Pregnancy update: 30 weeks

We're starting our bathroom renovation tomorrow, so I wanted to get this written before the craziness beings. My dad drove over from Minnesota today. He's the best--willing to take a week off work and travel a long distance to help us redo our bathroom.

I'm still mulling over the prenatal Rhogam and blood sugar issues I wrote about last week. I've tweaked my nutrition--adopting a gestation diabetes-type diet (more proteins, fewer & higher quality carbs, etc)--and added additional light exercise in the evenings. Sometimes I walk at the indoor track, sometimes I vacuum or mop floors. I am going to have the world's cleanest floors this pregnancy!

My body has responded nicely to these adjustments, with 2-hour PP levels under 110. The only thing still an issue--assuming the glucometer is accurately calibrated--are my fasting levels, which are around 105-110. I checked once in the middle of the night to see if I was dipping and then spiking, but my 2 am reading was ~104. I am going back and forth between two options:

1) Test the glucometer for accuracy and track my fasting levels for a week. If they're still consistently at the same levels, I would attend a nutritional class at a large hospital an hour away. The class is supposed to be really good--it's run by a diabetes center and the people are really knowledgeable about helping you with nutrition & exercise. On the other hand, this would entail a lot of hassle (finding childcare for the class, traveling to & from, testing blood sugars multiple times a day). And I don't relish all the mental energy this would take.

2) Continue with my same nutrition & exercise modifications and stop fretting. The blood sugar question has been on my mind almost constantly. I feel super conflicted about what I should do, how much I should worry about it, and whether or not it's really a problem in my case. I don't like the stress that this has added. I was re-reading an article on gestational diabetes by Michel Odent last night, and I can attest to the power of the nocebo effect. I definitely have a lot more empathy for women facing various choices & health challenges during pregnancy. It's so much harder to make these decisions in reality than in theory!

It's about time to start listening to Hypnobabies. I liked both Hypnobabies & Hypnobirthing for their calming effect during pregnancy. It's a great way to end the day. Usually I fall asleep listening and wake up at the end of the track, which indicates that at least my subconscious is paying attention. Right?

I finished Dio's birth quilt! Pictures coming soon...I did all of the quilting by machine. Most was straight stitching with a walking foot. Then I did some freehand stippling on the squares that needed a more organic look. Now I'm ready to start on the next birth quilt. I gave fabric pieces to several friends & family members. Remember to get them back to me ASAP--you know who you are! If anyone else would like to contribute a square, especially those of you who helped out with Dio's quilt, send me an email. I have enough fabric scraps for a few more squares.

For the next few weeks, my life will be filled with hammer drills and prybars, plaster dust and vermiculite, tiling and drywall. And at the end of that time, I should have a beautiful new bathroom with a large Jacuzzi tub to soak in. And maybe give birth in...