Sorry for not keeping this updated. Life has been busy. I'll try to get everyone up to speed quick, and maybe post more when I get a chance. :D
1) I was working 25 hours a week, part time. That ate up a ton of time. But we parted ways amicably when it became clear I could not uphold the quality of my work and the time required.
2) Because I was having all day migraines, sinus pain, stomach aches, and other problems.
3) Due to, apparently, the fact that I'm gluten-intolerant (and possibly still have issues with soy and dairy). I tried going gluten free because I couldn't think of anything else to do (and my sister is gluten-intolerant, plus my allergist suggested I should get tested.. um.. two years ago. I think I forgot to because of a headache!). All those symptoms and more started clearing up within *days*. I no longer have oddly swollen feet in the morning, weird tingling in my fingers, sinus pain, migraines (well, some, but not every day!), back pain, all my IBS symptoms, and so forth. I previously thought it would take months to see any difference. No... I was sure in three days.
4) I've been coping with trying to not eat gluten. If I accidentally ingest a little (say, in paprika that uses gluten-containing stuff to prevent clumping) I get a migraine and gastrointestinal distress for about two days or so. A month or so ago I ate a bowl of pasta just to see if gluten was really the problem, and I finally felt better 10 days later. I spend a lot of time researching things...
5) Just after I finished work, I also got pregnant! So while I feel better from not having gluten, I'm now exhausted and nauseous for a much happier reason.
6) I may start more part-time work soon, but I expect it will work out better. Fewer hours, less ambitious deadlines, no required time in the office (there IS no office!).
If anyone has any tips or tricks about homeschooling while pregnant, please leave a comment! I spent this morning just trying to walk through the house and not lose my breakfast (lost that battle) and I can't imagine trying to engage a 6 and 3 year old in anything useful. But I want to keep up as much as I can, since I imagine we'll lose more time when I'm near the end, and when there's a new baby!
About Me
- silvermine
- Scientist, writer, programmer, mother, and homeschooler.
Homeschool Memoirs
1 comment:
Congrats on the pregnancy! My suggestions are pretty common sense: work on the essentials whenever you can and get rest whenever you can. When I was pregnant and homeschooling similar ages I would have my routine of what got taught when and then sometime in the afternoon was naptime. My 6 and 4 year old didn't take naps anymore so I trained them to have "quiet time" which means you may play, or read, or draw, or anything else on the Mommy approved list as long as it is quiet. If you wake Mommy because you are too loud, you have to lay down for a nap too. I am a relatively light sleeper and don't trust my kids judgement out of my sight, so I would lie down in an adjacent room so I could be aware of something unusual happening (such as a knock on the door). Naps saved me. I also found that I didn't usually have energy for much extra fun stuff (like crafts). I kept in mind that reading, writing and math are the basics. If I keep them up to date on those subjects, I'm good. If we stay up to date on their favorite subjects like science and art then they don't want to mutiny. Every month or so I would have the luxury of my parents visiting (they're retired and within visiting distance) so I would have the grandparents watching kids while I have a real long nap. Consider what resources you have available and take advantage of them to help yourself through the sick and tired times. If I was really desperate, I would pop a video on the computer and fall asleep on the sofa with the toddler on my lap.
As for the sick feeling, I was able to manage it by snacking every couple of hours (protein like dry roasted peanuts worked best for me). As long as my stomach had something in it, the nausea was at bay. But, I never was so bad that I was throwing up. I can't say whether it was because I snacked or if I just had a different reaction to the hormones.
And by all means make plans for how you want to handle things when the baby arrives. It's ok to take a break and start new routines. When our latest baby was born, I didn't have the newborn care to deal with (I see from your blogroll that you follow my husband's blog so you know the situation) but I was able to get back to doing school two weeks after the baby was born and finish up our school year. You might want to take a little more time than that.
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