I really don’t have much to tell you as far as an update.  I’m made for pregnancy, apparently.  How ironic is that, when it took so long to get there? LOL!  I know pregnancy is killer for a lot of women, but it’s been a cake walk for me by comparison.  I’m very thankful for that and try not to take it for granted.

Aren’t you jealous of how perfectly we keep our lawn manicured?!

We will be finding out the gender of our baby this week!  What do you think we’re having?

I think boy.  I have always wanted a girl, ever since I was a little girl myself (probably has something to do with having a little sister six years younger than me that I already felt like was my own baby, so I feel more like I know what I’m doing when it comes to raising girls since I’ve been through it already), but am not expecting one at all. You guys will have to help me figure out what in the world I’m going to do with a boy if it really turns out to be one. LOL!  Guy stuff is like a foreign language to me, but I suppose I shall learn along the way if I have to. Dennis would prefer a boy for the same reasons I’d prefer a girl, because that’s what he is and what he knows.  So I suppose either way, there will be at least one parent that sort of knows what to do with our little cupcake.

Then again, you never know what you’re going to get with a child–every person is unique.  Knowing the sex tells you very little!  My friend, Suzie, wanted a boy because she likes to hunt and fish and thought that she would get along better with a boy and they could enjoy those things together.  She was blessed with a boy, but he doesn’t like to hunt or fish…he likes video games!  She said if she had a girl, she’d probably love to hunt and fish and have tattoo’s like her mama. LOL!  Chances are if I had a girl, she’d be an athlete and play the drums, and if I had a boy, he’d love to cook and sing with me.  You just never know.  I guess I need to take this one day at a time here and not freak out about the sex of our baby.  I’m just blessed and thankful to have one at all. :)

Pretending I remember something from my early ballet days…which ended 22 years ago. But look, I can almost pass for a non-pregnant fat woman in this pose – my belly almost went away! haha

Want to have some fun?  Cast your vote of boy or girl in the comments and I’ll draw a winner from those that guess correctly.* The winner can choose between a $20 Amazon gift certificate (this option is open internationally) Snickerdoodle Blondies, Chipotle Honey Roasted Peanuts, or my sister’s homemade soap bars for their prize (the quantity will be as much as I can fit in a small Priority mail box). Baby’s gender and the winner will be announced next Monday!

*I will also be drawing from votes put in by friends/family in person and on my personal Facebook page.

Can’t believe I’ve already got a round belly! It’s so weird.  I keep pointing at it and saying “Look!  I have a belly!” to Dennis.  I think I’m expecting him to be all amazed or something but he’s such a dude.  He looks at my belly and smiles and says, “Yeah, cool.” lol!  Honestly though, don’t go and make food babies before making real babies, cuz then you’ll just get super huge like I’m going to get by the end.  I’m so scared, you guys.  I’m not even half way yet and I already look pregnant. Terrifying.

In the photo I’m wearing a “Momma Donna” outfit.  She got me the shirt from Target (Liz Lange maternity), and we bought the cropped khaki’s at Gordman’s together for a steal.  They are Motherhood brand but I think they were only like $15 or something.  I was glad to find another cheaper place to find maternity wear–their selection is pretty good!

I really can’t wear regular pants any more, at least not in the sizes I own, and while some of my shirts still fit, I just look pot-bellied in them rather than pregnant.  I love wearing maternity clothes because they accent my belly and make it look round, not just fat. LOL!

I added a pregnancy countdown ticker to the top of my sidebar and you can see our baby is now the size of a mango, my favorite fruit!  So unreal how fast a baby grows.  The miracle of conception to birth is just way too amazing to wrap my head around.

I don’t have much to report, but did get a question last week about my blood sugar numbers so I thought I’d address that.  I’m doing fabulous with my diabetes, peeps!  I’ve been really pleased with it for the most part because before I got pregnant I averaged about 150 and I’m now averaging 113 (there’s the 13 again!).  I purposely kept my blood sugar a little high pre-pregnancy to avoid low blood sugar like the plague (hates it), but my focus changed to making sure I’m as normal as possible at all times (doctor set my goals at 90 pre-meals and 120 post-meals) for the sake of the baby’s health.  I now will take 1 more unit than I think I need with meals just to be on the lower side.  This means I do often get low, but I always have a “fix” (candy/juice/etc) with me to take care of it if necessary.

I went through some really, really bad low mornings that were so severe I was only semi-conscious upon waking, not even aware of what I was doing (thankfully I would always eat something and come out of it).  I wouldn’t really “get” what was wrong with me at first and would try to check my email but couldn’t read anything, and I would be hitting walls and stumbling around, then I’d “come to” with a sack of chips in my lap and peanut butter smears on my nose and cheek or some such other nastiness.  I still can’t eat chips after that morning I had like half a bag of baked potato chips while I was out of it – major aversion now! Not a bad thing. :)

Being so out of control of my own body and mind really sucked, not going to lie.  It’s really scary because I might have lost consciousness if I hadn’t finally eaten something, and Dennis wouldn’t have found me until many hours later (he goes into work 3 hours before me).  Dennis helped me on some mornings when he was aware I was low before he left, but I had to get a handle on the situation because it’s usually on me to be able to get out of bed and be a self-reliant individual since sleep is now precious and I sleep right through him leaving.  I’ve finally worked out the dosage on my Lantus (long-lasting insulin) to where my morning lows are about 75, which is a manageable number that does not render me brain-dead.  So that’s very good!

Being pregnant with diabetes does make it more challenging, but thankfully I’ve had a very easy pregnancy so far, and that helps balance things out.  God only gives you as much as you can handle, right? :)  Props to the stronger women who’ve had to deal with morning sickness AND diabetes at the same time.  I think I would have been hospitalized.  Much respect to those who’ve made it through with the dreaded morning sickness, whether facing diabetes or not!

Question for those who have been pregnant before: what did you crave and what gender was your baby?  I guess I’m just trying to see if there’s a connection and what it might mean for me.  Personally, I think I’m having a boy.  Aren’t you supposed to like sweets if you’re having a girl?  My love for sweets is about voided out, though I’m really enjoying fruit like I never have in my life.  I used to love veggies and tolerate fruit, but now I hate veg and adore the fruit.  I mostly enjoy salty & savory things now and my love for Taco Bell, though it went on hiatus for a month or so early on, is now back in full force and I have to get a fix a couple times a week (Beef Supreme Gorditas are my weakness!).  So let me know what you think.  I suppose I might just have to be patient and wait another two weeks for the sonogram-lol.