I have pressure urticaria, which is very similar. When it begins to flare up, I find that taking Claritin daily for a few weeks, regardless of whether I have any symptoms or not, helps stop it. Afterwards, I can go months -- sometimes years -- without an incident. I suffered for years with hives pretty much every day before I discovered this -- most nights, the hives on the bottom of my feet were severe to the point that I couldn't walk. The Claritin does very little to relieve the hives short-term (Benadryl, etc. never worked either), but taken over the course of a month or so, it gradually reduces my symptoms until they are gone. YMMV, of course.

I am the kind of person who really freaks out when I don't have a plan in place, so I can totally relate. Having a diet plan and a way to monitor yourself will help tremendously, I promise. If your numbers are not where you think they should be after a few days, don't hesitate to call your doctor and see if you need an appointment to discuss further intervention (e.g., meds). Sometimes I think OB's forget that what is routine to them is NOT to the mom-to-be, even veteran moms-to-be. Don't be afraid to ask for what you need, whether that's information, reassurance, or whatever. It's pretty easy to say the baby's *only* in the 95th percentile when you're not the one who has to *have* said baby! But you are early yet. Just because she's measuring on the bigger end now doesn't mean she will 4 or 5 weeks from now, especially if you get the GDM under control. Try to breathe and, as hard as it is, not to jump to any conclusions! I'm glad your boys are so helpful; that's truly a blessing! They are going to make great big brothers to that sweet little girl!

I don't have any experience with Google sites per se, but theoretically I would think you could do a registration form through Google Docs and add a Paypal button to your site for payments. Your members are still going to have to conduct two transactions (one to fill out the form, another to pay) but it could at least be done entirely online. For seamless payment integration, you're going to have to spend some money.

I'm so happy that she is healthy -- that's the best news! Did your OB say anything about her size? I worried and worried about ds's size, and then he turned out almost a full pound smaller than dd -- 6lbs, 4oz. (I was induced at 37 weeks on the dot due to other complications.) You said you are scheduled to deliver at 39 weeks, right? Are you having a C-section? Any chance they would take her a little early if she measures really big? Yes, stress can make the GDM worse, so do try to relax, although I truly realize that this is easier said than done. Is there someone who can help with your boys? I do think you will feel much better once you meet with the Diabetes Educator and have a plan in place for your diet. As much as sticking yourself can be a pain, at least it gives you reassurance that you are on the right track so you don't have to worry as much about every bite you take. You still have to pay attention, of course, but I mean that you know exactly how what you eat is affecting you. Getting your blood sugar under control will probably help the way you feel physically also. It did for me, at least. Only a few weeks and she will be here -- and this will all be worth it! :laugh:

What kind of content management system or software do you use to update the site?

Hope you got good news today, Kathryn! I'm thinking about you. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: FWIW, we're seeing exactly the same thing with dd8 (9 next month). It really came on out of nowhere. I also thought we had 3 or 4 more years of bliss before we entered this stage. I thought wrong. And since this is our first year homeschooling, I was convinced that we'd somehow pushed her over the edge by taking her out of school, even though she seemed perfectly happy with the decision back in the summer and fall. My only hope is that since we started this ride early, we might finish early as well. DH was so freaked out by it all that he actually called and had a long talk with the pediatrician -- who said, nope this is totally normal. Sigh.

I hope I didn't scare you with the info about hypoglycemia. :sad: It certainly wasn't my intention. Sometimes I talk too much. Just remember that this is a problem, yes, but it's a FIXABLE problem. It can be controlled. Any negative effects can be mitigated. It is better to know so you can take action, even though it is scary. That said, I've been there, I know how scary it is. Is there anyone who can offer you support IRL? I hope all goes well with your BPP tomorrow and that your doc is able to reassure you everything will be okay. (((((Kathryn)))))

I tend to agree. Have you discussed this with your doctor? (At my OB, all of this happened through the lab, and I didn't even speak to my doc directly about it for a couple of weeks.) I would give your doc a call. Depending on how high your readings were, s/he may be okay with your just restricting sweets and carbs for the next few weeks. Aside from actually giving me a glucometer, the diabetes educators I had were useless. I had to research everything on my own anyway (and I also had to wait two panic-filled weeks for an appointment; thank goodness for my aunt the RD). You can get a cheap glucometer at the drug store if you really need one. Hang in there. Either way, it won't be for long. I was eating Oreos in my hospital room! :D :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

Thanks for sharing!

I said left, because when we're in bed together, that's my side, but truthfully we're one of those weird couples who rarely shares a bed. DH sleeps on the couch more often than not (it's ruined our couch!). When we were first married, I had to get up at 4:30am for work, so I went to bed by 8 or 9. DH would stay up but inevitably wound up falling asleep in the living room. I would wake up sometime in the middle of the night and call him to bed. After dd was born, I stopped calling him because I didn't want to wake her, and I was too lazy to get out of bed to go and get him, so he only came if he happened to wake up. Now we're pretty used to our separate spaces. We keep saying we're going to get a king bed so we can have our space but so far we haven't. :D

We love our Usborne Geography Encyclopedia with Complete World Atlas. It's so pretty! Haven't done any blob mapping, though, so I'm not sure how well it would work for that.

Aren't they just divine?!?! We only make cream cheese and olives about twice a year because I could sit and eat the whole thing by myself! :D

Chop up green olives (the kind with pimientos in them) and mix with cream cheese. Delish and easy (and also great for Christmas because of the colors!).

My dd was signed up for an art camp a couple of summers ago. I was shocked -- SHOCKED!! :D -- when they called to say she was the only one registered, and then offered to go ahead with the camp anyway. It turned out to be a fantastic experience for her, but it certainly went above and beyond any obligation they had to us. I'm sorry your kiddos are disappointed. Hope you can find something else that they will enjoy just as much.

I had a tough time answering about my parents. My dad tended to be the strict one -- i.e., he drew the tighter boundaries. But my mom was the one who was home with us, so she was the enforcer. I tend to think that, had my mom been a single parent, things would have been at least somewhat less strict, but my parents did a good job of putting up a united front. I think my dad had the stronger feelings about what we should and should not be allowed to do, so she backed him up. My mother's father died when she was only 4, and she spent a lot of time on her own while her mother worked (her siblings were all much older), so I think she felt like my dad had a better understanding of what a "stable" family should look like. (ETA: Not to imply that my grandmother did not provide a stable home -- she worked her behind off and raised 5 children as a widow with very little education; she's awesome!) I am definitely the tougher one on our kids, especially dd. DH does a good job of reeling me in when I need it. :laugh:

Oh bummer... looks like 20th Century Fox made them take it down due to copyright infringement. :sad: Tell us what happened! Anything's got to be better than the actual finale...

**Obligatory disclaimer: My aunt, a Registered Dietician, helped me put together the following, and it worked pretty well for me. But I am not a medical professional! Your RD or diabetes educator will give you more specifics, if they're needed (you may pass the three-hour test and be just fine). IMO, it's never a bad idea to aim for more veggies and water and fewer processed carbs, whether you have GDM or not!** You don't want to completely eliminate carbs. Ketosis (which is the point of diets like Adkins) can cause you to go into preterm labor. Just use moderation. Watch portion sizes (of everything). Spread meals/snacks throughout the day to keep your blood sugar stable -- try to eat every 3 hours or so. Not eating can cause your b/s to drop, prompting a rebound and spike. My go-to meal was about 4oz of lean protein, 1 cup veggies (preferably green/leafy, like broccoli or Brussels sprouts), and 1/2 cup starch. At lunch I could sometimes add in some fruit. For snacks, go for protein or a protein/carb combo. My faves were a small piece of whole fruit (apple, orange) with a mozzarella string cheese stick, 1 T peanut butter with 5-10 crackers, or high-fiber cereal with milk. Healthy fats like nuts and olive oil are good. I loved a piece of sesame Ezekiel bread toasted and dipped in olive oil with a little salt, fresh cracked pepper, and Italian seasoning. Lots of water, obviously ('cause I'm sure you want to pee even more than you already do when you're pregnant! :D ). You can also Google "low GI foods" and get a list of things that are low on the glycemic index. All fruits and veggies are not created equal. Once you get your glucometer, you'll be able to tell what times of day are worse for you and adjust accordingly. I was always much higher in the morning and couldn't have any carbs at all at breakfast or at my bedtime snack. A walk after you eat when possible is a great idea. (I was on bed rest so I just had to be extra strict about diet.) Amen to that!

I had it with ds -- bad enough that they didn't even give me the three-hour test. They just sent me straight to the Diabetes Clinic. I was able to control it reasonably well with diet and glucophage (oral meds). I also had to stick myself first thing in the morning and two hours after every meal. You do get used to this pretty quickly and it is not as bad as it sounds. I didn't find it painful at all if I stayed to the side of my finger (you have more nerve endings in the middle of each finger pad). I was already obese when I got pregnant, but following a modified-carb diet, I lost considerable weight in my third trimester. I weighed less the day before I had ds than the day I got pregnant with him. (YMMV -- if you're not overweight to begin with, your doc probably won't want you to lose any.) I learned how to pair carbs with protein and/or fiber in order to slow adsorption and keep my blood sugar from spiking. I've lost about 30 lbs recently using the same technique. One thing to be aware of: Babies born to mothers with GDM can sometimes be hypoglycemic. Nobody bothered to tell me this. When ds was born, his blood sugar was so low that it didn't even register on the glucose monitor. He spent a week in the NICU until his system was able to adjust to not having a steady supply of sugar from me. We were assured that there are no long-term effects from this (he's no more likely to be diabetic than other children, etc.), and once his body adjusted we never had another problem. But they had to keep him on a feeding tube and IV to keep his blood sugar stable until he was able to regulate it himself. I only share all that because I had no idea it could happen, and once we made it through the very difficult pregnancy (lots of other issues besides the GDM), I thought we were in the clear -- only to have him ripped from my arms 5 minutes after he was born and shipped off to the NICU. Just know that, while it's possible, it's also easily treated, usually in 5-10 days. Good luck -- you only have a few weeks to go!

Oh, good... you mean it's not just MY dd??? I had VERY oily hair as a tween/teen and even into my 20's. I had to shampoo/rinse twice every day with a clarifying shampoo in order to keep it clean. I also have very fine hair; it wasn't until my 30's that I could use any amount of any kind of conditioner without it making my hair greasy/stringy (my hair became more thick/coarse with my pregnancies so that helped). I still only use conditioner when I swim because the pool dries out my hair makes it weirdly stiff. I remember my sister (who has very thick hair) used to have to wash daily with a small amount of dishwashing liquid, followed by regular shampoo, when she was probably 12-14! Not saying I'd recommend that exactly, but she still has the most gorgeous hair, so I guess it didn't hurt anything! I thought it was weird even then, though! :D

:iagree: Abba12, I was actually thinking as I read your post, "Good for him for putting her first!" I would only send dh by himself if excluding yourself from future family events is what you want (which may very well be the case). I agree that, in general, an adults-only evening is not a bad thing. In this situation, based on the other things that have been shared previously, I doubt it's as innocuous as it would be within a different dynamic. My family has none of these kinds of issues, but I still would be offended if they planned an event that basically only included the family but said my children were not welcome. (Like in your case, our dc are the only young children in the family.) However, it's completely beyond your control, and so I would either get the sitter and make an appearance, or politely decline and do something fun with *your* little family that night. ETA: For me, I think the fact that these are the *only* young children in the family makes this extra touchy. It's one thing for a large extended family with lots of young kids to say, "Oh, let's have a fun grown-up night and leave the kids at home this time!" But when yours are the only kids being excluded, it's much easier to feel like it's your particular children who are unwanted. At least it would be for me. You're not really talking about an adults-only party, but a family gathering that purposefully excludes two members of the family.

I agree. We lost my sister in a car accident at the age of 19. There is nothing to say. They will feel your support just because you're there. Sit with them, or look for little things that need doing -- dishes washed, trash emptied, things picked up at the store. Also remember that this will go on for them long after everybody else moves on. It took my mother a full two years to return to anything close to normal. If you can reach out to them with a phone call or card from time to time it will mean a lot. Help them know that other people haven't forgotten him. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

I heard that same presentation, and I believe you are correct. I know poetry was in there, because she made a joke that yes, her kids do actually read poetry... after they've read everything else! IIRC, she also said they tried to visit the library at least every other week.

Here's the link: http://downloads.peacehillpress.com/samples/pdf/WWEandWWSexplanation.pdf?utm_source=Catalog&utm_medium=Print&utm_content=Page%2B9&utm_campaign=2014%2BCatalog&page=10 HTH

We bought the instructor's guide only for this year. I intended to select passages myself from dd's literature/history/science books. I'm pretty organized and like to do things myself, but this was a disaster for us. Not so much the extra work, but I REALLY struggled finding things that were the appropriate length/level. I found WWE4 in a clearance bin for half off this past weekend and I think it's going to be so much better for us, although we will probably use it half-time and supplement with more creative types of writing. We started in the middle with WWE3 after pulling dd out of ps for third grade. She went from writing her own books to crying every time I said we needed to write. I clearly had no idea what I was doing, so YMMV. SWB actually just posted her updated recommendations for using WWE and WWS on Facebook this morning: http://downloads.peacehillpress.com/samples/pdf/WWEandWWSexplanation.pdf?utm_source=Catalog&utm_medium=Print&utm_content=Page%2B9&utm_campaign=2014%2BCatalog&page=10 If you haven't done much dictation before, I would highly suggest watching SWB's video "Dictation with Dan" on YouTube as well. I could have saved myself so much heartache and frustration if I'd been able to see dictation in action. Her technique doesn't translate well from the book, IMO. Christianbook.com had some WWE in its Slightly Imperfect sale earlier today -- not sure which levels, but you might check there.