An Ode to Citrus...

If a day goes by without orange juice, it makes me very sad.

If I could eat 10 grapefruits a day I probably would. The only thing holding me back is the price, not the fact that it would probalby make me quite ill to eat that much grapefruit.

I like citrus fruits more than chocolate right now.

Thank you Lord for citrus!

Most Embarassing Moments..

Embarassing moments. We all have them. Some of us get over them quickly, some of us (ahem myself) play them over and over in our heads hoping somehow the moment will no longer exist. Well I wasn't going to post this, but it is kind of funny and silly, so I will...

So one night 3 weeks ago or so, I was itching really badly in my upper middle back. It was driving me crazy, but I didn't think much of it. Until I reached up and felt a weird, raised, circular bump. So I looked awkwardly in the mirror and freaked out because it looked like a very large spider bite. I should say we have tons of spiders in our apartment and are constantly fighting them through bug treatments the complex offers, and we are pretty sure some of them are poisonous. So I called my mom and she didn't know what to do so she said to call my midwife. Which I did, and she didn't think it was anything to worry about, but didn't know anything about spider bites and so sent me to the ER to get it checked out just in case.

Bad time to go to the ER. It was 8:30 on a Weds night when we arrived. Shouldn't have been too bad, right? Wrong. It wasn't packed, but when it took 2 hrs just to get triaged, I knew it would take forever to get treated. Basically to make a long story short, by 1:30 am I was a cranky pregnant woman who needed to sleep, and none of the other 10 people in the waiting room had been taken in over 2 hours. Plus I didn't feel anything besides itching so I figured it could wait til the next day. So I asked a nurse inside to be discharged (ok so maybe I cried a little too), and she wasnt too worried since I had no other symptoms,but still begged me to stay to make sure everything was ok since I'm pregnant. So I waited on a random bed in the hallway waiting for the doctor (only one on apparently...at a metropolitan hospital. Craziness). Two hours later, I see him for a total of 1 minute and am quickly diagnosed with.........ringworm. Thats right, just a fungal infection, easily treated with some antifungal cream. The worst part is, I totally know what ringworm looks like having raised sheep: I've even had it before.

Got home at 4. I was exhausted, Paul was exhausted. What a crazy night. Ugh. How embarassing. I would be more embarassed if it werent for the fact that all the nurses, midwife, etc. kept telling me to stay. But ya, thats my story. I went to the ER for just ringworm. Go me!

Moral of the Story: I don't know... don't get ringworm? Don't go to hospital if you are only itchy?

But in more pleasant news, the ultrasound was great (I am sure most people reading this already saw pictures). It felt so euphoric to see our little baby moving around and wiggling on the screen. And so nice to know that he looks healthy right now. Paul is very excited. He has grand plans to turn him into a little carpenter and surfer. So much fun thinking about the future!

Long time, no write

Oh dear its been a while since I posted anything. I have been in shock from the beginning of school and trying to keep track of eight different classes and my part time job. On top of that Paul and I have been sick so things have been a little crazy. I am excited about my classes though, and get to learn lots of new exciting things and get lots of hands on experience. Here is a little peak into my semester...

-Principles of Instruction/Curriculum Design
-Measurment in the Behavioral/Health Sciences
-Applied Behavioral Methods (basically a class learning a statistical analysis program, luckily I learned it in undergrad)
-Spanish for Healthcare Professionals
-Prevention of Mental/Behavioral Illness and Mental Health Promotion
-Intro to Epidemiology (Epi for non-epi people)
-Intro to the US Healthcare System (another required core class)
-Community Needs Assessment

Its probably way too much, but I would rather get a lot of units done before the baby comes. Then I should only have 3 or 4 classes left to take before I can graduate. I am really excited about being a stay at home mom when the baby comes, and I don't want to be in too many classes after that. But anyway I am excited about this semester. I may even get to design a curriculum for the SBC public health department as an assignment for a class, possibly with Avian Flu preparedness for county employees and doctors in the area.

So what will I do with all this school work? I really don't know at this point, or know if I will even use it in the next ten years. But when else would I do it? At the very least I would be really happy consulting part-time for non-profits in our area, even if it meant getting paid very little. Maybe I could help them conduct needs assesments and design health education curriculum? Or just help them evaluate their programs. I don't know, but I don't feel too stressed about it, if God wants me to use it, I will.

Baby News: Paul and I are getting really excited for next friday, Feb 9th! Our ultrasound is that day and we are really hoping we can find out the gender and start calling this baby a name besides "It". Hopefully baby isn't too shy. We also want to see the baby move around and see if he/she is healthy. I certainly feel the baby move around all the time now. It's such a pleasant feeling, too bad it can't stay so pleasant. Anyway I definitely can't wait until next friday!

Pregnant News: Feeling great. Going through massive transition into crazy-hungry woman. While I hadn't gained more than a couple pounds total, I think that will have changed at our next prenatal on Monday. I have mostly just grown around the waist. I think it grew 2 inches in 2 weeks which is nuts. It feels so stretched and Paul and I are in disbelief at its rapid growth. The rest of my body has not changed though, so my clothes no longer fit and maternity pants are annoyingly baggy. I would post a picture, but its from a week and a half ago and it just looks completely different. I am still getting exercise by walking to my shuttle, but I am definitely making up for it! Its also been freeezzinngg, so I feel like a bundled rolly poly walking outside in the morning. There may be ice storms tonight...

Anyway thats all for now. When I stop being embarassed about it, I will tell a really dorky story about going to the ER last week....

TO BE CONTINUED!

Late Night Worries

Its funny the things that keep you up at night. I mean its normal to worry about becoming a parent and about your baby, but tonight I am up with the strangest concern...

How do I dress a baby for 90-95 degree heat with 90% humidity when he or she comes in the summer?

I mean, if it was freezing like it was today (35 when walking to school) I can totally picture bundling up a little newborn in hats and a warm jumper with booties. But 95 degrees? Thats hot, I don't even know how to dress myself for that weather. Ick. I guess I won't be outside that much anyway, but what if I have to walk to the grocery store or something? What about going outside in general? Ok I guess just a tshirt onesie (is that what its called?) will work just fine and I can gauge how the baby responds. Or just not go outside until late October.

This is ridiculous, the baby will be fine. Women in Ghana walked around with their little babies attached to them with a cloth outside all the time, and it was the same weather as summer in Atlanta. Time to get sleep.

Accomplishment

What is accomplishment? Accomplishment is making your first genuine, vegetable-full, home-cooked meal in 7 weeks without puking. I made Chicken Tortilla soup with lime, and I was even able to eat it. And enjoy it. NO GAGGING INVOLVED. Someone call the presses.

I could get used to doing this cooking thing again.

A visit to North Carolina and a change of weather...

Thanksgiving weekend Paul and I had the pleasure of visiting my Aunt and Uncle and two of their kids from Florida in N. Carolina. They had gone up to Murphy, North Carolina and stayed at a beautiful little cabin in the quickly-dying Appalachians. Whereas a few weeks before the trees were burning with oranges, reds and yellows, most leaves had dropped or faded to nearly brown, leaving bare, tall, skinny trees. However it was so beautiful to get up into the mountains with all its peacefulness. My Aunt and Uncle invited us to come stay with them, and we quickly agreed, it was only an hour and 45 minutes drive! (Did you know Georgia borders both North and South Carolina?)

We stayed in a cozy little cabin Saturday night and Sunday spent a long day fishing in one of the many rivers. It was so much fun! It had been a long time since I trout fished. My Aunt is great at it (as is my mom). My Grandpa and Grandma loved to fish and taught all their kids. They went up to the Eastern Sierras every year when their kids were little and spent a whole month there. When they retired they spent a third of each year as campground hosts near Big Pine. They loved it, staying all summer in their motorhome; fishing, chatting with vacationers, watching kids play, and making friends with other yearly visitors. It was so sad when they could no longer make the drive, no longer meet the host duties. My Grandpa died a year and a half ago. It was nice to fish and think about him. He was probably fishing too, but with a much greater fisherman.

Anyway we each caught a fish, Paul and I each caught a 9 or 10 inch trout (they each looked like they could barely feed a child). But my Aunt caught a big 16 inch trout. It was even a brookie, a native species unlike our rainbow trouts. It was great fun (though under 30 degrees in the morning!) However I will admit I am bad with catching fish. I am afraid of them. Don't ask. When I caught my fish I started screaming as it flopped about near my rock and I nearly dropped the pole. (Similar reactions occur when I try to snorkel. I just don't want them to touch me). Needless to say I didn't help eat the fish. It was a great trip though, beautiful, relaxing, and great to hangout with family. It was like breathing after holding my breath in the city. I am so not a city girl.



P.S. the weather has changed. There were definitely some 80 degree days in Nov, but now its been 20 degrees when I walk the 2 miles to my shuttle. Brr! Baby is cold!

Of OB's, Midwives, and Hospitals...

So I've never been one to be scared of hospitals or doctors offices. I am more fascinated by them. I have even had the mother-of-all hospital experiences---- overnight in a developing world hospital. I was in extreme pain, the nurse didnt speak much English, and I am still unsure of what they hooked me up to (although I think it was morphine, all I know is it certainly felt good). So giving birth in a cushy hospital in the public health capitol of America should be fine right?

Well now that my next major hospital stay will involve my little baby, it seems so much scarier. Wil they do everything right? Will I know how to do anything right? What if my midwife is mean or weird? What if they do something wrong with my baby? Ahh! So many unknowns I can't really control. Its always a little scary to put yourself in the hands of others.

I do like the hospital though and the office we went through. We are going through the Emory clinic that has both OBs and midwives who work together at the hospital. Paul and I are going to go through the midwife/group program. Instead of just coming in once a month for a one-on-one appointment, you meet monthly with a couple midwives and a few other couples due in the same month as you. They do all the check up stuff still, there is just more time to ask questions and recieve more education as a group. I've really liked the midwives I met so far, so I think it will be a good way to go. The hospital we will give birth at is Emory Crawford-Long hospital, one of 3 hospitals Emory owns. It is in the middle of downtown, which kind of scared me going there for a checkup. It was so big! But everything is newly-renovated and the Labor and Delivery floor is supposed to be nice. The hospital rooms look like bedrooms instead of scary sterile hospital rooms, they encourage you to walk around a lot and take baths and use alternative methods of pain control (still not sure about the epidural though). There is even a couch for daddy there and in the recovery room.

Wow, I dont think Ive ever spent so much time analyzing a hospital or doctor group. It doesn't help being in public health. I have extreme criticisms of medical establishments, especially OB-related ones, because I have access to all the research about evidence-based medicine, what works and what doesn't. I am also really interested in health literacy and whether doctors and nurses make their care/instructions/demeanor accessible for those with limited literacy skills or limited understanding of health and healthcare.

Case in Point: Foods you shouldnt eat during pregnancy. At no point in time during any of my checkups was information given to me regarding foods that are and arent ok to eat during pregnancy. Of course I know this information because I obsessively examined pregnancy websites and books. But many people dont know things like unpasteurized cheeses and deli meats are potentially harmful. If you dont have books or access to the internet, how in the world would you know that? Assuming patients have access to that information (when 1/4 of Americans have difficulty reading above a 4th grade level too) is dangerous and irresponsible.

Anyways, there is my rant for the day. I am done. I know I am being over critical, and perhaps oversensitive. This is why I shouldnt blog, I just ramble on about uninteresting things.

Here is a link to the hospital, we are so excited yay! (As Audrey said, "I am not going to want to come back to Marian after giving birth here")
http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/departments/maternity_center/index.html

Well I am off to attempt to make some thanksgiving foods: Chocolate pecan pie, buttnernut squash roast and stuffing. This is my first attempt cooking in a while... maybe I need a clothespin for my nose :)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!