Even though this technically happened last week, we made it---we entered the 3rd and final trimester! I cannot even describe how crazy that sounds. It seems like I always hear people talking about how long pregnancy drags on, and while I have no doubt I will feel that way at the very end, so far it has been flying by.
I've found that other than the extended sickness that took place during the entire 1st trimester and first 1/2 of the 2nd, I have been blessed with an easy pregnancy. I probably turn a little whiney sometimes about my aching hips when I try to sleep, but other than that I really have no complaints.
Everything has gone swimmingly well, with Baby Ryals and I always receiving a good report at check-ups. Our one scare was when I failed the 1-hour glucose tolerance test. For this test they have you go in to the lab, drink a super-sugary orange drink, & then test your blood one hour to later to check how your body is handling sugars (apparently pregnancy can mess with your insulin and cause you some blood-sugar issues, known as gestational diabetes). At the one-hour check my body apparently wasn't handling it very well because I failed by 12 points. This meant having to go back to the lab to do a 3-hour version of the test. I was SO nervous about having gestational diabetes. I know that it can often be diet controlled, and if not by diet alone then by insulin, but I just hated the thought that something might increase our chances of problems; I just wanted everything to be ok. Thankfully it was, and even though my second 1-hour check was still too high, at the 2-hr and 3-hr points I was within the normal range. Now, things weren't perfect---I was at the high end of normal, so to be safe the doctor advised me to proceed as if I have mild glucose intolerance. That meant cutting out most sweets and limiting processed carbs. After finding this out I proceeded to research and started refining my diet. I made homemade waffles with wheat flour so that I could eat one with peanut butter for breakfast each morning (one, this provided more complex carbs than processed, and two, eating it with protein helps slow the absorption of the carbs), I also made whole wheat bread to eat for lunch as a sandwich sometimes, cut out the nightly sweets I'd been eating (oh my have a had a baking sweet tooth this pregnancy! brownies and cupcakes and cookies, oh my!), etc.
I've also finally added in some walks, which is something I've been wanting to do but haven't found the motivation for until now. So far things are going well and I'm feeling fine. I'm just praying it's enough to keep baby happy & healthy. Only 11 more weeks and we'll meet this little one. And this next month will be busy---I have a family and friends baby shower being thrown by my awesome mother-in-law and sister-in-law, we'll be taking some birthing classes at the hospital, working on finishing the nursery....*Gulp* So much to do!
