Hospitalized

My stay at the hospital was o.k.

I basically pretended I was on an unexpected vacation, in which I got to sit in bed all day, and play on the computer, watch TV, and hang out with Dalan/my parents. If I needed to go anywhere, someone came and wheeled me there. I did not even have to walk. I had a private room with a TV, and internet access. It wasn't that bad.

Of course, there were nurses barging in to take my blood pressure, and check on me. They interrupted my relaxation time twice last night, and were like two loud teenage girls when they came into do some things at 2:30 am. A doctor also woke me up at 5:45 this morning to check in, and then told me to go back to sleep, only to have a nurse come into my room three minutes later. That was not vacation-like. Or cool. I was there to rest, dammit! And be observed, but still, their observations should not have interfered with my rest. Ha!

I was so happy and grateful to be released today. Another day would have taken all the vacation magic out the experience. I had painted my nails, straightened up the room, and was heading well on my way towards major boredom by 8:00 this morning.

I also learned if you ever go to the ER/Labor and Delivery at midnight, bring a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and some deodorant in your purse. Just in case. I went in worried I would not be home until 4 in the morning, and never once entertained the thought I would be kept for two nights. Learned my lesson. Luckily, Dalan brought me in a toothbrush and a hairbrush. I forgot to ask for the deodorant. However, my mom brought me in some smelly lotion, so I basically just slathered myself in that to keep from being too stinky. I wasn't doing any physical activities, but I was stressing majorly at times, and that lead to some sweating!

There are still going to be some bumps in the road to make sure this baby makes it into the world healthy, and not too early, but I am feeling confident and optimistic at this point. I have faith in my medical team, in my body, and in the baby. I think this will all work out. That being said, I still have my moments of worry and panic, but overall, I am feeling good and strong. I also feel very loved. I think I have mentioned this about a thousand times, but at the risk of repeating myself, I really do have the best husband, family, friends, and even co-workers.

Now, I am at home, and my dog is back from a few nights at her grandparents house. Now, this is relaxing.

The highs and lows of pregnancy

I had an appointment with my midwife last Thursday. My blood pressure was high. I have wacky blood pressure, that often bounces all over the place, and sometime ends up in the borderline high area. This time it was a little higher than that, so my midwife was concerned. She asked me to buy a blood pressure cuff, monitor my blood pressure at home for two weeks, and we would go from there.

However, all weekend my blood pressure was HIGH. High enough, that I decided to call my midwife on Monday and check in. She asked me to be seen on Tuesday. I had my appointment, and they determined that my highs were caused by my history of borderline high blood pressure, rather than a pregnancy related high blood pressure disorder, such as preeclampsia. This is good news, in the sense, that it means that the baby is safe, and is not at an immediate risk for early delivery. Also, it means generally that the problem can be taken care of with medication. I was given a prescription, told to keep track of my readings, and to call if I got a bad headache or vision problems.

Last night around 8:30, I got a headache. I took a shower, took some Tylenol, and started my Hypnobabies relaxation series that Hilary so kindly lent me. I felt better. Then, at 10:30 my headache just got worse and worse. After getting a hold of my midwife, I was off to the hospital to be evaluated. Thanks to my mama for taking a midnight run to Labor and Delivery with me!

My blood pressure came down quite a bit, but headache remained the same. I was also super dehydrated.....what? I drink so much water. They decided to keep me over night to get the headache under control, start an IV, and watch my blood pressure.

Well, this morning, they decided I need to stay another night. They want to monitor my blood pressure for 24 hours, and do some other tests. The good news is the baby is still doing well. I am not allowed to go back to work until next week, when hopefully, the meds I am on, have started working and regulated my blood pressure. The team of midwives and doctors seem hopeful that I will be pregnant long into the summer, and will just need some additional monitoring to ensure everything is progressing as it should.

Keep your fingers crossed, and send me some low blood pressure/full term pregnancy vibes! And an email, while you are at it. I would love to chat!

Tales form teaching: class pets

This year I have two classroom pets- a fish and a turtle. My first year teaching was pet-free, last year we had a fish, and this year, we ended up with the fish and the turtle.

The kids earned the fish as a reward for good behavior/as part of our unit on capacity. We use the tank to measure cups, pints, quarts, and gallons, and in the end, if they are good, they earn the fish. At the end of the year, I raffled the fish off. It worked out quite nicely. Last year, I was a very dedicated fish owner while he was in the classroom. I cleaned his bowl out regularly, and took him home on long weekends. This year I have been a neglectful fish owner. I let him fend for himself over long weekends, and I let his bowl get filthy, to the point of embarrassment, before I clean it out.

On Friday, I decided that it was beyond time to clean out the bowl. I put the bowl in the sink to soak, and left the fish in a cup. I went, ran some copies, and did some other things around the school. I was gone for at least twenty minutes, maybe longer. I return to the room, and scrub out the bowl. I glance into the cup....no fish. I look all over the counter....no fish. I look on the floor....there is the fish, motionless. I go to pick him up and he flops. A good sign, but he was slimy and disgusting feeling. I get a paper towel, and scoop him up. I return him to his bowl, and he is a bit sluggish, but swimming. I spent all weekend hoping I didn't find him belly up today.

In the meantime, a family "donated" their turtle to our classroom so he would get the proper attention. He has been hibernating since Christmas. The mom was getting concerned that he was overdue to wake up from hibernation. So, she came in on Friday and made it "rain" in his cage. Apparently the moisture, helps rehydrate them and brings them out of hibernation. Well, I waited all day Friday, and he did not stir. So, when I left on Friday, I put some banana in his cage, and hoped that he was still alive. So, I also spent all weekend long hoping I did not have a dead turtle in my class.

Well, I am pleased to announce that the fish made it through the weekend, and was alive/well today. I am also please to announce that the turtle came out of hibernation. I walked into class today to see him munching on his banana. Whew!

Moral of the story: The kids love the class pets, but I am trying to decide if they are worth all the extra work/worry. I guess I will have to decide if I can juggle some extra critters, plus being a working mom next school year.

Be careful what you complain about....

Without going into much detail, Thursday into Friday night was much worse, MUCH, MUCH WORSE for our household. Let's just say there was more puking and other bodily functions happening throughout the night, and this time it was not just Piper, although she did her fair share too. I barely got any sleep, and when I did finally fall asleep I managed to turn off my alarm, and sleep in. So, the morning was spent rushing to make it to work before the bell rang. URGH! It was terrible.

People have asked if Piper caught pregnancy from me. That would be creepy and miraculous, but no, I think some bad milk caused this most recent incident. Not that I give Piper milk, but she is resourceful, and licked a bowl of cereal milk clean while I was on the phone. She is so well behaved.

The good news is we made it through last night incident-free. I feel refreshed and ready to go!

A preview

Last night, I was not sleeping well. I could not get comfortable on either of my sides, and I tossed and turned until about 4:30 am. Why until 4:30, you ask? Let me tell you....

At 4:30 am, Piper threw up in our bed. She threw up all over the sheets, two pillows, a quilt, and me. It was disgusting, and I was exhausted. The good news is Dalan and I made a kick ass team in the wee hours of the morning getting everything cleaned up, and sleep ready. Poor Piper must of been so sick. She later escaped from the room, and I found another surprise in the hall this morning. She has been fine since then though.

After I went back to bed, I slept well until my alarm went off, although I had the craziest dream. I dreamed I had given birth, but then went into a "postpartum twilight" in which I remembered nothing about the birth of the baby or the first six weeks of the baby's life. My mom had basically been taking care of the baby, although in my altered state, I was still able to breast feed. Nobody seemed alarmed or concerned that I was a walking zombie for six weeks, and my mom kept assuring me it was a normal side effect of giving birth. The baby appeared to have a good nature and was thriving, so I guess it worked out. She was adorable, by the way. Oh, and my mom was able to tell that my labor only lasted 1 hour and 27 minutes, and I was able to do it naturally. An advantage of being in "twilight," I guess. I have no idea where Dalan was, but it was basically just me, the walking dead, and my mom taking care of the baby. Dreams are strange.

The other sleep talker

Dalan did some sleep talking the other night. He never talks in his sleep. Ha, ha, ha! I love the fact that for once it was not me babbling into the night.

Dalan: "One"

Me: "What?"

Dalan: "One"

Me: "One, what?"

Dalan (getting frustrated with me): "One greasy bag."

Me: "What greasy bag?"

Dalan: "The first bag they gave me for my fast food."

Me: "You got fast food tonight?"

Dalan sighs in frustration: "Never mind."

Rainy Days and Mondays

Piper HATES the rain. She refuses to go out in it. Tonight was no exception. I could not get her to go out. After several hours of no progress, Dalan suggested I put her in her rain jacket (it still fits!) and try that. It totally worked! Plus she looks adorable in pink and black.


However, here is what Piper looked like in her jacket when she first got it. The seizure meds have not been kind to her figure, but we are working on it!