Wake-Up Call

On Monday, I started back to work after a week off and it took no time at all to get back into the swing of things.  But, something has been happening this week that took me back to seeing the doctor this morning for a check-up.

Strangely, a few times every day this week, my heart felt like it was being squeezed for 15-minute stretches.  Then on Thursday, I felt like I was going to faint in the middle of teaching a lesson and then felt an instant, almost electric sort of zip along my back and down my right arm.  I wasn't sure if these events were related, but after telling my friend at work, he said that the safest thing to do would be to run all of my symptoms by a doctor to see if it was anything serious.

I am very thankful for the NHS because visiting the doctor over this heart pain is not something I would have been comfortable paying for back at home and I probably would have written it off as heartburn or a pulled muscle--even though I know that what has been going on feels much different than those two things.

After visiting the walk-in GP service in Ormskirk today, I did indeed receive a wake-up call to basically change my entire life.

The doctor told me that my resting heart rate is 90 bpm and my blood pressure is 124.  She then asked me what I eat, how much I sleep, and what I do for a living.  I told the doctor that I eat supper every night, but usually a muffin in the morning and no lunch (because that is what happens the majority of the time).  I then explained my sleep routine of sleeping from 9 P.M. to 1 A.M. (sometimes to 2) to ensure myself four hours of sleep and then I work through the night until it's time to get Jackson up.  I started doing this in September so that I get to spend as much time with Jackson as possible and to also have a quiet house to work in for marking books and fulfilling the paperwork required every week.  Lastly, I said that I was a teacher and she seemed to understand that the workload on teachers in England has skyrocketed and told me that many teachers have been in to see her this year already.

I made sure that she understood that I don't intend on leaving the profession and I really do love teaching and struggle to imagine myself doing anything else.  Upon hearing this, she gave me a long list of ways to improve my health because, as he put it, if I "continue on this way, [I] will burn out in the next five years."

Scared straight by her tone and other advice she gave me, I am putting her list of things to do into action today:

• Get more Vitamin D (at least 20 minutes of daylight every day)
• Eat fish twice a week or take Omega-3 vitamins
• Drink two litres of water a day
• Eat protein and some carbohydrates for breakfast
• Have a fruit or vegetable snack for lunch because only two main meals a day is fine
• Sleep for at least six hours a night
• Work before midnight and wake up a little early if necessary because the hours in the middle of the night don't produce the best work anyway
• Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day
• Do something non-work related and fun for at least 20 minutes per day

So I learned today that I am not above stress and although I may feel happy and friendly, the numbers don't lie.  My heart is working too hard to just 'rest' and that's not ideal or sustainable.  I also learned that avoiding smoking and drinking is not enough.  I thought I could avoid anything harmful to my health by merely not doing 'bad' things; however, avoiding healthy choices is also apparently taking its toll.  And while nothing she said was anything I hadn't heard before, I didn't think anything would actually happen if that list wasn't followed regularly.

I did receive more advice as to what I should do if the symptoms continue, but hopefully with the changes she ordered, I can lower the numbers without another doctor's visit.

Walking across the sofa and building ramps with couch cushions

Relaxing and watching Bubble Guppies before heading up to bed

What's left over of our fence after Storm Doris

Developmental updates:  Jackson likes to say, "Uh oh," now if something goes awry.  He also says, "Yep," when we ask him questions.  When he shakes his head for 'no,' Jackson seems to fully comprehend what he is disagreeing to whether it be getting a banana or or putting on his hat.  Today he got his picture taken for his first passport photo and it went a lot better than we thought it would.  He sat on my lap looking toward the camera, while I sat sideways and out of the way of the shot.  Even though he was crying because he wanted to be roaming around the shop instead, he managed to pull-off an adorable photo without any tears or signs of unhappiness.  (Lots of credit goes to the photographers who were showering Jackson with compliments and capturing his pose at just the right split second when he looked his best.)  Lee and I like to watch The Big Bang Theory and when Jackson hears the theme song, he dances and on the last beat, he raises both of his arms like a sign of victory.  We have no idea why he does this, but it happens every time without fail, even if he hears the song from the next room.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Speed Dating

Ten years ago, on a snowy Ohio Valentine's Day, my friend and I went to an event at Ashland University for singles:  Speed Dating.  It was a fun experience to try once and I never thought I would participate in something like that again because it was more of a bucket-list challenge than a productive way to meet someone.  But, this week's outings were the closest thing to speed dating I will probably ever come to again.

To celebrate having a week off and also Valentine's Day, we spent a lot of time out and about as a family this week.  Lee and I realised, however, that our little baby is a full-grown toddler now who races from place to place and does not like to sit still for long.

For Valentine's Day, we took a trip to Blackpool to the Sea Life Aquarium on the promenade.  It takes about an hour to drive there and Jackson took a nap on the way there, so we knew that he would have a lot of energy when he arrived.  Once we paid the entry fee for the aquarium and rode the elevator (lift) to the start of the tour, we didn't know how much we had underestimated Jackson's energy level.
He lasted about four minutes in his stroller before he tried to climb out and once he was out, he careened his way toward the exit in about seven minutes.  Any stairs or ramps in the various rooms also seemed to attract his little feet like a moth to a flame.  I think he probably only saw about five fish while he was running his laps.

When we first got to the ticket counter to go in, I had visions of us listening to the "Seahorse Talk" and enjoying the "Interactive Rockpool," but they weren't meant to be.  It was only a few short months ago that Jackson sat through a bird show and a sea lion show at Flamingo Land--twice!  I'm sure we'll be able to build-up his patience level, but I think it will be a while before we try the aquarium again.

And then there was the visit to Las Iguanas afterwards.  There is so much hope upon arrival at a restaurant with a 16-month-old:  Ooh!  Maybe we'll be adventurous and try a new appetizer, or order off of the tapas menu for an array of pretty, tiny dishes of Brazilian treats!  But that joy is soon condensed--as you see the attention deficit disorder seething from your child's eyes--into about a two-minute window of getting the waitress's attention as soon as possible and ordering the first thing on the menu that you can share with your baby and will taste good ice-cold.  After Lee and I ate in shifts, and swigged down our drinks, we turned into those parents who quiet their child with a bowl of raspberry jelly (Jell-O).  Yep, we did that.  Can't say we're proud of it, but it happened and it kept our child from screaming the place down.  And to top it off, we served it to him in minuscule bites to stretch out that peaceful, happy calmness as long as possible--and to allow my eating shift to finish.

Being someone who doesn't like to sit still for very long anyway, I'm quite content that my Valentine's Days from here on out look like they are going to be hectic, and undoubtedly full of love.

Showing off his pearly whites and adorable smile

Our model baby

Swimming as part of the Tropical Tots Experience.  Just kidding! 

Sporting his new dress-up hat

Sitting on his new sofa from his Uncle Charlie and watching Paw Patrol

Jackson's favourite part of the aquarium was watching the sharks and stingrays swim over his head.  We managed to stay in this room for a few minutes before he wanted to move on again.

Telling us about his day

Developmental updates:  Jackson can now easily dismount off of the couch and climb backwards to go down the stairs.  He is 'talking' with more conviction than ever and is coming up with new sounds to convey his thoughts.  Generally, Jackson has stopped throwing a tantrum when it's time to change his diaper.  As long as we say, "Do you want to change your bottom?" then he nods, walks over to the changing mat, and sits down.  This has made our lives a lot easier.  When it's time to drink out of his bottle or cup, Jackson will now hold the drinks for himself and if he sees even a drop left, he will throw his head all the way back to quench his thirst.  Jackson likes to play with cars and trucks, but he now pushes them around the entire ground floor, going from sofas to chairs to radiators and onto any other surface on which little wheels can be rolled.  He got to gently stroke a cat and a dog for the first time this week when he visited his great-grandpa.  Jackson can imitate more animal noises, but he hasn't memorised them all yet.  These include monkey, lion, dinosaur, sheep, dog, cat, and duck.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

And Relax!

It's time for the half-termly break across England for teachers and students once again!  So cue the 'teacher cold' for those of us who have made it through a five-week stretch without getting sick.  It seems to be the way it is around the world any time that you finally get a break from work, your body settles into a nice sore throat, stomach ache, coughing fit, runny nose routine.  It wouldn't be half-term without one!  Either way, for me at least, it hasn't reached chest infection level like this past October, so I should still be able to get a good chunk of work done and even work ahead for the next stretch of lessons.

We have a lot of fun things planned for this week and we will be taking lots of pictures, but believe it or not, I didn't take any this week.  It's the first week that happened, and I do feel bad about it.  I'll make up for it with our trips in the next few days so next week's entry should be full of more adorable photos of our little Jackson.

Developmental updates:  This week, Jackson added a sheep's 'baa baa baa' to his repertoire and seemed to perfect his monkey sound with actions.  He also has a dinosaur sound which he accompanies with a 'scary' face.  Jackson's nods and shakes of the head are getting more accurate and he understands if he is saying 'yes' or 'no' to an option.  He started covering his mouth and becoming wide-eyed when he is surprised by something.  Another new action is when he doesn't know what to do, he holds his hands out to the side with his palms facing upwards.  (This little boy just keeps getting cuter and cuter each day!)  Tonight, Jackson tried to help with his diaper change by taking the little wrapped package to the kitchen and throwing it in the sink!  Lee then showed him that we have actually been taking it to the trashcan all these months.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.