Baby Class #3: In Which I Burst Forth

Literally. This class was not overly exciting in most regards. We discussed different topics of interest to new parents such as childcare, breastfeeding, circumcision, etc. Everyone tried very hard to participate even though we are all strangers. Then we all sat on the floor and pretended to be in labor. I find it VERY hard not to laugh while we are playing pretend. M does not help in this area because he always makes faces at the most inopportune moments.

No, no, it was not exactly a thrilling class, but one event kept it from being too dull. At this stage of pregnancy, both babies and mommies tend to be growing at a rapid pace. This is true of several different aspects of the mommy and not just her belly. In this case, about an hour through the class, I noticed that my bra strap had simply given way under the, ahem, increased strain. I spent the second half of class trying not let any of the dangling bits escape from my clothing. Not exactly the best way to learn about breathing and focal points. Definitely time to go shopping.

February Food Challenge Reflection

Just a brief note on our February Food Challenge becuase I know you've all been on the very edge of your seats about that one. As you may remember, I was attempting to reduce the huge pile of food in our pantry by only purchasing non-pantry items such as milk and produce. I am happy to report that we did reduce the teetering collection by a good bit. We also managed to save a fair amount of money in the process since so many things were off limits. I think I may eve have learned a few things about not stocking up quite so much. The only failure in this experiment was the fact that we went on vacation for a week in February. This meant we didn't get through quite a much as I'd hoped. Next year maybe we'll give up processed foods for the whole of Lent and see where that gets us.

Baby Class #2: In Which We Hear Angels Sing

We knew this class would go better when we saw that there was actually a teacher in the room. She gave a brief apology for the confusion, and then got down to business. Once again I was struck by how odd it was to be in a room with so many other women in their third trimester. It's not that common to see another pregnant woman outside of the doctor's office, but here we all have bellies of remarkably similar size. We took turns introducing ourselves, and then it was time to look at diagrams.

Our teacher is someone desperately in need of a laptop. She used several poster-sized anatomy pictures in spite of the fact that a projector and screen were all set up. We learned that our babies are already quite large, but that most will still double in size before they are born. We also learned that life is about to get much more uncomfortable due to that extra weight. Then we learned the best, most wonderful thing that she told us all evening.

She had each woman take the chair in which she was sitting and turn it around. Then, she had a straddle the chair with our bellies resting again the chair back. Then, we placed a pillow again the chair back to cushion our bellies. This way we could lean into the chair, rest some of our baby weight again the pillow, and still not squish anything vital. Did that make any sense? Anyway, it felt incredible. The moment we each accomplished this technique, you could hear sighs of relief from all around the room. This pose is SO much better than sitting, hunched up, at computer or desk.

We did several other stretches and poses, but none were as wonderful as the first. When it came time to watch stupid videos, I was still feeling very generous due to the sense relief in my back and hips. However, this video was hard going. Made in the early '90's, it depicted a woman with shockingly bad hair who had decided to have a natural childbirth. She grunted and sweated her way through the various stages as a voice off stage reminded us that we have an innate knowledge of how to deliver our babies. I could see that M's shoulders were already shaking by this point, but then it got far worse. Just as the baby began to crown, a choir of angelic voices burst forth. Personally, I am hoping that no music will issue from any part of my baby during the birth of our child.

House and Senate Whips

Not long ago, as M and I were listening to radio coverage about congress, the subject of majority and minority whips came up. M asked their purpose, and all I could remember was some vague idea about "whipping up" support for the different bills. Then, lo and behold, my old favorite, Slate, decided to do a column on that very topic. I especially like the image of the whip standing in the doorway with a literal thumbs up for the bills the party supports.

Double Oops

I can't believe this happened. Yesterday, I was waiting for a meeting with my boss when I decided to make a run to the bathroom. The ladies was occupied (I could tell by the "occupied" on the knob) so I went to the Men's. I do this all the time since they are single toilet bathrooms in our office. The knob on the Men's read "unoccupied" so I didn't even bother to knock (nobody does).

Imagine my surprise when I got an eyeful of a male co-worker who'd forgotten to lock the door. I was so embarrassed that I bolted for my classroom, and forgot all about my scheduled meeting with the principal. Now my face is red for two reasons! Can haz maternity leaves?

Eight Months and Still No Name

Gah we're getting closer and closer to our big day, but still the baby does not have a name! This is not for lack of trying. We've read a dozen books, visited all kinds of websites, and discussed it ad nausea. Nevertheless, we've come up with no firm decisions. I admit this is largely my fault.

The problem, as I see it, is three fold. First, I am a teacher, so there are lots of names out there I simply don't like. M will suggest a name that sounds perfectly lovely to him, and I will shriek "no!" because that is the name of a kid who drove me crazy one year. Whole lists of names are off the table for this very reason. For example, Brittany (in all its spellings), Nicole, Andrea, Jessica, Michelle, Tiffany, Jolene, Jade, Destiny, Jasmine (again with all its spellings) and many others are simply right out.

The second issue has to do with how common the name is on current baby name lists. I've had classes in which five of the thirty kids have the same name. In our school right now, there is a class (not mine) with six boys named Jacob. I fervently do not want to subject my child to being one of a huge crowd. Therefore, I won't entertain any name that is above about fifty on the Social Security Administration's list of baby names.

Lastly, I'm just plain old picky. I don't want to give our baby just any name. It needs to be strong, elegant, and suitable for both a little child and a grown woman. I keep thinking of her, all grown up, in a serious profession. Could she get by with a name like Daisy or Lucy or Brandee? I do not buy into the "Boy Named Sue" theory at all.

Thus we seem to be stuck. If it were up to M, I think he would have chosen something months ago. I just keep waiting for that perfect name to come to me (on a flaming pie?), and I will know in an instant that it's perfect. Then again, we might choose something, finally meet our daughter, and realize we're totally wrong. I wish, like ten million other baby items, you could order the perfect name from Amazon.com.

Baby Class #1: In Which Nothing Happens

The title pretty much says it all. M and I went to the women's hospital last week for the first day of our seven part "So You're Having a Baby" series of educational courses. There were about twelve other couples with us in the waiting room, and it was quite funny to see how all the women were at almost exactly the same stage of pregnancy. We all had our required two pillows and one blanket.

Then we all just sat there for a while. And then we sat some more. And yet more sitting. No teacher ever appeared. I was actually surprised by how well most people took the delay. Maybe it's true that pregnancy does make you more laid back. Eventually, M got tired of waiting and went to find out what had happened. Everyone back in the waiting room was waiting to hear what he would find out. Finally, we were told to go home. It seems that a scheduling mix-up caused our teacher to not show up. Now we're back on for this week. Fingers crossed that she shows up this time. One friend joked that this was our first lesson: false labor.

Whale Watching in Maui

As I mentioned in my earlier vacation post, M and I have tried to go whale watching in Hawaii before. A few years ago, when we were visiting Kauai, we took a boat ride up the Napali (sp?) coast. The goal was to see whales, but the weather was so rough that we ended up turning back after an hour of very rough seas. This time, on Maui, we set off under perfectly blue skies.

We left the little harbor on our 150 seat catamaran, and not two minutes later we saw a mother Humpback and her calf. They put in a little show for us as they splashed and blew right off the side of the boat. The naturalist on the boat told us about how the mother whales will often swim along with the baby balanced on their nose. This allows them to help the baby through the water, and keep it near the surface where it can take frequent breaths. We got several good looks at the "tiny" flippers and tail of the baby who weighed "only" about 3000 pounds.

Another few minutes of travel brought us to a point where another mother and baby could be seen. These two decided they could do better than the first pair, and they each breached three times. You should have heard the sounds coming from the people on our boat. Each huge splash brought on the classic ooo's and aah's of the crowd. I have to say the first big jump made me leap out of my seat. The nieces were absolutely floored.

It was the perfect trip. We saw dozens of whales, the scenery was incredible, and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Just as we turned back for shore, three whales flipped their tails at us in a full dive. It seemed just like they were waving goodbye.

Truly Thankful

May I please always remember this moment in my life when I am really and truly happy. I know, I know, it's probably just the hormones. Nevertheless, it really does seem as though most things (the important ones anyway) in my life are pointed in the right direction. Life is good. Now let's hope that doesn't tempt fate or the gods too much.

Vacation Aftershocks

It seems one can't go away on a wonderful vacation without paying for it in some form. I'm not talking about money here, but more like karma. Our trip to Maui was not without this type of exchange. We enjoyed sun, sand, and family togetherness, but then, when we got home, reality was waiting in the form of a leaky toilet and a crushed frog.

While we were away our cat and our house got bored without us, and they decided to amuse themselves in different and creative ways. Our cat solved this problem by chasing the small plastic frog habitat off the counter thus killing one of the frog occupants. Either the cat couldn't or wouldn't actually eat the frogs, so the one who retained his structural integrity was saved by our friend, K, who happened to come in at a lucky moment.

That was not the only bit of saving K managed to do for us. The toilet decided to start leaking a couple days before we were to return. She managed to soak up most of the water, so we did not have major damage to the rest of our floors. Poor M had to spend a whole day at home waiting for the hugely expensive (given the tiny problem) plumber to arrive, but now we are back in business.

Thanks again, K, for saving our bacon :)

Maui Vacation 2010

Elder Niece insisted on calling this a "holiday" because that sounds so much better than vacation. She thinks you take a vacation from stress and worry, but you go on a holiday for fun. Whatever it is, we've had a wonderful time. Maui is just as beautiful as people say, and we found plenty of ways to keep ourselves occupied.

The first thing we noticed upon arrival was the open walls in some parts of the airport. Only in a place with truly mild weather could you get away with that. We all met up at the airport having arrived in two groups. It took a moment of standing around and staring before we had it together to find our rental cars. Having visited Hawaii before, I was prepared for the dumb-struck effect. Look at all the flowers! Have you ever seen (or heard) birds like that? Oh my goodness look at the ocean!

In the days since arrival we've found all sorts of wonderful activities to keep us busy. We drove the long (and very twisty) road to Hana on one of our days. This entailed fantastic views of ocean, cliffs, and about 27 different natural environments (thanks micro-climates!). We did have some famous banana bread, and it was just as good as they say. We took 10 million pictures.

Another day was snorkeling, and this was a huge revelation for many of us. Even I, the ponderous pregnant lady, managed to get down to the beach and put my head under the water. It really is another world down there with all the coral and fish. Elder Niece was especially smitten, and I will not forget seeing her bobbing around with several of the others.

Whale watching is something we've tried before, and while out last trip off Kauai was a fun boat ride, we did not see a single whale. This trip was an entirely different story. However, I find that I've run on a bit long, so more on that later. Then we have the beaches. We've visited sandy ones and rocky ones, crowded and empty, calm ones and ones with huge crashing waves. The common thread has been an incredible time. Some of us sat, some of us went crazy in the waves, and I "think" everyone had fun. Nobody got seriously sunburned, and we did not allow ourselves to be caught by that vicious animal known as "the undertoad."

I could go on at some length. The house, the food, the sunsets, the family time was all well worth the trouble of getting there. Now we only face the challenge of accepting that our holiday is over, and we must return to the realities of regular life. Upon getting dropped off at school yesterday, both nieces were in tears. I can't hardly blame them. It's tough to go from a super vacation to the same old same old.

What the ?

Thanks Blogger for posting an incomplete and unedited entry. Whatever gave you the idea to do that? I did not even ask that you include it in the cue as scheduled. If this is some new thing we're doing, I'll have to be very careful about what I save as a draft.

February Food Challenge

This month, M and I have decided to challenge ourselves when it comes to our food buying habits. Instead of going to the market and buying our usual haul of goodies, we have resolved to buy only perishable items such as fruit, veggies, and dairy products. You might think that we were on a health kick or trying to save money, but you would be wrong. I'm sure those things will probably improve, but our main purpose in this has to do with our pantry.

I admit that I do have a pantry problem. I like to get good deals on food, and I also hate running out of things. Therefore, when I see a tiny price for an item I know we will need, I tend to buy it. This is how our pantry got to be one huge and teetering pile. M really tries to combat this problem through organization, but the simple truth is that we have too much. Sometimes, I'm ashamed to say, we have so many items that things actually go past date without my even noticing.

Last weekend we made our first trip to the grocery store while under the "no pantry foods" ban. We only bought about half as much as normal, and it was all fresh and not processed. Meals this week were fairly normal since we did have so much "in stock." Now I'm waiting to see what things will be like by the very end of the month when we've started to run out of things. Maybe that will be when we actually have to eat just the fresh stuff. As long as we don't run out of coffee, I think we'll make it through.

The Joy of Not Doing

This week our school is on vacation. I know that may seem odd for those who are not from around here, but some districts in Washington have a long tradition of taking a week off in February. Some say that this is the grayest part of the year, and so we take it off to go find sun. Others say that it's an attempt to burn out any stubborn flu bugs by keeping kids at home. Whatever the reason, I'm incredibly grateful that we have it this year. By the end of day on Friday, I was seriously dragging.

This week I am going to enjoy NOT getting up early. I will go to bed when I choose, NOT set an alarm, and then get up whenver I choose. I will NOT have laid out my clothes for the next day, and I will NOT go down to eat a pre-selected breakfast. Lunch will also come whenever I like, and I will NOT force down my food in 22 minutes. I will do no hall duty. I will NOT answer 47 questions an hour. I will NOT spend any time talking about indirect object pronouns or the copper shortage during the Sung dynasty. It's going to be great.

Baby Does Kung Fu or Possibly Gymnastics

The other day I was in a serious meeting with, just by chance, a whole group of men. I was doing my best to look serious and dedicated to our topic when the baby decided to have a party. She was kicking and jumping for all she was worth, and it was all I could do to keep from grinning like an idiot. As it was, I wondered if my bouncing belly would actually be noticed. I think my concentration has seriously begun to slip.

It seems like only yesterday that I was noticing the first few butterfly-like nudges as I began to feel the baby move. Now, she's done some serious growing, and her activity level has grown as well. There are times where I am sure she is doing a tap dancing routine or possibly some floor exercises in there. One of my new favorite pastimes is sitting on the couch with my feet up, and watching my belly bounce around. You can actually tell the difference between her small kicks and jabs and a major change of position. A full body roll makes my whole middle move. It feels like, well really, there isn't a comparison. It feels like nothing else in life.

Goodbye Job

A most particular thing has happened. It should not make any difference to my situation, but for some reason, I'm finding it a bit hard to accept. It seems that, after nine years together, my school is breaking up with me. Now it is true that once the baby comes, I was planning to do the breaking up (for a time at least), but I was on the proverbial fence about coming back after one or two years of leave. Now it seems that choice has been made for me.

The administration/union circus came to our school a few days ago and presented about the staffing changes in our building and district. It seems that our over-crowded school will be down-sizing because a new school is opening to take some of the load. This means that about 1/3 of all students and teachers will be forcibly excessed to the new school. You might think that nearly a decade of seniority would be enough to save my position, but no. The “best” part was the way the presenter kept telling us that everything would be “cool and groovy” in the end. Nobody in that room was feeling cool and groovy let me tell you.

Should I choose to come back, I would be guaranteed a place somewhere in the district. That could mean any job for which I am qualified. 12th grade civics anyone? A school nearly an hour from my house perhaps? Even if I did get lucky and end up somewhere close, it would still be a process of starting over with both co-workers and curriculum. Oh well, there is nothing I can do about this for at least one and possibly two years. At the moment I can't quite imagine life without school, but I suppose that will come soon enough.

Tasty Falafel Recipe

Okay, yes I admit that I do have an addiction to The Food Network. I watch cooking shows all the time, but I rarely actually make the recipes they depict. Partially this is due to the lack of vegetarian food, but also it's just plain old laziness. The other night, however, I decided to be brave (and energetic). We happened to have some open chickpeas in the refrigerator, so I thought I might do something with those. At first I checked recipes for Moroccan stews and such, but then I found the perfect one for baked falafel.


Ellie Krieger is one of my favorite TV chefs, and her recipe for falafels did not disappoint. They are light, crispy, and delicious without all the pools of oil you usually find. Two kinds of fresh herbs keep them moist even though they bake in the oven. Not only that, but they were truly easy to make as long as you have a food processor. I'm absolutely doing this recipe again, and I think it will be especially good on summer evenings when you have piles of perfect tomatoes to use as garnish.

Great Quote #495

"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."

(Ralf Waldo Emerson)

Busy Times Round #798

Yeah, I know it's not a new bit of news, but I am not much of one for blogging this week due to much work all around. A week that just happens to be chock-a-block with meetings (more on that later) is also the one where I am trying to grade a huge pile of essays. I'm pretty sure that this is nothing unusual for the time of year. All I have to do is keep my head down and get through. It just seems so strange to think that I won't be doing this at the same time next year.

Fun With Dextrose

Another month means another round of testing for The Hummingbird and me. Our last visit to the doctor included the standard pee test, weight check, and blood pressure test, but it also included two tests that were new for us. The first was a fantastically low-tech measuring of my belly using a tailor's tape. The other was a blood glucose test, and it involved much more than just relaxing on the table.

On the day of the test, I was lucky to get a morning appointment because I could not eat in the four hours prior. My only breakfast for that day was a ten ounce bottle of liquid given to me by the doctor at our previous appointment. I'm told that I was lucky because I got lemon/lime flavor which is supposed to be one of the easiest to get down. Why was it hard to swallow? Because that little ten ounce bottle contained 50g of dextrose. That's nearly twice the sugar per ounce than a can of Coke.

At a certain point, sweet stops being a nice flavor and becomes incredibly disgusting. I will never forget sitting on the sofa, staring down that mug of fluid, and wondering how I was going to swallow it all in the five minute window allowed by the directions. It tasted like... Hmm, I can't really think of a comparison. Maybe flat 7up that has been boiled to intensify the sweet? The empty stomach didn't help, and I nearly lost it all in the parking lot of the doctor's office.

Exactly one hour after drinking the nasty stuff, I was having my blood drawn. I heard a nurse telling another patient that babies who move after getting the sugar rush are the ones who don't have problems with diabetes. That made me feel much better because The Hummingbird was doing a serious dance the whole time we were in the office. In fact, as they tried to listen to her heartbeat with the Doppler, she kept slipping away from them and hiding on the other side of my belly.

It seems that the nurse was right about sugar and busy babies. We got back our clean bill of health about one week later. No gestational diabetes for the two of us! I'm hugely relieved for all the obvious reasons, and also because it means I don't have to drink any more horrid sugar water. May all our future testing turn out as well as this one.