Sunday School

So even though I'm not really supposed to, I went to church today. It was my first day of being a Sunday school teacher for the 8-11 yr olds. I was actually pretty excited, mostly because I was able to get out of the house. My parents and Erik tried to stop me, but I reminded them that I was not running a marathon...After much debate I put on my Sunday best and escaped to educate the youth about Jesus.

Now I must admit I was a tad bit nervous. I mean I haven't taught Sunday school in years. And I was scared that the kids would give me such a hard time, that I would have to yell...and yelling would lead to breathing issues.

At any rate, I walked into class (armed with treats) expecting a nice class. Yeah, pregnancy must be making me delusional. When I walked in the kids immediately started asking me if I was going to have the baby right then and there. I said not if they don’t stress me out. This lead into a discussion about where babies come from…I was so not prepared to have that conversation. So I tried to get onto a different topic.

Eventually everyone settled down and I introduced myself and ask them their names. It was nice because the kids seemed to like me right away and wanted to show me the ropes. One child, Leah, took it upon herself to tell me about each child in the class and if they were troublemakers. Little did I know that she was going to be my main problem…

This week’s lesson was about the first four commandments. We read a few verses and talked about practical life application of these commandments, all without too much trouble. We had a Bible memory verse and that was around the time everything fell apart. Most of the kids memorized the verse right away and were very proud to recite it to me. However there were a few kids who took a little longer than others. This made the kids who had already memorized the verse angry and they began to chastise the kids. They were calling them slow and were yelling at them. So of course I stepped in and told everyone to be quiet and tried to give the kids a chance to say the verse. Eventually the children all memorized and we had time to play games. I decided to pull out an old favorite…Heads Up 7up. Some kids played that with me while the others played air hockey. Next thing I knew kids were fighting about who got to play air hockey next. The littlest girl, Leah, ended up pushing a boy because he was in her way. He fell to the floor. The kids playing Heads Up 7Up were arguing about who’s turn it was to be the thumb pusher. It was chaos. I was told that the rule of Sunday school was that if I have to say someone’s name 3 times they get taken back to the sanctuary to their parents. If I had actually followed this rule there wouldn’t have been any kids left. Here is a list of the children who got sent back to their parents and their offenses:

Leah (age 8): Pushing a boy down, harassing the other kids, talking out of turn, and drawing on the board without permission

Sebastian (age 9): Diving on top of the air hockey table, wandering around while I was talking, yelling at the other kids, and hitting a boy with his jacket.

Basically after this experience I got a little panicky about having a kid. I mean, I forgot how energetic and crazy kids can be. Also I think one of the little boys had a crush on me….it was cute, he even lied about his age so he could be old enough for me. By the end of this day, I was ready to go back to bed rest (its much more peaceful here in the silence of the living room).
I have to teach Sunday school again in 2 weeks….I am going to need a lot of grace and prayer

ER Visit

All my life I have had asthma. It was worse when I was a little girl. I can remember my parents taking me, in my footy pajamas, to the ER late at night for nebulizer treatments. However, as I grew older it seemed that I had grown out of it. About 2 years ago, I started having asthma attacks, but nothing too serious. Then about 2 months ago my asthma reached a new peak. I mean I figured it would get worse with pregnancy, but not this bad. Everyday I have been experiencing at least one asthma attack or shortness of breath. I have been feeling light-headed, dizzy, and I have been feeling like all the blood in my body rushes to my head. I haven't been super concerned, because I know that as the baby gets bigger, shortness of breath is common. I mentioned how I was feeling a few times to my midwife, but she kept telling me to take my inhaler when need be...This brings us to this past Thursday.

Erik and I had just gotten back from a short get-away house sitting for sister. It was a very relaxing few days. We haven't been alone since we moved back to Chicago, so this was a real treat. We watched movies, went out to dinner, and got to talk. I mean, I don't think we have talked and laughed like that in quite a while.

Anyway, Thursday we arrived back to my parents house, and I had to quickly leave and go pick up my sister and brother-in-law from the airport. My mom decided to come with me because after we picked them up, we were going to go shopping. At any rate, we were only about 1 block in to our journey, when the familiar feelings of asthma began to creep up. I felt short of breath, dizzy, and my face felt really hot. I was driving, and we came to a stop light. I asked my mom to do a Chinese fire drill with me. (for those of you who don't know what a Chinese fire drill is exactly....its basically when you get to a red light everyone gets out of the car and changes seats, before the light turns green). So quickly we get out of the car, and as I'm rounding the back of the car I start to see black spots and then next thing I know I hear my mom yelling my name, and I hear others voices that I don't recognize. To be totally honest, I thought that I was still walking around the corner to get into the passenger seat. This was not true....Apparently I collapsed and my mom caught me as I was going down. People in their cars came to help and 4 people called 911. Slowly I opened my eyes, and saw my mom and she was talking to the man next to her,
"She's 7 months pregnant! Vannae! Vannae! Keep breathing sweety!" I closed my eyes again, and felt people picking me up and putting me in the car...my original destination. Next thing I know I hear the sirens and the paramedics were asking me if I could walk to the stretcher. Slowly, I made my way (with the help of 2 paramedics) to the stretcher and got loaded into the ambulance. I still wasn't breathing very well, so they gave me oxygen. Very quickly the paramedics began asking me a million questions, and simultaneously the other paramedic was hooking me up to the IV and checking my blood pressure. I was so disoriented that I hardly noticed. Then I heard my mom's voice again, and heard her say "Erik said stay calm Vannae, you'll be alright." Then I think I finally realized what was going on. I started to cry and shake, and then I heard the paramedic tell my mom to meet us at the hospital. I was so worried about the baby. I kept asking if my baby was okay. They paramedic kept telling me that everything was going to be fine. I was starting to get panicky and then as if the baby read my mind, I felt her kick, and kick, and kick! Hooray! I was so relieved that I believe I actually smiled a little.

When we got to the hospital the doctors immediately started putting EKG stickers on me, and asking me a million questions. I still wasn't breathing very well, so they started me on a nebulizer treatment. I was really anxious and kept asking where my mom was. Finally after what seemed like forever, my mom and Erik came in. It was nice to see them. My mom was crying a little bit and Erik had "the worried" face on. I reassured them that I was going to be okay. The doctors started taking blood from finger and my arm. Any fear of needles that I once had, has officially gone out of the window after this day...Eventually they brought me up to Labor and Delivery, so they could finally monitor the baby. The baby was fine, had a strong heart beat, she was kicking and moving around. That made me relax finally. But they still wanted to monitor her for at least another hour. Then the pulmonologist came in and started running breathing tests on me. They found out that I have a murmur, which they said they weren't concerned with. They said that they would come back after they got more results back. So in the mean time, my sister (remember I was supposed to pick her up) took the train to the hospital, and my dad came to see me. Everyone was a little freaked out, but once they saw I was breathing and talking again, they seemed to calm down. However everyone was staring at me and every 5 seconds someone would ask if I was okay...so I sent my sister and brother-in-law to get food, made parents go home, and made Erik take a nap. So, I finally got some piece and quiet,and I just listened to the baby's heartbeat for a while. Finally after what seemed liked eternity, the pulmonologist came in and told me what was going on.

He said that yes, my asthma is a huge problem, but on top of that the baby is squishing my lungs. While this is normal for pregnancy, its worse for me because I'm already not breathing well, because of the asthma. So they said that I am taking 4 times as many breaths as a non-pregnant non-asthmatic person. Basically I collapsed because I'm not getting enough oxygen to my brain. They gave me a stronger inhaler, and gave me some tips on how to stop the process of passing out. They also told me not to exert energy. I need to really focus on just breathing. I should pretty much do only low impact activities. However I should be careful about being outside, because of my allergies. So I'm pretty much on house arrest. That is why I had time to even write this long post

"The Aftermath"
So since my dramatic ordeal at the hospital, I have still had trouble breathing. I have almost passed out a few times, but my wonderful family (and the doctors tips) have helped Today I didn't feel very well, but toward the end of the evening I was better. Its going to be an interesting few months...

Finish line in sight

I can see it now...the finish line. I am so close. Officially I am in the home stretch...third trimester. I am getting more and more eager about seeing our little girl. I can't wait to hold her and kiss her. Also, let's be honest, I can't wait to have my body back. I mean, I am growing and growing, and I seriously think I run to the bathroom every 20-30 min. Sleep is just a faint memory...how am I supposed to sleep when every 30 min I have to pee. My asthma has been really bad, and I can only hope that it will get better once the baby gets here.

I'm really worried that she is already like me...she kicks and kicks until I feed her (only in the morning). And yesterday her foot was poking out and I pushed it a little and she kicked me really hard...which would be my response. Lets just say she is already sassy like her mama.

There is so much that needs to be done before she gets here. We still have a ton of things to buy, and things are a bit up in the air about where we're going to move. Right now Erik has 3 job opportunities...but all 3 are in completely different cities. For now we are going to stay here at my parents until July (when our little bundle gets here) and hopefully we will know where God wants us to be soon.

marriage

So I never post twice in a day, but I thought I would share this. I was just looking around on the Internet and found a day counter. So I put in my wedding anniversary date to see how long we've been married exactly...here were the results.

2 years 2 months and 4 days

794 days total

68,601,700 seconds

1,143,360 min

19,056 hours

113 weeks

All I can say is it has truly been the best 2 years 2 months and 4 days of my life! Marriage isn't always easy but it's always worth it. I love him more and more everyday, and I am constantly amazed by how patient, loving, kind, and gentle my husband is with me. Maybe marriage isn't for everyone, but it is certainly the best decisions I have ever made. I am so excited to bring this baby into such a loving home, and I pray that one day she will marry a man as incredible and Godly as her father. This is an engagement picture of Erik and I...from 3 years ago...

The Diaper Conversation

So, I have been making a check list of the things that need to get done before the baby arrives. It is a very long list, but slowly we are making progress. One thing on the list that I have been kind of avoiding is diapers. Before this point I had never given much time to thinking about what kind of diapers we would use. In fact, I don't think I ever wanted to think about my child's poopy diapers. Granted, I realize this is a major part of having a baby...so my husband and I finally sat down and talked about diapers.
There are so many choices these days. When I was a baby my parents used cloth diapers and had a service to clean them. Friends of ours have used disposable diapers and said they were expensive but easy. Another couple used gDiapers. They are environmentally safe diapers and they are reusable. They aren't actually that expensive. Here is the lowdown from the website about gDiapers...


" The most eco-friendly diaper available, gDiapers provides parents with a diapering solution that is good for babies, parents and the planet. You can have the flexibility of a disposable diaper with a 100% biodegradable gRefill, or opt for reusability with super soft and trim-fitting gCloth inserts. gDiapers are plastic-free, elemental chlorine free, latex free, and perfume free. Use a biodegradable gRefill or re-usable gCloth inside our newborn tiny gPants and our cotton little gPants. All materials are breathable, just like sports clothing, so babies are far less likely to get diaper rash. And did we mention they're cute? Babies can flaunt their eco-friendly diapers in a rainbow of adorable colors. Because green diapers don't need to be bland. No landfill required.
50 million diapers get tossed each day and each one takes up to 500 years to biodegrade. Ick. Home compost, toss, or flush the biodegradable gRefill for the smallest footprint on earth. gDiapers break down in 50-150 days."

And they are also soo cute. Erik is very environmentally aware (you know being from Colorado and all) so we have decided this is the route we are going. We are both excited, and hoping we are making the right choice.