34 weeks

34 weeks with Sarah. I feel like she dropped over night. (Do you think I'm bigger this time?)

I have only gained 1 pound over the last 4 weeks ( I was up to 22 lbs, lost 2 when I started the Gestational Diabetes stuff, and recently have gained one of the those pounds back. That puts me at 21 pounds for the pregnancy. I don't know if I'm gonna make it to where I was with Bekah. I gained 26 with her, but I don't think I'm going to gain 5 pounds in the next few weeks.)

The only reason I've gained 1 pound back is because I modified the GD diet. I started noticing that when I followed the diet to the T I was at fasting level when I tested an hour later. (except in the morning. I think my body is just a bit sluggish in the morning to accept the insulin) Because of this, I've been eating more carbs and still maintaining my glucose level. I really don't think I have GD.

The doctor drew blood 2 weeks ago to see my glucose over the last 3 months, so I'm hoping tomorrow he'll say that I'm right and I can just be careful in the mornings and stop testing altogether. Whatever happens, happens though, and I know that it will best for Sarah.

Picture Comparisons

Starting tomorrow, for the next 3 weeks (week 34, 35, 36 of this pregnancy), I am going to try and wear the same outfit that I wore that point with Bekah. Next week will be hard because I don't know where the pants are, but at least for week 34 and 36 I can do it. I will post the 34 week pic with Bekah tonight, and tomorrow I will post the 34 week pic with Sarah in the same clothes. Enjoy!!


(By the way, I don't have past 36 weeks with Bekah because she was born at 36.5 weeks)






(Me with Bekah at 34 weeks)

Kite Flying

We got Bekah this Mickey kite for $1 at Walmart. She and Bobby flew it the other day. Saturday night, when it was rainy and cold, she really wanted to go outside and fly it, despite the weather. She put all the clothing on herself, and Daddy tried to satisfy her by flying it in the hallway.

24 School Days

Till I'm done!!
I'm having a hard time getting my students motivated for festival.
Any suggestions for motivating middle schoolers?

Solo and Ensemble

TODAY!!! Oh the joys of being a choir teacher in the Spring. BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!! Bekah and I didn't leave my school yesterday till 5:30 pm. It was a LONG day!!

One major blessing is that I've been paying the lady that will be my long term sub to stay after school most of the time and work with my kids. Last year I stayed after school for at least an hour every day for 2 months in preparation for solo and ensemble.

Concert: Two weeks from Tuesday

Festival: Three weeks from Wednesday

The point in my pregnancy with Bekah when my water broke before I went into labor: 3 weeks from TODAY!!!

Hold on a few more days Sarah!!!

(Bekah is less than 1 day old in this picture)

The Countdown Continues

11 choral rehearsals until my concert
15 choral rehearsals until Large Group Festival (where we get judged)
26 school days until I am on maternity leave

The Weekend

Enjoying time in what she calls "the cage." She packs everyone in and says, "seat belt, be safe." From Diego I believe. She played in the suitcase for almost an hour, so needless to say, I packed a different bag instead.



Playing in the sand, (museum) Building something (museum)


Climbing high in the air with daddy (museum), Playing in the water (museum)

"Buying" some groceries (museum), Checking out (museum)

This weekend we spent about 24 hours in Cincinnati for a mini-babymoon. We headed up on Saturday morning to the Cincinnati Museum Center to go to their children's museum. It was wonderful!! We had a lot of fun. After that, we headed to the Best Western in Ft Mitchell, KY, just south of Cincy. They have a huge indoor playground, indoor pool, etc. (We went there last year also around the same time.) My parents came down from Columbus and brought our nephews Dylan and Ethan who we haven't seen since Christmas. (I hadn't seen my dad since then either.) Bekah had a lot of fun playing with her cousins. For some reason I only took pictures of them while they were in the pool. Later that night, my mom and dad watched the kids and Bobby and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. I got crab legs, he got steak. What a surprise!! We had a really nice time together by ourselves before we have 2 kids. (On a side note, we changed our water filter in our pitcher yesterday, and we realized that the next time we will have to change it we will have 2 daughters!!)
Sunday morning we swam and played more, had lunch, and then headed home. It was a really nice, relaxing time with family. I have included some pictures from the festivities and also from when I was trying to pack on Friday evening.




Dylan diving. (I can't believe he's almost 6 1/2 years old!!

Playing in the pool with Ethan and Grandpa.

Doctor's Appointment

I had my 32 week appointment today, and even though it wasn't exactly what I'd been hoping for (not having to do this Gestational Diabetes diet anymore), it was encouraging and I feel like a bit of a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
I went to see a different doctor today that I've seen once before while making the "rotation" through all the doctors in the practice because my midwife was not in today. I was so pleased today with him that I am going to go back to him in 2 weeks. I told him about my frustration with getting blood out of my fingers, and since I've been really good and only gone over a few times, he said I can cut down to only testing 2 times per day instead of 4. This is such a blessing!! I'm still going to watch what I'm eating, but I will only have to test 2 times!!
I lost 2 pounds (down to 20 pounds gained) in the last 2 weeks, but he assured me that the baby is getting what it needs no matter what I'm doing.
I still am greatly looking forward to being able to eat more bread, pasta, and sweets. I miss them!! I can only eat so much sugar-free jello and low-carb ice cream.
Thank you for all your prayers!! They have been greatly appreciate and felt here in the Fannin household, especially over the last 4 days!!

I am including a couple pictures from the last few days of silliness with Miss Rebekah.

Trying to knock her penguin over with the weight from her Valentine's balloon, and wearing her bathing suit bottom and skirt on top of her pants.

Snow/Ice Day, 32 Weeks

33 weeks with Bekah

32 weeks with Sarah
Home from school today for a minute amount of ice and snow. We don't do delays in our district, so if it's bad in the early morning, we close. It was nice to be home today with Bobby and Bekah for Valentine's Day. I made heart shaped pancakes for Bobby and Bekah, and Bobby make me a homemade egg McMuffin with bacon and cheese. (Pancakes have too many carbs)

Trying to get Bekah to take a nap today. (If you're wondering why we're giving her juice when she's trying to take a nap, it is Hawaiian Punch lite that only has 10 calories and 2 g of sugar per serving, compared to 26 g of sugar in Juicy Juice.)

Sick Day

(Bekah trying to comfort Daddy when he was sick.)

Yesterday, early morning, Bobby woke up with a stomach bug. He was in no condition to take care of Bekah, so we made the decision for me to stay home from school to take care of both of them.

Bekah and I ran in to school around 8 am get things ready for my sub, and then we came back home to take care of Daddy.

Bobby stayed in bed for most of the day and couldn't even go into work last night.

We all went to bed before 11 pm. That was the first time in a LONG time!!

He is feeling much better today, and we got back to our normal schedule.

Prayer Request

10 days into testing my blood sugar, I am struggling.

I am struggling to get enough blood out of my tiny little fingers, so I am wasting a lot of strips and poking myself many times. It appears as though I already have some scar tissue on my finger tips.

Out of the 40 times I've tested over the last 10 days, I've only gone over 3 times. Every time has been in the morning. 1 time was when I didn't do the math right with the number of carbohydrates. The other 2 times, yesterday and this morning, I have been under my allowed carbohydrates and still gone over after 1 hour. I cannot figure it out!! I can't eat eggs, bacon, and sausage EVERY DAY just to be under. It's not healthy. If I eat even less, I'm starving!!

Please pray for my peace of mind. I'm getting really frustrated.

Cute Pictures

Our friend Jean, who watches Bekah for us when we need time away, gave me a CD with some pictures that she took of Bekah a while back. Some are so cute that I had to share them.

The Count Down Continues

35 more SCHOOL DAYS till I am on maternity leave!!

Counting

Bobby had to go to the library today to get some books for class. AS they're walking/strolling past the isles, Bekah counted up to 14!!!

She also can say several numbers in Spanish. (via Dora) I don't know if she knows what they mean though.

Home Early

Snow and ice coming down. School dismissed at 1:30. Paula home at 2:00. Bobby out the door for his first Greek class at 2:15. Sesamestreet.com with Bekah at 2:20. Still no nap and she got up at 7:30 am.

By the Way......

I got an A on my second graduate class.

Yeah!! Now, all I have to do is start the process to renew my Indiana teaching license. It's hard to believe that it has been almost 5 years!!

-Paula

Another Snow Day, So Another New Post

New Stroller!! (Baby Trend Sit'n'Stand LX) The picture on the left shows you what it will look like when Sarah is big enough to be out of her infant car seat. The picture on the right shows the stroller with the tray removed and the infant bar in place. If you look closely, you can see the seat/platform for Bekah. She will be able to sit facing me or stand with a strap behind her back facing forward. She had fun trying it out yesterday.

Typical Bekah, and Paula & Bobby Updates

Look at my new boots!!! I'm going to dance around in them!!

Getting ready to go outside, and testing her old infant carseat, making sure it's going to be comfy for Sarah.


Bekah and Mommy hanging out. Bekah and Mommy playing with the Dora ball in the hallway. Notice that Bekah has her new boots on. She took her pajamas off by herself to put these on.

Bekah and Daddy playing out in the snow!!

Paula Updates:

Things are going well with testing my glucose level. I was over this morning by a bit, but only because I miscalculated the carbs, not because I cheated.
Today and tonight, I had a feast, probably more than I would normally, and was still under my carbs just because of what I chose to eat.
Thank you to all that are praying for me. I'm doing well right now, but it is only the 2nd full day of doing this. I could have 9 more weeks of this if Sarah decides to stay in longer than Bekah.

Bobby Updates:

Starts classes this week. He is taking Greek on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Speech Online. (don't ask me how that works!!!) Bobby is still enjoying his job as supervisor at UPS. His guys have been doing really well. He's going to take them some Vault again tomorrow to show his appreciation. Bobby has been looking at pictures of Bekah from when she was a baby recently, and he is getting really excited about Sarah coming soon.

Disappointment Strikes Again

Yesterday we had a snow day. A real one. We got a few inches. It was helpful and annoying. Bobby and I left our house at 8 am to go to my 30 week dr.'s appointment (8:45 am). What normally takes about 25 minutes took us 1 hour and 10 minutes because people were driving sooooooooo slowly. It was okay though because we actually still got there a few minutes before my midwife (it took her 1 hour to go what it usually takes her 10 minutes), and since I didn't have school, I didn't have to worry about rushing back by 10:20 when I start teaching on Fridays. (I have my long planning period in the morning and then teach, teach, teach.)
Here's where the disappointment sets in. My midwife notices in my chart my 3 hour glucose test. I FAILED!!! Yep, you read correctly. I failed. Someone dropped the ball and forgot to call me. Almost 2 weeks later!!!
So, what does this mean? It means that I am now on 175 carbs per day and checking my sugar level 4 times per day until Sarah decides to arrive. I was extremely upset, to say the least. Mostly because the didn't call me sooner, and then also because I am having to give up a lot of the bread and sweets I love.
The one blessing is that it is perfect timing. My mom was here from Wednesday night till just a few minutes ago (3:30 pm), and she was extremely helpful in helping me come up with food choices, etc. If I'd been on my own I would be eating all meat and really suffering; not eating all the carbs I should, trying to limit myself more than I need to. (My mom had to do all this for my sister when she was pregnant with my nephew Dylan 7 years ago.)
So far, I have tested myself after dinner last night, before breakfast, after breakfast, and after lunch. I have been below the levels my midwife told me to stay under every time, and only over on 1 of the level the diabetic nurse told me. (Her levels are a bit lower than what the doctor said.) I am very proud of myself!! If I stay under all weekend, I won't have to go back to the doctor for 2 weeks instead of 1.
The most satisfying part of today was lunch. My mom and I went to Red Lobster. I got crab legs, half a potato, a salad with a minute amount of salad dressing, and half a biscuit. It was sooooooooo good!! I love crab legs!!! And they have 0 carbs. I was so full and satisfied. I also ended up being way under the diabetic nurses number and the midwife's sugar level. Even though I won't be able to eat Panera bagels at church for a couple months, I am able to find other satisfying items to eat.
Please keep me (and Bobby) in your prayers as I work hard to stay on this diet.

My mom and I also picked up a great double/tandem stroller at Once Upon a Child for $65. I will post pictures of it later. Even though Sarah has plenty of beautiful hand-me-downs from Bekah, I got an outfit for Sarah to wear home and for pictures to be taken at the hospital. I wanted something new to her for those two events.