Baby Story

 I took these last two earlier tonight!

So, it's been a month since I posted a few pictures and promised to tell her birth story. I kind of had my hands full all month - and typing requires the use of my hands. :P

I went in to be induced Thursday morning. Unlike last time, they did not make me come in the night before and keep me up most of the night being "observed." I was already at a 2+, so I only needed the pitocin. We were a little late arriving because we had to get BooBear up and to his Aunt BBug's house, getting there at 6:30 instead of 6am. My doctor came and broke my water around 8am. Since I learned last time that my body does much better being induced with the epidural to help things relax and progress, I got the drugs soon after the contractions started. For 45 minutes, Werty and I just chilled and dozed while we watched the monitors. Then things started to pick up. With BooBear, they had the pitocin cranked up to the max at 25, back down to 12, and then up to 25 again. This time with my little Miss, the highest they went was 12, and then things were going so fast, they turned it down to an 8. They needed me to wait long enough for my second dose of penicillin, so once again I had to resist the urge to push as the contractions were intense enough that I could feel them through the drugs. The worst part of the whole experience was the second dose of penicillin - they had the drip turned up so that it would only take 15 minutes to finish. I watched the clock as my arm was on fire for those 15 minutes. Halfway through I was relieved when I learned that I only had to endure 15 minutes this time instead of 30 minutes. My doctor arrived, the nurse told her that we needed to wait until 11:08 for the antibiotics dose to be done. So, at 11:08, everyone took their places and set me up to start pushing. I pushed twice to get her head out, and twice to get her shoulders out - four pushes back to back - and she was born at 11:11am. Four hours of easy labor. It was such a pleasant experience. And at this hospital, they bathe the baby and run their first battery of tests right there in the delivery room. I wasn't separated from my baby this time. That made me very happy.The only challenge we had was that her blood sugar was very low when she was born, which often happens in cases of gestational diabetes. I asked the nurse if she had checked her blood sugar yet, and she went to go ask if it needed to be done. She came back and did the test a few minutes later. My poor girl was pricked about 5 times on the heel that day as we fed her three bottles of formula and tested her blood sugar until it was up to normal levels. So, for those who hadn't already heard the story, there it is. We are so grateful to have our new little girl join our family!

Our New Addition!

 Big brother and sister asleep at the hospital.

 First smile caught on camera!

I know that everyone is mostly anxious for photos, and since she will be waking up soon and time is short, here they are. More to come later.

Being Induced Again

When I went in for my appt last Friday, I was surprised when my doctor suggested we schedule the baby to be induced the following week. I think I had told her already that I was feeling sick sometimes when I ate, and I had to be really careful about the GD diet to feel well. But I'm not sure what exactly prompted her judgment that 39 weeks might be better than waiting the full 40 weeks to be induced. I met Werty for lunch at his work and broke the news to him, and he was a little shocked too. Suddenly the "sometime in the next week or two" turned into a definite 6 days away.

So, Thursday is the big day, unless she shows up sooner. At least this time I am already dilated to 2+ cm, which is farther along than I was last time when they broke my water because neither the gel nor the pitocin was doing anything. So, let's hope my body kicks in to gear this time and it goes much faster.

Baby Shower

Last Friday night, my SIL threw me a baby shower. It was a small, family affair. I didn't get any pictures during the actual shower, so these are pics of what was left before I finish cleaning it all up. This includes only some of the stuff Maeby put together and the onesies and headband that were made at the shower. We have some pretty creative people in the family. I had to take a close-up of one of the cupcakes Maeby made - because they were so beautiful. BooBear was very curious about the pearls on the cupcakes, but once he tasted one and declared it "candy" he wanted to eat them all.



Speaking of candy, BooBear enjoyed Easter a lot more this year - with the dying of eggs, finding his basket (he found it right away!) and discovering what it was like to have candy that was his very own. Today, I put away the empty baskets, glad to have less candy in the house.

Last night, our friend KK visited on her way from Vegas to WA. She's my best friend's mom, and their house was my home away from home in high school. Later she and I became work colleagues, so we know each other pretty well. We had a good chat, talking much later into the evening than we intended. But it's always nice to get an update on how all of "my other family" is doing. (Btw, Nan, I love the red dress! Smashing!) One of the perks I like about our house is having a guest bed available. I know that eventually BooBear will move into that room, but for now it's nice to have a little extra space so that friends and family can visit.

Pics Finally!

I am finally downloading the card from the camera, so we will have space for new baby pics when the time comes. That's one item on my long to-do list I can cross off!

Why have just one chair when you can sit on two?




A lot of of the other photos were taken by BooBear, so they are a bit too random to share. But sometimes the photos are of random things BooBear has done that we come across, like this one:


Friday I had an ultrasound to check the baby's position. She's head down and everything looks good. The fluid level is borderline between high and normal because of the diabetes. The tech at the hospital didn't say much during the whole process, and the monitor didn't swivel, so I didn't actually get to "see" anything at all, not a single image, so that was disappointing. (Especially after waiting over an hour for our appointment. They told me to drink 32 oz of water an hour before the appointment, and then hold it so that I would have a full bladder for the test...and that hour turned into 2 hours.) I hope this isn't indicative of what my experience will be like at this hospital.

Bittersweet Last Day

For some of my classes, Friday was my last day. It didn't feel so final, since I am going back for 4 more half days. I still have my stuff in my classroom and my files, which I will have to collect later in the year. It was a day of surprises, some positive and some downright scary.

First of all, my students were waiting in the hall until just before the bell rang, even though they cheerfully waved to me when I arrived. Why weren't they coming in to the classroom? They all filed in together, each carrying a different dish. They were throwing me a baby shower. They had been planning it for a week and a half. Both of my practicum student teachers knew. Everyone knew except me and my brother. I guess they didn't trust him not to tell. They had been talking about food and passing notes, but I believed them when they said it was related to a friend's party they were going to during Spring Break. Some of them gave me presents for the baby - a few blankets, an outfit, baby socks, some binkies. They even gave a present to the student teacher who is also pregnant. Even one of my former students from when I first starting teaching, who has been volunteering this semester once a week to fulfill a service requirement for one of her college classes (she is a senior at UVU in international business, and is engaged to be married to a wonderful LDS guy in June), was in on it. She brought one part of a traditional El Salvadoran dish, and another student brought the other part of it, and she put it together. It was awesome! I was so touched. My practicum student teacher, who will also be my maternity leave substitute commented on how wonderful these kids really are. I have been blessed to teach ESL students - it's rewarding to work with students longer than just one semester or one year, and see them grow up.

Soon after the party was underway, I got a phone call from main office. My friend and colleague, and former ESL Aide, Mr. B collapsed 10 minutes after school began. Did I know of any medical conditions he had? Did I have a cell number for his housemate? I felt so helpless because I had no information I could give them. They took him to the hospital, which thankfully is only a block away from the school. Word initially was that the ER thought he had a sudden, intense case of flu. He had been throwing up as well as losing consciousness. ESL students all day were asking me if I knew what had happened to him, and I relayed that information and told them he should be back after Spring Break. With it being my last day, I had a lot of people I needed to talk to after school, and it was 4:30 before I picked up BooBear from my sister-in-laws' and he was cranky because it was well past his naptime, so I had to forego going to the hospital to check on Mr. B. I figured if it was the flu, they would keep him one night and send him home, so I didn't go Saturday either.

Then I got a call from the principal Saturday night to update me because he knew that Mr. B was a friend of mine. That's when I got the full story. Mr. B fell over, retching, and had to crawl down the hall to the next classroom to get help from another teacher, where he lost consciousness. NONE of his students went for help! Instead some students started looting his stuff in his desk. Our EMT teacher responded and took care of him until the ambulance arrived. He kept throwing up and his speech was slurred at the hospital. The hospital finally confirmed hours later that Mr. B had had a stroke. There was a blood clot in an artery in his neck. They put him on blood thinners and he is expected to recover.

So, a few things about this whole situation are weighing heavily on my mind: 1. I am a horrible friend for not going to see him. I picture in my head what it must have been like to have to make his way down the hall to another teacher because no one was helping him. If he had still been in ESL, we would have been there to help him. And I feel horrible and helpless that I did nothing to help him. 2. Mr. B. is a year younger than I am. My initial thought was he's too young to have a stroke! How can this happen? He looked so healthy! He's been under a lot of stress, what with trying to finish his last Math class for his Math endorsement and taking over 7 Math classes while sorting through the mess that was left behind by the former teacher. But a stroke? 3. They say he should recover. But with stroke, that can mean a spectrum of things. He is being considered for a full time position next year. Interviews were supposed to start soon. I had just received word that the district had decided to transfer an ESL teacher from another school to take over the ESL department, and I hadn't told Mr. B. yet that he was off the hook for that (and all the English endorsement classes they would make him take to qualify to teach it). Things were finally coming together for him. I was so happy for him. And I am scared about what this might mean for his career and his future.

So, my thoughts have been a little consumed these last few days. I have been cleaning, or "nesting," to keep my mind off of things.

Last Week

Some of my students are shocked when I remind them that this is my last full week. They are so preoccupied with Spring Break coming next week, they forget that I said I wouldn't be back after the break. True, I will be back in the morning the following week, but I won't be teaching my afternoon classes. There is still so much to get done this week.

IB predicted grades and Historical Investigation papers are due. I finished the first read and scoring today. Some of them are losing a lot of points due to technical mistakes - it makes me want to scream, "Follow the directions, people!" A lot of my students are engineer hopefuls, and some of them just don't seem to take their History IB requirements as seriously as they should. Two students don't seem to understand the point of citations. Maybe it will take a college professor flunking them for possible plagiarism due to a lack of referencing to get their attention, because their English teacher and I don't seem to be getting through.

The memory card on our camera is full, so I should be posting real pics soon. I really should clear them all off so the memory card and camera are ready for taking to the hospital when the time comes. I always think of Nan and her complaint at the lack of hospital pictures - I wouldn't want any of my children trying to convince their sister she was adopted because there are no pictures to prove otherwise. (ahem) Because that would be mean.