Is It Time Yet? No, Well How About Now?

I’m 38 weeks + 2 days and the signs are there that Liam is ready to say hi, but labour just….doesn’t happen. Its been doing my head in all week and I think I’m at the point where I’m about to explode with frustration. I’ve had a show, crampiness, pressure in my pelvis and random aches and pains all week, but they never eventuate into anything.

I woke up at 6.30am this morning when my husband left for work with some killer tightenings. They’re not insanely painful or anything, but I feel them and that for me is a huge thing (When I went into hospital with threatened pre-term labour I couldn’t feel the contractions, but the CTG showed I was definitely having them!). They’ve been coming on all day, are about 20 minutes apart and last from 30-60 seconds. Now I have a lovely back ache to compliment them.

Instead of running around screaming, “Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmyGOD!” and scrambling to cram the last few things into my suitcase and hospital bag, I’ve been calm, level headed and, well, skeptical. My husband and my mum know whats going on, but I’ve told them both not to get too excited. These puppies don’t seem to be getting any stronger or closer so I haven’t even bothered calling the midwives. I’ve already categorised these “things” as another false alarm even though they haven’t gone away after my afternoon nap. I won’t even pick up the phone and query the hospital as to whether I should cruise in or not until I can’t talk through the pain because I just find it so unlikely that anything less than that is labour.

Earlier in the week I think I tried every possible old wives tale to get this labour rolling. I’ve eaten thousands of curries, enjoyed a few romps under the sheets, soaked myself in baths, drank gallons of raspberry leaf tea and have been for long drives on bumpy roads. Nothing. He just isn’t ready to come out yet and its really getting to me! (Before anyone mentions it, yes I know I’m not overdue, or even full term yet..but thanks to diabetes I’ve been fighting an uphill battle to be allowed to go this far, let alone be allowed to go into spontaneous labour!) Add all that effort to the signs that labour is close but is yet to eventuate and you get one cranky, disappointed and agitated pregnant lady.

I’m running out of coping mechanisms and I need your help! If you’ve given birth, please share with me how you made it through the last few weeks! You can leave your stories in the comments, or email me at geraldtonblog@gmail.com. I look forward to your responses

Will Caffeine Kill Liam?

When I fell pregnant I basically cut all the wonderful things that I took for granted out of my diet. Gone was the McDonalds, toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, soft cheeses and booze. The thing that I suffered the most without though would have to have been my friend caffeine.

I’m not a hard core coffee drinker. When I was working I’d usually grab a 600mL diet Iced Coffee from the “Tucka Truck” in the morning to wake me up, and have a can of Diet Coke with my afternoon snack to get me through 3.30-itis. My decision to sacrifice my one saving grace at work was not on the advice of doctors – he didn’t mention anything to me about caffeine intake – but rather it was influenced by various baby websites which put caffeine drinkers in the same category as smokers.

I wish I could tell you that my no caffeine vigilance lasted, but it didn’t. At the start of my second trimester I started craving tea. Mmm, delicious! I’d have one with my brekky every morning. When summer really took grip I switched from cups of tea to a pint of home made Iced Coffee with my lunch. Ah, refreshing! Then, my husband came back from Malaysia with the most amazing coffee I’ve ever tasted in my life. My caffeine habits switched again to a cup of Indocafe in the morning with my brekky and a glass of diet coke in the afternoon, depending on whether or not my heartburn was behaving.

Since none of the 50 million doctors, specialists and midwives I have seen so far have mentioned anything about caffeine intake, I thought I’d better do some research! As I suspected, Caffeine during pregancy boosts miscarriage risk, so I’m very glad I gave it up at the start! Its also been linked to low birthweight amongst babies which is something I don’t have to worry about. At 32 weeks little Liam is already measuring 5lb 2oz. There are a whole bunch of other claims floating around out there, but I couldn’t find any credible studies to back them up.

Only now has the issue of caffeine come up when I visit my doctor. When I told her I had a cup of coffee in the morning she screwed up her face and asked me how I could do it. Not because I was poisoning my child, but rather because when she was pregnant coffee tasted like metal to her. I was chastised more for the Diet Coke than the coffee – and even then it was because I’m a Diabetic and not because I’m a horrible person who was turning my son into a mutant.

As with all things pregnancy and parenting related, we have to trust that we know whats best for our babies. I try to limit my intake of caffeine to under 200mg. I read somewhere (Do you think I can find the link now that I actually need it? No!) that if you’re going to drink caffeine, then try to keep it under that. Its the equivelant of two cups of instant coffee, or one proper coffee.

In case Liam actually is already a raging caffeine addict at the tender age of 0, I’ve decided to cut out the coffee in the morning. I really miss my Indocafe, but I would miss Liam more should something happen to him. Caffeine is the least of our worries; he already has his fair share of complications and I don’t want to add “addict” to that list! I won’t be losing any sleep over my past coffee indulgences though, I feel that I was within the limits and that my little soldier will be just fine.

Gestational Diabetes – Snack Ideas

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has days when you’re just so hungry! There have been times when I can eat what feels like a three course meal and thenfind myself absolutely ravenous two hours later. A question that alot of women diagnosed with GD ask is whether or not they can include snacks between meals, and the answer is yes, you can! Which is good, because if I couldn’t snack I might fade away to a small block of flats.

As with your main meals, you need to choose your snacks wisely. Snacks should be low in fat (particularly saturated fats) and high in fibre (Fibre helps ease a certain side effect that you can experience if you’re taking iron supplements. I’m sure you know what one I’m talking about!). Its also important to note that many low fat foods can have a significant kilojoule conent, so try to snack in moderation.

Anyhow, here is a list of sweet and savoury snack ideas as well as a short list on what is safe to drink. These ideas are taken from the “Healthy Snacks” fact sheet written by DiabetesWA:

Sweet Snacks

• Slice of Raisin toast
• Snack Right Fruit Slice or Spicy Fruit Roll biscuits
• Frozen fruit cut into pieces
• Small handful of dried fruit such as apricots, sultanas, apple or prunes mixed with nuts
• Low fat/diet fruit yoghurt or Fruche Light
• Light Cadbury or Nestle Mousse
• Pikelets or Wholemeal Crumpets (Wholemeal crumpets tend to send my sugars through the roof, but its on the DiabetesWA Snack list, so I may just be special. Wholemeal bread has the same effect)
• Fruit or Wholemeal scones with fruit spread
• Fruit or Bran Muffin
• Mother Earth Wholemeal fruit bars
• Low fat fruit cake

Savoury Snacks

• Pretzels, low fat corn chips or rice chips
• Low fat noodles
• Rice crackers
• English Muffin topped with tomato slices and low fat cheese (English muffins destroy my sugar levels as well, but once again, its on the DiabetesWA list)
• Low fat Cup a Soup varieties
• Low fat crackers or vegetable sticks
• Light microwave popcorn
• Vita-Weats with 9 grains topped with your favourite topping (These things are great! I live off them some days)
• Savoury muffins
• Celery boats

Drinks

• Any type of coffee, as long as its made with skim milk*
• So Natural Soy Banana smoothie
• Fruit Smoothies
• Diet Cool Drinks*
• Water
• Light Fruit Juices

^{* Its important to note that these things may contain artificial sweeteners such as saccharin, which you may be trying to avoid during your pregnancy.}

These are of course, just some ideas of what you can eat and may not work for you specifically. Like I mentioned next to some of the ideas, I’ve found that some of the snack foods can be terrible for my BSL’s. It really is trial and error to see what does and doesn’t work for you. So far the only two things that I’ve found that have randomly upset the balance of my diet are wholemeal breads and Hi Lo milk. For other people, it could be the Cuppa Soups or sultanas. Its all about finding out what works best for you.

Gestational Diabetes – Low GI Foods

I was only 23 weeks pregnant when my doctor first began to suspect that my body was struggling to break down sugar. The first sign that something was wrong was when the dip stick test came back positive for sugar in the urine. So, out came the portable Blood Sugar Level (BSL) monitor. It turns out that the two pieces of white toast smothered in delicious strawberry jam that I had devoured for breakfast had sent my BSL over 9. The look on the doctors face was priceless! Apparently a healthy persons sugar levels will vary between 4 and 7. So, I was sent off to fast for 12 hours and then endure a two hour Blood Glucose test.

As expected, the results came back positive for Gestational Diabetes and I was referred onto a Diabetes Educator. I left her office feeling confident and reassured that out of all the complications this pregnancy has seen so far, the Diabetes was the one variable I controlled. The diet guidelines she gave me were surprisingly good. I get to eat all the time, and most importantly, the meals themselves are healthy and very satisfying.

Five to Eight percent of women will develop Gestational Diabetes, so I thought I’d start sharing my experiences with the Low GI diet in segments. If I typed it out all at once, I’d be here forever!

The Glycemic Index
^{Taken from “The Glycemic Index” Fact Sheet, written by DiabetesWA}

What is the glycemic index?

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of the effect that a carbohydrate containing food has on blood glucose levels compared to the effect of the same amount of pure glucose, on blood glucose levels.

What does the GI tell us?

The GI gives us a ranking of carbohydrate containing foods based on the effect that food will have on a person’s blood glucose level. This not determined only by its sugar content. In fact, many foods that are high in complex carbohydrates (starches) affect blood glucose levels more rapidly than foods that are high in sugar.

How can the GI benefit me?

Research has shown that by eating a diet with a lower GI, people with diabetes can reduce their average blood glucose levels. This is important in reducing the risk of developing diabetes-related complications.

A healthy eating plan that incorporates low GI foods combined with physical activity can help reduce the risk of heart disease. This is achieved by improving the body’s ability to use glucose for energy and helping to lower blood fats (triglycerides) and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol. Low GI foods may also help improve satiety (feelings of fullness), which may help with weight management.

Some Low GI Foods are:

• Multigrain Breads
• Cereals such as All Bran, Guardian, Porridge, Special K, etc.
• All types of Pasta
• All types of Beans – with broad beans being the exception
• Starchy veges such as sweet potato, corn and peas
• Fruits such as cherries, grapefruit, peach, dried apricots, apples, pears, plums, oranges, grapes, kiwifruit, mango, banana, etc
• Milk, low fat yoghurt, custard, low fat icecream

High GI foods that should be avoided:

• White bread, bagels, blackbread, Wonderwhite, gluten-free bread, Lebanese , Turkish, Naan, etc.
• Sultana Bran, Cornflakes, Coco Pops, Rice Bubbles, Fruit Loops, puffed wheat, etc.
• Brown rice, calrose rice, jasmine rice, broken rice, glutinous rice
• Potatoes, french fries, parsnip
• Dates, watermelon
• McDonalds, HJ’s, KFC, Red Rooster, Chicken Treat, Wendys, etc

Should you find yourself unable to avoid eating something on the bad list, ensure that you follow up with exercise, or try to include some low GI foods in with it to lower the overall impact the high GI food has. Next time I’ll share with you all how I altered my usual diet to include the healthy stuff I usually wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole (Kidney beans, anyone?!).