Homegrown Tomato

StinkerBell · February 25, 2008, 09:57:03 PM

Check in with us....soon!

I am curious how the move went....or if you stopped somewhere along they way and got on line, how the move is going.

Homegrown Tomatoes · February 25, 2008, 11:30:31 PM

We're still hanging in there. Movers took off with our stuff this afternoon and told us they'd see us around March 4th in OK. Started snowing like crazy just after they left, and we scrambled around to clean up and get out! Got out of Chicago in a remarkable hour and a half, even with the blinding snow and fog! I don't even know what town we're in...

Somewhere south of Chicago in a hotel. We smuggled the bird in with us, and the dogs are out in the truck with their blankets. Kids came in, got the Gideon's Bible out of the drawer, asked me to read, and so I read them a Psalm, and then they changed into their PJs, brushed their teeth, said their prayers and promptly crashed. All in all, not bad, even though I'm tired through and through.

February 26, 2008, 12:33:35 AM

Have a good rest of the trip, Homegrown.

Homegrown Tomatoes · February 28, 2008, 10:46:28 PM

It was a good rest of the trip, but right after we got here, I caught whatever DH and the kids have all had (we got here last night.) I've been trying to keep my fever down, but having a hard time with that as nothing seems to help. To top it off, my doc called me Monday to tell me that my blood sugar levels were elevated and I need to go take a fasting glucose test ASAP upon arriving here in OK, but I know the stress and junk we're eating are not going to help sugar levels one bit, but until we get a fridge so we have some place to put food, it means eating out a lot. Tired tired tired. New house is a nice place though. The kids keep getting lost in it. Be glad to be out of a rental and into our own land though.

StinkerBell · February 28, 2008, 11:12:17 PM

So glad to hear you have arrived safely!

WhooHoo!

February 29, 2008, 10:28:58 AM

rest, rest, rest, that will help. I think. Keep your feet up and be a baby for as long as possible and then add two more days. Drink lots of water too. Be sure you take a high protein snack when you do have hte fasting blood sugar. I almost died when I had mine I went in drankt he sugar syrup, then I guess I was supposed to go have lunch but I had an appointment at the school and byt he time I walked home I was so sck I jsut passed out onthe floor my neighbor found me and made me something to eat quick then I was OK. If I had just taken a sandwich I never would have been sick.

Redoverfarm · February 29, 2008, 10:12:07 PM

Glad you made it there safely. Got to be warmer and a little more sunshine than where you have been.

Sassy · March 01, 2008, 12:57:51 PM

Glad you made it safely, sorry to hear you are sick - take care of yourself & the baby! So much has been happening over the past few months, the stress, now the flu bug or whatever... you haven't gotten your furniture yet, have you? Send DH out for the new fridge & some healthy food... hopefully, once things settle down your blood sugar hopefully will get back to normal - stress & sickness raises it. Did you have high blood sugar with your last pregnancies? Anyway, veggies & high protein are the best for keeping your blood sugar normalized, also, I've been reading a lot about cinnamon helping, too.

I'll be praying for you...

Homegrown Tomatoes · March 02, 2008, 11:01:54 AM

Well, we got our new fridge this morning (Sunday) so as soon as it has had a chance to prove that it can get cold, I'm heading to the store for groceries. I never send DH to the store unless it is an emergency. I sent him yesterday to get some stuff, and he came back with a bunch of junk like Nestle Strawberry milk mix and stuff that DD convinced him we "needed". He's very gullible. Got a welcome call from our Russian buddies (the movers) and they told us that they'll be here tomorrow with our stuff instead of Tuesday. We are so looking forward to having beds to sleep in and pans to cook in.

Sassy, what is a normal range for blood sugar? I hopefully will be able to schedule the doc's appointment and the test on Monday, but it might be a week or two before they can actually get me in. I've never had high blood sugar with either of the past pregnancies, but there is a history of diabetes in our family. In fact, I think my Grandma still holds the record for being the largest baby born alive in Ofuskee county (she was over 14 lbs.) and she had a brother who died during birth who weighed over 16 lbs... at that time they didn't know that my great-grandma was diabetic. The funny thing is that with the girls, I gained enormous amounts of weight without eating much, and I felt like I was starving all the time... this time around, I don't think my eating habits have changed much (other than eating smaller portions at a time) and I don't feel hungry the way I did with the girls. Also, I'm nearly 30 weeks and have only gained about 10 lbs total, and it all seems to be baby... I bought some new maternity pants thinking that I'd need them that big by the time I was this far along, and they're driving me crazy falling down all the time. I could still see my toes without bending over until a few weeks ago... THAT never happened with the past pregnancies. The way I'm carrying this baby, everything, is very different than with the girls... this baby is lying transverse and feels so cotton-picking tall! I feel like my belly should be sticking out on the sides just under my ribs instead of out front and down low the way I carried the girls. To make matters more difficult, with this cold/flu/bug, when I cough, the muscles in my belly squeeze in, and the baby reacts by pushing back out, so it feels like I'm bruised from the inside out.

Be glad to be settled back into somewhat of a normal routine.

Ever since we got here, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous... Today it is windy and a bit cloudy, off and on, but the clouds are racing across the sky so fast you almost miss them. It is still warm, too, but tomorrow is supposed to be cooler and rainy. I hope it doesn't rain too much on the movers when they are unloading our stuff. I think I'm getting a suntan sitting here in the front window in my camp chair, typing. When the kids saw how beautiful it was here, they started pestering daddy wanting to know why he waited so long to move back.

Oldest is pestering me to death to take her swimming because she insists it is warm enough to swim.
We're about a mile from a local nature park, so I think as soon as we get settled in a bit I'll have to take the kids over there to run around and picnic lunch.

March 02, 2008, 12:41:23 PM

I'm so glad you are getting settled in & it feels like home! They say every pregnancy is different - I had 2 boys - they were pretty tall - 22 1/2 & 23 1/2 inches - they seemed like they filled up my abdominal & chest cavity & they're feet were always pushing out the sides, I'd have to push them back in... you've been so active & probably not real regular with the eating & then having the heartburn (I had that really bad the last couple months) you aren't eating as much - that all can account for less weight gain...

As far as the blood sugar goes - 60-105 is normal - being pregnant, I wouldn't want to be down in the 60's as you might get faint & jittery feeling... stress & sickness can cause a person who doesn't have diabetes to have elevated blood sugars - when I used to work in ICU we'd have really sick patients who weren't eating anything have very high blood sugars who had to be on insulin drips or given insulin on a regular basis & once they got better they didn't have any problem.

Wow, your grandma was big! Her poor mother

- my dad was 11 lbs & my grandma was only about 5 ft tall - but she didn't have elevated blood sugars. My kids were 8 1/2 & 9 1/2 lbs so they weren't so huge but long... they still checked my one son's blood sugar several times just because he was over 9 lbs - I think people are having bigger babies anymore - at least it seems that way.

Glad you are enjoying the sunshine! And the park nearby sounds great for the kids. Your daughter is such a character! When we moved to California the 2nd time when I was 7, I was expecting sunshine & for it to be warm - it was March, the wind was blowing, it was rainy & cold - I just thought it was going to last for the day. I had remembered how it was when we lived there for 3mo's when I was 5 - it was Nov - Jan - I was out in short sleeves it was so warm & sunny that year & it was the same Air Force base we were at before... I was pretty disappointed - we'd moved from the snow & cold in Mass.

Great that you are getting your furniture early - Yeah! Keep us posted on how the lab tests go... hopefully everything will normalize after you get settled.

StinkerBell · March 02, 2008, 04:17:33 PM

I had gestational diabetes with the last child. I knew I had it but when the day came to do the fasting glucose test I was just under the mark. However, The youngest was franked breeched and couldn't get him to turn. I had a C-Section two weeks early. As the Dr was delivering the baby she kept on saying "You have so much fluid! Didn't we test you for diabetes?" She kept going on and on and the boy weighed 10 pounds at two weeks early. If he was not positioned the way he was we could have added another 2 pounds at birth....OUCH. I was one of those people who would one day have sugar issues then maybe the next few days be fine. I was like the tide.... They had to admit him for a few days. His sugar level was 17 and he did not want to eat. So a tube feeding was started.

Homegrown Tomatoes · March 02, 2008, 08:16:23 PM

My first was 21 inches long and weighed only 6 lbs. and 14 oz. The second was 18 inches long and only 6 lbs. 10 oz. I can't imagine having one much bigger than that, but this one already feels bigger. When they checked my blood sugar a week ago, it was 170, so I guess it was beyond borderline.... $:-\$ Not good. Well, it's starting to storm... I've got to get the dogs in!

Homegrown Tomatoes · March 03, 2008, 09:03:05 AM

Well, the movers should be here any minute with our stuff, and it is SNOWING! After 75 degrees yesterday, it is actually snowing, but thankfullly it is too warm to really stick. It's so funny because when they called me from the road a few days ago, I told them that the forecast was looking like rain and their comment was "at least it's not snowing!" Poor guys, I was hoping they'd have a nice day to unload the truck.

I am sick as a dog. Did not sleep a wink last night for coughing. Am calling the doc today to see if I can get in tomorrow. My head feels like some one took an axe to it, but I know that part is just from the coughing and the lack of sleep... no fever anymore. DH had to work today, and so my mom is coming up to help me with the unloading day, but she has to work until at least 9-10 this morning before she can leave to come up here, and then she has about a 40 minute drive to get here. Sigh. Wish I could just go to sleep and wake up when everything is in off the truck!!!

tanya · March 03, 2008, 12:09:41 PM

Oh man it sounds like you really do need some rest. I hope you sit still with your feet up and jsut boss those movers around like a bossy big sister, after all that is what they are being PAID for!!! Sit still and let your mom and the kids unpack, I know your mom will be happier with that than worry about you. My daughter just had her baby you know and I would be worried sick to death if she were telling me the horrible time you are having. As a matter of fact when the bed gets there you should go to bed and stay there until you feel much better the unpacking will WAIT!!! Your health and the health of your baby has to be TOP priority!!!

March 03, 2008, 05:55:23 PM

You were supposed to leave the snow in Wisconsin, Homegrown.

Homegrown Tomatoes · March 03, 2008, 09:49:49 PM

It went away after a short while. That's why I LIKE the snow here. Anyway, all our stuff is here, in boxes everywhere. It seems like a lot, but as we unpacked a few earlier it was easy to see that it is mostly just tissue paper...

Got a doc's appointment in the morning downtown, so hopefully between that and a decent night's sleep in a real bed I'll be a little more chipper tomorrow.

Homegrown Tomatoes · March 05, 2008, 08:54:50 AM

Still haven't had a good night's sleep yet! Doc gave me something for the cough and it helped, but unfortunately it didn't do anything to keep my kids from having nightmares! So, I was up with kids last night.

Doc says I do have gestational diabetes, so I have to test at least four times a day and not eat any sweets and stay away from fruits until I can get it back down in the range she wants it... I tested this morning before I'd had anything to eat, and it was still higher than it should have been, which is frustrating, considering I'd eaten nothing since 6 PM yesterday, and even then all I'd had was a small grilled steak and a salad. No ice cream, Glenn... can you imagine? I just moved back to the land of Braum's ice cream, and now I can't even eat it no matter if buttered pecan and cappucino chunky chocolate are calling my name.

Think I'll go chew on a stalk of broccoli.

Looking at the house, I am thinking I'll never get it all unpacked. I worked a good half day yesterday on the kitchen and don't even have that room done. The packers labelled stuff 'kitchen' that's never been in the kitchen! (Among other things, I found hotwheels toy cars, one of those wax seal rings for a toilet still in the box, and other random things like the toppers from our wedding cake.) It took me until about 5 o'clock yesterday evening to find a single pot or pan. They just labelled stuff "kitchen"; no specifics as to whether it had canning jars, plates, untensils, etc. Grrr... I'm going to try to finish the kitchen today, and at least part of the dining room. DH's birthday is coming up, and I'd like to have family up for it, if no one is sick, so we can see everyone. Don't know if we're going to make it, though... we may have to all drive down and see them instead.

glenn kangiser · March 05, 2008, 12:24:11 PM

That's real rough, Homegrown. I hope you survive.

Your packing thing sounds like what happens if I ever let anyone clean up after me. That's why it never gets done. So I can find stuff.

glenn kangiser · March 05, 2008, 12:26:06 PM

Homegrown...finish the kitchen...Finnish the Kitchen. I think you are going to do a Finnish themed dinner for that one.

Sassy · March 05, 2008, 12:51:30 PM

Sounds like you are following the right diet - high protein & lots of veggies - an easy way of checking to see what foods are best for you is the "glycemic index" Google that - the lower the level, the less the food will raise your blood sugar. Remember that cinnamon is also good to help regulate the glucose level.

You are still getting over being sick, in the process of moving, unpacking etc, etc - all that plays havoc with your blood sugar - hopefully it will get better as things settle down - you will still have to watch it but after giving birth the glucose level usually goes back to normal although you need to keep an eye on it as you get older as you may get type 2 diabetes... it helps you follow a healthy diet anyway - even though you sound like you already do that...

Just get the rest you need if possible $:-\$ poor sleep adds to stress which raises the cortisol level which raises the blood sugar level... vicious circle

March 05, 2008, 01:56:01 PM

Well, after breakfast, I was well within the range the doc wanted... that was a relief. I'll test again here in a little while to see if I'm still where I'm supposed to be after lunch. I would LOVE a cup of coffee with cream and sugar (and probably some cinnamon

)but until I kind of get things under control, I think I'd best lay off the coffee. I think a lot of it was probably the stress of moving cross country in the third trimester, as well as eating a lot more junk than we usually do just to clean out the pantry/freezer/fridge, etc. And eating out. Breakfast was a couple of scrambled eggs with salsa and celery. Lunch was a salad with some leftover steak and half an avacado and decaf iced tea (no sugar, of course, even though I'm in the south, because when I was a kid my folks couldn't afford sugar and so I never really learned to drink sweet tea.) Supper will be a chicken with veggies, though I'll probably skip the potatoes and carrots myself and stick to the collard greens (the others don't care too much for collards, anyway...)

No Finnish food tonight... wouldn't know where to begin with that! (or where to finish, for that matter?) I did get all the big kitchen boxes unpacked. At least the ones marked "kitchen" that were taking up the whole kitchen... but that doesn't include all the little boxes and then the other big kitchen boxes that seem to be in every other stinking room in the house! I even found some in the bedrooms marked "kitchen". We only had a 6 by 8' kitchen in Wisconsin, and I know good and well all that junk didn't come out of there!!! No telling what's in there...

We still haven't seen any family except for my stubborn mom who insisted upon coming up even though we told her to stay away because we were sick. She didn't listen and now she's sick and has been bellyaching since yesterday about catching whatever we had and how miserable she is. We tried to warn her. But noooooo! Hopefully by this weekend we'll be able to see the rest of them.

As far as the blood sugar thing goes, I think it may have been a latent problem for a long time. For years, I haven't been able to handle much sweet food. When holidays roll around, I'll go back a few times for all the main foods and salads, but I usually skip dessert entirely, or if I do have some, it is a small piece of one thing. It drives me nuts because my mom and aunts all make a dozen desserts which are always leftover in large quantities, and then they try to send all of it home with us. I got sick from eating too much candy one time way back in 5th grade, and have never been able to eat much sweet junk since then. There's a strong history of diabetes in my mom's side of the family, too, so I always figured why tempt fate?