#Microblog Mondays?  Read more about it here!

It's been a while since I have been able to sit at a computer for more than 5 minutes at a time since daycare has been closed for almost 2 weeks and I have taken some time off of work.  It was nice to be away from the daily grind, but today it is back to reality.  I already miss my little B. 

Let's see, in the past 2 weeks, I have put on Christmas Day dinner for 10 people, hosted 5 family members at my tiny 1100 sq. ft. house for 5 days, hosted NYE for 10 people, won a race that over 500 people ran (1st female), and was able to get everything back together for today.  No, I didn't sleep much.

Lastly, here is a quick (and promised) update on the Paleo cookies that I made for Christmas this year... most of them were a success. 

Hope you all had a great holiday with family and friends!  XOXO

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So you may think that since I have not posted in almost a week, that I have fallen off the Paleo Challenge wagon.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  I am still going strong and have not slipped up once.  Rather than go through each of the last days that I missed, individually, I will give you some of the highlights.

I have noticed a few things since being on this pretty restrictive version of the paleo diet (i.e. no honey, dried fruits, maple syrup, etc.) which have included:

• Being more thirsty even though I am drinking a ton more water than usual.
• Being unusually exhausted in the evenings to the point where I have been falling asleep sitting up.
• Sleeping very deeply (when I actually get to sleep).
• Waking up feeling rested even after broken sleep.
• Less general bloat.
• Still craving carbs...namely cereal and crispy/salty items.
• Craving a glass of red wine after dinner.
• Being much less agitated than I was during the first week of this challenge.
• Drinking way more caffeinated coffee than I have since long before I became pregnant and not having it affect me.
• No longer feel like I am developing low blood sugar if I wait too long between meals (i.e. no carbo crash between breakfast and lunch).
• I am spending waaaaaaaaaay more money on food than I ever have in my life.  Our grocery bills have gone up by at least $150 a week to include all organic/grass-fed meats and as much organic produce as possible.
• After a serious tanking in my breast milk supply, I can say with almost complete certainty that it is back to where it was before.  YAY!  This may have to do with the resolution of masitits (and finishing the antibiotics) or with the fact that my body has adjusted to the new diet.  This morning, I pumped 8 ounces!
• We made this meal last night, Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry over Brussels Sprouts (except with chicken) and it was awesome!  I loooove Brussels Sprouts so why not put more veggies and some lean protein on top and call it a meal?! 

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Still catching up!!

Monday, 1/6/14...

Food
Breakfast
Paleo pumpkin pancakes with turkey sausage, leftover apple/pear crisp, blackberries and blueberries

Snack
Mixed dry roasted nuts

Lunch
Leftover carrots, butternut squash, parsnips and onions with steamed green beans and grilled chicken

Snack
orange, raw snow peas, 2 Steve’s grassfed spinach paleo sticks

Snack
Sunflower seeds, 2 pickles

Dinner
Veggie and turkey chili (This is my special creation!  I will post a recipe soon)

Snack
Paleo banana bread (sugar-detox)

Exercise
Went to Crossfit and did "Fran", which consisted of 21-15-9: thrusters and pull-ups.  I was proud of myself that, despite being scared to death, I did the thusters with 30 lbs instead of 25.  The 5 lbs doesn't seem like a ton of extra weight, I know, but when you are "sprinting" to do 21 in a row, it gets really heavy, really quick.  I used the green band for the pull-ups (which is easier than purple) instead of purple because I knew we had to do 21 in a row.  It was a good choice.  That was a killer!

As if that wasn't punishment enough, after I put the baby to bed when I got home, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill.  I feel like I am in such a great place with running right now that I don't want to stop the momentum.  The beginning of the run was not fun and very slow, but towards the end, I ramped up the pace and finished strong.  Thank you Spotify for supplying me with a great 90s playlist!

Life
My boob feels back to normal, however the bleb (milk blister) is still there and it still hurts.  I am wondering when this will go away.  I feel like I have had it forever!  B did something cool and started waving back when waved to.  It was crazy that he just did it one time when my husband was waving to him.  He is growing up so fast!  Work is a crazy storm right now.  I am in the process of training an entire staff on a new system that I helped to build and test.  Needless to say, I don't have very much time to do anything other than work, parent, eat, and exercise.

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I decided that the only way that I am really going to have time to regularly get in a workout is to buy a treadmill, so that is what I did.  After hearing many jokes about how I could spend much less money and buy a laundry rack, I decided to prove them all wrong and take the plunge.  I shelled out $1500 (more like $2200 once you figure in the warranty, tax, and delivery/set-up) and had my husband frame me out a small room in our dungeon of a basement that I am calling my "work out room".  Laugh if you want, but I have already ran on it 2 out of the three days that I have had it and I LOVE it for a few reasons:

1.  I can run whenever I want.  This could mean 4:30 AM when I get up or 7 PM after the baby goes to bed.  It could also mean 2 PM on a Sunday while baby and daddy are watching football.  I can run when it is raining or snowing.  I can run when it is -10 degrees or when it is 90.

2.  I can suspend my gym membership.  I can cut my monthly gym membership down from $90 to $45 a month until I decide that I want to start it up again.  I have been paying for that membership for many months and have only been able to go a handful of times.  I usually only go when it is to inclement to run outside and now I can do that in my house!

3.  I can train for races with less pressure.  After completing my first half marathon in many years a few weeks back (at an 8:05 pace!!), I have caught the racing bug again.  I am so far from where I once was, placing in my age group, but I can conceivably work my way back to where I was if I can run more days a week than I don't run.

4.  I can run with the baby in my site.  He loves his Exersaucer.  I can bring him down with me and hope that he likes watching mommy run like a mouse in a wheel.  Crossing my fingers on this one.

5.  I can continue trying to achieve my goal of looking like I did before the whole pregnancy debacle.  This includes all of the time I spend trying to get pregnant and miscarrying.  I am talking 2010 shape.

After doing a TON of research and finding the Treadmill Doctor, I decided on the SoleF80.  It isn't as technologically advanced as some of the other ones that I was looking at like the NordicTrack models, but it is a solid machine that can hold up to a beating.  I don't really need all of the fancy stuff.  I have my iPad to blast tunes and I plan on getting a small flat screen TV.  The F80 does have a fan and a heart rate monitor.  So far, I really like it.

In other news...

B slept 7-8 hours for a few nights in a row and then last night was down to 4 hours again.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  Good thing I didn't throw out my under eye concealer.

I baked an awesome batch of paleo pumpkin doughnuts last night.  Check out the recipe, here.  They are AMAZING, no gluten or sugar necessary!

My husband and I finally had sex.  TMI maybe, but this has been an issue causing me huge anxiety with regards to pain in the past few months.  Only took 6 months!  I think I have gotten past the pain though.  Take that scar tissue!!

I keep forgetting to take my birth control.  Let's hope that the breastfeeding is working as my backup (gulp), because we all know how that works.  You had so much trouble the first time and then baby #2 comes as a surprise...

Speaking of breastfeeding, my co-worker is back from maternity leave.  She can't seem to figure out that you need to pump on a schedule and the lactation dungeon has no Outlook calendar for scheduling.  Lucky me had to pump in the bathroom last week for the first time ever because she was in the room for an hour and I was in pain.  Terribly annoying and gross.  I hope I never have to do that again.


And that's a wrap.  Hope you all have a fabulous week!

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No this is not an April Fools joke.  I had my regular weekly appointment today and was not expecting anything.  I have not been having regular contractions, so I was expecting no real progress.  I had my BPP first and the baby was very active as usual and got an 8/8.  Fluid is still high-normal.

The appointment was pretty fast.  They checked my weight...ummm yikes.  I am up 35 lbs.  Not sure where the heck this weight is coming from since I am not eating a whole lot and I am not swollen or retaining water.  Oh well.  My blood pressure was good.

The doctor came in and reviewed my blood sugars for the past week which have been good and stable.  He reviewed the BPP results and was very happy.  He asked about contractions/bleeding.  I told him I wasn't having any painful contractions and no bleeding.  BH off and on with some mild cramping, but nothing to write home about.  I did loose (what I think) was my mucus plug on Saturday in one huge clump (sorry, TMI).  I asked him to check my cervix and he said he would, but warned me that with my "symptoms" that I shouldn't expect a whole lot.  I agreed.

Well sure enough, I was about 3 cm and 50% effaced.  He felt the head which he said was very low.  He couldn't tell which direction his face is pointing though (up or down).  He thinks I could really go into labor at any time, but said he guessed that we would meet this guy by the end of the week.  Ahhhhh!  

Now I am feeling a really intense desire to clean my house.  I am supposed to be working, but it is so hard to concentrate right now.  I also have been slacking on commenting on other's blogs.  I have been reading on my ipad, but haven't been commenting.  I am still following you all!!

I'll try to update as I can, but I have no clue what this week will hold.  Maybe I'll walk around 3 cm for 2 weeks, who knows.  Maybe this guy will show up tonight.  I can't wait to meet him!!

Oh and for all of the gluten-free ladies out there (or gestational diabetics) I made this awesome chocolate chip cookie recipe over the weekend.  I had a few yesterday and they did not affect my blood suger like a normal cookie.  I thought I would share as they are freaking AMAZING!  I would take these over the regular kind any day.  Enjoy!!

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Thanks for the all of the comments, emails, and phone calls regarding my whole insulin debacle.  The second night that I tried injecting, I had success and every time since then I have been able to do it with no issue.  I think that it must have been first time jitters or something.

I have found that my thigh is definitely better than anywhere else to inject and that my left thigh is easier for me to jab than my right.  It is hard to reach around my huge belly.  Now, I would love to tell you that it has been working like a charm, but in fact, it hasn't helped at all and it has even made my numbers marginally worse.  How the heck is this possible?

The first night that I actually got the subcutaneous full dose, I figured I was golden.  I ate exactly the same bedtime snack that I usually have (protein shake w/ almond milk, string cheese, 2 biscotti).  I shot up (sounds like I am a drug addict) around 10:45 PM.  I had my usual 3 full hours of sleep, followed by a pee break, then several 90 minute sleep/pee sessions until I had to get up at 5:30 AM for the funeral.

Upon waking, I tested myself...freaking 98.  WTF?!  This was my 3rd highest fasting reading EVER.  I was so pissed.  I rushed around and got ready and wolfed down my breakfast (2 pieces of low-carb whole grain toast w/ chunky PB, 1 oz low-fat cheese, 2 pieces organic chx sausage, water).  This same breakfast the day before had yielded me a blood sugar reading of 112 an hour after breakfast.  I have been alternating between the egg white omelet and this breakfast for the past few weeks, but on this morning, I didn't have time to make the omelet.

In the car, I tested my blood sugar one hour after breakfast and it was 147.  WTF?!  I thought insulin was supposed to help your readings and not harm them.  I was now even more pissed and frustrated.  As my husband and I were driving we discussed me calling the OB on-call.  I have never done that before, but decided that should be one of the benefits of me going there so I called and left a message.

About an hour later the OB on-call gave me a ring and we chatted about my numbers.  She agreed that the insulin didn't appear to be helping, but said she would like to see readings for a few more days before making the call on upping my dose.  Up my dose??  My numbers were better without the freaking insulin.  How sad. :(

I went the rest of the day with ok readings.  I packed a cooler with snacks and dinner.  We ended up having lunch at my sister's boyfriend's house who lived near the funeral home/church.  They were very accommodating to me by making grilled chicken and salad.  They also got some cheese pizza which looked and smelled amazing, so I had half of a slice without the end crust.  My readings after the hour were great.  I feel like this is a game.  Sort of like, "Press Your Luck".  "Big money, big money, no whammies".

The funeral itself was so sad.  It was so hard to see my relatives so upset.  There is still no cause of death, so there was no burial because they are still examining him.  The casket was made of wood that my cousin was going to use to make his own snowboard.  Everyone signed it.  The service was really awesome though and the church was so packed that there was standing room only and they were simulcasting in the reception hall.  Luckily my Aunt had saved a seat for me so I could sit.  I think I would have been really uncomfortable standing the whole service, especially since I had to pee the whole time.

We drove back home in bad weather.  I was white knuckle gripping my "oh shit" bar most of the time.  We saw several bad accidents and narrowly averted one.  I was so happy to be home after all of that.  A terribly exhausting day.

Since Saturday, my fasting numbers have not gotten better.  They are still in the mid to low 90s.  Today was 89.  I skipped the protein shake last night.  I called the nurse this morning and she told me to up my dose from 7 units to 10 units.  Sigh.  I have another appointment on Wednesday so if things are still not better, you can be sure they are going to hear about it.

On a more up-beat side note, I was really craving cookies last night so I G.oogled until I found a good recipe for low-carb peanut butter cookies that were not made with artificial sweetener.  I was overjoyed when I saw the "diabetic friendly" label!  I changed the recipe a bit in that I added less sugar, some vanilla extract, and butter.  I think mine probably had less carbs this way, but I still posted the nutrition info so you can get the idea.  My batch made 22 cookies.  I had two of them last night for my snack with some extra peanut butter on them.  YUM!!

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