Diabetes Adventures, Pregnancy with Diabetes

Update 2 – 2023

Please read update 1 so you don’t feel lost!

We decided to surprise them!

We get in our cars (my sister and mom in my sister’s car and I drove in my car) and dropped off my car at my house.

We then drove to the restaurant and luckily found my dad pretty quickly.

As we walk up to him, he looks over and all surprised goes, “Oh wow! Hi!” We say, “Surprise!” My dad chuckles and hugs each of us. I ask where my husband is and he said he’s in the bathroom.

We engage in small talk and then my husband comes to the table and was also surprised and said hello to everyone.

I am LEGIT nervous and thinking to myself, “How, when, what do I say?”

A few minutes pass by and I see my mom looking at me asking with her eyes, “When are you going to tell them?” I finally muster up the courage and say, “Ok, so we have some news.” I look at my dad and I look at my husband. I then said, “We’re pregnant!” My dad lets out a laugh and huge smile and I look at my husband and he just looks shocked and asked, “Are you serious?” I said, “Yeah!” He replies, “Are you messing with me?” I reply, “No! I’m serious!” And proceed to show him the picture of the two pregnancy tests I took and after a few seconds he goes, “No way!” He hugs me and I start crying happy tears (naturally, LOL). My mom gets teary-eyed too and we’re just rejoicing in the good and surprising news.

We have a great rest of the night and even danced (my mom and I as my sister had left to go home and my husband and dad were still eating their dinner) when the restaurant’s nightclub opened.

To say it was a perfect day, is an understatement.

Again, I never thought I would find out I was pregnant with my mom and sister with me. And that I could tell my husband and dad at the same time.

All in all, a great night to remember.

The news was surprising as I had been off birth control for 1 year and we had been trying but not like actually trying to get pregnant. So neither of us thought we would get pregnant when we did. We both thought it wouldn’t happen till the end of 2023 but life/God had their own plan.

Towards the end of 2022, it was starting to take an emotional toll on me as I would see other friends get pregnant or would see on social media others I knew posting their pregnancy announcements and as happy as I would be for them, I couldn’t help but think, “When will it happen for us?” Even though I would think that way, I also knew that as a person with Type 1 Diabetes, my A1C needed to be at a certain number before I was “allowed” to get pregnant. So two competing mindsets and both were emotionally and mentally challenging.

I was told my A1C (a number that indicates what your sugars average the past three months) needed to be at least a 6.5 before we started trying to get pregnant. Before we found out we were pregnant, my A1C was a 6.8 (October 2022). I was definitely doing my best to bring that number down as I knew it had to be at least a 6.5. And that is what I kept telling myself to bring my spirits up whenever I felt sad. I would tell myself, “I get more time to work on myself, my diabetes management and to lower my A1C.” For the most part, that helped and I would also lean on my friends, sister, husband and mom when I needed emotional/social support.

We found out we were pregnant on 1/7/23. On 1/10/23, I did lab work and my A1C was a 6.3!!!! I was super freaking happy cause it meant my hard work had paid off and my A1C was where it needed to be.

As happy as we were (and still are) about being pregnant, the good news has often been overshadowed by my Type 1 Diabetes.

For anyone battling a chronic illness, I know firsthand that it is NOT easy, it is emotionally and mentally taxing and can easily rob you of your happiness. BUT, you cannot let it have that much power over you.

You are more than your chronic illness.

Diabetes Adventures, Pregnancy with Diabetes

Update 1 – 2023

Hi! I haven’t posted anything in a while and I apologize! Things have been crazy, but in a good way. I finally was able to make time to post an update!

On Jan 7, 2023 I spent time with my sister and mom. Since my sister and I moved out of our parent’s home last year, it was very rare that only the three of us spend time together. Usually dad is with us or the whole family is together (my husband and my sister’s boyfriend included).

My sister drove us around that day and I had asked for us to stop by CVS as I needed to pick up my insulin and test strips. We parked at the pharmacy and I noticed the pharmacy was closed.

We were getting back into the car and I said “let’s get a pregnancy test.” My sister and mom said “okay, sure.” The reason as to why this didn’t come as a surprise to them was because my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant for the past year. I’ve taken a few pregnancy tests throughout the past year and they had been negative.

We (I) buy a two pack and head home.

Now, I had ZERO indications that I was pregnant. I literally just felt like taking one and expected it to be negative.

I pee on the stick, set it on the table in the bathroom, set a 3 minute timer and joined my sister and mom in my mom’s room. Timer ends and we all walk to the bathroom together.

Two lines are visible….meaning I was pregnant.

My sister immediately starts to inspect the packaging and starts reading the instruction booklet that came within the box. She asks, “Did you take it right?” I said, “Yes, you literally just pee on the stick.” My sister replies, “is it expired?” and checks the packaging. It is nowhere near the expiration date. My sister says, “take it again.” My mom chimes in and says “I want to see!” So there I am….in the bathroom…peeing on a stick…while my sister and mom are staring at me. I set the pregnancy test on the table and in less than 30 seconds, two lines appear again.

We all start crying happy tears and process the result of the pregnancy test.

I found out I was pregnant in the best way and in a way I never imagined would be possible, with my sister and my mom at my side.

My husband and dad had spent the day at our house as they were remodeling and fixing some things. I call my husband and do my best to act all cool and nonchalant and ask what they’re up to. He said they’re waiting for a table to eat dinner. I tell him I’m still with my mom and sister and he says “ok baby, enjoy” and we hang up.

I look at my mom and sister and say, “Should we surprise them?”