Those that have/had GD....

WinsyWade

I was diagnosed with GD at 33 weeks with my DD, even though I passed the glucose test.  I had undiagnosed GD with DS2 (per my bradley instructor due to other symptoms and I think she was right) even though I passed the 3 hour glucose test.  It developed late in that pg too- probably about 33 weeks.

I want to be on top of it this time so I don't have the troubles I had with DS2 (NICU due to low blood sugar, Neonat. wouldn't let me breast feed, I had to hide to nurse him, because they couldn't "measure" it.)  I'm just going to go ahead and cut my sugars now. 

I remember bits and pieces of the GD plan.  I also remember it was a lot like the Atkins theory.  I have been staying away from breads, sweets, etc (thank goodness I'm craving protein). 

 Does anyone know/remember how many "carbs" you can typically have per meal?  I know it was 15g of carbohydrate (per package label) = 1 total carb and I could have X carbs per meal and X carbs per snack.  I ate like 5-6x per day with DD.

Any help is greatly appreciated!  I have a M&G with my midwife on 6/5 s I'll ask then too.

crystalite2004

Teacher Clark:

If I remember correctly, mine was 15 for breakfast and snacks, 30 for lunch and dinner.

These were my instructions as well.

WinsyWade

Teacher Clark:

I would post this on high risk, there are lots of GD ladies there. If I remember correctly, mine was 15 for breakfast and snacks, 30 for lunch and dinner.

Thank you.  I posted there too.

trizzie

crystalite2004:

Teacher Clark:

If I remember correctly, mine was 15 for breakfast and snacks, 30 for lunch and dinner.

These were my instructions as well.

yep, that was mine as well. And no fruit for breakfast. 

azzyberry

Hi.  I had GD with both my pregnancies.

15g carbs = 1 serving.

15 - 30g of carbs for breakfast.

30 - 45g carbs for lunch and dinner.

15g carbs for snacks.

You should also eat protien with every meal/snack.  This will help slow your bodies absorption of carbs so your blood sugar doesn't spike.

crystalite2004

trizzie:

crystalite2004:

Teacher Clark:

If I remember correctly, mine was 15 for breakfast and snacks, 30 for lunch and dinner.

Or milk for breakfast either. I don't know if that's normal. I was placed on insulin after a month.
These were my instructions as well.

yep, that was mine as well. And no fruit for breakfast. 

Baby_Bunny_Hopeful

I had GD with both of my boys... 30g carbs for each meal and 15-20g carbs per snack (3/day).

I was diet/exercise controlled with both- dx with both around 28-30 weeks.

DS1 was 8lb12oz and 21.5 inches (induced 2 days early)

DS2 was 10lb5oz and 23 inches (went into labor 1 day early)

Both vaginal births... DS1 had low blood sugar an hour after birth and took formula and regulated after that... DS2 was fine, although MY blood sugar spiked an hour after birth (probably due to me inhaling bread the nurses gave me afterwards!)  I refused the insulin and they retested an hour later and I was within the limits.

GL! 

 

laurenmae1228

I had GD with DS. Diagnosed at 28 weeks; I failed the 1 hr and 3 hr miserably.] 

First, make sure that you don't go too low with carbs; you still need them. Otherwise, you'll be in ketosis, which is not so hot for pregnant women. I was initially before I got to the GD nutritionist, because I was scared to put any carbs in my mouth for fear of hurting the baby. She made me ketone test my urine for at least 2 weeks to make sure I was getting enough. 

Basically, I was told to eat this way:

Breakfast: 1-2 carbs

Snack: 1-2 carbs

Lunch: 3 carbs

Snack: 1-2 carbs

Dinner: 3 carbs

Snack: 1-2 carbs

(Eating so often is to help balance the rise/fall of blood sugar. This way, you don't get huge insulin spikes.) The amount of carbs you're "prescribed" at each meal varies though. It depends on your weight, total caloric needs, and how your numbers tend to spike. 

 I was not allowed to eat fruit or milk before Noon; my body in particular converted it to sugar WAY too quickly. This isn't so for everyone though.

Peanut butter (full fat version) is like a GD super food. I was told to not worry about fat content while pregnant, because A) the baby needs it, and the fat actually slows down the spiking of insulin, which is a GOOD thing. Obviously, try to make this good fats (peanut butter, olive oil, butter, nuts, avocado, etc.). 

String cheese and greek yogurt were huge staples for me. They seemed to work well with the balance of carbs and pumping up protein.

Peanut butter cracker packs were also handy for snacks.  

Believe it or not, a TINY bit of full fat ice cream (along with a string cheese for more protein) was an acceptable treat every now and then; chocolate peanut butter has the best ratio of fat/protein/carbs). 

Lots of celery sticks with peanut butter (notice a theme here with peanut butter?), not too much fruit (and the fruits I did have were more fibrous- like berries), not as much milk as I would have liked, but TONS of string cheese and greek yogurt. Beans were good too. Green veggies were basically "free" foods. Be careful with other starchy veggies like corn/peas/sweet potatoes, etc.

For mornings, since I was not allowed fruit/milk, normal breakfast stuff was out for me. Special K cereal is low on carbs, has protein, etc; I usually ate it later.I didn't have time for eggs/bacon, etc. I also had to get up very early, because I was not allowed to go more than 8 overnight without eating. (My liver tended to dump sugar like crazy overnight). So for my first morning "meal"- I had an english muffin with peanut butter and went back to bed! lol. Then when I got up again, I had a protein shake. I found a protein shake that does not have any lactose and tasted decent; Muscle Milk Light (chocolate). It's very low in carbs and super pumps the protein, with a reasonable fat content (not ridiculous like some). 

That's about all I can remember for now...PM me if you need more help; I actually saved my meal plans/food/blood sugar logs, because there's a pretty fair chance I'll have GD again with another (my genes just suck.)