Cherry Bloom!

Yesterday, a few of my girlfriends from high school came to visit and do a "DC Day."  The Cherry Blossoms decided to start their peak bloom a little early this year, which was great for us!  A couple of the girls had never seen them, so it was fun to play tour guide. Though it was a little chilly, the weather did not deter us from all that we wanted to do.

Stop 1:  Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms

 Washington Monument with some Cherry Blossoms in the foreground

The cloudless sky looked almost unreal!

 My friend, Katey, and I--the two preggos!  She's also having a little boy, due in July!

My new Facebook profile pic!

The five of us...we missed our friend Katie, who was just put on full bed rest.

Most of the blossoms were still white, but will probably turn pink early this week.

Stop 2: Georgetown

My friend, Kim, had recently seen an Italian restaurant in Georgetown, Filomena, featured on a show on the Travel Channel.  She recommended we try it for dinner, so I called about a week and a half earlier and made a reservation.  They only had two reservations left!  I guess it is a very well-known place!

When you enter the restaurant, you immediately go downstairs into the basement, which was really dark.  The decor was best described as eclectic, as they were already decorated for Easter with bunnies, baskets, and eggs all over the place, even hanging from the ceiling!  All part of the experience!  We had a great meal!

The plan for dessert was to visit this little place, which you may have heard of...

but apparently every other visitor in Georgetown had the same idea.  You would not have believed the line!  Apparently once you get a show on TLC, everyone wants to check you out!

They also have a location closer to our house, so I suggested we start driving home and stop there instead, which we did.  There was still a line, but it was much, much shorter.  A few months ago, I could go there and walk right in to pick up come cupcakes.  My how things quickly change!

Between the five of us, we ordered a dozen cupcakes and brought them back to my house to sample.  As always, they were fantastic!  My blood sugar has been really good (almost low) recently, so I was even able to partake in the deliciousness!  

Overall, it was a great day with some of my oldest friends!  It's sometimes so difficult for us all to get together due to our busy schedules, but once we do, it's like we've never been apart!

My new sidekick...

No, baby boy didn't decide to make an early appearance into the world!  But, I do have a new sidekick that I'll be toting around for the next eight weeks until he does...

(Just like this, except mine is a pretty blue color!)

At my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, I found out that three out of four of my glucose tests were elevated, which means I've been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.  I'm not going to lie, I was devastated to hear this.  I started crying in the doctor's office, continued crying in the car (and managed to rear-end someone during it all), and finished crying once I got home.  

Today, I met with a diabetes counselor at the hospital, who went through my plan with me.  She gave me an eating schedule for meals and snacks, along with the grams of carbs I should be eating at each time.  I received several lists of different meal and snack ideas, which was something I was really interested in getting.  Finally, she gave me my new sidekick, my blood tester kit, and taught me how to use it.  That's what I was most scared about.  I said to her several times, "I don't wanna do it.  I'm scared!"  But I must admit, it doesn't even hurt.  When we tested my blood so I could learn how to use the tester, it was actually low, which meant I needed a snack.  It was a long appointment, but I feel like I have the answers I need.  

 We just went to Fuddruckers, a burger place, for dinner, so I was wondering how I'd manage to eat a burger and keep things in check.  I ended up taking the top off the bun, piling on lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles, and then ate it with a fork and knife.  Instead of fries on the side (I admit that I did have a few of Kurt's!), I ordered a side salad, and just had water to drink.  When I tested just a few minutes ago, I was exactly where I needed to be!  Hallelujah!  

Though I'll miss the ice cream, cake, and other desserts and fruit and snacks whenever I want, I think I'll be able to manage.  I know that there are people out there with Type I diabetes who have this for their entire lives.  Eight weeks seems like an eternity right now, but I can get through it!

Ahoy, It's a Boy!

Yesterday, my friend Jenni hosted an amazing baby shower for me!  It was a great time with awesome friends!  It's always weird for me to have people from different stages of my life together in one place.  I felt the same way with our wedding...family, friends from high school, college, post-college, and co-workers all in one place! Yesterday, friends from work and college were all present to help me celebrate Baby Bradshaw's impending arrival.

Jenni had so many special details to go with the nautical theme!  From the invitations to the front door wreath, to the banner, cupcakes, and candy bar.  It was all so adorable!

Wreath on the door

Balloons

Cupcakes by Sharon of Paper Cup Confections

Banner by Jenni

Diaper Cake by Jenni

Hershey Kisses (with a sticker on the bottom of each kiss!)

Life Savers

Swedish Fish

Yogurt-covered Pretzels

Twizzler Nibs

Opening presents

Cute bag!

My college "roomies"!  

We didn't all live together, but we were always at each others' townhouses.

Some of my co-workers

(Jenni, me, Patty, Sharon, Georgia)

Kurt and I received so many nice things to help us prepare for Baby Boy's arrival.  My friends and co-workers are too kind!  We are surrounded by such nice people who are so excited for us and supportive of us as we enter this new journey called parenthood!

Round 2

So, after my glucose test last Tuesday, I was feeling pretty good about things.  My doctor said he didn't suspect there would be a problem, as my weight gain has been good and there was nothing else that would make him think I would have gestational diabetes.  I had kind of moved on from worrying about it. That was until I got a message on my phone at 6:05 PM  on Wednesday night.  A nurse called and left me a message that my score of 149 was above the cut-off of 140, so I would need to go in for additional testing. Of course, since it was after 6:00, I couldn't call back (and I must say, my phone never rang when she left me the message...interesting) to get my questions answered.  So, I did what any girl would do:  I called Kurt first, then my parents crying.  I was SO upset!


I was able to call my doctor's office on Thursday to get some more information and the lovely internet answered a lot of my questions as well.  The nurse at the doctor's office informed me that I would need to make an appointment at a lab for a 3-hour glucose test.  I went online immediately to make my appointment, which ended up being today.  


With the 3-hour test, they do a fasting blood sample when you first arrive and then another sample every hour for three hours.  I wasn't able to eat or drink anything (even water) after midnight because the fasting sample needs to be on an empty stomach.  Kurt dropped me off at the lab at 9:00 for my 9:15 appointment.  When I walked up to the counter, the tech said to me, "Please don't tell me you are here for a three hour glucose test."  Hmm.  I explained to her that I had made my appointment online and then also called the lab to verify what I needed to bring.  Apparently if you need a three hour test, you must call to make the appointment.  Everything worked out, and the tech, who ended up being awesome and my new BFF, took good care of me!  She kept calling me "Momma!"  When it was time to do my next draw she'd say, "Come on Momma, let's do this!" and at the end, she gave me a hug!


As someone who has always had a gigantic fear of needles (I got out of a cholesterol test in 4th grade because I turned green just looking at the finger prick thingy!), I must say that I've surprised even myself with all of these blood draws.  I know that I have to take a deep breath when they put the needle in, and I must look the other way while it's all happening--my two little strategies that help me cope!


Once I said my good-byes to my BFF, Sharlise the tech, Kurt picked me up and we went to Chickfila to celebrate that I got through it.  Now, I sit here with bruises on my arms and wait to hear the outcome!  Fingers crossed!

Dave Takes a Hike

Hiking the Appalachian Trail has been an item on my dad's "Bucket List" for quite some time.  Until recently, he never had the opportunity to take six months off of work to fulfill this dream.  So, when he retired last June, he decided that he would now have the time to make his dream a reality.  

On Saturday, my mom and brother will be driving my dad and all of his gear down to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia for the start of his adventure.  He'll officially begin his hike on Sunday.  According to a website that he follows, there are more than 90 people slated to start their hikes this week, as well, so he should meet up with a lot of people along the way.

The weirdest thing, in my opinion, is knowing that we won't see him for a long time.  When the baby is born in May, my mom is going to go pick him up (he should be reasonably close to where we live at that point) for a few days to come and visit.  He'll get resupplied and then head back out to finish his hike in Maine, hopefully by the end of August.  

My dad is not the most tech-saavy guy, but he's working on it.  He has a blog that he'll be updating along the way.  My mom will probably do most of the updating, after she talks to him on the phone, as gaining access to a computer may be tough.  Check him out at: Dave Takes a Hike.

Good luck, Dad!!  See you in May!

29 Weeks and counting...

I ended up taking the day off today and boy, was it nice!  I had my monthly doctor's appointment this morning, complete with glucose testing.  Good times.  Kurt went along, as I was nervous about driving myself after drinking the juice, as I've heard of people throwing up or getting dizzy from the sugar high. This isn't my actual bottle of glucola, as mine was fruit punch flavored.  I think I would have preferred the orange flavor, as I'm not a big fruit punch gal.  

Throughout the whole appointment, I knew that my bloodwork was coming, so I was somewhat anxious.  As a result, I believe, my blood pressure was super high. The nurse asked me if I was rushing this morning, so I knew something was wrong.  Every time I have to have blood drawn, my blood pressure goes up.  She really freaked me out when she said she wasn't going to write it down because if the doctor saw it, he would probably send me to the hospital.  She ended up trying it again after she took my blood and it was much more normal.  Thank goodness!  All in all, the appointment went very well.  The doctor said things look really good.  I start going in every two weeks now, and at our next appointment, we get a sonogram, which was a surprise!

After the appointment, Kurt dropped me off at home and headed into work.  I started feeling super exhausted, so I took a two-hour nap.  I think a not-so-good sleep last night (hello hip and lower back pain, as well as going to the bathroom every two hours!) combined with my coming off of the sugar high caused by the glucola, caused me to just crash.  I was out! 

Once I woke up, I decided to run some errands.  I went to Corner Bakery for lunch, then headed to Target and Kohls.  I just love having a day off in the middle of the week!  We have our second (and final) infant care class tonight, so we are getting ready to head to that.  

I haven't taken many stomach pics lately, but I feel like it's growing by the day!  Here are two from about two weeks ago!

Have a great rest of the week!