Tired arms, back and heart

Tonight I let Archie cry himself to sleep.  Well, it was more like scream for 20 mins them whimper/cry for another 10 minds before finally selling down and eventually sleeping.  With Mike having the shingles he can spread the chickenpox virus. Since Archie has no immunity against the chickenpox, this means I won't let Mike help with Archie. Although the chances of Archie getting chickenpox from Mike are miniscule, I can't handle anything else being added to my plate, so Mike  gets shunned. Poor guy. :(
Mike had the day off today and we were able to get a lot of stuff done around the house. Since I was working on stuff most of the day my back really hurts (old injury). So tonight when Archie had been fussing for nearly two hours and nothing was soothing him (not even his favorite: nursing) I just had to buckle him in the swing, turn it on and walk away.  My arms had gone numb from holding him and bouncing him and rocking him and swaying him. My back was killing me and I just couldn't do it anymore.
Sometimes one of the hard parts of being a mother is not letting guilt get the best of you.  I did the best I could and I think it turned out okay. Here's hoping tomorrow goes better.

Shingles

Mike was diagnosed this week with shingles.  Yes, Mike has a sickness that typically affects people 60+ year old.  When a person gets chicken pox the virus that causes it camps out in their nervous system for the rest of their life.  Typically it just stays there with no problem.  Unfortunately sometimes when people are extremely stressed and have a weakened immune system the virus can manifest as shingles.  Shingles are a rash that manifest along the pathways of the nerves.  They can be extremely painful because the virus is in the nervous system.  Thankfully Mike identified the shingles immediately so he was able to get on anti-viral medication right away.  The medication doesn't get rid of the shingles but it should lessen the severity and length of the illness.
Needless to say, Mike has been extremely stressed lately.  He was asked to fill in for a fellow resident who was having some health issues and couldn't fulfill his responsibilities. Ironic, right?  Eventually Mike was asked to switch rotations with this resident.  We were expecting a relatively easy rotation for April with weekends off and people Mike enjoys working with.  Instead he is now on a very difficult rotation and he has been assigned to work with a person who is just not pleasant.  She is extremely demanding and micromanages everything Mike tries to do.  She is often rude and treats her co-workers (doctors and nurses) as incompetent.  Mike comes home every day feeling like he's been beaten down.
Thankfully he only has one more week working with this individual.  Unfortunately for us he's on surgery rotation next month which will be difficult.  We're hoping that Mike is assigned to work with a great, positive team. We're also hoping Mike doesn't pass out in the operating room (this happened multiple times in med school).
So if you could send positive vibes and lots of prayers Mike's way, that would be appreciated. :)

Diabetes

While I was pregnant with Archie I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Every pregnant mom has some insulin resistance due to some hormones the placenta puts out.  This resistance is good because it means if there is limited food for the mother, the body slows down processing food so that the baby can get the most nutrition out of whatever food goes in moms mouth.  For most women in a first world country, it's not an issue because there is plenty of food available.  Unfortunately for some women their placenta works overtime and builds up too strong of an insulin resistance resulting in gestational diabetes.  Many women with gestational diabetes can treat it by eating a low carb, high veg and protein diet.  Some women need diabetes medications to help level out their blood sugars.  My sugars were great with just diet, except for my morning fasting number.  So I took gluberide every night to help my morning sugars.  It gave me terrible stomach cramps the first week or so, but it worked.
I didn't tell very many people about being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  Partly because I was embarrassed.  I (incorrectly) felt like it was my fault and I was hurting my baby with my health habits.  The reality was just that my placenta was being an overachiever.  :)
My third trimester went really well with Archie growing great and my blood sugars were fabulous.  I worked hard to eat right and avoided almost all sugar.  I did have a smidge of sugar around Christmas but I had plenty of protein with it so it didn't spike my sugars. ;)  I exercised everyday with either a neighborhood walk or a dance party with the family.
For most women with gestational diabetes it goes away after the baby is born.  Once the hormone producing placenta is gone, the woman's blood sugars level out.  We tested my blood sugars in the hospital and my doctor said everything looked great.  I checked my sugars sporadically over then next 6 weeks and they were all in healthy range.  I was working really hard to eat right and be as active as I could.  By my 6 week appointment I had lost all but 5lbs of the baby weight I had gained with Archie. After my 6 week appointment my ob had me to the 2 hour glucose tolerance test again.  Unfortunately it came back saying I had pre-diabetes.  This means I have a mild carb intolerance, but not severe enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  I was obese when I got pregnant with Archie, and being so heavy makes me at greater risk for getting type 2 diabetes if I'm not careful. The treatment in my case is to eat right and exercise.  Hopefully I'll be able to lose enough weight to get my insulin working correctly again. I'm down 16 lbs since that 6 week appointment, so I'm on my way.