Gestational Diabetes for first time mom...

Dawn - posted on 04/08/2009

I have been there!  Diagnosed at 33 weeks right in time for thanksgiving and christmas...2 babies, no GD...third  I got it!  What worked for me was if i 'had' to have the carbie food, I got on the treadmill(nothing strenuous) and my 1 and 2 hour sugars were always normal!  Good luck...try and stay positive, when you stress about it, it can actually make your sugars worse.  This is not your fault.

Barbara - posted on 04/08/2009

Blame it on your genes! It's not your fault. If you do your research it goes back to ancient times when nomads would spend long periods without food while in the desert (yes like about 2000 years ago) and that's where the gene is suspected to come from. Of course don't quote me on any of this I heard this over 20 years ago at a lecture in London. Look at it this way...the mommy guilt is already starting and your kids not even here yet! Just eat well and check your blood sugars as recommended.

Erica - posted on 02/14/2009

Thank you guys for your support, I guess I've always been the kind of person who can eat what ever she wanted whenever she wanted. Being told I have to watch is actually scary for me!  I meet with the dietitian on Wed. I hope she'll have good news for me! I'll keep you posted!

Kristina - posted on 02/14/2009

Another key factor to help control GD is exercise. Any time I felt that  my blood sugar would be high from the food I had eaten or even when I felt the blood sugar level was ok, I went  for a walk. It made a huge difference. I managed to control my GD with diet alone and one of the reasons that I feel that was possible was exercise in combination with diet.

Holly - posted on 02/13/2009

not your fault but you need to find a health medium or else you could end up with a very large underdeveloped premature child my sister had it and her son was 11lbs2ozs eat foods with a lower glycemic index proteins, whole grain and alot of veggies, no juice, eat the fruit

Julie - posted on 02/13/2009

Hi There,

I also has GD when I was pregnant. I am overweight, which didnt help, I only gained 4 pounds through my entire pregnancy.My OBGYN told me the biggest factor with GD is the placentia. The hormones released during pregnancy and the placentia cause the GD. People are telling you to go low carb. That is not the fact, yes you watch your carb intake, but the biggest thing is making sure you have protien with your carbs, to slow down the absorbtion of the carbs.  You need to see a diabetic dietician who will explain all of this to you, show you how to read food labels. I;m from Canada and this is part of the program here. If you were just diagnosed with GD, and are from Canada, you will get a call to meet with the diabetic dietician.

Pizza is the worst thing you can eat as a diabetic, and right now and for the next litle while this is what you are :(. The reason being is it is high high high carb, low protien and high high high fat. If you want pizza, try making a pita pizza on a whole wheat pizza with lower fat cheese.

What happens when your blood sugar is too high is the baby gets too much and can gain too much weight.

My GD was very controlled, except at breakfast, I could not get my sugar levels below 12 in the morning ( sorry the ratings are different in the US and I dont know how to convert them). When your sugars are high, you will feel tired, when they are low you will feel shakey and sweaty.

I controlled my GD just by diet for the first 8 weeks (after 28 weeks) , but as the baby gets bigger so does the placentia. Therefore the problems with high blood sugar can get worse. The last four weeks I went on insulin, at that point I was terrified, giving myself a needle once a day in the morning. The last two weeks before delivery, I was on 4 needles a day. Within eight hours after birth, it was gone.

And dont freak out, it is not your fault, it is a medical condition you could not have controlled. And if you decide to have another baby, you may or may not have it again.

If you ever have any questions, please dont hesitate to message me.

Take Care,

Good luck

Tina - posted on 02/13/2009

Yes! I had gestational diabetes too. You really do need to stick to the strict low carb diet.
If your blood sugar goes too high, it will not be good for you or the baby!! You can have lots of protein. Make sure you eat small meals throughout the day. Every 3 hours. If you do not stick to your diet, you may have to take insulin, and that will not be any fun!!
It does go away after you give birth. I was surprised, but it did!! Try to think, low carb-high protein.

Karla - posted on 02/13/2009

Yes! I know exactly where you are coming from. I was diagnosed GD as well. I was 23 when I was preggers and I'm 24 now. You can still have a cheese pizza but eat it in moderation. The dietician put me in this sort of diet, but it's not really a diet. You still need to have carbs because it helps with the baby's development. Trust me, I ate a lot of cheese and carbs. I ate about 6 times a day. Breakfast (15g of carbs), snack(15g), lunch(30g), snack(15g), dinner(30g), snack(30g).



The reason why can have 30g of carbs for dinner snack is because you go a whole night without eating. Your meals are supposed to be 2-3hrs apart. It's kind of a hassle but I actually enjoyed it. My youngest sister was also supporting me and doing the eating 6times a day. :)



This is an example of what I ate

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with a slice or two of cheese(protein), 1 wheat toast w/ butter(15g carbs and fats (butter), and tea or water ~ cheese is considered protein



Snack: 1 string cheese with 5 crackers(15g of carbs) or you can just eat a slice of cheese pizza



Lunch: 1 slice of pepperoni pizza/sausage(protein/15gcarbs/fats), 1 plum (fruit), 8oz of soymilk(15g) or regular milk



Snack: 1 wheatbread (15g) and slice of cheese



Dinner: 1 mango(fruit svng), 2/3 cup of rice(15g carbs), 3 servings rotisserie chicken(protein) with ketchup (vegetable svng), 8 oz(milk)



Snack: 5 crackers(15g carbs) w/ string cheese (protein) and 8oz soy milk (15g)



I drank a lot of soymilk and it's not totally proven, but my daughter has the silkiest smooth skin. I don't know if you even drink soymilk. Milk in general, I believe works.



I don't know if you have to check your blood sugar every main meal (when you first wake up(fasting), breakfast, lunch dinner), but I did. Blood glucose for fasting: Under 105, 1 hr after main meal: less than 130



The main thing is eating every 2-3hrs.



It definitely helped me!



Keep me up to date and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask. My daughter, Skarlett is 6 months exactly today.



:)