Meet the Dr's

So Dan and I went to a "meet the dr's" night at the hospital and got to meet the 8 OB's who are members of the practice I go to. I was relieved that they are all nice and caring people. Lots of people asked questions and some good ones at that! We learned what to do with the first signs of labor, the procedures of checking into the hospital, and some labor and delivery basics.


Needless to say I am VERY glad we live only 15 minutes away from the hospital at the most, (thats a rush hour commute) and its about 7 minutes at other times. Phew. The only time it would take me any serious amount of time to get to the hospital is if I went into labor at school or if I was visiting someone on the south shore (which I may just stay away from in my last days of pregnancy HAHA).

At my last OB appointment I had to have a blood test to check for anemia and check my glucose levels. Both were perfect and I am in great health!

The dr gave me a packet on choosing a pediatrician, which is proving to be a rather daunting task. It's very important to me that the pediatrician understands our views on immunizations and other non necessary medical treatments. I whole heartedly do not think the flu shot is at all necessary. I have had one twice and both times the shot made me ill. Maybe it does protect against the flu, but I don't think the shot is necessary. I also only think antibiotics are necessary when there is an explicit need for them. I cannot stand it when dr's prescribe then "just in case" and instruct you to start taking them only to receive a phone call the next day saying you don;t need them. Its a waste of medication and is unnecessary. The over prescription of antibiotics is leading to more antibiotic resistant diseases. I also think spreading out immunizations is a good idea as well.

I have two appointments in the next couple of months to meet a couple of pediatricians. Hopefully I like the first one!!

28 week update and weekend!!!

This weekend was full of baby prepping! Saturday I did a little bit of running around and got some cute clothes at TJ Maxx and Marshalls. After that I headed over to Target to look for some other baby items and got out first package of newborn diapers and wipes!!!

Sunday I saw Dan's mom and bro and they were super nice and surprised us with a car seat they bought AND they brought over a crib and mattress that Dan's aunt Val bought for us!!!!!

We were (aka Dan and his mom) were able to set it up easily as I stood and took pics hehe!! Im so grateful that Val bought this for us, such a nice and unexpected surprise!!!!!

Where the heck does this go?

Finished Product!!!

I still have to get the car seat assembled, but that should be easy. We also got a baby swing too!!!

In other news, I m now 28 weeks pregnant and in my 3RD TRIMESTER!!!!! FINALLY! phew! It seemed like the 2nd trimester was eternal and I am beyond happy to be in the final stretch of this pregnancy! I am totally ready for her to swith positions into somehting more comfortable...She has been super active and moves a lot but every position she chooses seems to be uncomfortable. She jabs me in the side, or kicks me so I think Im going to see her foot come out, or she is laying sideways so I look HUGE or is making it hard to breathe! 

Baby M this week...

***How Far Along: 28 Weeks
Size of baby: Around 16 inches long and weighs over 2.5 lbs

Gender: Girl!!!!!
Movement: Tons of kicks and prods all the time! She does have her lazy days too... This week she likes to jab me really hard and make my belly feel bruised! ouch baby
Sleep: Peeing a bajillion times a night so I wake up every 2 hours, feeling somewhat rested although I don't sleep much...
What I miss: Wine, sushi, regular clothing, sleeping on my stomach
Cravings: none this week, yet. who knows what tomorrow brings!!!
Symptoms: A growing baby bump, tiredness, frequent bathroom trips, being jabbed in the side.

Moment of the week: Making it into the 3rd trimester and feeling our baby move all the time!

dr appointment

I had an OB appointment today and all is well with Baby M! She is perfect size and has a strong heartbeat! I also had the glucose and iron blood test which I will get results for tomorrow. Hopefully all is well! Its now time to pick a pediatrician. yikes! so I will be making appointments to meet and greet with some of them in the next few weeks.

last week of the second tri!!!

27. weeks. yup.

The last week of the second trimester! (the seemingly endless 2nd tri)

Finally!!

I am beyond excited to be entering the third trimester as the countdown continues for Baby M's arrival!! Just 12 weeks 5 days until my due date!

Lets be serious, but baby M most likely will not come on her due date, so i am guessing that she will come around June 5. I have no real reason why I would choose that date but for some reason it has been stuck in my head for a bit... I have a dr's appointment on Thursday where I have an OB checkup and a glucose test. blech.

I am starting to get a bit stressed that we really dont have ANYTHING for Baby M! I know my MIL and friends are planning a baby shower so hopefully I will get some cool stuff for my princess then!!

Here is the lowdown on Baby M this week

***How Far Along: 27 Weeks
Size of baby: Around 15 inches long and weighs over 2lbs, around the size of a head of cauliflower. 

Gender: Girl!!!!!
Movement: Tons of kicks and prods all the time! She does have her lazy days too...
Sleep: Peeing a bajillion times a night...
What I miss: Wine, sushi, regular clothing, sleeping on my stomach
Cravings: pretzels 
Symptoms: A growing baby bump, tiredness, frequent bathroom trips.

Weekend warrior

All of us in Massachusetts can agree that today has been beautiful and that this week is already looking great weather wise! I could really get used to this!

Saturday was an odd day, I had Jr. Districts in the am which was a pretty good experience. My student was chosen to sing in a select quartet and thus was a "soloist" and was chosen over all of the other kids in his section. I am so proud of him!! He had a great time at districts too!

Later I went to the mall and bought a new summery skirt and a couple of shirts to go with it. My maternity friendly wardrobe is pretty lacking and it is getting difficult to keep wearing my regular clothes. I hate to spend money on maternity clothes though since they are expensive and I probably wont wear them a lot. I can always save them to wear for when we decide to have our second baby. Yes, folks. I promise there will be a second one! (I loathed!!!! being an only child and would NEVER want to make my child live a similar crappy life like that. My parents were great but I think I really missed out on some important things since I was an only child).

In honor of St. Patty's day I made corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes! It was yummy and even the kitty wanted to try...

Sunday, Dan and me went to Donohues for breakfast and it was delish! Then we drove to my dad's house in Plymouth so Dan could get his bike and bring it home for the season. It looks like this week will be really nice and Dan wanted to be able to ride the moto as much as possible. 

After an afternoon of teaching lessons I came home to relax with the kitties and eat dinner with the Hubby!

On to the next week packed with things to do. Obvi I have work everyday but tomorrow starts a new semester at NMA and I am getting 2 new student this week and one of them is an older student! YAY! I did have one student leave but overall I have had the same crop of kids since at least September AND even since I started at NMA a year ago. It is always disheartening to see a student leave, but I know that I am teaching children and they don't always continue even if their lessons are good. 

Tuesday I have to attend a curriculum meeting after school (since I am writing the middle school curriculum in conjunction with the other middle school music teacher). 

Thursday its off to the dr for the first of my bi-weekly OB visits. I also have to have that dreaded glucose test. EW. The orange liquid they make you drink it just so gross...I try to keep it in the fridge and chug it as fast as possible and its not soooo bad. I am sure I will be fine, I feel great, (other than the usual pregnancy symptoms) and I am on target for weight gain (about 16/17 lbs). 

This week I turn 27 weeks pregnant and I finish up my 2nd trimester! Soon its on to the final stretch! 

26 Weeks!

Its blog time again! and that means that I am 26 weeks along! 14 more weeks (or hopefully less) to go!

So I am seeing my OB every two weeks now which means that I am super close to the third, and FINAL trimester! I have an appointment next week and cannot wait! I think being pregnant is the only time I have ever looked forward to going to the dr! HAHA. I love hearing her heartbeat every time and learning more about her progress!

Braxton Hicks seem to be the name of today's game, lol. I had a few, at least I think I did, and they feel like doing an ab workout but didn't hurt! I'm still not super sure what they feel like so I will def. ask my OB next week.

I am all booked for my trip to Ohio in April! I cannot wait to visit Betsy and meet Xavier and and Nick of course!!! It'll be so much fun and it will be great to get the HELL out of Massachusetts for  a little while. It has been more tolerable around here lately as the weather has been phenomenal! I even wore capri's twice and am wearing a sundress tomorrow. We were even able to grill dinner tonight!! Yum!

This weekend is St. Patty's day and we were thinking of having a party at our apartment on Friday but lots of people already had plans so we may need to cancel. boooo. Saturday will be interesting because I have to be at Jr. Districts all day.

weekend woahs

Well this weekend was almost an entire bust. I did manage to book a massage appointment for Tuesday and I got my hair done on Friday. That made the weekend somewhat salvageable.

I am totally loving the beautiful weather but I had to spend all day Sunday inside since I came down with a terrible stomach bug Saturday late afternoon. It started out with a tiny bit of heartburn which quickly turned into some serious nausea. The rest is history. EW. Being pregnant and sick is terrible and 100x worse than being sick not pregnant! It was almost as bad as the time I got Salmonella. I had terrible stomach pains and every other symptom associated with the stomach bug including the chills. I spent the day lounging around and trying to rest. I was finally able to drink water and had a couple of pieces of bread and a small bit of rice. I will attempt going to work tomorrow since I don't have many sick days and I need to save them for when the baby is born, which hopefully she will be during the school year. Like around June 3 which is when I will be 38 weeks. A girl can always hope right?

Also, I am feeling totally huge but I am right on target for weight gain!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Well, I have not only survived but thrived during parent/teacher conferences!!

I had lots of parents come to my class to meet me and say how much their child loved music class! I did have a few who were wondering about their kid's grade too. My goal is to make music as important as the other subjects in my school. We get a lot of attention but the students and parents all think that music is just an extra and it isn't needed.

I do assign "real work" on occassion: worksheets, homework, and classwork, mostly projects but I do give written assignments. We also do a lot of actual music making in my class. Lately we have been playing xylophones and the kids love it! Next is the history of musical theatre! Annie, My Fair Lady, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and The Sound of Music just to name a few!!! Hopefully my little cherubs will want to become little songbirds!

25 weeks part 2, pinterest, and the life of a music teacher

SO as you read earlier, I am 25 weeks pregnant today. I had my OB appointment and Baby M and I are both doing perfectly. I lost a pound from my last visit even though I feel like I have been pigging out! I now go to the dr every 2 weeks! Welcome to the third trimester by the next appointment! I have to take that dreaded glucose test next time, YUCKY! Ew do I hate that sugary orange drink. Last time I had to hold my nose and just chug it. My dr's office tests twice for the glucose, which I think is god because by the time you take it during the 24-28 week mark, you can already have it and testing early can help predict your risk for gestational diabetes. Next time the dr is giving me a packet on choosing a pediatrician and making a few recommendations.

I really like my OB, she is super nice and informative but doesn't talk at you like you are an idiot for not going to med school like some doctors. She addresses all of my concerns and questions every time I see her and I hate when I see the practitioner instead of her (I am supposed to alternate who I see) but the secretary who books appointments already caught me trying to only see the dr lol! I cannot picture myself going to anyone else! Next time I am going to ask her what days she is at the hospital doing deliveries so I can know whether I should be expecting her or not. haha.

I am visiting my good friend Betsy in Ohio during April vacation (5 weeks away!). I cannot wait to see her again and meet her new little baby Xavier AND meet her boo! LOL

Dan has had the stomach virus since yesterday, fml! (men are soooo wimpy, I think I might whine less during childbirth...)

This week is a little crazy because I am giving a few extra voice lessons to make up for vacation week and presidents day. Not to mention progress reports went out Friday and I have parent/teacher conference night tomorrow. UGH! I can see it now...parents asking why their kid of a bad grade and me siting the missed homeworks', bad test grades and low participation scores. Music is a real subject people and your kid is in middle school...its not time to fool around and sing songs and hold hands all day. We learn about theory, play instruments, and sing songs but they are accountable for their ability to do all of the above. Not to say there isn't anything said about effort though...

I can feel the nesting urge coming on the closer and closer I get to Baby M's due date! I NEED HER ROOM SET UP! AHHHHH! I bought a few outfits and a laundry basket and thats it! We are waiting for our shower to make any major purchases. We were VERY surprised at how generous everyone was with the wedding registry so we thought registering for everything we might need other than clothes is a good idea so people have a lot of choices if they want to buy us something. I felt weird registering for the wedding, its like I was asking people to buy us stuff, and I kind of feel the same way about the baby registry but I know it makes things easier for anyone who buys something. I love using other people's registries when I buy for their wedding or baby shower!

I made spicy honey glazed tofu for dinner and it was yummy! I made coconut rice for a side dish and it came out good too. I found the honey glaze recipe on Pinterest, which I am loving more and more.

Well folks, its 9:15 and its time for this mama-to-be to go veg on the couch...

25 weeks and counting!!!

I am 25 weeks pregnant today! Only 15 (more or hopefully somewhat less) to go!!

Baby M has been super active lately, and she moves around a lot! I can feel kicks from the outside and see them too!

I have ab OB appointment later today and hopefully everything is still going well!!

***How Far Along: 25 Weeks
Size of baby: Around 13.5 inches long and weighs over 1.5 lbs AND around the size of a rutabaga (whatever that is..)

25 weeks: Baby is the size of a rutabaga

Gender: Girl!!!!!
Movement: Lots of movement around bedtime and mid day! She is a little ballerina in the making! Not to mention I can SEE her kick from the outside now too!
Sleep: Getting better, she moves a lot and that sometimes wakes me up.
What I miss: Wine, sushi, regular clothing, cheese
Cravings: Fruit, chicken, anything from Anna's Taqueria, chips, watermelon
Symptoms: A huge baby bump! I feel massive already! Sometimes I have an achey back too. I had a nasty leg cramp last night that was NOT fun at all...

24 Weeks!

24 Weeks! YAY!

Even though the day I get to meet my little princess is far away, it is getting closer and closer! 24 weeks pregnant, wow. Im almost in the third trimester and cannot wait to get to the home stretch! 

I have another appointment next week and then I will be going every 2 weeks!

A little bummer with my maternity leave, I can't take one until the baby is born. I had been planning on going on leave at 38 weeks, but I don't have enough sick days and I really can't do it without a Dr's note. BLAH. Hopefully baby M will make her appearance a little early so I can have an extra long summer vacation!

My guess is she will arrive slightly early since she is kicking up a storm in there! It's like she is throwing a bender inside my uterus! I feel so many strong kicks, bumps, punches, and whatever else she likes to do in there! She even kept me awake all Sunday night because she was so active! She is still in about the same position she has been in for a while, head to my right and feet on the lower left. Sometimes she stretches out and kicks straight down! OUCH. 

Whoever said Braxton Hicks are painless and you cannot feel them lied. You can feel them, it feels like you just did an insane one hour ab workout. Not painful, but enough that you know they happen. I had them for about an hour yesterday. 

Oh, one thing I hate about the dr is everytime I go they ask if I have had any contractions, and I always say no. But to be honest, I have no idea what one feels like, im a FTM! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!

Here is the rundown on Baby M this week...

***How Far Along: 23 Weeks
Size of baby: Around 12 inches long and weighs over 1.5 lbs AND around the size of an ear of corn!

Gender: Girl!!!!!
Movement: Lots of movement around bedtime and mid day! She is a little ballerina in the making!
Sleep: Getting better, she moves a lot and that sometimes wakes me up.
What I miss: Wine, sushi, regular clothing
Cravings: Fruit, chicken, anything from Anna's Taqueria, junk food.
Symptoms: A huge baby bump! I feel massive already! Sometimes I have an achey back too.