Me and my carbs

This week, after my bi-weekly glucose test (standard at the practice I go to), I was informed that my sugar-in-pee readings have officially entered the "huh... weird" level. This means that while I am almost certainly not developing gestational diabetes, I am also not processing my sugars quite normally. The way it was explained to me it sounds mostly like I'm becoming hypoglycemic.

This all started with my glucose test. It was normal, but on the high end of normal. So then they said, oh- we'll make a note of that. Then at my next appointment I had sugar in the pee. But I self-admittedly had eaten a couple of Xmas cookies about 30 minutes before my appointment. So that easily could have thrown off the test, they said. Don't sweat it, but quit eating cookies for breakfast (for the record, the cookies were WITH breakfast, not FOR). Next appointment- no sugar. Score! This last appointment- sugar in the pee again. Sigh... that was my third strike.

Now I've been advised to lay off anything that will raise my blood sugar quickly. Culprits include white bread, cheap types of whole wheat bread, potatoes, fruit juices, and anything obviously sugary and unnatural. No processed breakfast cereals, not even whole grain ones, because breakfast is the toughest meal for your body to regulate. Because I get strong, horrible headaches from all the false sugars (nutrasweet is like a brain poison for me) I'm allowed little bits of pure sugars- like a dash of honey in my tea, or a little bit of maple syrup to sweeten my steel-cut-oat squish. But I was told to really keep it to a bare minimum.

The good thing is that this really isn't that restrictive- it is just a tad tricky. Lunch can be a sandwich if it is a really high quality full grain bread. Breakfast can be tasty oatmeal with berries if it is the nice steel-cut kind of oatmeal. I can still have my delicious homemade sorbet for dessert if it is made mostly with fresh bananas. Up to two tablespoons of ultradark chocolate chips for an afternoon pick-me-up (yum!). But of course now that I can't have it, I WANT MAC AND CHEESE.

So what is the benefit of my new low-carb low-sugar diet? According to the OB and nurses that told me this is a good idea, the biggest benefit to me is that I should feel more energetic (cool!), and the baby might be slightly smaller (i.e. easier to vaginally deliver, potentially). Those sound good. The biggest direct benefit to the baby is that it is likely to have an easier first few days of adjusting to being born- babies that are used to having very level blood sugars tend to do a touch better (stuff like jaundice, etc). The nurses were pretty direct, "You don't have to do this. But it will help, and it really isn't that hard."

Want to know the funniest part? Then the nurse said, "I hope you like eggs! Because that is an ideal food for you." Matt and I laughed and told them about the girls.

Now our OB and nurse want us to bring THEM some eggs. Everyone loves a pet chicken.