Trimester 2 and Onward

Welcome back to my blog! Although I enjoy blogging and have so many ideas about what to write about, I enjoyed my 2-month hiatus and made some true progress on my Creighton goal: finishing my internship. For now I'll give you a quick update on pregnancy, Creighton and my life over the past few months.

Trimester 2-Babymoon

Trimester 2 is commonly called the Babymoon phase for good reason, especially with this pregnancy! At the beginning of the 2nd trimester, my bad days were feeling like I felt on my good days during trimester 1 and my good days meant feeling a bit woozy and fatigued, but nothing major. By the time we got to 3rd trimester, I felt like a human again! With Alexis, I felt nauseous the entire pregnancy. I am blessed this pregnancy to say I feel so good I forget I am pregnant sometimes! Which leads me to Trimester 3... forgetfulness.

Trimester 3-Pregnancy Brain

Pregnancy brain hits me crazy hard during the 3rd trimester. I used to think pregnant ladies who complained about losing their mind exaggerated. Then I experienced the confusion and frustration of my brain not fully functioning and I realized pregnancy brain is a true phenomenon. 

First Baby Forgetfulness

Even when I'm not pregnant, I'm constantly losing my keys, mostly because my brain focuses on my to-do list and not where I'm setting down my stuff. Pregnancy brain is more like telling yourself over and over again not to forget something because it's REALLY IMPORTANT, and forgetting anyway. One day, during my 3rd trimester with Alexis, another biology teacher and I were talking about an experiment her class was attempting, but the indicator solution wasn't working. She thought she had a bad batch of indicator, but as she was talking I remembered from college that this indicator only showed simple sugars, not the complex sugars in her experiment. I told her I would look it up to be sure and get back to her since I was on prep the next period. 

After lunch, I sat down at my desk and thought, "there is something urgent I need to do," but I couldn't think of it, checked my e-mails for a hint, then gave up and started grading papers. I then remembered that I needed copies, so I took my copies to the copy room. As I passed the biology teacher's room, I remembered I needed to look up the indicator solution! I quickly dropped my copies off and went back to my room to look up the indicator. 

As soon as I sat down at my desk, I thought, "there's something very important I should be doing." I saw the papers on my desk that I was grading before I made the copies and thought, "maybe I am just anxious about getting these papers graded before the next class," so I continued grading. After grading a couple of papers, I suddenly remembered to look up the indicator and rushed my findings to the other biology teacher. I felt super bad when I realized she was stalling her class waiting for my answer, but there was nothing I could do at that point!!!

Second Baby Forgetfulness

Similarly, a couple of weeks ago I planned to host a dinner party. Alexis was sick, so I asked my guests about rescheduling for the following weekend. One person said it would work while the other said he would check with his wife (who I didn't realize I had left off the group message) and get back to me. I never heard back from him, but wrote on my calendar that they were coming at 6 on Friday. At 6 on Friday, dinner was made, the table was set and I checked my phone to see if I had told my guests the correct time. Reading through my messages, I realized I had never told them! I have never heard my mom laugh so hard in my life as when I told her that I made dinner but forgot to invite the guests!!!!  

I also do normal "pregnancy brain" stuff, like putting cold food away in the microwave instead of the refrigerator or putting cloths in the washing machine and forgetting to turn the machine on. The good news is, science believes pregnancy brain is caused by a combination of hormones and lack of sleep and that your actual brain matter and IQ don't change. The bad news is, the hormones and lack of sleep continue after the baby is born, so it might be a long while before remembering that the milk goes in the fridge. With Alexis, I felt like I was back to functioning level when she started sleeping through the night at 15 months, which is also when my hormones resumed normal functioning.

Interesting facts:
WebMD says that "Women accumulate up to 700 hours of sleep debt in the first year after having a baby."
According to What to Expect, "some research has shown that women pregnant with girls are, on average, more forgetful than those carrying boys."

All Things Creighton

Unfortunately, Creighton and NaPro Technology do not have a solution for pregnancy brain. I love what I do and have met some amazing people on this Creighton journey! Besides the wonderful students and instructors I met during training, I have met amazing couples and women both locally and as far away as Kansas through my sessions, booths and webinars. I am excited to be presenting at Queen of Angels this spring! I have a 3-part series that starts with Not Your Grandma's Family Planning this Thursday, April 11, then the 5 Things They Don't Teach You in Sex Ed April 25 and ending with the Creighton Model Introductory Session May 2, all at 7:45 pm (after 7 pm Mass). 

I am now teaching my first long-distance client, which has been an awesome learning experience for me. I only need 1 more client before my Supervisor can conduct my on-site visit, then 6 more clients to complete my internship! I am very blessed to now offer sponsorships through the Creighton Model Education Foundation, INC. so those who are interested in learning Creighton but can't afford the sessions can have their sessions paid for by the Not For Profit. Also, if Creighton has had a positive impact on your life, you can make a tax-deductible donation to The Creighton Model Education Foundation, INC. so we can continue the mission of educating women's providers and consumers about moral, ethical and professional reproductive healthcare services.

Other News

In other news, life is great! I'm not allergic to any of the foods I thought I was, but have something called cross-reaction. This means that I still shouldn't eat them, but I don't have to worry about anaphylaxis. Soon I'll write more details for those of you interested. In the meantime, send me your favorite wheat-free, rice-free, corn-free recipes! Finally, a big thank you to all who are keeping me in your prayers-they are truly felt as I am feeling so much better this pregnancy than last and potential clients are starting to come from wonderfully unexpected places.