All Parts Included!

Today we had our anatomy ultrasound (i.e 20 week one). As Jason said, "it was the most amazing 30 minutes of my life". It was pretty exciting to see Nugget moving around and know all his parts are there.

HIS PARTS???

Don't read into it. We told the tech we didn't want to know the gender, so we were not told. She knows and said if we ever change our minds, it's on record there, but does not go on my chart. I still think it's a boy, so I'm going to refer to Nugget as a he.

Nugget has all toes, fingers, limbs, chambers of the heart, kidneys, etc. All my insides look good as well. She said the placenta is in the normal spot and shame on the midwives for calling it previa that early on. Phew!

She took many, many shots of Nugget, but only gave us a few. How babies develop and grow is absolutely amazing to me. I told her I haven't felt any movement yet. She wasn't surprised and shared based on the position of the placenta, it might be a few more weeks for Nugget to kick through to the point where I feel it.

I feel so relieved that Nugget is "perfect" as far as the ultrasound would show. Now it's time to register at the hospital, paint the nursery, and finally allow myself to be excited that we are going to have a baby around May 24th! (she confirmed my due date is right on).

Anatomy Ultrasound

Someone HAS to be right!

The midwife today said she thinks we're having a girl after listening to the heartbeat. Amy- it's 155-160. Keep in mind last time we were there, that midwife (different than today) said a boy.

The anatomy ultrasound is next week! We're really hoping no one slips and we can keep this as a surprise.

My guess- a boy. I don't have any reason why except I want a boy first to look after his younger sister(s). Just like how Jason looks after his younger sister (excuse me while I choke on my water)

Maternity Clothes

Today I gave in and bought my first two maternity items. As someone who has stayed the same size for the past 10 years, I don't see the need to buy new clothes every season. This was convenient when I changed schools every year or two. Now that I've been at RP for 5 years, I'm realizing I've been wearing some of the same clothes for all 5 years. I'm positive my students are noticing.


I'm in a little bit of denial that I have to purchase clothes. I've done all the tricks- the hair band to keep my pants closed and belly bands. While both are still working, I felt I needed to get a pair of jeans I can at least zip! I bought jeans today that solve the belly issue, but now they are too long. Oh the joys of being short.


I'm quickly realizing I'm on my own for maternity clothes. I was hoping someone would offer me some of theirs, but no such luck. When I asked some people I either hear, "oh, my stuff will be too big for you" or "so and so already has my stuff". Lovely. And my students thought they saw the same stuff year after year... wait until they see the same outfits day after day. Let's see how long I can stretch out (no pun intended) my normal, possibly 5 years old clothes, until I have no choice but to spend money on new clothes.


Some of you must think I'm nuts for not relishing the opportunity to buy new clothes. I really dislike shopping. I have to try everything on and then it's too long, too tight, would look better on someone 6 feet tall, etc. I usually leave empty handed and with a lower self-esteem. I wish I was a little bit taller (I wish I was a baller... I wish I had a rabbit in a hat with a bat...)

If any petite females feel sorry for me after reading this post and want to help a fellow shortster out, holler!

Preparing for Parenthood

Jason and I are starting to plan for the nursery. Jason's boss recommended a great baby store in Gaithersburg for furniture. We made the hour plus trek yesterday to Great Beginnings. It looked a tad shady on the outside, but inside was just what we needed. They had the furniture set up in painted, decorated rooms and all the supplies were ORGANIZED appropriately. I Hate Babies R Us with a capital H. I have been there numerous times to buy shower gifts and the layout never makes sense to me. Maybe it is our store on ghetto route 40, but it has totally turned me off to that store. Great Beginnings was GREAT! They even have a men's lounge that plays sports for Dads that need a break from stimulus overload :)

We spent 2 hours there talking with the owner about how to pick our furniture, what's important, etc. We got lots of decorating ideas and talked with him about what we could do with cathedral ceilings. We did not purchase anything yet, but we do have 3 sets we like and narrowed down the decor to 3 colors schemes.

After taking the Washington Beltway home... for anyone that has been on the road know how exhausting that is in itself, we were pooped. I had a horrible headache all day and Jason was starving, so we picked up subs and headed home.

As I am frantically getting the subs on the table and getting myself hydrated, Jason calls to my attention a blood trail through our house. As Parker struts into the kitchen, we quickly realize it's him. Keep in mind my head is throbbing, Jason is ready to faint he's so hungry, and now our dog's paw is bleeding. Once we pinned him down, we discovered the bottom of his paw (that black stuff that reminds me of the bottom of shoes) was torn. Uh, what do we do?

We had a ton of gauze from when Jason sliced his finger, so we quickly wrapped Parker's paw to stop the bleeding. Taking him to our vet was not an option. It was after hours, so the emergency vet was our only hope. I had a student's parent tell me years ago to let your dog die instead of taking them there. This parent is a millionaire and was still angry about how much they charged him to take his dog there. Sorry Parker, we had to figure this out on our own.



Poor Parker, he was limping around not sure what to do with his leg wrapped. We cleaned up as much of the blood as we could find and snarfed down our sandwiches. We were also out of our dog friendly carpet cleaner, so now we have toxic chemicals on our floor for him to lick.



As Jason and I grumbled at how unfortunate this situation was, I realized we are in for a rude awakening with kids. My headache and hungry level doesn't matter to them. If they throw up, we need to put everything aside and deal with it. I had one of those, "what are we getting ourselves into?!" moments. All we wanted to do was lay on the futon and watch our Netflix movie.



Parker has been a champ. Since he likes to lick his paws, we figured it was time for the lampshade. When we're not around to monitor him, the lampshade has to come on.




When we take him outside, we put a baggie over his bandage to keep it clean. He hobbles on 3 legs until we get to the street then he realizes he should just put his 4th paw down. It breaks my heart slightly.


Let's hope Parker's paw heals quickly! He's off to grandma's house on Christmas Day. He'll want to be lampshade free by then.

I'm a firm believer that dogs prepare you a tad for children. He has slowed down our social life & travel plans, emptied our bank account, and taught us to love unconditionally even if his eyes look unattractive. Parker will always be my first "child". For those people that don't have dogs- he is NOT "just a dog". Yes, I refer to Jason as "Daddy" and would never put Parker in a kennel. I am that annoying dog owner. I'm a push over when it comes to disciplining Parker. As Parker jumps on people and barks away, that's our fault. We didn't train him properly. I remind Jason periodically that we CANNOT raise our children this way. We might have spoiled, unruly brats. So we'll call Parker the spoiled first child. We hope to do better with our next! Thanks Parker for teaching us how to be better parents

First Snow

Today was our first measurable snow in Maryland. Here are the given events when this occurs:

1. At least one student will point outside and say "it's snowing!"
2. Traffic will be at a standstill
3. Schools will close
4. People will flock to the grocery stores for TP, eggs, and milk
5. Our street will be a mess


What really happened:

1. Kristin was "that student" for my 12:05 class.

2. It took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home (usually 25 minutes). It took me 1 hour to go 0.5 miles. I could not get to the highway fast enough. Our school is at the top of a hill, so one of the roads down to the highway was iced over and therefore closed. It was a nightmare. It took my friend 45 minutes to go to the other all girls' school TWO lights from our school.

3. Schools closed early, not mine of course

4. I went to Costco last night- I'd say by the lines at the gas station, people were planning for a big snow

5. Once I turned off route 40, each road got progressively snowier. Then the jack pot- our road untouched and horrible.


The good news- tomorrow is a half day and my LAST school day in 2010!

I am 16 going on 17

"How old is your daughter?"

"15 months"

This response always frustrated me. Why not say she is 1? I didn't understand why moms said ages in months. It's not like I say I am 358 months old. At what age do we move from months to years?

Now that I'm pregnant, each week number means a lot to me. Wow, 12 weeks. That was huge. 16 weeks sounds even better. Word is spreading among the students and more of them are saying congratulations and asking questions. Of course, the top two are when are you due and what are you having. I automatically say ____ weeks since every week is so important to me. Most students respond, "how many months is that?" Ok, so the tables have turned. Teenagers want months, not weeks. Can I remind you that I teach MATH. Hearing my students struggle with dividing 16/4 makes me cringe. I teach PreCALCULUS to these girls. Sigh.

I have been so consumed with making it to the next week, that I haven't realized I am 4 months pregnant. I'm not sure whether 16 weeks or 4 months sounds better. My pants are definitely getting snug. Co-workers and students comment they see a baby belly. I don't see the cute baby belly yet- more like a thicker waistline or some muffin top when I have on non expandable pants.

16 Weeks a.k.a 4 Months

2 disclaimers:

1. I am NOT sucking anything in.

2. Cameras add 10lbs.

I don't think I look pregnant yet. This picture is a little deceiving.

Going Beyond Western Medicine

I'm not a sickly being. I rarely used my health benefits beyond annual well exams. I quickly found out how frustrating health insurance companies and western medicine can be when I started having issues.

Exhibit A: 2 summers ago I had a strange GI issue. I felt as though there was some bigger issue going on, but no, I was referred right to a GI specialist. When I tried to piece together why it happened, no one listened to me and said there was no way it could be related to x. Not to mention the receptionist at my PCP was RUDE to me every time I called.

Exhibit B: When I went for my physical this summer I told my PCP I had a miscarriage. It was recent, so I cried when I told her. She immediately she I was depressed and wrote me a prescription for an anti-depressant.

Exhibit C: My insurance will pay for me to get anti-depressants but will not cover therapy or acupuncture. Go figure.

Exhibit D: A good portion of my students take some kind of medication to help them focus.


What is happening in our "western world"? Let me tell you how to focus- DON'T JOIN FACEBOOK. Turn off your cell phone, TV, and I-Pod. DUH! Our doctors are so overworked that they just solve our problems by giving us medication. No one has time or cares to look at the bigger picture and give us a plan for how to live a healthy life (or at least I haven't found the right doctors yet). My insurance company follows suit- they support you if you take medication, but don't if you look for alternative medicine.

Deep breath, Marisa

Enter acupuncture

I LOVE acupuncture. I love that my acupuncturist actually read over the 4 pages of medical history I wrote down. How many times have I called my mom to ask her the medical history of our family to fill out those papers sent to me before my visit- MANY. Then the doctor doesn't even acknowledge anything I wrote on there. I digress.... My acupuncturist CARED about everything that has ever happened in my life. Score.

I think the whole idea of acupuncture is fascinating. Chinese medicine has been around a LONG time and back then they didn't have all the fancy smancy equipment we have these days. Yet, they know how to stop migraines, turn a breeched baby, and fix many heart and digestive diseases. Why doesn't everyone do acupuncture and why did no one suggest this to me years ago? Oh, that's right, we just go right to the pills.

My acupuncturist listens to my "pulses". Our body is made up of meridians and she treats me based on my symptoms and how out of balance I am. I've gone 4 times and she has put needles in my head, stomach, legs, feet, and back (not all at the same time). She burns a spongy type substance on my stomach, feet, and back. I love that she is listening to my symptoms AND listening to my body and treating based on the entire picture. As someone that dreads getting blood drawn, the needles are tiny and I rarely feel them. You are laying down so you don't even see them going in.

Why am I doing acupuncture? I want to know that I am doing everything I can to keep this pregnancy. She treats my anxiety, my racing mind when I lay in bed, any pregnancy symptoms, and overall puts my body back in balance. I feel so much calmer inside, my negative symptoms haven't made an appearance in a week, I sleep soundly every night. I feel more in control. As I progress through my pregnancy, she will continue to assist me. Like I said earlier, she can make the baby turn for delivery, induce labor if I'm overdue, lessen my back pain, and keep me sane!

I HIGHLY recommend acupuncture. If you are not getting answers for some illness or issue, acupuncture may be able to solve it.

Doppler to hear heartbeat $20/month
Therapy $115/week
Acupuncture $85/week
Dog sitter so I can go to these weekly appointments $10/day
A happier and healthier Marisa - EXPENSIVE (thanks Carefirst for your lack of help) but hopefully worth it :)