The Benton County Fair...And The Not-So-Fair

It’s hard to believe August is here and summer is coming to a close. Things have been pretty fast-paced around here, which has made the last month fly by. Olivia has been growing like a weed both physically and mentally. She loves to dance, paint, and talk! When we’re out in public the adults get such a kick out of her. They love her curly hair and are quite impressed when she carries on an almost adult-like conversation with them! They just can’t get enough of her!
Last weekend was the Benton County Fair, which is held right here in Vinton. After Adventureland being such a big hit, we decided to brave it and take Olivia not only to see the animals, but to ride the rides this year! I know, it about killed us being surrounded by all those germs. We just took a deep breath, sanitized like crazy, and threw Liv in the bath once we got home! Seeing her face light up was worth it. With it being summer, the germs aren’t usually quite as ramped, so we can relax a little.










Our little dare devil rode any ride we would let her. There was even a mini roller-coaster, which Liv thought she just had to ride. My heart was beating rapidly, especially since most of the kids were 5-10 years old on the ride. When they first took off Olivia’s face was sheer horror.

The man stopped the ride and Steve and I gave each other the look saying, “Yup, they’re having to stop the ride for our daughter.” However, we were wrong. The man stopped the roller-coaster to let a 10 year old boy off, while our almost 3 year old wanted to keep riding. After the second loop around Olivia got her bearings and completely loved the ride, smiling and laughing as she went around.


I know Liv was pretty disappointed once the fair left town. She was there almost everyday riding rides and looking at all of the animals. She's still talking about it!
On a side note, for the past couple of weeks Olivia has had a cough, but only at night. She seemed fine other than that, so I wasn't too worried about it. However, last week Grandma and I both starting feeling sick too, but nothing major, just a scratchy throat. I was guessing all of our allergies were acting up. On Monday I had my OB appointment. Baby's heart rate was 157bpm and I'm measuring 28 weeks. I also got to do the awesome glucola testing (for diabetes) where you have to drink this syrupy orange juice and have your blood drawn an hour later. On Wednesday I started having a lot of chest pressure and a pretty bad sore throat. I called our family doctor and made an appointment for Olivia and I both to be checked out on Thursday since I'm off that day. However, I got a call on my lunch break from The U saying my test was elevated and I would need to come in for the 3 hour glucola screening on Thursday. So, I got up bright and early, heading to IA City at 7:00am Thursday morning. I wasn't able to have anything to eat or drink for 12 hours, so I was pretty thirsty. Once I got there the lab began trying to draw blood, but being pretty dry they had some problems getting my veins to cooperate. Once they finally did get some blood, I had to drink a double class of that awesome orange syrup. Yuck. However, at least it was something to keep my tongue from sticking to the roof of my mouth for the next 3 hours. Hour after hour I came back to get poked and prodded, until it was finally over. I left, got myself a sandwich and big cold drink. The next day I woke-up feeling even worse. I now had a cough accompanying my sore throat and what felt like an elephant standing on my chest. I called in sick to work and took Liv and myself to the doctor. To my surprise, he thought we both were coming down with bronchitis. He put us on an antibiotic and sent us home to rest. Once we got home I received a call from The U. They apologized for not getting back to me sooner, but a nurse had called in. They also apologized and told me unfortunately I do have Gestational Diabetes. I was quite surprised to be honest. The nurse told me they're just glad they caught it now. On Monday I have to go in to meet with a dietitian and the nurse to go over prescriptions for a meter. I'm going to have to stick myself to take my blood sugar everyday (Yay!). It's always something with me, isn't it? Never a dull moment...Well, at least it's not anything incredibly dangerous to the baby. I'd rather I had the complication over the baby any day.
I found a little bit of information I thought I'd share with you...
Gestational diabetes (or gestational diabetes mellitus, GDM) is a condition in which women without previously diagnosed diabetes exhibit high blood glucose levels during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes generally has few symptoms and it is most commonly diagnosed by screening during pregnancy. Diagnostic tests detect inappropriately high levels of glucose in blood samples. Gestational diabetes affects 3-10% of pregnancies, depending on the population studied.[2] No specific cause has been identified, but it is believed that the hormones produced during pregnancy increase a woman's resistance to insulin, resulting in impaired glucose tolerance.
Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of problems typically such as being large for gestational age (which may lead to delivery complications), low blood sugar, and jaundice. Gestational diabetes is a treatable condition and women who have adequate control of glucose levels can effectively decrease these risks.
Women with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (or, very rarely, latent autoimmune diabetes or Type 1) after pregnancy, while their offspring are prone to developing childhood obesity, with type 2 diabetes later in life. Most patients are treated only with diet modification and moderate exercise but some take anti-diabetic drugs, including insulin.
I was surprised to read only 3-10% of pregnancies are affected by gestational diabetes. It seems like it’s a little more common than that. It was also kind of a bummer to read that having this condition increases my risk of getting Type 2 Diabetes later in life. I am already at a higher risk for this since my dad has it, grandfather had it, and grandmother have it. Looks like I better keep a close eye on my diet and exercise or I am pretty much locked in!
Say a prayer for me that we can keep this under control without medication and give me patience as I meet with the dietitian on Monday and she tells me about all my favorite foods that I can no longer eat!