If you’re a regular reader of Motherese, or if you’ve ever had the experience of dining with me in person, you won’t be surprised to learn that I have a sweet tooth.
Check that.
I have a whole mouthful of sweet teeth.
I love candy. I love cookies. I love cake. I love chocolate. I love sugar. Plain and simple.
I indulge in sweets regularly. And in great quantities.
I’ve spent many hours of my pregnancy snuggled up with a bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and frequenting the Tim Hortons drive-through window.
So imagine my chagrin when I learned yesterday that I failed the second of two pregnancy-related blood glucose screenings. And that I have gestational diabetes. And that I can’t eat sweets for at least the next three months.
Three months, people! And the months that happen to include Thanksgiving and Christmas and my birthday.
Yes, of course, I would do anything to keep my baby healthy. And, yes, I know this isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And, yes, I know the next three months will fly by.
But. I mean, come on…no sweets for three months!
Woe is me.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends. Have an extra piece of pie for me, okay? (Sniff.) :)
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Oh, I feel for you! It was about a year ago to the day that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, too! Right before Thanksgiving, which made it so hard. And I just got the wonderful news this week that my new insurance plan will be charging me an additional fee each month because I’m considered high risk for type II diabetes. Even though everything resolved with the gestational business and I’m now fine. Lovely. Anyway, hope you make friends with the lancet quickly and that you aren’t too squeamish. Next year you can make up for it with extra pie. Good luck!
After a few days of 4x/day testing, I am an old pro with the lancet. Good luck with your insurance company – and thanks for the warning about what I may have in store too.
I am so sorry to hear that. And you are right. It sucks. Big time. But, think of it as less pounds that will melt away later. And of course, a big (but not TOO big) beautiful baby to hold at the end of this cruel, no dessert regime.
That being said, I had a ferocious, torrid love affair with Haagen Daz Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream throughout my three pregnancies. It was not fun afterwards!
Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving, Kristen. May you experience sweeteness in it’s best form; through the thoughts and actions of others this holiday season!!
“May you experience sweetness in its best form; through the thoughts and actions of others this holiday season!!”
Thank you for that lovely wish, Maria. And the same to you and yours!
Oh no. I am sorry! The three months will fly and then you will have a sweet little girl (my guess!) and I will ship you pounds of gummy candy, okay? Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!
Oh no. I am sorry! The same happened to me:( I wish you the best ! Happy Thanksgiving!
Oooh, that is a bummer. I gave up sugar this summer, for about three months, and I can tell you that the firts week or two are murder, and then you start not even thinking about or wanting sugar. I would take a spoonful of honey after dinner (honey is medicinal, you know) when the urge for sweets was at its worst in the beginning, and that helped a lot. Unfortunately, once I started again I haven’t been able to stop, and I’ve been main-lining chocolate to counter the November blues…. Good luck.
Oh no! Woe IS you! That just stinks. Every day is one day closer to eating chocolate again. While I did not have GD, I am paying for all the chocolate I ate during my pregnancy (and the weeeeeeeeeeeks thereafter!). E discovered squeezing my chub is *fun* this morning while nursing. I felt like my grandma.
So sorry:( Hang in there!
Oh no! Bummer. Big bummer. Particularly the peanut putter cups part. I’ll have more than a few for you okay?! Consider it taking one for the team.
Also…you have Tim Horton’s!! You do know this is beloved in Canada right?!
Thinking of you
xo
Yes, we do have Tim’s (although I am trying to pretend that we don’t for the next few months). I grew up as a Dunkin Donuts girl, but we don’t have those anywhere around here so I’ve had to transfer my doughnut loyalties. So far, so good. :)
You’re right, in the grand scheme of things this is minor Who knows, this may be the little nudge you need to kick the sweet tooth habit. But I also think that you should reserve the right to have the dessert of your choice after the little one is born.
Happy Thanksgiving and good luck!
Now I understand your comment a little better on my site congratulating the people who cut those generous pieces of pie at our big community event. You were drooling!
Sorry Kristen.
I have a friend who had this exact problem and for 10 years she’s been telling the story about the glass of orange juice she had in the delivery room. Nirvana for her.
Oh! I feel so bad I may have to eat two pieces of everything sweet I see in the next three months – just for you. It is a tough diagnosis but I do hope you are doing okay with the pregnancy other than this. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Well, I will say that this pregnancy has thrown me for a few unexpected loops, but I suppose you can relate, huh? :)
OH no!!! Stay strong sister. Can you load up on fresh fruits to help with the sweet tooth?
I’m going to make fruit smoothies my go-to snack as soon as I figure out which fruits are relatively low in carbs. (It seems that bananas, my usual smoothie base, are not much more friendly to a diabetic diet than candy.)
Oh, so sorry. And just before Thanksgiving, too!
In three months, I’m sending you the crack candy of your choice. A woman should be rewarded for such sacrifice. What’s your poison?
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family.
Who knows, Kitch, after a few sweet-free months I may become a savory girl like you.
Oh no! I have a major sweet tooth too, so I can imagine the pain all too well. When I’m trying not to eat sugar, I chew a lot of sugarfree gum. No, it’s nothing close. lol But it helps a little bit.
You’ll have to have a baking/candy fest to celebrate the birth of the baby! ;)
Maybe it will turn out to be a bit of a blessing in disguise. I like sugar fairly well, but the more I have the more I want. Because of the sugar cycle in the body, it seems that refined white sugar (not naturally found in unprocessed foods) stress our digestive umph, we get a little spike of energy, but it’s dirty burning fuel and we need more quickly. This can also grab our moods and fling them all over the place (which fluctuating hormones are also wont to do).
Also, in the wake of less sugar, you will find that things like fruit taste sweeter and more vividly satisfying when they’re not on stage right next to Reeses. I know it’s a drag, but it might turn out to be an unexpected boon to your happiness project. There is a de-tox phase which is unpleasant, but after that it may be rather pleasant.
And if you can tolerate the taste of bitter, dandelion root tea is a tonic for the over-worked liver which may take the edge off your suffering.
Wishing you a great Thanksgiving, even if the pie seems there to taunt you.
Yikes! No sugar for 3 months. I feel for you and hope it flies by really fast.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Kristen!
Oh no! Sorry to hear that! Hang in there!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
Oh man, I feel for you. I too have a sweet tooth and think three months is a LONG time go to without sweets. I mean, you already have to give up quite a bit to be pregnant, sweets on top of that just doesn’t seem fair!!
The only positive I would be thinking if I were in your shoes would be that I might put on a little less weight given the circumstances which may make post pregnancy weight loss a little better? I know, not much of a consolation, but I am trying to find the silver lining. :)
Well you take very, very, very good care of yourself! (Sending you virtual sweet thoughts… have a wonderful holiday!)
Woe. Woe!
You’ll be okay. I’m trying to kick my own sweet tooth. I gave up refined sugar for a few months years ago and lost a lovely amount of weight. And I felt better. Much better. Maybe I’ll join you in self deprivation.
Still. Woe.
Oh no…woe IS you! Hoping you just hate pumpkin pie, and pecan…or that tomorrow someone serves one of those gelatin desserts so green that you want to run from the dessert table, anyway.
At least you don’t have to drink anymore yucky syrup at the doctor’s office?
Oh, heck. This one’s just hard to sugar-coat!
Wow. Three months? That’s crazy! I have a mouth full of sweet teeth as well. So you’re not alone! :) On another note – a random note – I was thinking it’s sorta awesome, all the tests they have now-a-days to make sure a mom and baby are healthy before the birth.
That is a definite silver lining, Kenzie. I’d much rather make a small sacrifice for a few months than risk my own health and that of my baby. You’re right: three cheers for medical technology on this one!
oh that stinks! So that nasty orange glucose drink was the last “sweet” you get for a while? As if being pregnant isn’t hard enough. so sorry. :(
Ah, the timing! I understand the feeling of lusting after sweet things you just can’t have. Are sugar substitutes a total no-no? Because I know a few decent candy options I can recommend. (Pollan would give me the evil eye, but I’m stuck with this low-carb regime for life — a girl’s gotta have her chocolate occasionally!) Just let me know … See’s, for example, makes terrific sugar-free peanut brittle among other tasty morsels.
Thanks for the important dose of perspective, CT. And your comment about Pollan made me smile. I’ve been scratching my head for the past few days as I try to reconcile all of his food rules with all of my new diabetes-related ones. Gosh, it’s hard to be so virtuous! ;) (And thanks too for the tip on See’s sugar-free peanut brittle. That sounds divine!)
No! This is indeed tragic! So very sorry, but still wishing you a very happy thanksgiving! While we’re on the topic of I-know-I-have-a-lot-to-be-thankful-for-but-I-still-will-have-this-glass-of-whine, the TZ nat’l power company has decided to enforce a totally random and unpredictable power sharing schedule which means you never know when the power will go out and stop cooking your bird! Thus, we will be having the Arusha equivalent of KFC on the Tanzgiving table and whatever else I can whip up on the two gas burners (weird no? two gas burners, two electric and electric oven).
I’m shocked that the Tanzanian power company would have so little regard for Thanksgiving tradition! ;) I hope your ad hoc feast worked out. I’ll stop by your blog later to find out…
Yeah. I live in Paris with a gluten intolerance. And that’s permanent. I feel for ya!
Still, how happy to be pregnant!
A gluten intolerance in Paris?! That certainly trumps gestational diabetes. Ugh!
Oh that is tough, especially with the holiday season upon us! Only thing to do is stock pile all the sweet things to munch on through the sleepless nights that await three months from now :-)
That’s a zinger. On the upside, you may find that you don’t really miss the sugar once it’s out of your system (or at least not in your system in vast quantities).
Happy Thanksgiving!
Okay in the spirit of !!!, my friend had the same issue and it really helped her control the pregnancy weight-gain and subsequent removal of said weight-gain. I think there must be sugar-free options too. Here’s to hoping your next three months fly by…
I feel your pain. I’d probably go insane and into a non-sugar coma. Good luck!
Let me tell you, lady, it’s been very hard for me to visit your blog with all of its yummy recipes. Maybe I’ll just have to live vicariously through all of your delicious cooking this holiday season. ;)
What a drag!!
One treat that you could probably still have is a vegan chocolate “pudding” I whip up from time to time.
1 avocado
2 bananas
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Throw it all in the food processor until it’s blended. It’s tasty. It’s got good stuff in it. And it might be just the thing to help trick your sweet tooth.
Thanks for the tip, Danielle!
Oh, Kristen, sorry about the outcome of your interminable blood testing day! And I had no idea you were a sugar addict. You might have picked this up somewhere on my blog, but I haven’t had a sweet of any type (not even one chocolate morsel!) for 10 years and 16 weeks (not that anyone’s counting). And no reprieve in sight. So lucky you – chocolate in three months! :)
Oh my gosh, okay, I totally took that test and failed the first time and all I could think was “if you tell me I can’t eat sweets for 3 months, I will force you to induce NOW.” Can you find some good sugar free substitutes? I feel for you, man!
Hi, Stephanie, and thanks for visiting Motherese. I haven’t done too much experimenting with the sugar-free stuff yet, but I have a feeling the craving for sweets will lead me in that direction soon enough!
There are certain things that are just wrong. Like gestational diabetes. (Insert sarcastic button.)
I am so very sorry. But don’t worry, I gobbled up an extra chocolate pie, container of ice cream, and bag of Hershey’s Nuggets, in one sitting, just for you. : )
Thanks, lady. I knew I could count on you. :)
Oh Kristen – that must be so hard. I took your request seriously over the holiday and had pumpkin cheesecake for all three meals every day (that’s what happens when you make one for a family of 2.5). Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving all the same, with or without the pie.
I have a sweet tooth, but am far more of a carb lover. If I was forced to give up pizza you would hear the gnashing of teeth, the rending of garments and loud wailing noise. I would dress my face in ashes and walk around in mourning.
Ok, now that we are done with the hyperbole I wish you a short bout with this gestational diabetes. Hope it is a just a temporary thing.
The bad news with diabetes – as I only learned after writing this post – is that carbs are limited too. It was all I could do to control myself this weekend when we had pizza.
Aw shit.
Perhaps this is a strange blessing in disguise, the opportunity to wean yourself from the sugar-monster, something I could only attempt, if I had to.
And only three more months of pregnancy? How exciting Kristen!
Coming to this post several days late, but just wanted to say hang in there! It will fly by and you’ll thank yourself for laying off the sweet stuff when you don’t have to deliver a 12-pound baby!
On another note, I can’t believe you’re already in your third trimester!!!
I don’t think I could have made it through my pregnancies without my weekly (um, okay, thrice weekly) milkshakes. Well, of course I could have, for my babies’ sakes, but I was fortunate enough not to have to try. I’m sending you many virtual Reese’s cups until you can indulge in a bag yourself!
You should make a construction-paper chain with a link for each day remaining until your due date. You can tell the boys it’s the baby countdown (which, of course, it is), but it can also be your sugar countdown. =>
I love the paper chain idea. We are very into low-tech crafts around here.
I also love that you used the word “thrice” in your comment. I try to use it as often as possible – at least thrice weekly. :)
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