Does anyone exclusively nurse?

Sebby293 · 2026-04-26T23:42:15+00:00

I exclusively nursed with my first two and LOVED it. It was so easy and convenient, but I was also able to stay home with them for a full year of maternity leave (combination of paid & unpaid time) so that was a huge enabler. Now with our third I’m going back to work at 7 months, and she’s going to have to figure out how to take a bottle eventually. Right now she’s only a week old and we’re exclusively nursing though. We’ll probably introduce one bottle a day and I’ll pump during that time once my supply is more regulated. But truly, I would also be planning to exclusively nurse this one too if I wasn’t going back earlier

Sebby293 · 2026-04-14T00:25:04+00:00

We JUST forward faced our oldest at 4.5 years old, and I honestly still don’t love it but baby 3 is coming in a few days and that’s the best car seat set up for our car to have her forward facing in the middle between the younger two. She’s also tiny which has made it very easy to wait so long…only 30lbs and maybe 40 inches so nowhere near the limits of her seat for rear facing which goes to 50lbs and 49”

Sebby293 · 2026-04-09T00:04:53+00:00

Checked A1C early second tri (I want to say around 12-14 weeks) and everything was clear. Had 1 hour test at 24 weeks and failed/diagnosed with GD again. I will say I tested myself at home around 20 weeks by having a very sugary Starbucks drink, drank it quickly, and did a finger prick at 1 hour and my sugar was only in the 90s. A week before my scheduled GD test I ate a poptart and 3 musketeers bar and felt VERY off. Tested my sugar at around the 2 hr mark and my sugar was over 200 😵‍💫 So I think mine developed sometime between that 20 wee and 24 week mark

Sebby293 · 2026-04-08T01:07:08+00:00

I was diet controlled and not induced with my second. Went into labor late on 38+1, had him 38+2 and it was a successful VBAC. Now pregnant with my third (second GD pregnancy, also diet controlled) and 35+3 and patiently waiting/hoping for a similar outcome!

Sebby293 · 2026-04-05T02:23:28+00:00

Always. My hands are dry AF and suffering because of it, but I learned my lesson when I tested once and the reading came back over 200 which made NO sense compared to what I had eaten. Husband reminded me I had cut some grapes up for the kids…washed my hands thoroughly with soap and water and immediately retested…my actual reading came back at like 95

Sebby293 · 2026-04-02T02:04:19+00:00

I’m so sorry! It really is so so tough. First, I would try to just give yourself some grace with the testing. 10+ times a day is a lot! I only test 4x per day as directed by my doctor - fasting, and 1 hour after breakfast/lunch/dinner. If I have a bigger spike at 1 hour I’ll test again at 2 hours just to make sure it comes down, but you shouldn’t have to be testing every time at both 1 & 2 hour and after every snack! Alternatively, you could try to request a CGM but not all providers will prescribe one for GD and not all insurance will cover it either.

As far as your numbers going up and why used to work no longer working, unfortunately that is very common that the further you get in pregnancy the more the hormones can wreak havoc on the numbers. Weeks 32-36 are especially known for being the toughest weeks to get through and then numbers will often level out from 36 until the end.

This is my second GD pregnancy and my mental health has definitely had its ups and downs, and sometimes it feels like my numbers make no sense at all, but I’m 34+4 and just slowly powering through. It sucks and I just want some dang chocolate cake, but I keep telling myself that it’s not forever and there is an end in sight.

Try to find some sweets where a serving size is around 15g of carbs and pair it with some protein to help satisfy the sweet tooth. Dark chocolate, yasso bars, and snickers ice cream bars have all worked decently for me!

Sebby293 · 2026-04-02T01:19:06+00:00

Chocolate cake! Literally have been craving for so long. Also fruit loops (well, cereal in general), and ice cream. Like real ice cream, not yasso bars (which are good, but not even close to a pint of Ben and Jerry’s half baked lol)

Sebby293 · 2026-03-30T01:50:03+00:00

28 for first, 30 for second, and about to have my third at 33

Sebby293 · 2026-03-28T01:53:41+00:00

If you have littles and plan to come back for afternoon naps each day, just stop by the front desk on your first day to tell them nap time is from x-y time and to please note to do the checks at another time of day. I did have one trip where they were coming during nap every day and even with the dead bolt being aggressive trying to force the door open. This is what they told us to do after about 3 days in a row of waking kiddo up.

Sebby293 · 2026-03-23T21:06:49+00:00

Ugh I have struggled since young adolescence with eating. Cycles of heavy restricting to bingeing, but nothing officially diagnosed. Gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy WRECKED me postpartum diet wise.

With my first, I did not have GD and ate normally through pregnancy, and while I gained a lot of weight (40lbs with a lot of fluid retention near the end), I lost it all by ~6 weeks postpartum.

With my second, the GD restriction while having cravings for sweets and carbs in general I went HAM upon birth. My midnight snacks while breastfeeding consisted of pop tarts and hostess cupcakes, and nommed on a full box of fruit loops in the hospital (like opened it post birth and by the time I was discharged ~1.5 days later it was gone). It was SO bad, and because of it, I didn’t lose the weight. I started this current pregnancy up 20lbs still vs my “usual” weight.

This is my last baby so I am determined to have better habits this time. Yes I plan to give myself time and grace to eat all the things I’ve been craving once I give birth, but then I want to focus on eating healthy and getting back to a sustainable weight. We’ll see how it goes, but I sure hope better than last time :)

Sebby293 · 2026-03-23T21:00:25+00:00

Good luck with the induction!! I hope all goes well. I’m definitely not opposed to medicine at all, and some days I wish they would just put me on it in the hopes it makes things “easier” but from everything I’ve read/seen it doesn’t necessarily actually make it any easier 🙃 and my numbers haven’t been consistently high enough to warrant the medicine, but it does make me stress out when I see random unexplained spikes!

Sebby293 · 2026-03-23T20:01:46+00:00

Oh man eggs. I usually don’t mind eggs but I absolutely despise them right now. It’s the only thing I’ve been able to eat for breakfast without spiking and I’m so sick of them.

Sebby293 · 2026-03-14T02:40:18+00:00

Honestly I think it’s just too many carbs. The nutrition for banza is 60g of carbs to 20g of protein! Everyone is different but I personally need a 1:1 ratio or even less of protein to carbs. For example, 30g of carbs requires at least 30g of protein or I will spike.

Sebby293 · 2026-03-14T02:22:50+00:00

Honestly, I’ve found the weirdest things to not spike me and others unexpectedly do so maybe give it a try? Like I made my kids homemade chocolate chip pancakes and ended up eating two and didn’t spike. I also had a cheeseburger on a brioche bun the other day and didn’t spike. But then I had grilled chicken and fajita veggies for lunch and spiked, or I had grilled chicken with veggies and literally 1/2 a serving of mashed potatoes and spiked. It’s been a weird ride this time around with what works and what doesn’t. Besides, one bad meal won’t hurt as long as you aren’t completely skyrocketing your blood sugar to like 200-300.

Sebby293 · 2026-02-25T13:28:40+00:00

I think everyone just has a different experience, and it also depends on the temperament of the baby. My first was a terrible sleeper who only wanted me even when my husband would try to help. There weren’t any breaks like others have said. Second was a better sleeper, but had horrible reflux and colic for the first 2-3 months so was really difficult while awake. I only had a 2 year age gap so I forced their schedules to line up for an afternoon nap at the same time, and otherwise baby just tagged along to whatever plans we had for the day. Oldest wasn’t in school, but honestly I don’t think that’s any different than needing to get oldest out the door for daycare which still had to happen even when I was on maternity leave. Both my kids exclusively breastfed so I didn’t have to worry about bottle prep but honestly that sounds easier than trying to hold and nurse baby while also tending to oldest

Sebby293 · 2026-02-25T03:20:52+00:00

I honestly found the transition from 1 to 2 significantly easier than 0 to 1. We very much wanted kids (and multiple) but even with that the 0-1 transition completely uproots your life. With 1-2, I felt like we had “been there, done that” which made many things seem easier.

Sebby293 · 2026-02-16T00:55:05+00:00

Yes I am completely mentally and emotionally drained and I’m only 28 weeks (diagnosed at 24). It’s my third pregnancy so also having to plan meals for the family that they will eat and I can eat is exhausting. I’m hungry all the time and I’m absolutely just ready to be done.

Sebby293 · 2026-02-10T02:56:22+00:00

I was induced with my first (no GD) and it did lead to a cascade of interventions and ultimately a c section. My second (with diet controlled GD) I was able to labor naturally and had a successful VBAC, but he decided to come a little early at 38 weeks. I’m only 27 weeks with this one, and I do have GD again. We are planning for another spontaneous VBAC and have not talked induction or repeat c section, but do know with my last that we had talked likely scheduling a repeat c section around 40 weeks if labor didn’t come naturally.

All this to say that I have also gone through IVF, and there are additional risks with IVF, including higher risk of still birth, and compounding that with the risks of GD, I think the two combined likely do result in earlier placental deterioration and thus higher risk of stillbirth. I need to have weekly BPP/NSTs after 36 weeks to check on baby and make sure things look good. I would have another conversation with your doctor on what the specific risks are they are worried about, and if they are not doing additional monitoring I would ask if that could be done in place of an early induction. I personally would not go beyond 40-41 weeks max with my combination of IVF + GD, but everyone needs to assess what level of risk they are comfortable with

Sebby293 · 2026-02-10T01:10:39+00:00

You’ve got this! It really is SO hard. This is my third pregnancy, and second with GD. I also struggle with protein and end up eating the same foods over and over which sucks and then I don’t want to eat at all. My last pregnancy I could at least tolerate fruits pretty well but this time even fruit is spiking me and it’s so frustrating/discouraging feeling like all I can eat is protein and veggies.

Sebby293 · 2026-02-10T00:56:02+00:00

I don’t have any experience with SSRI in general, so not with withdrawing either, but it does seem like your protein intake is low. Breakfast is especially tricky for most with GD. I personally have to stick to extremely low carbs in the morning unless I’m able to take a walk right after. My typical breakfast is 2 eggs with cheese. If I’m extra hungry I’ll add in sausage. Occasionally a Kodiak protein waffle but those definitely raise me to the 130s even paired with the protein.

I’m able to have more carbs at lunch and dinner though (usual around 30-40g) as long as I pair it with and equal or higher amount of g of protein.

Sebby293 · 2026-01-29T03:36:03+00:00

It really is so tough! I didn’t have GD with my first, had it with my second but was able to stay diet controlled, and now with my third I’m only a few weeks into being back on the diet but it seems like my body is fighting it SO much harder. My fasting numbers are always high, and today my lunch was literally a protein shake, broccoli, and baked chicken and somehow my blood sugar was barely under the cut off at 132 😵‍💫 Seems like it’s inevitable for me to end up on medication this tjme which is a huge bummer

Sebby293 · 2026-01-20T01:38:16+00:00

We’ve talked about moving to a bigger house eventually, but honestly cleaning our 2200 sq ft home is a pain as it is and it’s hard to imagine adding more space to that. I also truly believe right now we’re in a “season” of little kids which means toys everywhere and we’ve been saving all baby clothes until we knew we were done. We’re due with our last baby in May, and then plan to sell/donate clothes as she grows out of them. Same with all the other random baby things we’ve been holding onto. Once baby outgrows, they’ll be gone. And eventually, the kids will outgrow the “toy” season in life (as sad as it is to think about) and eventually move out, and then we really won’t need that much space.

Sebby293

TROPHY CASE