On being babied...

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33 weeks...

35 weeks...

Can't believe that we are 37 weeks today-full term- crazy!!

This pregnancy has, for the most part, been pretty easy. However, I will say the hardest part came around weeks 28-30. I failed my one-hour glucose tolerance test (screening test to see if you have gestational diabetes). So, if you fail the initial one-hour test, you get the pleasure of taking the three-hour test (getting your blood drawn a first time, drinking the double amount of the sugary orange drink, and then getting your blood drawn every hour on the hour for the next 3 hours. No fun, and your arms look like you are a drug dealer or something).

Due to our fabulous icy and snowy weather which occured in early February, I kept having to have this test rescheduled (I think three times!)- it finally got done the Wednesday before I left to go to NYC with Mike. Fortunately, my doc was going to be out of town the rest of the week, so I didn't have to worry about lab results until she came back (and subsequently, could eat whatever I wanted to in NYC!).

Well, it turned out that I do in fact have gestational diabetes- I royally failed the 3 hour glucose tolerance test. And it's so ironic, as I work with diabetics every day! It was a hard adjustment, though, and completely overwhelming, initially, because I had to completely change the way I ate- I can only have certain amount of carbohydrates at meals and snacks, have to make sure I get enough protein and fiber to keep me full and have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day. Even though I'm around all of this all the time at work, it was still hard when you're the one cooking, going to the grocery store, trying to figure out what in the heck is okay to eat, especially in restuarants!

After about a week of figuring this out, it got a lot easier. I've gotten used to poking my fingers 4 or 5 times a day, I've gotten organized- Sundays are my prep days, where I measure out all of my food and snacks into little snack baggies for the week. I know about how many carbs are in the common foods that we eat and where we go out for meals. My blood sugars have been great and I haven't had to go on insulin. Majority of women with gestational diabetes have normal blood sugars essentially right after birth and the problem is gone, which is what we're hoping for!

The other good thing is that the baby isn't quite so large any more! Before I knew I had gestational diabetes, our baby was measuring in the 90th percentiles, due to all the extra glucose he/she was getting. I just thought our baby was big because it was a Frizzell baby! :) Now, with the dietary changes I've made, he or she is back in the 50th percentiles, doing great (measured 6 pounds, 6 ounces last week at 36 weeks!) so, it makes me feel better that the baby is looking good (and hopefully I won't have to push out a 9 pound baby!).

Not going to lie, though- there are hard days for sure, especially the past week or so- I've become a whole lot more tired (feeling like I'm back in the first trimester!), working wears me out, my back, hips and pelvis are hurting and aching, and I feel like I'm constantly having Braxton Hicks contractions. My emotions have been ALL over the place (poor Mike!!). I'm getting tired of having such a restrictive diet and having to be dilligent with counting carbs, when all I really want sometimes is a big piece of chocolate cake, not sugar-free pudding with whipped cream. :) But, they tell me it's worth it. And I know it will be.

I can't believe we're in the home-stretch. Our bags are packed. The car seat is installed, the nursery is finished, the bathroom is finished. Stroller is in the back of the car. We've taken all the classes (Infant CPR, Prepared Childbirth, Breastfeeding Class, and Transparent Class at Watermark). The pack and play is out and ready to go, as is the swing and bouncer. All the clothes that can be washed are washed, hung up or put away. I even think Bella knows that change is in the air.

So, here we go. We are so excited to meet our little one very soon, to finally know if it's a boy or girl, to see who he or she looks like and to finally hold him or her.

Showers!

We have been SO incredibly blessed by our friends and family, it's ridiculous! Here's a recap of the showers that were so generously thrown for us!

In February, our families threw us a shower at Willa and Mike's house:

(notice the onsies- Vandy, Samford, A&M and SMU)

The beautiful cake Jules made- complete with a cute sugar-spun birds nest and egg on top!

The Frizzell side (minus Sergei and Daniel!)

The Serna Side (minus Alex!)

Me and my Baby Daddy

In March, my good friends threw me a shower at Monica's house. And I am so sad to report that I don't have ANY pictures of this event!!! (if anyone reading this does have some, please send them my way!). It was a great shower, though- lots of friends from church as well as old friends from the past and some work buddies!

The following Monday, my co-workers threw me a surprise shower at work! And, again, no pictures. SO SAD! I am going to have to do better with this once the baby arrives. But, they were SO thoughful and even had all the food labeled with how many grams of carbohydrates were in each one (another blog post about that). Plus, I work with some incredibly crafty people and they made some beautiful baskets, diaper weath and diaper cake- so pretty that I still haven't undone them yet.

Catching up... Mini-Trip over Valentine's Day

I have a feeling that in a couple of weeks the blog will be inundated with pictures of our soon-to-arrive child, and I am waaaay behind in updating what our life has been like since about January, so here is an attempt to try to catch up!

So, back in June, we had planned to go skiing during the week of Valentine's, so I blocked the whole week of for work....and then we became babied. So, no skiing.

We couldn't decide what we wanted to do during that week- there was a possibility of going to London for a work trip with Mike, but then that fell through about 2 weeks before the trip. So, then we thought about going to San Francisco or somewhere in Florida (as the previous 2-3 weeks had been full of ice and snow in the Dallas area)... then we decided we'd just stay in town over the weekend, go to a hotel, have a nice dinner, etc.

Then, it ended up that Mike was going to be in NYC the week before and week of Valentines, so I ended up flying to NYC last-minute the Friday before Valentine's- our plan was to spend a great little weekend in NYC, eating, going to a musical, etc.

I arrived to New Jersey on Friday night (where we actually stayed) to a sick hubby with 102 degree temp. Booo. Went up to 103 degrees even with Motrin in his system, so we added Tylenol to the mix and finally broke the fever by the time he had woken up on Saturday morning.

So, Saturday morning, we laid low (and I was so glad there was a Starbucks in the hotel lobby!) and then decided to go to Hoboken, NJ (we were staying in NJ) for lunch. We had fabulous Italian food and even drove past Carlo's Bakery (from Cake Boss!)- the line to go in there was ridiculous- about a block around the bakery.

Sunday, we decided to go into NYC- Mike bravely drove us from NJ to NYC in the rental car - I will say I was glad I wasn't driving. There are truly crazy people out there on the roads!! Since we'd done NYC touristy things several times, and he wasn't quite 100% (and I didn't want to go into early labor in NYC!), we decided sitting on a tour bus for a 2 hour tour would be a good option.

It was a little chilly on the bus!

After our tour, we then decided we'd go through Hell's Kitchen and eat our way down the street. We stopped in a Cajun restaurant and had a fabulous gumbo and cornbread for an appetizer.

Then went to another Italian place for our main course- the waiter came to our table and said, "May I bring you some....waaa(then glancing down at my belly)...water?" Yes, kind sir, I would have loved a glass of wine, but water will work for now. Dessert was back in Times Square at our hands-down favorite NYC place for cheesecake- Junior's Cheesecake, the one and only.

Even though the trip was altered a little due to illness, it was still a great time away!

I didn't take many pics on the camera (have a few on my phone and will try to upload, but I'm truly not computer literate)....