Friday, July 15, 2011
Best served hot
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The work dilemma
To work or not to work (outside the home that is)? Ok, well it's really a matter of do I work full time or stick to the two part time jobs I've got (National Guard and Life Time). One of my co-workers at Life Time is also her church preschool director. Not really expecting the response I got, one day I asked her if she was hiring any teachers anytime soon. She said yes! An hour long conversation ensued about my qualifications (I have 2 years of early childhood ed schooling and was previously state certified as a preschool teacher with that other awful company). She was sold and asked me to come into her office to discuss the job further. Today I met with her and, honestly, would love the job. It's a before and after school care program, the school being 4 hours of preschool, so I would work 7-9 in the morning and again 1-5 in the afternoons. With prep time it's about 35 hours a week but some weeks would end up being less. The school runs on the same calender as the local schools so there are plenty of holidays and summers off. The pay's not bad for a preschool teacher either. Originally she even said she'd be ok with me bringing Sophia (or Evie or Lex) into work with me if I needed to.
So what's the problem? Well, today she seemed less than keen on the idea of Sophia being there, which I completely understand. The youngest kid at this preschool is 3 years old and she's not sure licensing would be on board with an infant being there. However, because of the schedule she would want me to work, the kids would end up in daycare from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm on the days Shaun was out of town (4:30 pm when he's around). The older two would be ok with the longer days occasionally but there's no way I want Sophia in someone else's care 11 hours a day even if it is just when Shaun's gone. Also, the weeks where I'd end up working less that 35 hours we'd at best be breaking even with what we owe daycare. Essentially I'd be working for free. Lastly, what happens if I am accepted into nursing school? I'd be starting in January and she's looking for someone to work the entire school year.
So I'm not entirely sure what to do. The extra pay a full time job would bring in (although I'd only bring in about $1000 per month after daycare costs) would be nice to have. I'm just not sure about all the other stuff. Shaun wants me to treat all decisions we make as if he's not going to get selected for warrant officer and I don't want to plan my life around the 'what ifs' of nursing school. Annnnnd...come January I'll be getting Shaun's GI Bill ($1300 per month) if I just stay in school. So really we'd only be short my income for 4 months if I don't take the job. Argh!
What would you do?
Sophia Jayne, 7lbs 1oz
On the morning of May 31st I woke up at about 3 am with a very bad back ache. So bad that I wasn't able to get back to sleep. I walked around our bedroom, leaned over the bed, swayed, etc...pretty much everything I could think of to get the baby to turn. I figured she was facing the wrong way and I was having contractions - both together causing my back pain. After about an hour she did seem to settle into a better position and I started having regular contractions anywhere from 4 to 12 mins apart. None of them were bad but I couldn't get back to sleep either. Around 6 the entire family got up for the day. We finished some last minute prep as I figured our little girl would be coming today. I headed out for my midwife appointment at 8.
At my appointment I was checked and found to be 3 cm dilated. Since I had been contracting all morning Fern (my midwife) offered to hook me up to the monitors and see about breaking my water to get things going. I agreed and called home so Shaun could get the kids dropped off with my sister and meet me at the hospital. Around 9 am Fern broke my water. Unfortunately, my contractions just about stopped at this point. After about an hour and a half they started up again. We walked the halls, rocked in the chair, bounced a bit on the yoga ball, etc. Closer to noon my contractions started picking up in intensity. I shoo'd everyone (Shaun, my mom and my MIL) out the door to grab some lunch while Fern came back to check my progress. Sadly, I was only at 4 cm! The rest of the afternoon the contractions continued on anywhere from 2-6 mins apart, increasing slowly in intensity. As 3 pm, and shift change, approached I requested to be checked again (I wanted my current nurse to place an IV if I needed one since everyone said she was the IV guru and the last time I have an IV it took 5 tries). I was only at 5 cm. At this point Fern suggested a small dose of pitocin. She figured I'd go from 5 to complete in about an hour with the pitocin. I said sure, but I was definitely getting the epidural first.
Que the the IV fluid push for an hour. Then the Dr showed up to start the epidural. Not going to lie, the experience getting an epidural was worse than the contractions. He tried numbing my back first but I felt everything as he had to try twice to get the dang thing placed. By 4:30 the epidural was in place and only slightly working. It took a minimal edge off the contractions on one side of my body. Seriously, I should have just continued it all natural because then I could have at least been out of bed. The pit was started at 4:45 and by 5:15 I sent everyone off for some dinner so I could try to relax a bit. The atmosphere in the room was just a little too intense for me to handle and I wanted everyone gone. Considering I also started to get the shakes, I should have noticed that I was hitting transition. By 5:30 the contractions were back to above pre-epidural pain, I was shaking uncontrollably through each contraction, and I felt "gassy". Letting my body push a bit felt good during the contractions. I didn't actively push, since I was completely alone in the room, but I didn't stop the slight pushes my body was doing either. After the water birth I had with my last baby I was afraid of the pushing phase with this one. I wanted to labor down as much as possible so I was in a bit of denial that I should probably call for a nurse.
At 5:45 Fern showed up anyways and said "I think you're ready to push, let me check." Sure enough, I was about 9.5 cm with a little lip. Now I freaked because everyone had just left for dinner! As they were getting the room prepped for delivery Shaun, my mom and my MIL returned. Go time! Two contractions into pushing Fern had me reach down and feel the baby crowning (I had asked her to tell me when - so cool!) and on the third contraction I got to reach down and lift her up onto my belly! Sophia Jayne was born at 6:15 pm May 31, weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. It was my longest labor, shortest delivery and smallest baby. Her cord was short so she stayed on my belly until Shaun cut the cord. We took a few pictures and cuddled while waiting for the placenta. It finally delivered and was so tiny, about the size of Fern's hand with her fingers extended. It had also started to calcify. Fern said she was glad we had decided to break my water that day. Shaun took Sophia to cuddle a bit while Fern repaired a very minor tear that I had at the sight of my previous tears. Afterwards Sophia came back to me and nursed for an hour straight. We're in love.
At my appointment I was checked and found to be 3 cm dilated. Since I had been contracting all morning Fern (my midwife) offered to hook me up to the monitors and see about breaking my water to get things going. I agreed and called home so Shaun could get the kids dropped off with my sister and meet me at the hospital. Around 9 am Fern broke my water. Unfortunately, my contractions just about stopped at this point. After about an hour and a half they started up again. We walked the halls, rocked in the chair, bounced a bit on the yoga ball, etc. Closer to noon my contractions started picking up in intensity. I shoo'd everyone (Shaun, my mom and my MIL) out the door to grab some lunch while Fern came back to check my progress. Sadly, I was only at 4 cm! The rest of the afternoon the contractions continued on anywhere from 2-6 mins apart, increasing slowly in intensity. As 3 pm, and shift change, approached I requested to be checked again (I wanted my current nurse to place an IV if I needed one since everyone said she was the IV guru and the last time I have an IV it took 5 tries). I was only at 5 cm. At this point Fern suggested a small dose of pitocin. She figured I'd go from 5 to complete in about an hour with the pitocin. I said sure, but I was definitely getting the epidural first.
Que the the IV fluid push for an hour. Then the Dr showed up to start the epidural. Not going to lie, the experience getting an epidural was worse than the contractions. He tried numbing my back first but I felt everything as he had to try twice to get the dang thing placed. By 4:30 the epidural was in place and only slightly working. It took a minimal edge off the contractions on one side of my body. Seriously, I should have just continued it all natural because then I could have at least been out of bed. The pit was started at 4:45 and by 5:15 I sent everyone off for some dinner so I could try to relax a bit. The atmosphere in the room was just a little too intense for me to handle and I wanted everyone gone. Considering I also started to get the shakes, I should have noticed that I was hitting transition. By 5:30 the contractions were back to above pre-epidural pain, I was shaking uncontrollably through each contraction, and I felt "gassy". Letting my body push a bit felt good during the contractions. I didn't actively push, since I was completely alone in the room, but I didn't stop the slight pushes my body was doing either. After the water birth I had with my last baby I was afraid of the pushing phase with this one. I wanted to labor down as much as possible so I was in a bit of denial that I should probably call for a nurse.
At 5:45 Fern showed up anyways and said "I think you're ready to push, let me check." Sure enough, I was about 9.5 cm with a little lip. Now I freaked because everyone had just left for dinner! As they were getting the room prepped for delivery Shaun, my mom and my MIL returned. Go time! Two contractions into pushing Fern had me reach down and feel the baby crowning (I had asked her to tell me when - so cool!) and on the third contraction I got to reach down and lift her up onto my belly! Sophia Jayne was born at 6:15 pm May 31, weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. It was my longest labor, shortest delivery and smallest baby. Her cord was short so she stayed on my belly until Shaun cut the cord. We took a few pictures and cuddled while waiting for the placenta. It finally delivered and was so tiny, about the size of Fern's hand with her fingers extended. It had also started to calcify. Fern said she was glad we had decided to break my water that day. Shaun took Sophia to cuddle a bit while Fern repaired a very minor tear that I had at the sight of my previous tears. Afterwards Sophia came back to me and nursed for an hour straight. We're in love.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
I'm baaaaaaaaack!
OMG this blog has sat unused for almost a year! Eeeeks!
No more! I'm going to start posting again. I promise. No, really, I will.
So, what has happened in the past year you ask? In short, a ton. In September of last year I got pregnant again and on May 31st our newest addition joined the family. Sophia was born at 6:15 pm, May 31st, 2011 weighing 7 lbs 1oz at 20 inches tall. Lex is now 21 months old and ever much the typical boy. He's into anything rough-and-tumble, anything mobile (cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, planes, etc), and anything food. He's talking up a storm with full sentences (his first sentence being "I love you", directed at me of course!). He spends most of his days doting on his sisters, playing with or tormenting Evie. Evie, on the other hand, is fast approaching 3! She's potty trained, ever inquisitive (I here "why?" 100 times per day, I swear!), mothering, and a total girly-girl (nothing dirty touches her without a fit ensuing, lol).
Non-kid related...I attended school full time again in hopes of getting into nursing! Still working on that, but kind of in a hold pattern at the moment with applications submitted but no decisions reached yet. I enlisted into the Army National Guard again, got a job at Life Time Fitness, and may be headed back to work as a preschool teacher this fall. In January I totaled my car and then got a van (works so much better for 3 full sized car seats). Shaun's still working like crazy. He's submitting his application to become a warrant officer. If he gets it we're headed to active duty and moving around this time next year to who knows where. I'm excited about that and welcome the changes it would bring.
Anyways, that sums things up in as few words as possible. Here are some
recent pictures of the kids:
The day Sophia was born
Loving big sister and big brother
Daddy reading a bedtime story to his girls
Summer time fun
Or not so fun
Sophia napping
Evie on the kayak
Lex on the kayak
Our sweet Sophia!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Quick update
Both kids have started daycare! They both also seem to love it. The only downfall is that Lex is NOT sleeping at daycare. Yesterday he only napped for 30 min the entire day. Ouch! Made for one heck of a rough evening/night. I love that they are getting so much socialization and structured activity. I've been feeling like a failure of a mom with regards to actually teaching them anything only to feel much better since they started at daycare. Lex is right on par for where he should be and Evie actually seems ahead! Her teachers are impressed with how much she talks and how much she knows. She goes around the room naming animals, shapes, colors, etc. They're impressed by her recognition and correct naming of most animals, colors, and shapes! She also attempts counting (though only correctly counts to 2, lol). As predicted, she's the most talkative in her class.
I, unfortunately, threw out my back during day 2 of officer candidate school. I'm now home, signed up for physical therapy, and am looking at restarting OCS next June. School starts for me again in three short weeks, I've signed up for volunteering at a local hospital, and I'm looking for part time work. Shaun's work has been just as crazy as usual, but, happily, he's not out of town this entire month!
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