Gestational diabetes

[mrsv2]

Just been diagnosed this morning at 28 weeks during routine GTT test. Any advice welcome

I had the same and was told my baby would be very big and would probably need to go to special care.

Even as I was prepared for theatre for my elective CS at 38 weeks the midwife felt my bump and told me my baby was very big.

She was 7lb and didn't need special care. She was bright as a button from her first breath and the only help she needed was with keeping warm.

She continued to struggle with body temp for the first month which meant I had to be attached to her 24/7 to keep her warm with my own body heat. After that she was fine.

I soon got used to injecting insulin - are you doing that? - and I found it easy to cut out sugar because I just had to think of it harming the baby. Sweet food tasted awful at first after she was born!

Thanks timandra..... My dd was a tiny premmie so any baby over 2lb 9oz will be big for me, we also struggled with body temp on discharge so it's interesting that we will need to monitor the same. No decision on insulin yet was admitted as I needed steroids in case this one comes early so at present on an Insulin drip and then decision on Monday. How did you cope with cravings etc..... I love sweet things and craving fruit / fruit juice but all that needs to stop. Hope my head can ray body......

I have the least will power of anyone I know and I adore sweet foods so i know what you mean bout the cravings.

It was really hard at first because my body was used to a lot of refined sugar. After a while I adjusted to the lack of sugar and my tastes started to change. Things with small amounts of natural fruit sugars in satisfied my cravings easily.

When DD2 was born I struggled with the hospital food because so much was sweet. The bowl of crunchy nut cornflakes (the least sweet thing I could find) tasted like a bowl of syrup!

Don't worry that you'll be desperate for desserts etc because you probably won't and you should be able to have limited amounts of fruit unless the advice has changed since I had DD2.

Good luck with it all. I hope they let you out soon.

Hi, I have had gestational diabetes three times. I had to inject insulin in my leg with only one of my pregnancies. You should be referred to a dietician at the hospital to talk to you about foods to avoid including natural sugars (e.g grapes) and added sugars.

You will find that a diabetic diet is very healthy and I was actually much lighter after delivering my baby than I was before I got pregnant as a result. The only thing I could find in the supermarket for my sugar cravings that was allowed ( you will need to check the ingredients though as products change) was Diet Angel delight.

Porridge for breakfast (not Ready Brek) is a great way to start your day, is very filling and will level out your blood sugars for you.

Most supermarkets have diabetic sections now, but you will have to read the labels to check they are ok for you.

It's really important that you keep to the diabetic diet for you and for your baby's health. That will be the best motivation you can have to stick to it.

Good luck !

Hi :) This is my second GD pregnancy, first was diet controlled resulting in a 7lb 5oz monster of a baby ;) and this one will (hopefully) be diet controlled too, though I am finding it much harder to stay within my limits this time!

The advice re food I got from the hospital is a big pile of saying to have fruit juice, cereal, and toast in the morning! who are they trying to kid?...

Anyway, I found this page today and I think it has really good advice on it so wanted to share with others that are in the same position. It is from a plus-size mothers american website (which I am neither of) but the dietary advice is excellent imo and hopefully will help anyone who is a bit stuck as to what they can and cant eat.

www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/gd/gd_nutrition.htm

Hi MrsV. I've recently been diagnosed with this too and was wondering how you're coping a few weeks on? So far the sugar cravings are diminishing for me and I only get them briefly after dinner - I never realised just how addicted I was! Thinking of the baby's health is a great way to go cold turkey though! I can more than cope without sugar for another two months to help him have the best start in life.

Tinker - that link is great, thank you! It really does explain things much better than my dietician did!