Gestational diabetes. Personal experiences/menu tips to avoid me going nuts asking dr Google?

[Lucinda15]

I'm 29 weeks pregnant, just found out I have gestational diabetes. I was 'on the borderline' and midwife says I should be able to manage with diet alone, all being well. I'm going to clinic next week to discuss in more detail.

I've dabbled a bit on google, but already feeling a bit overwhelmed with info/advice/meal plans.

Can anyone share experiences or reassure me that this is not as scary as it feels?

I'm also feeling ashamed and embarrassed that I've done this to myself. But I'm trying to be positive and proactive and looking at this as a way to get healthier!! But I don't know where to start. I'd really like some menu examples/ideas. Does anyone have any good tips/links to websites for these?

Also, can I go on to have a normal delivery with this? I am already high risk and have have one DS by normal vaginal delivery who was on the large side (8.9lb) but no gestational diabetes with him.

Any advice and experience much appreciated.

Thank you.

Well firstly, stop feeling bad, it's not your fault. Lots of women get GD, thin or fat. The important thing is that now you know, you can control it.

My personal favourites were eggs/cheese for breakfast, or porridge made with water and some blueberries on top. Soy & linseed bread didn't make my levels spike. Can't really remember much else, but unlimited meat and cheese was great. Nuts/peanut butter was useful for snacks.

Always have some protein with your carbs and go for a short walk after each meal.

As a bonus I put on very little extra weight in the third trimester by following a low GI diet. Good luck.

Not sure about normal delivery, but if you mean a vaginal delivery then yes, they may monitor you more closely, and I think they get a bit twitchier about letting you go over as it can affect placental function.

Hello! I've had GD since 26 weeks and I'm now 32+1 and still diet/exercise controlled. First thing I learnt to do was tell which foods spiked me and which ones didn't. For example, bran flakes give me a major spike but special K red berries doesn't. Different things spike different people you just need to know what spikes you.
I have been warned that I'll probably get induced earlier than my due date to stop baby getting too big, probably at around 37 weeks.
Any other questions feel free to ask, I can remember when I first got diagnosed I cried for days on end but now I've got a grip on it it's fine. Just make sure you take charge of the situation and you'll be fine.

Thank u. I really don't know where to start or what to think. I'm feeling pretty blue about it. I'm trying to be proactive but I have been hesitant to go online for it as I get scared about all the complications etc etc. My DS has allergies, I initially remember feeling overwhelmed like this with food and menus for him. Now I don't bat an eyelid and know what I'm doing. I'm hoping I will feel this way about GD soon!! Going to try and go to the shops, get some low GI foods, prepare a bit for food pairing etc. I see conflicting advice though on full fat/versus low fat yohgurts. Anyone know much about that? Or can recommend some brands? Any other snack ideas? Tia xx

....and, although I know it may come to it, I was really hoping not to be induced/have a c-section. That's kinda making me feel sad. Just trying to get my head round what this means. I guess I need to sit down with the diabetic midwife and go through this but will have to wait till Wednesday. In the mean time, head is spinning.

Anything less than 10g of sugar carbohydrate food wise is what I was told to look for. What spikes people does vary though. First two weeks or so is literally just trial and error.

I had GD, managed by diet and exercise, natural delivery 3 days early so try not to fret too much. (I had an emcs with first DC so I've been down both roads and neither is a bed of roses).

I gave up cereal for breakfast because the combination of milk and wheatabix/bran flakes was too much. So I'd have eggs, a slice of toast, a rasher, a sausage! It was brilliant! Yes you have to say no to biscuits and cakes and pretty much all goodies - the guilt of keeping your baby safe helped me stay on track. If I wanted a dessert or bar of chocolate etc I'd get it and take one big bite then pass it to DH to finish.

You should see a dietitian/nutritionist at the hospital and they'll give you a meal plan.

As a pp said I was lighter giving birth than before I got pregnant so that was a nice bonus!

Thanku! I really need to sit down with her and work it all out. But good to get some ideas going. At the moment I haven't managed to get to the shops and unlikely to for a day or so, so I'm warily looking in my cupboards and fridge and feeling quite uncertain and hungry! Lol. I'm gonna have to muddle thru till I can get better prepared.

I'm diabetic.

Good pregnancy snacks that don't affect blood sugar: cheese, ham/cold meats, baby tomatoes.

Ask to meet dietitian for more ideas.

Eggs are brill, so many things I throw with them. Eggs, salmon, Advocado and baby toms are a lush breakfast mmmmm.

I was gutted at first but you get used to it. I had DD by c section at 37 weeks and honestly it was a breeze. V quick recovery, more so than friends with a natural labour in some cases. BUT most doctors want you to have a natural labour unless scans show the baby is huge so you may well be able to do that anyway. My advice is not to get hung up on labour. So long as you're both here and safe and sound!

Some good foods for me were:

Babybels
Peanuts
Seaweed thins
Grilled portobello mushrooms scattered with pine nuts, pasteurised feta and a drizzle of pesto
Omelettes
Scrambled eggs with mushroom and spinach
Salmon topped with a smidgeon of cream cheese, spinach, mushrooms or tomatoes, grated cheese to melt on top, wrapped in a foil parcel and baked
Quote chilli
My absolute favourite: Pizza made with cauliflower crust base (see BBC good food guide) as you can have all sorts of toppings
Spicy fish from the Leon cookbook (cod with spices) - the Leon cookbook has loads of low carb recipes
Melanzane instead of lasagne or pizza
Houmous

In terms of carbs, you will have to work out what spikes you, and it will get harder as the baby gets bigger. My dietician said under 50g per meal and under 15g per snack, but I soon found out breakfast had to be below 10g!

watch out for sauces which are often full of sugar - I swapped tomato for pesto, for example

Carbs that aren't too bad:
Ryvita seeded crackers
Oatcakes
Chips (in moderation!)

The good news is, I lost weight on that diet despite all the fat and so by the time the baby came, I had no baby weight to lose!

It's a pain in the arse but it's not as bad as it feels at first. You get used to it really quickly.

Also exercise. Go for a 15 min walk after eating and it's good for about a whole point of blood sugar reading!

I'm 35 weeks, failed the GTT at 25 weeks but only just. I didn't change my diet at all, just monitored my blood sugar after eating to see what would spike it. So far I've found nothing that has pushed me over? Which is fairly baffling. The only high reading I got was after eating three creme eggs (I know I know). One doesn't set it off so I experimented as I was wondering if my tester just didn't work. My point is don't panic and see what out of your normal food you can carry on eating first. I think I'm helped hugely in that I don't eat processed foods or that much sugar anyway and I've eaten predominantly (but not strictly) low GI for years for my PCOS and I work a physical job, I think my body just couldn't cope with the stupid amount of sugar in the GTT.

Mine was borderline but positive, managed with diet, the only times I got bad readings (only about 3 ever!) were with things I was 'trying' to see if ok! And they weren't :(
No cereal for breakfast, I had a slice of Burgen bread most often with cheese on (micro to melt - lazy cheese on toast but didn't take too long before work), once on mat leave I sometimes did egg or bacon instead of cheese!
Lunch - seeded flatbreads from Sainsbury's were ok for me if they had lots of protein filling in them!
Meals - apparently new potatoes are ok, other ones best avoided - although sweet potatoes are ok so you can have sweet potato fries!!
I believe basmati rice was best of all the different types of rice- I always managed ok if I had a small portion of that, never needed to go to brown rice. Again paired with lots of protein
Wholemeal pasta with creamy sauces.
I managed to have fish and chips a few times, not very many chips, and grated cheese on them, plus mayo, as the cheese and mayo counteract the carbs!
There is a great Facebook group for gestational diabetes that tells you all sorts of stuff about diet and you can ask questions even e.g. As I did if you're going to Wagamamas and want to know what you could safely eat!
You'll be ok although it's a pain doing all the testing :(
And I had a normal birth, was going to be induced on due date but she was a few days early. Good luck

Facebook site is Gestational Diabetes UK. You have to request to join - honestly it's fab and they have a website too - but you can always just post a question on fb if you're not sure about something and there's loads of people around in the same boat who respond.

Excellent thank you for the brilliant tips ladies. I have already joined the gestational diabetes Facebook group and already had some good tips. I had a bit of a wobble earlier but feeling more positive now, thank u xx

I had gd with dd1 and was put on insulin and she was a perfectly fine 6lb 13lb though my blood sugar levels were really hard to control. I was induced at 38 weeks with her.
I'm 31 weeks pregnant with dd2, gd again. I lost weight before this pregnancy and basically followed a gd diet from 15 weeks and this time it's being managed with metformin and baby is measuring fine for dates and growth. I still get the guilts for putting 2dc through it though as silly as I know it is.
Typical days food for me:
Avocado on brown seeded toast and an apple or full fat greek natural yoghurt with chopped banana nuts and tiny drizzle of agave syrup
Babybel/nuts/seeds to snack on
Tuna/smoked mackerel/feta cheese salad
Brown pasta or sweet potato with lots of chicken and veg
Frank's diabetic ice cream and Hartleys sugar free jelly for pud!

Full fat everything, lots of dairy works for me. I can't tolerate cereal or porridge at all.

Its a bit of a minefield but lots of good resources out there and lots of trial and error.

Good luck!