I’m 5 months pregnant as of tomorrow and so excited to meet our little guy. We did the Harmony blood test at 2.5 months which checks for chromosome issues and tells us with 100% accuracy what the sex is. We know for certain that we are having a boy- so it looks like I will be completely outnumbered.

As far as balancing pregnancy with my diabetes, every day is a challenge. There is so much that has to go into my daily and weekly meal plan and exercise routine. The easiest thing by far has been sticking to a structured schedule. And I say structured very loosely. I don’t eat at the exact same time everyday (although I definitely try to!), but I do eat the same, or similar, foods everyday and stick to things I know work for me. Most of the time I spike when I eat something I probably shouldn’t have, when I miscalculate my carbs, or when I don’t allow enough time for the insulin to start working. The challenge is that those things are always changing. My insulin needs are always changing. My hormones are always changing. So as hard as I try to keep things the same, it’s a losing battle. I just do the best I can every single day and check in with my team of doctors (Endocrinologist, Diabetes Educator, Nutritionist, Obstetrician, Ophthalmologist) a few times a week.

I remember reading an article many years ago about a woman who was a type 1 diabetic and had 3 kids. She had her endocrinologist live with her during her pregnancies and manage her diabetes for her.  She didn’t have the same technology I have today-an insulin pump, a continuous blood glucose monitor (CGM), or data sharing websites (Carelink and Blip).  I think a big reason she didn’t have any complications is because her endo was right there, doing and calculating everything. While plenty of women with type 1 had children before any of the modern medical advances I’m fortunate enough to use became available, it really felt like the only way to do it successfully was the way she did. I had been told many times growing up that I wouldn’t be able to have kids and just accepted that it wouldn’t happen for me.  So the fact that I’m halfway through my pregnancy and am able to deal with the day to day challenges that come with it is a miracle.