Monthly Archive October 29, 2021

Gender Time

Glucose Anyone?

Someone please tell me why they put pregnant women through these glucose test? I mean yes I get it, its a vital part of ensuring the health of the baby and the mother. But really, there’s no better way to do this?

Last week, I have to do the 1hr glucose test. You come into the office, they draw your blood and then give you the most nastiest drink that you have to finish in less than 5 minutes. And they have the nerve to offer flavors for this drink, as if that makes it any better. After you finish the drink, you have to wait 1hr for another blood draw and then you’re out the door. Easy enough right????

Nope because the next day the doctors office called to say, you didn’t fail but the numbers were elevated and so my doctor wanted me to return for a 3hr glucose test. Wait- I thought this was a pass or fail kind of test!!!! If I didn’t fail, that means I passed right LOL.

And that leads me to this week, the 3hr glucose test. Now that was a test of my faith, patience, and stamina. With this test, you come in to do a blood draw first. Then they give you the same nasty drink and continue to do blood draws each hour for 3 hours straight. My appointment was at 9:20a and I didn’t get out of there until almost 1:00p. To prep for this test, you can’t eat or drink after 12:00a the night before, which of course caused nausea and severe headaches. But the first thing I did when I left that office was to find FOOD!!!

2nd Trimester

Wow! Time is really flying, we are moving into the 2nd trimester already. Let’s see what is notable about this trimester….

2nd trimester honeymoon has started in some cases. Overall, I have less symptoms and that sometimes scares me. At least with the horrible symptoms, it was evident that I was pregnant. So during this time, I have had to do a lot of positive pep talks to remind myself I am capable of a healthy pregnancy.

The sickness has subsided some. At least I am not feeling nauseous all day, every day! It only comes late night and early morning. I am not rushing to the bathroom 20x day (although I hear that comes back later). I also found an increase in appetite which is not always a good thing. Sleep has gotten a little worse! I already can’t find a comfortable position and that scares me because we’re only 15 weeks. I’ve spent the last week feeling exhausted and being tired due to my inability to sleep. It does not always make for positive days.

Skin stretching is a real thing! I already have dryer skin and hives on my back. So now that is exasperated. My stomach and back are constantly itching during the day and night. I have started using Cocoa Butter for stretch marks and it is phenomenal. The massage cream and skin oil works the best

Changes

There have been so many changes happening to me over the past 12 weeks. Yep thats right, almost out of the 1st trimester! But some of these changes seem so ironic and kind of perfect timing…

I recently changed schools for my job and now work with high schoolers. And with them I’ve definitely noticed a reoccurring theme: they hate the way they look whether it’s pimples on their face, their size or even their hair. Wearing the oversized hoodie just to hide themselves. And I find myself daily reminding them how beautiful they are and that beauty is more than just what’s on the outside.

So what makes it so ironic, is that I now find I have to give myself the same speech I gave to them. Pregnancy acne and some weight gain has recently caused me to be really hard on myself and sometimes even feel like my high schoolers. If I could get away with the oversized hoodie and baggie pants right now, I probably would lol.

But that’s just another thing for young people to know, sometimes even as adults the journey to being authentic and genuinely satisfied with yourself is hard but often so worth it. Not only do I have to remind myself of my beauty inside and out, I clearly have to remember that I’m pregnant and this is just the beginning!