I realized I hadn’t updated on those two things that I talked about before, so I thought I would shoot you a few developments.
Monday this week, Charlotte asked if she had to go to school. And Chris said…no, why, do you want to go (it was labor day), and she said no, I don’t like Miss Mary, and so I said, Is she mean to Charlotte? And Charlotte said, she is mean to everybody. 3 year olds dont need mean teachers.
Case closed on THAT, you know? My dad said it was a good thing she recognized that the teacher was just plain old mean, maybe not singling her out? Although that cookie thing……..we dis-enrolled her obviously.
Wed this week I went and checked out a local Montessori School. Honestly, I fell in love. The layout was great, the schedule is wonderful, the staff was long term and seemed caring. But not to jump the gun, so they invited us back to see a classroom in action today. We went in this morning and the first thing they do is take the kids out to the playground at 8-830. Its brilliant! IT gets all the energy out of the kids first thing and the kids are happy to be dropped off. We got there and Charlotte went right out and played with the kids. Then they went inside to do ‘circle time’ and introduced Charlotte. She sat right down with the kids and they all sang songs. The teachers seemed to have great control and the kids were happy. More importantly, Charlotte gave us, LITERALLY, a two thumbs up. My baby ain’t stupid. HA!
She asked to go tomorrow. So I am going to go enroll her tomorrow and Ill tell you, it was divine intervention because the cost is the EXACT same as I was paying at the crazy school!
Now on to my cousin. Remember she moved in so we could help her get her GED. She did start her GED classes and a week later…….found out she was pregnant. Sigh. However, she is handling it well, she is still in classes and doesn’t want to quit or even make a decision where she is going after this till she is done. I am proud of her. She helps out a lot around here. She has TERRIBLE evening sickness and has been very dizzy, even though she drinks a glass of water an hour. Any suggestions on what could be causing that? She is about 8 weeks pg. What about anemia? Too soon? If you have any old pregnancy books that are awesome that you are not using, i cant seem to find ANY of mine and she has a ton of questions. We did go to the library, but i would love to give her some. I would be willing to pay media mail shipping on a few if you want to toss them my way. Being 18 and pregnant….I cannot imagine.
We told her she was more then welcome to stay here till she has the baby so we can get her proper medical care and know she is eating right and all of that. Plus her mom is pulling her to go one way, her dumbass 24 year old, good for nothing boyfriend is pulling her to another state. I just think its too much for her to decide right now. She needs to get that GED and then start figuring it out.
Last but not least, I have apparently poisoned my cousin and DH tonight. They are both laying in bed miserable that their stomachs/heads are killing them and it was dinner. I have no clue what they are talking about. Dinner was fabulous and I feel great.
*evil plan of Dhs insurance plan coming together, muahahhahaha*
Whats going on in your world?
trisha
I am glad that you found a new school to love for Charlotte. As for you cousin, I got terribly dizzy during my first pregnancy. Is she eating? Can she stomach the sight of a banana?
I’m glad you found a new school for Charlotte!
As for your cousin, I was dizzy a lot too for the first 4 months. I spent most of the time laying on the couch. Not sure why. Maybe it was low blood sugar? I didn’t have the energy to get up to get food most of the time, so that could be it. I pretty much lived on crackers.
I’m so glad you found a new school for Charlotte. My son’s preschool either let’s them go out first thing or they take them out at the end of the day (for the half day kiddos). It doesn’t make sense to get them all lined up and bundled up to go out and then come back in and get all their coats off when the day is only 3 hours long.
Oh, and your cousin is so lucky to have you.
have her try ginger cookies, ginger snaps, ginger-ale. seriously…this was the best thing for me when I was dealing with “morning” sickness.
props to you for being such a fabulous cousin and strong adult figure.
oh, love to you and your family during both of these stressful situations. You are doing the right thing!
I’m so glad things are better for her and school.
We really like a lot of the montessori programs.
I’m so glad Charlotte is happier in her new school.
I am waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past pregnancy books and such; however, something that helped me with severe nausea in my last pregnancy was Seabands. I know it may sound silly, but there’s no harm in trying since it’s just a pressure point-based remedy and nothing that can harm the baby.
Look for them in the drugstore by the seasickness aids.
So glad you have good updates on both those situations.
Montessori schools are amazing – DS will be enrolled in one as soon as he’s old enough! So glad Charlotte found where she is comfortable and doesn’t have to worry about meanie teachers.
As far as your cousin goes, she should definitely get checked out, but if she’s small to begin with, the dizziness could just be a reaction to the extra blood flow that comes with being preggers. I didn’t have problems with it early on (just afternoon nausea and major sleepiness from about 3PM on) but in my 3rd trimester I had to be careful about standing up too quickly because my vision would go all paisley on me
I’m glad you found a better school for your daughter,that other one with the nasty teacher was not good ,for her or you if you had to worry about how she was going to be treated everyday!
I was 19 when I had my first baby and had been living alone since I was 15 and had no family to help me.I think that’s great you are helping her and you and your husband are willing to let her stay there to make sure she gets everything she needs to have a healthy baby!
Trisha, wonderful news about Charlotte’s new school! Sounds like your cousin has a tough road ahead, not the best timing for the pregnancy but it is what it is, I’m glad you’re encouraging her to stick with her GED plans. I gave my pregnancy books to my expecting mom friends, but when I was pregnant, I found some decent ones at Half Price Books and consignment stores, check ‘em out. Tell her to hang in there with the nausea, it is awful, but hopefully it will pass soonish . . .
Trisha, I am so glad that you got the school problem figured out. I think it is very important that we listen to our kids and their problems and help them out whenever we can. That is our job as parents right? It is cool that Charlotte liked the school right away and that she enjoyed the teacher. Good luck on that.
The only advice I can thin kof right now for your cousin is to eat smaller meals more frequently and also to eat saltines. They did the trick for me. If I started feeling queasy, I just munched on a couple until the feelign passed. As for the dizziness, I have no clue. You are such a great person to help your cousin through this change in her life.
I’d said it’s her body telling her to slow down for a bit. I had SMALL meals throughout my pregnancy so I never really got dizzy. See if she qualifies for WIC and Medicaid(will pay for every visit up to 6wks PP) then she can have it on the baby, until she gets well on her feet. My book I think I sent to someone else.
Glad to hear Charolett likes it and you two are happy with it.
I just have to say First and foremost, You ROCK! I love reading all your blog posts each and everyday it puts a much needed smile on my face. so THANK YOU!
Second, I am so happy that you found a school that you like. My Alyssa will not talk about her day at school and I find that to be very strange so were also looking for a new one to go to or getting her in head start since all I have seen is painting and no actual work like writing her name and she is going into kindergarten next year!!!
and last but not least. You cousin seems to be getting her head on straight bc she is getting great advice on life from you. She should or you can fill out all the free pregnancy magazines like baby talk, you can sometimes get parenting cheap or parents. American baby.com has free magazines for pregnant or new moms too. oh and PUBLIX gives you a FREE HUGE book for ages 0-5 it was my guide when I had my first one. oh how I loved that book. They send it to you when you sign up for the baby club!!! I wish I still had all my books to send you but I gave them all to my friends that were prego after me. also when you take her to her first appt most dr’s offices give you a ton of stuff to look over!!!
oh and Dizzy that was ME the entire time I was pregnant with AJ. oh the joys! lol
My MIL worked at a Montessori school for a while (until she moved), and she just loved it.
I recently parted with all of my pregnancy books, but I second the nomination for Girlfriend’s Guide. GREAT book. Pregnancy books are usually pretty cheap on ebay, too. Or Bookins.com? It’s a book trading site. Not direct trades so you don’t have to work a deal. Great site. I think you’d just pay shipping.
What about maternity clothes? I’ll bet if you give us some sizes we might have some extras.
I’m SO glad you got the school thing worked out!!! Funny you posted this, was wondering about that myself!
As for your cousin, LEMONADE was my savior, it was the tartness. I was sick with my last (not this one) and lemonade helped me BIGTIME!
Wow… craziness Trisha!
It’s wonderful of you to help her out during this time. I think it’s a better idea that she stays with your family until she gets her GED.
Peppermint will help calm her stomach, the hard candies are the best.
I hope things are going well with Charlotte! It’s wonderful that you pulled her out of that other school!
It’s probably your cousins body getting used to all the extra hormones. Make sure she is eating protein with every meal and snack. Also make sure she takes the prenatal, that will help as well.
But the protein with every meal and snack should help.
Kim, hmm, i hadnt considered that. SHe has had cramping, but i havent asked if it was localized. I know cramping is normal w/o blood, i had a crapload of it while I was PG. Ill ask her. Her dizziness seems to last pretty much all day. She hasnt seen a dr., she found out she was PG at about 5 weeks, so it was early. I didnt see a point seeing one yet, she doesnt have insurance, so there isnt aluxory of just running to the dr. We figured next week was pretty good. I have her on vitamins and all of that already.
She called the dr this morning. I had to take charlotte to school so i just got home. Ill go find out what they said.
trisha
I think you have definitely made the right decision about Charlotte’s school. Kids know what they’re talking about, and it pains me when the parents won’t listen. I’m sure she will do fabulously at her new school. Can’t wait to hear all about it!
In regards to your cousin…. kudos to you for stepping in and helping take care of her. It’s not an easy task, but it’s one you should be proud of.
I was 18 when I got pregnant with my first. I was SO scared (because I lived in a very strict Baptist home) that I hid my pregnancy for over 6 months. I give your cousin credit for coming forward and getting help early. I would definitely just call a doctor about the dizziness. Some in pregnancy is normal, but if it’s a lot and it’s consistent, she should be checked out.
I know I’m 30 (gasp) and married with lots more kids now, but if I can ever be of any help to your cousin, or to you, don’t hesitate to ask. She’s about to hit a rough road, but with someone standing beside her, supporting her, she’ll be just fine.
We liked the Montessori school we visited last year but it was over 30 minutes from our house and I couldn’t substantiate spending that kind of money to have to drive my kid that far. Jake didn’t care what school, he just wanted to go, so we stayed local.
We found a local church that has a preschool (not our church – it’s Methodist but the teacher is AWESOME) and it’s $85/mo and parents keep taking their kids their year after year, when the little ones get old enough then they go.
We are in a SMALL town and what’s nice is the kids will then all go on to the public school together for kindergarten. The public schools here are great and they are even building a new elementary school so we will have all new buildings in the last 10 years. Pretty good for a small town.
You made the right choice. Any three year old that says someone is mean has to be listened to. Kids are so instinctive. I have asked both of the boys if their teacher likes them,. After our horrible experience similar to yours, I find that tasking them if their teacher likes them is much more effective than if I ask them if they like the teacher. Both have responded in the affirmative so I think we’re safe for this year.
Trisha, not to scare you but when I was dizzy with Abby early on they was afraid the pregnancy was ectopic. That could be life threatening for her if it is ectopic and her tube bursts as the baby grows. I went in twice a week for ultrasounds until they could confirm the baby was where she was supposed to be.
The dizziness went away for me before I hit 12 weeks, and she obviously wasn’t ectopic but they were SUPER concerned over the dizziness until they could be sure.
One either thing they kept asking me about was pain in my side which I did not have, but he said some women don’t have pain for an ectopic.
Has she seen a doctor yet?
Hey ya’ll we are around here too. Doing pretty good, we are dealing with Kaylee wheezing again so I’m trying to stick it out until Monday when she goes for her well baby check, which will end up as a sick visit. Reagan is still loving school and is so excited to go.
Trisha, I have a couple books that might work for her. Let me see and then I can send them your way. Trinity may need to add a protein snack in between her meals and that would probably help with the dizziness.
I’m glad she’s doing well!
And of course you are an incredible, cousin to be taking such good care of her.
The best pregnancy book I have ever read is The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. It was funny and honest about the whole process. I don’t have my copy anymore, but they may have it at your library. Also, the week by week ones are fun to see how big the baby is and such. Good luck to her with the little one and the GED deal!
I am so glad that you got Charlotte into a good school,I know you’ll breath alot easier now!
I don’t have any more pregnancy books ( it’s been 7 years for me) but I do remember the book ” What to expect when your expecting” came to my rescue many times!
I was really dizzy/fainting with my first pregnancy. I just had to eat very frequently. I’m pretty thin (don’t hate me, I’m trying to help you see if this applies to your cousin).
My son was in a Montessori school from 2 1/2 until almost 4. He loved it and I loved it!
2 thumbs up from me, too!
Hey Trisha,
I’m so glad you found a great school for Charlotte! Audrey starts monday and I’m a little nervous now after reading about your experience.
My daughter was a complete surprise to us and we were totally unprepared and very very scared. My ob/gyn recommended “your pregnancy week by week” and I loved that book. It didn’t scare me at all and answered almost all of my questions. I also got the your baby’s first year week by week. I had horrible “morning sickness” in that it lasted from abot 7 a.m. until about 5p.m. and I would actually vomit about 6 times a day. The only thing that worked for me was to take my prenatal vitamin at night and I ate two or three little hershey’s kisses in the morning’s after breakfast. That really helped with my nausea. You could also try the preggie pops, they didn’t work for me but have worked for several of my friends.
Best of luck!
I have an extra What To Expect When Expecting. The military gives them one to everyone on their first visit to OBGYN clinic. I warn you about any prego books, some get scary when they describe some stuff that COULD happen. The What-if’s are the wrong I think. So let me know I’ll send it your way. This book is the best I found out so far. Not so scary.
I was dizzy at night just because I was soo tired. When I was prego I could easily sleep 14 hours straight. (And did on the weekends)! When does she have her appt?
Try lemonade for the morning sickness..or ginger anything or B12 vitamins or anything that she thinks sounds good. Poor girl. i feel for her.
I love your picture up there!!
And I”M sooooo glad that you guys found a school for Miss C! Nice work!! I love the thumbs up!
I’m so glad that you found a better school – that first one just sounded awful. I hope the other parents pull their kids out too – no three-year-old should have to put up with that.
I’m sorry I can’t be more help! I would be sure to bring it up with a doc when she goes for an appointment.
I’m sure I have an extra pregnancy book I can send your way though. I was 18 and pregnant once too and I know all about having a million questions.
yeah, she eats three square meals a day…i usually cook a meat/vegi/fruit, so its very spread out, and she drinks a TON Of water.
Love the picture! I’m glad to hear you found a school both you and your daughter seem to really like.
I checked out dizziness in one of my pregnancy books and it gives a couple reasons, but says it is fairly common. Could also be anemia (can occur at any point), low blood pressure, or high or low blood sugar. Is she eating enough throughout the day? I know if I went too long without eating, I’d get dizzy when I was prego too. Hope it helps.