[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he secret is finally out! Yes, it’s true; I’m pregnant!

It still feels surreal, honestly. The thought that in just a few short months, Isaiah and I will be parents is crazy to think. We can’t stop thinking of names, nursery ideas, plans for the future, etc. (We are keeping the names a secret until we find out the gender.. we haven’t even told our parents yet ha!).

Anyway, a lot of you have messaged me asking various questions about how I found out, when exactly I’m due, plans for the future, and how type 1 diabetes affects my pregnancy. Instead of answering everyone individually with a super long answer, I figured it would be easiest to just share it with everyone here on my blog!

So, let’s get right into it!

How I found out I was pregnant:

I am very in tune with my body, so I found out very early on at 3-4 weeks pregnant. I was just feeling really… weird – unexplainably weird. It’s hard to describe. I think the biggest thing that gave it away was my craving for a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a. That is VERY weird for me for a few reasons. Mainly because I hate spicy foods normally. Lol! Spicy Doritos, wings, spicy anything has never been something I like. Plus, I had never even had a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-a.. why was I dying to have one?! But, I gave in to the craving and I did get one. It was honestly the best thing ever ha! Spicy and all! So that was definitely the first major tip-off that I had.

Other than that, I also was feeling extremely fatigued. I didn’t want to do anything besides sleep or lay in bed and watch tv. My energy was soooo low, which is so not me. I am usually the type of person who wakes up at 6 am, goes to the gym, and is very productive throughout the day. So, wanting to sleep in until 9 am and lounge all day was definitely out of the norm!

Sure enough, I took a test a couple days before Thanksgiving and it was positive!

When I’m due:

Technically I have a due date, but I am choosing not to share that simply due to the nature of my diabetes.. baby really could make his/her arrival anytime this summer.. I’m hoping for the beginning of August, fingers crossed! With the best control possible, doctors will let me go to week 40, and they are hopeful since I have such great control and an amazing A1C level. This means that the baby and I are at significantly lower odds for having complications that are typical for type 1 pregnancies (pre-eclampsia, having a large baby, emergency c-section, placental failure, etc.). I am praying that God would place protection upon my pregnancy and that it would be as healthy as possible!

Since things are looking great for letting me go to 40 weeks, I am hoping to take the entire month of August off as my “maternity leave.” I plan to not do any shoots, weddings, or even meetings in that month so I can get acclimated to life as a new mom and spend time with my newborn! September will be my busiest month with weddings every weekend, so I will truly cherish August! Plus, August is pretty much my least favorite month to shoot weddings because it’s so stinking hot out! Phew, I am not sad about doing nothing in August ha!!

 

Plans for the future:

It seems like God really orchestrated this time in my life soooo perfectly.. from going full-time to buying a house and then finding out we were pregnant! A lot of things have fallen into place and I am truly thankful for this chapter of my life! With that being said, really not a lot is going to change once baby comes. I still will be a full-time wedding photographer, and the great thing is I get to work from home, so I can stay care for the baby as well. I don’t plan to take on less weddings, my goal each year is still going to be 20 weddings. So, really nothing is going to change on this end!

How type 1 affects my pregnancy:

This is the number one question I’ve gotten, and I am so thankful that I have so many people in my life that care. Honestly, type 1 affects all aspects of my life, but especially my pregnancy. It may seem like good blood sugar control doesn’t matter, but here’s a little story a read the other day on one of the Type 1 Facebook groups I’m apart of:

“Hi, I’m new. I was diagnosed with type 1 when I was 10 months old and it’s been a rollercoaster for me.

I found out I was pregnant in July 2018 at 18 weeks. My husband and I were super excited to finally start our family.

Unfortunately we found out that our daughter would not survive.

My A1C before I found out was 10.2 (I will insert my own notes to help: this means an average blood sugar of about 240 which is very dangerous for pregnancy) and I got it down to 5.8 (average of 126 which is a lot more reasonable for pregnancy) by the time I was 6 months pregnant but it was too late to fix anything.

My high risk OB told us that because my levels were so high for so long it caused our daughter to not develop correctly.

She didn’t grow kidneys or a bladder, she had half a heart, and a large amount of spinal fluid trapped inside her skull that caused the right side of her head to grow larger. She was also born with a skin disease that causes it to detach from the muscle.

Doctor gave us the choice to terminate the pregnancy but I couldn’t do it. Looking back, I probably should have… Tons of people don’t believe that this disease can be so heartbreaking or that a couple high blood sugars won’t make a difference but it honestly does.”

The baby was a stillborn as she couldn’t survive outside of her mother’s womb. So many essential body parts did not form correctly. As I read this story that the mom so courageously shared with us, my heart broke. She had no idea she was pregnant, which is why she didn’t care to have much control of her A1C. It shows just how serious it is to keep blood sugar in check because if not, there can be very serious complications, or even worse death.

I don’t share this to scare anyone, but rather educate just how important it is to be consistent with giving insulin, checking blood sugar, and drinking water. I am very closely monitoring my sugars throughout the day, and the doctor even told me I am maybe checking too much, but I don’t care because my ultimate goal is to have a healthy baby in my arms come August. Anything I have to do in the meantime is such a small price to pay.

In terms of doctors visits, I will very frequently have appointments, blood work, and ultrasounds. I will be seeing an endocrinologist and Maternal Fetal Medicine, which is a high-risk doctor who will also deliver the baby. I will have multiple phone calls a week with the MFM doctor to ensure I have good control and see if we need to adjust my insulin rates.

Type 1 diabetes is not for the faint of heart..lol! It definitely is a full-time job in and of itself. I am very thankful for my flexible schedule that allows me to be so diligent with my diabetes.

All in all:

That was so much information I just threw at you all, so if you have any questions I invite you to ask me! I figured I would just answer the main questions I’m getting so you’re not all left in the dark!

Thankfully Isaiah and I will be finding out the gender in just a few weeks!! We are SO excited! We will definitely share it with everyone once we decide how we want to share it 🙂

Even better? Two of my cousins are due within four weeks of me, and my best friend is due 1.5 weeks before me.. how cool is that?! Our family is growing so much in 2019! What an exciting year <3