Glucose Tolerance Test
I had forgot all about it. I mean, its been over 2 years since I had thought about it.
Back in the good old days, circa 2010 that is, the glucose tolerance test was a one hour test. You were required to fast for 3 hours prior and was told you’d go to the lab, drink something, wait an hour (grab your iPad) and get your blood drawn. For those of you who are newly pregnant and haven’t yet encountered this nasty test, the glucose tolerance test is a blood test to measure your body’s response to sugar. It is used to screen for gestational diabetes. (Its important to note that I don’t harbor bad thoughts just for this test. I despise all tests, really anything, that involves needles. But I digress…)
What isn’t widely discussed is the disgusting drink you have to take before the test. My lab paperwork said, and I quote, “it tastes like flat orange soda”. Umm….no, not quite. If you ever had orange-flavored Fanta when you were a kid, its kinda like that, on steroids. Basically its like drinking imitation orange-flavored sugar water. And trust me when I say, its gross. No, nasty. It is so concentrated in sugar that it almost burns your mouth as you swallow it. Really. Oh and it gets even better. As if swallowing this delectable drink wasn’t hard enough. You have to chug the thing within 5 minutes.
Did the people that dreamed up this test forget that many pregnant women have nausea? So yeah, it must be a good idea to force them to pound down a nasty orange sugar drink.
I remember feeling trepidation going into the test for my first pregnancy. Mostly because of the needles. But also because if I didn’t “pass”, whatever that meant, I would have to take it again, only longer! But having passed the test in 2010, I thought this time would be a cinch. Of course, that was before they told me I had to fast starting at midnight the night before. Wait, WHAT? What happened to 3 hours? Do they not realize I am pregnant and I have a tiny human inside me sucking away all of my nutrients? I am STARVING. How am I to go 8 hours without eating or drinking?
This is where the pep talk comes. Ok Kaitlyn. Buck up. You can do this. Sure you’re starving. And you have a mean little human incessantly kicking you from the inside demanding to be fed. But its only 8 hours. And most of them you’ll be sleeping. Sure, your toddler will devour every morsel of his breakfast in front of you in the morning. And you’ll salivate as you watch him torment you so. Licking his fingers and all. But you can do this.
Oh wait. Did I forget to mention that now the first glucose tolerance test is 2 hours? So my 8 hour fast just jumped to 10. Oh, and by the way, instead of drawing blood once, you have to do it three times!
Excellent.
Thankfully, I survived the test this time around, and with only a few small needle bruises to show of it. But I do still have a bit of the burning in my throat. Or that could be heart burn. I’m not sure. And after the test I did what every reasonable pregnant women does after getting sugar shocked. I devoured candy and cupcakes to satisfy my hunger.
I mean hey, whats a little more sugar going to do at that point anyways?
Of all the things on my “to do” list before I gave birth, I never thought to get a car seat safety inspection. In truth, it wasn’t until after the baby was born that I thought about checking to make sure the seat was properly installed. But there is never a dull moment when you are a new mom. Thus days turned into weeks, which turned into months, and before I knew it, our son was 20 months old and in a convertible car seat.
We were directed to an inspection line where we met Manny, a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST), who proceeded to inspect our car and our convertible car seat. That’s when we were given the shocking news – we had several things wrong with our car seat set up:
Halloween is a festive and fun time of year for children (and adults). It’s the one time of year where you’re expected to play dress-up, overindulge in chocolate and sweets and play friendly tricks on your loved ones. But amidst all that playful debauchery, Halloween is also one of the most dangerous holidays for a child.
Everything is better when you play with your toes. No, seriously. There can be a full blown temper tantrum in effect and all I have to do is call attention to Gavin’s piggy toes and we’re back on track. One of my favorite activities with Gavin is pretending that his feet smell. Stay with me here….I sniff them, waft at my nose, shout “pee-yew” and receive the most hearty belly laugh you could ever hear from a child. He always asks for more and I get a kick out of watching him roll on the ground trying to smell his toes too. We count his toes, make imprints of them in play dough, trace them on paper and dance to our favorite songs with them (including our favorite “
Everything in the world is new and exciting in the eyes of a toddler. Weeds aren’t weeds. They are tiny flowers that can be picked, smelled and given to Mommy. A big rock isn’t just a yard nuisance. It’s something to climb on and run down and sit on to watch the world from. The driveway isn’t just for parking cars. It’s the best coloring canvas available.
Every weekend I think to myself, “we should go to the zoo!” Then I think about all the crowds, the screaming children, and the overall mass chaos from other families also trying to squeeze in family fun on the weekends. Yup, it would be so much easier to visit places during the week, when a lot of other families are at work or school!
While the toy was entertaining for Gavin, I felt there were a few design flaws. First, the flag over the exit ramp is not fully secured, so Gavin often knocked it down when playing with the toy. Second, if the toy is not placed on a smooth surface then the cars do not roll off the exit ramp. Instead, they piled up until you actually pulled them off the ramp. It worked fine on hardwood, but if used on a rug or blanket, forget about it. Finally, there wasn’t much else to do with the toy. There are a few wheels that kids can turn and spin, but that’s about it. So for me, it didn’t score too high on lasting entertainment value, but as I said, Gavin enjoyed it just fine!
Gavin was given the 
I like to think of Munchkin’s new 
Munchkin has also developed a new 
