Discipline

I'm quickly learning that I don't have it! After failing my glucose tests, I learned last week that I have gestational diabetes (meaning, it should go away when the baby comes). It's a common problem for pregnant women to have, but a bummer nonetheless. I have reluctantly started a carb-counting diet. Basically, I have to cut all the fun out of eating. Cravings for naughty foods have never been so strong. And I know they aren't pregnancy cravings. They are just "I've-been-told-no-and-now-I-want-what-I-can't-have" cravings. I normally don't think about food much; now, thoughts of food consume my brain!!!! I can smell fast food at stop lights. There are entire aisles at the grocery store that need to be avoided now.

Of course, the benefits of following the diet are a healthier baby and a healthier me. If I don't keep my blood sugar at a healthy level she could be born with wacky blood sugar, too. AND she could be born large. No thanks. I would like a normal-sized baby, please and thank you. So, pray that I can stay disciplined on this carb-counting, no fun or frills diet! We want the Bean born healthy. :)

I am now 30 weeks pregnant. CRAZY! Gerrit and I are taking on cleaning projects to make room for Bean. Hopefully, she can be welcomed into an organized home. That's the news in our house. Here's my 30-weeks picture:

Happy Monday!

Challenge Day 18 and Some Banter

Welp, it's been awhile, so I feel like I should write something. I've really dragged this photo challenge out. Sorry folks. But here is:

A Photo of One of Your Classes

Obviously, this isn't a picture of one of my classes. However, it is a photo of my first day of my Junior Year in high school. My grandpa was visiting at that time and this may be the only picture I have of the two of us together. He passed away the next summer and I wish I remembered more of this visit. I do have little tidbits of memories of him. The clearest is of him reading the newspaper whenever he came to visit. He would devour each section and then turn to me and say, "Well Cassie, I guess you'll be wanting to read the 'technicals' now." Then he would hand me the comics. I have no idea why he called them that, but I still think about that each time I read the comics. :)

Besides being pregnant, there's not a whole lot going on in our household. We're trying to clear out the office space to make room for baby stuff. As my due date draws nearer, my feelings about this whole experience are getting stronger. I'm absolutely grateful for this pregnancy. We're excited to meet our little girl.

But I'm going to be honest.

Ready?

I do NOT like actually being pregnant. It's the weirdest, most uncomfortable thing my body and mind have ever been through....and my pregnancy is normal! It's not even complicated! I have nothing to complain about! But I certainly find plenty.

I also find it humorous how people react to pregnant women. Apparently, social norms do not apply when conversing with me, a pregnant woman. Suddenly....

• It's perfectly acceptable to comment on my body. Example: Wow, you look big today.
  
• Co-workers can ask personal questions and then give advice with no prior personal conversations in our history. Example: How many times have you gone to the bathroom today?

• Sharing a terrible birth and labor story is offered as a comfort, because what I'll go through could NEVER be as bad as that. I won't scar your mind with the examples I've been given. Glass-half-empty comments are the new optimism. Example: Oh, you aren't sleeping well? Your back hurts? Just you wait....it's only gonna get worse.
  
• Commenting on the food I eat is no longer seen as rude. Example: You're eating for two, so I guess it's okay for you to eat SO much.
  Example 2: You didn't finish everything on your tray. You really should eat more now that you're eating for two.
  

I, for one, don't understand where this new social openness comes from. It's fascinating. But it comes with the territory, I suppose. I'll just smile and nod and tell them THEY look really big today, too. :)