Sunday, June 6, 2010
Independent Play
The impossible has happened. Little N played by herself for more than 30 seconds! She actually played on a blanket in the living room for about an hour and then after a little break spent an hour in her Pack-N-Play for about an hour. I really didn't know what to do with myself. But I could definitely get used to this! :) :) :)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Baby Sleep & Nose Tasting
Going to sleep -- what a peaceful blissful idea... as an adult! For babies, sleep must be the most terrifying thing ever. I s'pose that's one of my parental duties: to help her understand that sleep is a good thing.
That is much, much, MUCH more easily said than done!
I think we waited a bit too long to move Nora out of our room. We moved her crib into the second bedroom when she was almost 6 months. This was a consequence of both Alan's and my workload this past spring semester.
Tonight Nora screamed for -- what was it, an hour? On and off, she screamed until snot ran from her nose and she gurgled and coughed with sweet little baby tears and saliva. It really breaks my heart to see her so upset -- but the baby cannot live her life falling asleep nursing and she despises a pacifier. What else can we do?
She is a sweet girl, despite her aversion to falling asleep. Today I feel like she made her first "joke" -- in a sense. Nora and I were playing and laughing/smiling about something, and I picked her up. She looked at me, leaned forward and inserted my nose in her open mouth. She didn't nibble, she just put my nose in her mouth and smiled with the corners of her mouth. The first time she did it, it was kind of an accident -- we were playing together on the bed and (if I remember correctly) I was trying to tickle her by pressing my nose on her neck and making "om nom nom" noises. Somehow her mouth landed on my nose and I laughed and laughed and laughed. I guess she learned then that I thought it was funny -- so today she made her "joke" to make me laugh again. And I was eager to comply.
Also -- on a much lighter note -- today I noticed that Nora Joy can be abbreviated N. Joy (pronounced "enjoy"). How cool is that? It's almost like I planned it, but I totally didn't.
N-Joy living up to her Texas heritage.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Nora's Birth Story
Written November 28, 2009 -- While still in the hospital.
I'm not a very good story-teller, but I'm sure many of you are interested in hearing the general story of how Nora entered the "outside" world. I say general story, because I will spare you--the general audience--any details you may not want to know.
During church on Sunday I was feeling slight contractions, but this wasn't anything worth noting because the whole 9th month has consisted of these pre-labor contractions. Later that afternoon, Alan and I decide to go on a walk together. As I was getting ready to go, I noticed "something" so we called the hospital and asked if we should go in. We were told to go immediately, so we went. I think this was about 5 o'clock. I was hooked up to a bunch of machines and monitored for about an hour to determine if there was anything going on to be concerned about. I was having contractions regularly, but they weren't painful, and I was still 2cm dilated (no change from my last doctor's exam). So they sent us home. I believe it was around 7 now.
We stopped by Jack-in-the-Box to buy Alan some dinner, and went home. I ate some black bean soup and we finished watching a Gary Cooper film that we had started a couple of days ago. As we were preparing to watch another movie and wind down (or play a game), my water broke (8pm)--a very weird sensation by the way. Alan called the hospital and asked if we should go back, and when the nurse told him that we should, he asked if we should go right away or if we could wait at home for a bit. She said come right away, so Alan took a shower. My contractions suddenly became unavoidable. Not wretchedly painful, but substantial enough that I couldn't just ignore them. We hadn't packed our hospital bags, so we threw some things together and left. As we arrived at the hospital, I got out of the car to find that there was more amniotic fluid. So I waddled up to labor and delivery trying to hide by wet backside. I don't think I fooled anybody, though. Too bad that was the only pair of pants I brought to the hospital! What was I thinking?
We were admitted to the labor room at about 9, and by this time the contractions were pretty intense. The nurses hooked me up to a several machines (to monitor my heart rate, Nora's heart rate, and my contractions), gave me an IV for fluids, and evaluated where I was at: 3cm. Alan did a great job of talking to me as I went through the contractions--it was very comforting to hear his voice and assurance that it was only something to be endured for a short while. When it would end, we would have a little Nora (and I would not be pregnant! Added bonus!). I focused on relaxing my uterus so that I would not be fighting my body, but allowing it to work more efficiently. I think around 11:30 our nurse checked me and saw that I was now 8cm dilated. Alan told me to slow down so that Nora could be born on his birthday! I think that made me smile. It was definitely encouraging. About half an hour later, we reached the 10cm mark and began pushing.
Pushing was a lot more challenging for me. We were blessed with an amazing nurse (Jessica) to help us--particularly at this stage. On arrival, she asked me what kind of pain management I would like to use. I let her know that we wanted to try natural childbirth, and she was on board with what we wanted to do. She suggested several positions for me to try during this stage and coached. I'll spare you the details, but with Jessica and Alan's help, after 2.5 hours of pushing we had a little Nora. This part was really hard work. At the end I was so exhausted I was shaking. I definitely think working out regularly helped me endure this--mentally as well as physically--because I am used to disciplining my body and mind to push and exert effort even when you feel like you have nothing left to give.
There you have it. Eleanor Joy entered the outside at 2:32am after about 6.5 hours of labor on 11/23/09 (just shy of 39 weeks pregnant btw), and Alan got his wish of sharing his birthday with her. She weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 22 in long at the time of her birth. Her Apgar score was a whopping 9.9! The kid's already getting As!
Having her makes everyday like Christmas. I am so thankful.
I'm not a very good story-teller, but I'm sure many of you are interested in hearing the general story of how Nora entered the "outside" world. I say general story, because I will spare you--the general audience--any details you may not want to know.
During church on Sunday I was feeling slight contractions, but this wasn't anything worth noting because the whole 9th month has consisted of these pre-labor contractions. Later that afternoon, Alan and I decide to go on a walk together. As I was getting ready to go, I noticed "something" so we called the hospital and asked if we should go in. We were told to go immediately, so we went. I think this was about 5 o'clock. I was hooked up to a bunch of machines and monitored for about an hour to determine if there was anything going on to be concerned about. I was having contractions regularly, but they weren't painful, and I was still 2cm dilated (no change from my last doctor's exam). So they sent us home. I believe it was around 7 now.
We stopped by Jack-in-the-Box to buy Alan some dinner, and went home. I ate some black bean soup and we finished watching a Gary Cooper film that we had started a couple of days ago. As we were preparing to watch another movie and wind down (or play a game), my water broke (8pm)--a very weird sensation by the way. Alan called the hospital and asked if we should go back, and when the nurse told him that we should, he asked if we should go right away or if we could wait at home for a bit. She said come right away, so Alan took a shower. My contractions suddenly became unavoidable. Not wretchedly painful, but substantial enough that I couldn't just ignore them. We hadn't packed our hospital bags, so we threw some things together and left. As we arrived at the hospital, I got out of the car to find that there was more amniotic fluid. So I waddled up to labor and delivery trying to hide by wet backside. I don't think I fooled anybody, though. Too bad that was the only pair of pants I brought to the hospital! What was I thinking?
We were admitted to the labor room at about 9, and by this time the contractions were pretty intense. The nurses hooked me up to a several machines (to monitor my heart rate, Nora's heart rate, and my contractions), gave me an IV for fluids, and evaluated where I was at: 3cm. Alan did a great job of talking to me as I went through the contractions--it was very comforting to hear his voice and assurance that it was only something to be endured for a short while. When it would end, we would have a little Nora (and I would not be pregnant! Added bonus!). I focused on relaxing my uterus so that I would not be fighting my body, but allowing it to work more efficiently. I think around 11:30 our nurse checked me and saw that I was now 8cm dilated. Alan told me to slow down so that Nora could be born on his birthday! I think that made me smile. It was definitely encouraging. About half an hour later, we reached the 10cm mark and began pushing.
Pushing was a lot more challenging for me. We were blessed with an amazing nurse (Jessica) to help us--particularly at this stage. On arrival, she asked me what kind of pain management I would like to use. I let her know that we wanted to try natural childbirth, and she was on board with what we wanted to do. She suggested several positions for me to try during this stage and coached. I'll spare you the details, but with Jessica and Alan's help, after 2.5 hours of pushing we had a little Nora. This part was really hard work. At the end I was so exhausted I was shaking. I definitely think working out regularly helped me endure this--mentally as well as physically--because I am used to disciplining my body and mind to push and exert effort even when you feel like you have nothing left to give.
There you have it. Eleanor Joy entered the outside at 2:32am after about 6.5 hours of labor on 11/23/09 (just shy of 39 weeks pregnant btw), and Alan got his wish of sharing his birthday with her. She weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 22 in long at the time of her birth. Her Apgar score was a whopping 9.9! The kid's already getting As!
Having her makes everyday like Christmas. I am so thankful.
Holding Nora for the first time. <3
Nora moments after being born.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I Love my Husband
Summer session I started this week. Alan is taking a 4-week course in German for his Ph.D. Obviously he has his hands full and is very busy attending class and studying after class.
The spring semester was so busy that I was not able to hit the gym like I wanted to, so I have been having dreams of having more opportunities to go this summer. Thankfully, Alan is being a dear and taking time out of his very busy day to take care of Nora so that I can go have fun. The past couple of days he has been putting her to bed -- which is no easy task and is more easily said than done.
Nora has been very emotionally needy lately -- likely compounded by the pain she feels from little teeth making their way up to the surface.
Unrelated -- I bought a season pass to the Mayborn Museum so that we can have an air-conditioned place to go for fun (trying not to go window shopping for fun). So we've gone a couple of times already. There's a lot to look at.
The spring semester was so busy that I was not able to hit the gym like I wanted to, so I have been having dreams of having more opportunities to go this summer. Thankfully, Alan is being a dear and taking time out of his very busy day to take care of Nora so that I can go have fun. The past couple of days he has been putting her to bed -- which is no easy task and is more easily said than done.
Nora has been very emotionally needy lately -- likely compounded by the pain she feels from little teeth making their way up to the surface.
Unrelated -- I bought a season pass to the Mayborn Museum so that we can have an air-conditioned place to go for fun (trying not to go window shopping for fun). So we've gone a couple of times already. There's a lot to look at.
Avocado
Nora was reluctant to start solids. We tried to get her interested in food at 4 months, then at 5 months... then finally when she was about to turn 6 months Nora was introduced to Avocado and the rest is history.
What can I say? The kid has got skill.
Gertrude supervising.
What can I say? The kid has got skill.
Nora Meets Frank Capra (February 13, 2010)
I thought I would be the last person to hop on the blog bandwagon, but I’ve recently changed my mind. We’ll see if I will be diligent to keep this up, though. Teaching 2 classes at the university, along with trying to be a good wife and mom is a little challenging. Let’s just say that the dishes are not always done at the end of the day, and the “day” ends at midnight. This is usually the time where I do house chores or grading or lesson plans, etc.
So, enough of the boring stuff. The past day or two Nora has really changed. She is suddenly very interested in what is going on around her; not as quick to get upset and burst into tears (which Alan appreciates). She is still going to bed around 7pm every night and sleeping through the night (save a few feedings) until 7 or so the next morning. She started this on her own accord around the 2 month mark… possibly a little before now that I think about it. Last night, however, she stayed up a little later than usual and watched an old Frank Capra film (sadly, it wasn’t too good) with us. It really tickled us to have her propped up between us on the couch just sitting and watching. She was very interested. And we spent most of the movie just looking over at her and getting a kick out of how adult-like she was acting.
Well, it’s nearly midnight. Bed time for me!
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Casualties of Online Learning
A sense of community is not easily obtained--either in an online environment or elsewhere. Getting people to work alongside one another is a classic dilemma that plagues humanity. We see this at our workplaces, in our families, between counties, and of course, in our online courses.
It is claimed that a greater sense of community is possible in an online course. I don't think this is necessarily so. I would argue that assigning group projects to students is a poor way to create community because it is forced. The students may or may not want to get to know the other members of their group; regardless, due to the fact that the students' initial motivation is their grade in the course, the sense of community is not well-developed, weak and pathetic. And who can blame them? How can something significant with respect to a community develop from a required community-developing assignment?
A casualty of exclusive online learning is our humanity. Our humanity is diminished when we exclusively communicate with others by artificial (technological) means. Some examples of communication by artificial means are: phone conversations, letter or email-writing, text messaging, etc. What have we lost? Some may argue that we haven't lost anything, because the words that we communicate are clear, but I would argue that we have lost something important in our human communication with one another. We cannot see facial expressions, or hear the tone of voice, or see body language--these are essential components of human communication. Facts can be communicated through artificial means, but a sense of community is not.
I have taken two online courses before taking this one, and although I may interact with members of my class, I do not feel like I am in a community with them. I didn't feel any connection with my fellow classmates. I think a good explanation for this is that it's particularly difficult to connect with someone when there isn't a face to associate to the text. When we exclusively know someone from the text they type, it's easy for us to classify them as an online entity: although we theoretically know that this person exists and lives a real life somewhere, it's easy for us to categorize them as an "online entity."
Another casualty of exclusive online learning is entropy in group assignments. In either synchronous or asynchronous settings, it is challenging to communicate efficiently to the other members of your group in a timely manner.
When we made our team charter, we found it challenging to come to a group consensus. We could use the synchronous or asynchronous methods of communication, and ultimately used a little of both. I don't think it is particularly effective because there is such a delay between responses (either in synchronous or asynchronous formats). Moreover, many times a few members of the group would type the same thing, which is a far cry from efficiency. I know that to get a group of people to work together is never a simple task--it always takes some work--but I'd like to wager that would could have agreed more quickly (and with fewer hindrances) if we had spoken in person. However, having said that, to meet in person would have taken quite a bit of driving time. So, although I think meeting in person is a better way of problem-solving, I am happy that I didn't have to drive a few hours to meet in a coffee shop. I think that entropy is a valid concern that online courses have to deal with.
I am not sure that I would like to force my students into an online community if/when I teach my online classes. In particular, for an online class in mathematics, I do not think that an online community is necessary, and I am not sure that it is beneficial. Having feedback/input from fellow classmates is irrelevant and impractical in a math course--impractical because communicating mathematics via text exclusively (without a special program involving mathematical symbols or diagrams) is terribly complicated.
It is claimed that a greater sense of community is possible in an online course. I don't think this is necessarily so. I would argue that assigning group projects to students is a poor way to create community because it is forced. The students may or may not want to get to know the other members of their group; regardless, due to the fact that the students' initial motivation is their grade in the course, the sense of community is not well-developed, weak and pathetic. And who can blame them? How can something significant with respect to a community develop from a required community-developing assignment?
A casualty of exclusive online learning is our humanity. Our humanity is diminished when we exclusively communicate with others by artificial (technological) means. Some examples of communication by artificial means are: phone conversations, letter or email-writing, text messaging, etc. What have we lost? Some may argue that we haven't lost anything, because the words that we communicate are clear, but I would argue that we have lost something important in our human communication with one another. We cannot see facial expressions, or hear the tone of voice, or see body language--these are essential components of human communication. Facts can be communicated through artificial means, but a sense of community is not.
I have taken two online courses before taking this one, and although I may interact with members of my class, I do not feel like I am in a community with them. I didn't feel any connection with my fellow classmates. I think a good explanation for this is that it's particularly difficult to connect with someone when there isn't a face to associate to the text. When we exclusively know someone from the text they type, it's easy for us to classify them as an online entity: although we theoretically know that this person exists and lives a real life somewhere, it's easy for us to categorize them as an "online entity."
Another casualty of exclusive online learning is entropy in group assignments. In either synchronous or asynchronous settings, it is challenging to communicate efficiently to the other members of your group in a timely manner.
When we made our team charter, we found it challenging to come to a group consensus. We could use the synchronous or asynchronous methods of communication, and ultimately used a little of both. I don't think it is particularly effective because there is such a delay between responses (either in synchronous or asynchronous formats). Moreover, many times a few members of the group would type the same thing, which is a far cry from efficiency. I know that to get a group of people to work together is never a simple task--it always takes some work--but I'd like to wager that would could have agreed more quickly (and with fewer hindrances) if we had spoken in person. However, having said that, to meet in person would have taken quite a bit of driving time. So, although I think meeting in person is a better way of problem-solving, I am happy that I didn't have to drive a few hours to meet in a coffee shop. I think that entropy is a valid concern that online courses have to deal with.
I am not sure that I would like to force my students into an online community if/when I teach my online classes. In particular, for an online class in mathematics, I do not think that an online community is necessary, and I am not sure that it is beneficial. Having feedback/input from fellow classmates is irrelevant and impractical in a math course--impractical because communicating mathematics via text exclusively (without a special program involving mathematical symbols or diagrams) is terribly complicated.
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