So the News is Out

We've made the big announcement. I'm pregnant! 6 weeks pregnant in fact. I've known for a couple weeks and went to the doctor for a blood test Thursday before last on the 10th. However, my doctor said my hCG was low because I was so early and she wanted me to retest in a week. So I went back the next Thursday, the 17th. I was scared, but I waited the week and went back. I knew the hCG should double every 2-3 days so as long as it had double twice in that 7 days I was comfortable making the announcement. It was 94 on the 10th. When I got back my levels from the 17th my hCG was almost 3000!! It doubled almost 5 times in 7 day!! So now everyone has it in my head that its twins. I'm trying not to freak out, because I don;t go back to the doctor for an ultrasound to see until the middle of March. That's a long time to freak out :)
As you probably know, hCG is not the only pregnancy hormone. Among the others is progesterone. Mine is a little on the low side so I'm having to take a supplement. But I know several people that have had to supplement and have had healthy pregnancies so I'm not too worried about it. Its not ideal, of course, but as long as I get a healthy baby in the end, that's fine.
I also have some other news that isn't as great. I had to drop my nursing class. I just can't do clinicals when I'm puking my guts out. So I dropped it. I hope to pick it up next spring and finish in 2013. I have a back up plan in the mean time that I will blog about later!
Big brother Cooper is very excited! He insists that he is having a little sister and too tell you the truth I hope he's right! Of course, I had be happy with either a boy or a girl, but it would be nice to have one of each!

Nursing School: An Update

Things have been hectic. I have class Tuesday- Friday and we cover 2-3 different topics each day. We end up with about 15 different topics per test ranging from Legal/Ethical aspects of nursing to Pharmacology. Its a lot to absorb in just 2-3 weeks. Plus instead of just regurgitating information like on every other test I've ever taken, the questions make you apply and actually use the information. Instead of "The definition of antibiotic is..." we have to answer things like "A patient has a temperature of 102.3 and has an elevated white blood cell count. The medication most likely to benefit this patient would be..." Of course this is a simplified example but you get the idea. It makes it harder. Memorization doesn't cut it anymore. I have to know it and be able to process it and use it in real life situations. On top of lecture we also have skills check-offs. These cover things like hand washing, vital signs, physical assessment, and giving shots properly. We are given a list of steps and must perform them and explain them in front of an instructor. And of course there is clincals. My first day was Friday at a nearby hospital. First of all I parked in the wrong spot and had to go move. After that it went pretty well. It was only orientation though so I will know more about how I'm going to like it next week when I will actually be giving care.

I've done fairly well so far. I'm not used to making B's but I can deal with it. Its definitely tons of work but I think when its all over with and I can get a good job and keep working towards my IBCLC, it will be worth it.

Today...

Has not been a great day for my anxiety. For a number of reason. First, I have missed a couple of my Zoloft this week. That does not help at all. Second, today was the first day of my summer semester and that brings A LOT of stress. To top it all off, my professor from one of my online classes wanted his class to email him to confirm our attendance. So I did, but from my person email, not my school account. Well, that wasn't good enough for him. Guess what? My school account has NEVER worked. I have never gotten even one email to successfully send. I sent one though. I just hope it sent :/ In the middle of this little personal crisis, Cooper was playing by himself and being quiet. Great, right? WRONG! I look over and he has put my mp3 player in my glass of tea and is splashing around in it! Well, I was going to use that mp3 player tonight to record my lecture class. UGH! So I tried to save it, but it just wasn't happening. I took it apart and took a hair dryer to it, but it was ka-put. So what did I do? I took it back... I had just bought it like 3 days ago. Yes, I know. I do not need a lecture on the Ethical nature of my decision...

I admit that I took out my anxiety on Cooper more than I should have today. I usually don't do that. I take it out on everyone else, but not him. I put him on the couch while I cleaned up his mess, and then tried to continue with email crisis. He kept finding something to get into. So what did I do? I put him in his crib. Which he hates. He SCREAMED! And I ignored him. At least for a few minutes. My mom heard him and got him out of his crib. As soon as she brought him back into the living room, he crawled up in my lap to nurse. So she took him to get a milkshake while I solved my crisis. I have apologized profusely to him since I have been home and he seems to have forgiven and forgotten. I hate anxiety. And I'm sure Cooper does, too.

Did I mention I have added several classes since I last updated you on school? I don't think I have. When I last told you the classes I would be taking classes was just class. Now it is classes, as in 4. I am taking A&P II (online), Sociology (online), Strategies for Nursing Success (online), and Abnormal Psychology (lecture). I had my first Abnormal Psych class today and so far I really like the instructor. He is funny, and even though it is a 4 hour class, it did not drag on like I thought it might. That makes me feel better about it.

GRADES ARE IN!!!

Grades were supposed to be posted yesterday by 10 AM. They weren't. They still were not posted today at noon. I just checked again and FINALLY they are posted!

All A's! Even in Anatomy! I'm impressed with myself :)

IT'S OVER!!!!

My first semester came to a close today. I thought I would be relieved, and for the most part I am. But, also, I don't know what to do! There is nothing hanging over my head that I need to get done! Cooper keeps me busy, but I'm usually juggling Cooper and working on something. I've kinda forgotten how to just relax with Cooper. I only have a month until summer semester starts, so I will barely have time to get used to this new found freedom until there are assignments hanging over my head yet again. Grades will be posted on Monday. I will post them for you as soon as I know myself :)

In other news, Cooper is a ball of energy lately. He is running EVERYWHERE! He has forgotten how to just walk. He is also opening doors by himself which scares me. Today, he heard my Papaw start up the backhoe. He ran to the door, opened it easy as you please, and walked right out. This scares me for 2 reasons. (1) He can open doors by himself, and (2) he is not afraid of heavy machinery. He will go right up to Papaw and demand "buden, buden." We will be making a visit to Target tomorrow for baby proofing stuff for the doors. We will have to work on the not-running-up-to-heavy-machinery thing.

Ugh.. Mondays...

So yesterday was Monday. I'm not a fan of Mondays because it is one of the days I have to go to class. Not that I don't like class, it's just that I'm not a morning person and said class is at 8 AM. No fun at all. Yesterday, while getting ready, I had only one pair of jeans clean. (I admit it: I'm a slacker when it comes to laundry.) So I put the clean jeans on. They are my favorite jeans so it was no big deal. I'd just force myself to do laundry after class. Cooper woke up and shouted for "boob," so I nursed him some before I had to leave. About a minute after he crawled into my lap, I felt something warm and wet on my legs. I picked him up and sure enough, I had a big wet spot on my ONLY PAIR OF CLEAN JEANS! His diaper had leaked. Ugh. So I put on my sweat pants, change his diaper, and go on my marry way. The life of a mother....

An Update on School

As you all know, I started college in January. In March, I applied to the nursing program at the college I am attending. Last week I went to talk to my advisor about the classes I should register for in the Summer and then in the Fall because registration starts today! This summer, I will be taking an online course through RODP for Anatomy and Physiology II. Then in the fall I will start my nursing courses! Technically I will not know if I was accepted to the program until sometime in the next couple weeks when they mail the letters; but, my advisor informed she is on the admission board and implied big time that I was in :)

My grades so far are good. Even Anatomy isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Don't get me wrong; it is hard, but not too bad. It just requires more effort. The first of next month, I will know my final grades for this semester and I promise to let you know what they are. Even if I'd rather not. But hopefully that won't be an issue.

I just finished the most awful paper ever. It was on Ethics. The fact that it was on Ethics is not what made it awful. What made it awful was the fact that my professor was so vague about what kind of paper he wanted. He said, "This paper is about the Greek tradition of ethics. Here is your book with the most boring, long, rambling chapter about the Greek tradition. Now write me a 3-5 page paper." Ok, maybe that isn't exactly what he said but close enough. Oh well, its over now. My paper has been sent to my lovely friend for editing and even though it is not my best work, it will have to do because its all I could do.

In other news... I blew up a lasagna today. It was sitting on the stove and I turned an eye on to make tea. I turned the wrong eye on though and it happened to be the one under the lasagna. The smoke alarm went off and Jerry and I went to the kitchen to see why. I saw a smoking lasagna and a red hot eye peeking out from underneath it. I turned the eye off and Jerry told me to move back while he moved the lasagna. I turned to step back and hear a huge pop. The pan exploded when he touched it. Thankfully, he wasn't seriously hurt. He had a few cuts on his leg that bled a little and a scrape/burn on his arm. We cleaned it up, but where the glass from the bottom of the pan that got so hot landed, there are burns in the linoleum. That floor is going to be replaced with hardwood soon anyway though so its not a big deal. It sure was scary though! We won't be having lasagna again for a while!

I took pictures but they will have to wait until tomorrow because, to be honest I just don't feel like transfering them tonight.

Balance

As you all know, I started college this week. My first day in class (Wednesday) went great. I think I am really going to like my instructors. The only downside is I have to disect a kitty cat in March and go to The Body Exhibit in Atlanta, GA. It is cadavers positioned in different was and opened up so you can see their muscles and such. I'm not all that excited about seeing dead people on display. I know some people give there bodies "to science", but do they really know what that means?? I find it distrubing, but that's just me.

Anyway, getting to my point. How do you balance a baby and college? I knew it would be hard when I had the baby. I knew it would be hard when I started college. But how do I find the balance? When he is crying for Mommy and I have a paper due, what do I do? He definately comes first in everything. But this is all for him; to make his life better; to be able to give him more. So how do you find the balance? Just a thought.

Happenings in Our Household This Week

I officially started college this week! I have 2 online classes, Composition 1 & Psychology; a video course, ethics; and Anatomy and Physiology lecture & lab on campus. I think I am going to like online classes. They allow me to stay with Cooper while still going to school. My worst fear starting college was miss his toddler years and the online classes help alleviate that some. I don't have my first actual class until Wednesday, but I have oreintation for my video course in the morning...

Speaking of in the morning... Cooper's first birthday party is tomorrow! (Later that afternoon of course!) I have been prepping the food all day! I made my very first cake FROM SCRATCH! This cake will be Cooper's and I ordered a Pooh cake from Walmart. I'm just not artistic so I didn't attempt that. Maybe next year ;) I will post pictures of the party when I get a chance.

The Future

I wasn't going to blog about this until I was completely sure, but I put the plan in motion today so here goes.
I have finally decide what I want to do with my life (career wise). I was planning on taking a 6 week course and getting a certificate in phelbotomy(taking blood). It wasn't that I was so interested in blood and wanted to pursue this as a career. It was something I could do fast and start earning money to help support my family.
Well this week I rediscovered a career that I had thought about before but never seriously. I started reading the blog of someone who is also pursuing this career and it suddenly occured to me: that's what I need to do!
Ok, I've kept you in suspense long enough. Next semester, barring any unforseen circumstances, I will be starting at a local college getting my RN. After I get this degree I will be working towards becoming an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). An IBCLC assists breastfeeding mothers. They may be employeed by a hospital, pediatrician's office, or may be hired privately.
I am so excited to start to work towards this. I know it will be hard, but it will be worth it in the end to be able to provide for my family with a job that is rewarding and I will enjoy. I would definately appreciate your prayers as I start this new chapter in my life :)