10 Tips for Managing Gestational Diabetes

When I found out that I failed my glucose test during pregnancy and would have to make some changes because of Gestational Diabetes, at first it felt like the world was ending and that I wouldn’t be able to handle this “diagnosis” (Dramatic, huh?!).

I couldn’t believe that I could have this when eating healthy and exercising is such a big part of my life. I already felt overwhelmed as it was getting ready for baby, and then with this on top of that, I wanted to cry (and I did- many times. Thanks pregnancy hormones 😉 ). Also, watching my sweet husband eat cookies every night while I couldn’t indulge felt like pure torture. 🙂

My doctor had basically told me ahead of time that I would no doubt pass the glucose test, and that she didn’t see many people get diagnosed with GD. I think that made it even harder for me to accept it because I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong. The more people I talk to though, the more I realize how common it is. Just in talking to my coworkers alone, SIX of them had it during at least one pregnancy. You can’t control if you get it or not (to some extent- unless you are pounding sugar on the reg); it’s how your body reacts to sugar while pregnant because of the hormones in your placenta.

As I got into the routine of my new GD diet though, I came to actually appreciate it, as it made me feel better and not gain so much weight during pregnancy. (If you would have told me at first that I’d come to appreciate it, I would have laughed in your face.)

The idea of carb counting for gestational diabetes is simple, once you get in the routine of it. You have a certain number of carbs to get each day, and instead of eating them in large sums at each meal, you spread them throughout the day by eating small meals and frequent snacks to help your blood sugar stay stable. In the past, I have dealt with sugar crashes after snacking too much or indulging in a lot of dessert. This “plan” helped me to still enjoy those (incredibly yummy) things, but in more manageable quantities so that my body could easily process the sugar. Yay for no more crashes!

While it may feel overwhelming and so unfair when you first fail the glucose test (It is!), here are ten tips that helped me to manage my gestational diabetes (both physically AND mentally!). I obviously have no medical background on these tips- just sharing what worked for me after some trial and error!

one. Give yourself time to feel pity, and then dive on in and accept it.

I can’t tell you how many times I cried after I initially failed the first glucose test. I cried because I didn’t want to do the three-hour test. I cried when I met with the lady at the “Diabetes Center.” I cried when I picked up my test strips and Ketone strips. You get the picture. I was an emotional mess.

It was an overwhelming amount of information to take in. Once I realized that this would have to be my new norm though, I tried to follow it as best as I could, knowing that it was for my health and my baby’s. I basically had to tell myself to suck it up and just do it, and then it became easy after that. 🙂

two. Always meal plan and have accessible snacks.

I got my GD diagnosis in the middle of the school year, and if you’re a teacher, you know that teachers don’t get many chances to just sit and catch their breath during the day. I knew that I had to have three meals and four snacks during the day, and it couldn’t be just anything. It required a lot of planning on my part, but it really paid off to have my snacks portioned out and ready to go each day. It also made it a lot easier when I could just grab my snack in the middle of a lesson and not worry about finding something random.

By the way, if you are looking for an easy grab-and-go breakfast that is gestational diabetes friendly, try these Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cups. My baby is three months old now, and these are STILL my favorite go-to breakfast. They are filling and taste like a rich muffin! I always make sure to have a batch in my freezer, ready to heat up! Add peanut butter on top for some added protein.

three. Balance proteins with carbs to slow sugar absorption.

With every single meal and snack, I quickly figured out that I needed to eat some kind of protein with my carb to help my blood sugar levels from spiking. I read countless tips online about what to eat on a GD diet, and this one really works! By pairing a protein with your carb, it helps your body absorb the sugar slower, making you feel better and eliminating a sugar rush/crash.

This was easy to do for meals, but I tried to get change up my snacks so I wasn’t always eating the same thing. Some of my go-tos were:

• Granola Bar
• Nuts and an apple (or other fruit)
• Cheese and crackers
• Popcorn and nuts/cheese
• Banana and peanut butter
• Crackers and hummus

All of those snacks were easy to pack for work and felt filling.

four. Follow those portion sizes!

On my first meeting at the Diabetes Center, I was given no less than twenty pages of handouts for managing GD, counting carbs, sample meal plans, portion size guidelines, and meal logs. At first, the portion sizes seemed incredibly small. However, the key is loading up on the “free” foods, like vegetables and proteins to help keep you full.

I noticed that if I just loaded up my plate with carbs and ignored the portion size guidelines, my sugars would almost always be over what they should be. Thus, for a while, I actually measured out my 1/3 cup of pasta or my 1/2 cup of fruit to make sure I wasn’t going over my carb counts. Once I did that for awhile, I could eyeball it, but sticking as close to those recommended portions as possible is key! My mom said everyone should be following that diet, as we realized that we easily eat 2-3 times the recommended amount when we don’t think we’re putting that much on our plate!

five. Load up on water and rest, rest, rest!

Even if I had a day where I ate so clean and exercised, if I didn’t drink enough water, my numbers would always be over. Chugging water all day long helped my numbers to be lower (and for me to feel better too). 

Another key was remembering to rest. After moving around all day while teaching, I was exhausted by the end of the day. Many times, I made myself leave the dishes and save the laundry so that I could just sit down and put my feet up (That was hard for me, as I have to have a clean kitchen!). I wasn’t sleeping the best at night anyways, so any down time I could get in the evenings helped. There are so many factors in what can make your blood sugar levels high, and rest is a big one. If I didn’t sleep great the night before, you guessed it- my numbers would be high. Try to sneak in rest whenever possible.

six. Don’t freak out if you have a high reading.

Like I mentioned above, you wouldn’t believe how many things affect your blood sugar. I’ve always been super sensitive to changes in pressure/weather, and I was shocked to see that my numbers were SO high during a few pressure changes that we had that early spring. I did some more research and found that pressure affects a lot of people’s blood sugars, no matter how well you eat.

Another big one? Being sick.

I picked up a little cold from some of my students, and again, I noticed that none of my usual tricks helped my blood sugar. It was still so high, and I was doing everything they suggested!

While these were both frustrating, once I realized what was making my sugars high, it helped me so much. I was mostly terrified that the dietician was going to see my high numbers and put me on insulin right away. However, she was so understanding and reminded me that they just look at your averages to see if you need further help.

I had many days where a high reading totally dictated my mood and put me in the worst funk. I wish I would have realized earlier that a few high numbers aren’t a reason to freak out. It’s okay to indulge once in awhile, as long as you try to stay consistent otherwise. Once I learned this, I was much happier and didn’t feel so guilty eating my chocolate (one square of dark chocolate- all about moderation 😉 ) each night.

seven. Exercise after meals to get your sugars down.

This tip came from my sister-in-law who had GD with two of her pregnancies. Exercise after meals helps lower blood sugar. She told me that she would walk after meals to lower her readings, and it really helped. Through more research, I realized that there is a sweet spot for the time you exercise after a meal. Ideally, it should be within thirty minutes to an hour after eating to help get it down the best. Sometimes, I was waiting to walk much later than this, and it wasn’t having much of an impact.

Ready to do my evening walk!

Since I was teaching after my breakfast and lunch and constantly moving around the classroom, those two meals were covered. After dinner though was the toughest. I was so tired, but not wanting a high reading was enough motivation to get me on the treadmill for an easy walk. I tried to shoot for anywhere between 15-30 minutes of walking after dinner. Listening to music or watching a show helped motivate me to just get it done too!

eight. Log everything so that you can start to detect patterns.

Pregnancy made me feel like the most forgetful person (and I still haven’t gotten it back- ha), so utilizing the meal logs that the dietician gave me were key. I’m a very visual person so seeing the carb numbers and the meals/snacks written out really helped me. I made it my evening routine to plan and write out the next day’s meals and snacks so that I could be prepared. Also, having food written down and seeing what my blood sugar was like after eating it helped me to detect patterns of what foods my body was not doing well with.

I carried these sheets everywhere with me…basically because if I didn’t, I would forget to log what I’d eaten or my numbers. They were a mess by the end of each week, but they helped me!

 

For example, one night I made chicken pot pie and even portioned mine out appropriately, but my numbers were still sky high. After having it for lunch the next day with the same results, I could tell that maybe that was a meal I needed to save for after pregnancy. 🙂 When I told Norma, the dietician, (the cutest little lady in her 70s), she said, “Oh my, yes. Chicken pot pie. That will do it!” Haha.

Logging this also helped me notice days when pressure changes or sickness affected my numbers.

nine. Talk to people who have had it before.

Like I mentioned in the beginning, there are SO many more people who have had GD than what I ever expected. During one staff meeting at school, right after I failed the glucose test, I was talking about it at a table with seven other coworkers, and six of them at that table had experienced it too. They were all different ages, body types, etc., and they each had their own tips for getting through it, which helped me wrap my brain around it much easier.

Also, my sister-in-law was such a help and she gave me tips and answered my questions, which put me further at ease.

I was embarrassed that I had it in the beginning, but realizing that so many other people have had it too made me come to terms with it better. Talking it out is just therapeutic. 🙂

ten. Remind yourself of the purpose.

Above all else, when it was difficult to follow or I wanted to ruminate on how unfair it was, I tried to keep reminding myself of the purpose- a healthy baby. That alone gave me all the motivation I needed, even if it was tough. Picturing that little cute baby makes you want to do everything in your power to keep him/her safe, healthy, and happy!

He was worth it! 😉

Question of the Day: Do you know someone who has had GD? It’s so much more common than you’d think!

 

 

Five Books to Read While Pregnant (and Five Books You Should Skip!)

You all know that I love to read, so when I became pregnant, I set out to find the best pregnancy books to glean all the knowledge I could. I felt like time was limited, and I didn’t want to waste my time on pointless books. While some books were actually great, I still read some duds that I wouldn’t recommend.

Chime in in the comments about any baby books you’d recommend (whether that’s to read OR skip!).

Read:

These five books are Declan approved!

1. Cherish the First Six Weeks by Helen Moon
   • Rating: 5/5
   • While I definitely didn’t follow the plan laid out in this book to a “T,” something about the way it was written just made things click for me. She wrote in a very easy to understand way about why each step is so crucial and how to really get your baby on a routine early on. Long story short: she made the newborn days seem less scary and overwhelming.
2. The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp
   • Rating: 4/5
   • This book felt like it drug on at times, but the advice and tips were simple things that actually worked for Declan. It took me awhile to get through because of all the random “success” stories that were included, but the tips are so useful that it’s worth a read!
3. A Child is Born by Lennart Nilsson
   • Rating: 4/5
   • This book is different than the rest, in that it basically includes pictures from each stage of pregnancy and shows what the fetus is doing/developing along the way. I’m a very visual person, so I was fascinated seeing what the baby looks like at each stage.
4. What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff
   • Rating: 3/5
   • I like this book just for the fact that it really breaks down each month of what your baby is going through and what you can expect them to be learning.
5. Taking Cara Babies Online Newborn Class
   • Rating: 5/5
   • This isn’t a book, but I would recommend any new parent take this online class about helping your baby sleep. It overlaps with some of Harvey Karp’s strategies in “The Happiest Baby on the Block” but goes more in depth about how to actually help your baby sleep through the night without crying it out. Following Cara’s tips have helped us get so many more hours of sleep! We both wanted to cry with joy when Declan started giving us over nine hours stretches between feedings in the night!!

Skip:

Declan says, “Wait…these five books aren’t worth your time!”

1. The Panic Free Pregnancy by Michael Broder
   • Rating: 2/5
   • This book is basically set up as a question and answer about what you can do during pregnancy. While some questions were useful, it lost credibility with me when it said that you can basically do any drug but heavy ones like cocaine and your baby will be okay. Umm- no!
2. Nobody Told Me About That: The First 6 Weeks by Ginger Breedlove
   • Rating: 2/5
   • This book had good information, but a lot of the sections just weren’t useful for me. For example, half the book was chapters about having twins, being an African American woman, etc.
3. Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? by Jena Pincott
   • Rating: 2/5
   • Long story short, this book was just boring to read. It also made me feel like I was slacking while pregnant because I wasn’t playing classical music for baby all the time or doing other things that they claimed would make your baby more intelligent, calm, caring, etc. Blah, blah, blah.
4. What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff
   • Rating: 2/5
   • I go back and forth on this one. This is obviously “the book” people think about reading when they are pregnant, and while, I did enjoy seeing what might happen each week/month, the way that it was written just drove me nuts! Ironically, the book “What to Expect the First Year” is written by the same author, but I found it a little less annoying to read…?
5. Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
   • Rating: 2/5
   • I mentioned this book in Declan’s Birth Story, so I did get something from it. However, it was a little too “woo woo” for me overall. I didn’t go into my delivery planning for natural childbirth (team epidural!) so some things just didn’t resonate with me. The one thing I gleaned from this book was how the author compared contractions to waves and that you just had to relax and not tense as you waited for each wave to come and go. Beyond that, it felt very “hippie-driven.”

 

I know there are so many more pregnancy and baby related books out there that I just didn’t have time to get through. I was happy with the ones I read during my pregnancy with Declan and really felt like the five listed as “must-reads” helped calm my nerves and make me more prepared.

Question of the Day: What books did you read during pregnancy that you would either recommend reading or say to skip?

Declan’s Birth Story

It’s been over a month since our little Declan Hayes decided to join us, and time is flying! I love our new norm with our little guy, but between figuring him out and dealing with the exhaustion, writing his birth story has been on the back burner. Most days it takes me the entire day to do a load of laundry or other basic tasks so sorry in advance if any part of this doesn’t sound too clear. 😉 Someday I’ll get more sleep, but for right now, I’m soaking up those extra baby snuggles.

You all know that I’m not one to be brief in my writing, so expect the same for this post. It shouldn’t be TMI but if you’re questioning it, skip this one and wait for the cute baby pictures in my next post. 🙂

I went into labor on Saturday, March 16. It was the end of my Spring Break at school, and Travis and I had enjoyed a nonchalant day at home. We had plans to hang out with friends that evening, but in the late afternoon, we decided that we would take a long walk because the weather was finally, finally starting to feel like spring. I remember feeling so out of breath during that walk, but I chalked it up to 1. being nine months pregnant and 2. having a lazy week where I laid around a lot. I commented to Travis that I felt like my belly was low, which maybe meant that the baby had dropped and that I wasn’t sure how I could deal with getting bigger in the remaining month of pregnancy. I felt like I was close to waddling!

After our walk, we got Qdoba for dinner. I was feeling lazy, and we hadn’t eaten there in forever. I got the bowl, which is so much food, and it’s so hard to control yourself from eating too much and being miserably full because it’s so good. Thus, I ate way more than I should have, and Travis and I decided to go sit out on our back patio for a while before going to our friends’ house.

While we were sitting back there talking, we both mentioned how strange it was that this would be one of the last times hanging out where it was just the two of us (Little did I know how true that really was, as I went into labor about twenty minutes after saying that.) My stomach was feeling a little off, and I felt some pressure down there, but I just assumed that I had eaten too much, and that was the cause of it. I was kind of complaining to Travis that I hadn’t been as productive during my week off as I had hoped to be and that I needed to watch some childbirth videos to prepare myself since we hadn’t taken any classes. He told me to stop stressing and that I could watch the videos tomorrow (umm…that didn’t quite work out- ha!).

I kept feeling a little off, and I got up around 7:30 p.m. to go to the bathroom and to get ready for our evening plans, and when I stood up, I felt a huge gush unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I worriedly looked at Travis and said with a little cry, “I think my water just broke.” He kind of laughed it off and said, “Don’t you think you just peed yourself?” Seriously?! Men!! I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn’t freaking out so much. I looked at him, annoyed, and said, “I would have know if that’s what it was. I did NOT pee!”

In the course of walking inside and up to our bedroom, I felt three more huge gushes, reaffirming my worst fear that it was indeed my water breaking. I remember looking at Travis and saying, “It won’t stop!” I changed pants about three times, not knowing what to do!

Ironically one of the goals I had made for myself over Spring Break was to pack my hospital bag. I had started it a couple days before, but I hadn’t gotten very far, thinking I would finish it during the two weeks I took off before my due date. (I laugh now thinking I was going to have so much free time in those two weeks before he was supposed to come.)

So, there I was not wanting to move because it wouldn’t stop gushing and crying to Travis saying, “I’m not ready!!!”

Travis googled (We were seriously clueless!) and read that it said to come to the hospital right away after your water breaks. I threw some stuff in my hospital bag in a panic, while Travis tried to stay calm. He thought they would check me out and send us right back home because he read that the bag of waters can reseal. With the amount of fluid that came out, I was seriously doubting that, but I was hoping and praying that he was right!

I felt like hyperventilating on the way to the hospital, and that twenty minute drive felt like it took forever. I remember telling Travis, “…but I want him to be an April birthday like the rest of the guys in our family. He can’t come this early!”

Since it was evening hours, we parked in the Emergency Room lot and I waddled up to the second floor. It sure felt like the labor unit was a long way for women in labor to get to!

When we got into the unit, I was basically in an all out panic. It felt so real being there, and I was still in denial. The nurse who met us there tried to help me stay calm, and she told us that it was a slow day/night and we were the only ones in the labor unit. Before she checked me out, Travis questioned if we would be able to go home if the waters resealed and she said, “Oh no. If your water broke, it’s go time. You’re having a baby in the next 8-16 hours.” Cue the hyperventilating from me again! 

I also remember telling Travis, “…but I didn’t even shower…and I didn’t shave my legs” and most importantly, “I ate way too much Qdoba!” It’s not like those things mattered, but again, I felt so unprepared.

The nurse that we had in the beginning did a great job keeping my mind off of my worries and just talking to us about random things to calm us (me) down. I was still just at one centimeter dilated when they checked me, and the nurse told me that if I wasn’t progressing by midnight then the doctor on call said I would need to be put on Pitocin. I had heard horror stories from friends and family about Pitocin so it was my goal to avoid that all costs.

The nurse set me up with a birth ball to bounce on. and Travis and I cranked up the labor playlist that I had made. We just talked and sang along to the songs. Between rounds of bouncing on that ball like my life depended on it, we made many laps around the unit. I think there was one other couple in the recovery section, but other than that, it was dead.  The other nurses on duty kept commenting on how fast we were walking and on how many laps we had done. I wasn’t feeling any contractions yet though, and I wanted some progress since we were really doing this.

As the nurse checked me around midnight, I still hadn’t made any noticeable progression, and I was so against the Pitocin, which she knew, so I sweet talked her into giving me one more hour. I’ve never bounced so hard on an exercise ball in my life. C’mon baby!

As one o’clock drew near, I was feeling anxious, hopeful that I made some progress and could just keep laboring on my own. I was feeling small contractions by this point, which I was hopeful was a good sign. When she checked me though, I had barely made enough progress to count, but once again, I sweet talked her into extending my “deadline” to two a.m. By two a.m., I was definitely feeling some stronger contractions, but I still wasn’t where they wanted me to be, so she brought out the dreaded Pitocin.

By this point, I was hooked up to an IV pole with the Pitocin so we couldn’t walk the halls anymore. I kept bouncing on the ball for awhile, and then would switch to a chair and back to the ball.

The contractions didn’t feel like what I was expecting. So many people had told me they felt them deep in their back or in their stomach, like a gut ache, but I felt them in my lower belly, like a strong, painful period cramp.

Though I hadn’t taken any birth classes to prepare (and I didn’t actually have that time to watch the birth videos like Travis told me I would 😉 ), I had read the book “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth” a few weeks before. I didn’t have plans to go through childbirth au natural, but I had read the book just to hopefully glean a little more knowledge and peace of mind. The book itself was a little too hippy dippy for me, but one thing that I took from it was how the author compared contractions to waves. She said if you don’t tense up and just let the wave come over you, it feels a lot better than fighting it.

As I felt each contraction, I tried to keep the wave metaphor in mind. I knew once I reached the “peak” of the contraction, it would slowly retreat away and the worst would be over…until the next one. 😉

I made Travis keep talking to me through them, though I wasn’t listening during most of it. I remember when I felt a contraction coming on that I would pick an area to stare at (or later just close my eyes) and I would squeeze my leg until the worst was over. I tried to keep the rest of my body relaxed, as much as I could, and just breathe through it. The pain was sharp, and sitting on the birth ball helped the most. I tried to get in bed for a couple of the contractions, and that made them feel 20 times worse to me, so I quickly moved back to the ball/chair. 🙂

After I had multiple bags of Pitocin in me (I questioned the nurse that she was giving me too much- haha. I thought she had forgotten and was going over the recommended amount. 😉 ), the nurse began to talk about getting an epidural since she knew that was my plan. I was in pain, but I kept telling her that I felt like it was too early to get it. I told her that it was tough to know if I was ready because I could handle this right now, but I wasn’t sure how much/soon it would get worse. She told me that since it was the middle of the night, it was going to take about 30 minutes for the anesthesiologist to arrive, another 15-20 minutes to administer, and another 20-30 minutes for the epidural to kick in.

I was still feeling so wishy-washy about knowing if it was “time” to call it and get the epidural. I had heard that the epidural makes some people super nauseous and actually get sick, so I asked her probably ten times if  she thought that would happen to me because I definitely didn’t want to throw up– haha. She said it makes about 50% of people feel or get sick, and I wasn’t liking those odds.

She finally said that it was the greater of two evils: would I rather deal with the intense pain or risk possibly getting sick? Travis told me he hated seeing me in so much pain and suggested I get the epidural now. It was going to take over an hour for the lady to get there and do it, and with the way I was progressing, an hour could lead to me feeling like it was unbearable. I initially said I wasn’t ready and that I would call the nurse back in when I felt like it was time. However, after about 15 minutes of much stronger contractions, I decided that it was sounding like a great option. 🙂

When the lady finally arrived, she had me sit on the edge of the bed and gave me the numbing shot before beginning. I had heard that if you move or flinch and the needle goes in wrong, it can paralyze you, so you better believe I stayed as still as a board and focused all my attention on breathing and staying calm.

The epidural was over and in before I knew it. It felt like it only took a few minutes to me, but Travis said he felt like it was an eternity!

Once I had the epidural, I was stuck in bed to labor. The nurse said hopefully we could just relax and maybe even get some sleep in the meantime. Ha! Like we were going to be able to sleep!

I had told the anesthesiologist that several of my friends warned that it’s tough to feel enough to be able to push because of the epidural. Because of that, I had her give me just a small amount to start so that I’d hopefully still have feeling to push.

After awhile, when the epidural should have been fully kicked in, I noticed that I had one spot on the left side of my lower groin region that was still feeling everything. I was numb everywhere else, but that one spot was feeling the contractions completely, which made it hard to relax. The anesthesiologist came back in and repositioned me to move the medicine around. However, after a while later, I was still dealing with that one spot.

Because of that she gave me a booster dose to hopefully get to that one spot. Well…it definitely did that..and then some. I’ve never felt so completely numb before. My legs felt like lead, and I couldn’t even raise them without using both of my hands to pick them up and move them. It was a strange feeling, and it had me worried for how I was going to be able to push when that time came. I figured that I still had a while though, so I tried to relax. The anesthesiologist came back in and lowered the dose so that I could hopefully get a little feeling back in time to push.

As the nurse checked me, we were all shocked at how quickly I was making progress. After getting the epidural, I progressed the rest of the way in just about two hours. As the nurse checked me at 7 a.m., I assumed I had just made it another centimeter or so, but Travis and I both got wide eyed when she said, “Oh, you’re already ten centimeters. The baby is all the way down too. You’re ready to push.”

I felt like it was all happening so fast and was hard to process!

My doctor was officially on call, starting at 7 a.m., so they called her in and said I was ready; she just needed to get here to get the show on the road.

It took an hour for her to arrive; thank goodness I couldn’t feel anything! In the meantime, Travis and I were just hanging out, wide awake after knowing it was so close to time.

The whole process of pushing was so different than what I expected. I pictured a frantic delivery room with tons of people running in and out. In reality, there was just my doctor, one nurse for me, and a nurse for the baby. It was so calm and quiet.

It only took about ten minutes and maybe five pushes for Declan to get here. Declan was being a little stinker, and in between pushes, he would back off on the contractions, meaning we were just waiting for another one so that I could push again. It was so strange to go from pushing to everyone calm and relaxed, watching the monitor for the next one. So anticlimactic! We would see one start to build, and then it would back off…so we would wait some more and just talk. 🙂

I think Travis was holding his breath more than me. At one point, after I pushed, I looked over at Travis and said, “Can YOU relax?” He was straining/breathing more heavily than I was! It was also the weirdest feeling to “push” when I literally couldn’t feel a thing. The epidural hadn’t had enough time to back off, so I just “faked it” and tried to envision pushing, which apparantly worked.

 

When Declan arrived at 8:27 a.m., there’s a couple things that we all noticed/commented on. First of all, he looked teeny! Travis and I hadn’t been around many babies before, and Declan was definitely the smallest we had held. Also, he was so skinny and lanky. He had such long fingers and the biggest “pouty” lips, according to the nurses too.

They put him right on my chest to snuggle, which was the best and most surreal feeling ever. It’s one thing to be pregnant and obviously know that you’re going to have a baby. But, to have the baby actually there and cuddling on you was unbelievable.

After delivery, everyone pretty much left us alone to cuddle and hold Declan for probably three hours. We were kind of shocked at how long they had us just get to know him, but we were happy for the quiet time with limited distractions.

By around noon, we had eaten a meal and were ready to get moved to a recovery room. At this point, both my parents and my in-laws were already in Manhattan so they had to wait a little until we were moved and situated.

We were in our new room probably five minutes and Declan’s first visitors arrived. My parents, Matt, and Megan were the first to meet him. Thinking back, it’s crazy because at that point he was only about four hours old!

After that, my in-laws and Kevin and Shayna met him.

Between staying up all night in labor, going through delivery, and then entertaining visitors until mid-afternoon, we were both exhausted. Up until that point, I had been running on adrenaline and feeling good, but it hit me as my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were there. All at once I felt like I’d just run a marathon.

After they left, we slept, relaxed and got refreshed….NOT.

We were able to nap a tiny bit, but the whole time at the hospital, I felt like we were interrupted with different people every twenty minutes or so (everyone was super helpful- it was just a lot of coming and going). Add that to me not being able to sleep because I was worried about Delcan breathing, which led to me feeling a little sleep deprived already.

We had the best nurses and lactation consultant during our time there, and they were all so helpful to answer our many questions about how to do things and what was normal for a newborn (#FirstTimeParents). We asked so many questions and buzzed our nurses so many times, but I wanted to get things figured out before we went home and it was just us all alone. 🙂

We finally got to leave the hospital on Tuesday, March 19 about 4 p.m. My mom got to our house about an hour later to help for the first few days. Thank goodness she did because we definitely felt clueless when we got home!

We were blessed to have her help for a few days, and then the weekend on our own before my mother-in-law helped for a couple days! They gave me some much needed sanity, rest, and reassurance.

After going into labor so unexpectedly, I’m so grateful that everything went so smooth and that Declan Hayes got here perfectly healthy. Recovery has gone well, and I know I keep using this word, but it still all feels so surreal to think about going through labor and delivery.

The more I think back to that terrifying evening of my water breaking, I think it was God’s way of saying that I’m not in control and to trust him. If I would have had those two weeks off, just waiting for baby, I would have been a nervous wreck, trying to get everything prepared just so and perfect. It was better that I was just thrown into it and didn’t get a chance to overthink things (which is what I always do and drive myself mad doing!). Travis and I have gotten into the routine of reading a devotional during Declan’s evening feeding, and when we went back to the one for March 17, the day he was born, the whole message was about trusting God in the unexpected and giving up control. It couldn’t have been more fitting.

Declan Hayes, you have rocked our world in the best way possible. We can’t imagine life without you, and we love you so!

 

 

 

Third Trimester: Weeks 28-36

Hello! With Declan turning one month old already today, it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve been pregnant. I got a bit behind on my pregnancy recaps, and Declan made that even easier for me by arriving early, cutting my third trimester short by almost a month. 🙂 (#ThanksBuddy).

It feels a bit surreal writing this last pregnant recap as my baby naps right beside me! From here on, though, it’ll be on to more exciting things, aka tons of baby pictures. 😉

You can read about my first trimester here and here and my second trimester here and here!

I know I say this for every pregnancy recap, but buckle in for a long one. I’m ready to be done with these, so I’m squeezing allllll of my random third trimester thoughts into this one post.

Week 28- January 16

• Baby is the size of a large eggplant.
• I’m officially in the third trimester- what?!!
• I took the day off from work for my 28-week appointment (glucose test). I was super nervous about it and got the orange flavored drink. I got it down just fine thanks to me bringing a straw to help myself out. 🙂
  • My appointment with the nurse went well, and his heartbeat was 140.
  • When I had my blood drawn for the glucose test results, I saw the nurse take extra long and print things off after processing my results and that’s when I knew that I failed. 😦
  • I had to meet with another nurse, and she tried to joke that not only did I fail, but I failed by a LOT (too soon, lady, too soon!). Of course, I cried and was beyond pissed. She asked if I had ate anything sugary like cookies or drank a pop beforehand (no and no). I unwillingly scheduled my three-hour glucose test and felt so embarrassed walking by everyone in the waiting room as I was crying.
  • When I got home, I decided there was no way I was doing the three-hour test because it sounded like a recipe for feeling terrible/getting sick. I looked into alternatives and decided I would rather go straight to monitoring my own blood sugar. This means I have to meet with the Diabetes Education Center next week for a consultation and to figure out the next steps. I was a bit of a mess about the whole situation, and Travis wisely suggested that we watch The Office all night on the couch to lift my spirits- It did. 🙂
  • Maybe this is unrelated, but the night after I drank the glucose test, I woke up drenched in sweat and my stomach was killing me. I felt off for the next couple of days too. Maybe it’s mental, but this just reaffirmed my decision not to do the three-hour test.
• In positive news to round out this week, I started his baby book, and it’s so much fun to fill out. 🙂

 

Week 29- January 23

• Baby is the size of a butternut squash.
• This has been a whirlwind of a week thanks to gestational diabetes.
  • At my first meeting at the Diabetes Center, it took me 20 minutes alone to fill out the paperwork before my appointment.
  • The lady I met with said that according to new guidelines if you fail the first glucose test, you technically have gestational diabetes. Thus, I didn’t need to do the three-hour test anyways, I guess.
  • I was emotional during my appointment and cried most of it because I was feeling some self-pity that I had to deal with this and overwhelmed with all the information I got. I learned how to carb count and monitor my blood sugar. I brought in a paper with everything I had been eating the past few days, and the lady said I eat so healthy and exercise so she feels bad that I have it and understands it’s not fair. That didn’t make me feel better. I just don’t want to deal with it!
  • After the appointment, I picked up my “diabetes starter pack,” as I’ve been calling it- prescriptions for my monitor, test strips, and ketone strips.
  • Since that appointment, several coworkers and my sister-in-law have told me they had gestational diabetes too, and they’ve been good at reassuring me that it’s alright and not the end of the world.
• It’s been a rough few days figuring out the new diet and the right blend of carbs to fat and protein ratio to keep me full and feeling good.
• Baby moves all the time now. A benefit of the new diet is that I no longer have sugar crashes and that I make myself get on the treadmill after most meals to keep my levels down.
• We went to Locked, an escape room, with friends. I wasn’t too helpful (#pregnancybrain), but it was fun even though we didn’t make it. I brought a snack bag of pretzels in the room with me to get my carbs in, and our friend Kevin saw them about halfway through and commented, “Awesome, they left us snacks in here too. Look, there’s a bag of pretzels!” We about died laughing.
  • We went to a bar on Poyntz afterwards to talk and play darts, and I felt so trashy being in there with a bump. I tried to pull my cardigan around me to cover it so I could avoid weird looks.
• Later this week, I met with a dietician, Norma, about my gestational diabetes and she was so helpful and reassuring. She gave me good resources and adjusted my meal plan to include more carbs (It’s been hard enough to get the minimum amount from before!!). She was shocked with how little weight I’ve gained this pregnancy, which of course made me worry that something is wrong. I’m a worrywart, through and through. She did tell me that I’m doing a great job, and she was weirdly enamored by my peanut butter banana baked oatmeal that I eat for breakfast. She thought it sounded like the best thing ever and wanted the recipe- haha.

 

Week 30- January 30

• Baby is the size of a large cabbage.
• I officially put in my resignation letter since I will be staying home with baby boy next year. An email went out to the district about the Foundations job opening for next year and lots of people stopped me in the hallway to say they would miss me but that I wouldn’t regret getting the extra time with my baby. 🙂 It’s reassuring when every single person says that!
• I had Trav sit with me one night this week to help me with the baby book. He was just thrilled about it, as you can imagine, but we had some laughs thinking of what we wanted baby boy to know about each of us.
• We did our hospital tour and it was so worthwhile. The nurse answered all of our questions and then some and the unit was so much more cozy and welcoming feeling than what we expected it to be like. It feels so small too, which is partly why I think it felt so cozy. I thought we might run into my coworker and his wife because that day was her due date but no luck. 😉
• We watched the Super Bowl with friends, and while I couldn’t go all out on the snacks because I have to count my carbs, I did enjoy my 1/4 cup of puppy chow to fit into my carb limits. 🙂
• Sleeping has officially become uncomfortable!

 

Week 31- February 6

(No picture this week since it was a tough, emotional week!)

• Baby is the size of a coconut.
• I started week 31 with two snow days, which gave me time to do more baby prep stuff- woohoo!
• With the high pressure system, lazy ice days, and little sleep, it’s been harder to control my blood sugar levels, which has been disappointing. My levels totally dictate how my mood is, which is sad but true. I don’t want to have to get insulin!
• Beanie moves and kicks all the time, especially mid-morning, night, and after meals.
• I am feeling very tired and sleep is not great. The weekends are my saving grace to get caught up and rest.
• After catching a little cold this week, my sugar numbers have been super high. Trav sat by the treadmill as moral support as I walked and drank my apple cider vinegar after dinner. He’s just the best support!
• I had another gestational diabetes appointment with Norma, and I was worried she would put me on insulin because of my cold giving me high numbers. However, she was very understanding and said I’m doing well.
• Insurance stopped covering my glucose test strips, meaning the price went from $20- $150. What?! Trav researched and found a good alternative brand that is way cheaper, actually more accurate, and requires less blood to test with. Have I mentioned he’s the best?!

 

Week 32- February 13

• Baby is the size of a jicama.
• I had my 32-week appointment with my doctor. She thinks I can manage my gestational diabetes and go full term. I am measuring right on track and baby’s heartbeat was a strong 152 (always the best sound!). I also got my breast pump prescription!
• I wake up and pee at least twice per night. Needless to say, I’m still feeling tired!
• I started making some freezer meals for when beanie is here. It’s nice to feel a little prepared.
• We’ve been using the baby’s sound machine that we got as a gift for a couple nights of sleep this week. It really is comforting and I hope it helps him sleep like it does us. 🙂
• A weird new symptom: sometimes I get a bubble in my throat that just sits there. I’m still feeling good with no heartburn though so I can’t complain too much.
• It’s been nice to have a “calmer” week this week with not much going on and low stress! My levels have been under control, and I’m feeling more relaxed about it all.

 

Week 33- February 20

• Baby is the size of a pineapple.
• This week started off with a snow day; that’s always a good thing! Keep ’em coming!
• I had another gestational diabetes appointment with Norma. My levels went down since last week and look good. She said I’m doing great with eating well and exercising and that she doesn’t need to see me again unless my levels start getting high. I feel like I graduated. 🙂 She actually said she wished all of her GD patients worked as hard as I did. I’ve always been a “teacher’s pet”/perfectionist (ha!) so that’s fitting!
• I finally bought my first pair of maternity jeans, only to get them home and realize they’re not maternity; they’re actually supposed to be “transitional” or postpartum until you get back into your regular jeans. They work with my big belly and feel great though so I’m sticking with them!
• We got the carseat this week- exciting!
• Jess and Emily threw us a coed baby shower themed “A Baby is Brewing.” It was a rainy/snowy day so some people had to cancel, but we still had a good turnout. Zach got Travis a nerf gun as his baby gift, so the guys had a big nerf gun war after the shower was over (#BoysWillBeBoys).
• My coworkers Bri, Julie, and Kaitlin threw me a baby shower at school. I got books galore for the babe. 🙂
• Baby boy responded to Travis and I saying he was going to love doing nerf gun wars with dad. He kept moving at the perfect time- haha. He’s a smarty already!

 

Week 34- February 27

• Baby is the size of a cantalope.
• I had my 34-week appointment. I put in my FMLA and short term disability paperwork. Baby’s heartbeat was 142. The nurse said I’m measuring a little small, but she said they expect that since I’m not a big person. We scheduled a sonogram for the next appointment because of the GD to have an extra check on baby.
• At our PLC day meetings with the high school staff, one lady said I’m lucky and carrying a “beach ball”- just my belly and nowhere else. I’ll take it!
• We had our maternity pictures with the ever-talented Kayla. We lucked out and got the nicest day we’ve had in weeks, but it was still only in the 30s/40s. I had a spot out by Tuttle picked out that has a little cove to make them look beachy. In between pictures, I had to keep “shaking it out,” as Kayla said, and put on my coat because it felt so cold in my thin dress. I couldn’t stop shivering! Kayla kept guessing that his name was Dimitri because we brought the wooden “D” that’s in his nursery as a prop. She sent me a couple previews later that day and the colors/outfits/location are the perfect wintery coastal look that I was going for!
• I made it through parent/teacher conferences, but it was so exhausting. I actually got kind of sad that it’s my last one. My coworkers called bs to that because we all dread conferences, but it’s true. It’s bittersweet leaving my job, but I’m so excited for the extra time with baby.

 

Week 35- March 6

• Baby is the size of a honeydew melon.
• I can’t eat too much at night now or it keeps me up and then I can’t sleep well/don’t feel good.
• I had our final baby shower back in Sabetha at Buzz Cafe; it was a rainy, foggy day. My sister-in-law, mom, and mother-in-law hosted. It was appropriately nautical themed, and we had quiche, muffins, and fruit. It was so nice to catch up with family and friends. Everyone kept saying how good I looked, which I appreciated, but I was feeling big! We got spoiled once again, and everyone had great advice for us.
• I started Spring Break- woohoo! Now it’s hitting me that I only have one week left of work before I start my early maternity leave- so many mixed emotions! (Edit: Little did I know that I actually wouldn’t be going back to work..at all. Thanks Declan- ha.)
• I’m feeling very large this week. I’m definitely carrying all in my belly, and at times it’s starting to feel heavy.
• I got his clothes and other items washed one day this week. Ahh- getting so real!

 

Week 36- March 13

• Baby is the size of a head of romaine lettuce.
• I’m officially in my 9th month of pregnancy, which sounds intense! 🙂
• I had my 36- week appointment with my doctor, and I can’t believe we’re already at the weekly appointments!
  • We started with the sonogram because of GD and he is measuring about a week behind, which she said is normal since we’re not big people. She gave us a freebie 3D ultrasound, which was so cool! He looks like a Snyder and so much like Tenley and Bennett, our niece and nephew. We think he’s so cute, of course, and can’t stop looking at the picture now!
  • He’s also head down and positioned how he should be. He’s around five pounds, and they guess he will be around 6-7 pounds when I deliver. His heartbeat was 144, and I was 1 cm dilated, 80 percent effaced. The nurse told us that sometimes people stay at 1 cm for weeks and other times they go from 1 cm to being ready to deliver in a few days (Looking back now, it’s so ironic that she said this, as I went into labor just a few days later!).
  • I took the Taking Cara Babies class and it had so much good information. I took eight pages of notes as I watched.
  • My water broke Saturday, March 16 and it was go time (3 1/2 weeks early). We were definitely shocked, surprised, and terrified. I wasn’t feeling ready, and Travis thought they’d just sent us back home. Little did we know… 😉
  • Declan Hayes Snyder was born on March 17 at 8:27 a.m., 5 pounds, 10 ounces and 19 inches long!
    • Grandma and Grandpa Sommers, Matt, Megan, Grandma and Grandpa Snyder, Shayna, and Kevin all visited him in the hospital later that day!

And that’s finally the end of my pregnancy recaps. Wheh- I’m caught up! Stay tuned for Deck’s birth story coming soon; never in a million years did I expect him coming when he did, but thankfully everything turned out great, and now we can’t imagine life without our little Deckie! 😉

Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cups

We’re talking breakfast today; oatmeal lovers, get ready to drool!

In my third trimester when I had to change my eating habits for gestational diabetes, I wanted something quick, filling, and delicious for breakfast, and I was a bit stumped at first, as my typical bowl of cereal was no longer on the table. While it would have been nice to make eggs and toast every morning, I chose to sleep in most mornings and didn’t have the time to make that happen. 😉

I love baked oatmeal for breakfast (you may remember the post about my favorite peanut butter banana baked oatmeal). While I still made that recipe often, I wanted another option to switch it up a little too.

Enter in these Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cups. They’re baked in individual portions, can be made ahead and froze, and they include chocolate for breakfast. Check, check, and check!

If you’re looking for a healthy, quick breakfast, this is it! Most mornings, I would have one of these oatmeal cups (with a dollop of peanut butter on top because peanut butter makes me happy 🙂 ) and a glass of milk, and it gave me the fuel I needed to start my day!

*If you’re counting your carbs for gestational diabetes, these each have 25 grams or 1 1/2 carbs. Add a glass of milk (another carb choice) and you’ve got the perfect diabetic approved breakfast! 😉

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
•  1 cup mashed bananas (around 2 large)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Crack the two eggs into another medium bowl. Whisk together with maple syrup, mashed banana, and vanilla until combined and smooth.
4. Slowly whisk in the milk and coconut oil.
5. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until all oats are covered and moistened.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.
7. Spray muffin pan and divide mix into 12 muffins. Press down on each one with a spoon to cover oats in liquid.
8. Bake for 30 minutes. Then, let cool for five minutes.

*These are great to make ahead and freeze. Once cooled, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap. To reheat from frozen, heat in the microwave about 45-60 seconds. Add a spoonful of peanut butter on top (–optional, but why wouldn’t you?!).

Having just had a baby, I can attest that these are also the perfect breakfast for the newborn days. It’s easy to grab one, heat it up, and snarf it down before my little guy wakes up again to eat. 🙂 I learned the hard way that eating cereal for breakfast with a newborn is risky business (#soggy).

I made a double batch of these to put in my freezer so I’m set for the next month or so! Give them a try!

Question of the Day: What quick breakfast options do you make at your house?

 

Five on Friday

Good morning! Hooray for Friday!!!!

one. My work week ended up being shorter than expected thanks to some heavy ice and bad road conditions. On Tuesday morning, we started hearing of bad weather headed our way, and school was let out at noon. Then, we had a snow day on Wednesday- woohoo! The only annoying thing is shifting lesson plans and reorganizing to fit it all in, but I’m more than willing to do that for a little extra down time. 😉

I was actually super productive on my snow day and spent about 3 1/2 hours that morning getting caught up on some grading that I’d been neglecting. That afternoon, I had my meeting with the Diabetes Center since I failed the first glucose test and refused the longer one. More about that below…

two. I’m not going to lie, my Wednesday afternoon at the Diabetes Center was rough. I had the sweetest nurse that walked me through everything and was so patient to explain it all, but it was Overwhelming with a capital O. She basically told me that the guidelines have changed and since I failed the first test, I “have” or am being treated for gestational diabetes.

Over the next hour, she went into detail about monitoring my food by doing carb counts on everything I eat and how to monitor my blood sugar levels.

Don’t worry- there were about twenty other sheets she gave me to figure out too.

It was a lot, and I already eat so healthy and exercise so I was feeling a little pity for myself. Even the nurse said, “It’s not fair you have to go through this. I see patients like you all the time who are doing everything right but still have it.” Add all of this with the extra hormones, and I was a crying mess- embarrassing, but I couldn’t stop it! After having such a smooth ride with pregnancy so far (no morning sickness and feeling pretty good overall), I guess this is my “rough patch” to get through.

Though I know that I have no control over getting it (it’s just that my body can’t handle all the sugar while pregnant, probably because of my PCOS), I can’t help feeling guilty and thinking I could have prevented it; plus, I don’t like the stigma of having “gestational diabetes.” You better believe I’m doing all I can to eat even healthier now and get more exercise so that baby boy is happy and safe for a few more months.

My sister-in-law also had gestational diabetes through all three of her pregnancies and some coworkers have had it too, so I’ve had lots of good resources to talk to and make me feel like it’s not the end of the world. (It just feels like ONE more thing to throw on when I already feel busy at school and unprepared on all the baby things.)

So…my new routine is scheduling out my food and carb counting everything (I miss being in ignorant bliss), checking for Ketones in my urine (fun), and checking my blood sugar levels four times a day.

I felt like I had the diabetes starter pack Wednesday night after I picked up my prescription for it all at the pharmacy.

three. My sister-in-law said the key for her to manage her gestational diabetes was walking after every meal to help your body break down the sugars and carbs. I already walk around all day in the classroom, but after dinner, I’ve been forcing myself to walk on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes while I chug all the water.

Because of this, I already finished the show, “You,” which had an intense ending, and need another recommendation. I’m about to just start Parenthood again, such a feel-good, homey show. 🙂

four. My students have been researching this week (and will continue next week) for our big Japanese American Internment Camp project. This is the biggest project that they do in their sixth grade year, and it’s so funny to see my past students in the hallway saying, “Oh it’s that time of year, huh? The internment camp project. I’ll never forget that.” It’s a big one but usually rewarding for the kids by the time they finish.

five. Hoping the snow melts a little bit so Trav and I can go explore a potential place to take maternity pictures. I know that I could have our photographer figure it out, but I kind of like to be in charge of little details and think I have the perfect place in mind. 🙂 Something to look forward to!

Have a great weekend!

Question of the Day: What are you looking forward to this weekend?

 

Five on Friday

TGIF!

one. I’m on the K-State campus today with a coworker for an educational iPad conference about how to make lessons more interactive. Looking forward to spending the day feeling somewhat like a college student again. 😉

two. Earlier this week I recapped the last part of my second trimester. You can read about it here if you want to catch up.

three. My third trimester hasn’t started out so hot with that damn glucose test.

I got the drink down fine and felt okay while waiting to get my blood drawn, but I failed the test and am so confused why. I eat so healthy and get plenty of exercise. Not to mention, my blood work before has always been on point, nothing to worry about.

I am opting to skip the three-hour glucose test because it sounds like a recipe to get sick and feel awful so now I have to go meet with a Diabetes Education center to learn about monitoring my own blood sugar. Can’t wait to prick my finger every day (eye roll), but I’d still prefer doing that over fasting and then downing a bunch of sugary gloop and feeling like poop. 😦

Ugh- just annoyed that I have to deal with any of this honestly. I know how to watch what I eat. Wednesday was not a good day (pregnancy hormones = lots of tears). 

(Also, my husband is the best, supportive, most comforting person ever. Plus, his suggestion that we watch about four episodes of The Office that night did in fact help me feel a little better. 😉 )

four. To add on to my bad Wednesday, I got reports that something happened with my substitute and the day was a disaster in my classroom. So that was fun to have to deal with and worry about as well. Ugh, can this week be over yet?!

five. Trying to look on the bright side and focus on all the positives as I got into the weekend. One bump in the road doesn’t mean to throw in the towel on all the other good things going on. Hope you all have had a more positive week!

Have a great weekend!

Question of the Day: Since this post was a real downer, what is one positive/amazing/wonderful thing that happened for you this week?

Second Trimester: Weeks 20-27

Hello!

I’m somehow already in the third trimester, as of today, so I thought I’d recap the second half of my second trimester before I forget to do so (forgetfulness is a reallll problem these days 😉 ). Read about the beginning of my second trimester here, and my first trimester here and here!

I’ve been lucky to still be feeling great, and I don’t feel too huge yet, so I’m guessing I’ll be sure to pop during this last trimester.

Week 20- November 21

• Baby is the size of a banana.
• At this point, we are halfway through; that is SO hard to believe!
• We found out at our sonogram that it’s a BOY! My initial gut feeling was correct! 🙂 Everything during the appointment looked normal and good. His heartbeat was a strong 145, and he was active and a contortionist for most of the time with his arms and legs all twisted up. The lady said he is measuring one day ahead and is around 12 ounces at this point.
  • After our sonogram, we immediately went to Marshalls, and I bought the cutest little cozy outfit for him for next fall/winter and some moose bibs.

• Since finding out that he is a boy, it’s been so fun to call him by his name. It’s been a fun secret to have just between Travis and I, but I can’t wait for others to find out and get to call him that too!
• We got to tell our families the boy news over Thanksgiving. Most of them had predicted boy, but my mom, Holly, and Shayna all thought girl.
• For our gender reveal, we did one with Travis’ family and one with mine. Travis shot at a pumpkin, which had tannerite and blue powder in it. It took a couple tries to get it perfectly and to make it actually blow up, but seeing everyone’s reactions when it did was so fun. 🙂

• After the gender reveal with my family, beanie got his first gift from my parents- a cute sleeper and a bear lovey/blanket.

 

Week 21- November 28

• Baby is the size of a carrot.
• I told my students the gender this week with a puzzle that spelled out, “Boy or Girl? Pink or Blue? Mrs. Snyder is having a baby boy! Woohoo!” My students were excited and one girl told me that I look like a “boy mom” and a “soccer mom”- haha.
• I felt LOTS of kicks one night laying in bed- the strongest few in a row thus far, but he quit when Trav tried to feel. Little stinker. 😉
• The belly has popped more this week!

 

Week 22- December 5

• Baby is the size of a spaghetti squash.
• I feel lots of kicks and movement when I sit down and am calm (mostly in the evenings), and I could even see my stomach move a little one night.
• I ordered some clothes for beanie on a Cyber Monday Old Navy sale, and the little cargo shorts killed me. They are SO teeny and adorable!

• I feel like I’m saying this every week, but I feel like the belly did a lot more poppin’ out this week too.
• I got my Solly Wrap for when he is a newborn so I can wear him. I tested it out, but I need some more practice for sure before I put a baby in it. It’s hard to tie it tight enough, and there’s so much extra fabric!

 

Week 23- December 12

• Baby is the size of a large mango.
• I read that the baby can feel you dance, so that’s fun. 🙂 Doing all the crazy dance moves to give him a wild ride- ha!
• As of this week, I looked at myself in the mirror and thought, “The bump is OUT and defined. Wow!”
• Small meals and snacks are key so that my stomach and digestion doesn’t feel overwhelmed. I have had some majorly bloated moments when I eat too much (#InstantRegret).
• I went to Travis’ work Christmas Party this week, and everyone was so excited about baby boy and kept telling us how fun and fast it all goes. A lot of the partners/head of his company have boys or all boys and I feel like they were getting nostalgic and reminiscing with us. 🙂
• I saw that people bought some things off of our registries and got so excited. Christmas is going to be fun and baby-loaded!

 

Week 24- December 19

• Baby is the size of an ear of corn (and around 1 1/3 lbs.).
• I had my 24-week appointment with my doctor. We waited over an hour for a ten minute appointment, so that was fun. 😉 She said that I am measuring right at 24 weeks and the heartbeat was strong again- 148. She basically told me that I am an easy patient, which was reassuring and told us to set up a hospital tour for anytime after 28 weeks.
• I can’t wait to go home for Christmas to show our families how the belly has grown.
• Baby boy moves a LOT now. It is so cool to feel and is still mainly when I’m in bed or lounging for the night, but I do feel him sometimes during the day as I’m teaching.
• I’ve only gained around six pounds so far- yay!
• During Christmas, baby got so spoiled with fun gifts. My mom’s side of the had a little baby shower for us on Christmas Eve and totally surprised us. My in-laws got him his own stocking full of fun things, which was so sweet. Among the stocker stuffers were tiny boots and overalls. 🙂
• After Christmas, we realized how quickly my car fills up and we don’t even have the baby here yet! In fact, Travis couldn’t get all the gifts in my car when he went back, so we had to leave some at my parents’ house to take when mom drove me home a few days later.

 

Week 25- December 26

• Baby is the size of a rutabaga.
• I had a dentist appointment and a haircut while back in Hiawatha for break, and people said I barely looked pregnant, let along six months along!
• We had our girl’s Christmas party with my best friends. Our good guy friend, Jordan stopped by, and he felt my belly (his first time feeling a pregnant belly lol). He couldn’t believe how hard it is, which made us all laugh.

• Mom and I went to Kansas City to Buy Buy Baby a few days after Christmas to pick out fabric for the glider we are getting. After about an hour of deliberating on fabric choices (Travis was glad my mom went instead of him 😉 ), we finally picked one and then found out it was out of stock. We debated then on what to do, and I called a few days later to order the chair with my second choice fabric.
• Baby still moves a ton and they are much bigger movements than before. I recorded a video of it because you can see some of the big movements. It’s crazy and so cool!

 

Week 26- January 2

• Baby is the size of a scallion.
• I made a list of all of the big “to-do’s” and color coded it by month of what I need to get done. (OCD or organized? You decide 🙂 ). Hopefully this will make all of the items on the list seem more manageable. (Don’t worry- there’s a back side too 😉 ).

• Travis and I ran to Kansas City on Friday night of this week after he got off work to pick up the glider I had ordered at Buy Buy Baby. At first, the lady in the store couldn’t find the chair in the back, and I was ready to unleash the hormones on her, but then she found it in another spot, just in time. 🙂
• We set up the crib and glider in the nursery the next day, and it’s crazy how much it changed the room after being my office for so long. If I’m being honest, I decorated my office to be able to transition to a baby boy room (Good thing I was right with baby being a boy!) so it feels like the nursery is basically done now. Those were the two finishing touches!

 

Week 27- January 9

• Baby is the size of a head of cauliflower (That sounds so large!).
• It is fun to watch my belly move and “see” body parts when he is really going.
• I’d be lying if I said it was easy to go back to school this week. I feel like I was able to really focus and get a lot of baby stuff done over break, so my mind just wants to keep focusing on all the baby things!
• He moves a lot about 10:30 a.m., which is my plan period at school. This is when I’m usually sitting down for the first time that day and am hungry/grabbing a snack.
• My baby app says baby weighs almost two pounds and is around 14 1/2 inches long. That blows my mind!
• My weight gain is at around eight pounds, and in some non-fitting shirts, I feel like you still wouldn’t be able to tell I am pregnant at first glance. You can definitely tell in tight, fitted shirts though.
• I’m still wearing my regular pants- just unbuttoned and unzipped. 🙂 Thankfully, a lot of my shirts are longer so you can’t even tell. I have one pair of pregnancy pants so far, and I’m not a fan of the way the crotch looks.
• I am trying to limit my sugar intake because I have my glucose test next week. Sugar things sound so good though, so this has been tough. 🙂
• One of my coworkers told me I definitely looked pregnant now for the first time when I wore a tight sweater. I’d worn a jacket and t-shirt the day before, and he said it was hardly noticeable then. He asked if I popped overnight- ha.
• Travis and I both love sitting in the glider in the evenings. His room is so peaceful!

 

Another long post that I’ll be impressed if you got to the bottom of! I am hoping to still keep some energy in the third trimester, so you’ve got a couple more of these posts coming your way before he arrives!

Enjoy your day!

It’s a………!

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for..the big gender reveal!

We had my 20-week ultrasound the day before we went home for Thanksgiving. It was hard enough to keep the gender a secret from family for those few hours, so I’m glad the timing worked the way it did.

Halfway through already (and yes, my Christmas tree has been up for weeks already- haha).

Our ultrasound technician found the gender super quickly and affirmed what I had thought all along: It’s a BOY!

I’ve never been right about my friends or other people’s baby genders, but I finally got my own right! We are so excited to have a little son, and honestly, since I’ve been so sure of it being a boy from day 1, it didn’t feel like that big of a surprise to me. 😉 I always thought that I would have a son first, so it just feels right (though I would have been happy with a girl too, don’t get me wrong!). 🙂

Immediately after our ultrasound (where everything about him looked normal and healthy, thank goodness), Travis and I went to Marshall’s and looked/ahhed at their baby section.

I found the cutest little bib set and outfit for him for next fall/winter. I seriously die everytime I look at that little sweater. Gah, it’s adorable!

For our gender reveal, we wanted to do something that wasn’t too cheesy and still fit in with our Thanksgiving traditions.

On both of our sides, we spend a lot of time in the fall shooting at family gatherings. On Travis’ side, they always shoot at the pumpkins after Thanksgiving, so Travis decided that he wanted to put tannerite in a pumpkin with some blue powder and shoot at it to blow it up. A little redneck, but it sounded fun and easy. 🙂

We gathered up his family after lunch and walked down to the field to do the big reveal.

It took a few shots to get it perfectly, but when it did, you could definitely see the blue powder. We heard lots of “Ahh- it’s a boy!” and enjoyed celebrating with his relatives.*

We did the same thing for my family, the next day when they were back from Madison.

Again, it took a couple tries to get it to blow up perfectly, but then it worked well.*

For the record, most people (on both of our sides) thought it was a boy, except for my mom, my mother-law, and my sister-in-law who just swore it was a girl.

This little dude is going to be spoiled and so loved on both sides, and we are already counting down until April 9 rolls around to get to love on him. 🙂

*For videos of both reveals, see my Facebook or Instagram pages!

Have a splendid day!

 

Second Trimester: Weeks 14-19

Hello!

I’ve been feeling great in the second trimester, and today I’m sharing all about weeks 14-19 of this pregnancy. You can read about my first trimester here and here.

I’ve got my energy back, and I’m feeling wordy in this recap, so buckle in and get ready for a long read. 🙂

Week 14- October 10

• Baby is the size of a lemon.
• I can’t believe I’m in the second trimester. Holy cow!
• My belly button is starting to pop out and it freaks Travis out. 🙂 I’ve always had an “inny” so this is strange!
• I announced the baby news to my coworkers. They were all excited, and we sent a 6th grade team picture with the caption “Guess who’s expecting” to the rest of my coworkers.
• We announced on social media this week too. It was so fun to see all the comments, love, and support from friends/family.
• My stomach has felt a little off several times this week- just random quick bouts of nausea. I’m wondering if it’s related to something I’ve eaten since I’ve felt so good for the whole first trimester.
• I read that the baby can now squint, frown, grimace, and pee. That blows my mind!
• I’m starting to not be as tired all the time (Hallelujah!).
• A couple times, I’ve felt a “bulge” of sorts on my left side. Is that the baby or am I just losing my mind?
• I started our Amazon Registry, and I’m hooked. 🙂 When I have freetime on the weekends, you better believe I’m researching baby products and adding things to the registry.

 

Week 15- October 17

• Baby is the size of an apple.
• I’m definitely not as tired this week. It’s like a fog has lifted.
• The only things I’m “craving” are tomato- things, especially ketchup (which I’ve never been a huge fan of before so this is new). I even ate a plain spoonful of ketchup one day because it sounded so good.
• I announced to my students this week with a puzzle, and they are SO excited. I didn’t expect them to be this into it!
• I’ve had several students tell me they can see the bump, but I’m still not really seeing anything.
• Travis told me my bump looks more like a beer gut- ha!
• I bought my diaper bag this week. It was about $100 off, and I couldn’t resist the good deal. 🙂
• My stomach feels way better this week, so I’m thinking last week was a fluke.
• We went to Topeka to see my brother-in-law Trae and I bought some new clothes that have a little room to grow. I’m trying to buy more “basic” pieces that I can layer with a lot of things.
• I’m definitely feeling just ready to have a bump. This awkward, in-between phase is frustrating!
• Travis thinks you can tell I’m pregnant, but mainly from a bare belly view. When I lay down or move back, my stomach comes to a point; it looks so weird!
• Baby Snyder got his/her first gift: a set of Disney books from my friend Jessica. 🙂

 

Week 16- October 24

• Baby is the size of an avocado.
• I haven’t slept great this week. Sleeping on my side gets old and stomach sleeping (which is how I usually sleep) is getting uncomfortable.
• Burgers/red meat is a new craving. It always sounds good. I got a good burger in Week 15 when we went to Topeka, and I legitimately had a dream about that burger.
• We had our 16-week appointment with our main nurse and she had a student nurse with her, training. It took the student nurse awhile to locate the baby for a heartbeat, which freaked us both out! They explained that the baby is so active, which is good, and the heartbeat was a strong 150 bpm. I had questions about me not gaining any weight and not really showing yet, and they reassured me that it’s normal. I also got a flu shot during this visit, per my doctor’s suggestion.
• I had a strange dream that the baby is a girl, and that eating an apple helped her heart rate rise when I was in a stressful labor..??
• Aaron, Renee, and their daughter Nora, stopped by to watch the K-State game and stayed through the afternoon and evening. Renee is 5 weeks behind me so we got to compare bellies, symptoms, etc. 🙂 Nora is about 2 1/2 years old, and we realized that we have a ways to go in terms of kid proofing our house. We were exhausted when they left!

 

Week 17- October 31

• Baby is the size of a turnip.
• Travis had a vivid dream just a few days after mine that beanie is a girl and we named her Mary Lou- ha! That is about the furthest name from the girl name we have picked out.
• I have felt so good that I have to remind myself that I’ve really pregnant!
• My belly button is definitely popping and has moved off-center…just when I thought it couldn’t get more strange!
• I still have moments where my belly looks small and I question it. Travis tells me I just look for something to worry about, but this isn’t how I pictured looking or feeling at this time in pregnancy (not complaining!).
• My students now say they can notice my bump on the reg.
• I had a craving for canned beets, which I had never bought before. They hit the spot though!

 

Week 18- November 7

• Baby is the size of a bell pepper.
• I still feel so good (praise the Lord!).
• We had a tailgate with friends, and they let me “sniff” the alcohol as they took shots- ha. 🙂
• I had a dream about it being a girl and then it being a boy in the same night, so who knows?! I’m still on the boy train (It’s just my gut feeling), so Travis is saying girl just because I’m usually wrong on my guesses for other people.
• I’ve become more hungry and snacky lately.
• I’m sleeping a lot better (another praise the Lord!!).
• I definitely have very vivid dreams regularly, almost every night.
• Travis asked me when babies open their eyes this week…umm what?! I told him that babies aren’t like kittens. They open their eyes the day they’re born. I think he needs to read one of the many baby books I’ve been reading- ha.

 

Week 19- November 14

• Baby is the size of an heirloom tomato (I’m still digging all things tomato-y so that sounds so good! 🙂 ).
• Our anniversary was the first day of this week- 3 years! We went to Kansas City and registered at Buy Buy Baby (WOW- stimulation overload!), looked at a stroller/carseat at Dillards, shopped, and registered at Target. The Target by Legends had the most slim, overpicked, and downright dirty baby section that I’ve ever seen. It definitely wasn’t the best registering experience there. We were both pooped by the time we got home.
• I smelled/saw sushi and ahi tuna at the restaurant we ate lunch at on our anniversary. It made me miss it so much more than ever. That will be our first meal out once baby gets here!
• I definitely feel like the bump is more permanent and noticeable this week- finally!
• My belly button feels like it’s  3/4 out and is poppin’!
• We had dinner after a K-State game with friends at Little Grill and ran into my parents there. They all said they thought my bump was so little. Womp, womp. Just when I thought it was actually noticeable- haha.
• We’re in shock that we get to find out the gender next week. Time is flying by so quickly!

 

I commend you if you got through all that. My thoughts are still very random and all over the place. 🙂 Stay tuned for the reveal if baby Snyder is a boy or girl!

Have an amazing day! 🙂