On Monday night Adam and I got to partake in our first baby birthing class. Truth be told, I have actually been looking forward to these classes. This is primarily because it signals that the end is near and Sadie will soon be here. My husband, on the other hand, has not been so excited. This is primarily because the classes are every Monday night in July and run from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. He thinks this time commitment is a bit over the top and he's not happy that he has to spend this whole time block talking about things that he doesn't like to talk about in front of people he does not know (i.e. a baby coming out of me!). However, after our first session, some of his fears seem to be eased as the other father's do not seem ecstatic to be there either!
We were given many tasks to "practice" for the week. The first task is to be able to explain dilation and effacement. When the cervix dilates this means that it opens up to allow for the baby to move down the birthing canal. Dilation is measured in centimeters and the most you can be dilated is 10 cm. Many of you have likely heard of dilation. What you may not have heard of is effacement. Effacement is the thinning out and pulling up of the cervix. Her analogy was to compare this process to pulling a turtle neck shirt over your head. Just as the turtle neck flattens out as you pull it over your head, the cervix flattens out as it is stretched to make way for the baby. Effacement is measured in percent, as in "You are 20% effaced, 50% effaced, etc."
Another task we were told to practice is the Mitchell Method of Relaxation. This is basically a series of steps that the laboring woman is supposed to follow to calm her down during the labor process. We are supposed to run through this process until it "becomes like second nature." Adam is supposed to give me a series of commands that I will then follow and relax. Additionally, he is supposed to do all of this without actually saying the word relax since hearing that word generally tends to be a trigger for tensing up. We are also supposed to go through this method with positive thoughts on the mind because positive thoughts lead to positive progress. :)
Ok, so who knows how well this will actually go? Our instructor does seem to really believe that thinking positively will lead to positive progress, though. I do tend to believe that thinking positively does make you feel better and therefore that may make you feel like things are moving along quickly, even if they are not. I will do my best to be positive. :)
One funny/amazing thing we learned is about breast milk. Apparently breast milk is the cure-all for just about everything. Your baby has scratched herself on the face - squirt some breast milk on her scratches and she will heal more quickly. Your baby has pink eye - gently rub some breast milk into her eyes and the infection will more quickly cure itself. Your husband has bad acne - yes you guessed it - breast milk. When I told my sister this she looked it up on the computer and found that breastmilk has even been shown to help kill some forms of cancer. All of these wonderful benefits of breast milk are supposedly due to the fact that breast milk is very full of white blood cells. So if you're feeling ill or suffering from a strange ailment, find a woman who is breast feeding and ask her to turn on the tap for you! :)
Well, we are only one class down and have four more to go, so stay tuned for more amazing updates! I'm sure we'll have some fantastic stories to share! Only one more work day this week! Woohoo! More baby-room pictures to come soon.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Baby Shower # 1
On Sunday June 29 at 1:30 pm, my mother hosted my first baby shower for me and for Sadie. Preparations for this baby shower began weeks in advance! I created the invitations on Microsoft Publisher and put them all in the mail. My mom handled pretty much everything else. :) We went to Flower Factory together and got lots of decorations. Then my mom's friend Holly, who I've always called Aunt Holly, came over in the week before the party. She made her famous sugar cookies and decorated them, despite having sliced her thumb on the Sunday before the shower (she has several stitches in her thumb!) My dad even got in on the cookie decorating! I made a few cookies too and had some help eating them when Amy, Bryn, Shay, Andrea, and Hannah came to visit! :) I'm quite glad I had visitors to keep me occupied and to motivate me to clean my house! :) My mom and Aunt Holly also made sandwiches and all sorts of other goodies to get ready for the party. Then Aunt Holly brought over her collection of glass serving plates to add to my mom's collection. Aunt Holly also brought over a punch bowl and punch glasses. In addition, she brought over this really old baby stroller. It was very cool and that was where we had the guests put all of their presents. Silly me, however, did not take any pictures of all of this. I'm hoping that my mom's friend Julia, another person I've always referred to as my Aunt, took some pictures of everything all set up. Aunt Julia also helped with getting all of the snacks and punch ready and just generally helping with the final touches of everything. Plus, Aunt Julia and Aunt Holly both work to keep my mom sane, so their help is ALWAYS appreciated greatly by me! The house really looked nice and I'm bummed I don't have more pictures of the whole set-up.
Another thing I did in preparation for the party was to assemble a folder for each guest. Each guest's folder had a nametag on the front and then directions for what to do while waiting on the inside of the folder. I had a huge and diverse collection of guests. I had relatives, family friends, co-workers from Dublin, co-workers from West Jeff, and old friends. One thing that each guest had to do upon arrival was to get a drink with a "baby" ice cube. Inside the ice cube was a frozen plastic baby. The idea was that whom ever's ice cube melted first to "free" the baby had to shout, "My water broke!" It was pretty funny, but the babies didn't stay frozen for as long as anticipated, so it was a game that ended pretty quickly. Other activities the guests were to be working on were filling out an advice page and their baby bingo sheets. My mom also had the guests try to answer 11 questions about me and my likes and dislikes.
Let me show you some of the pictures of guests at the party:
Picture 1 is Jerri (my co-worker at West Jeff), Patty (my mother-in-law), Jeanie (Patty's sister, Adam's Aunt), and Sarah (my sister-in-law)
Picture 2 is Molly, Emily, (Holly's daughters) and Aunt Holly.
Picture 3 is me opening a gift. You can see Molly and Emily again as well as Dee and Ashley (family friends) and several co-workers in the background, including my principal, Debbie.
The party was a HUGE success and Sadie is going to need to have her clothes changed at least 5 times a day in order to wear all of the clothes that she received. Despite Adam's great fear, I think Sadie may be an even bigger clothes hog than me! We also got some wonderful other gifts including a video monitor, a BeBe Pod Orange chair, a pack-and-play, wonderful books, and many, many other goodies. As soon as I get it all organized in Sadie's room, I will post further pictures. Adam and I are tremendously thankful for all that we received and thank everyone who attended. Sadie is certainly one very lucky little girl!
Adam and I took our first baby-birthing class so I have quite a few funny stories to share and will get to those ASAP. Hope you're all off to a great and SHORT week! :)
Another thing I did in preparation for the party was to assemble a folder for each guest. Each guest's folder had a nametag on the front and then directions for what to do while waiting on the inside of the folder. I had a huge and diverse collection of guests. I had relatives, family friends, co-workers from Dublin, co-workers from West Jeff, and old friends. One thing that each guest had to do upon arrival was to get a drink with a "baby" ice cube. Inside the ice cube was a frozen plastic baby. The idea was that whom ever's ice cube melted first to "free" the baby had to shout, "My water broke!" It was pretty funny, but the babies didn't stay frozen for as long as anticipated, so it was a game that ended pretty quickly. Other activities the guests were to be working on were filling out an advice page and their baby bingo sheets. My mom also had the guests try to answer 11 questions about me and my likes and dislikes.
Let me show you some of the pictures of guests at the party:
Picture 1 is Jerri (my co-worker at West Jeff), Patty (my mother-in-law), Jeanie (Patty's sister, Adam's Aunt), and Sarah (my sister-in-law)
Picture 2 is Molly, Emily, (Holly's daughters) and Aunt Holly.
Picture 3 is me opening a gift. You can see Molly and Emily again as well as Dee and Ashley (family friends) and several co-workers in the background, including my principal, Debbie.
The party was a HUGE success and Sadie is going to need to have her clothes changed at least 5 times a day in order to wear all of the clothes that she received. Despite Adam's great fear, I think Sadie may be an even bigger clothes hog than me! We also got some wonderful other gifts including a video monitor, a BeBe Pod Orange chair, a pack-and-play, wonderful books, and many, many other goodies. As soon as I get it all organized in Sadie's room, I will post further pictures. Adam and I are tremendously thankful for all that we received and thank everyone who attended. Sadie is certainly one very lucky little girl!
Adam and I took our first baby-birthing class so I have quite a few funny stories to share and will get to those ASAP. Hope you're all off to a great and SHORT week! :)
Monday, June 23, 2008
Ultrasonic Sadie
This morning was our last scheduled peek at our little bundle of joy before she makes her "real" debut in the world. As you may have guessed from the title of the post, we have decided to name her Sadie. We have a middle name that we like, too, but we haven't decided how to spell it yet, so you'll just have to wait a few more weeks to learn her middle name!
We have a couple of 3-D images and I think this one is the best. Sadie kept holding her hands over her face, so even when she didn't have a hand directly on her face, the ultrasound kept picking up the shadow. This is why it appears she has a hole in her head. She does not have a hole. :)
We did learn that Sadie, not surprisingly, has some rather large feet. Check them out! She also has some pretty long legs!
Sadie is measuring in at 4 lbs and 2 oz right now. The ultrasound technician said to expect her to gain half a pound every week until she is born (in 10 weeks). This means that she will likely weigh in at around 9 lbs. Her momma was 9 lbs 12 oz, so Sadie being big is no surprise!
Sadie is currently in a breech position and loves to kick mommy right in the bladder. Also, because she was breech and not overly cooperative, the technician wasn't able to get the greatest profile shot. It somewhat appears she has a GIANT bulbous nose. It's actually her hand again and not her nose. The top of her head is at the left of the picture and you can see her knees curled up at the right of the picture.
We learned that Sadie is in the 75th percentile for weight and length right now and that doesn't seem to have anyone worried because she is neither too small nor too big. And, because she has been growing so much, the fibroid has not been growing! It was exactly the same size as before! Yeah! This is very good news because it shouldn't interfere with delivery at all. :)
Finally, my mom and I worked on a few more updates to Sadie's room, so I wanted to share those too. Please see below!
Well, after a less than restful night last night, this momma is ready for a nap! Hope you're all having a great Monday!
We have a couple of 3-D images and I think this one is the best. Sadie kept holding her hands over her face, so even when she didn't have a hand directly on her face, the ultrasound kept picking up the shadow. This is why it appears she has a hole in her head. She does not have a hole. :)
We did learn that Sadie, not surprisingly, has some rather large feet. Check them out! She also has some pretty long legs!
Sadie is measuring in at 4 lbs and 2 oz right now. The ultrasound technician said to expect her to gain half a pound every week until she is born (in 10 weeks). This means that she will likely weigh in at around 9 lbs. Her momma was 9 lbs 12 oz, so Sadie being big is no surprise!
Sadie is currently in a breech position and loves to kick mommy right in the bladder. Also, because she was breech and not overly cooperative, the technician wasn't able to get the greatest profile shot. It somewhat appears she has a GIANT bulbous nose. It's actually her hand again and not her nose. The top of her head is at the left of the picture and you can see her knees curled up at the right of the picture.
We learned that Sadie is in the 75th percentile for weight and length right now and that doesn't seem to have anyone worried because she is neither too small nor too big. And, because she has been growing so much, the fibroid has not been growing! It was exactly the same size as before! Yeah! This is very good news because it shouldn't interfere with delivery at all. :)
Finally, my mom and I worked on a few more updates to Sadie's room, so I wanted to share those too. Please see below!
Well, after a less than restful night last night, this momma is ready for a nap! Hope you're all having a great Monday!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Big Kicks and Big Excitement
Ok, ok. I know I've been a bit of a blog slacker. However, I have been keeping myself pretty busy! Since last I have written, lots of exciting things have happened. First, I finished my first year in West Jefferson as an intervention specialist. It was a FANTASTIC year and I think it would have been hard for things to go any better! I will definitely miss my kids next year, but they all promised to come back and visit and I do really believe that they will. After all, the high school is right down the hall!
My second piece of exciting news is that I'm going to have more sick days than I thought! When I left my position in Dublin to come to West Jefferson, I moved from a classified to a certified job. I was told when that happened that I could not transfer my sick days. While I thought that that really stunk, I didn't know who to complain to or that the person who told me was actually incorrect. I went over to central office in West Jefferson about 2 weeks ago to fill out the FMLA paper work to make sure everything's a go for my maternity leave. I was complaining to the one and only person who handles insurance and payroll for the district and she said that she thought that sick days should transfer from any public job to any other public job. So she got out her handy-dandy book of facts such as these and sure enough, my sick days should transfer. As luck should have it, the treasurer, whose office is next door, had been listening to our conversation and popped her head in to tell me that she used to work in Dublin and would call the person in Dublin who was in charge of their payroll. She did and after I wrote a letter requesting my sick days to be tranferred, I have now gained 17.5 sick days to the 15 I already had. This means 32.5 out of my 60 days I will actually be paid for. This is WONDERFUL news given that that's more than half of my time off paid for instead of only a quarter of the time paid for. Woohoo!!!!
In other exciting news, my wonderful and crazy husband has taken a week off of work to truly challenge himself! On Saturday I had to drive him to Wellington, Ohio. Wellington is a small town that's about 2 hours North and East of Columbus. This year Wellington was the starting and ending point for GOBA, the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. Since last Saturday Adam has been cycling almost every day and camping at night in different towns. On Sunday he rode from Wellington to Gallion, Ohio, which is almost 60 miles. On Monday he rode from Gallion to Mt. Vernon, Ohio. This is around 40 miles. On Tuesday he had a layover day in Mt. Vernon and I went and picked him up and brought him home. He enjoyed a shower and a nap and then we headed back to Mt. Vernon with my parents. My Mom lived in Mt. Vernon for three years, so we drove by her house and then dropped Adam back off in "Gobaville." Wednesday Adam traveled around 50 miles to get to Coshocton, Ohio. Today he had a layover day in Coshocton and he will finish out this tour by going to Orville, Ohio tomorrow (home of Smuckers) and then back to Wellington on Saturday. While I, personally, feel is a little crazy for taking on this much riding, not to mention camping, he seems to really be enjoying himself, so I am greatful for that!
While Adam has been away, my parents have been busy keeping me busy! On Sunday they came over to help move the bed out of the baby's room. We then reorganized all of the clothes we have already purchased and put them back into the baby's closet in size order. Next, my parents helped to build the book shelf that we bought at IKEA last week. Then my mom put together the shelves that we had actually purchased at IKEA back in February. Then over the course of this last week, my mother has drawn (completely freehand mind you) several Dr. Seuss characters on the walls of the baby's room and then painted them. I am super excited about all of this, so I have to show you the pictures. The first several are of the walls of the nursery and then I tried to show you a little bit of the lay out of the room.
Isn't the room going to look amazing? Horton the elephant, One Fish-Two Fish-Red Fish-Blue Fish, the Lorax, and Yertle the Turtle are all making the room one very cool place to hang out! :)
Finally, the other part of the my entry's title is Big Kicks. This is because this baby has definitely been kicking a lot lately. She loves to move around and I guess I would prefer the movement than not have any and be worried that something was wrong. I have had many of you ask me "how big are you now?" So, even though it's far from the greatest picture in the world, here is a visual for you on "How BIG is Krysten?" :)
Hope you enjoyed reading and take care!
My second piece of exciting news is that I'm going to have more sick days than I thought! When I left my position in Dublin to come to West Jefferson, I moved from a classified to a certified job. I was told when that happened that I could not transfer my sick days. While I thought that that really stunk, I didn't know who to complain to or that the person who told me was actually incorrect. I went over to central office in West Jefferson about 2 weeks ago to fill out the FMLA paper work to make sure everything's a go for my maternity leave. I was complaining to the one and only person who handles insurance and payroll for the district and she said that she thought that sick days should transfer from any public job to any other public job. So she got out her handy-dandy book of facts such as these and sure enough, my sick days should transfer. As luck should have it, the treasurer, whose office is next door, had been listening to our conversation and popped her head in to tell me that she used to work in Dublin and would call the person in Dublin who was in charge of their payroll. She did and after I wrote a letter requesting my sick days to be tranferred, I have now gained 17.5 sick days to the 15 I already had. This means 32.5 out of my 60 days I will actually be paid for. This is WONDERFUL news given that that's more than half of my time off paid for instead of only a quarter of the time paid for. Woohoo!!!!
In other exciting news, my wonderful and crazy husband has taken a week off of work to truly challenge himself! On Saturday I had to drive him to Wellington, Ohio. Wellington is a small town that's about 2 hours North and East of Columbus. This year Wellington was the starting and ending point for GOBA, the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure. Since last Saturday Adam has been cycling almost every day and camping at night in different towns. On Sunday he rode from Wellington to Gallion, Ohio, which is almost 60 miles. On Monday he rode from Gallion to Mt. Vernon, Ohio. This is around 40 miles. On Tuesday he had a layover day in Mt. Vernon and I went and picked him up and brought him home. He enjoyed a shower and a nap and then we headed back to Mt. Vernon with my parents. My Mom lived in Mt. Vernon for three years, so we drove by her house and then dropped Adam back off in "Gobaville." Wednesday Adam traveled around 50 miles to get to Coshocton, Ohio. Today he had a layover day in Coshocton and he will finish out this tour by going to Orville, Ohio tomorrow (home of Smuckers) and then back to Wellington on Saturday. While I, personally, feel is a little crazy for taking on this much riding, not to mention camping, he seems to really be enjoying himself, so I am greatful for that!
While Adam has been away, my parents have been busy keeping me busy! On Sunday they came over to help move the bed out of the baby's room. We then reorganized all of the clothes we have already purchased and put them back into the baby's closet in size order. Next, my parents helped to build the book shelf that we bought at IKEA last week. Then my mom put together the shelves that we had actually purchased at IKEA back in February. Then over the course of this last week, my mother has drawn (completely freehand mind you) several Dr. Seuss characters on the walls of the baby's room and then painted them. I am super excited about all of this, so I have to show you the pictures. The first several are of the walls of the nursery and then I tried to show you a little bit of the lay out of the room.
Isn't the room going to look amazing? Horton the elephant, One Fish-Two Fish-Red Fish-Blue Fish, the Lorax, and Yertle the Turtle are all making the room one very cool place to hang out! :)
Finally, the other part of the my entry's title is Big Kicks. This is because this baby has definitely been kicking a lot lately. She loves to move around and I guess I would prefer the movement than not have any and be worried that something was wrong. I have had many of you ask me "how big are you now?" So, even though it's far from the greatest picture in the world, here is a visual for you on "How BIG is Krysten?" :)
Hope you enjoyed reading and take care!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Tornadoes and Test Results
It is 5 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday and I am awake. I have had trouble staying asleep since around 2:00 am when my husband burst into the bedroom to tell me that he was going to take a shower (which I thought meant come to bed afterwards) and, by the way, we had some tornadoes heading straight for us. I guess that since I was only partially awake and therefore only partially processed what Adam had said, I went back to sleep, at first, with little trouble. Then my brain must have continued processing while sleeping and I kept waking up expecting to hear high winds or pounding rain or some other scary storm-related noise. These noises finally started occuring around 4:30 am. I got up to find my husband standing in the bathtub and looking out our small bathroom window so he could view the storm. When asked why he had not come to bed after showering, Adam replied he was expecting another phone call from work between 4 and 5 am (it never came) and didn't see the point in going to bed at 2:30. Call me crazy, some sleep is better than none, right? I guess this means that Adam can stay up with the baby when she can't sleep. :) Anyways, I decided that I was hungry and wanted to see what the weather people were saying about this storm. Adam and I both came downstairs. I had some cereal and now Adam is continuing to play his 50-turn game of Mario Party 3 for Wii. For those of you who don't know, a 50 turn game lasts at least 3 hours, but you can take breaks so that you don't have to play all at once. (Now I, and you, also know the real reason why Adam never came to bed. :) ) Adam is down to his last 10 turns now so the fun is wrapping itself up. I plan on returning to bed when I am finished with my blogging. I would guess that Adam will start another game. We'll see.
In other interesting news, I had to complete my glucose test on Wednesday. I was very nervous about taking the test. I know I have many risk factors for gestational diabetes and I had pretty much convinced myself that I was going to have gestational diabetes. Plus, I have known 3 people who have had gestational diabetes within the last year and just read an article the other day saying that more and more women are being diagnosed with the disorder.
I had to take my glucose drink to school with me and was supposed to drink it at the end of science class. On Tuesday I had had a discussion with the science teacher (who has 2 children) about having to consume the drink at the end of class. This then turned in to a whole class discussion about gross glucose drinks, tests done during pregnancy, and whether or not the students thought I would get sick while drinking the stuff. This, of course, meant that on Wednesday all the students were chomping at the bit to see me drink the stuff. It's a relatively small bottle, but it has to be fully consumed within 5 minutes. After seeing how excited the students were about the possibility of the stuff making me sick or have some awful reaction, I decided that there was no way I would be able to drink it in front of them. I figured one of two things would happen if I tried to drink it in front of them: 1) I would end up laughing and spit a large part of the stuff out OR 2) I would actually get sick (which seemed to be what most of them were hoping for). So, I dutifully waited for class to be over and then got in my car to race towards the hospital. I opened the container and started swallowing the stuff. It really wasn't so bad. It was like a strange version of orange pop. Now, admitedly, I don't like orange pop, but I had built up such great fears about how awful the stuff would be, that orange pop didn't seem so bad.
I arrived at the doctor and continued my waiting process. The nurse finally called me back. She asked me some questions and then wanted to check my blood pressure. I told her that I had no problem with her checking my blood pressure, but that I would expect it to be running a little high because I hate having my blood taken and I knew that that was going to be the next part of the appointment. She seemed very surprised that I needed my blood taken because the nurse that I checked in with had failed to mention that I had consumed the glucose. They are supposed to take your blood exactly one hour after you finish the drink. At the time, this was about five minutes away. Just as we were getting up to go over to the "blood station," a woman rolls past us with her stroller. In the stroller is her 9th month old son. Walking beside the stroller is her 18 month old son. And, as I soon learned, she was getting her blood taken because she was pregnant again. So, the fact had already been established that this woman was crazy and therefore what happened next came as no great surprise. The woman went to sit down in the "blood-draw" chair. The nurse had just given the 18 month old son a Dum-Dum sucker. Being that 18 months is still a little young, in my own opinion, to be fully responsible with a sucker, the kid decided to stick it to his baby brother. He took the stick of the Dum-Dum sucker and stuck it up the 9 month old brother's nose. Of course, much crying ensued and the 9 month old was gushing blood from his nose. However, since the mother was having her own blood taken, there was not a great deal she could do (not that I think she would have done a lot to begin with - she clearly has her hands full!). So as I'm watching this whole seen unfold I'm thinking to myself that since I hate the sight of blood, maybe I'll pass out before the nurse can actually get to me and she can just take my blood while I'm already down. :) Fortunately, the nurse that had brought me back to begin with interrupted this whole seen and told the blood draw nurse that I needed my blood drawn immediately because I had had the glucose drink and was out of time. This forced the other woman to deal with her screaming child and her 18 month old and allowed for me to have a seat in the "blood draw" chair. I explained to the blood-draw nurse that I don't like having my blood drawn and would prefer to get this over as quickly as possible. I also told her that my veins have a tendency to roll which usually means that I get stabbed multiple times, hence one of the reasons I hate having my blood drawn. She actually listened to me and used a surface vein in the corner of my elbow pit. This was GREAT because not only did it not hurt, but it left virtually no bruise! She had to take 4 vials of blood because of all the different tests they were running so while it did take a while for her to draw all of the blood, I didn't mind so much since it wasn't hurting me.
After the blood draw I had my regular check-up with the doctor. She had a hard time measuring me because my fibroid sits at the top of my uterus. This meant that it was challenging to tell what was fibroid and what was baby. So, she said that we would just get more accurate measurements at my next ultrasound. That ultrasound is scheduled for June 23rd, so stay tuned for those results. I did ask her about when I might hear back about the results of the tests. She said I should expect to hear from her by Friday unless there was nothing to worry about, in which case, she would not be calling at all.
On Thursday I had an appointment with my regular doctor. She always gets duplicates of my test results since she is my primary care physician. She came bounding into the room and was excited to tell me that I do NOT have gestational diabetes. YEAH!!!!! For those of you who don't know, a typical blood sugar level is somewhere betweeen 80 and 120. For a pregnant woman they typically extend the top number to 135. My number was 116, so things are really looking quite good!
So, I am now feeling much relief at having avoided another possible pregnancy complication. I'm beginning to even hope that I may make it to August without having preeclampsia (high blood pressure), but it's just a glimmer of hope at this point. :)
Just so that you all know, Adam has finished his Mario Party 3 game. He won, by a lot, and just told me that he is going up to bed! Fantastic! Additionally, the storm has now completed passed over us. So, it's clearly time to go back to bed. Enjoy your weekend everyone!
In other interesting news, I had to complete my glucose test on Wednesday. I was very nervous about taking the test. I know I have many risk factors for gestational diabetes and I had pretty much convinced myself that I was going to have gestational diabetes. Plus, I have known 3 people who have had gestational diabetes within the last year and just read an article the other day saying that more and more women are being diagnosed with the disorder.
I had to take my glucose drink to school with me and was supposed to drink it at the end of science class. On Tuesday I had had a discussion with the science teacher (who has 2 children) about having to consume the drink at the end of class. This then turned in to a whole class discussion about gross glucose drinks, tests done during pregnancy, and whether or not the students thought I would get sick while drinking the stuff. This, of course, meant that on Wednesday all the students were chomping at the bit to see me drink the stuff. It's a relatively small bottle, but it has to be fully consumed within 5 minutes. After seeing how excited the students were about the possibility of the stuff making me sick or have some awful reaction, I decided that there was no way I would be able to drink it in front of them. I figured one of two things would happen if I tried to drink it in front of them: 1) I would end up laughing and spit a large part of the stuff out OR 2) I would actually get sick (which seemed to be what most of them were hoping for). So, I dutifully waited for class to be over and then got in my car to race towards the hospital. I opened the container and started swallowing the stuff. It really wasn't so bad. It was like a strange version of orange pop. Now, admitedly, I don't like orange pop, but I had built up such great fears about how awful the stuff would be, that orange pop didn't seem so bad.
I arrived at the doctor and continued my waiting process. The nurse finally called me back. She asked me some questions and then wanted to check my blood pressure. I told her that I had no problem with her checking my blood pressure, but that I would expect it to be running a little high because I hate having my blood taken and I knew that that was going to be the next part of the appointment. She seemed very surprised that I needed my blood taken because the nurse that I checked in with had failed to mention that I had consumed the glucose. They are supposed to take your blood exactly one hour after you finish the drink. At the time, this was about five minutes away. Just as we were getting up to go over to the "blood station," a woman rolls past us with her stroller. In the stroller is her 9th month old son. Walking beside the stroller is her 18 month old son. And, as I soon learned, she was getting her blood taken because she was pregnant again. So, the fact had already been established that this woman was crazy and therefore what happened next came as no great surprise. The woman went to sit down in the "blood-draw" chair. The nurse had just given the 18 month old son a Dum-Dum sucker. Being that 18 months is still a little young, in my own opinion, to be fully responsible with a sucker, the kid decided to stick it to his baby brother. He took the stick of the Dum-Dum sucker and stuck it up the 9 month old brother's nose. Of course, much crying ensued and the 9 month old was gushing blood from his nose. However, since the mother was having her own blood taken, there was not a great deal she could do (not that I think she would have done a lot to begin with - she clearly has her hands full!). So as I'm watching this whole seen unfold I'm thinking to myself that since I hate the sight of blood, maybe I'll pass out before the nurse can actually get to me and she can just take my blood while I'm already down. :) Fortunately, the nurse that had brought me back to begin with interrupted this whole seen and told the blood draw nurse that I needed my blood drawn immediately because I had had the glucose drink and was out of time. This forced the other woman to deal with her screaming child and her 18 month old and allowed for me to have a seat in the "blood draw" chair. I explained to the blood-draw nurse that I don't like having my blood drawn and would prefer to get this over as quickly as possible. I also told her that my veins have a tendency to roll which usually means that I get stabbed multiple times, hence one of the reasons I hate having my blood drawn. She actually listened to me and used a surface vein in the corner of my elbow pit. This was GREAT because not only did it not hurt, but it left virtually no bruise! She had to take 4 vials of blood because of all the different tests they were running so while it did take a while for her to draw all of the blood, I didn't mind so much since it wasn't hurting me.
After the blood draw I had my regular check-up with the doctor. She had a hard time measuring me because my fibroid sits at the top of my uterus. This meant that it was challenging to tell what was fibroid and what was baby. So, she said that we would just get more accurate measurements at my next ultrasound. That ultrasound is scheduled for June 23rd, so stay tuned for those results. I did ask her about when I might hear back about the results of the tests. She said I should expect to hear from her by Friday unless there was nothing to worry about, in which case, she would not be calling at all.
On Thursday I had an appointment with my regular doctor. She always gets duplicates of my test results since she is my primary care physician. She came bounding into the room and was excited to tell me that I do NOT have gestational diabetes. YEAH!!!!! For those of you who don't know, a typical blood sugar level is somewhere betweeen 80 and 120. For a pregnant woman they typically extend the top number to 135. My number was 116, so things are really looking quite good!
So, I am now feeling much relief at having avoided another possible pregnancy complication. I'm beginning to even hope that I may make it to August without having preeclampsia (high blood pressure), but it's just a glimmer of hope at this point. :)
Just so that you all know, Adam has finished his Mario Party 3 game. He won, by a lot, and just told me that he is going up to bed! Fantastic! Additionally, the storm has now completed passed over us. So, it's clearly time to go back to bed. Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Road Trippin' It With 8th Graders & "High Fives"
It is Saturday May 24 and I arrived back home late last night (around 11 pm) from a 4 day trip with my beloved 8th grade students. We left very early (6:30 am) Tuesday morning on a bus headed for Washington DC. We visited the Smithsonian museums (I only managed to make it to the Natural History Museum with my group), the Hard Rock Cafe, the White House, took a subway ride, and visited the Iwo Jima Memorial and that was only Tuesday afternoon!
On Wednesday we were up very early and had our picture taken on the steps of the Capitol. Then we got to go up inside the Washington Monument and view Washington from high above. Then we ate lunch and headed to the National Cathedral. Next we visited Arlington National Cemetary. We had two students who actually participated in the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then got o witness the changing of the guard. This was particularly neat for me since the last time I was at Arlington was when I was in 8th grade and I was in the wreath laying ceremony. :) (On another side note, Arlington is VERY hilly and I would like to give myself special kudos for trekking up the many hills of the cemetary while 6 months pregnant! Go me!) After Arlington we headed to dinner and then took a walking tour of the FDR memorial and the Jefferson memorial. By the time we got to the memorials it was getting darker, which actually ended up being pretty cool. Finally, we headed back to the hotel.
On Thursday we were up very early again and headed to the Capitol once more. This time we got to go inside the chamber where the House of Representatives meets. This is where the President gives his (or her) State of the Union address from every year. There were fewer than 25 representatives present that morning, which was kind of disappointing. However, the representatives that were there were giving 1 minute speeches on various things to basically just ensure they would be on the record. It was an interesting process and it was definitely pretty neat to see the actual building itself. From the Capitol we headed to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. This is where our money is made. It was a very cool process and I was very excited to see the piles and piles of money just laying around and waiting to be shipped. If only it could be shipped directly to me! :) After our tour we went to the Mall where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Please understand me clearly, I am NOT complaining, however, I must say that it was rather chilly eating lunch on the Mall. While the sun was out sporadically, there was a constant wind that made being outside a bit cold. But, I would MUCH, MUCH, MUCH rather be cold than hot, so I did not complain even once! After lunch we walked over the the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. All 4 were exciting to see and our language arts teacher and the students left a book of poetry behind at the Vietnam Memorial. It was dedicated to Clarence "Beau" Casto, who was the only man from West Jefferson to die in Vietnam. (Again on a happy side note, ALL of my students had their poems finished and turned in on time, so their works were all included in the book!) After the memorials we headed to the United States Holocaust Museum. Again, the last time I had been at the museum was when I was in 8th grade. That was 15 years ago and the museum had just opened. I can remember going there, but I didn't remember a whole lot about it. We unfortunately did not have a great deal of time, but I can definitely say that it is a museum that is well worth the visit. My students got a lot out of the visit and I did too! After the museum it was off to the National Archives Building. We got to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Since we spent a great deal of time talking about all 3 documents this year, the kids seemed to really enjoy getting to see the actual papers themselves. From the National Archives Building we headed to the pier for our Potomac Dinner Cruise. We had a decent meal and then all the kids (and many chaperones and teachers) enjoyed dancing. I enjoyed sitting and watching everyone dance and got to enjoy the sensation of the baby dancing inside of me! Based upon Thursday evening's experience, this baby girl should be quite the dancer. :) Finally, around 10:15 pm we boarded the buses and headed back to our hotel. It was a VERY long day!
On Friday we were up early one last time and headed out to Mount Vernon. The whole plantation was very beautiful and we got to head down to the Potomac to get one last up-close view of the very pleasant surroundings. After Mount Vernon it was back to the buses and then a VERY long trip home. There was a horrible accident on I-70, so we had to take a different route for a large part of our journey (I-68). It was pretty, but quite hilly. We finally arrived back in West Jeff around 10:15 pm. It really was a great trip and I was very proud of all of my students. They weren't perfect angels, but I would say they behaved better than any other group we witnessed, which is really saying quite a lot. They are a good group of kids and I'm glad they got to enjoy this experience.
Now, with my journey told, I thought I would also complete this "Fivers" challenge that I have seen Amy and Al complete.
The questions are listed one at a time and my answers are right below the indvidual questions.
What were you doing five years ago?
In May of 2003 I had just moved back to Ohio and was settling in with Sarah and Jenny at 58 Crestview. I had just secured my first full year job for the 2003-2004 school year at Windsor Academy in Columbus Public. I was substitute teaching in Dublin and basically enjoying a fairly lazy existence. I wasn't dating anyone and my grandfather was still alive and living with my parents. My sister was getting ready to graduate from high school and life was all around pretty good.
What are five things on your to-do list for today?
Well, it's almost 8 pm now, so I'll reveal what was on my list for today.
1. Get caught up on my sleep (I accomplished this by getting up and eating breakfast and then going back to sleep!)
2. Enjoy eating food that wasn't prepared with tons of grease and prepared really quickly. (We went to a Mexican place!)
3. Play our new Nintendo Wii! (We just got it yesterday!)
4. Go shopping for a rocker/glider. (We went out to the JC Penney outlet store, but had very little luck)
5. Enjoy spending time with Adam and the kitties (I've done this all day!)
What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Ice Cream - vanilla or strawberry are probably my 2 favorites
2. 100 calorie snack packs (pretty much any variety)
3. Chips with French Onion dip
4. Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
5. Mom's macaroni and cheese (usually a meal, not just a snack)
What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Pay off our own and our family's debts (It would be fantastic to be debt free!)
2. Move to Worthington
3. Travel - anywhere and anytime
4. Buy some new furniture (a bigger bed, a new couch, new dining room table and chairs)
5. Donate at least some of the money to a worthy charity (Cozy Cat Cottage?)
What are five of your bad habits?
1. Being too negative
2. Being too hard on myself and others
3. Not cleaning up immediately when I make a mess
4. Not speaking with friends as often as I would really like to
5. Not getting enough exercise and/or eating out too much
What are five places you have lived?
1. Columbus, Ohio (in Clintonville - Kensington and Crestview)
2. Worthington, Ohio (on Stafford)
3. Indianapolis, Indiana (at Butler and 2 different apartments)
4. Florence, Italy (while studying abroad)
5. Columbus, Ohio (in my house in the hood!)
What are five jobs you've had?
1. Worthington Public Library book processor
2. Babysitter
3. Blockbuster Video Cashier
4. Insurance Saleswoman
5. Teacher
What five people do you want to tag?
1. Adam (you can put your replies in my comments section!)
2. Rhian (she doesn't have a blog either and she's in Cyprus right now, so I'm not counting on this anytime soon!)
3. Jerry or Patty (I know you read this!)
4. Mom or Dad
5. Anyone else who feels they have something to share!
Well, I get to go to the doctor again on Wednesday and this will be my gestational diabetes "check" appointment. So, as soon as I learn something one way or the other, I will let you all know! Take care!
On Wednesday we were up very early and had our picture taken on the steps of the Capitol. Then we got to go up inside the Washington Monument and view Washington from high above. Then we ate lunch and headed to the National Cathedral. Next we visited Arlington National Cemetary. We had two students who actually participated in the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then got o witness the changing of the guard. This was particularly neat for me since the last time I was at Arlington was when I was in 8th grade and I was in the wreath laying ceremony. :) (On another side note, Arlington is VERY hilly and I would like to give myself special kudos for trekking up the many hills of the cemetary while 6 months pregnant! Go me!) After Arlington we headed to dinner and then took a walking tour of the FDR memorial and the Jefferson memorial. By the time we got to the memorials it was getting darker, which actually ended up being pretty cool. Finally, we headed back to the hotel.
On Thursday we were up very early again and headed to the Capitol once more. This time we got to go inside the chamber where the House of Representatives meets. This is where the President gives his (or her) State of the Union address from every year. There were fewer than 25 representatives present that morning, which was kind of disappointing. However, the representatives that were there were giving 1 minute speeches on various things to basically just ensure they would be on the record. It was an interesting process and it was definitely pretty neat to see the actual building itself. From the Capitol we headed to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. This is where our money is made. It was a very cool process and I was very excited to see the piles and piles of money just laying around and waiting to be shipped. If only it could be shipped directly to me! :) After our tour we went to the Mall where we enjoyed a picnic lunch. Please understand me clearly, I am NOT complaining, however, I must say that it was rather chilly eating lunch on the Mall. While the sun was out sporadically, there was a constant wind that made being outside a bit cold. But, I would MUCH, MUCH, MUCH rather be cold than hot, so I did not complain even once! After lunch we walked over the the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. All 4 were exciting to see and our language arts teacher and the students left a book of poetry behind at the Vietnam Memorial. It was dedicated to Clarence "Beau" Casto, who was the only man from West Jefferson to die in Vietnam. (Again on a happy side note, ALL of my students had their poems finished and turned in on time, so their works were all included in the book!) After the memorials we headed to the United States Holocaust Museum. Again, the last time I had been at the museum was when I was in 8th grade. That was 15 years ago and the museum had just opened. I can remember going there, but I didn't remember a whole lot about it. We unfortunately did not have a great deal of time, but I can definitely say that it is a museum that is well worth the visit. My students got a lot out of the visit and I did too! After the museum it was off to the National Archives Building. We got to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Since we spent a great deal of time talking about all 3 documents this year, the kids seemed to really enjoy getting to see the actual papers themselves. From the National Archives Building we headed to the pier for our Potomac Dinner Cruise. We had a decent meal and then all the kids (and many chaperones and teachers) enjoyed dancing. I enjoyed sitting and watching everyone dance and got to enjoy the sensation of the baby dancing inside of me! Based upon Thursday evening's experience, this baby girl should be quite the dancer. :) Finally, around 10:15 pm we boarded the buses and headed back to our hotel. It was a VERY long day!
On Friday we were up early one last time and headed out to Mount Vernon. The whole plantation was very beautiful and we got to head down to the Potomac to get one last up-close view of the very pleasant surroundings. After Mount Vernon it was back to the buses and then a VERY long trip home. There was a horrible accident on I-70, so we had to take a different route for a large part of our journey (I-68). It was pretty, but quite hilly. We finally arrived back in West Jeff around 10:15 pm. It really was a great trip and I was very proud of all of my students. They weren't perfect angels, but I would say they behaved better than any other group we witnessed, which is really saying quite a lot. They are a good group of kids and I'm glad they got to enjoy this experience.
Now, with my journey told, I thought I would also complete this "Fivers" challenge that I have seen Amy and Al complete.
The questions are listed one at a time and my answers are right below the indvidual questions.
What were you doing five years ago?
In May of 2003 I had just moved back to Ohio and was settling in with Sarah and Jenny at 58 Crestview. I had just secured my first full year job for the 2003-2004 school year at Windsor Academy in Columbus Public. I was substitute teaching in Dublin and basically enjoying a fairly lazy existence. I wasn't dating anyone and my grandfather was still alive and living with my parents. My sister was getting ready to graduate from high school and life was all around pretty good.
What are five things on your to-do list for today?
Well, it's almost 8 pm now, so I'll reveal what was on my list for today.
1. Get caught up on my sleep (I accomplished this by getting up and eating breakfast and then going back to sleep!)
2. Enjoy eating food that wasn't prepared with tons of grease and prepared really quickly. (We went to a Mexican place!)
3. Play our new Nintendo Wii! (We just got it yesterday!)
4. Go shopping for a rocker/glider. (We went out to the JC Penney outlet store, but had very little luck)
5. Enjoy spending time with Adam and the kitties (I've done this all day!)
What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Ice Cream - vanilla or strawberry are probably my 2 favorites
2. 100 calorie snack packs (pretty much any variety)
3. Chips with French Onion dip
4. Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
5. Mom's macaroni and cheese (usually a meal, not just a snack)
What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Pay off our own and our family's debts (It would be fantastic to be debt free!)
2. Move to Worthington
3. Travel - anywhere and anytime
4. Buy some new furniture (a bigger bed, a new couch, new dining room table and chairs)
5. Donate at least some of the money to a worthy charity (Cozy Cat Cottage?)
What are five of your bad habits?
1. Being too negative
2. Being too hard on myself and others
3. Not cleaning up immediately when I make a mess
4. Not speaking with friends as often as I would really like to
5. Not getting enough exercise and/or eating out too much
What are five places you have lived?
1. Columbus, Ohio (in Clintonville - Kensington and Crestview)
2. Worthington, Ohio (on Stafford)
3. Indianapolis, Indiana (at Butler and 2 different apartments)
4. Florence, Italy (while studying abroad)
5. Columbus, Ohio (in my house in the hood!)
What are five jobs you've had?
1. Worthington Public Library book processor
2. Babysitter
3. Blockbuster Video Cashier
4. Insurance Saleswoman
5. Teacher
What five people do you want to tag?
1. Adam (you can put your replies in my comments section!)
2. Rhian (she doesn't have a blog either and she's in Cyprus right now, so I'm not counting on this anytime soon!)
3. Jerry or Patty (I know you read this!)
4. Mom or Dad
5. Anyone else who feels they have something to share!
Well, I get to go to the doctor again on Wednesday and this will be my gestational diabetes "check" appointment. So, as soon as I learn something one way or the other, I will let you all know! Take care!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Fine and Dandy
Well, I had a doctor's appointment today. Nothing too extraordinary to report. According to the doctor, you can feel my uterus up past my belly button. Thankfully I'm not feeling the baby up quite that high yet, but I'm sure my time is coming. She's certainly been active today and even the doctor said she was hard to keep track of while she was trying to get her heart rate. I, of course, was unsurprised by this since I know full well that this is one active little girl. Her heart rate, by the way, was 156 bpm. This is fairly normal.
Originally, my doctor had wanted me to have blood drawn today because of my history of high blood pressure. However, I also take my blood pressure nearly every night and brought all of those recorded readings in to show the doctor today. Because my blood pressure has been pretty close to normal (120/80), she decided that the blood draw was unneccessary today! Yeah! Unfortunately, she still wants to do the tests, but I'll have to be stuck at my next appointment anyways because it's the dreaded "Glucose Test" appointment. I guess that it was at least nice of her to not have me stuck twice. :)
I'm also happy to report that I had not gained any weight since my last appointment which was at the beginning of the month. I guess the daily walks with my mom (and sometimes dad) and the two times per week of water aerobics must actually be helping. I have also noticed that I have not been able to eat quite as much because someone is squishing my stomach. I'm beginning to think that for weight loss you might always want to have someone squishing your stomach because it certainly forces me to stop eating MUCH sooner!
Mom and I did make it to yet another consignment sale over the weekend. We really only bought more clothes. We also stopped at Once Upon a Child, a local resale shop. On Sunday we ventured down to the Prime Outlets at Jeffersonville. While I certainly spent some more money on the baby, I also splurged a little on myself and bought a dress at GAP and was jean capris from Motherhood Maternity. Hopefully both will make warmer weather a little more bearable down the road. Additionally, I bought some new shirts for Adam to wear while he is biking. I don't think I have previously shared that my crazy husband is taking a week off in June for something he is referring to as his "bike vacation." For the "sane" person, this week of bike riding does not in any way, shape, or form resemble a vacation. But, one of Adam's endearing qualities is his "insanity" in regards to biking. When we met, he was biking an average of 60 miles per day. For the past two weekends, he has begun to return to old habits and biked at least 40 miles for 2 days in a row. This "bike vacation" is actually an organized event called GOBA (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) and he'll be biking with a "pack" of riders all around Ohio. I have to admit that I am quite happy to be pregnant because Adam had previously asked me to accompany him on this crazy adventure and I'm sure that as his dutiful wife I would have attempted it. Thankfully, this lovely little gift of a baby girl has saved me from this event. Hopefully she'll be able to save me in the future too! :)
Well, that's really the update around here. We're having Ohio Achievement Tests this week so I've been kept quite busy today making sure all of my students are receiving the proper accomodations so that they can hopefully pass this test. Today was reading and we have math, science, and social studies still to come. Maybe if everyone keeps their fingers crossed it will provide a little extra luck for my students!
Okie-dokie! Take care everyone!
Originally, my doctor had wanted me to have blood drawn today because of my history of high blood pressure. However, I also take my blood pressure nearly every night and brought all of those recorded readings in to show the doctor today. Because my blood pressure has been pretty close to normal (120/80), she decided that the blood draw was unneccessary today! Yeah! Unfortunately, she still wants to do the tests, but I'll have to be stuck at my next appointment anyways because it's the dreaded "Glucose Test" appointment. I guess that it was at least nice of her to not have me stuck twice. :)
I'm also happy to report that I had not gained any weight since my last appointment which was at the beginning of the month. I guess the daily walks with my mom (and sometimes dad) and the two times per week of water aerobics must actually be helping. I have also noticed that I have not been able to eat quite as much because someone is squishing my stomach. I'm beginning to think that for weight loss you might always want to have someone squishing your stomach because it certainly forces me to stop eating MUCH sooner!
Mom and I did make it to yet another consignment sale over the weekend. We really only bought more clothes. We also stopped at Once Upon a Child, a local resale shop. On Sunday we ventured down to the Prime Outlets at Jeffersonville. While I certainly spent some more money on the baby, I also splurged a little on myself and bought a dress at GAP and was jean capris from Motherhood Maternity. Hopefully both will make warmer weather a little more bearable down the road. Additionally, I bought some new shirts for Adam to wear while he is biking. I don't think I have previously shared that my crazy husband is taking a week off in June for something he is referring to as his "bike vacation." For the "sane" person, this week of bike riding does not in any way, shape, or form resemble a vacation. But, one of Adam's endearing qualities is his "insanity" in regards to biking. When we met, he was biking an average of 60 miles per day. For the past two weekends, he has begun to return to old habits and biked at least 40 miles for 2 days in a row. This "bike vacation" is actually an organized event called GOBA (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) and he'll be biking with a "pack" of riders all around Ohio. I have to admit that I am quite happy to be pregnant because Adam had previously asked me to accompany him on this crazy adventure and I'm sure that as his dutiful wife I would have attempted it. Thankfully, this lovely little gift of a baby girl has saved me from this event. Hopefully she'll be able to save me in the future too! :)
Well, that's really the update around here. We're having Ohio Achievement Tests this week so I've been kept quite busy today making sure all of my students are receiving the proper accomodations so that they can hopefully pass this test. Today was reading and we have math, science, and social studies still to come. Maybe if everyone keeps their fingers crossed it will provide a little extra luck for my students!
Okie-dokie! Take care everyone!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
