Thursday, March 26, 2009

Weight & Gestational Diabetes Testing

I have been concerned about my weight recently too. Since my last midwife appointment a month ago, I have gained 12 lbs. I am planning on having a homebirth and am worried about any complications that might arise from gaining too much weight.

The midwife has now put me on a strict low carb/no-low sugar diet. I'm not measuring big. I don't have any other symptoms really. She was going to allow me to eat something sweet rather than do the crappy drink....but now she says with the weight gain I have to do the crappy drink. I'll do it sometime next week to get it over with and for me to not have to stress about it!

We looked at a few things tonight at the store after getting a "carb counter" book and the most important thing for me to get is fiber in the morning..... my cereal has tons of carbs (right now it is frosted fiber one) and I am lactose intolerant so add the rice milk carbs and I'm wayyyyyyy over my carbs for one meal. AND if I don't eat my fiberous cereal for one day... I get plugged. TMI. We're just going to have to give on the cereal.... and we're really going to have to figure out for the rest.....

and exercise here I come. I've been doing a swim class one day a week......
got a prenatal yoga video to do at home........
the nights are longer so we can walk outside (if it isn't raining in the Pacific NW)
or I have a treadmill I could use inside too......

It stresses me out to no end to think I might not be able to have a homebirth so will kick it into high gear as much as I need to....to be able to have one. AND HECK, I may go through all of this and not even HAVE it..... just have gained weight (31lbs at 24.5 weeks!)

Any encouraging words you want to share?
Protein/breakfast ideas with lots of fiber but low carbs?

I will do the test next week......the sooner the better for me not to stress......

ugh.

9 comments:

CiaoBella! said...

Randi, I gained a lot of weight each time, like 50 to 60 pounds, and had big babies. V was 9 lbs. 3 oz. And very healthy! It worked OK for me.
Aunt Mary

Ronnie said...

Trust your body. Unless you actually test positive for g.d. (and maybe even if you do!), this weight-gain pattern could be perfectly normal For You. Maybe your body puts on weight early and then you won't add any to it except the baby's growth. Ya know?

I will send you some e-mail addresses for fabulous support for homebirth under most/all circumstances.

Cori's Stories said...

Well, as a fat mother-to-be, I guess I should not give you any words to live by. That being said, the only thing I can thing of, is start walking every night. I need to get into birthing shape for the big day too, and plan on walking (and not strolling), and lifting the 5 pound weights. I guess doing stairs could help with the legs. This is all easy stuff, should not hurt you or baby, if you start out slow. I remember being SUPER sore in the arms and legs from giving birth to Bella. I do not want to be that sore again!!! My doctor beleives in doing it yourself. Other than making sure the baby doesn't hit the ground, it is all up to me.

Deb said...

Encouraging Hug in place of words.

*SQOOSH*

Anonymous said...

Don't stress! Remember first that it's in the midwife's best interest to respond conservatively to *any* deviation from average. She's got a license to protect. I don't mean that to sound cynical -- it's just the reality in Washington state.

Second, NO GUILT. Bodies react to similar circumstances in different ways, for valid reasons. If you are being kind to your body, you should feel good about your part in providing a good environment for your baby to grow in. Period.

Three pounds a week is a lot. But here's the thing -- your diet hasn't changed in that time, right? Ronnie has a point -- it's a *pattern*. There may be a very good reason that it's happening now and wasn't then. It doesn't mean you're going to continue at that rate until the birth.

If you're otherwise feeling well, I'd skip the GD test and the problems associated with it and just focus on diet. If you do get a positive test it doesn't mean that there's something wrong, but it does mean that at that point your pregnancy becomes medicalized. (If the midwife says no, we'll just focus on diet... then why not do that?)

I'd advise going heavy on fruits and vegetables (almost time for farmers markets, yay!,) do some whole grains, legumes and beans, are you a vegetarian? I can't remember, but if not, organic eggs and chicken and occasional red meat, and don't skimp on the good fats. Above all don't let yourself go hungry. Lots of small meals to aid digestion and spread out the resources.

Here's an interesting fact -- do you know that a cup of raspberries has as much fiber as a cup of Fiber One? And a cup of split peas has *twice* as much.

Yoga and swimming is prefect exercise for pregnancy.

Have you read The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer? Good stuff. Here's an article by her on GD, a must-read: http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregnancy/pcomplications/0,,9z3m,00.html

Nick, Megan, Chelsea and Tenlee said...

Big hugs Randi. Don't stress at all. The sugary drink really isn't that bad. I stressed out over it for quite awhile. Just tastes like really sweet koolaid. The hardest part was drinking it all quickly because I usually don't chug my drinks! :)

Keep us updated!!

Anonymous said...

"(If the midwife says no, we'll just focus on diet... then why not do that?)" -- I *meant* then why not just do that, in other words, what is the point of doing the test too?

I also forgot I wanted to respond to a previous comment. Honestly, normal birth doesn't need to be an athletic event. If it is, the director is directing you wrong! (If you want to talk more about this, I'd be happy to...)

Anonymous said...

I keep forgetting things I wanted to say :p --

There's a big hysteria in our society about "big babies". Anything over 8 lbs., people start getting nervous. But I really do think the problem is cultural context. First, you have women in managed birth birthing on their backs and pushing before their bodes are ready, skewing the obstetrical notion of what the human body is really capable of. Second, just like notions about proper infant weight gain are based in studies done when formula feeding was the norm, notions of proper maternal weight (which does loosely correlate with baby weight) are based in studies done when things like intentionally restricting calories and smoking were the norm.

Anonymous said...

Ok - I was borderling on my G.D. test - and as you know had a 10lb man-baby. :)

Here are my 2 or 3 cents for what they are worth:

1. Old Fashioned oats in the morning - so yummy and you can top with fruit instead of rice milk. I slice up a banana in mine or throw in some raisnis. (Oats are also very good for keeping you regular!! :) Do not, under any circumstances try to diet or over-exert yourself. Do what you can, but don't over do it on the exercise. Nap when you need to. Listen to your body. If it's hungry - eat. :)

2. Please don't stress about the crappy drink. SO not a big deal, you drink it and it's over. By the time you give birth it'll be a distant memory.

3. Right now every stage feels like it is SO crucial (and it is) but once you have that baby in your arms - the things you thought were so important really turn out not to be such a big deal.

4. Finally - I know you want a home birth - and believe me, more power to you when you do it. (Notice I said 'when' and not 'if' :) But, should it not go as planned, try to remember that regardless of how your baby gets here...you are no less a mom just because it didn't go exactly as planned.

Love and hugs!!!