They were wrong.

Hey Everyone,

There's already so much that I want to write about. Everyday I encounter a new topic that I could post endless questions and solutions to - but I think it's best to get you up to speed, starting with my pregnancy since that's where I began to go against advice in the best interests of Julia.

They always say that a woman becomes a mother the minute she finds out that she is pregnant. That couldn't be more true.

Not a lot of people know this, but I was told by doctors (about 3 years ago) that I would never get pregnant without medical intervention (ie, drugs). I won't go into too much detail, but after this advice from the doctor, I decided to try every avenue I could to get pregnant naturally. Enter the wonderful powers of whole, natural foods. After much research, I decided the best thing to try was going Paleo. I had read that processed foods and simple carbohydrates reek havoc on your body since most are full of sugar and/or turn to sugar in your body. The sugar in your body affects everything...digestion, immune function and hormonal function. I promptly eliminated all processed foods, including bread, pasta and rice.

The first few days were rough. Not because I had a hard time avoiding these foods, but because I felt physically sick. This was the sugar withdrawal. My body was so used to having sugar in some form (bread, rice, pasta) that when I stopped eating it, my body went nuts. Luckily I stuck at it and after the first week, I started to feel so much better - better than before I went Paleo. I had more energy, felt less tired, and had more tolerance for annoying work issues. I stuck with Paleo for a few months and lo and behold, my hormones began to sort themselves out - I had no more sudden blood sugar drops ('the shakes'), my migraines were virtually non-existant (and if they were required no medication as they were minimal and resolved quickly) and my 'lady issues' began to regulate.

I was hooked. I felt fantastic. I had never felt so good - both physically and mentally. Exactly 2 months after starting Paleo, I found out I was pregnant.

Enter Exhibit A of not necessarily having to follow medical advice. I was told I would need medical drugs and intensive monitoring to get pregnant and here I was, pregnant and overjoyed!

I stuck with Paleo even after I found out I was pregnant. If I felt this great, I wanted my baby to develop feeling this great too. I increased my intakes of fats, such as avocado, nuts, etc and proteins to ensure that I could keep my energy levels up and provide the best for my baby.

At one of my prenatal appointments, I had mentioned that I had PCOS and the midwife promptly referred me for a Glucose Tolerance Test - a test that screens pregnant women for gestational diabetes. Apparently PCOS women have a higher chance of developing gestational diabetes. I wish I had refused the test. I had a bad feeling about doing the screening, seeing as how the test requires you to drink a very sugary drink and sitting still for 2 hours. Neither activities that I partake in.

The day of the test came and I went to the hospital. They had me drink Lucozade - an energy fizzy drink that had almost 100g of sugar! Now, picture this. I do not eat artificial sugar - no fizzy drinks, no sweets, not even orange juice! Do you think my body is going to know what to do with this junk? Not a chance!

I'm sure you can guess the result of the test. I got a phone call from a diabetes nurse, telling me that I had gestational diabetes as a result of this test. I actually laughed when she told me. Prior to this phone call, I had been researching the test and false positives due to a person already having a low carbohydrate diet. You would be amazed at the amount of times this happens.

I went in for my first appointment where they gave me a portable blood glucose monitor. They also advised me on avoiding sugary foods like cakes, sweets, fizzy drinks. - DUH 

Before I knew what I was saying, the words were flying out of my mouth. In no way was I going to modify my diet, NO I WILL NOT TAKE INSULIN INJECTIONS, and yes I already exercise daily.

I could tell from that first meeting that the diabetic team were going to find me difficult because I was sticking to my guns - sticking to my guns in the best interest of my sweet Julia.

That's long enough for now, I will summarise the rest of my pregnancy in my next post.

A Life Lesson: Don't always take what the medical profession says is 100% true. You know your body better than they do, so if you think they are wrong, get a second (third, fourth, fifth, your own) opinion.