Gestational Diabetes - Garland, TX

I had gestational diabetes with my last two pregnancies. I controlled mine with diet and exercise alone. It is not that bad, you just have to plan your meals accordingly. They will set you up to meet with a nutritionist and a nurse to teach you how and when to test your blood sugar and what foods, how much and how often you should eat. You can expect to eat 3 small meals and 3 snacks per day. You will be looking at labels and eating accordingly! It's not bad and I actually lost weight (not much just a pound or two) after starting on the diet, which was funny because I felt like I was eating all the time! After you deliver the baby, they will test the babies blood sugar and assuming that you control your blood sugar while pregnant, you shouldn't have any issues. My babies both roomed in with me and I breast fed both of them without them having to get sugar water. The test is a simple prick on the baby which takes seconds! No worries...just focus on eating right and getting exercise. Your baby will be just fine if you keep everything under control! Good luck!

M.,
I am a diabetes educator. I highly recommend you talk to your doctor about attending a diabetes education class as the educators can help you figure out what to eat, what the blood sugar goals are, checking ketones, what to expect at delivery, etc. Most hospitals have a program. If your blood sugars are in good control, then your baby will be just fine at delivery. What's important is that you eat a healthy, balanced diet with reasonable portions, exercise (if OK with your dr.) and check blood sugars as directed. It can seem like a lot of work, but outside of checking blood sugars, are things that ALL mamas should be doing- diabetes or not! Diabetes does not affect breastfeeding one bit. Good luck!

I also had GD with my second child, and I was able to manage it with diet. It wasn't too bad. They tested my son only once I think and he was fine. He was 7.5 pounds, born 3 weeks early because of other complications. I couldn't breastfeed because I never got milk with either of my pregnancies (neither did my mom). It had nothing to do with GD. Congratulations on your 3rd pregnancy!

I had it during my last trimester - not too bad, it was managed by diet only. You take a class to learn how to eat while you have it, and how to use the glucose meter, etc. Actually, it's the best I've EVER eaten in my life. You don't have to give everything up, just eat the "bad" stuff in moderation. You can have bigger babies if you don't do anything about it, and I think they are more prone to diabetes if you don't take care of yourself. If you take care of yourself, the baby should be fine. I don't think they did anything with sugar water, they don't do any testing on the baby other than the normal stuff, your baby can stay with you in the room as long as it's healthy - mine did. It really doesn't affect them if you take care of yourself- you're the one that has the diabetes, not them. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk more about it.

Hi M.! My advice is much like the other moms', I just wanted to add another voice of reassurance for you. I was very scared when I learned I had GD, but my baby was FINE. As long as you take care of yourself properly when you're pregnant, your baby should have no effects. That's actually the point of the diet and controlling your blood sugar--basically, it's controlling what your body does so that, hopefully, your baby can't even tell that your diabetic! The diet takes some getting used to, particularly in the beginning. If you google "diabetic recipes," you'll find lots of websites with recipes for you that give you the conversions, which makes things a lot easier for you. At the beginning I had to do a lot of measuring and weighing, but before long I could eyeball it--I just knew what 1 oz of cheese looked like, etc. I controlled my blood sugar through diet, and my baby was fine. I did need a C-section, but I'm not sure how much it was related to the GD--my daughter has a big head, I have a small pelvis, and after 1 1/2 hours of pushing, she just wasn't coming. After birth, she could stay with me and BFing went just fine. In fact, BFing is always good, but studies have shown that it's extra important to try if you have GD--you obviously have the diabetes gene, so your baby may, too. BFing reduces rates of obesity and diabetes later in life, so go for it! And finally, like others have said, the good news about GD is that, on the diet, you don't gain so much weight--I gained 25 pounds total, and with BFing lost it all within 2 months. Good luck, and congrats on your pregancy! PM me if you have any questions!

Well, I would follow your dieticians recommendations. Make walking part of your daily routine.
You will probably have an 8lb-9lb. baby.
I would continue to watch what you eat after the pregnacy even if your blood sugar goes back to normal after the delivery. You will now be at higher risk for diabetes.
So take the nutrition part seriously.

I delivered healthy babies and it did not affect nursing at all.

M.,
My son is 7, so it has been a while but I had GD also. You will go to a nutritionist and she/he will explain more to you. You will have to test your blood after each meal and make sure you don't have protien in your urine in the mornings. I was able to control mine by eating correctly. I think I had to write down what I ate for each meal and then what my blood test results were. I also had to take the sheets to my ob each visit I had. I ate better then than I had/have my whole life. It was a blessing in a way because I ate well and I only gained 30 pounds. I forgot to add that I don't remember anything happening to me or my son after he was born. I don't remember if they even tested him and I only tested one time. I nursed from the start and he had nothing else.
Hope this helps,
L.

I know just what you are feeling. I too had GD. The part that frustrated me the most at first was not knowing what I could eat. It was a week from the time I was told I had it, until my appointment with a specialist. I was told nothing. I remember standing in my pantry, crying and thinking there is nothing in here that I can eat. Let me let you in on what I was told. This may vary for you, but at least it will get you started. My diet was measured with carbs.
I was allowed 30 carbs for breakfast and snacks, and 45 carbs for lunch and dinner. You should be given a book on how to measure your fruits and veggies, but this is the basics. One cup of loose fruit or vegetable is 15 carbs. One small apple, orange, or half of a bannana is 15 carbs. I found what worked for me and stuck to it. This is what my day usually consisted of.
Breakfast:
Scrambled egg sandwich w/butter
hand full of nuts

Snack:
one cup of grapes & one sheet of graham crackers w/peanut butter

Lunch:
Sandwich
apple

Snack:
grapes and graham crackers again

Dinner:
Meat of some sort/good size portion this is your protein to counter act your carbs.
One cup of a starch veggie
One cup of a green veggie

You need to eat about every two hours. You will be checking your blood levels about two hours after your main meals, just before you eat your snack. Again, this may vary, depending on what your doctor requires. Check with your doctor on what he wants your blood levels to be. My doctor allowed mine to be a little higher than what the dietition told me.
I am a starch eater, so I was able to figure out how to get that in.
Also, most fast food places have a nutrition menu on thier websites that gives carb counts. I found that I could have a burger every now and then. I couldn't have the fries to go with it, but I did get the burger. You want to make sure that you get protein in every meal and snack, this balances the carbs that turn to sugar. So don't eat two fruits for a snack, you blood sugar will be super high.
I hope this info helps you.
You have already had the breast feeding questions answered, and yes I was able to breast feed. I wanted to share this with you, because this is what I was most concerned about, when and what could I eat. Just keep it consistent about every two hours, you don't want the dips in your blood sugar, high or low. You want to keep it level.
Also, water: water: water: water: water: lots of it.

Good Luck

I had it too. I was very angry (and I think in some denial), fortunately the diabetes clinic they sent me to was really good. I think they see a lot of pregnant women with the same reaction. Very normal. Just keep to your diet, check your blood levels and ketone levels, and you should be fine.

Babies of moms with gd can, especially if the mother does not keep her gd under control, be larger in size. If you do nothing for your condition, it can put you and your newborn at serious risk and not just for shoulder distocia but also serious blood sugar issues. When my son was delivered, they did take him to the nursery for observation. I was told before hand that, depending on his blood sugar levels, he could be there anywhere from 2 - 8 hours. I got to hold him finally after about 2 hours and nursed him. I also had a c-s and that delayed our initial nursing. I think they gave him a tiny bit of formula. It wasn't an ideal start, but there wasn't much i could do about it. Check with your OB and see what they say regarding the birth, when you'll get to nurs your baby, etc.

Good luck! GD is a pain but something you can live with and manage typically. I guess in the scheme of things, if something has to go wrong, this is really preferable to a lot of other things that could go wrong. It doesn't mean that you can't eat sugar, I was always able to fit in chocolate of some kind during the day, it just means you need to be more careful and aware.