What a Week!

Well, this week has certainly been a surprise.

A little background--when I was pregnant with Wiggle Man, he came right on his due date, and I felt very little in terms of contractions. (Lucky, I know.) Basically, from the first contraction I felt until the time Wiggles was born was about 3.5 hours.

So when I started feeling crampy this past Sunday night, I honestly thought it was just something I'd eaten. When it didn't go away, I called the midwife Monday morning. I got an appointment Monday afternoon, and honestly expected to be told it was nothing and sent home.

I wasn't expecting to be sent to the hospital, stabilized and then transferred to a university hospital with a NICU. It was...chaotic, to say the least. Also a little humourous, given that I'd driven myself to the midwife's, then driven myself across the street to the hospital, walked up to the L&D floor, where I was whisked into bed and told not to move. (Ummm...I DROVE HERE.)

The good news is that I'm still pregnant. They were able to stop my contractions and the progression of my labour. They gave me steroid shots to help Bam Bam's lungs should he decide to show up early. Then they monitored baby and me for a couple of days, and sent me home.

Now, we wait to see what Bam Bam has in mind. I've been told to take it easy. Beyond that, we're not sure what will happen when.

I will say this--it's new motivation to get that nursery done! (I'll be supervising, of course.)

Kisses,

Shameless Self Promotion

Depending on what part of the country you live in, you may be either a) kicking into high gear for school or b) counting down until your kids go back to school/you go back to teaching.

This means that private music teachers like myself start thinking about recruiting new students, and gearing up for another year of lessons, festivals, and recitals. Until recently, most of my attempts at self-promotion have been local. After all, it's hard to take lessons from someone on the other side of the country.

Except when it's easy.

Last year I started a website for my new online studio, Studio 10:10. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so. If you have, feel free to check it out again, and let me know what you think. While it's primarily set up as a flute studio, I'm considering expanding my online studio to include piano and voice, like I do in my home studio.

How does it work? It's actually very easy. As long as you have an Internet connection and a web cam, you can take lessons from anywhere. I've even given lessons to students on vacation!

I use Skype (a free service, if you're not familiar with it) to set up a video call with a student, and the rest progresses like any other lesson. The sound quality is usually great, although it may be affected by the quality of the student's equipment. In situations like that, there are usually simple remedies, like purchasing a separate microphone, or sometimes even moving the laptop to the other side of the room!

Now, here's a pretty screenshot of my website.

Oooh. Ahhhhh.

The actual address is http://www.cyberflutelessons.com/ and like I said, I'd love for you to check it out and pass along any feedback you might have. If you have friends or colleagues that are looking for music instruction from a qualified teacher without the high pressure atmosphere, please let them know about my studio.

My online music studio is also listed on Thumbtack, a great place to find contractors and other service providers.

Ok, commercial over. Now back to our regularly scheduled content of pregnancy updates, life with a toddler, and my latest attempts at crocheting.

Kisses,

What's Up, Buttercup?

Not much, actually.

Bam Bam continues to beat the stink out of me from the inside. At this point, I'm starting to believe he will give Wiggle Man a run for his money when it comes to how active he'll be once he's "on the outside." He seems to be doing well, I'm doing well, the midwives are all happy--8 weeks to go!

The only downside right now is that while I don't have Gestational Diabetes (phew) I am "carbohydrate intolerant." Boo. I was with Wiggle Man, too. One of the midwives actually suspects that I remain this way for longer post-partum than most women, and that this was the cause of my ridiculous (and hitherto unexplained) weight gain after Wiggles was born. I was counting calories and dieting post-partum, but not carbs. Ooooooohhhhhh.

Many of the other symptoms of carbohydrate intolerance/insulin resistance are things you might typically expect post-partum, like fatigue, irritability and mood swings. It's like a giant light bulb has gone off. I'm bummed to have to watch my carb intake (I do love bread), but I'm also kind of glad to finally have a possible explanation.

I was super blessed to have two baby showers last week. The first I knew about--the members of our church choir, bell choir and their families got together for a fun cook-out and baby shower. They did a great job of making Wiggle Man an important part of things; he had a ball helping me open gifts.

My friends surprised me with another shower later in the week, and even arranged for some surprise guests! The Rev's sisters, Mom and Aunt drove down for the occasion. This baby is set, let me tell you.

Now all we need to do is get everything ready. The Rev has been working hard painting Wiggle Man's new room. Once we get him moved into his new digs, we can start on the nursery for Bam Bam. I've been sorting toys and clothes (man, we have a lot of 2T and 3T clothes) and trying to do what I can that doesn't involve inhaling lots of paint fumes.

My current crochet project is a blanket for Wiggle Man. He thinks I've done enough hats and booties for his brother, and that it's time for a blanket for him. 2 squares done, 7 more to go--I'll get a photo up when it's done.

And now you're caught up to speed!

Kisses,