. Logistically, it would be ideal if he could come after Easter, but at this point, I'd be happy to go into labor tonight. Right now even.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Ice, ice baby
I don't know about you, but I drink water when I'm thirsty and am in need of refreshment. And when I'm thirsty and in need of refreshment, I want something cold, preferably with ice. Back where I come from (as in the good ol' US of A), water, soda or juice are automatically served cold or iced, no questions asked.
Not so in China. My friend Ning explained that traditional Chinese medicine recommends drinking lukewarm water close to the body temperature so as to not to overburden the internal organs. Makes sense. But yet...
The most interesting experience with this was when N and I went on a lunch date at Cafe Liao, which is a luxurious buffet at the Shangri La here. We love that restaurant, by the way. It has an Eastern food section as well as Western (including an Indian food section... wait, would that be Eastern or Western?), imported cheeses and gourmet deli meat, a killer dessert bar complete with homemade ice cream, just to name a few of their offerings. We were served warm water, and being a thirsty pregnant lady who is probably running a few degrees warmer than normal, I requested iced water. The server looked at me nervously and murmured something in Chinese, that I took to NOT mean, "Sure, no problem." A few minutes later, the manager of the restaurant comes to our table and double confirms that it indeed is ice water that I wanted. He then nervously cautioned me that it IS snowing outside and that I AM pregnant... I insisted that it was OK and he brought me the ice water, though hesitantly.
I almost always get a similar reaction when I ask for ice water when we go out to eat. A lot of times, they are taken aback or confused. Sometimes they just flat out say no, not because they are refusing to serve me what I want, but simply because they don't have it available. I think a lot of restaurants just boil the tap water (which "they" say is not safe to drink straight from the tap), and that's all they have. If you want soda, it comes room temperature, or at best cool but with no ice.
A friend of mine suggested that maybe the ice they have is the issue, that it hasn't been made with previously boiled or filtered water.
Oh.
Well, even IF I've been drinking ice water with contaminated ice, I have yet to get seriously sick so I guess it's OK.
Not so in China. My friend Ning explained that traditional Chinese medicine recommends drinking lukewarm water close to the body temperature so as to not to overburden the internal organs. Makes sense. But yet...
The most interesting experience with this was when N and I went on a lunch date at Cafe Liao, which is a luxurious buffet at the Shangri La here. We love that restaurant, by the way. It has an Eastern food section as well as Western (including an Indian food section... wait, would that be Eastern or Western?), imported cheeses and gourmet deli meat, a killer dessert bar complete with homemade ice cream, just to name a few of their offerings. We were served warm water, and being a thirsty pregnant lady who is probably running a few degrees warmer than normal, I requested iced water. The server looked at me nervously and murmured something in Chinese, that I took to NOT mean, "Sure, no problem." A few minutes later, the manager of the restaurant comes to our table and double confirms that it indeed is ice water that I wanted. He then nervously cautioned me that it IS snowing outside and that I AM pregnant... I insisted that it was OK and he brought me the ice water, though hesitantly.
I almost always get a similar reaction when I ask for ice water when we go out to eat. A lot of times, they are taken aback or confused. Sometimes they just flat out say no, not because they are refusing to serve me what I want, but simply because they don't have it available. I think a lot of restaurants just boil the tap water (which "they" say is not safe to drink straight from the tap), and that's all they have. If you want soda, it comes room temperature, or at best cool but with no ice.
A friend of mine suggested that maybe the ice they have is the issue, that it hasn't been made with previously boiled or filtered water.
Oh.
Well, even IF I've been drinking ice water with contaminated ice, I have yet to get seriously sick so I guess it's OK.
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