just curious...

If 4% of all pregnancies end up with gestational diabetes, why can't you find any books on it at the book store? Bizarre, no?
I first off wanted to thank everyone for being so supportive. It really does make me feel a good bit better. I'm having a better day today. I finally called the specialist that I'm supposed to go see because I still hadn't heard from them by Thursday and it was really stressing me out. I called them about mid-day on Thursday to see what the status was and I found out that apparently there had been a miscommunication. They don't call to schedule appointments anymore. Instead, somewhere between my house and the specialist was a letter in the mail. I have to go to a 'class' on gestational diabetes on Monday at 1:30 in the afternoon. Not exactly convenient, but I'll take it if its the earliest I can get. I asked the woman on the phone exactly what she meant by a 'class'. I was under the impression that I was going to a doctors appointment. Well apparently it is a class/apt. There are going to be other women there and all, but it's still technically an appointment. It's weird. Even the woman on the phone said it is weird. I dunno. We'll see. I'm just looking forward to getting some questions answered and getting some rules for my diet. I'm ready to get this straightened out now. The time to be upset about all of this is over. Time to move on and do what has to be done. It's what's best for both me and Ashley Marie. So be it.

it's been a rough week or so...

and I'm sorry I haven't posted. But it really has been rough. So I went in and had my glucose screen done. No problem, easy as pie, nothing that I should have been worrying about. that is, until I got a call from my doctor the next morning...

I failed.

Yep. I got a big fat F. So, then the nurse tells me over the phone that now I have to take the three hour glucose screen. No problem, right? Hmmm. yeah, except that I had to go on a special diet for friday, Saturday, and Sunday. AND I couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight on Sunday (including water). GREAT!! So then I go to the doctors office to pick up my lab sheet for monday and a copy of the diet for the weekend. It was as follows...

Breakfast:
1 egg
1 slice toast
1 Tablespoon jelly
4 oz. citrus juice
8 oz. skim milk
1/2 cup cooked cereal or 3/4 cup cold cereal

Lunch:
meat, poultry, or fish (as desired)
1/2 cup potatoes
1/2 cup vegetables
1 serving fruit
4 oz. skim milk
1 slice frosted cake or pie

Dinner:
meat, poultry, or fish (as desired)
1/2 cup potatoes
1/2 cup vegetables (cooked or as a salad)
8 oz. skim milk
1 slice frosted cake or pie

Thats it. No Snacks, no nothing. For a normal person, this might have just been a little aggrivating and inconvenient. But for me, and 7 months pregnant, this was miserable!!! I was hungry for 3 days straight. And I have one thing to say about the veggies...
It is absolutely amazing that 1/2 cup of broccoli is A LOT of broccoli, but 1/2 cup of potatoes is NOTHING!!

SO....I did really well all weekend and didn't even cheat a single time. I was so proud of myself!
I got up Monday and went to work to take care of a few things for about an hour and I got to the lab only 1/2 an hour after they opened. And I waited. For an hour. After having had nothing to eat or drink since about 930 the night before when I went to bed. By the time they called my name, my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth I was so dry! Well, they drew my fasting blood and bruised me pretty good casue she couldn't find a vein since I was so dry. Then they gave me the drink...
Hmmm. yeah. No one ever tells you that the drink is even sweeter the second time! It was twice as sweet! So sweet in fact, it wasn't really totally liquid. It was kinda like orange flavored corn syrup. I got about 1/2 of it down before I started feeling like I was fixing to pass out. Fortunately, thanks to growing up with a nurse for a mom and a sister who has been known to get lightheaded from time to time, I knew how to deal with it. I put my head between my knees until it passed and then tried to finish the stupid drink before 5 minutes was up. (yes, they time you while you drink it. Did I not mention that? 5 min to down 10 oz. of orange corn syrup) I finished drinking it and gave the bottle back to the lab tech as proof and then one hour, two hours, and 3 hours after that my blood was redrawn to recheck my blood sugar. 4 needle sticks in 3 hours, 4 vials of blood drawn and nothing to eat or drink but the gross orange goo. I finished it all with no problem and spent the rest of the day hanging out with Mom. Then today I get a phone call at work...My lab results are back....

I Failed. Again.

I've failed tests before back when I was in school, but I dont think any of them upset me quite as badly as this one did. That stung a good bit. So now...I have gestational diabetes. I am now being referred to a specialist at the diabetic center in the hospital. They are apparently going to put me on a special diet and I have to monitor my blood sugar. I know theres nothing I could have done to prevent it, but I still feel like it is somehow my fault. I think I'm just kinda freaked out that that combined with my thyroid now makes me a high risk pregnancy. Not really happy about that. I'll do my best to keep ya'll posted but my laptop is misbehaving really badly (hence no pictures) so I'm having to use Mark's computer when I can kick him off of it for long enough.

completely and totally one of those days

Ugh!!!!!
I hate days where it just seems like nothing was meant to go your way. First thing this morning i got snapped at and then laughed at by people at the doctors office. I needed to know if I could eat before my appointment because everything I've read says that they do your glucose screening when you haven't eaten in a few hours. Well, apparently the doctors office is not open at 8:30 a.m. and if you call then, it goes to the doctor on call. She snapped at me and told me I needed to wait and ask the people in the office...when they open...after 9:15. Well EXCUSE ME. I wasn't aware that the rest of the world doesn't start their day until after 9 a.m. So I waited and called back around 10:30 (I didn't want to risk getting the cranky lady again) and the receptionist says, "Um...yeah, I mean, you can eat. I wouldn't eat like a whole box of doughnuts or anything, but you know..." And yes, she was laughing as she said it, like it was a ridiculous question. So after all of that, I stayed at work for a few hours where I also picked up my paycheck, since I won't be there tomorrow because of jury duty. Well the bank refused to cash it until after 2 o'clock because it was dated for tomorrow. That completely threw me off because I had a few things I needed to go shopping for and I wanted to get it all done before my doctors apt. at 3:30. So, instead, I went and grabbed a Chick-fil-A sandwich and headed to Target to finish our baby registry. I was there until about 1 o'clock and still needed to kill some time so I went and picked up a really neat book at Borders called How to Baby proof your Marriage. I just started reading it at the doctors office, but I would already recommend it to anyone who is even thinking about having kids. I then went and cashed my check and went back to target to try and find a specific pair of maternity pant, but they were not there. So, I headed to Motherhood Maternity in the mall to try and find a pair and the sales lady really irritated me! She kept trying to sell me all of these totally ridiculous things, and all I wanted was one stupid pair of pants! Well, I did get a pair of pants, and a gray knit dress off of the clearance rack, but by the time I left the store, it was 3:15. So I went on to my doctors office. I signed in, and I waited. the waiting really didn't bother me because even though I waited for about an hour to see the doctor, it was still much less waiting time than at my last doctor. I went back, got weighed, had my blood pressure taken, and went on back to the exam room. Less than 5 minutes later, the doc and his assistant came in and we did the usual Doppler heartbeat thingy and all is well there. He measured my belly and I got a new Rx for my thyroid medicine and that was about it. No exam . Not that I'm complaining, really, just odd. Then he hands me a piece of paper and tells me to go get my glucose screening done. I'm like...go? Go where? Aren't you supposed to be doing that? Well, I remembered talking to my sister a while back (she goes to the same doctor) and remembered that she had to go to a lab to have her blood work done. I left the doctors office and went right to the lab, since it is really close to the doctor's office (almost across the street). I went in the lab and the woman behind the glass asks me what I'm there for so I hand her the paper from the doctor. She says to me, "You can't get this done today because it is right at 5 o'clock. This test takes an hour so you have to come back tomorrow". I am SO IRRITATED!!!! I went out in the parking lot and called Mark and sat there, in my car, talking on my cell phone and crying. I know I'm hormonal, and I was really hungry, and cranky, but this was just the last straw! I have been really stressed about this test because everyone keeps telling me how terrible it is and how pretty much everyone throws up the syrup they make you drink. That was why I didn't eat anything else after the chicken sandwich. I figured maybe I was less likely to get sick if I had less in my stomach. So now, I have to take more time off of work next week. That is 2 days last week I missed, as well as 2 days of work I am missing this week. I don't really mind missing the work, but we're trying to save money because my maternity leave isn't going to be paid. That and I really feel like this missed work is going to make me look bad, you know? Things are so frustrating when they don't go the way I want them to!!!! I'm going to bed now. Enough of this bad day.

latest update...

All is doing well here at the Woodard house. I am totally exhausted though. It was really bizarre this past weekend. Friday, Saturday, and most of Saturday I didn't look as pregnant as I have. I also wasn't peeing as much and I wasn't really hungry for anything AT ALL! It was really bizarre! Then, after church on Sunday, I was sitting on the sofa working on some stuff and I got up to pee, and all of a sudden, I looked HUGE! I knew Ashley Marie had been moving round a good bit since I was sitting still, but I didn't realize she had moved that much! Apparently she shifted and is now on my bladder, which is kinda crummy. However, she has freed up room for my stomach and yummy things like Waffle House omelets and French Onion soup from TGIFridays! Other news for the week...I am serving jury duty, I broke a tooth on a now & later, and the surprising news...I cut almost all of my hair off. I donated it to Locks of Love last Tuesday. My fabulous hairdresser, Lisa cut off 14 or 15 inches. I love it! It is so much easier to take care of and it has so much more body now! I need to take some good pictures of it, but I'm usually in too much of a rush in the morning, and with the heat here lately, it's looked kinda rough by the time I get home at night. In any event...Here is week 25, pre-haircut...

and Week 26, after haircut. See how much is gone?
Mark thinks this one is particularly funny...

"Look...You can't even make it through a photoshoot without having to go pee!"
I have another doctors appointment tomorrow and hopefully all is well. They are doing my glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes. I am kinda scared about the test. I'm not really worried about the results of the test, it's more the test itself that i'm worried about. I've heard bad things about it. I'll let you know how it goes.

weeks 23 and 24...Great day today!

Ok, so I had beyond a doubt the greatest day today. I 100% without a doubt felt little Ashley moving! I ate a honeybun for breakfast at work, ad was sitting down taking a break and I definately felt her moving around. I wasn't really sure at first if it was her or not, but then later I ate some Now & Laters (I know, I know...crummy diet, but I swear it got better the rest of the day!) and was sitting in the car waiting for Mark to get off of work. I guess the little Sweet Pea was getting bored waiting for Daddy to leave work. She must have been playing jump rope in there or something! It was absolutely amazing!! It felt like bubbles! Ever since then, I keep feeling her whenever I am just sitting still. It is the greatest feeling EVER!!





On another note...here are pictures of weeks 23 and 24...

Mark has been working on the nursery, and he's done even more work then these pictures show, but these are the most recent pictures I have taken. He's now on his last row of flooring. I love the color of this floor, especially with the yellow walls! I think the nursery is going to be beautiful!


a picture so you can see the color really well...please excuse my large swollen feet...
This is our most recent purchase for the nursery...a shelving unit for baskets and baby books. It is 9 cubby holes, and only every other cubby has a back on it...it's really nice!

weekly pictures update

sorry I got behind again... here are weeks 21 and 22. Things have been kinda crazy around here the past week or two. I'll explain all of that in a later post when I have a bit more time, but I am STARVING and need to finish up here so I can get some food!

I know it's been a while...

but I promise it was worth the wait! I would like to introduce you to...

Ashley Marie Woodard

I love that picture! her left hand is up by her face and she looks like she is waving!

I think this one might be a little obvious.....

Officially Halfway There!!!!!

I'm officially there...20 weeks!! Halfway point! My next appointment is Thursday afternoon, so I should be getting pictures of the wee one posted soon. Yay!! Until then, here's this weeks picture...

I tried to take the picture earlier so I wouldn't look so angry! I had an interesting occurance last night...I officially had my first 'bad parenting' nightmare. It was really weird! I was crammed in a tiny room with dozens and dozens of little screaming kids and I yelled really loudly for all of them to shut up. The really weird part was that then the doorbell rang and it was a police officer telling me the neighbors had reported my yelling at the kids and they were now not going to allow me to be a mother to my unborn child! I woke up kinda freaked out and all sweaty. I really hate that kiind of dream.

On a lighter note, during our time off from work, Mark started painting the nursery. He has done 2 coats on the walls, but still has to do all the trim. The really funny/sad thing is that the new color is almost the exact same shade as the old color. The new color is just a little but more toned down and is a glossy paint. In the pictures below, the wall on the right is the old color. The left wall is the new color...see what I mean!?!

Back from Vacation

Mark and I made it home safely from our vacation. We're both kinda pooped, but we had tons of fun! We left here Tuesday afternoon, dropped Maggie off at her Granny's house, and then Mark surprised me by going and buying our newest toy...a Garmin navigation system.

I think he might be a little proud of his new toy. OK, so I like it too...

Once in Atlanta, we found our hotel and got settled in. Mark relaxed for a little bit and used the Garmin to figure out our dinner options.

The next morning, we ate breakfast in the car and headed into the city in search of the aquarium. Unfortunately the morning rush hour traffic in Atlanta lasts for probably 4 hours so we were driving right in the middle of it.

At last...Downtown Atlanta!!

The entrance to the aquarium...

If you can't tell by the fact that they are blurry, those are real fish behind Mark.

These are a bunch of otters. I really wanted them to wake up so I could get a better picture of them, but I guess they were nice and warm and didn't wanna wake up.

Again...Real fish in the background. Or in this case, a real whale.

I love this picture!!

After the aquarium, we crossed the field between the two, and went to the Coca-Cola museum. I love these bottles that are in the lobby of the museum. The one that says cola to my left was made entirely of beads in South Africa!

This was the cutest coca-cola polar bear ever! I there hadn't been so many kids of field trips, I would've wanted my picture taken with him!


Next stop on the list...The Varsity for lunch. Fantastic Onion Rings! (even though they gave me terrible heartburn!)
After lunch, we headed out to Stone Mountain.
That's it in the background! It's really high!
Mark and I decided that we didn't want to pay to ride the tram to the top of the mountain, so we figured we'd hike it. It wasn't too bad, but there are pictures to come that show how steep it gets.

I'm not really as miserable as it looks in these pictures. It's just really bright!

See, I told you it gets steep!
Mark relaxing at the top. There was a huge golf course he could see from up there and he SO wanted to play it.I saw this as we started heading down the mountain. It totally looks like a frogs face! He even has plants in his mouth!
After all of that in one day, we were pretty pooped. We stayed for the laser show at the base of the mountain, then went back to the hotel and crashed!

The next morning, we got an early start and headed out to the zoo. Of course we were in rush hour traffic again...

For one of the first times ever, Mark and I got somewhere early! I had to document it. (note, it's only 9:10 am in this picture)
Getting to the zoo early is a great idea! No little kids all over the place, it's still cool outside, and the animals were very active this early!
I loved the kangaroos! There was even one with a baby in her pouch!
This panda kept showing off for Mark and I. It kept covering it's self with bamboo while eating it. Eventually it was like a pile of bamboo with arms and a head!
This one was sitting with its back to the glass pretending like we weren't even there! I love how you can see its hair pressed against the glass!

A super cute picture of my sweetie! I was very proud of him. He was very nice and let me take his picture a lot while we were in Atlanta.
Mark and a metal komodo dragon...
Me and a metal giraffe...
I think these meerkats might have been my favorate of all the animals! They were so cute!

After the zoo, the inside the CNN studio tour (no cameras allowed).
After the tour, we wer pretty pooped, so wewent back to the hotel and went swimming. There are no pictures of that because I just discovered just how awful maternity swimsuits really are!After swimming, we ordered a pizza and crashed for the night.

The next day, we hecked out of the hotel aand drove to Kinnesaw to go to the Civil War and Locomotive History museum.


Next stop, the Fernbank museum of Natural History.
I love this dinosaur in the lobby! There are also a bunch of these smaller flying dinosaurs all around. You can see one in the top right corner in this picture.
One more really great picture before heading home!