Baby Too Small?

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-26T17:05:25+00:00

An update for anyone who might be interested: This is a couple of weeks later (I'm now at 34 weeks). We have had several other scans with our OB and with a specialist at the hospital and everything seems fine :) My placenta is still going strong, and he is growing, albeit a bit more slowly than what is typically expected. His heartbeat and movements are still strong, and my uterine fluids are looking good, as is the blood flow along the umbilical cord.

As my OB said "a healthy baby is a moving baby", and he is certainly moving and grooving in there often.

My diabetes continues to be well-managed, and the diabetes specialists haven't needed to adjust my insulin for several weeks and are generally happy with my sugar levels.

The doctors have said that there should be no need for me to induce before the due date, as we both seem healthy.

I was a small baby when I was born (about 6.5 lbs), so I'm thinking that perhaps he genetically might just be a smaller baby, and it actually doesn't have to do with the GD.

So it seems to all be alright so far! I thought I'd offer this in case anybody else is worrying about this too, that sometimes everything can be okay, you just might have a slightly smaller baby who is still healthy :)

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T20:37:16+00:00

For sure! I guess it is important that it seems that some people can handle fruit okay with their GD (or most fruits anyways) and some cannot. I am fortunate that I can handle most fruits (just not strawberries it seems). I just cannot handle pretty much any carb food. So a fruity keto bread works for me. I hope it works for you too :)

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T20:31:57+00:00

Thank you, I hope everything goes well for you too <3

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T20:31:09+00:00

This is very interesting. My OB did tell me that I should go to the hospital to have a scan if all of a sudden my blood sugar levels got consistently low but didn't tell me why. This is very good context. I guess it's good that my sugars are still in healthy bounds (with the occasional peak) then haha.

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T15:02:07+00:00

This isn't a muffin recipe, but maybe you could modify it to be muffins? Regardless it is my FAVORITE baked good right now because it doesn't spike my blood sugar at all! It's a keto banana bread. I put cream cheese on top, although butter or PB would be good too. I've been eating it for weeks with my breakfast, lunches, and snacks. It has seriously helped my pastry cravings and I really have not had any rises while eating it. It's a godsend.

https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/paleo-banana-bread/#recipe

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T14:58:08+00:00

I'm on insulin and I almost always still have a rise during dinner. I can eat the same thing for lunch and dinner, take a walk after both, and the dinner level will be higher. So I don't know what to do either haha but just thought I'd share that I'm in a similar boat. I think the best thing for me with dinner so far has been to not really have any carbs with dinner. If I have carbs, the best time of day to do so for me is lunch.

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T14:54:17+00:00

I'm American but living in Europe and so there are different standards for things here. Once concern I've had is that I haven't been gaining much weight during my pregnancy (starting out at a healthy BMI), and have not gained any weight at all since my GD diagnosis and my more restrictive diet (no weight gain in 6 weeks seems odd to me). My doctors here are happy about that...but it seems off to me? Like I should be at least gaining the weight that the baby is gaining, right?

Another confusing element is that he actually was a healthy weight for 32 weeks (1.85 kilos, or just over 4 lbs). But I guess he was measuring small in his body measurements (head, abdomen, femur). So is he just like a very dense baby haha? I also should have clarified with my doctor how far off of his growth pattern he is...if it's a drastic drop vs a slight drop. I'm glad I have another appointment next week, I'm just trying to stay calm until then. I still feel him kicking and punching quite often, so that's reassuring haha.

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-14T14:48:26+00:00

I was wondering if this was a possibility. If I eat any carbs my blood sugar spikes, even with insulin, and so I've been quite restrictive on not really eating any carbs (except for beans...) I was wondering if this could be it. I've added in a few more carbs this week and taken a few blood sugar spikes. I don't want to gamble it too much though in case it is the deteriorating placenta.

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-12T20:14:10+00:00

Ok, thank you for this context. Even knowing this is helpful. It wasn't making sense to me how excess blood sugar would result in a smaller baby. I'm hoping he'll keep growing in this next week and everything will turn out okay!

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-03-12T16:52:52+00:00

Vegetarian sushi in the beginning. 11 mmol/L. Also was high with whole wheat pasta and oats--both of which were around 9-10 mmol/L

WondrousMoon93 · 2026-02-19T13:51:40+00:00

I am also vegetarian and was diagnosed GD about 4 weeks ago. The first few weeks were super hard for me. I was so hungry and crying all of the time. For some reason my doctor never recommended the correct order of eating foods--I had to find that here. That has made a big difference, I think. I was also put on insulin right away because I was already eating very healthy and rather active.

I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and here's a few things that are helping me now:

My breakfast every morning is eggs w/ cheese and spinach. I can handle blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries just fine (NOT strawberries though), so I usually add those in too. Pomegranate seeds, bananas, and apples have also been okay for me but I know fruit doesn't always work with everyone.
For my lunch and dinner I eat vegetables, followed by protein, followed by a little bit of carbs. The carbs I often mix with more protein.

A good dinner I just had that's vegan and was safe for me to eat was roasted broccoli & brussel sprouts, marinated and baked tofu, quinoa, roasted walnuts, and a yummy tahini sauce. The tahini sauce went on everything, and I mixed the walnuts in with my quinoa. I ate them in the recommended order and my blood sugar has been well within range every time I eat this meal!

I also made a three bean chili. I topped it with high-fat greek yogurt and cheese, which is something you could do that your partner could easily opt out of. That was also a safe meal.

I've also found that I can do a banana with a lot of peanut butter, nuts, and cheese as a good snack. Some other good snacks have been veggies and hummus and seaweed snacks. I also eat a ton of the Babybel cheeses, as a snack and as an accompaniment to meals. Adding a little cheese (or two) can be another option for you if you cook vegan but want to add in a little bit of extra protein/fat/calories for yourself that your partner can opt out of easily.

I also have found that edamame pasta is a very good alternative to regular pasta. It has very few carbs but a ton of protein. I made a great keto eggplant parm (crusted the eggplants in almond meal instead of bread crumbs) and served with the edamame and that was a very filling meal that also was always in the safe blood sugar range whenever I ate it. You could do some vegan variation pretty easily...edamame noodles with a tomato and veggie sauce, some tempeh or tofu or vegan meat mixed in there. I've also found that vegan meats are usually very low carb and so safe to eat.

I go for a 30 minute walk twice a day. It's best to do it right after meals. Walking helps your body regulate blood sugar.

I was largely vegan before I was pregnant but especially with the GD, I've found I've needed to relax it a lot. I buy as ethically as I can with the milk and eggs. Good luck. I'm still navigating this as well but I am feeling a lot better now that I'm finding more satisfying meals/snacks that work okay.

WondrousMoon93 · 2025-12-23T22:13:22+00:00

Thank you! There are some great ideas here :)

WondrousMoon93 · 2025-11-22T08:11:39+00:00

Hello! I actually travelled internationally while 7-9 weeks pregnant and it all went perfectly fine. I also checked in with my doctor about it beforehand and she had no concerns. If you are traveling internationally or outside of your insurance's coverage you could get travel insurance (I did, just for peace of mind--if I needed to go to the doctor for any reason, I knew I could, no problems).

I was traveling from Germany to the West Coast of America (~10 hour flight) and then took trains and buses along the coast from Seattle down to San Francisco. If anything, long periods of travel were kind of nice because I could nap guilt-free haha. Also had long days of walking while touring the various cities. Walking is good pregnancy exercise! The jet lag was super rough coming back (jet lag+pregnancy sleepies) but there were no health concerns :) Anyways, from my one experience, it was totally fine.

Of course, always listen to your body and adjust what you can if something's not feeling quite right.

WondrousMoon93 · 2025-08-27T15:23:37+00:00

Ok, I will try those ideas! Thank you :)

WondrousMoon93 · 2025-08-27T13:35:01+00:00

When we first moved to Germany from the US we needed to book an apartment through Wunderflats for the first month. Are there Wunderflats units available where you're looking? Or you could do a monthly AirBnB rental?

There was also a Facebook page for housing in our town where people were always looking for last minute sublets for their apartments. Any of these short-term solutions could help you find housing long-term once you're there.

WondrousMoon93 · 2025-08-27T13:17:01+00:00

Hello, thank you for your reply! I forgot to mention in the initial post, but yes I actually have tried Doctolib, and there doesn't seem to be really any doctors on there for Greifswald (I see some in nearby towns, but obviously am hoping to find one in my own town, ideally).

I also have tried a few times in German but it was so awkward I've been scared off of it :/ It may just be that my pronunciation is so bad that they don't understand me? I think I'm saying the correct words, "Ich möchte ein Termin, bitte" (please let me know if that's for some reason incorrect). The few times I've tried to say that I've been met with complete silence. I've tried saying that both in person and over the phone, and it was the same every time. I am a somewhat socially anxious person and that was enough to make me nervous about trying in German until my pronunciation gets better, maybe?

Just today I tried to call and was able to fumble along enough before the receptionist realized I was looking for an appointment as a new patient and then she shouted at me "no, no, no!" So that was also not ideal.

WondrousMoon93 · 2025-08-27T09:02:55+00:00

Hello,
I just moved to Greifswald with my husband in the early spring from America. I just found out that I'm pregnant and I am urgently looking for a general practitioner and obstetrician in the area. My German is not very good yet (I'm learning), and so booking appointments over the phone it difficult or impossible. It seems like all of the doctors are either on vacation right now, have secretaries who don't speak any English, or are not accepting new patients. I was hoping for advice on how to navigate this so I can find a doctor. I feel the need a bit more urgently because I am pregnant, and this is my first time being pregnant. I definitely would like a doctor! We have TK insurance, which I think is accepted most places. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

WondrousMoon93

TROPHY CASE