School is fantastic.
I've got lab tomorrow, so this will be fast. We're learning the basics of taking blood pressure -- totally exciting. I've been practicing and learned that it's definitely harder than it looks.
Life is good. A few things I've learned about being pregnant in while in college:
- There's absolutely no decaf on campus. Like, none. And the two pop machines that sell Diet 7Up or Diet Sprite never work. College kids aren't looking for caffeine free, except me.
- Being sleepy is totally normal on campus. Hooray for that. Even though I'm not too tired these days it's nice to be among other sleepyheaded people.
- Taking nutrition class, learning basic nursing skills and pathophysiology makes me pretty excited to have a little one. I'm eating well and happy to be working hard at baby-growing. Plus I'm pretty sure this little person will let me practice skills on him or her.
Yup. We're expecting. A baby. In March.
This is pretty exciting. And so far it's been smooth sailing by all accounts. My blood glucose control is tops -- thanks in part to B's dedication to checking my continuous glucose monitor frequently, careful meal-planning and my dedication to eating spoons of peanut butter for protein.
We're psyched. It's a little scary too and even scarier if I start thinking about the logistics of a newborn arriving during my 16-month accelerated nursing program, but it's awesome. We'll plan and if our plans change, that's cool. It'll work out. Babies, I hear, have a magical way of making things work.
Currently the plan is for the baby to bounce right along with me in nursing school. By March I'll be in class less and in clinical settings more. Hopefully I can bulk up my clinicals before the baby comes, or bulk them up after the baby is settled into our lives. Other people have had babies in nursing school without going crazy, so can I.
We're very slowly cleaning out our extra room so there's space for a baby and a minimal amount of baby stuff. I'm trying to eat well and pop goodies in the freezer for crazier times as we go. I'm taking life a little easy -- more naps, earlier bedtime, and packing good lunches.
I'm getting pretty experimental with non-alcoholic drinks. Right now I'm sipping a seltzer water with a dash of elderflower syrup (from Ikea). I've been tossing everything in sight into seltzer -- grapefruit, pineapple, berries, fresh mint, and lime. And I've got minty sun tea ready to simmer in the morning.
We'll continue to post about how things are going with this growing baby-to-be. And, now I'm off to whip up some peanut butter toast. Somebody's hungry.
It's just mid-day and we're already rocking out the productivity of our Labor Day Sunday.
This is excellent news -- tomorrow we're headed to the Cubs game with the Criners!
So far today...
- I've listened to two pathology lectures! And taken good notes. (I'm a total note-snooper during class and I seriously question some people's note-taking skills! Notes are critical, at least for me -- writing means learning.)
- B has tidied up and let the cats play in the backyard.
- We turned off the air-conditioning because it's a delightful 70 degrees out.
- My school area is becoming a little happier -- less junk, more order. I filled up my toolbox with pens and supplies - it's a perfect desk topper.
- We planned meals for at least part of the week! Victory over "snack nights" and evenings where we resign ourselves to eating cereal at 9 p.m. instead of cooking.
We're also taking a walk, stopping at the grocery for some bread to eat with baked tomatoes, and relaxing with some breezy movie watching later! Happy Labor Day weekend!
Nursing school has been great and incredibly overwhelming. I feel more assured that this is the right direction for me and that Loyola's accelerated program will be a good fit for us.
I'll admit that my to-do list is a mile long. I've got no idea how to organize all these calendars with assignments, projects, skills labs, papers and exams.
I finally settled on a notebook system -- a big notebook for the two big classes (Pathophysiology and Foundations), a 3-subject notebook for the less intense classes (Nutrition, Wellness & Community Health, and Intro to Professional Nursing) and an old legal pad for my research course, which is almost completely online.
My uniform, stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (BP cuff) arrived today.
We're settling into school life at home too. I take the train with B in the mornings, we pack lunches after dinnertime and this weekend we've got big plans to stock the fridge with even more goodies for school/work. Now, time to study!
The photo here is not snakes, but purple green beans (they turn green when you cook them). We tossed those in tonight's stirfry. Delicious.
