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August 13, 2003
Jaida Goes to the “Big School” 8/13/03
I admit I was a little nervous about Jaida going to a new school. She had been at Montessori for two years and she was more than a tiny bit familiar with everything and everyone there. I worried about how she would handle the transition and all the changes in her routine. The first and possibly the hardest was having to get up earlier. When I signed up for the transportation that was a mandatory provision of her special ed services, I had no idea what time or where the bus would be coming to pick her up. I assumed we would have to meet the bus at the closest elementary school. Imagine my surprise and slight annoyance when the transportation director called me a few weeks ago at 6:00 in the morning to ask about directions. She also informed me that they could pick Jaida up and drop her off at our house. That made me feel a little better.
I thought we might get something in the form of a letter or even a postcard to let us know who her teacher would be. When the week before school rolled around and still no word, I went by the school after an appointment one morning. The school office assistant told me that we would have to wait until the first day of classes and check the lists posted on each door for Jaida’s name. I immediately began to envision organized chaos. At least I had been able to get the supply list from Office Max so I wasn’t completely in the dark about that too. All these new developments made me even more nervous. After all, I am a planner. (Can you say anal?) The Saturday before the first day, the bus driver called while I was out running an errand. Steve talked to her and she told him that she would be coming between 6:15 and 6:30 each morning. Oh Lord, what have I gotten us into?
I decided that taking Jaida the first day was the best thing since she didn’t know her teacher’s name or even the room number. Besides, I had to take in all her supplies and help her get settled. Traffic that morning wasn’t too bad but it still took 20 minutes. It doesn’t help that the school is directly across the street from a high school either. Parking was atrocious and I did my best not to get blocked in since people were double and even triple parking. I walked inside with Jaida and we found her room. She walked right up to a parent and asked where she should put her lunchbox. I explained that this lady was not the teacher and we had to wait our turn to ask the teacher where to put her things. Mrs. N is a petite lady with braces on her teeth and dark blond hair. She told Jaida how happy she was that she had come and she put a giant name tag on her shirt. Then she showed us where to find her cubby with her name on it. Next we checked the table and found the chair with her name in front of it.
Mrs. N told the children to have a seat when they found their name. Jaida wanted to know why she had to sit. I told her she had to stay in her chair. Mrs. N said they could get a book while they waited and Jaida asked me if she could get one. I told her it was okay and she picked a book about elephants, no surprise there. Suddenly she saw the aquarium and asked Mrs. N if she could look at the fishies. Mrs. N said there weren’t any fish yet but she could look. I waited until she was on her way back to her chair and then I waved goodbye from the doorway. Jaida seemed to be having a good time so I didn’t linger. I hoped she would still be in a good mood when I went to pick her up that afternoon.
The afternoon came quickly and I got there early enough to get a legal parking space. They were not allowing parents inside the building so we had to wait while they dismissed one class at a time. The crowd was making it hard to see but finally I saw Jaida’s class and she looked tired but happy. I took her hand and smiled at Mrs. Glover, the special ed coordinator when she waved from the lobby. She called out and asked if Jaida would be riding the bus from then on and I said yes. Jaida and I tried to get through the crowd and we were half way to the car when I realized she had forgotten her lunchbox. I used to gather all that stuff at her old school, so it was an honest mistake. We had to turn around and go back through the throng of people and fight our way into the school. When we retrieved it and were on our way out, a lady in the hall smiled at us. She said, “She left it in the lunchroom today too.” Oh boy.
Jaida was quiet all the way home and when I glanced at her in the rearview mirror, she looked worn out. I gently tried to ask about her day but she seemed incapable of answering. I just let her regroup and unwind. The next day was the first bus day. Jaida seemed more excited about that than going back to school. She smiled after Mom mentioned the bus and said, “I never ride a bus before.” We all looked out the window nervously and finally the yellow bus rounded the corner. We went outside and watched her get on. Jarod, still in his pajamas, kept saying over and over, “Wanna ride the bus.” I got him to wave to Jaida but then he burst into tears when the bus drove away. He repeated his desire to ride the bus all day long. When I picked him up from school, those were the first words out of his mouth. Sigh…
Steve tried to get home to see Jaida get off the bus but he missed it by five minutes. Jaida looked tired again but not like the first day. I think she will be fine in a few weeks. She remembered her lunchbox and she said she had a good time. I didn’t get any arguments at bedtime either, LOL. Today was a little better and she was not so overwhelmed she couldn’t talk. I think that is a good sign. Steve left work a little earlier and he was here to greet her when she got off the bus. Jarod and I waited just inside the garage and he was still begging to ride the bus. I can’t think of a way to make the poor child understand he won’t be able to ride Jaida’s bus. I hope the rest of the week goes smoothly.
36 Weeks: What a Day of Surprises
I saw Dr. D today but first, I had an ultrasound. The tech skipped the warm up and went straight to the heartbeat. From the angle I had, I couldn’t tell what way Lambchop was lying. She said, “We’re just measuring baby today right?” I said, “Yeah, and checking his position.” She confirmed that I already knew the sex before she moved the wand and that’s when I realized what was going on. She had the transducer at the top of my belly and there was his little (or not so little) scrotum! “He’s head down,” she said nonchalantly. I let out a whoop and a YAYYY! She chuckled and continued her measuring and checking. His heartbeat was in the 130’s and because of his size she wasn’t able to get a good view of him all at once. Some measurements said 35 weeks, 5 days and others were in the 34 week range. His weight was guesstimated at 5 lb, 12 oz. I knew that the ultrasound could be off by a week or two so I wasn’t concerned. I was just elated that he was head down.
I headed upstairs and waited my turn. Shelly came to get me after what seemed like an eternity and we went to the exam room. I got on the scale and was surprised to hear I had lost two more pounds. Shelly said I must be getting close because I had lost a pound and a half last week. She put on the B/P cuff and I knew it wasn’t going to be good news. Whenever my B/P is up, people always have trouble hearing it. Shelly had to squeeze my arm so much, I thought it would pop off. That hasn’t happened in a while. She would pump a while, listen and then pump some more with a frown on her face. I tried to be quiet and still but that didn’t help. Finally she let her stethoscope go and said, “Your pressure is up.” I was thinking maybe 10 points or so and I said, “Really?” She said, “Yeah, its way up. It’s 150/100.” I didn’t know what to say.
Dr. D came in and briefly went over the ultrasound and my blood pressure. He left me to be monitored for another 10 minutes or so and had Shelly come back to recheck my B/P. The second time it was 124/84 and I was so grateful. When Dr. D came back, he got right to business. Apparently, the placenta was showing some age and that had him a little concerned. I thought it was supposed to show age at this point but if Dr. D said something about it, it had to more deteriorated than he expected. He would never bring up something unless he was concerned about it. That is why we get along so well, he lets me decide what to do unless he feels my health, or the baby’s may be at risk. Dr. D said he wants to do another ultrasound again next week to check my amniotic fluid levels as well. Then he sat back and stopped making notes so I knew he was about to be serious.
He said he was not confident that we should let this pregnancy go to full term. I had a feeling he was going to say that and I even had a feeling last week that August 29 would be the baby’s birthday. Dr. D said that he thought we should only wait about two and a half more weeks. He checked his calendar and said, “That would be the 29th. We would be looking at putting you into labor that day since you would be about 39 weeks.” I was shocked that he gave me the exact same date that had popped into my head a week earlier. I have to admit that I am at total peace with this and although I had been adamant about not wanting an induction, I want a healthy baby even more. Lastly, he asked if I had taken my medicine this morning and I told him I had but this has been a stressful week. He was satisfied with that answer but he told me to be sure and call him if I got an elevated reading at home or if I just felt bad or different all of a sudden.
I was a little disappointed at first about not being able to go into labor on my own but I still have a chance. Dr. Yolanda, the wife of my chiropractic team, suggested an herbal supplement called 5W to help me get ready for labor. It really brings on some strong Braxton-Hicks so it may help me to only need a small amount of pitocin. She also said to start using Evening Primrose Oil, orally and internally at bedtime. It is supposed to help ripen the cervix and increase elasticity in the muscles. I plan to do both dilligently from this day forward to help my chances of as little intervention as possible. I can’t believe that in two short weeks, I will get to meet my baby! Now if we could just come up with a name.
Although the tone of childbirth preferences has been extremely pro-natural/non-intervention on these sites lately, I don’t regret any of my choices today in the least. I am not in the category of people that can have whatever type of birth they want so I think I have done the best to get as close to that as I could. After all, if it weren’t for some of these interventions, I may not have had this much success with my pregnancy. Technology has given me and my baby the best possible chance imaginable.
Until next time,
Kim, Jaida, Jarod & Lambchop
P.S. Check the sites for new pics!
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/n/nowucme
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/t/threescompany
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