35 weeks pregnant - I have to say this week was pretty uneventful as far as the pregnancy goes, which is a good thing. I am so thrilled to be past the nightmare of extreme insulin resistance that I experienced at the end of the second tri – early third trimester. It is a relief to not be changing my basal rates and ratios every.single.day and struggling with being ravenously hungry but knowing that my diabetes was raging out of control, having to wait/delay eating, and generally feeling guilty all the time about every little thing that went in my mouth, even when it was my 3rd string cheese of the day and I really wished it was a chocolate chip cookie instead.
I did good through all that. I am proud of myself. As I mentioned last time, my A1C has crept up to 6.3%, but I am confident that the next time I have it done, it will be lower. I am still taking a ton (for me) of insulin every day, but it seems to have plateaued and not many changes have been made. Phew.
- 12am-7am: .85/hour (no change from week 31)
- 7:30am-11am: ..95/hour (no change from week 31)
- 11am-3pm: .75/hour (down .10 from week 31 )
- 3pm-12am: .80 (no change from week 31)
- IC Ratios:
- 12am-11am: 1 unit / 4 carbs (was 1/3)
- 11am-3pm: 1 unit / 9 carbs (was 1/14)
- 3pm-12am: 1 unit / 5 carbs (was 1/4)
I am starting to gather together some essentials that all new moms / moms of newborns should have at home for those first few months. There are some little things that can help a tired mom feel a little better about herself and look a little pulled together, even when inside you are feeling exhausted from night feedings and schlumpy from not having lost all the baby weight yet. And I don’t know about you, but when I feel even just the tiniest bit better about how I look, it affects my mood in such a great way, which makes me a better mom.
So here’s my list:
1. A collection of bright, fun, lightweight scarves
So scarves serve a couple of great purposes for moms of newborns. I have a collection of about 10 that are all bright and fun – mostly from Target or the Gap and I don’t think any of them cost over $20. First, a fun scarf around your neck can really frame your face and brighten you up a little bit – especially when your post-partum wardrobe consists of the same yoga pants, t-shirts and nursing tanks in grey, white and black. Wear, wash, repeat. Throw on a scarf and it’s an instant wardrobe update.
Also – in case you haven’t heard – you will be very, um, leaky for the first couple of months, and maybe even longer. Even the best positioned breast pad can slip or become soaked through, leaving you with a nice round wet spot on your shirt, and once that dries, a lovely white chalky looking stain if you don’t have a chance to change your shirt. Simply unknotting the scarf and draping each end over your chest covers that problem – works great for spit up too.
Finally, draping your lightweight scarf over your baby’s head and your shoulder provides a little nursing privacy if you need it in a public place.
2. A great hat (or two!)
Before baby arrives, take yourself shopping for a seasonally appropriate, trendy hat that fits well. That way, when you are on day 3 of no shower and your hair is a greasy disaster, you can just pop it in a pony and put on your fun, cool hat. It’s an instant way to look pulled-together. When my daughter was born, I got a great hat that I only wore on my most disheveled days. I swear I got more compliments on “how great I looked” on the days I wore that hat – if only they knew what was going on underneath! Only my husband knew that hat-wearing days = frazzled mama days. To the rest of the world, I just looked like I took a minute to accessorize.
I have a really small head, and I have really good luck finding hats that fit at Aldo Accessories. In fact, I recently picked up this hat for less than $20 for summer.
3. One makeup item that is easy to apply and that you can promise yourself to wear everyday.
I think this suggestion is a seasonal one too. When my daughter was born in October and the days quickly grew short and cold, my pale skin looked so much worse than usual winters because it was complimented by bags under my eyes, sallow skin and post-pregnancy hormone induced acne. I promised myself to put on a bronzer every single day – and I used Bare Minerals “Faux Tan”. It is pretty foolproof, takes about 30 seconds to dip the brush in the powder and quickly apply to your face. And it made me look like I had gotten more than a few hours of disjointed sleep the night before.
This time around, my baby boy will arrive in the summer, so I should be ok in the bronzer department. Instead I think I will make my “one beauty product that is essential to everyday” mascara. I have tried hundreds of different mascaras over the years, from the cheapo $5 drugstore brands to $30+ kinds from Sephora, but I have to say my favorite mascaras for ease of use, longevity, and non-smudginess are Cliniques.
You really can’t go wrong with any of these. They won’t irritate your eyes if you are a contact lens wearer, they don’t smudge, and using an eyelash curler beforehand is completely optional. Most are in the $15 range, but they last for a very long time. You can take 30 seconds and swipe a coat on and not have to worry that it is melting down your face or smudging all over a few hours later. They are also very easy to remove at the end of the day.
What are your recommendations for new moms / moms of newborns in those first few months that are easy pick me ups?
. As I’ve written about, I really struggled with high BGs in weeks 28-32 and I believe this is the result. As of about week 33 though, my insulin needs have started to decrease, I’m actually turning my pump settings way down and having some lows each day, so the worst of the insulin resistance is over and I expect his tummy will start to level out with the rest of him.
Note from me: I am going to try, try try my very best to update 1x a week for the remainder of the pregnancy – only 8 weeks to go!
