A request for some "Early Adventures"

I recently received a comment that mentioned I didn't have any earlier posts than 2010. I started this blog in January of 2010 and I have been trying, sometimes in vain, to keep up at least a weekly blog. This week I'm doing two because I decided to grant the wish and discuss some of the early pregnancy and post pregnancy adventures I had. So here goes...hopefully with lots of humor.

My husband and I moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico and decided that we really wanted to have a baby and now was a good time to try. Little did we know that we wouldn't get to 'practice' making a baby for very long. One week into my job and 2 or 3 weeks into the school year we found out we were going to be having a child. First try. So much for that 'oh it will take 3-6 months for your birth control to leave your system.' ahem...LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!! It was a total combination of joy, terror, awe, and...more terror. I don't think I stopped shaking from nervous excitement all day, and I anxiously awaited feeling all of the usual pregnancy symptoms. Little did I know...

I was the atypical pregnant woman. I didn't get sick, I didn't get too emotional (I cried one night when I couldn't decide what I wanted for dinner, but...once really isn't too bad), I didn't get heartburn...
I did get tired. Lots and lots of tired, and I gained a LOT of weight with my pregnancy, which I am happy to say I have now lost all of! I would still like to try to get into a more healthy weight, but the fact that I am now back down to a relatively 'normal' size for me (in a year) is a huge weight off of my back. Literally; although it was more off my butt (and chest, hips, thighs...) Stretch marks are a B****! I told a few people that I did not want them to be referred to as 'badges of motherhood' ever again. I still don't. I don't mind them; they happen. But I just found people trying to make you 'feel better' about them by glorifying them made me feel very, very, cranky. Especially when it was a guy saying it. Grrrrr...

Some scary things did happen while I was pregnant. I found out more about blood than I cared to. They do lots of blood tests while you are pregnant to discover your Rh factor and other tests. Turns out there are more than one Rh type conditions you can have. It doesn't just affect people who are O- or B- or AB- or negative whatever! That particular negative is the one most people know about, or come to know about, but there are others. Turns out I am E-. I'm O-postive bloodtype but you have more factors in it...it is really confusing and REALLY hard to explain, but the point was somewhere along the way I had been exposed to someone else's blood who was E+ and now I had antibodies that would attack E+ blood in my body. SO, if my husband was E+ (which most people are) then our daughter had a 50/50 chance of being E+ and having my blood attack hers. Scary!! While we were awaiting my husbands blood tests they prepared us for what would happen in the worst case scenario: in-vitro blood transfusions for my daughter until she was ready to be born; which may have meant and early delivery. Well, we didn't need it. My husband, after 1 botched blood test and 1 good blood test turned out to have E- blood as well. We don't ever have to worry about THIS again! Thank goodness!!!

My other scary moment was when I was at work and painters were working upstairs. The building venitlation sent everything down into the basement where my office was. Everyone got dizzy and sick feeling. I almost passed out and was sent home. I was a little nervous about it, but my doctor said I was probably fine unless I had more symptoms. Still, it was a frightening experience for a new mom-to-be.

I've spoken about things NOT to say to a pregnant woman. I've mentioned the tummy touching. I swear people feel that it is an instant invitation to fondle your stomach...even if you have your arms crossed over it; some people will literally just move your hands aside as if it is THEIR right to touch YOUR belly. I realize that in some cultures it is considered good luck to touch a pregnant belly, especially if you are trying to get pregnant too...but still, it's still horribly impolite to not at least ask. Read body language people!!!

Let's see, so...I am 5'3" (or close enough to). I was not really built to deliver a child larger than 7 1/2 lbs. My daughter was almost 9, with a 37 centimeter head. I had a C-section. I LOVED having a C-section. I wouldn't do it (and now really can't) do it any other way. C-section, for me anyway, was the way to go. I didn't feel a darn thing, I was relaxed, and (after a 24 hour dose of morphine) very happy. It is major abdominal surgery, but I truly feel that it shouldn't be an option that people are afraid of. My advice, read up on it, and if you have to have one get up as soon as they let you and start walking around. The more you walk the better it will get and the faster you recover (but be a SLOW, SAFE, walker).

I think that may cover some of my early experiences. I traveled a lot with my daughter. She's been to quite a few different states and even to another country. Traveling by yourself with a child is hard; traveling by yourself with a toddler in a temper is much much worse!!

Thanks for reading!

The Easy Button

So. I'm going back to school in the spring. The school I was looking at gave me GREAT news; I only have 1 class I need to take to complete my elementary 'prelims' for the state. So, instead of starting next fall I'm going back in the spring. The only catch: my daughter is going to have to have one to two days of daycare a week. YIKES! Scary mommy moment!!! I actually think my daughter will completely enjoy the experience and come to love having other children to play with a couple times a week, so while it pains me to even think about leaving her I think it will be good for her; now if only I knew that I could find a good, safe, not ultra religious daycare center. I have a couple of options that I'm looking into and I think I am just going to have to buckle down and go visit 3-5 of them and see what I like, don't like, and what the costs are going to be. That was the weird thing for me...prices are not listed on ANY of these sites. Not even an average price for a toddler. So here I am going to be walking into some of these places and I hope I don't fall in love with the one that has the HUGE pricetag!! I'll be getting help from the grandparents in order for us to do this, but still...

In the end though it is all about what is best for my baby. If I only like the one that costs the most I'm going to spend the money on it. I have seen too many daycares that cost less not doing everything they should be doing for the children in their care. I feel better about it knowing that I was able to stay home with my daughter for the first year. I especially feel better about it seeing her wanting to interact with all of the young children she meets. She is craving the social contact and I am glad that it coincides with my need to go back to school. Still, I want her to be in a safe, friendly, non religious, environment.

I should mention that the non-religious aspect is important to me because I want my child to make her own decisions on religion and I would like her to not have it pushed down her throat at a young age. Many religious affiliated daycare centers offer very good daycare. I believe that I may have gone to a non-denominational preschool myself; but I don't remember there being a large focus on the religious aspect just respect for others and respect for self. So, as long as the religious affliated ones aren't doing a great deal of preaching I may be all right with it. Maybe. I'd have to check it out and see how the energy vibes of the place were. If it was like where I went to preschool then I'd be fine; if not, then there is no way I would leave my child in a place that I felt severely uncomfortable.

My other thought is whether I go with a daycare center, or whether I go with a place that moves kids through daycare, preschool, prek, kindergarten...etc. Sigh...

I know that there is no easy way to look into this and there is no easy way to make a decision...but sometimes I would like the easy button for this.

Naps

I don't know what I would do if there weren't naps and naptimes. My daughter has taken to waking up in the middle of the night and being really fussy the last couple of days. I think it's a combination of a few things really: daddy is back at work during the days, and those pesky teeth keep coming in!! *sigh* I'm trying to remind myself that the teeth will come in eventually and those will be the last 4 really hard ones, the rest are molars and we should have a break. I'm also trying to remind myself that she will get used to Daddy not being home and will be able to adjust. Thank goodness she is starting to actually take consistent naps! She never really took consistent ones before, but now she is awake most of the morning (maybe a short nap) and then she has been taking a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon....heaven! That's a long enough stretch of time to actually get something DONE. Before she was taking small cat-naps throughout the day; and boy was it aggravating!

I find it somewhat ironic that I finally find a friend who likes walks, wine, has a daughter, and is a stay at home mom as well....and she and her husband will probably be moved to Columbia, South Carolina (military family) in November. Figures. Oh well, I will persevere, and probably take some classes so I can go back and teach someday. Scheduling that has been interesting since we are also talking about when we want to have our second child. It's coming up...but not quite yet.

New Year...

School Year that is, but because we have such a long break in the summer it does seem to feel like THIS is our New Year rather than January 1st. So, yes, tomorrow morning the new school year officially begins with new teacher orientations, staff orientations, keys being distributed to teachers...etc. Which means that my husband is now off to the land of work again and I'm home with our daughter to play all day. "Play" also being "work" all day; but it's fun work. We might also have another little boy coming to play with us during the days. My husband's co-worker has a little boy about 2 months younger than our daughter...they have already met, shared food, shared beverages, and cried when they parted company. The Arts Department is now joking that if it were a couple hundred years ago they would be betrothed.

I'm actually very excited about the prospect of a play-mate for my daughter, a little extra income for me, and giving my husband's co-worker a break in the cost of child-care. I'm a little anxious because it's two toddlers instead of one, but I'm thinking that really other than feeding (which they should both be starting to self-feed more anyway), changing (they will have to take turns), and being held (thank goodness it's a nice big recliner/rocker) that it will all work out and they will keep each other company and somewhat entertained. We'll have to find a double stroller though; I am NOT carrying toddlers to the park!