Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Diet and Exercise!

Last week I found out that I have Gestational Diabetes. Booooo! This means that I have to watch my blood sugar very closely and make sure I'm getting plenty of physical activity. Since these are things I need to be doing anyway, this diagnosis is actually a blessing. It has been the kick in the pants that I've needed to pay better attention to my health. My family, on both my mother's and my father's side, has a strong history of Type II diabetes and I guess I've just always chosen to live in denial of my own predisposition to this disease.

Hopefully, this is the wake-up call that will change my unhealthy habits and turn things around for good. Gestational Diabetes usually disappears once the baby is born, but, it is an indicator that I am more likely than those who do not develop GDM to have it again in a subsequent pregnancy and to develop Type II diabetes in the future. This means that it is also slightly more likely that Emma Grace will develop Type II diabetes as an adult.

Since this is not just about my health now, it has been a lot easier for me to stick to the diet, do my walking, and to test my blood sugar throughout the day. Robby's been so good and has been helping out immensely. We're all very tired (including Emma) because we're missing our sugar fix. In the long run, though, I'm sure we're going to have a lot more energy in the future.

We've just about gotten everything packed and ready for the move this weekend. It's been a stressful but exciting time in our lives.

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