Observation Child Development

On February 26th, 2005 I walked into Mrs. Johnson's residence for our discussion of what is one of the happiest days of her life. It was an inviting house. The room smelled like vanilla and everything was very tidy like most expected mothers houses usually are. Mrs. Johnson is a long time friend so I notice the excitement in here eyes to talk to me about her new addition. She said that nobody has ever wanted to write about her feeling of her pregnancy and with two other children excited to have an adult to talk too. We sat down on her couch and she turned toward me eager to know what I was going to ask.

Mrs. Johnson is 28 years old. She has had two other children a girl and a boy. This is here third pregnancy. She is in her ninth month and still looks active and happy. I wanted to know if this pregnancy was planned and she looks at me with a smile. She said "We tried for three months to get pregnant." Mrs. Johnson explained that three years ago she had a gastric bypass surgery and the doctor didn't think it was a good idea for her to become pregnant. Gastric Bypass Surgery is generally considered to be the best surgical procedure for the treatment of obesity. Weight loss is achieved by reducing the functional portion of the stomach to a pouch one ounce or less in size, and by creating a stoma, a small opening between the stomach and the intestine. When you are pregnant you need to consume more food than four ounces and that is all she can eat at one time. It doesn't matter if it is food or drink. Mrs. Johnson didn't have any tests done before pregnancy. Mrs. Johnson said that she knew she was pregnant really quickly. After being pregnant twice before you know the signs she says. Mrs. Johnson said that she had nausea, missed menstrual, and tender breasts. She used a pregnancy test and it was positive. Later a blood test from the base hospital confirmed that she was pregnant. I was very concerned when she said that the doctors didn't agree with the pregnancy so I wanted to know about her prenatal care. She said that she was considered high risk so she would go to the hospital every two weeks until she was seven months pregnant. At her seventh month she started going every week. They didn't notice any problems until here eighth month then they notice he wasn't gaining weight properly. They keep taking tests and hopefully everything will turn out just how she has wanted it.

Mrs. Johnson has decided that she doesn't want anymore children. After this baby she is scheduled to have her tubes tied. She feels that all the worries she has had is difficult and she wants to have her wonderful bundle of joy and that is it. She already has two children so in today's society she believes that three is enough. She feels that she can financially support three for now but she said she sees the problems in the long run. College is going to be expensive and when they first drive that will be hard but she states she is ready for it. Mrs. Johnson doesn't want to go back to work right now. She says that it is hard having a husband in the air force. You never know when they are going to go. You never know when there schedules change. "It bothers me sometimes I feel like a single parent" I asked her about daycare when she goes back to work and she said "Only if you would start watching infants again" and we both laughed. A little humor seemed to change the mood because I notice the stress in her eyes thinking about three kids by herself.

Everyone always thinks about a boy or a girl. I asked her what she would like. First she said a healthy child. She already has both a boy and a girl. She then says well I want a girl. I love to dress them. I love the closeness that we have but I am happy to say that I am having a boy. I have had many ultrasounds and he wasn't shy. It is a 100% boy. Mrs. Johnson said she didn't have the amniocentesis and she would not use genetic counseling.

Next we thought we would talk about teratogens. She didn't know what that was so I explained. The only thing she seemed to live on was Tums. She can't eat and drink that much so sodas was off limits. She only has protein shakes. Hard Drugs was definitely out of the question.

The baby's name is going to be Jayden. They went through several names like Xavier, Joshua, David but none really felt right. All the names where picked from a baby book. Most people today seem to do it that way. Just pick a name out of a book and go with it.

I have explained earlier that her husband is in the air force and is delighted about the pregnancy. His work schedule is very inconsistent. She says he wish he could change that. He works twelve hour shifts five days a week. And he days off fluctuate. They have been married for eight years so there life together is stable. The father doesn't do any drugs or