On the Last Leg...

We started our Bradley classes! (natural-birthing classes) The first was mainly an introduction, but full of great information. However, when I REALLY think about being in labor..it's a little scary. I really don't know how I'm going to handle the pain. Hopefully I can find my zone and stay there so I don't feel much--we'll see.

We also met our (3rd) new doc! She's alright--nothing impressive from the first visit, but she'll do. I don't think I could stand searching for another doc. She 'said' she's on board for a natural birth, but I have a feeling she's trained to say that--"whatever you want; you're th patient." Right, until we get in there, it's taking a long time--past your shift--and you want to go home, so you order a c-section. I know how they work. (And yes, they really do that. Crazy stat: highest peak of c-sections are at 4pm and 10pm....when the docs want to go home. Um hm. Scandal.) Anyway, we got a great gift bag from them...lots of interesting books, magazines, a travel bag, a can of formula! Pretty sweet.

We got a surprise baby shower the other night at small group. So great..those girls rock. They made a great dinner, made a huge diaper cake, and lots of great presents--what to expect the first year book, great family frame, clothes, and a shopping cart cover. Love it all! Our downstairs living room is slowly being taken over by baby Felder stuff...and we're just beginning.

Onto non-baby news..at school we have our culture day extravaganza quickly approaching. 10 days. It's been a TON of work--since last summer--but it's finally all coming together. It will be a school-wide event (that's 600+ students and 80+ staff) with 20 countries represented. The students will be in small groups and will rotate through 6 different stations....including such things as Egyptian belly dancers, Indian henna, Japanese tea ceremony, authentic Italian food, etc. I just hope these mostly uncultured students will be respectful....but they are high school students, so there's no telling what will happen. Perhaps I'll threaten to belly bump them if the act up. :)

Update

Well, since the last post--we went to our new doc. She was alright. Nothing special. She's a family doc, which means she's always super busy and it's hard to find an appt. that's convenient for us. I'm still open to finding someone else--although I better hurry! I guess if nothing else works out, Mike can always deliver at home. :) HA!

My belly is getting heavier--and YES, I know I have such a long way to go. But I'm ready for a personal carrier now. But, I'm thankful to be healthy thus far and still moving. I still seem to amaze my students when I jog down the hallway or squat-sit in class. Mostly, they think I'm crazy..but that's been their opinion since day 1. I just remind them that I could be boring like some of their other teachers--then they have some appreciation for my crazy antics.

I found a sweet store last night thanks to my sis in law--Children's Orchard. Check to see if there's one near you--it's nationwide. They buy and sell kids clothes. But they're very particular about the condition of the clothes--no stains, tears, parts missing, excessive fading, etc. Anyway, last night they had a special to stuff as many clothes as possible into a small gift bag, and you get it for $5. We arrived an hour and a half early and were first in line. (These moms are serious!!) But it was worth it. I got 25 items for $10. Not bad. Can't wait to find more deals there!

Today is supposed to be spring-like. Can't wait. I'm going to find lots of things to do outdoors.

Hodge Podge

It's a new year! Yeah, I'm a little late--but it's my first post this year. Lots of things happening....

After our fun ultrasound, we went to our last appointment with our doc. Yep, she moved. Awesome. So we were on the 'hunt' (which includes looking at a list, determining which are females, and choosing at random) for a new doc. We found one. We have an appt. with her this Friday. The #1 question was if she was ok with natural birthing. (aka she won't push me and push me and push me to get an epidural as I'm pushing and pushing and pushing) I hope we mesh! I really don't want to keep 'hunting'...

We registered for lots of fun things. That was overwhelming. Babies R Us and Target in one shabang. Babies R Us was far more flabbergasting (could've just made that up). An entire store dedicated to babies? Please. I think I was most shocked at the amount of OPTIONS within each category. Really, people? Let's narrow this down. But, lots of moms helped me out by letting me know the must-haves and the have-nots. Definitely helpful.

I've been feeling lots of things going on inside my body. From random pains to the moving and shifting of muscles and organs to random puke episodes, it's been a wild 2 weeks. But I just attribute everything to the little guy. I'll keep assuming it's all normal until I'm told otherwise...I guess. And, I can feel him kicking and punching, too! Pretty fun. Mike tries to feel as well...he says he can't tell the difference between the pulse in his hand and the kick. Ha. It feels WAY bigger to me...I guess that's a good thing.

Well, off to grade some papers before hitting the grind of school tomorrow. Gotta love being a teacher...love the breaks, hate all the extra work involved.

And the baby is....

A boy! We're pumped. Both Mike and I were thinking it was a boy the whole time. I guess parent's intuition is already kicking in! The ultrasound went well..minus the uberly full bladder. I really thought I was going to explode before I even got in there. And even the nurse commented, "whoa, your bladder is really full." Yeah, lady--trying to follow directions. However, I thought I was going to have to hold it throughout the entire appt., but thankfully she just needed to see through the ol' bladder for a few pics. Relieving.

So..the fun begins with looking at what stuff to buy! I've been trying to be patient to find out what we have before we went crazy with registering. I can't wait to buy all the cute clothes! Mike said our kid won't be wearing cute clothes...he'll only wear shoulder pads (football) and a diaper. Typical Mike comment. Poor kid. What will be hilarious is Mike will be the one going crazy when baby first arrives. We just witnessed this last night with Tyler and May's new baby boy, Jackson. Tyler was all over that kid. Love it. By the way..between Jackson and our son (whoa..I'm having a son. sorry..reality check), that's 2 out of 5 for their dream basketball team. I'm pretty sure those boys are going to be best friends...whether they like it or not!

Nieva!

I get to enjoy snow day #2 of the year. Oh, the joys of being a teacher. We work hard, but we definitely have the best breaks and vacations ever. However, because of this snow day, now my students have to take a 1/2 of their finals the day they get back from Christmas break. Stinks for them! But, gives them more time to study for my hard final. :) High expectations, right?

Baby news: Almost 18 weeks. Still can't feel anything. Sometimes I think I can, but it's probably just gas. (Never in my life have I been able to feel gas bubbles move through my intestines...weird.) I get a headache of some sort almost every day...some make me hurl. Amazing. I'm hoping that ends sometime soon. We scheduled the sonogram for the 30th. A fun post-birthday present for me! We're hoping to find out the sex, but also know a) they could be wrong or b) the kid could be all coiled up and we can't see a thing. But I really want to know so I can start shopping for things!

I turn 25 in 12 days. Sounds a little old.

oooooo baby!

Oh, and here's a pic of the belly thus far...after a cookie and big glass to juice..

Well, time for a baby update...since I haven't given one.

I'm 16 weeks (4 months for you non-math peeps). That's not even halfway.

We went to the doc yesterday. She uses this cool device to listen to the heartbeat. The last time, it was quite easy to find--and it was about twice as fast as an adult's. This time, she chased the kid all over my abdomen...for real. It took her 5 minutes (long time to lie there with cold jelly on my belly and a random doc rolling a device all over me) to get the kid to sit still long enough to hear its heart! I thought it was hilarious...however this could be our hint that we're going to have a wild child. Haha. still so cool to hear...

And we scheduled our sonogram for the end of the month!! So excited to find out what we have inside! Although, not excited at ALL about drinking 32 oz. of water an hour before the appointment...and holding it. I guess they need to see through the bladder. Who knew? Yep, I'll definitely be doing the potty dance in the waiting room.

I'm turning 25 in 24 days. Weird.

I thought the 50's were over?

Apparently not. It's just different now. Now it's not derogatory, it's funny. But still painful.

Racial comments. Evil.

Surprisingly, Michael and I haven't experienced really any of these. Just a few extra stares when we were in China. Unfortunately, I got the worst one yesterday from one of my students. Even worse? Others joined in, like it was some joke. I hear the kids call each other names all the time--however they try to justify it by saying if you're of the same color and say such names, it actually means the opposite--you're buds. How twisted can this get? I try to draw attention to history with some of these names..as well as the pure fact that it's inappropriate and derogatory to put someone down in any way! Of course their young, high school minds just don't get it yet. Plus I'm sure some of their parents go along with some of this language. How do I know this? I called home on the student who named my baby and she acted so nonchalant, like it wasn't anything new. However, I did receive an apology from the student today.

Am I required to have thick skin just because I'm a teacher? To some extent, yes. I didn't let this one sink too deeply--he's immature and doesn't understnad the depth of hurtful words. I just hope he learns sometime soon. However, he paid his consequence today. I can't let these things keep happening...at least not in my presence.

50 years later and the switch is flipped....yet still disgusting.