I was finally released from the hospital late this afternoon, just in time to leave for Punta Cana tomorrow. It has been a VERY long week, and I am so thankful for your thoughts and support. I definitely have gestational diabetes, which is great news because that means there isn’t risk for birth defects and that it will probably go away after birth. My blood sugars were so high that the docs thought it may have been present for awhile before I even got pregnant, but thank goodness it wasn’t. Since my levels were so high (200-400), when they dropped me down to around 175 (still high according to standards) I was experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. It took a few days to get the levels around normal and to get me used to them as well. I have to take insulin shots 5 times a day and check my blood sugar 4 times, but hopefully it’s only for a few more weeks until Liv makes her appearance. I honestly can’t believe that I am giving myself shots – I am such a wimp when it comes to needles, but as a mother I have to suck it up and deal with it. Seeing Liv’s face in the ultrasound and hearing her heartbeat every day just made me love her even more (I didn’t even know that was possible). She looks like her big brother and I actually think she missed him because when I got home and he was smothering me with kisses and hugs she was moving around like crazy. I can’t believe how much I missed Kade and when he wrapped his little arms around me to welcome me home it was the greatest feeling in the world.

Mothers will do anything to keep their kids safe, healthy, and happy. I walked the halls of the high risk OB floor I was on and realized just how true that is. There were women who were on bedrest for the duration of their pregnancy due to pre-eclampsia, ruptured membranes, incompetent cervix etc. Mothers who were giving up weeks, even months, of their lives in order to ensure that their babies are safe. Those women epitomize the selflessness of motherhood and I hope that someday their children realize exactly what they did for them. I am just grateful that diabetes is something that can be treated and controlled to allow for a healthy pregnancy. Many of the other mothers on my floor of the hospital weren’t so lucky, and my prayers go out to them as they struggle to give their babies a fighting chance.