Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was October, 10th, I turned 27! I had school most of the day with a math exam at 10am-10:50 and then a ten minute break, and then at 11am I had an Anatomy & Physiology exam. I was oh so excited for them!

Later on that evening however, I did go to dinner with my Dad, and his girlfriend, Sheryl. We went to the Silver Salmon, and I had a very nice dinner, I ate it all!

James was in Tacoma working, but we spoke on the phone several times, and he sang Happy Birthday to me over the phone, it was very cute!

I am 27wks along now and am able to feel Teagan move a lot. He seems to be quite active at 10am during Math class. He pokes me and I poke him back, and tell him to "settle down in there that I am trying to pay attention" and that he is distracting me....my friend Kelli, and classmate, can sometimes even see him move under my shirt., he is getting strong! James says,"well at leased the kid will be smart!"

Movement

So this is my tummy. Yes, my belly button is starting to change shape, which is weird. I have been able to feel Teagan move for a while now, but James is now able to feel him move too. Teagan is active still in the evenings and that is nice because then James has more of an opportunity to feel him. Teagan's head is on my right side and feet are on the left, seems like he is stretched out across my belly. It is so nice that James is finally able to feel him move! It definitely makes it more real for him now too!

I started school this week, which I was nervous for. I am always a bit anxious when starting up again. So far, I've made it through half of the first week. 11 1/2 weeks to go! My fears of going to school this term is that I will be going into fall term, which is always intense, and start of my third trimester. I am worried that I will begin to get tired and not be able to dedicate myself enough to studying. It is important that I do well, to better my chances of getting into nursing school, which I am applying for this Spring. I am taking this term Anatomy and Physiology, Math, and Psychology. These are all challenging classes and I want to make sure I can do well with this class load, and make a baby!

Nerves

As I am making my way through finals week, I can't help but to think that by the end of this week I will be finished with summer term, and we'll know what the sex of the baby is. I find it to be nerve racking, scary, exciting and still a little in disbelief. Thursday will be the big day if he or she cooperates with us and isn't shy. James and I have names picked out, well let me rephrase that, we have had a boys name picked out for quite some time and recently James came up with a girls name. So now we are set, and are just waiting to put one of them in use.
I went to Portland a few weeks ago to go shopping with my mom to buy some new clothes, which I always enjoy, but this was a little different....Maternity. So I was able to find lots of clothes, racked it in at Motherhood Maternity, but now I have a pair of capris that are already feeling tight! Guess I'll have to get used to that!
I'll be posting the results from Thursday's appointment, so look forward to that!

New Beginning!

So for those who don't already know I moved back to Oregon to be closer to my family and to pursue my education. Back to school I went. I am attending Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Or. It is hard to focus when I am sitting in class overlooking the Columbia River, watching the ships go by. I signed up back in December for winter term, and I am starting all over with school, guess I should have done it right the first time around...I am looking at it as I am trying to pursue my second career, nursing. Most of you know that I moved to California after high school, to the bay area, quite the eye opener, small town girl moved to the big city. I enrolled in a community college and got my EMT certificate and stared working for American Medical Response (AMR) at the age of 20. This was not my first experience on the ambulance though, at the age of 17 I joined the Medix Ambulance Explore Post and fell in love with medicine and helping people. Not many people at 17 know what they want to do, and I did! So Off to work I went in Santa Clara Co. I met lots of wonderful people who I believe is my second family, and we really are a family down there, watching out for one another! I loved the interaction with the patients, nursing, doctors, firefighters, and the police. Although, we (the "ambulance crews")get let out of all the media, and they "thanks Doc for saving my life" when the Doctors just stand in the ER room giving out orders, but where were they when we are standing on the freeway in the hot sun beating down on us and cars zooming by, ignoring the fact that we are there, or in a ditch, or in someones dirty home? No disrespect to the Doctors, but we know how to do our job, and basically have to know just as much as you do just with out all the years and years of schooling. Most of the Doctors have never been in the back of an ambulance or come with us on calls to see what we have to put up with....family, friends in our way or trying to help yelling at us to "do something" what do you think we are doing? Picking flowers? No, relax. We have to lay down on the dirty ground, someones dirty floor, bathroom, three floors up stairs, where the doctors get to work in a clean sterile environment asking someone to raise the bed so that they can intubate...hello? See the difference?
After 6yrs on the rig, I am ready to move on, to become a nurse. Better benefits, better pay, a sterile environment, lots of room for growth! I can be a nurse anywhere, ER, OB, Geriatrics, Peds, surgery, flight, cruise, traveler...see? I am working part time in Portland, Or for AMR, but it is just not the same as it was down there. I don't feel as connected to my co-workers, not to mention the 40% pay cut! Yes you read that right! Ridiculous!
So I am just starting out again to get my prerequisites completed, and trying to get decent grades, not only because I usually am a "C" student but because the nursing program is so competitive! All this talk about the "need" of nurses but then they make it very hard to get into a program. Dumb. I think that they should say who ever wants to be a nurse line up and take the classes and see if they make it. For me, I have more "people smarts" then "book smarts" so how does that reflect on school? It is hard for me, not only because I am dyslexic, but because I am more of a "hands-on" type of gal.
So one term down, many more to go. This winter term I took, a 100 level Anatomy & Physiology class to prepare myself for the three terms of the 200 level A&P, I took a nutrition class, and Chemistry, which I was scared for, but I ended up really liking it. I got two "B's" and an "A". Next term I will be taking the second term, 100 level A&P, Microbiology, and pre algebra...yeah for that! not really though.
Wish me luck! ~Laurel