Last week, BP and Generosity

I wanted to write a post on Wednesday, however, in everything that happened on Wednesday I left my computer at school so todays post will probably be a bit long. Sorry!

This week was my last week of school. On Monday I got to have a planning day with Mel, the teacher who is replacing me. It was a good time to go through all the kids (although I'm surprised that I didn't scare her off!) and their behaviours and abilities, to go through school routines, to explain how I do different lessons and different information. I felt bad because it was information overload but I think it was good for her to be able to ask questions and explore answers. She seemed appreciative of the time though, although she wasn't feeling the best. I hope she doesn't get sick as she starts teaching as that will make it even harder. On Tuesday we were in the class together and it was Grandparents' Day. What a busy morning! Mel took the morning session and I took the one before lunch. After lunch was release so it was a pretty nice day. I showed her how I do Maths Rotations which she was a bit overwhelmed by but it was hard having a shorter amount of time due to G'Parents Day activities. The Grandparents were lovely and the kids enjoyed having them in the classroom and doing a dance for them. Wednesday I showed Mel how I do writing - a recount of G'Parents Day and then Maths Rotations again and then she did the unit work after lunch which was good to see. Thursday morning I took with writing information reports and then Literacy Groups and then the rest of the day was Mels. That was hard to step back and let her go with the flow. Then after fruit break the parents came into the classroom to say bye to me and hi to Mel. It was a bit awkward as it was so unstructured (organised by my boss and another teacher, not us) but it was nice to see around half of the parents and say thank you for their help this first half of the year. Then yesterday was my last day. Mel took the day until after lunch when I did an art lesson, and it went really well. Paint on all tables (I NEVER do that!) and being creative as the kids did dot painting, but they were really sensible as they did it. A great way to finish 7 years of teaching at RHAC. 

I am happy to be leaving 1N with Mel. She is quite firm with the kids, which they need. She is very good at listening to advice and she is willing to learn. I do worry a little bit about my autistic boy, as she hasn't had experience with autism before and I have a soft spot for him, but I know there is a lot of support around her and his mum will communicate with her so she can have an idea of how things are going. His mum wrote a note to me saying that the boy was very emotional at the moment. And yesterday he just kept coming up to me asking different questions - very cute! But she has built a good rapport with most the the students and they are excited to have her, even though they were sad to see me go. I think that Mel will work well with my Year 1 buddies too which is good, but I do hope that they share the workload and that Rach doesn't take it all on and burn out. But I'm sure all will be good come the new term.

Wednesday was my 36th week appointment with my Dr. He tested my blood pressure again and said that it was still high so he was going to put me on meds so that it doesn't spike. He said that the only way my bp will return to normal is to have the baby and he doesn't want that to happen yet (thank goodness!) He is happy with the position of Bubble, head it down so that is good. When he was checking Bubble's heartbeat he took longer than normal which was a little bit concerning. He did say 'I'm just going to listen for a bit longer', and asked if it had been active in the morning. I said yes. He then said that the heartbeat was rapid, but he thinks it was because Bubble was being quite active. So it must have settled down toward the end and its heartbeat must have slowed down. Other than that, he was happy with Bubble. So I just need to take bp meds 3 times a day. The only problem is that there is a problem at the manufacturer and so the 2 chemists I went to were out of stock. One has a bottle that was open but insisted that it was ok so I got that one (so I could start the meds) but I need to remember to ask the dr if there is a different medication as neither place knew when new stock would come in. Not so helpful!

On Wednesday afternoon my school friends threw me a baby shower. It was a very casual event where there was food (of course) and just sitting around and chatting. The overwhelming thing was the amount of gifts which they generously gave to Bubble. 

The gifts once brought home. They filled the back seat of my car!

 It was very overwhelming. Betty-Joy (my stage co-ordinator) said some very kind words to me and I was told to say something in return. It was hard to say bye. I was very teary! Very emotional. As I said to them, they are all my extended family and it is going to be hard to go from seeing them each day to not. I am excited about this next stage in my life and the adventures that will come, however, I am sad to be leaving such a supportive family. I was very teary. Then as people left, more tears came. I just can't believe how generous everyone was. Even the cleaners gave me a present! They were so beautiful!

Some of my favourite presents that we got on Wednesday were:

A giraffe jumpsuit + hat from Jess. So cute!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar jumpsuits from Cyndie

Little Peter Rabbit library from Janice and Peter Rabbit bowl and spoon set from Rach

Hand-painted jumpsuits from Kat. Especially love the Swans one!

 Then on Thursday I got a massive basket package from my parents and kids. It had everything you need in it pretty much. Again, very generous. I wasn't as emotional on Thursday afternoon, which was nice, but still a bit teary. The parents were lovely who came to say bye, most who had helped in the classroom at some point so I was able to say thank you for the help. A couple of the kids also brought in separate presents including blankets, toys, clothes - very sweet. By Friday afternoon this is how spoilt Bubble is and I have no idea where everything is going to be kept!

The basket on the table is the one from the parents. All gifts from RHAC!

The school always gives a build-a-bear to a baby when they are going to be born and this is Bubble's build-a-bear. We will need to think of a name for it.

He's pretty cute!

So Friday was my last day. I think I was all cried out because I got teary at times but overall I wasn't too bad. I was exhausted though at the end of the day and decided to change saying 'bye' to 'see you soon' because Bubble and I will be back to visit. So that made saying 'bye' better. It is quite surreal. Locking up, handing in my laptop and keys. I feel like I'm just on holidays at the moment but I'm sure that won't last :-)

My tummy feels so big! (lots of people still say it is quite small)

It doesn't even fit into the camera when I do a self shot.

 I took a video this morning of Bubble doing a big movement (it was very active as I was typing, then when I want it to perform, of course it doesn't. Sorry Grandparents!). But the big movement it pretty cool. My computer just isn't wanting to upload it properly. Will try again later. Again, sorry for the huge post.