Baby Crandall #3

Well, we're starting on the parenthood journey again! We're excited and a little nervous to welcome baby number 3 this spring. I wanted to keep track of some of my thoughts and feelings through this pregnancy.

The baby was smiling!

This pregnancy was a bit of a surprise, honestly. We had been talking about when to have another baby and were having a hard time getting excited about it with our two active, emotional, and ye, sometimes crazy toddlers. I think we were dragging our feet a little too much because Heavenly Father kind of pushed this one along for us, haha! 

We're definitely excited and feeling very blessed to have this new little one joining our family. It took a little time for Brett to really get excited though. Its interesting how different men and women feel about these things. Brett was worried about finances and being able to provide for all three kids. I was worried about being able to emotionally meet the needs of three kids. We've been really blessed since finding out about this pregnancy in a lot of ways though, and I feel its Heavenly Father assuring us that we're ready and able to care for this baby.

My pregnancy started off a little harder this time around. I had more nausea than with the others, although its still nothing to complain about. I know I have it much easier than a lot of my friends, but it was remarkably worse this time. Maybe its age or maybe its chasing around two toddlers. Thankfully, it started to wear off right around 12 weeks. 

We have another thumbsucker! 

Because of my history with big babies (Kayla - 9lbs and Tyson 10lbs9oz) my midwife decided to test me early for gestational diabetes. So at 16 weeks, right before Christmas, I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I only failed the one hour test by four points so I thought I'd pass the three hour test, no problem. My fasting was great, my one hour was pretty high, and my two hour was only high by 3 points. If you fail two hours, you fail the test. I was really disappointed, concerned, overwhelmed, guilty, and stressed when I found out. 

Since it was right before Christmas, my midwife said not to worry until after the holidays when I could meet with a diabetic educator. Well, I took it my diagnosis, did some research and decided to take it to an extreme. I basically cut all refined sugar out of my diet. I had a few carbs, but mostly whole wheat, and didn't have any candy, cookies, or anything else over Christmas break. I also exercised 6 days a week for at least 30-45 minutes. I actually lost 5 pounds! I know I had weight to lose, and I was feeling good. 

Then I met with the diabetic educator and found out I should still be eating 45-60 grams of carbs per meal and a few 15 gram snacks between meals. I was definitely not getting that many carbs. I also started testing my blood sugar in the morning and two hours after each meal. It was always pretty low! Fasting blood sugar was usually around 60 and my 2 hr levels were usually around 80, even eating the recommended amounts of carbs. Once my two hour level was 57! I decided to do a few tests where I ate what I wanted and then checked. It was maybe around 95. Anything under 120 at the two hour mark was normal. I've been pretty perplexed by all of this. My midwife didn't have an answer for me and the doctors I work for said it sounded more reactive hypoglycemia rather than gestational diabetes. I haven't really been very careful at all with what I eat over the last week. I'm not going crazy, but I am eating what I want. My levels have been a little higher, but still not anywhere close to 120. I'm still exercising every day and feel great because of it. I'll keep testing my levels and eating healthy, because more than anything, I want this baby to be healthy. 

In some ways, our whole family has benefited from this diagnosis. We now only use brown rice, whole grain pasta, and I learned a lot about carbs from the diabetic educator and dietician. I think we would all be a lot healthier if we ate like diabetics the majority of the time. We always pair carbs with protein now and I have little to no desire to eat something that has crazy amounts of carbs. I just don't think its worth it. 

The second trimester has been great. I still take naps occasionally while the kids sleep, but I'm fine if I don't get a nap. My energy level is good. Over the last couple weeks, I've been really hungry and my stomach grew like crazy! I think this little one had a growth spurt! We had our ultrasound at 22 weeks and everything looked good. Ironically, this baby is actually measuring small. At my first ultrasound, I was 6 days behind (I ovulated super late), but they didn't change my due date. So its not surprising that the baby is a little small, but its averaging 20th percentile. One of the head measurements was 8% while the other was 11%. Because of this, my doctor wants a follow up ultrasound in a few weeks. I'm anxious to see how much the baby has grown. I'm not worried about the head size because smaller heads and petite people run in Brett's family. 

First bumpie at 23 weeks! My belly is definitely growing fast!

This baby is much more like Kayla movement wise. Thankfully, so far I haven't had any swelling or carpal tunnel problems like with Kayla's pregnancy. It will be interesting to see what gender this baby is because there are similarities to both my prior pregnancies. Every one is unique though!

I'm excited to see how the rest of the pregnancy goes. Tyson and Kayla are so sweet and excited about this baby! Kayla is sure that its a girl. Tyson currently says its a girl as well (we're not finding out the gender!) They both love to kiss and talk to my belly. It will definitely be a challenge having three kids to take care of, but these kiddos will both be awesome big siblings! If Tyson doesn't accidentally kill the baby by stepping on it or playing too rough, that is!

I can't wait to hold this little gift from heaven in my arms!