Another commercial critique

So... apparently I've been watching a lot of TV... but another commercial I enjoy is the blackberry one where the guy "butt dials" his wife (?) who speaks to his butt. It cracks me up! BUT, my gripe (and I think about it every time I watch the commercial) is her white shirt! I'm such a nerd, but I just don't think it fits right under the other top. My Mom was thinking it was a dress, but at the beginning of the commercial, we see her in skinny jeans. I know, I know, I'm just not hip enough for the blackberry commercial, but that's my gripe for the day. The end.

JB

Our little miss upstairs neighbor, JB, who turns three in March has a new trick. Whenever her Mommy (BB) uses the restroom (come on Mom -- who told you you could take breaks like that??!), she gets into the refridgerator and takes things out. One time she had a carton of eggs in her room (Mommy caught her before she opened it!). Another time she had spilled half and half all over the kitchen floor. SO. Desperate times call for desperate measures. BB needed to go out and get a lock for the fridge. She called to see if I could watch the kiddos. I happily obliged and off BB went. JB and I were reading books when we came across one with Elmo where he talks about what he wants to be when he grows up. I asked JB what she's going to be when she grows up. Without missing a beat, she shared, "We have mittens for me when I get bigger." Yup. Makes sense. : )

New jingle in my head

Have you seen the latest Denny's commercials? The ones where the tagline is "Isn't it time for a grown-up breakfast?" or something like that? One of them shows these hardened guys asking for more sprinkles and gumdrops on their pancakes. But my favorite one is this upsidedown banana with the peel cut so it looks like an octopus singing, "You can call me the Nanerpuss Nanerpuss, and guess what? I like pancakes!" It gets in my head like none other! I like to change it to random things about M like, "You can call me M, M, and guess what? I like sleeping!" or "You can call me M, M, and guess what? I like milkies!" among many other lines!

Now her not so favorite things

MVJ does NOT like to be changed! She does not like to be naked, which segues into the next one...

MVJ does NOT like baths! I try to convince her that this is the life! Someone drawing warm water into her very own bath... someone washing her taking great care to be quick but gentle... getting to use supersoft towels made by her Grandma EK and Great Aunt SW... but she's still not buying it!

MVJ doesn't generally like to be put down. She'll squeak -- hey -- who said I could be put down?? Someone better pick me up quick!!

MVJ Facts

Here are some things I've learned about my little peanut in her 12 days of life:

*She sleeps... a lot! YAY! : ) We cherish the times she is awake - especially if they coincide with daytime!
*She eats... a lot! I've given her the "runt" peptalk -- and she seems motivated to grow, grow, grow!
*It seems that her favorite thing to do is pee and/or poop as we're changing her diaper! I got sprayed with poop yesterday! Her changing table right now is on her bassinet, so she is directly in aim of our closet full of clothes. We may have to rethink that. . .
*She squeaks! It is so cute! It seems that at times she chuckles too.
*She LOVES her thumb! She smacks it like no other but also scratches herself in the process... may be time to clip her nails!
*She generally only cries to tell us she needs a diaper change. There have been few times that she's gotten so hungry she cries. We usually catch the rooting behavior before she gets desperate.
*She loves her hands! We try to swaddle her up tight, but she always wiggles her arms out and holds her hands together or sucks her thumb.
*She sleeps with her arms raised to the sides. This results in cold hands, so we've resorted to little gloves!
*MVJ is a snuggler! She loves laying next to us, laying on tummies, or just being held in general. We're trying to make sure she has "alone" time too so that she doesn't become dependent on being held!
*The thing people say right away is that she is a little peanut and that she has dark hair! We love both things about her! She easily wears premie clothes (but only has one onesie that is premie), so for now mostly wears loose fitting newborn outfits. Her thick, dark hair is starting to get a bit lighter. Her eyes, too, seem to be a blueish hazel right now.
*She is truly a gift from God made just perfect for our family! We love her so much!

THE BIG BIRTH STORY! - Part 3: Post-delivery Details!

When MVJ was barely 2 hours old, she was already breastfeeding! She was amazing! She had been cleaned up but not given a bath yet. Her dark, dark hair was all matted. Their only concern with her was she was having trouble keeping her temperature. She got under the warmer a few times and loved the fuzzy swaddle wrap they gave her. I just keep going back to the saying that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. I was having some trouble, but Miss MVJ came out ready to go! The lactation consultant asked if MVJ would go teach the 8-pounder next door who was having trouble.

JJ stayed with us at the hospital on a cot and I got good rest in between breastfeeding sessions. The nurses brought MVJ to us about every three hours that night and then brought her back to the nursery so we could sleep. I was in I would say pretty normal pain - cramping and sore. I had a catheter because there was no way I was getting up quite yet. That may be an embarrassing detail for some people, but seriously, after being so sick and having to drag myself out of bed it was a welcome relief!

Tuesday

They drew my blood right away again the next morning and my hemoglobin was around 8.5 and platelets were 41,000, so while still a concern they had at least started moving in the positive direction.

I called my work because they expected me to be in as usual. It was a weird sort of conversation and I still didn't really know how sick I had been/still was. I think I said something like, "You know how I went home yesterday? Well, it turns out I was in labor!"

My Mom and Dad brought us coffee (for JJ) and scones. I gobbled one up. It was amazing to feel hungry and be able to eat again! It had seriously been about two weeks since that had happened. Poor JJ had the worst week school-wise. He had four big tests, so was unable to just sit and enjoy his new baby as much as he would've liked to I think. He was also worried about his wife. Oh, yeah, and had just started his new job. So, he was in and out quite a bit.

Throughout Tuesday I was still on magnesium. Apparently once a person is put on magnesium, it has to go for 24-hours. The "mag." made me so nauseous and dizzy at times and there was nothing really that could be done about it. I had a few phone calls and honestly don't remember a whole lot about the conversations. BB, our upstairs neighbor, had an appointment (she's due in April) so bopped in for a bit and got to hold our new little bundle! Also, CLJ stopped in just to hand off a present and give some well-wishes. I loved knowing that people were thinking about us, but were kind enough to let me rest.

I was hungry again for lunch but so dizzy the hospital menu just wasn't working for me. My parents were out and about and brought me my favorite Subway sandwhich, or so we thought. After a few bites I got concerned that the turkey or bread or something was mushy. Yeah, turns out it was tuna! I HATE fish - really have never been able to stomach it - but this sub was the best sub I'd had in a long time! heehee... I guess I really was hungry! After lunch my friend MM, a labor and delivery nurse, stopped in to visit. She even got MVJ's hand- and footprints on paper for me to scrapbook! So sweet! Around that time I had a complete dizzy-spell. I couldn't even open my eyes and of course Miss MVJ was hungry. MM was my angel and basically took over the breastfeeding for me because I couldn't even hold MVJ in the right position. This whole pregnancy and delivery thing has made me a lot less self-conscious! Especially since, hey, my girl needed to eat!

The doctors agreed to lower my dose of mag. and it seemed to help. They said just to be on the safe side I would be on it until Wednesday morning because they didn't want me coming off of it at night. A friend from work, JA, stopped in that evening and brought MVJ a super-soft puppy and balloon. After that the nurse said that everyone had to leave. I needed rest. About five minutes after my parents were out the door, I had a major throw-up spell. I completely filled the puke bag and overflowed it. It was disgusting. Also, it hurt my bottom so bad to be heaving so much. It was hard to even clean me up since I still wasn't into moving and my nurse (A) was so kind. After I got cleaned up, the order came back that I was to go off the mag. that night at 11:00 pm, roughly 27 hours after I had been put on it. The relief was absolutely immediate. It was amazing! JJ wasn't able to stay that night because of major tests the next day, but I just remember looking forward to feedings when MVJ would come in and I would just enjoy her and take in all her little features. I felt I wasn't able to do that before that night.

Wednesday

Through the night I was drawn a few times and Wednesday morning the doctor came in to tell me that my hemoglobin was 6.6 and my platelets were 50,000. He said they needed to give me a blood transfusion. I called JJ at home crying and told him the latest news. He said it would be ok and that he'd be there as soon as he could after his test. My Mom worked at a blood center and I felt completely overwhelmed to make a decision about that before talking to her. My parents and brother got to the hospital and I shared that my platelet count was up. My Mom said, "Well, that's good news!" And then I said, "But they want to do a blood transfusion and I said I couldn't do it until I talked to you guys." Then I cried and cried! It just seemed like there was no end to this whole ordeal! My Mom calmed me down and said, "That's not such a bad thing." We called the nurse (L) in to tell her I was ready and literally about 15 minutes later they were pumping me full of a generous donor's O- blood. It was a weird feeling - I always thought I couldn't donate plasma because of how it would feel for stuff to go back in, but it didn't bother me like I thought it would. Of course, I'll always be a whole-blood donor because of the benefits to so many people. (And because now I have been someone who has needed it!) My parents had planned on leaving earlier that day, but postponed their trip until they knew everything was looking better. JJ was able to do a lab later in the week after talking to his professor, so joined us at the hospital around 11:00. The roads weren't looking so good, so knowing that JJ would be with me, my family left then. It took them quite a bit longer to get home, but they made it safely!

After the transfusion, I finally can say I was on the road to recovery. I got a sponge bath and a new bed and felt like a new woman!

Thursday
Thursday brought my first time out of bed! Woohoo! It was a bit scary at first, but it felt great to be up and moving. This also meant my catheter came out, which was a good thing.

Thursday Miss MVJ had to pass the first test of her life. She had to pass the carseat tolerance test. We brought in our carseat and it was deemed too old. Boohoo! Mommy just tried to get a good deal on teacher e-bay. So, out JJ went to buy a new one. They said it'd have to be a certain length for our little peanut. He brought it back and they hooked MVJ up to monitors to see if she would sit in it without getting too traumatized. She did not pass the test! The seat was too big. JJ had to go back out and get one that was for even smaller babies. Phew, she finally passed the test and was officially discharged from the hospital on Thursday! Yay! My girl beat me!

Friday
Friday my blood counts were up, up, up. My platelets were 120,000 and my hemoglobin was 8.5. My hemoglobin is always a bit low, but this is still lower than my norm. I was told all about high iron foods and told to get at least 18 grams of iron a day. I've been taking a supplement to aid in this. Friday at 10 am I was officially discharged from the hospital and bawled on my way out. First of all, I had spent a whole week here and got to know a lot of great nurses. Second, I was emotially drained. My body had been through a lot in the last few weeks! Third, this was a huge moment! We were walking out of the hospital as parents!! Everything became a first. MVJ's first walk in her carseat, her first elevator ride, her first car ride, her first look at our apartment. You get the picture. It was so nice to be home and great to be feeling better.

I had quite an ordeal and am so glad that I didn't know more about what was happening to me at the time! I am so thankful to everyone who was praying for me and MVJ. God is good!

THE BIG BIRTH STORY! - Part 2: Labor and Delivery!

Alternate Title: D-Day (Delivery Day), it really was a surprise attack!

We got in the car and realized we had no idea what we were doing! We were signed up for all of our classes in the next couple of weeks -- the carseat class, the childbirth class, the breastfeeding class, the tour, the paperwork, etc! We had no idea where we were going and I had the brilliant idea to think about where we had our ultrasound. Nope, not the right place. Then I remembered visiting a friend when she had her baby, and we headed for the right door. JJ dropped me off and I went to this area that said to check in. The lady was a little confused and then I realized I was trying to check into the heart and lung part of the hospital. At that time JJ had come in from parking the car and we found our way to the right area. BUT, then because of security stuff with the nursery, we didn't know how to get into the OB area. A lady was visiting her daughter and helped us get in. We started wandering around and a nurse said, "EJ? You're in here. Is that your chart?" They were expecting us.

I got into my gown... backwards first... oops... so much for privacy for the rest of my stay! heehee The nurse (K) got my vitals -- blood pressure looked good, good pulse, good temp. Then she tried to start the IV line. My left arm had just been poked at the clinic, and the rest of my veins were just shot. She tried my left hand. Then she called in another nurse (J). She tried to warm up my arm with a heated blanket. Then she tried kind of wrist area on my left hand. Nope. They called in another nurse. This gal brought in wet heat and tried my right arm and hand. Nothing. The next gal didn't like wet heat, so they dried me off and brought in a heat pack. This lady got me in the right wrist. Phew!! Now I was already starting to get black and blue on my left side. They started a saline drip right away and started talking about tests that needed to be done and the prep for a c-section. One asked me if I had been checked at the clinic for dilation. I said no. They couldn't believe it and said that should happen before anything. Then the doctors started coming.

First, the doctor I had been seeing all along, Dr. L came in. She was quite concerned and introduced me to the family practice doc for the night, Dr. G. Dr. L checked me and surprise of surprise! I was dilated and effaced! Woah! I had started labor on my own! The c-section idea went out the window quickly. I was 80% dilated and effaced 3 cm. They couldn't believe I hadn't felt contractions. I just really maintained that I may have I just didn't know what they were to know if I was having them or not! I had definitely had Braxton-Hicks, but maybe they were the real deal after all. A ultrasound tech. came in and checked out the baby. Baby Girl J was head down and ready to go. Every part of her looked great and then they moved to mommy. My liver was enlarged, but within normal limits (although the ultrasound guy said in every other place he had worked, it would've been considered big especially considering my size). He also noted some "stuff" in my gall bladder.

I asked the nurse for some pain meds because I just did NOT feel good. She said she would go check on that. I said I had some tylenol in my purse if I could just take them. She said she'd get me some water. Foreshadowing: This was the first of my many requests that seemed like I'd be able to have, but that were shot down. She came back and said I couldn't have water right now. She said she'd check on pain meds via my IV. She came back saying they would be giving me morphine. And then came back again saying, no I guess that won't be happening either. One thing JJ remembers is that after every request I kept saying, "Thank you." I can't have water? Ok, thanks anyways. No, no morphine? Thanks for checking. People kept saying I was the most polite patient.

They hooked me and baby's heartbeat up to the monitor. They could see contractions and I was like, oh, so those pains? They are contractions? Got it... I loved being able to see them come and go. The nurses had to give me a crash course in labor because of the whole no classes thing again. Nurse R's shift came on, poor thing, because she had to deal with me the rest of the labor. She taught me how to breathe through them and I found that counting through them was fabulous. When I got to usually around 7, I knew they were coming back down and the pain would end soon. When they started coming with fervor, I would raise my hand and grunt. JJ would be at my side, holding my hand, and breathing with me. He was just amazing. I can't begin to describe how awesome he did and how he worked right there with me.

At 7:00 pm they broke my water. That was a weird deal. My doctor tried and said she couldn't get it. But I felt trickles, so I thought she had gotten it. Dr. G came in next and broke it. Yup, definitely could feel the difference! A GUSH came forth and with that, we were off! They kept checking me and gradually it was going up, but I felt disappointment with every number. I just felt like I was progressing quicker than they kept saying. 3 cm - 3 1/2 cm - 3 1/2 cm - 4 cm

So then they started me on magnesium because of the HELLP syndrome. OMW. Magnesium is like the worst ever. The nurses were like yeah, this stuff sucks. Sorry. I tried to talk them out of giving it to me (without success). heehee So, immediately when it went in I felt hot all over and dizzy and yucky. Oh, and I was in active labor. Yay! They gave me pitocin next (at about 8pm) to keep things going. I continued to progress steadily and the contractions became pretty intense. I asked for drugs I don't know how often. Can I have an epidural? Did you know I did in fact want an epidural? I just wanted to make sure you knew that I am on board for an epidural. Nope. Nothing. They decided to give me stadol. It did NOTHING. I just continued to feel the effects of the magnesium and my intense contractions.

They checked me and were amazed to find out I was progressing quite quickly. I think my next check was like 7cm. It starts getting fuzzy here because I was in such pain. I basically had my eyes closed from 8:30pm until it was over. I didn't know about the rush around me or who was where. Dr. A, the OB, seemed to get cranky that the stadol wasn't given to me again. Dr. L said something like, Oh, it can be given more than once? Dr. A said this should be an every hour thing! (or something like that...)

The second shot of stadol was apparently all I needed. Phew! If you went to the link above, (this one), you saw that stadol is an opioid. Yes, yes it is. Just believe me on that one. I was scared at the affects. Basically, I was at a carnival-type place. Sometimes I was on rides, zipping around at dizzying speeds with weird patterns of black checks as the walls of the rides that made me so lightheaded. Sometimes I was walking around to different booths. I clearly remember a few of the booths were "contractions". I decided to bypass them. JJ says that there were definitely times that contractions were on the monitor, but I didn't even breathe heavily through them. Then it came to the point that I HAD to stop at the contractions ride. I got on and got lightheaded and started not being able to breathe through the contractions (in real life). I was slightly hyperventalating at the end. Then I became aware that there was lots of commotion. Someone said something like, it's ok, you keep going, we'll catch up to you! One nurse said there wasn't time to get a tech. to set things up. All of a sudden, the stirrups were out and my bed was dropping below my legs. At one point my parents and brother got there. I heard my mom introduce herself at the door and someone asked if they could come in. I was so confused and couldn't focus, so they went next door to wait.

Again. No idea what to do. Nurse R told me about feeling the need to "bear down". I totally felt it and Dr. A said, "She's going!" R told me about holding my breath like I was going underwater. It took a contraction or two to figure out what the heck she was talking about. It seems so clear and easy now, but it was all confusing then!! They said to push through the contractions and someone said, doesn't that feel good? I said, "Yes!" Being able to DO something with the contractions actually did feel very good. JJ said that with my first or second big push he could see the head. It was incredible! I pushed through maybe 5 contractions and, tada!! Baby Girl J was there!! I got her head out and forgot what else to do. I felt pain and couldn't figure out what was going on until someone said, we have the shoulder! Oh yeah! Rest of baby! Oops! I think I basically pushed out her head and her big toe and the rest she was just dragged out.

MVJ was born at 10:55 pm. She was 5 lbs. 15 1/2 oz and 19 inches long. She was PERFECT. They put her on my tummy and I just didn't even know what to do! I saw a big head of hair and perfect body and then they took her away.

Then a doctor said to push out the placenta. I was waiting for a contraction, and asked, "Oh. Now? I should just push?" It came out (JJ said it just looked like a big red jellyfish) and they took it away for lab testing. I couldn't understand why the doctors weren't backing away. Turns out I tore, so they were stitching me up. It took a while. I asked what was going on and Dr. A. said something like, "Sweetie, we're not happy with the amount of blood we have." I just layed there staring at my beautiful baby across the room. JJ was at my side, then at M's side, then across the hall telling my parents. They came in at about midnight, after I was all cleaned up and were just way too excited! My Mom said I looked as white as a sheet. She told me that the only thing she could see was my lips. Everything else blended into the sheets.

THE BIG BIRTH STORY! - Part 1: Leading up to the Hospital

I have been meaning to sit down and write my "story" for some time now. Warning: this will be a lengthy post! This is a huge catharsis for me. I need to write it down and start processing! Feel free to skim! : )

Monday
So I had been sick for over a week now and just wasn't feeling 100% when I woke up, but not as bad as previous days. The weather was also very yucky -- lots of ice and dangerous road conditions. JJ and I decided it would be good if I stayed home for a bit to settle my stomach and give the roads time to get a bit cleared off. While at home, I started addressing thank-you notes and also called to see if I could get in to see my doctor earlier than my Wednesday appointment (my regular 36 week appointment). No dice on the appointment, so I went in to work around 9:30ish.

At work, I got settled in from being gone for the better part of the last week. We had team time (period 2 all teachers on our team meet to collaborate, schedule, organize, discuss student progress and concerns, etc.), and I just felt very uncomfortable. There happen to be two other pregnant ladies on my team and they said it was normal in the 9th month. They said walking around helped. So I started walking. It just didn't seem to help the burning. The teachers I would be in class with the next few periods said to just take it easy and get caught up in my room. They said they could handle things without me since I was feeling rough still. I should note here that the teachers I teach with are amazing. Our resident teacher, LH, especially has been a life-saver with just jumping right in to help in any way she can. I *hope* she can stick around our building as a sp.ed. teacher next year!

I went back to my room and called and confirmed an IEP I had scheduled for the next day and helped modify a math test our kiddos were getting the next day. I started writing an email to my principal about the things we had coming up that week since I had felt so unorganized from being gone the past week. In the middle of the email I felt sick. LH looked at me concerned as I headed out the door rather quickly. I got sick and called JJ to see if he could pick me up. I was worried about making it home with my tummy and the roads. As I waited in the office, I told my principal about just taking my anti-naseau medicine and everything. She sent me off with well-wishes to get better soon.

TB dropped JJ off (so kind of him!) so we would have our van with us at home. On the way home I got sick again and JJ said enough is enough. He was ready to take me right to the hospital. I said the hospital wouldn't have my records or anything, so we decided to try to get in at the clinic with ANYONE ASAP. The earliest appointment they had was 3:00, so JJ got me settled in at home. He started his job at Pracs (Cetero Research) as a phleb. at 3:00 so he got some homework done and cleaned up while I slept. I woke up at about 2:45 surprised I had clonked out so hard, ate a few noodles from the chicken noodle soup JJ made me, and drove to the clinic (about four blocks from our apt.).

Once there, they saw I was having a tough time and got me into a room right away (with a puke bag). I told them I had to go to the bathroom (I figured I'd have to pee in a cup anyways and wanted to get that over with). They said they didn't need any urine. A nurse took my vitals and then the doctor (a resident) came in. He was AWESOME. Definitely better than the guy I had the week before. He also said that with pregnant women who are having trouble, he always checks with a faculty member. The faculty person told him to get labs done right away, so they first took a CBC (complete blood count) and then hooked me up with a bag of saline to counteract the dehydration they thought it all stemmed from. The nurse commented that I was bleeding a lot when she stuck me.

The doctor came in. I will never forget this conversation. He leaned a bit uncomfortably against a wall while I layed (a bit in the fetal position) with the saline in my arm. He said, "Um... it looks like you're going to be delivering this baby early." In my head: A week or two early?? "Yeah, it looks like they may want to do a c-section tomorrow." TOMORROW?! "You should call your husband. The hospital is ready for you and will take over from here." What?! Hospital?! Today? He went on to tell me he suspected I had HELLP syndrome and that it affects the liver. He said my platelets were at 41,000 (that number didn't mean a whole lot to me, but "normal" is about 150,000) and I think my hemoglobin was around 8.5. My hemoglobin is always a bit low, so I wasn't too concerned.

JJ had just completed his very first hour of work when I called his cellphone. I knew he wouldn't answer, but thought I'd try. Next I called our upstairs neighbor, TB, because he also works at Cetero and thought he might know how to get ahold of JJ. He didn't answer so I called BB and quickly explained things to her. It was so crazy that she had diagnosed me a week ago!! When I was so sick, she did some research online and came up with this liver thing that can happen in the last month of pregnancy. She couldn't believe it and asked if I was ok. I was crying at this point and just said that I was emotionally drained and needed to get ahold of JJ. TB was next to her and called the boss at Cetero right away. BB called me back to tell me that JJ would be calling shortly. JJ called and I think I said something like this, "I'm.sorry.for.calling.you.at.work.but.they.are.going.to.take.the.baby.tonight.or.tomorrow." He was shocked to say the least and said he'd call me back. He explained what happened to his boss and came straight to the clinic. They let the rest of the saline run through me, took the needle out, and asked if my husband was there. I said I had no idea, and I heard a nurse yell into the waiting room, "JJ!?" He was right there and she handed him my chart and even the receptionists were saying, "Good luck!" I guess word travels fast!

I Love Lists

Like my SIL LJ, I too have enjoyed the facebook 25 lists that it seems everyone has been doing. Who doesn't like to share little unknown tidbits about themselves? It's so interesting reading them! Well, I have had, ahem, I bit of time on my hands lately, and here are twenty things I've learned while laying in bed for about nine days straight.

1. CSI: NY is a great show! I'm addicted! And good thing Spike did a marathon like every day, because I think I'm basically caught up! : ) I did have to look away at times because of the camera jumps and my whole nausea thing. . .

2. I didn't realize who Gary Sinese was. I've heard the name lots, but never knew who that guy was. Now I know.

3. Gary Sinese looks just like this kid I went to elementary, jr. high and highschool with! Seriously. Facial expressions and all.

4. I think I'm over mac and cheese. I know. It's kind of a big deal. I saw a commercial for it and felt nauseous. : (

5. I am THE BIGGEST baby when I am sick. I like people to take care of me and sympathize with me.

6. JJ is THE BEST. Ok, I already knew that one, but seriously. He was/is amazing at taking care of me.

7. JJ has a busy week day schedule! Sometimes at work I would daydream about what it must be like to go to class and come back and have a ton of free time. No, not so! At first I thought he was just avoiding me because, well, of #5, but no, that guy is a busy man.

8. JJ has interesting days! One time I was making him distract me from my tummy pains by telling me stories. He started out a bit weak in the story-telling department, so I told him to just tell me about a day in the life of JJ and TB. Interesting stuff, let me tell you. That TB. He's quite the character.

9. I am absolutely physically and emotionally drained. I think it'll be a while before I'm ready for this delivery day stuff because I hear those things are side-effects...

10. Although, even before this ordeal, I have felt very emotionally ready to have the baby. I can't wait to meet her!

11. Now, I'm physically ready too, as in, "Get this kid out of me! She's jumping on my lungs! She's kneading my bladder!"

12. We missed a preggo-class while I was sick -- the one about car seat safety where they actually install the car seat for you. Oops. I hope we can get into another one before the baby comes. . .

13. I read books 2 and 3 of the Twilight series. It's nice, easy reading, but is quite predictable and I am mature enough to not get caught up in "that world" (you know, the one with vampires and werewolves), but I worry for my students. It does have a message of abstinence... sort of...

14. I found that I second-guess my doctor. That is kind of scary. She is a resident who is very close to finishing, but still that kind of hangs over my head.

15. JJ can tell I second-guess her and has been chatting/texting quite frequently with a doctor-buddy of his (sorry to you!).

16. I found out how much I just wanted a quick solution! Apparently I am completely caught up in the instant gratification world we live in. Although, in reality, who wouldn't be when they are puking their guts out?

17. Every time I thought about work, I thought about all the stuff I have to do and how far behind I'm getting.

18. I also thought about my co-workers and all that they must be going through covering for me. I only have two classes where I'm the teacher and the rest of the day I'm in classes with kids. Yeah, those classes NEED multiple adults, so I feel bad for my co-workers!

19. I didn't so much think of the kids. And that's gotten me a bit worried. I feel like as a specialist this year, I have lost my sense of teacher, and have taken on the duties of paperwork and meetings and parent contacts and see kids just to get data so I can do the paperwork and meetings and keep parents informed and legalistic mumbo-jumbo. Ick!

20. Today I woke up and actually feel better. YAY! BUT, if you can believe this, now I have a nasty cold. The whole runny nose and sore throat combo. I guess I'll trade in my puke bucket for a box of kleenix any day.

So, on that happy note... heehee... I'll end my list.

Some Sickness Stats

Ugh. I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. I have been really sick for a little over a week now. Boo. Boo hiss boo. Here are some stats for you number crunchers (sorry LJ). : )

The number of times I:
*Called the doctor on call -- twice -- once in the middle of the night. Ugh. These pains were BAD.
*Was asked "Is the baby still moving?" -- at least four -- which is four too many in my book! It freaked me out!
*Went to the doctor -- once -- but my doctor wasn't in and I wasn't very impressed with the doc I saw. For one, he said, "You've lost five pounds in a week. Hmmm... but you've gained 17 pounds overall. That's enough for a WHOLE pregnancy." He gave me some anti-nausea medicine, which I can say I've thrown up at least once.
*Wished for a miracle cure -- EVERY FREAKIN' SECOND
*Threw-up -- 12 (and that may be a low estimate) -- that's from Sunday until yesterday (Friday) at about 7pm.
*Took sick leave (which translates to my paid maternity leave : ( ) -- 3.5 days
*Had really strong Braxton-Hicks contractions -- lots -- ouch! Also, Baby Girl J jumping around has not aided in my recovery efforts, but every movement is still priceless!
*Eaten oatmeal -- lots -- it's about the only thing that has consistently stayed down. I've thrown up water, soda crackers, plain bread, nibbles of a plain bagel, a popsicle, ok, you get the drift.
*Was told I smell like sick -- once -- bless JJ's heart, it could've been a lot more frequent!
*Slept by myself -- twice -- JJ slept on the couch twice because of a combination of these factors: a) he needed to get some sleep, b) I apparantly snore really badly when I'm sick and couldn't rollover easily, c) every movement on his part made me grimace with pain, d) the aforementioned of smelling like sick
*Read -- two whole books
*Cried -- lots -- oh man these hormones! I tell you what! If I happened to watch A Baby Story, Bringing Home Baby, jeez, even the news, I bawled.