phew.

so i saw the nutritionist today and to make a long story short i should just be able to eat like a normally would. for some reason i just didn't trust this glucose test. it seems a little absurd to me, so i did a little experiment myself. i would NEVER eat that much in sugar and carbs, so i got my monitor, starting testing and ate normal for a couple days. and voila, my numbers are great. basically they want you under 120 2 hrs. after you eat. my range as been 85-100 with me eating like a would with just minor tweaks. like last night i had a huge bowl of pasta but skipped the roll. apparently i should have eaten the roll b/c i was 88 after. THAT i feel is more accurate. so i think the test is a crock :) and asked the nutritionist about it. i guess b/c i do normally eat pretty good my usual diet will still work. i need to eat more on a schedule (easy enough) and she said it's trial and error when it comes to what my body can handle. she gave me a set meal plan-- broken down to how many servings of carbs, protein, fat, etc. for every meal, but after she saw my numbers for the past few days basically told me i didn't have to follow it. phew. measuring seemed like a real pain. granted, if i had crazy numbers i would have done it. something just didn't feel right about it all, so i'm glad i tried it my way. i figured if my numbers were outrageous with a normal day that would prove that yes, kara, you do in fact need to watch EVERY little thing you eat. i just wasn't buying it.

i did lose a lb from 2 weeks ago and the nutritionist said that's actually pretty normal after you find out you have this b/c people "freak out." yea, that was me. she definitely wants me gaining more weight (since i started out underweight i should gain 30-40 lbs--yea, right) about a lb a week which would put me at about 27 lbs. she was putting me on a 2000 calorie a day "diet" but she's letting me eat what i want. i go back in 2 weeks and take another look. sometimes as the pregnancy goes along your body has a harder time, so we'll see. if my numbers are still could maybe i would only have to test once or twice a day, and maybe eventually just when i feel like i need to.

then i saw dr. patronella, who says i'm growing perfectly, fin's heartbeat was great, my blood pressure was great and she's not worried at all that finley's getting too big. so all in all, good news. i feel a huge sense of relief (this has been in the back of my head since last week) and just want to make sure i'm doing the best for finley. but i also really want a cupcake at my shower this weekend. pair a carb with a protein so a cupcake and a couple pieces of cheese should do the trick. :)

ugh.

well 3 hrs, 4 pricks and one terribly disgusting glucose drink later come to find out i do in fact have gestational diabetes. i had a feeling since the beginning that for some reason i would have this. it's almost funny (almost) that i've NEVER had to watch what i eat in my 27 years of living. i've been extremely fortunate to be able to eat whatever i want and now is the time that everyone says "you get to eat whatever you want! you're eating for 2!" i actually can't. like i said, almost funny. i've done some research about it and it's really not the end of the world, it's just a little overwhelming at the moment. the risk is that i'll have a big baby. weird, huh? i mean for me it's kinda weird. i don't fit any of the criteria for people at risk except that i'm over 25 (excessive weight gain? nope. history of diabetes in the family? nope. obese? nope). it does not mean she will have diabetes or that i still will after she's born. all should be back to normal once she comes. and when i was leaving the doctor's office here is a conversation i had with the receptionist:

receptionist: "so did you pass?"
me: "nope"
r: "really?? you look like the poster for health. so thin and in shape. i can't believe it!"
me: "yep, just not my day."
r: "wow."
at this point i almost jumped over the counter. clearly she couldn't tell i had just cried in front of the nurse so i don't need her to tell me how surprising this is.

i'm only letting myself sulk for the afternoon. then i'll snap out of it. we've got way too many other things to be thankful for to let this bug me this much. it sucks, yes, but there are certainly worse things. there's nothing i did to cause this. i know this, i just need an afternoon to be mad. i told erin it's my karma for having such a smooth pregnancy thus far.

so i have to change my diet a bit (eat quite a few small meals throughout the day instead of just 3 big ones) and check my blood sugar 4 times a day. i see the nutritionist on tuesday for more details. till then i keep track of what i'm eating and she'll show me how to check my sugar. after reading about it and see what's recommended to eat it's actually not that different from what i already eat. i was actually trying to eat better with her anyways, now it's just a matter of really paying attention to it. and cut out sweets. you know i love me some sweets, but i'll do anything to make sure she's as healthy as possible. somebody just make sure to get me a big bag of reeses for after. and not like the minis, the real reeses. i already told brandon to make sure he gets some cadbury eggs for me to have after.

i can handle this for the next 10 weeks.

PB.

PB= pregnancy brain. this should be a real diagnosis. doctors should warn you that you will turn into a stranger. a stranger who is unorganized, forgetful, and ditsy. I pride myself at work that I remembe EVERYTHING about my kids. Who's allergic to what, who doesn't get along with who, who rides what bus, who's mom wants to hear every detail about everything, where I put something 5 seconds ago, you get the drift. this year i'm like another person. it's so bad even a couple administrators have said something to me. not like in a bad way, just "kara, that's not like you." don't worry, i'm still completely capable of being charge of a room full of 6 year olds, but thank goodness they keep me on track.

there was also the time i thought my car was completely broken in the driveway and had a friend come pick me up and bring me to work. only to discover that my car just needed gas. i've NEVER missed the light that comes on.

and the other day tamara had to convince me that i am in fact 27 years old. she's only a few days older than me, but i still didn't believe her. who does that?

several people had told me that my brain will not return to me. eh, i'll get used to it.

peek.

2 productive weekends in a row, and we're working our way through our "MUST get done before April" list. this weekend tracy came to help b paint finley's room. they were speed demons and had it all done (except touch-ups) by the time i got home from teaching sat. school at 1:00. it looks perfect. we didn't really want the typical "baby" room so we went the opposite of pink and her room is blue-ish. the color is technically called "jamaica bay" so it's more in the teal family. its definitely the color i had in mind, thank goodness. they also took down her light and put up a new fan/light. it's white so not terribly exciting for most people, but i'm stoked about it!

so here's a sneak peek at what we're working on. the kitchen chair gives us an idea of what her dark furniture will look like in there since we have to wait a bit for that. try to keep up with my crazy ideas. :) There are a few other projects we're working on for her room that you'll just have to wait to see. We can't explain our madness...

Bumper (obviously) and pinwheels i made that we're framing on the walls

Made from scrapbook paper. We'll probably just use 4 of them. 

queen.

she. is. a dancing queen!

i think you can see when she's moving. i can see it, but i also know my stomach doesn't usually move like that. :) sorry it's a weird angle.

sure this keeps me up at night, but i think i'll miss it in a few months when she's out. it'll be great to actually SEE her doing all these kicks and punches, however, it's nice to have company all day everyday. another thing that wakes me up are charlie horses. now THOSE i will not miss.

we've read that whatever music she hears now quite a bit she'll like when she's out. that we could actually play it or sing it when she was upset and it would make her feel better. my fear was we were going to have to sing the days of the week and months of the year songs b/c that's what she here's EVERYDAY when i'm at school. maybe i'll start playing the songs that are on this blog to her every night. they're a little more enoyable.

loot.

we are eternally grateful to the shuleys for giving us so much stinkin stuff. and the best part is, it's all stuff we (I) love. erin has great taste so i knew the clothes would be super cute and i also know she'd only get the best for gracie girl. here is our dining room at the moment:

i would say 90% of this stuff was given to us. not just from the shuley's, but also the rest of our family who couldn't wait to spoil finley. we tell each other everyday how lucky we are.

not only are we grateful to the shuley's, but also for having a house with a few "extra" rooms so we can organize everything and keep finley's room empty-- per my request. it just makes me feel better to have a clean slate to work with. right now we have a template of where the furniture may go when it eventually comes in. our awesome furniture is a-whole-nother story though. let's just say we went in nov. to order it so i could have peace of mind and get that done. it should be here any day now, or so we thought. b called to check on it, and it'll be here the 2nd week of march. yes, MARCH. and yes, finley will be here in april. if you know me at all, you know i like to be prepared. getting her nursery done a month before is not prepared enough for me, however, i'm thankful for so many other things at the moment this is really not a big problem. we'll make it work.

anyways, we've got a ton of stuff already (even without 2 showers coming up!) for her and now we're just trying to get it all organized. this weekend we finally got a new car!! that's a huge thing checked off the list and we loooooove it. so we're trying to get as much done now as possible and be prepared as possible for our world to get turned upside in the best way possible.

done.

2010 has come and gone and my new year's resolution is complete. i'm not gonna lie, it was a real challenge for me. i wanted something that was challenging b/c most people want to lose weight or stop smoking (which i would assume are hard for them). i've been extremely blessed with good genes and smoking never has been my thing to say the least. this was my "weight loss" and i'm giving myself a pat on the back. although life took a huge (awesome) turn a few months ago, i say i passed. done and done.

yes, the past months i've had to get new clothes, but i can't very well squash finley into my kids jeans and nobody wants to see my bare belly if i were to wear my normal shirts. you're welcome. 2 weeks ago was really the first week i bought a significant amount of maternity clothes from old navy (3 sweaters, 3 long sleeve shirts, jeans, a dress, and a tunic which translates into $150). yea, i heart old navy and their cheap clothes. it helped that 75% of what i got was on sale. i went with erin and knew b would be glad i got so much so i'd stop complaining about being uncomfortable. and being the awesome husband he is, he was quite pleased with my shopping.


i know i kinda dropped the ball when it came to keeping track of what i "normally" spend, but we'll say about $150 a month. so i saved $1800 give or take. i guess if you subtract my maternity shopping and my singapore shopping it's about $1500 which i think is still pretty good. really does make me stop and think before i buy. erin had to talk me into a sweater at old navy that was on sale for $9.99. i'm pretty sure this will stay with me for a while, and anyways life's turning into all-about-finley anyways so my shopping opportunities will be limited. wouldn't trade it for the world.