Bread, How I Love You

It has almost been a month (3 weeks and counting) since being diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes (GD for the rest of this post).  And most of it isn't hard.  Watch your carb intake, plan out your meals, take your Blood Glucose (BG) when you're suppose to, eat your meals when you need to, and avoid your triggers.

Easy, right? For the most part.  Problems? I can't even look at bread, fruit, any kind of sweets, or most dairy products without it shooting my BG up. 

Not fun.

So, to make this more fun process less depressing, I have started to make a post pregnancy bucket list.  It's all the things that I really want, but can't have right now.  And once the baby is here, I'm going to have it (God willing!) to celebrate the new life in my arms.

Some examples:

• A Pop Rock from Sushi Burrito
• A cookie dough cupcake from Clemson Confectionery
• A medium rare steak with mashed potatoes (another trigger), mixed veggies, and garlic bread
• A coffee & chocolate chip ice cream milk shake from Bruster's
• And the list goes on... 

Silly?  Probably.  It is making the lack of fun foods easier to handle?  Yes. 

I'm now in the end of my 21st week.  Only 19 more weeks to go til my due date, and I know that I can make it!

The adventure awaits,

Cana

When Miracles happen

So, when I started this blog, I was stilled overwhelmed with finding out how physically abnormal I was (Kind of like a land Narwal, but cuter).  The doctors had given me all the worse case scenarios and I was trying to figure out how to survive the pregnancy emotionally and mentally, and not just physically.

It was a lot.  But a lot has changed (well, not physically).  I've made it to 21 weeks, and there is no signs of major complications like they were expecting.  Plus, I'm not on bedrest yet!!!!! I feel like throwing a party to celebrate that.

Best yet?  I've started feeling my little boy.  While most women tell me it feels like butterflies, to me, it feels more like thumb thumps in my stomach.  It's weird, but I love it.  It lets me know that he is doing well, and that we are going to do more than we were ever expected to do.

So when a miracle happens, we celebrate!  We share.  We continue to calmly expect that God will continue with us through this adventure.

With whatever journey you're on, celebrate the miracles.

The adventure awaits,

Cana

(Wo)man in the mirror

Today was different. As I put on a pair of pants and realized that it wasn't going to work because the baby had grown bigger, it was the first time I wasn't self-conscious about my body.

For someone who has struggled with her weight for a while, this is a big deal.

I mean, there is a miracle growing inside my body right now. And even though I still haven't felt him move, but I've seen him many times (and there are many more times to come).

I'm be honest, we've had a lot of surprises (good and bad) through the 18 weeks of pregnancy. What with all the concerns, the extra doctor & specialist visits, the constant niggling worries that my body might fail my child; it's easy to get bogged down with something as mundane as a pair of pants (or leggings, or shirt, or dress) not fitting.

But today, I was okay with clothes not fitting and not feeling comfortable. Because my little miracle, my little boy, is growing right now in me.

So don't let the simple things get you down. You are a miracle, and there is so much out there for you to do.

The adventure awaits,

Cana

Like the Song Says, Doing it My Way

We originally said when we first discovered we were pregnant that we were going to do EVERYTHING we possibly could to celebrate this baby.  And people are just as excited as we are about the baby, and there are tons of offers, suggestions, advice, and mom-shaming going around it all.  But things change, and not all of the things that we thought we would do will happen.

 Like, we aren't doing a gender reveal party.  I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with doing a gender reveal party, I'm just saying it isn't for us right now.

But, we are doing some things.  We told our families when we found out we were pregnant, and we announced to the world this little miracle on week 9 (no, we didn't wait for the magical 2nd trimester.  Morning sickness makes it almost impossible!)

We have gone shopping to get the things we don't want others to get our baby:  We got a cradle & some of the furniture for the nursery. 

We aren't going to wait to share what the baby is, but we will keep the name secret til the baby is born. And after we know what the baby is, we will be getting a few special clothing pieces to celebrate the coming child.

I think the biggest thing is preparing for the baby, and extra things that could potentially add stress just doesn't seem like a good idea.  Plus, in about 6 weeks, I'm going to be home-bound and on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy, so trying cram as much as we can into those weeks just doesn't seem wise.

No matter what we do, people will have opinions.  It just doesn't matter to me :-).  What does matter is staying calm, collected, and continuing to be excited about the baby!

The adventure awaits,

Cana

Double Surprise!

Two years ago, my husband and I were told because of a condition he had, pregnancy would be impossible.

Funny, I'm now currently 14 weeks pregnant.  And we couldn't have been more surprised. 

But there's more.  During the first ultrasound, we discovered that I too had a unique condition that was going to make the current pregnancy & any future pregnancies really interesting:  I have uterus didelphys.  In laymen's terms, I have a double cervix & a double uterus.

We had already known that this pregnancy was going to be high risk, because I have only 1 kidney (yep, at this point, I realize I'm like a Fairy Princess, a Mermaid, and a Unicorn rolled into one!).  That makes me about 1 in 3,000.  But the fact that I got pregnant is a miracle.

So after talking to doctors, specialists, and doing my own research online, I realized that there wasn't much positive out there about Didelphys pregnancies.  And I thought I would try and give a little bit of hope to what ever woman finds this blog.

As a whole, my pregnancy has been completely "normal".  Or at least as normal as you can get with a double uterus.

I mean, isn't this little one not just the cutest thing in my body ;-)?

In 2 weeks, Hubby & I will be finding out what the baby is, boy or girl (and no, we don't care as long as the baby is healthy).

And no matter what surprises my body decides to throw at us, I couldn't be happier.

So here is to a unique journey, one that we were told never to expect.

Cana