Anna Be.

We are moving to a new house in exactly two weeks, and I've finally accepted that I have to pack about 100 boxes in that time. (To be fair, Nick will do the majority, but I will complain the most and take the most credit.)  I've been given many warnings of "Don't overdo it," "No heavy lifting," and "You have to think of the baby." No problem!  I need more encouragement to actually start this task than to avoid it!  I've been successfully avoiding it for weeks. I did some research on finding motivation to pack up the house. Isn't internet research the procrastinator's best friend? My favorite bits of advice (useful enough to write down) were obvious, but they filled up a page in my notebook and helped me waste a little time. The real motivator is designating my rewards for each little bit of packing: filling one box, filling a garbage bag, filling a bag for donation, and filling a box of books to sell. Happily, I packed one box j...

I feel like I have an opportunity to demystify and unscarify one of my biggest concerns about this endeavor: being diabetic and pregnant. I won’t begin to try to explain the difference between Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes, or the risks they cause in pregnancy. It is enough to say I have Type 2, and have been schooled for years by my endocrinologist I would need insulin if I got pregnant. I was only 3.5 weeks when I saw the Dr. and started insulin. My diabetes has always been fairly well controlled, and I’ve been rather relaxed about it – taking my medicine, but eating what I feel like and not checking my blood sugar consistently. That changed in an instant. Now I check my blood sugar seven times a day and inject insulin four times a day. I have to really think about what I’m eating because I can see immediately what effect it has. If I’m doing my job, my blood sugar stays within the target range all day long, which I can only know by testing every time I’m supposed to...