me too - same happened after years of infertility etc. etc. etc.
the only thing that was easy for me was the breast feeding part and you don't know that until AFTER!
pitty parties are AOK in my book.
Breathe, knit, drink the sugar.
We'll all hope for good results from readerland.

Ugh I HATED the three hour test (which i eventually passed). But I wasn't a knitter then. Now I might be glad for a three hour test. Due to my own dumbness I didnt make enough of a statement that I was there for the 3 hour and actally spent 40 minutes in the waiting room.
Today I had my 8 week ultrasound and while I was excited to see the babe, hanging out for 20 minutes with a gooey probe stuck up in there is not my idea of fun!
I read that cinnamon is supposed to help regulate insulin. I have no idea if it works for pregnant people but I eat cinnamon toast two or three times a week. Doesn't hurt that I love the stuff!
Hope you dont puke up the drink and that we get nice wooly progress shots. Good luck.
oh one more thing. I read once that during birth a hormone is released that makes you forget a lot of the delivery. Its our way of being dumb enough to go through it again! This time next year this will all be a foggy memory!

Big cyber hug to you. Thinking positive thoughts for the 3 hour test.

Busy is always good for keeping one's mind off of things. I wish you lots of luck (and progress knitting) for your test tomorrow!

Been there...and passed the long one. So all is not lost -- yet. Don't plan on knitting, though. I crashed out after the first hour. I've never been so tired. I guess low blood sugar can do that.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you with the 3-hour test; I failed the 1-hour once and had to do the 3-hour, it's not dreadful (try the 7-hour once and you'll know what I mean). Just relax, breathe, and look at it as gained knitting time. Good luck!

Cara,

I had to stop lurking to let you know you have a VERY good chance that everything will be OK tomorrow. They make the 1hr test very easy to fail. That's why there's the follow-up 3hr (and 6hr and 8hr) test. I failed my 1hr with my kiddo and passed the 3hr no problem, even with my extensive family history of Diabetes.

Many happy thoughts coming your way!

why not just make the 1 hour test accurate or send you right into the 3 hour? any medical people know why?

Everything with my pregnancy with Ian was like that. Nothing was smooth, heck life with Ian is kind of like that;) but you've seen my gorgeous loving boy. He is ever so worth it!

You'll be fine I have no doubt whatsoever:D

Hang in there. It is all worth it in the end. Sorry you have to go through this, but it will be ok.

I'll be thinking of you tomorrow.

I'm sending good thoughts and prayers your way!

I had gestational diabetes with child 2 of 3 (only child 2). It was actually really easy. Portion control, portion control, portion control and eat on a regular schedule (which could be a pain during the holidays.)

The bright side was, I lost all of my pregnancy weight in 6 weeks (don't hate me, she was also a world champion nurser.) By the way, I said weight, it was still three months before my pre-pregnancy jeans were comfortable.

sending you good thoughts, Cara, Hope the 3-hr test goes well. :)

I hope everything goes well with the next test. Take care!

Good thoughts for the 3hr test. And even if you do have GD, as complications go, it's far from the worst possibility. So, hugs all around.

And as for the sudden "I'm resting, Mommy, I don't want to move" days..yeah, they freaked me out too, until I started thinking about how much energy she must be expending do the salsa kickstep in there all damn day. It's spazzy when they just up and stop, but if she started moving again, you're all good.

But still more hugs for you. :)

I'm so sorry! I don't have any personal experience, so I'll just say I hope every goes well for the next test!

sending you good vibes!! and warm thoughts.

Kara, count me in -- I failed the initial GD test with each pregnancy but never failed the longer one. I would suggest bringing a book to the test (or, better yet, a magazine) because with my second pregnancy, I was ready to have a good lie down about halfway through the three hour test. I didn't feel bad, just felt tired (which I took as an alarming sign that I *did* have GD), and didn't feel much like working with my hands or concentrating. Good luck!!

I'm sorry about your test results Cara! I failed my 1-hour in November so badly they just diagnosed me so I didn't have to stomach the 3-hour test. As others have said, if you do fail it's not that bad. For you OB, it mostly means more ultrasounds and chances to check in on your little one.

I know how you feel though. We went through infertility treatments to get pregnant too. I was joking with my husband that it took needles to get started, so why shouldn't it take needles to finish up. Seriously though, if you even get to that point, the insulin shots are so much easier than the infertility ones!

I'll be thinking passing thoughts for you tomorrow!

I had GD during my pregnancy. It was one thing that was easy to take care of. Portion control and counting carbs. I know it sounds hard, but it was easy. If you do have it, your doctor won't expect you to be perfect about the diet either. I had cake at my baby shower and ate Thanksgiving dinner like normal. It's all about moderation.

And, the baby weight came off so easily!

I had my knitting for the 3 hour and it kept me occupied. All will be fine! No worries!

I failed that test with all 3 of my kids and had healthy pregnancies and babies. I think my morning sickness had something to do with it.
Expect on heck of a sugar buzz followed by the crash.
Have fun knitting, Jenn

Good luck tomorrow - I'll be thinking of you the whole morning!

Cara --

I failed my 1 hr test too -- by one measly point! It made me crazy. Before I took the three hour test, my doctor's office had me do a three day carb-loading diet to prime my pancreas for the experience. Also, if you do decide to knit, walk and knit. Part of what burns up sugar is exercise. For the first hour of my test I had to stay in the doctor's office (they wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get sick from all the sugar on an empty stomach), but after that, I was free to go where-ever I wanted as long as I was back in time for the blood work. I walked a lot in those three hours. In the end, my results turned out just fine. And moving around a lot made me feel a lot better that day.

I felt at the end of Z's pregnancy that I couldn't buy a break. So I know a little bit of how you feel about just wanting things to go easily. The cool thing for you now: all these tests signal that the end game is getting closer.

Oh, and Z had a definite "activity schedule" -- when I slept at night, so did she. When I got up in the morning, she did, too, but about 30-45 minutes after I did. Sometimes they just take long naps, even in utero. But I do know how crazy it made me when she didn't check in with me every now and again.

sending good thoughts your way!

Hang in there and good luck.

I don't recall these tests (of any duration) at all. I hope it turns out okay.

I failed the 1 hour, passed the 3 hour, I hope you pass it as well!

I failed my 1hr test and passed the three hour. May I strongly suggest that you bring something to eat with you. You will need to eat at least something small before you go home to combat the sugar stuff they make you drink.

Other than that, it really wasn't too bad. Just boring.

A coworker of mine has really wacky blood sugar processing. She didn't even make the one hour- but her kids turned out just fine. Good luck with the 3 hour!

I keep trying to hope for one easy thing too. I've been hoping for 6 years. It's always a fall that almost knocks out the front teeth, a broken arm, asthma or croup and a breathing treatment at the ER. I think we all hope for the easy day. Let me know if you get one...I'm still hoping.

Cara, when I was pregnant with my second child, the test they do in utero for Spina Bifida came back with results that suggested the baby might have Down's Syndrome. The time between then and when I got the results of the amniocentesis back was hellish.

BTW, that child just turned twenty, has an IQ off the map and is on his way to a career writing like his mother.

This is only the first of many times you will be reminded that your child's destiny lies beyond your grasp. And that is the toughest part of being a parent.

They are ours to treasure, and ours to have, but never ours to hold...

Blessings from one who has been there.

Aw, Cara, I'm sorry. Most people I know failed the first one. No, wait, that was their drivers' test. No, it was the GD test, I'm sure of it. Best wishes for tomorrow. That babe will so be worth it, but it's hard having to go through all you've already gone through to get there. Hugs to you.

I flunked the 3 hour test the first time, but regulated entirely with diet, no problem. I was borderline the second time and so opted to do the same dietary changes again. It's hard to be off sugar and juice and chocolate and caffeine all at the same time, but you get used to it very fast, especially when it's the health of your baby at stake! But it does not always mean shots (or even usually). GD is the most common complication of pregnancy.

Try not to worry. Hey, the upside of GD is they don't let you go all the way to 40 weeks! 39 was just fine for me, I was over it.

Good luck!

i don't know how it is for everyone, but certainly as my pregnancy progressed i felt the baby move less and less. i got so freaked out at one point i went to the hospital; on a monitor i could hear her move, though i was still feeling nothing.

every pregnancy is different, and they all have their complications, if you do have GD it can be easily managed and won't have any lasting impact on the baby.
i developed high blood pressure at the end of my pregnancy, they told me that blood flow could stop to the placenta so they induced me 3 weeks early, and eight months later my baby is the picture of health.
its always scary to go through this stuff but they wont let your baby be in any danger.
good luck.

Hang in there. Each of my 3 pregnancies were bump after bump after bump. Some little, some big and scary, but in the end they were perfect. Yes it is a pain in the butt those GTT but at least you do get 3 hours to do something. the last time around i dragged my laptop with me and edited pictures and digital home videos., others i knitted or crocheted.

It seems to me from everyone that I have talked to that failing the 1 hr GTT is almost normal. =)

I failed the 1-hour with my daughter. I passed the 3-hour, although they did tell me I might become diabetic later in life. So far, so good on that, as the optimist said.

Anyhow... don't worry! You know you can deal with whatever comes.

Aw honey. I hear you on all counts. I had a similar experience with my daughter. It was always something and after a while it wears on you. Hugs and know that I know EXACTLY how you feel. And once you have this baby you'll feel 100% better!!! :)

I was so disappointed when I failed the one hour test too--I had so many hurdles and thought for sure that GD would not be one of them!! I found out later that I should have had breakfast before the test and not moved during it. I went for a long walk because I couldn't sit still. When I took the three hour, I sat very quietly and knit the entire time. I passed that one, but was prepared for the worst. Good luck with the three hour test. After the baby is here, you will forget all of this stress and just be so happy (and so tired!!)

Sending you good wishes for the 3hr test ... as others have said, I'm sure everything will go well. I was always worried whenever I didn't feel a kick when I was pregnant ... a friend told me to drink a glass of ice-water, the cold sensation is usually enough to perk them up a little and give you a bit of reassurance.

I failed my first one too - but passed the 2nd one though (the 3 hour one), but they made me wait a while between. Hope you pass the 2nd one!

{{{hugs}}} It's tough to be pregnant. Its wonderfully tough. I'm sure you'll do just fine tomorrow. :)

Oh! Please feel better! I hope everything is okay, and things work out well. Your baby is going to be BEAUTIFUL!

oh god, i remember the panic when the babies didn't move. hang in there baby! and cara too. i hope everything is fine tomorrow.

Fingers crossed and thinking of you tomorrow. Your just starting on the path of motherhood worry a little early. S/he will be lovely and healthy, and you will pass the test.

I just had my 3 hr test Monday before last. It did make me quite sick. I took my Zofran, but it messed up my stomach anyway, and I had a hideous blood sugar crash at the end. So, my advice, don't go by yourself. I drove myself there, and then I drove home, which was really dumb. If someone had been there to get me crackers and juice after the last blood draw, it would have helped a huge amount. I got so shaky I wasn't making good decisions. My reaction might have been extreme; but I think it's a good test to have company for. And, I should note, I passed the dang test. I thought for sure that if I felt that bad I was failing, but nope.

On the bright side, I did manage to knit some, and read a whole People magazine, the local paper, and some of my book.

OK so the 3 hour test sucks but even if you flunk it, there is a bright side: the diet is awesome and you gain so much less weight in the last trimester. And you get to feel all virtuous: "I am not eating that grape...FOR MY BABY!"

Maybe that bright side is not bright enough, but it's really a cool thing that they have this test and can just totally prevent the whole GD thing.

Sorry to be a Pollyanna.
Love,
Pollyanna

Thinking PASSING thoughts for you.

Good luck. Pregnancy is stressful, and the poster above that recommends someone to take you home - they are right on the money.

High five to your sister, I had to take the 3 hr for all 3 of my kids too. By the third, I just said at the beginning, "just sign me up for that flipping 3 hour test". But...knitting! Hopefully that will take the edge off and maybe even make it enjoyable! And you will pass for sure.

Breathe sweetie.
It's normal for a baby to move less as it grows, there just isn't as much room!
You're in good hands and in MANY peoples good thoughts/prayers. :)

I'm sorry to hear about your GD test. I hope the three hour goes better. I'll be sending good venipuncture vibes your way.
If it helps any, I had GD with both pregnancies. I watched what I ate and stuck my finger 4 times a day. It was kind of a pain (literally) but worth it for the babies. Both girls were born perfectly healthy.

Yep, it has been tough for you. I'm sorry. The big reward is going to be the baby, and I'm a believer that all the aggravations of pregnancy are a prep for the lack of control that is being a parent. We love 'em, but control does go out the window, to a certain extent!

Ugh, good luck with the test! I wish I had been a knitter then, too. I failed the one hour, and squeaked by on the three hour. I wish you the best!

Happy knitting and good luck with the test! I always thought that stuff tasted like flat Mountain Dew. Certainly better than a dose of Five Hour Energy! I will keep you in my prayers this morning especially.

Cara,
I too had a long-awaited pregnancy that turned out to be one challenge after another. I barely failed the 3 hr. but pricking myself was no big deal and my blood sugar stayed good. Pregnancy was definetly the hard part. Even though my daughter is now 15, I have to say it just gets better and better.

Think of it this way...everything, or most everything is so crappy now and hard and not fun very much, and your labor and birth will be a breeze! Or the breastfeeding, if you're going to. There will be something super easy that you were worried about that will totally make up for all the crap you're having to go through. At least there better be, right? Go buy some new yarn and play.

Hi!
I work for the Canadian Diabetes Association as a Public 'educator'. Don't worry too much about the gestational diabetes thing. it's not terribly difficult to control: it just means taking the sort of care of yourself that you (and the rest of us, too!) already should!
If you have any diabetes-related questions please don't hesitate to email me and i can send you resources ago-go.
For what it's worth- enjoy the extra knitting time!

I got myself all worked up over some testing with my first..... ended up puking all OVER the office.......the best part?

I was trying to make my way to the bathroom- to be sick...when this older woman and her husband came up to me...

He had her by the arm----(my eyes were darting in search of the VERY necessary toilet)"She's blind... can you please help her into the bathroom...?" He asks...

I must have made some weird noise or said something equally strange... cause the blind woman says "Honey--- she's gonna be sick, leave her be!"

Yep- takes a blind woman to tell a man when a woman's gonna be sick.....

Hope you're test went well- prayers for you- good thoughts and crossed needles.....;)

PS- I'm not a good pregnant person--- totally get the wish to have SOMETHING go smoothly...

Cara,
You're probably sick of reading comments about others that have had GD but, well, I can't help myself so here goes. I have two kids. My pregnancy with the first I failed the 1 hour and passed the 3 hour. I felt horrible the whole pregnancy and had a 9 lb 2 oz baby. I had trouble losing the weight after. My second pregnancy (baby just born 8/30/07) I failed the 3 hour and followed the diet. I felt great during the last part of my pregnancy and had a 7 lb 10 oz baby. At 6 weeks postpartum I lost all the weight plus 20 pounds which put me at my goal weight :) Now, if I could just lay off the cookies during the holiday season...guess I need to keep my knitting needles in my hands at all times.
Hope this morning is over (I won't say I hope it wasn't too bad b/c that test stinks!)
Jen

Cara,
While I didn't take the GD tests with my recent pregnancy (because I had a serious complications that actually made it so I couldn't take the test,) I know very well the longing to just have SOMETHING be easy and "normal."
I also HATED having people tell me it would all be worth it in the end, because I had no concept of that. It was too abstract to mean anything.
I wish I could tell you about something to make it easier, but truly, for me, nothing made it easier. Only distraction got me through it, so keep knitting, working, and spending a lot of time with people who love you.

Failed them both miserably, chica. The three hour one sucked ass since they a) forgot to give me anything to eat afterwards, b) it was Valentine's Day and I was shopping for food for a "romantic" dinner, and c) nearly passed out on at said grocery store with food in hand. I followed the dietary guidelines to a "t" until about 36 weeks. The moral? Two healthy girls 17 years later sitting upstairs watching "Harry Potter 5." Hang in there; it gets better . . . you know, the calm before the storm.

Geez, hope you catch a break on this one! Fingers crossed for you.

Hi hon, like everybody else in the universe, I was a GD failure (wow does that sound bad) and went on the diet.

The diet is fantastic. Like the others above, it kept me at a very manageable weight, which was like a present from Santy Claus after the baby came. Less weight to lose.

I honestly tell people to go on the diet anyway, because it's healthy and is good for you and that baby inside.

So excited about you and yer baby!

How'd it go? I'm waiting on pins and needles to hear.

Oh, I failed that fucking test, too, with my first kid. I hated the 3hr GTT I almost threw up the non-carbonated orange crush that they make you drink. I hope you have a great time knitting, though. FWIW, I did pass the first time with my second child--I just fasted that morning. :/ and then, of course, was ready to pass out by the time I took the test.

I took both the 1 hr and 3 hr GTT and they were hard, but I got to sleep afterward. :)
I know how you feel about wanting just 1 break. You will get one! (or two or seven)
Good wishes to you.

Oh hon, that test is failed so often and then people pass the second... they REALLY need to design something better. It just scares the crap out of women who are already an emotional wreck. Don't cry, get mad. It's a dumb test and they need to make a better one!

Reading your great blog and others written by you lovely 20- and 30-somethings does sometimes make me feel a little o-l-d in my 50-something skin, but reading so many comments about failing one test after another, I find myself feeling almost grateful that my children were born in the pre-GD/GTT days, practically in the days before ultrasounds. You ladies have so much more to think and worry about. I guess my ignorance was matched only by my great good fortune in giving birth to two healthy babies. Hope all goes well with this next round of screenings, and you can enjoy being "with child" from here on.

No one wants a failed test. I'm sure it will be fine. Every test has false negatives and false positives. But if you want to catch a break and have something easy... hold out for an easy delivery. That's when you want to cash in on the break - during labor and delivery.

Yay for kicking babies! I hope all goes well at the next test.

I had GD with both my daughters.. the first one took them so long to diagnose - but once I got on the diabetic diet (and I was totally anal about it) I felt absolutely fantastic... it is not so bad in the long run.. and if that is it, you will feel so much better...... chin up grrrlfriend - you're coming into the final stretch until the joy of having a little one in your life.
I promise, it'll be worth all of this.

40% carbs(high fiber fruits and veggies), 30% protein(low fat meats, lentils, lowfat cheeses), 30% good fats(olive and canola), what does Western Traditional medicine know about nutrition(nothing)? This is by far the most nutritional diet you can provide yourself.