PICTURES!!

So I guess I lied a little when I said that I hadn't been taking any pictures. In actuality, I've taken a ton of pictures - just not with the camera. I'm a bit addicted to my iphone, as is Brad. It's always with me and easy to pull out to snap a picture of something cute Emma does, or to take sweet pictures to send to Brad throughout the day. In fact, while he watched Emma when I had an OB appointment yesterday, I think he sent me 5 or 6 pictures!

So, here they are, in no particular order. (Though they were all taken over the last 3 weeks or so!)














While I think that most of these are self-explanatory, there are 2 I'd like to tell you about. "Prison Break" was hysterical. She had just finished her breakfast and I was cleaning up the kitchen while chatting with my mom online. The next thing I knew, Emma got too quiet. I turned around to see that she had pulled a pillow off of the sofa and was using it to attempt to climb over the baby gate - silently! I just about died. Hysterical.

The one of Emma and Brad that doesn't have a caption was one of the sweetest moments. After I gave her a bath, Brad lotioned her up and put on her jammies. She sleeps in a sleep sack (wearable blanket) because she would get cold otherwise and won't keep on a blanket. So in this picture she's wearing her jammies and her sleep sack and she and Brad are watching a little bit of Yo Gabba Gabba just before time for her bedtime stories and prayers. She's just absentmindedly playing with his beard. How sweet is that??? They are so in love with one another - makes me one happy Mama.

So now you can see why I like the iPhone better than the camera these days. The camera may take better pictures, but I don't have it strapped to me 24/7 and would have missed nearly ALL of these moments otherwise. By the way, the picture quality was pretty good to start out with, but I used the "Polarize" app on my phone to make them a little "different." Hence the old-fashioned looking quality. I'll try to upload them more regularly now because it was SO much easier than using pictures off of the camera!

Boring Update...

Unfortunately, I've been slacking on my job as the family photographer lately, and haven't had any new ultrasounds from which to post pictures. That means that this will be a boring post. Sorry! I'm mostly posting this update for my own benefit later on, as I've found my blog VERY useful during this pregnancy because I can look back on when I was pregnant with Emma and see what happened and when.

I have been following my GD (gestational diabeetus) diet pretty stringently. I have 2 carb servings for breakfast and each of 3 snacks, and 3 carb servings for lunch and dinner. It's no fun. Trust me. As a pregnant woman, the LAST thing you want to do is read every single package before you make a meal choice, or restrict yourself from something you're craving. But I'm doing it. Daily.

My glucose levels have been pretty well regulated. During the day, I have control of my levels to some extent. What I eat pretty much denotes how high my blood sugar will be. I can exercise to lower it a little if I've had a little too much. I've done really well with this. The only hard part is getting in enough protein - I've NEVER had this much daily protein in my life! I've discovered the joys of low-fat Greek yogurt - they have the most protein of any other snack that I can come up with. And they're good!

As good as my daily levels have been (unless I eat pizza or something else naughty), my fasting levels first thing in the morning were higher than I'd like them. The doctor wants to see them below 95, which they sometimes were. Then they crept up, 96, 98, 101. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about my fasting levels. No matter WHAT I had the night before, it's completely out of my system when I test in the morning. According to my perinatologist, these morning levels tell you the most about how your body is handling the GD.

So I emailed my nurse practitioner and started on a low level of Glyburide, to lower my levels some. So far, so good. I still have to be very mindful of what I eat, but, for the most part, my morning levels are lower. So that's where I stand. I have an appointment with my regular OB in 2 weeks or so, and then my monthly appointment with the perinatologist for an ultrasound and check-up. I'm hoping all goes well with both!

Can't believe I'm 20 weeks already. It has flown. This week I've been feeling lots of kicks and movement, which I hadn't felt much of up until now.

Emma's doing great. She's an absolute angel lately. She's the sweetest, most affectionate, funniest baby I've ever seen. I'd love to freeze her like this forever!! Her new thing is to say "come on." She'll be ready for her nap and meet me at the door saying "come on baby." SO sweet! She also says everything in a really precious high-pitched voice. Melts my heart.

She's had 2 little accidents this week. :( She stayed with Brad's parents while Brad and I had a little date night. When we got back, we were just in time to see her trip and fall on her face on the hardwood floor. She got her first busted lip. Broke my heart. It only bled for a minute, and a popcicle did the trick of calming her down. Then, a couple of days ago, Brad was cleaning up her high chair after breakfast while she played in the living room. Unfortunately, the cats were locked in the room with her (I think Brad learned a new lesson on this one!). She loves to hold them down and "kiss" on them, pet them, follow them, chase them, etc. She has no fear. The next thing we know, Emma's got 2 little nicks on her nose and is hysterical. Brad went a little postal on the cats, which apparently amused Emma. It's really not very bad, but scared her nonetheless. I think they may have both learned a little healthy respect.

I'll try to remember to take more pictures this week! I promise!