I hate how unbelievably slow my internet is in my bedroom, yet I still come here to write blogs. It is perhaps a more intimate space. How I am feeling is resolute. I pledge this semester I will not stress about work. I will stay on top of my grading by creating LESS work for myself now. I will "stick to the script" and not do anything beyond the minimum requirements. I will cease to overachieve. Those are the goals anyway.
In terms of the semester and how it relates to my pregnancy:
Week 11 - Aug 19-25 department meetings
Week 12 - Aug 26-Sept 1 weekday classes begin (semester week 1)
Second Trimester
Week 13 - Sept 2-8 *no classes Monday, Labor Day Holiday (semester week 2)
Week 14 - Sept 9-15 (semester week 3)
Week 15 - Sept 16-22 (semester week 4)
Week 16 - Sept 23-29 (semester week 5)
Week 17 - Sept 30-Oct 6 (semester week 6)Week 18 - Oct 7-13 (semester week 7)
Week 19 - Oct 14-20 (semester week 8)
Week 20 - Oct 21-27 (semester week 9)
Week 21 - Oct 28-Nov 3 (semester week 10)
Week 22 - Nov 4-10 (semester week 11)
Week 23 - Nov 11-17 *no classes Monday, Veteran's Day Holiday (semester week 12)Week 24 - Nov 18-24 (semester week 13)
Week 25 - Nov 25-Dec 1 **no classes Thurs & Fri, Thanksgiving Holiday (semester week 14)
Week 26 - Dec 2-8 (semester week 15)
Third Trimester
Week 27 - Dec 9-15 ***Final exam Weds, Dec 11th (CHEM 100 from 10:15AM-12:15PM)
Week 28 - Dec 16-22 ***Finals week ends on Tuesday, Dec 17th
Week 29 - Dec 23-29 ****Grades are due by Monday, Dec 23rd
I tagged this post "beauty" because I can finally see the "pregnancy glow" starting and the acne and dry skin starting to recede. I have had some ups and downs lately with my symptoms. This past weekend I felt really good, but then on Monday I crashed and burned. I had an all night-all day (24 hour) migraine that was really a bummer. Being pregnant is a challenge because I can't just pop a few pills or take whatever I want to ease the symptoms. I have to be really "in touch" with my body and just feel the pain and take appropriate action (just rest). So I spent all day yesterday in bed.
I had my first "teaching" related nightmare last night. Nothing unusual, just showing up to class unprepared with a stack of papers in a folder all crazy (not organized) and no syllabus, no lesson plan, just chaos. So I will try to spend this afternoon on syllabi. Very kindly my department has assigned me the same schedule as usual, 5 different courses, which will be keeping me busy. I plan to eliminate as much homework (grading) as possible so that my "outside of class" workload is minimal. I have spent a few years trying to do what is best for students, and my department threatens me because I was so far outside the norm, so now I will do as they ask and do what is best for me.
I had great dreams about buying an iPad this summer and learning how to use Explain Everything and make my lectures great, but it didn't happen. I don't even think I will use PollEv or Sli.do for in-class polling. Let someone else do that work, I'm going to use the slides from the textbook and just be as boring as possible. The only problem is that for SCI 100, there is no textbook and no slides. So I plan to just make that class a discussion every day. I am giving up on taking attendance and making food for the students. They can come if they want or not.
I added "bikethevote" and "climate change" because I'm really sad that my fellow cyclist and CSUN professor Loraine Lundquist missed the LA City Council seat by just 2% of the votes. Considering having a baby and raising him here in the valley, I am more motivated than ever to get local change here. More bike lanes! Better transit! Human-scaled street designs! We attended two transit-related events in August (1) regarding the light-rail through the Supelveda Pass (2) regarding the North Valley Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). There were so many people there just to show their outrage about these projects, it's just sad.
On a more positive note, we spent some good quality forest bathing time at the LA County Arboretum, Bee Canyon Park, as well as O'Melveny Park in the Santa Susana Mountains of Granada Hills. I found Bee Canyon and O'Melveny completely by chance. I was at Trader Joe's and zoomed out and drove to the nearest large patch of green on the map. I love the way we had such a wet year that all the trees and plants are blooming like crazy and there are tons of butterflies. When the early-morning weather is in the low 60s and the forecast is not above a high of 85, I rush out into nature and get my 30 minutes of "light walking."
I have been weighing myself daily. The weight has been pretty constant over the past month and a half. I guess that's good. Our last ultrasound was just last Friday (Aug 16th) and baby was measuring 10 weeks 6 days. The fetal heart rate was 165 beats per minute. My estradiol level was 2520 pg/mL and the progesterone was 24 ng/mL. I was cleared to stop all medications (except prenatal vitamins of course). I am still taking Vit B6 for nausea and Vit D.
I learned some acronyms from reddit:
FTM - first time mom
TIC - today I cried
NIPT - noninvasive prenatal testing
cfDNA - cell-free DNA
REI - reproductive endocrinology and infertility
NT - nuchal translucency
As far as I understand, next Monday (8/26) we will have the NT scan with a perinatologist. The following Wednesday (9/4) I will see my obstetrician for NIPT blood work. The OB also wants to do a pap smear and possibly a cervical measurement. She referred me to a nutritionist, but I have not contacted them yet. Also, I am supposed to have a teeth cleaning at my dentist during my 13th week of pregnancy. So two of those appointments still need to be scheduled.
I seriously just spent about an hour deleting all the spam emails from the summer. My armpit sweat turned into a smelly stress-sweat, so I guess I need to work on maintaining my "OM" mindset when school gets underway. All I can do now is preparation. Finally, I tagged this post "meditation" because I have been doing some calming breaths and guided meditations. They are great. I am considering joining a group called Fit4Moms that meets in Sherman Oaks once per week for a Tuesday evening fitness class. Not that I am seriously worried about working out, but I think the camraderie with a group of other pregnant people may be a very good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment