When doctors say that kids bounce back fast, they sure do mean it!
Christian had his surgery done on Thursday and by noon yesterday, he was pretty much back to his usual self!
There were a few things we learned about Christian during surgery.
1. He needs anti-nausea medicine during surgery. The anesthesiologist (who was from Australia and super smart!!) told us beforehand that she was planning to give him some, but apparently somewhere along the way, she decided not to. This led to an upset stomach afterwards. :( It's amazing that I could tell he was going to throw up just by seeing it in his eyes. And he not only threw up once, but many times over about 2 1/2 hours. The first time he got it all over his cool hospital pajamas, so those needed to be changed, but every time after that, he got it in some sort of container. Great job Christian!!
They actually kept us at the hospital a little bit longer because he was unable to keep anything down. Eventually they just kicked us out! His color looked good plus he was sitting up and talking, so they figured we could start liquids very slowly at home. Honestly, I think he was enjoying sitting there watching "Back to the Future III" while his stomach calmed down! They said getting out in the fresh air and getting home would probably help him feel better, and I think it did.
They also warned us that he might throw up again on the car ride home, which he did. Luckily, he could feel it coming and we didn't have a big mess. The hospital sent us home with some throw up containers and those came in handy! They know what they are doing!! He did gag a little bit once we got home, but that was the end of it. Yay!!
2. During surgery, the doctor had covered his abdomen with a blue disinfectant and then left it on him afterwards. I think it was just to make sure everything stayed clean for the next couple of days. I learned yesterday that Christian will break out to this disinfectant!! I am not sure if it was the blue food dye or anything else in it, but he had a nice rash going on underneath it yesterday. I called his doctor and they told me to just wash it off, so I did. This morning, there is still a little rash left.
I don't let any of my kids eat anything with food dyes anymore, but it is more for preventative reasons. They have never broken out in a rash before, so does this mean he is truly sensitive to food dyes?? I am going to ask his doctor about it in two weeks when we take him in for his two week post-operative checkup.
3. When child does not eat for over 24 hours, they are starving and want to eat anything in sight!! We didn't give him any food the night he came home because he couldn't even keep liquids down! We gave him a little bit of water and Advil before he went to bed, but that was it. When he woke up Friday morning, he pretty much stood up and said, "I am going downstairs and I am going to find something to eat!" He didn't even wait for me!! I wanted to make sure he was ok, but apparently he was fine and he was on a mission to find food! (He slept on the baby mattress beside our bed the night of surgery.)
I couldn't just let him eat whatever he wanted though, so I let him have some cheerios and drink a can of pop little bit little in the morning.. These all stayed down, so by lunch time, I let him have some real food. He didn't have any trouble all day!
4. He is a tough kid! There were a few points during the morning yesterday when you could tell his abdomen hurt because he would hunch over a little bit as he walked. I gave him some Advil at 9 am and that seemed to help. He did great with pain all day until about 7 last night. He started to hunch over again and was getting a little crabby, so I gave him some more Advil. He went almost 10 hours without any medicine- tough kid!!
He went to bed last night without an issue and has not asked for any or showed signs that he would need any yet today. He is back to acting like his normal self. They told me surgery would not keep him down for long and they were right!
He gets his cast off next Friday(the 6th) and then goes back in for his two week post-op checkup on the 13th. We will see where baby boy decides to make his appearance in the middle of this all!!!
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Platelet count!
My platelets are back up!! Not to where they should be, but they are back up to 98,000. Only 2,000 more points to go and I am back in the clear!!
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Dishes at 9 pm??
You know there is something wrong with me when I am WILLINGLY doing the dishes at 9 pm. This NEVER happens!!! Must be nesting. :)
The girls did ask me tonight, "Mom, when are you going to have this baby???" I think they are tired of me making them clean up after themselves so much these last two days!!
The girls did ask me tonight, "Mom, when are you going to have this baby???" I think they are tired of me making them clean up after themselves so much these last two days!!
Surgery tomorow!
After rescheduling surgery for the third time, it looks like it will actually happen tomorrow, unless a baby boy decides to make his appearance!
Christian cannot have anything to eat after midnight tonight, so he had a great big bowl of oatmeal right before bed. He is looking forward to his apple juice for breakfast, but after 9:15, he is off all liquids too. We have to be at the hospital at 11:15 and surgery is at 1:15. I do need to give him a final bath in the morning and wash him up with antibacterial soap.
He is not nervous at all. He knows they are going to fix the hole in his belly button and he is going to go to sleep. I am not very nervous either! I should be! I am sure I will be a wreck tomorrow though, especially when they take him away for surgery. That will probably be the hardest part of the day.
We were in Target today, and I let him pick out two small Lego sets for tomorrow. I said he can have them when he gets home from surgery if he does a good job. He told dad all about those tonight, so I think even if he hurts, those might help him a little bit! I also said he could play video games when it is all over. He liked that idea too! He might be playing quite a few video games over the next couple of days!
I am going to try to get a math lesson in tomorrow morning with the girls before we have to leave. They get to spend the afternoon with grandma, so they are pretty excited!
Hopefully everything goes well and he will make a quick recovery! Broken arm and all!!
Christian cannot have anything to eat after midnight tonight, so he had a great big bowl of oatmeal right before bed. He is looking forward to his apple juice for breakfast, but after 9:15, he is off all liquids too. We have to be at the hospital at 11:15 and surgery is at 1:15. I do need to give him a final bath in the morning and wash him up with antibacterial soap.
He is not nervous at all. He knows they are going to fix the hole in his belly button and he is going to go to sleep. I am not very nervous either! I should be! I am sure I will be a wreck tomorrow though, especially when they take him away for surgery. That will probably be the hardest part of the day.
We were in Target today, and I let him pick out two small Lego sets for tomorrow. I said he can have them when he gets home from surgery if he does a good job. He told dad all about those tonight, so I think even if he hurts, those might help him a little bit! I also said he could play video games when it is all over. He liked that idea too! He might be playing quite a few video games over the next couple of days!
I am going to try to get a math lesson in tomorrow morning with the girls before we have to leave. They get to spend the afternoon with grandma, so they are pretty excited!
Hopefully everything goes well and he will make a quick recovery! Broken arm and all!!
38 1/2 week checkup! Getting closer!
I went in and saw my midwife today. I was looking forward to going in after those seven hours of contractions on Monday night. I knew some of them were real because they were lasting 2-3 minutes and were pretty intense.
I was pretty anxious when I went in to see her today. I was shaky for some odd reason! It was probably because I had a very busy day ahead of me and then this morning, we got word that Matt's brother and his wife (the ones due the same day as me) were in the hospital having their baby!
I got to my appointment and stepped on the scale. Another two pounds. I guess I gained the one back from last week and added another one. I am up to 30 extra pounds now! My blood pressure was slightly higher than usual, but nothing worth getting upset about!
My midwife came in and I told her what had happened on Monday. She said, "Do you want me to check you?" I said, "Kind of." She went ahead and checked my cervix and said I was at a 1, but still really "thick." A one?? Really? I questioned her a couple of times! I know it's not much, but I have never done anything until a week overdue and here I am 1 1/2 weeks AHEAD of my due date!! She said I still have a long ways to go and if the contractions started up again, I would be ok to stay at home for awhile. She did say again that if my water broke, I would need to get right up to the hospital.
She drew my blood again to check my platelets since I have been on steroids for a week.
She measured my belly and I grew 1/2 cm, so I am at 39 1/2 cm. She said he was still in the same positon as the last six weeks. He is head down and his body is along my right side with knees and feet along my ribs. His heartbeat was great and he had good movement. I think he kicked her while she was listening to his heartbeat! She also said again how much water is in there! (Last week she told me we were going to have a great big mess when my water broke!)
We pretty much wrapped things up with that because Courtney had to get to her class at the homeschool learning center. I go back again next week!
I was pretty anxious when I went in to see her today. I was shaky for some odd reason! It was probably because I had a very busy day ahead of me and then this morning, we got word that Matt's brother and his wife (the ones due the same day as me) were in the hospital having their baby!
I got to my appointment and stepped on the scale. Another two pounds. I guess I gained the one back from last week and added another one. I am up to 30 extra pounds now! My blood pressure was slightly higher than usual, but nothing worth getting upset about!
My midwife came in and I told her what had happened on Monday. She said, "Do you want me to check you?" I said, "Kind of." She went ahead and checked my cervix and said I was at a 1, but still really "thick." A one?? Really? I questioned her a couple of times! I know it's not much, but I have never done anything until a week overdue and here I am 1 1/2 weeks AHEAD of my due date!! She said I still have a long ways to go and if the contractions started up again, I would be ok to stay at home for awhile. She did say again that if my water broke, I would need to get right up to the hospital.
She drew my blood again to check my platelets since I have been on steroids for a week.
She measured my belly and I grew 1/2 cm, so I am at 39 1/2 cm. She said he was still in the same positon as the last six weeks. He is head down and his body is along my right side with knees and feet along my ribs. His heartbeat was great and he had good movement. I think he kicked her while she was listening to his heartbeat! She also said again how much water is in there! (Last week she told me we were going to have a great big mess when my water broke!)
We pretty much wrapped things up with that because Courtney had to get to her class at the homeschool learning center. I go back again next week!
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Nesting?
Today, I nested all day long! I cleaned the house, washed every piece of dirty laundry I could find, and washed every single dirty dish I had. We ran the dishwasher three times and I washed two sink-fulls by hand. I am on a mission!
My daughters have now learned that mama's "nest" when they are about to have a baby! They think it is kind of funny because I was kind of obsessed with cleaning today and they could tell! This morning I made the proposition that we should just take the day off of school and clean all day. They wanted to do it! I said, no, we have to go to school. I made them put away everything they got out; I even made them clean up the living room before going to bed, which I never do!!
What brought this all on? Well, I had contractions last night from 6 pm to 1 am (yes, about 7 hours). They were 5-6 or 10 minutes apart and some were 2-3 minutes long. I kept wondering, "Are these still false contractions or are they the real thing?" They didn't get more intense or stronger as the night went on, so I never called my midwife or worried much about going to the hospital. Even though I did think to myself, "Maybe I should pack a bag. Maybe I should get some things ready for the baby. Maybe the kids should pack a bag. Maybe I should call a neighbor to come over in the middle of the night. What if I REALLY need to go to the hospital??" (Don't worry, we do have a plan of what to do with the kids in the middle of the night!)
As much as I would have loved to have had this baby last night, I am glad they finally stopped about 1 am and I could get some sleep. I was pretty restless until then. Honestly, I don't want a middle-of-the-night baby! My afternoon babies have worked great in the past!
I woke up about 5:30 this morning and they started right up again. They didn't last but a couple of hours and by the time I got up and got going, they stopped. Bummer!
Tonight again, they have started and have been going for the last couple of hours. They are not near as intense or regular as they were last night, but I can still feel them. These seem more like the false contractions that I am used to having.
I see my midwife in the morning, so I will see what she thinks about this all. If these are the real thing and I actually go into labor, it will be AMAZING! I have never had a baby in less than a week overdue, which is still two weeks away!
I did pull my backpack out of the attic tonight and got out some clothes incase we had to go to the hospital. I also had the kids put together some clothes and got some out for the baby. Matt said he doesn't want to take anything because he will just run home if he needs something. The hospital is not very far away, so that will work for him.
I can't believe we are getting so close!! But I am not giving my hopes up, I could still sit around pregnant until November 22nd! Honestly, I am not that uncomfortable and I feel great yet! We just need to get those platelets up!
I should add that Christian's surgery is now scheduled for Thursday, so baby needs to make up his mind on what he wants to do! This is the third time we have rescheduled it already!
My daughters have now learned that mama's "nest" when they are about to have a baby! They think it is kind of funny because I was kind of obsessed with cleaning today and they could tell! This morning I made the proposition that we should just take the day off of school and clean all day. They wanted to do it! I said, no, we have to go to school. I made them put away everything they got out; I even made them clean up the living room before going to bed, which I never do!!
What brought this all on? Well, I had contractions last night from 6 pm to 1 am (yes, about 7 hours). They were 5-6 or 10 minutes apart and some were 2-3 minutes long. I kept wondering, "Are these still false contractions or are they the real thing?" They didn't get more intense or stronger as the night went on, so I never called my midwife or worried much about going to the hospital. Even though I did think to myself, "Maybe I should pack a bag. Maybe I should get some things ready for the baby. Maybe the kids should pack a bag. Maybe I should call a neighbor to come over in the middle of the night. What if I REALLY need to go to the hospital??" (Don't worry, we do have a plan of what to do with the kids in the middle of the night!)
As much as I would have loved to have had this baby last night, I am glad they finally stopped about 1 am and I could get some sleep. I was pretty restless until then. Honestly, I don't want a middle-of-the-night baby! My afternoon babies have worked great in the past!
I woke up about 5:30 this morning and they started right up again. They didn't last but a couple of hours and by the time I got up and got going, they stopped. Bummer!
Tonight again, they have started and have been going for the last couple of hours. They are not near as intense or regular as they were last night, but I can still feel them. These seem more like the false contractions that I am used to having.
I see my midwife in the morning, so I will see what she thinks about this all. If these are the real thing and I actually go into labor, it will be AMAZING! I have never had a baby in less than a week overdue, which is still two weeks away!
I did pull my backpack out of the attic tonight and got out some clothes incase we had to go to the hospital. I also had the kids put together some clothes and got some out for the baby. Matt said he doesn't want to take anything because he will just run home if he needs something. The hospital is not very far away, so that will work for him.
I can't believe we are getting so close!! But I am not giving my hopes up, I could still sit around pregnant until November 22nd! Honestly, I am not that uncomfortable and I feel great yet! We just need to get those platelets up!
I should add that Christian's surgery is now scheduled for Thursday, so baby needs to make up his mind on what he wants to do! This is the third time we have rescheduled it already!
Monday, October 26, 2015
Interruptions, Interruptions!
I had big goals today with school. I had a lot to get through and with Christian's surgery this week and baby coming soon, I need to keep pushing forward. I had nothing on my schedule, so I was pretty optimistic about getting through everything I wanted to get through today. This was one of the two days this week that we would be able to have school all day long.
To my fault, things did not even get started on time!! I like to start school at 9, but we started at 9:10 today. And since we started late, our subjects got delayed. I like to be done with Bible class at 9:30, but again, we stopped about 9:40.
After Bible class, we always do read aloud until about 10:15. Well, today, we did a history lesson on China, and that took until about 10:45!! We were learning and I wanted to keep going until we were at a good stopping point. Unfortunately, this took a little bit longer that I would have liked!
After read aloud time, I usually sit down with Megan and do her English, spelling, and language arts by herself. This works great because Courtney and Christian can go play and be occupied for awhile. :) Today, we had some language arts to re-discuss from last week, so we pulled that out and started on that. Then the phone rang about 11. It was a neighbor and she wanted to bring some cherry tomatoes over from her garden, so I said ok. She came over about five minute later and of course, stayed for about twenty minutes to talk. I hadn't talked to her for awhile, so we caught up on life a little bit.
By the time she left, it was about 11:30. Megan and I turned back to her outline we were working on and got that finished by 12. But I did not get to English, spelling, or even any of Courtney's work. I usually get this all done by 12!
We took a break for lunch and about 1:15, I got a text that my mother in law wanted to stop by and drop off some things. Of course! I actually said, "My day has been totally off schedule anyway, so why not?" Within twenty minutes, she was at my door, luckily Megan and I finished spelling and English before she arrived.
She stayed about an hour, which is fine, but by the time she left, it was 3 pm! I told the girls that we WERE getting school done today! (I usually try to be done by 3.)
Since we had finished English and spelling with Megan, I sent her upstairs to do her homework and then I told her when I was done with Courtney, I would call her back downstairs to go over math.
I had Courtney sit down and I pulled out her math, spelling, and English. Courtney does NOT like to do school at 3 in the afternoon. She is a "Let's get it all done before noon" kind of student. I had to constantly remind her today to focus and pay attention, but we got through it with 45 minutes or so!
After Courtney's work was done, she went off to do her homework. I brought Megan back down and went over her math. She is ok with doing work in the afternoon, but four is kind of late for her. Again, I reminded her that we had a lot of interruptions and we just needed to get it done!
By 4:30, we were done with math and school was over!
And what about Christian? Nope, didn't get to him at all today!
To my fault, things did not even get started on time!! I like to start school at 9, but we started at 9:10 today. And since we started late, our subjects got delayed. I like to be done with Bible class at 9:30, but again, we stopped about 9:40.
After Bible class, we always do read aloud until about 10:15. Well, today, we did a history lesson on China, and that took until about 10:45!! We were learning and I wanted to keep going until we were at a good stopping point. Unfortunately, this took a little bit longer that I would have liked!
After read aloud time, I usually sit down with Megan and do her English, spelling, and language arts by herself. This works great because Courtney and Christian can go play and be occupied for awhile. :) Today, we had some language arts to re-discuss from last week, so we pulled that out and started on that. Then the phone rang about 11. It was a neighbor and she wanted to bring some cherry tomatoes over from her garden, so I said ok. She came over about five minute later and of course, stayed for about twenty minutes to talk. I hadn't talked to her for awhile, so we caught up on life a little bit.
By the time she left, it was about 11:30. Megan and I turned back to her outline we were working on and got that finished by 12. But I did not get to English, spelling, or even any of Courtney's work. I usually get this all done by 12!
We took a break for lunch and about 1:15, I got a text that my mother in law wanted to stop by and drop off some things. Of course! I actually said, "My day has been totally off schedule anyway, so why not?" Within twenty minutes, she was at my door, luckily Megan and I finished spelling and English before she arrived.
She stayed about an hour, which is fine, but by the time she left, it was 3 pm! I told the girls that we WERE getting school done today! (I usually try to be done by 3.)
Since we had finished English and spelling with Megan, I sent her upstairs to do her homework and then I told her when I was done with Courtney, I would call her back downstairs to go over math.
I had Courtney sit down and I pulled out her math, spelling, and English. Courtney does NOT like to do school at 3 in the afternoon. She is a "Let's get it all done before noon" kind of student. I had to constantly remind her today to focus and pay attention, but we got through it with 45 minutes or so!
After Courtney's work was done, she went off to do her homework. I brought Megan back down and went over her math. She is ok with doing work in the afternoon, but four is kind of late for her. Again, I reminded her that we had a lot of interruptions and we just needed to get it done!
By 4:30, we were done with math and school was over!
And what about Christian? Nope, didn't get to him at all today!
Friday, October 23, 2015
First Night on Steroids
Ok, so my first night on steroids did not go well. I am supposed to take 20 mg in the morning and another 20 mg at night, which I did yesterday.
Unfortunately, I was wide eyed from 3-5:30 am this morning. At least I had some contractions to time from 4-5:30 am; I don't know if this was necessarily good or not. It gave me some time to think about what I needed to get done around here yet for the baby. I thought maybe I should at least buy a diaper bag and get that put together for the little guy!
I was sooo tired when I got up this morning.
Unlike most people who go on steroids, I get the joy of staying on them for awhile and not tapering off of them within a week or so. I will probably be on these until the baby is born, which could be at least four weeks. Hopefully they will work and these platelets will go up!!
Hopefully I can catch up on some sleep this weekend! And some housework!
Unfortunately, I was wide eyed from 3-5:30 am this morning. At least I had some contractions to time from 4-5:30 am; I don't know if this was necessarily good or not. It gave me some time to think about what I needed to get done around here yet for the baby. I thought maybe I should at least buy a diaper bag and get that put together for the little guy!
I was sooo tired when I got up this morning.
Unlike most people who go on steroids, I get the joy of staying on them for awhile and not tapering off of them within a week or so. I will probably be on these until the baby is born, which could be at least four weeks. Hopefully they will work and these platelets will go up!!
Hopefully I can catch up on some sleep this weekend! And some housework!
Thursday, October 22, 2015
New Platelet number
My midwife took my blood again yesterday and I got the results today. They are now down to 78,000. This is so weird. They dropped from 108,000 to 97,000 one week and now this last week, they dropped almost 20,000 to 78,000! What in the world is going on??
I have no choice but to go on steroids. The nurse said that we will start the steroids today and then check them again next week. If they are not up by next week, we will go to plan B. I asked her what plan B was and she said it would probably be a consultation with a perinatologist or a hematologist.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind meeting with these people just to get to the bottom of this!
I have no choice but to go on steroids. The nurse said that we will start the steroids today and then check them again next week. If they are not up by next week, we will go to plan B. I asked her what plan B was and she said it would probably be a consultation with a perinatologist or a hematologist.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind meeting with these people just to get to the bottom of this!
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Late start to a busy morning! 37 1/2 week checkup!
Today I woke up at 5:30 am when Matt got up. Instead of getting back to sleep, I laid wide awake for awhile and kind of drifted in and out of sleep. I refuse to get up earlier than I have to. :) My alarm went off as usual at 7:15 am, and I always give myself about 15 minutes to "wake up." I then crawl out of bed at 7:30 and wake the kids up. I remember looking at the clock at 7:21 am and thinking, "I have nine more minutes to lay here and enjoy the peace and quiet."
Next thing I know, Courtney is shaking me and saying, "Mom, don't we have to get up?" It was 8:07!! How in the world did I lay there for two hours and then once I really have to get up, I fall back asleep??
This caused us some trouble this morning because I had to be at the midwife at 9:15, which means we needed to leave by 9! In addition to this, Megan, Courtney, and I needed to take a shower. It was picture day at the homeschool learning center today, so I wanted nice clean hair and Courtney wanted her curls.
We got everybody up and had a quick breakfast and got everybody through the shower in time! We were doing well until Christian decided he didn't want to get dressed and when I finally went to help him (he can do everything except get his shirt on and off), he was not cooperating. It was 9 am and I was still getting him dressed. I told him, "Please don't act like this" and he turned to me and said, "You don't act like this!" Oh really!! Guess where he got to go? To timeout for talking inappropriately to me!! This made us even later.
I ended up calling my midwife and telling her I was going to be 5-10 minutes late. They were ok with it because they had a patient cancel.
We got there 10 minutes late, as I had predicted. Once I got Christian dressed, his teeth brushed, he did not want to get in the car and was taking his sweet time even getting his shoes on. UGH!!
Once we got there, I was still running on adrenaline and my blood pressure was even higher than last week. I lost a pound when I stepped on the scale. I think this is because I had such a light breakfast and last week, I came after I ate lunch!
My midwife then came in and we had a few things to talk about. We both knew that last week my blood platelets had come back lower than they should be. She called a perinatologist on Monday, and he suggested that I go on steroids until this baby is born. She knew I wouldn't want to do this unless I have to, so we are just going to watch them and wait. She drew my blood again this week.
My strep B test also came back positive, which I really wish it would have came back negative like with my other three pregnancies! My midwife said strep B is a bacteria that lives in your body and it is not good nor is it bad. It also comes and goes, which explains why I am positive now and was negative with my other three kids. The protocol for strep b is to give the mom antibiotics while they are in labor. The baby can pick up strep B once the water bag breaks and/or in the birth canal. It can lead to meningitis and even death in these little babies.
She said that if I refuse to treat it, then if my baby even flinches wrong and does something out of the ordinary, the nurses will freak out and he will get a free ride to the NICU, which I do not want. Once there, they would give him a whole lot of antibiotics to clear it up. She says the hospital does not automatically send them to the NICU like they used to, but are aware if you refuse treatment and keep a closer eye on the babies.
She said that she would really like to keep my bag of waters intact as long as possible due to this. I told her that with Christian, my water broke at 2 am and I just went back to bed. She said I cannot do that this time, but I need to get to the hospital and start with antibiotics. She said she won't necessarily hook me up to Pitocin, but may try some other tricks before inducing. I was kind of bummed about that. I really want to just go into labor on my own!! If I went into labor on my own and my water has not broken yet, she would be ok with me laboring at home and just getting the antibiotics when I get to the hospital.
She also listened to the baby's heartbeat, which was fine and measured me. While she was measuring, I asked her how big he was and she responded with, "You don't want to know." She eventually told me 39, which means I grew 2 cm in one week!! No wonder she didn't want to tell me!! She said I don't look very big, but I have a big baby in there! No big surprise!! My poor stomach hurts from all the stretching. She says that he is everywhere in my stomach and he is! He is making himself at home, I guess. Too bad he is going to be evicted soon!!
The nurse eventually came in and knocked on the door. She needed my midwife for something, and I needed to get Courtney to her class at 10. This was at 9:55. Luckily, the homeschool learning center is just down the street and it didn't take long to get there!
My appointment next week is also at 9:15, we will see if I make it on time!!
Next thing I know, Courtney is shaking me and saying, "Mom, don't we have to get up?" It was 8:07!! How in the world did I lay there for two hours and then once I really have to get up, I fall back asleep??
This caused us some trouble this morning because I had to be at the midwife at 9:15, which means we needed to leave by 9! In addition to this, Megan, Courtney, and I needed to take a shower. It was picture day at the homeschool learning center today, so I wanted nice clean hair and Courtney wanted her curls.
We got everybody up and had a quick breakfast and got everybody through the shower in time! We were doing well until Christian decided he didn't want to get dressed and when I finally went to help him (he can do everything except get his shirt on and off), he was not cooperating. It was 9 am and I was still getting him dressed. I told him, "Please don't act like this" and he turned to me and said, "You don't act like this!" Oh really!! Guess where he got to go? To timeout for talking inappropriately to me!! This made us even later.
I ended up calling my midwife and telling her I was going to be 5-10 minutes late. They were ok with it because they had a patient cancel.
We got there 10 minutes late, as I had predicted. Once I got Christian dressed, his teeth brushed, he did not want to get in the car and was taking his sweet time even getting his shoes on. UGH!!
Once we got there, I was still running on adrenaline and my blood pressure was even higher than last week. I lost a pound when I stepped on the scale. I think this is because I had such a light breakfast and last week, I came after I ate lunch!
My midwife then came in and we had a few things to talk about. We both knew that last week my blood platelets had come back lower than they should be. She called a perinatologist on Monday, and he suggested that I go on steroids until this baby is born. She knew I wouldn't want to do this unless I have to, so we are just going to watch them and wait. She drew my blood again this week.
My strep B test also came back positive, which I really wish it would have came back negative like with my other three pregnancies! My midwife said strep B is a bacteria that lives in your body and it is not good nor is it bad. It also comes and goes, which explains why I am positive now and was negative with my other three kids. The protocol for strep b is to give the mom antibiotics while they are in labor. The baby can pick up strep B once the water bag breaks and/or in the birth canal. It can lead to meningitis and even death in these little babies.
She said that if I refuse to treat it, then if my baby even flinches wrong and does something out of the ordinary, the nurses will freak out and he will get a free ride to the NICU, which I do not want. Once there, they would give him a whole lot of antibiotics to clear it up. She says the hospital does not automatically send them to the NICU like they used to, but are aware if you refuse treatment and keep a closer eye on the babies.
She said that she would really like to keep my bag of waters intact as long as possible due to this. I told her that with Christian, my water broke at 2 am and I just went back to bed. She said I cannot do that this time, but I need to get to the hospital and start with antibiotics. She said she won't necessarily hook me up to Pitocin, but may try some other tricks before inducing. I was kind of bummed about that. I really want to just go into labor on my own!! If I went into labor on my own and my water has not broken yet, she would be ok with me laboring at home and just getting the antibiotics when I get to the hospital.
She also listened to the baby's heartbeat, which was fine and measured me. While she was measuring, I asked her how big he was and she responded with, "You don't want to know." She eventually told me 39, which means I grew 2 cm in one week!! No wonder she didn't want to tell me!! She said I don't look very big, but I have a big baby in there! No big surprise!! My poor stomach hurts from all the stretching. She says that he is everywhere in my stomach and he is! He is making himself at home, I guess. Too bad he is going to be evicted soon!!
The nurse eventually came in and knocked on the door. She needed my midwife for something, and I needed to get Courtney to her class at 10. This was at 9:55. Luckily, the homeschool learning center is just down the street and it didn't take long to get there!
My appointment next week is also at 9:15, we will see if I make it on time!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Christian's cast
People keep asking me how Christian is doing with his cast. I think he is doing well! I am sure his only complaint is that it itches! He has actually scratched a mole on the back of his arm from scratching so bad! He has adjusted to doing many things right handed instead of left.
There are a few things he used to be able to do, but now he can't anymore. :(
1. Get dressed! He cannot get his shirt/ pajamas on or off over his cast, so we need to help him every time. Megan and Courtney actually helped him get dressed the other morning.
2. Going potty, sometimes. He needs help getting his pants up and down. It's hard to do one-handed! If he has pants on with just elastic, he seems to do better.
3. Cutting and drawing. He loves to sit at the table, draw a picture, and then cut it out. The poor thing tries so hard to draw and cut with his right hand. I sat down one day and helped him, but he always has these big projects in mind and I don't want to sit there so long! This would actually keep him occupied while I was working with the girls. I seem to have a lot more interruptions lately.
I have actually put our preschool activities with him on hold a little bit because we were working on our letters, which involve writing. We are still reading books and doing other activities that don't involve writing or cutting!
4. Playing outside. The one thing that all the kids loved to do together lately was swing! I loved looking out the kitchen window and all three were out there playing together. Now, Christian has a hard time swinging, so he doesn't go out there very often anymore. He can't ride his bike or scooter either. Yesterday, I forced him to go on a walk around the block. I can definitely tell he is not getting outside and wearing off his energy like he used to.
5. Eating. The poor thing has been eating with his right hand, which takes him a lot longer, plus he makes a much bigger mess!
So in the end, he is really not complaining at all and has just adjusted in his own way!
There are a few things he used to be able to do, but now he can't anymore. :(
1. Get dressed! He cannot get his shirt/ pajamas on or off over his cast, so we need to help him every time. Megan and Courtney actually helped him get dressed the other morning.
2. Going potty, sometimes. He needs help getting his pants up and down. It's hard to do one-handed! If he has pants on with just elastic, he seems to do better.
3. Cutting and drawing. He loves to sit at the table, draw a picture, and then cut it out. The poor thing tries so hard to draw and cut with his right hand. I sat down one day and helped him, but he always has these big projects in mind and I don't want to sit there so long! This would actually keep him occupied while I was working with the girls. I seem to have a lot more interruptions lately.
I have actually put our preschool activities with him on hold a little bit because we were working on our letters, which involve writing. We are still reading books and doing other activities that don't involve writing or cutting!
4. Playing outside. The one thing that all the kids loved to do together lately was swing! I loved looking out the kitchen window and all three were out there playing together. Now, Christian has a hard time swinging, so he doesn't go out there very often anymore. He can't ride his bike or scooter either. Yesterday, I forced him to go on a walk around the block. I can definitely tell he is not getting outside and wearing off his energy like he used to.
5. Eating. The poor thing has been eating with his right hand, which takes him a lot longer, plus he makes a much bigger mess!
So in the end, he is really not complaining at all and has just adjusted in his own way!
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Three problems and a final ride!
We were all ready for church today and went to go get in the van.
Problem #1: The van would NOT start! Matt had used the battery yesterday to power his pump to get antifreeze through the jetskis. Apparently, it drained the battery and we were out of luck.
Problem #2: Since we could not take the van, we had to take the truck. Somebody had to find the keys to the truck.
Problem #3: The garage door would not shut when we left! It eventually did, luckily.
Finally we got pulled out of the driveway and on our way to church.
On our way home from church, Matt said, "This may be the final ride in our truck as a family." We have five seats in there and they are all taken! When baby #4 comes, we can't ride in the truck as a family anymore!
Our next thought was, "What if our van doesn't start again after the baby is born?" Our conclusion that we would have to take two cars to church! I am sure we are going to run into more problems like this in the near future!!
Problem #1: The van would NOT start! Matt had used the battery yesterday to power his pump to get antifreeze through the jetskis. Apparently, it drained the battery and we were out of luck.
Problem #2: Since we could not take the van, we had to take the truck. Somebody had to find the keys to the truck.
Problem #3: The garage door would not shut when we left! It eventually did, luckily.
Finally we got pulled out of the driveway and on our way to church.
On our way home from church, Matt said, "This may be the final ride in our truck as a family." We have five seats in there and they are all taken! When baby #4 comes, we can't ride in the truck as a family anymore!
Our next thought was, "What if our van doesn't start again after the baby is born?" Our conclusion that we would have to take two cars to church! I am sure we are going to run into more problems like this in the near future!!
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Making Extra Waffles this Morning. :)
Courtney has been begging me to make waffles for awhile now and today, I thought I would grant her request and make some. I don't make them very often because they usually take quite awhile. I have two waffle irons, so I can only make two at a time. We have quite a bit of time on Saturday mornings, so I thought it would be great chance to make some for everybody.
I made the first batch and it only made four waffles, so I made a second batch and it made four more. By the time everybody was done, I had a thought. Why don't I make a third batch and put them in the freezer for when we have a newborn at our house??
So I did! Now we have some frozen waffles to eat later!
I really need to make some casseroles too! I know people have mentioned that they are scared to bring us food when we have our baby because of our crazy diet, so freezing main dishes ahead of time might be a good option for us!
I made the first batch and it only made four waffles, so I made a second batch and it made four more. By the time everybody was done, I had a thought. Why don't I make a third batch and put them in the freezer for when we have a newborn at our house??
So I did! Now we have some frozen waffles to eat later!
I really need to make some casseroles too! I know people have mentioned that they are scared to bring us food when we have our baby because of our crazy diet, so freezing main dishes ahead of time might be a good option for us!
Friday, October 16, 2015
Blood results from this week
I just called my midwife to see if they could give me my blood results from last Wednesday. I talked to a nurse and she looked them up for me. She said my platelets were 97,000, which is down 9,000 from last week!!! They have never been under 100,000 and they do not want them to go under 100,000! My midwife is out of town right now, so I guess I just sit and don't cut myself on anything! I go and see my midwife again next Wednesday, so I am sure we will draw blood again and talk about a game plan if they don't go up.
They really don't want them below 100,000 for delivery, which I don't plan on doing anytime soon. But I know they want to watch them to make sure they stay where they should be.
My hemoglobin was 11.2, which is the range where I have been this entire pregnancy. They don't want this to go below 11.0, so I am close there again.
They really don't want them below 100,000 for delivery, which I don't plan on doing anytime soon. But I know they want to watch them to make sure they stay where they should be.
My hemoglobin was 11.2, which is the range where I have been this entire pregnancy. They don't want this to go below 11.0, so I am close there again.
End of the Week!
This week has been draining, I have to admit! Christian's broken arm, potential surgery, more than one medical appointment, classes, church, trip to Vala's pumpkin patch (last night), I am ready for this week to be done!
School, well, let's just say we didn't get much of that done this week. We will just call it our "fall break." I didn't plan on having school yesterday or today due to Christian's surgery, so we are getting math and spelling done and using the rest of the time to catch up on things around the house.
Yesterday, I got all baby clothes put into the little guy's dresser. I still need to dig out the bath towels and washcloths, bathtub, swing, and bouncy seats. We need to get the glider up to his room too, but we may wait until the last minute to do that. I actually like it in the living room!
I also had Christian see what clothes we had in the attic that would fit him. I have a box of "bigger boy clothes" that are above his size, so we went through and tried those all on yesterday. My conclusion is that he will have plenty of pants and pajamas for this winter, but still needs some shirts.
I wanted to have Megan find her box of clothes, but she was too busy playing legos. :) I KNOW she needs new jeans, shirts, and maybe new pajamas. She may even need a new winter coat. Maybe all three of them need this, I am not sure!
Courtney needed some new tennis shoes, so she went through our box of old shoes and found a pair of Megan's old tennis shoes that fit her perfectly- great!!
I was able to take some time yesterday and get some medical bills paid. Those are coming quickly from these last couple of months! I am very glad we have that HSA and I can set up payment plans for the bigger bills. Now that we have met our deductible, our bills won't be so bad!
I was also able to get laundry going yesterday. It's amazing how laundry piles up so quickly! I am sure it will be even worse when #4 gets here!!!
Today, I have about the same things on my agenda. I still have some furniture to put away from when we cleaned the carpets and the girls' room has a few things that need to be put away yet too. I still have groceries sitting on the counter from the other day! I must find my kitchen counter today!
We have to send the registration into the DMV for our van and we need to make a few phone calls. We have water on our ceiling upstairs, so we need to call the company that did the roof a couple of years ago and see if they can get that fixed. I have a bookcase to put together and put in Christian's room, so that room will be done for now. I would also love to order some wall stickers for the baby's room. It looks so bare in there!!
I still have to find window coverings for two windows in our house. I would like to order the same faux shades that we ordered a few weeks ago for the kid's bathroom upstairs. I have a new curtain for the downstairs bathroom, but need to find some sheers to go under it.
I need to take some time to take my kids clothes shopping. Like I said, the older one and the younger one need some new clothes and really, I need a few warmer items to get me through these last four weeks. And of course, baby needs some winter sleepers and winter clothes. I can't put shorts and t-shirts on him in the middle of winter! Too bad I can't put pink on a boy, I have tons of winter clothes from Megan because she was also a November baby!!
Eventually I will get all these things done, but for now, I will just take a deep breath and do what I can!!!
School, well, let's just say we didn't get much of that done this week. We will just call it our "fall break." I didn't plan on having school yesterday or today due to Christian's surgery, so we are getting math and spelling done and using the rest of the time to catch up on things around the house.
Yesterday, I got all baby clothes put into the little guy's dresser. I still need to dig out the bath towels and washcloths, bathtub, swing, and bouncy seats. We need to get the glider up to his room too, but we may wait until the last minute to do that. I actually like it in the living room!
I also had Christian see what clothes we had in the attic that would fit him. I have a box of "bigger boy clothes" that are above his size, so we went through and tried those all on yesterday. My conclusion is that he will have plenty of pants and pajamas for this winter, but still needs some shirts.
I wanted to have Megan find her box of clothes, but she was too busy playing legos. :) I KNOW she needs new jeans, shirts, and maybe new pajamas. She may even need a new winter coat. Maybe all three of them need this, I am not sure!
Courtney needed some new tennis shoes, so she went through our box of old shoes and found a pair of Megan's old tennis shoes that fit her perfectly- great!!
I was able to take some time yesterday and get some medical bills paid. Those are coming quickly from these last couple of months! I am very glad we have that HSA and I can set up payment plans for the bigger bills. Now that we have met our deductible, our bills won't be so bad!
I was also able to get laundry going yesterday. It's amazing how laundry piles up so quickly! I am sure it will be even worse when #4 gets here!!!
Today, I have about the same things on my agenda. I still have some furniture to put away from when we cleaned the carpets and the girls' room has a few things that need to be put away yet too. I still have groceries sitting on the counter from the other day! I must find my kitchen counter today!
We have to send the registration into the DMV for our van and we need to make a few phone calls. We have water on our ceiling upstairs, so we need to call the company that did the roof a couple of years ago and see if they can get that fixed. I have a bookcase to put together and put in Christian's room, so that room will be done for now. I would also love to order some wall stickers for the baby's room. It looks so bare in there!!
I still have to find window coverings for two windows in our house. I would like to order the same faux shades that we ordered a few weeks ago for the kid's bathroom upstairs. I have a new curtain for the downstairs bathroom, but need to find some sheers to go under it.
I need to take some time to take my kids clothes shopping. Like I said, the older one and the younger one need some new clothes and really, I need a few warmer items to get me through these last four weeks. And of course, baby needs some winter sleepers and winter clothes. I can't put shorts and t-shirts on him in the middle of winter! Too bad I can't put pink on a boy, I have tons of winter clothes from Megan because she was also a November baby!!
Eventually I will get all these things done, but for now, I will just take a deep breath and do what I can!!!
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Another Crazy Day!
Here's how my day went yesterday and I was totally exhausted!
8:05 My phone rang and it was Children's Hospital Orthopedic Clinic. They want to get Christian in for a follow up visit from his ER visit on Tuesday. They mentioned that they had Thursday at 11:15 open. I responded that neither the time nor day will not work because he has surgery scheduled for 9 am. I mentioned that we need to come in today and the only time frame I really have is from 2-5 pm. The receptionist said she will talk to a nurse and get back to me as soon as she can.
8:15 The receptionist called back and said she can get Christian in at 2:30. Great!!
8:40 am Arrive at the orthodontist office. Megan and Courtney both got their palette expanders off and now they have a lot less metal in their mouth. Megan actually has no metal anymore. We are going to wait six months to see if her teeth line up and if they don't, she will be getting a full set of braces. Courtney still has her braces and they are going to straighten her teeth out some more with those.
9:30 Arrive at the library. We had to take some books back PLUS I needed to print something off. The orthopedic office that called right before we left home said they were going to email me some forms to fill out for Christian's appointment in the afternoon. Of course, I forgot to print them off before we left and I thought the library would be a great place to do it. It worked out ok, I need to remember to print things off at home next time!
10:00 Arrive at the Homeschool Learning Center. Courtney had her class at 10, so Megan, Christian, and I went upstairs to hang out with the other moms.
Courtney's class was over at 10:50 and Megan's and Christian's start at 11, so I had to go do the big switch about that time. Courtney and I took Christian into his room and thought that we better stay and see if he needed some help, since he is down to one hand and they seem to do a lot of hands on projects in his class!
Right before his class starts at 11, my phone rings and it is Dr. Jones, the surgeon who is going to do his surgery on Thursday. He got news from my sister in law that works up there that Christian broke his arm and said he wanted to delay surgery at least two weeks. He pretty much said it is too much for his body to be healing from a broken arm AND then heal from a hernia surgery. Ok, so no surgery tomorrow! I felt SOOO relieved!
After this phone call, I went back into Christian's classroom and helped him do his work for his class. Courtney actually did most of the work! She wants to help again next week!
NOON- Walk out of the Homeschool Learning Center with the three kids and head to Pepperjax for lunch. You have to love Kids Eat Free on Wednesdays!!
1:05 Arrive at my midwife's office for my weekly appointment. I gained three pounds, but I say a lot of that was because I just ate lunch. :) My blood pressure was slightly higher than usual, but I expected that! My midwife also checked me and said I am still way high and not even close to delivering. I think she expects me to go late again, which is fine. I also asked her if she would be comfortable if we did Christian's surgery in two weeks. I would be 38 1/2 weeks pregnant at that point and she said that we should definitely do it then! She said it was be easier to do it with baby inside of me than having to take care of aa newborn AND trying to take care of Christian. Since she wasn't afraid of me going early, she said that should not be an issue! She checked the baby's heartbeat and it was at 145. She also felt the baby and said he is still head down. She was able to feel his knees and feet up by ribs. She measured me and I was 37 cm. We talked about a couple more items on my birth plan and we were done.
1:35 We pull away from the clinic office and head back to the Homeschool Learning Center. Courtney had forgot her bag there with her MP3 player in it, so we needed to stop and find that, which we did!
2:20 Pull into Children's Hospital Parking Garage. Remember those papers I copied off at the library and was supposed to have filled out before I got to my appointment? Well, Megan filled them out in the car on the way there!
We got checked in and waited. We got called back into a room and probably waited another half an hour for the doctor to come in. They should really put some books or magazines in their rooms for their patients! Luckily, Courtney had a word search book and some paper and we were able to occupy ourselves with those for that length of time.
The doctor finally came in with a resident and proceeded to tell us that his arm WAS broke. I asked her if she saw the break and she said she did see it on his x-ray. She even pulled up the x-ray and showed me. I saw a slight break, but couldn't see the rest of it. She said if I pulled it up on her bigger machines, it was pretty clear. She explained that the break went all the way across his bone and is one of the most popular places where children will break a bone. She said he would need a cast for three weeks and she left.
About five to ten minutes later, two other women walked in and they put a cast on Christian's arm. He wanted a blue and white striped cast, so that is what he got! He only winced a little bit, but for the most part, did great!
After the cast was on, we made an appointment for it to come off in three weeks. His appointment is Friday, November 6th, which is two days before my due date!
Our next and final stop was pediatric surgery, which is right next door. We had to stop in and reschedule Christian's surgery. The lady there gave me a few dates to bring home and talk to Matt with. There was one in two weeks and if that didn't work, we would have to do it in December.
After this discussion, we got back in our car and arrived at home around 4:15. I was exhausted!!!! I got to sit down for about an hour and then it was time to make supper and get to church. I didn't feel like cooking anything, so we had leftovers for supper! We don't do leftovers very often anymore!
Church went well and we arrived home around 8:30. Matt and I decided that since Christian hasn't had a shower since Sunday and it was probably a two-man job now, we should probably give him a shower yet before he went to bed. We put a Wal-Mart sack over his cast and washed him up. We then got him into bed, got the girls into bed, and got us to bed. AH, the day was over and I did not have to get up at 6 am for surgery on Thursday! I actually turned my alarm off and slept in. :)
8:05 My phone rang and it was Children's Hospital Orthopedic Clinic. They want to get Christian in for a follow up visit from his ER visit on Tuesday. They mentioned that they had Thursday at 11:15 open. I responded that neither the time nor day will not work because he has surgery scheduled for 9 am. I mentioned that we need to come in today and the only time frame I really have is from 2-5 pm. The receptionist said she will talk to a nurse and get back to me as soon as she can.
8:15 The receptionist called back and said she can get Christian in at 2:30. Great!!
8:40 am Arrive at the orthodontist office. Megan and Courtney both got their palette expanders off and now they have a lot less metal in their mouth. Megan actually has no metal anymore. We are going to wait six months to see if her teeth line up and if they don't, she will be getting a full set of braces. Courtney still has her braces and they are going to straighten her teeth out some more with those.
9:30 Arrive at the library. We had to take some books back PLUS I needed to print something off. The orthopedic office that called right before we left home said they were going to email me some forms to fill out for Christian's appointment in the afternoon. Of course, I forgot to print them off before we left and I thought the library would be a great place to do it. It worked out ok, I need to remember to print things off at home next time!
10:00 Arrive at the Homeschool Learning Center. Courtney had her class at 10, so Megan, Christian, and I went upstairs to hang out with the other moms.
Courtney's class was over at 10:50 and Megan's and Christian's start at 11, so I had to go do the big switch about that time. Courtney and I took Christian into his room and thought that we better stay and see if he needed some help, since he is down to one hand and they seem to do a lot of hands on projects in his class!
Right before his class starts at 11, my phone rings and it is Dr. Jones, the surgeon who is going to do his surgery on Thursday. He got news from my sister in law that works up there that Christian broke his arm and said he wanted to delay surgery at least two weeks. He pretty much said it is too much for his body to be healing from a broken arm AND then heal from a hernia surgery. Ok, so no surgery tomorrow! I felt SOOO relieved!
After this phone call, I went back into Christian's classroom and helped him do his work for his class. Courtney actually did most of the work! She wants to help again next week!
NOON- Walk out of the Homeschool Learning Center with the three kids and head to Pepperjax for lunch. You have to love Kids Eat Free on Wednesdays!!
1:05 Arrive at my midwife's office for my weekly appointment. I gained three pounds, but I say a lot of that was because I just ate lunch. :) My blood pressure was slightly higher than usual, but I expected that! My midwife also checked me and said I am still way high and not even close to delivering. I think she expects me to go late again, which is fine. I also asked her if she would be comfortable if we did Christian's surgery in two weeks. I would be 38 1/2 weeks pregnant at that point and she said that we should definitely do it then! She said it was be easier to do it with baby inside of me than having to take care of aa newborn AND trying to take care of Christian. Since she wasn't afraid of me going early, she said that should not be an issue! She checked the baby's heartbeat and it was at 145. She also felt the baby and said he is still head down. She was able to feel his knees and feet up by ribs. She measured me and I was 37 cm. We talked about a couple more items on my birth plan and we were done.
1:35 We pull away from the clinic office and head back to the Homeschool Learning Center. Courtney had forgot her bag there with her MP3 player in it, so we needed to stop and find that, which we did!
2:20 Pull into Children's Hospital Parking Garage. Remember those papers I copied off at the library and was supposed to have filled out before I got to my appointment? Well, Megan filled them out in the car on the way there!
We got checked in and waited. We got called back into a room and probably waited another half an hour for the doctor to come in. They should really put some books or magazines in their rooms for their patients! Luckily, Courtney had a word search book and some paper and we were able to occupy ourselves with those for that length of time.
The doctor finally came in with a resident and proceeded to tell us that his arm WAS broke. I asked her if she saw the break and she said she did see it on his x-ray. She even pulled up the x-ray and showed me. I saw a slight break, but couldn't see the rest of it. She said if I pulled it up on her bigger machines, it was pretty clear. She explained that the break went all the way across his bone and is one of the most popular places where children will break a bone. She said he would need a cast for three weeks and she left.
About five to ten minutes later, two other women walked in and they put a cast on Christian's arm. He wanted a blue and white striped cast, so that is what he got! He only winced a little bit, but for the most part, did great!
After the cast was on, we made an appointment for it to come off in three weeks. His appointment is Friday, November 6th, which is two days before my due date!
Our next and final stop was pediatric surgery, which is right next door. We had to stop in and reschedule Christian's surgery. The lady there gave me a few dates to bring home and talk to Matt with. There was one in two weeks and if that didn't work, we would have to do it in December.
After this discussion, we got back in our car and arrived at home around 4:15. I was exhausted!!!! I got to sit down for about an hour and then it was time to make supper and get to church. I didn't feel like cooking anything, so we had leftovers for supper! We don't do leftovers very often anymore!
Church went well and we arrived home around 8:30. Matt and I decided that since Christian hasn't had a shower since Sunday and it was probably a two-man job now, we should probably give him a shower yet before he went to bed. We put a Wal-Mart sack over his cast and washed him up. We then got him into bed, got the girls into bed, and got us to bed. AH, the day was over and I did not have to get up at 6 am for surgery on Thursday! I actually turned my alarm off and slept in. :)
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
He finally broke a bone!
Today Christian finally succeeded in doing something that people had told me a boy would eventually do. He broke a bone!
I had my day all planned out. I was going to have school in the morning and get done with that about twelve. I had an appointment with my midwife at 1:45, so we were going to head there after lunch. After that appointment, we were going to come back home and clean the living room and piano room for piano lessons that were scheduled for 3:30.
This is NOT how my day went!! I will say that we got school done by noon, but then everything fell to shambles.
It started out by a nurse from my midwife's office calling around noon and saying I needed to reschedule. There was a woman in labor and my midwife needed to be at the hospital in the afternoon. Honestly, I was rather upset at this! I had scheduled my entire day around this appointment! I ended up rescheduling it for tomorrow at 1:15, which is school time! I was not happy. While I was on the phone with her though today, I scheduled out all my remaining appointments, even an overdue appointment! :)
After I got over this, I started making lunch and Courtney and Christian went outside to swing. Courtney and Megan have been jumping off the swings lately and Matt and I have been letting them. They are usually really low and don't do any harm, unlike what we did growing up!!
At one point, I look outside and Christian is standing up on his swing swinging like he always does and Courtney sitting is on her swing. I get back to making lunch and the next thing I hear is Christian screaming in pain. I look back out the window and he is laying on the ground, his arm under him, and he is obviously hurt!! I ran out there as fast as I could and asked him what happened. He said he jumped off the swing and his elbow really hurt! Not again!! We just had a hurt elbow a couple of months ago!!
I made him walk inside and I sat him down in a kitchen chair. I asked him if he could bend it, which he could, and I got him some ice. I didn't quite know what to do next because he was crying pretty hard, so I called Matt. He always has a good answer for me! Matt answered his phone and I told him what happened. He said to call his doctor, so I called his pediatrician and talked to a nurse. She told me to take him to Children's ER to get x-rays. Ugh!!
I called Matt back and by this time, I was rather upset about the whole situation. He said, "Do you need me to come home?" I replied with, "YES!!" I had the girls eat some lunch, but neither Christian or I had anything to eat at this point.
About ten minutes later, he arrived home, and the five of us headed to Children's Hospital.
After arriving there about 1:30 (he fell around 12:45), they ordered an x-ray after the nurse practitioner examined him. She was pretty sure that he broke his arm above his elbow, she could tell by his pain and how it felt. Matt went with him to get an x-ray and said he was wincing when they were moving his arm around for the pictures.
After coming back, the nurse practitioner came back in and decided she wanted more pictures of his forearm because that area was also very tender to the touch. Again, they wheeled him back to the x-ray room!! Matt again went with him and said he actually cried when they twisted his arm for the picture. Poor kid!!
After bringing him back for a second time, we played the waiting game for awhile. Eventually the nurse practitioner stuck her head in and said, "His elbow is broke and we are going to put a splint on it today. You need to go see your orthopedic doctor tomorrow to get it casted. His forearm is fine" and she was back out the door. No time for questions!
Again, we waited awhile and the nurse practitioner showed up again awhile later with all the material she needed to make a splint. She worked at that with another person, maybe a resident, and got Christian all fixed up. He was a trooper through this all! I had given him ibuprofen before we left home and it clearly did its job!
After she was done, I asked to see the x-rays because I wanted to see this break! She took me over to the computers and showed me his x-rays, but I didn't see anything. She showed me where there was fluid covering his entire elbow and she even said she couldn't see a break. She did say that the radiologist said it was broken and they have much better equipment, so they are going with their diagnosis. She said often times they cannot see a break on their computer, even though there is one there. I was kind of disappointed. About two months ago when he fell on his right arm, he also had fluid surrounding the joint, but it was never broke.
After this, we all headed back to the van to bring the little guy home. I was very thankful it was not broken badly and we did not need surgery! (Unlike some other child of mine!!)
One of the discharge instructions was to call his orthopedic doctor first thing in the morning and get an appointment to get it casted. I tried to call when we left the hospital today, but the clinic was already closed. I hope I can get in tomorrow because Christian has surgery Thursday morning. I also have a very busy day tomorrow already. The girls get their palette expanders off at 8:45 am, then they have class at the learning center from 10-12, then I rescheduled my midwife appointment for 1:15. The only time I really have is from 2-5! Don't forget we have church tomorrow night either!
Thursday is going to come bright and early too because we have to be at the hospital by 7 am for his surgery. We will be back at Children's Hospital again! I may just collapse on Friday!!
I am very thankful for modern medicine and very thankful that we finished off our deductible today!! But poor Christian, he just may be living on ibuprofen for the next week or so!
I had my day all planned out. I was going to have school in the morning and get done with that about twelve. I had an appointment with my midwife at 1:45, so we were going to head there after lunch. After that appointment, we were going to come back home and clean the living room and piano room for piano lessons that were scheduled for 3:30.
This is NOT how my day went!! I will say that we got school done by noon, but then everything fell to shambles.
It started out by a nurse from my midwife's office calling around noon and saying I needed to reschedule. There was a woman in labor and my midwife needed to be at the hospital in the afternoon. Honestly, I was rather upset at this! I had scheduled my entire day around this appointment! I ended up rescheduling it for tomorrow at 1:15, which is school time! I was not happy. While I was on the phone with her though today, I scheduled out all my remaining appointments, even an overdue appointment! :)
After I got over this, I started making lunch and Courtney and Christian went outside to swing. Courtney and Megan have been jumping off the swings lately and Matt and I have been letting them. They are usually really low and don't do any harm, unlike what we did growing up!!
At one point, I look outside and Christian is standing up on his swing swinging like he always does and Courtney sitting is on her swing. I get back to making lunch and the next thing I hear is Christian screaming in pain. I look back out the window and he is laying on the ground, his arm under him, and he is obviously hurt!! I ran out there as fast as I could and asked him what happened. He said he jumped off the swing and his elbow really hurt! Not again!! We just had a hurt elbow a couple of months ago!!
I made him walk inside and I sat him down in a kitchen chair. I asked him if he could bend it, which he could, and I got him some ice. I didn't quite know what to do next because he was crying pretty hard, so I called Matt. He always has a good answer for me! Matt answered his phone and I told him what happened. He said to call his doctor, so I called his pediatrician and talked to a nurse. She told me to take him to Children's ER to get x-rays. Ugh!!
I called Matt back and by this time, I was rather upset about the whole situation. He said, "Do you need me to come home?" I replied with, "YES!!" I had the girls eat some lunch, but neither Christian or I had anything to eat at this point.
About ten minutes later, he arrived home, and the five of us headed to Children's Hospital.
After arriving there about 1:30 (he fell around 12:45), they ordered an x-ray after the nurse practitioner examined him. She was pretty sure that he broke his arm above his elbow, she could tell by his pain and how it felt. Matt went with him to get an x-ray and said he was wincing when they were moving his arm around for the pictures.
After coming back, the nurse practitioner came back in and decided she wanted more pictures of his forearm because that area was also very tender to the touch. Again, they wheeled him back to the x-ray room!! Matt again went with him and said he actually cried when they twisted his arm for the picture. Poor kid!!
After bringing him back for a second time, we played the waiting game for awhile. Eventually the nurse practitioner stuck her head in and said, "His elbow is broke and we are going to put a splint on it today. You need to go see your orthopedic doctor tomorrow to get it casted. His forearm is fine" and she was back out the door. No time for questions!
Again, we waited awhile and the nurse practitioner showed up again awhile later with all the material she needed to make a splint. She worked at that with another person, maybe a resident, and got Christian all fixed up. He was a trooper through this all! I had given him ibuprofen before we left home and it clearly did its job!
After she was done, I asked to see the x-rays because I wanted to see this break! She took me over to the computers and showed me his x-rays, but I didn't see anything. She showed me where there was fluid covering his entire elbow and she even said she couldn't see a break. She did say that the radiologist said it was broken and they have much better equipment, so they are going with their diagnosis. She said often times they cannot see a break on their computer, even though there is one there. I was kind of disappointed. About two months ago when he fell on his right arm, he also had fluid surrounding the joint, but it was never broke.
After this, we all headed back to the van to bring the little guy home. I was very thankful it was not broken badly and we did not need surgery! (Unlike some other child of mine!!)
One of the discharge instructions was to call his orthopedic doctor first thing in the morning and get an appointment to get it casted. I tried to call when we left the hospital today, but the clinic was already closed. I hope I can get in tomorrow because Christian has surgery Thursday morning. I also have a very busy day tomorrow already. The girls get their palette expanders off at 8:45 am, then they have class at the learning center from 10-12, then I rescheduled my midwife appointment for 1:15. The only time I really have is from 2-5! Don't forget we have church tomorrow night either!
Thursday is going to come bright and early too because we have to be at the hospital by 7 am for his surgery. We will be back at Children's Hospital again! I may just collapse on Friday!!
I am very thankful for modern medicine and very thankful that we finished off our deductible today!! But poor Christian, he just may be living on ibuprofen for the next week or so!
Monday, October 12, 2015
Are we going on a hospital tour...or not?
One thing that is going to be different about this little guy is that I will be having him at a different hospital than I had the other three kids. I had the other three at a local hospital here in town (I actually had Courtney and Christian in the same room.) But since I had Christian, they no longer offer birthing services at that hospital.
Two weeks after I had Christian, the same health system opened a brand new women's hospital out by my house and that is where I will be having this little guy. :)
My problem though is that Matt and I have never been there (Except for my medical scare when I was 29 weeks pregnant, but I did not get to walk around and explore that day.) We have never went up there to see a new baby and honestly,we have not been in the hospital at all. We thought it might be a good idea to go on a hospital tour. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get this done!!
Tonight I pulled up the hospital's website to register for a tour and there were only two nights available for tours before my due date. I went to register for the earlier one and then saw that registration was closed! There were even two tours that night and both were full! These were for Thursday, October 22nd.
The next tour date was October 29th, which is about ten days before my due date. I asked Matt to look on the calendar to see if there was anything going on and of course, he has a very important meeting that night that he actually is in charge of! There is no way he could get out of that to go on a hospital tour! I thought that maybe I could go myself, but then I would need to line somebody up to watch the kids.
In the end, I think we are just going to have to figure it out the day we have this baby! (Unless we go see a new baby before we have ours.) Honestly, they will direct me to my room, I will have this little boy, and then maybe we can tour the place!!
Two weeks after I had Christian, the same health system opened a brand new women's hospital out by my house and that is where I will be having this little guy. :)
My problem though is that Matt and I have never been there (Except for my medical scare when I was 29 weeks pregnant, but I did not get to walk around and explore that day.) We have never went up there to see a new baby and honestly,we have not been in the hospital at all. We thought it might be a good idea to go on a hospital tour. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get this done!!
Tonight I pulled up the hospital's website to register for a tour and there were only two nights available for tours before my due date. I went to register for the earlier one and then saw that registration was closed! There were even two tours that night and both were full! These were for Thursday, October 22nd.
The next tour date was October 29th, which is about ten days before my due date. I asked Matt to look on the calendar to see if there was anything going on and of course, he has a very important meeting that night that he actually is in charge of! There is no way he could get out of that to go on a hospital tour! I thought that maybe I could go myself, but then I would need to line somebody up to watch the kids.
In the end, I think we are just going to have to figure it out the day we have this baby! (Unless we go see a new baby before we have ours.) Honestly, they will direct me to my room, I will have this little boy, and then maybe we can tour the place!!
Wrong Way Buddy!
I saw Christian get up to go potty about 3 this morning. I saw him come out of the bathroom and head to his old room. When he was almost to the door, I saw him turn around and walk all the way back over to his new room. I wonder how long it will take for him to get used to his new room!
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Science Class
Tomorrow we are finally moving onto a different subject in science class. We finished up our study of reptiles last week and tomorrow, we are going to start underwater animals.
Like always, I like to give the kids a good overview of that class of animals before we dive into learning about them. I found this article and it does a great job of differentiating the land animals from the ocean animals. There are many points in this article that I have never thought of before!
http://marinelife.about.com/od/marinelife101/p/CharMarineLife.htm
I hope the girls find it interesting too!
Like always, I like to give the kids a good overview of that class of animals before we dive into learning about them. I found this article and it does a great job of differentiating the land animals from the ocean animals. There are many points in this article that I have never thought of before!
http://marinelife.about.com/od/marinelife101/p/CharMarineLife.htm
I hope the girls find it interesting too!
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Productivity!!
Today was SOOOO productive.
1. Matt got all the new shades put up!! And then he said, "Can you give me the money now?" "Yes, I will!!" They all look great!!! I would like to order one more set for the kids' bathroom yet.
2. We moved Christian into his new bedroom. His dresser, his bed, and his bookshelf (plus ALL his books) got moved along with his toys. We kind of struggled about where to put everything, but in the end, I think it will work out. We also put Courtney's little table back his room along with the art supplies. Before we were even done moving everything, those two (Courtney and Christian) were sitting at the table together making art projects.
3. After Christian's items were moved, it was time to clean up his old bedroom a little bit. We vacuumed the floor, wiped down the walls, and dusted the dresser that we left in there for the baby.
4. After it was clean, Matt went into the attic and got out the crib!! We wiped that down and then Matt put it together and set it in the baby's room. So exciting!!
5. After this was put together, I just had to find the sheets in the attic, so I pulled the container with labeled "baby bedding" and got the crib sheets out. While I was at it, I found the 0-3 month box and pulled out all the baby clothes. All the sheets, mattress pads, burp cloths, hats socks, onesies, shirts, pants, and sleepers got taken down the laundry room and little by little, I am getting everything washed tonight.
I found out that I do not have any winter sleepers or really any winter clothes. Since Christian was a summer baby, I have a lot of t-shirts and shorts in 0-3 and 3-6 month size. I will definitely need some warmer clothes for this baby! I knew we would be off season and I have a couple winter sleepers and a couple pairs of pants and long shirts but not enough!
6. After we got done pulling out the baby stuff, we decided to head back to the girls' room to reorganize that mess! Everything got thrown in there from the playroom (stuff we knew we wanted to keep) and now we had to put those items somewhere permanently. Some items went to Christian's new room, some got put under beds and in drawers, and some things got put in their closet. There is still some work to do in there!
By this time, it was 4 pm and we were exhausted! I thought we deserved some chocolate ice cream, so we made a homemade batch of almond ice cream with cocoa added. Yummy!! We enjoyed this as we finished watching the Husker game on TV.
Maybe I will clean the downstairs tomorrow! Yikes!!
PS I am glad Christian is being such a good trooper about moving to a new room. Tonight he said, "What will I do if I have to go potty in the middle of the night?" I replied with, "You know the way to the bathroom, right?" It is probably weird for him to be in a new room, but I think he will adjust very well!
1. Matt got all the new shades put up!! And then he said, "Can you give me the money now?" "Yes, I will!!" They all look great!!! I would like to order one more set for the kids' bathroom yet.
2. We moved Christian into his new bedroom. His dresser, his bed, and his bookshelf (plus ALL his books) got moved along with his toys. We kind of struggled about where to put everything, but in the end, I think it will work out. We also put Courtney's little table back his room along with the art supplies. Before we were even done moving everything, those two (Courtney and Christian) were sitting at the table together making art projects.
3. After Christian's items were moved, it was time to clean up his old bedroom a little bit. We vacuumed the floor, wiped down the walls, and dusted the dresser that we left in there for the baby.
4. After it was clean, Matt went into the attic and got out the crib!! We wiped that down and then Matt put it together and set it in the baby's room. So exciting!!
5. After this was put together, I just had to find the sheets in the attic, so I pulled the container with labeled "baby bedding" and got the crib sheets out. While I was at it, I found the 0-3 month box and pulled out all the baby clothes. All the sheets, mattress pads, burp cloths, hats socks, onesies, shirts, pants, and sleepers got taken down the laundry room and little by little, I am getting everything washed tonight.
I found out that I do not have any winter sleepers or really any winter clothes. Since Christian was a summer baby, I have a lot of t-shirts and shorts in 0-3 and 3-6 month size. I will definitely need some warmer clothes for this baby! I knew we would be off season and I have a couple winter sleepers and a couple pairs of pants and long shirts but not enough!
6. After we got done pulling out the baby stuff, we decided to head back to the girls' room to reorganize that mess! Everything got thrown in there from the playroom (stuff we knew we wanted to keep) and now we had to put those items somewhere permanently. Some items went to Christian's new room, some got put under beds and in drawers, and some things got put in their closet. There is still some work to do in there!
By this time, it was 4 pm and we were exhausted! I thought we deserved some chocolate ice cream, so we made a homemade batch of almond ice cream with cocoa added. Yummy!! We enjoyed this as we finished watching the Husker game on TV.
Maybe I will clean the downstairs tomorrow! Yikes!!
PS I am glad Christian is being such a good trooper about moving to a new room. Tonight he said, "What will I do if I have to go potty in the middle of the night?" I replied with, "You know the way to the bathroom, right?" It is probably weird for him to be in a new room, but I think he will adjust very well!
Friday, October 9, 2015
One Step Closer..
When Matt and I bought our new shades online, I promised to pay for most of them with my piano lesson money which I have in my personal bank account. He has spent quite a bit of money out of the "Ruwe fund" for the house and since I am the one that really wanted to new window coverings, I volunteered to use my money. He said he would have put our old shades back up, even on our new windows!! I said, "No way!!"
Last night, he asked me to transfer some money to the joint account. I said on one stipulation. I want the shades up before I transfer the money!! I want to make sure they look nice and we don't have to send them back!
He put one up in our bathroom last weekend, but that still leaves six shades that need to be put up yet!
Last night about 8:15, he was putting up the shades in Christian's new room. :) I was happy!
Not only are we getting closer to moving Christian to his room, but he is getting closer to getting reimbursed! I thought it was a nice incentive to get things going around here again!
Last night, he asked me to transfer some money to the joint account. I said on one stipulation. I want the shades up before I transfer the money!! I want to make sure they look nice and we don't have to send them back!
He put one up in our bathroom last weekend, but that still leaves six shades that need to be put up yet!
Last night about 8:15, he was putting up the shades in Christian's new room. :) I was happy!
Not only are we getting closer to moving Christian to his room, but he is getting closer to getting reimbursed! I thought it was a nice incentive to get things going around here again!
New Clothes for me??
I have roughly 4 weeks left until my due date and the seasons are changing.
I am in dilemma. Do I continue to make my current wardrobe work until I have this baby OR do I just go buy some warmer clothes??
I have one pair of jeans that fit, one pair of capris, three pairs of jeans shorts, and some short sleeve shirts. That is it. No long sleeve shirts at all. I have been wearing matt's t-shirts around the house because they fit and I don't want to wear my good shirts during the day if I am at home. I am also wearing some pre-pregnancy exercise pants and shorts around the house too. They don't fit all the way over my belly, but they do cover some of my belly, so they work! That is about the extent of my wardrobe right now!
Again, do I continue to make my small wardrobe work or just give in and get some warmer clothes for four weeks?? I don't think it's going to stay warm until November....
I am in dilemma. Do I continue to make my current wardrobe work until I have this baby OR do I just go buy some warmer clothes??
I have one pair of jeans that fit, one pair of capris, three pairs of jeans shorts, and some short sleeve shirts. That is it. No long sleeve shirts at all. I have been wearing matt's t-shirts around the house because they fit and I don't want to wear my good shirts during the day if I am at home. I am also wearing some pre-pregnancy exercise pants and shorts around the house too. They don't fit all the way over my belly, but they do cover some of my belly, so they work! That is about the extent of my wardrobe right now!
Again, do I continue to make my small wardrobe work or just give in and get some warmer clothes for four weeks?? I don't think it's going to stay warm until November....
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Next Weekends Plans
Matt asked me last night if we had any plans for the coming weekend.
I said, "I sure do!"
Then I listed them off:
1. Put up shades in Christian's new room
2. Move his furniture over
3. Set up crib and get baby things out
He said, "Oh, I guess we are busy then."
Yes we are!! I want these things done!!!
(He says we need to winterize the jet skis, which is also important to do, but that can clearly be done later!!)
I said, "I sure do!"
Then I listed them off:
1. Put up shades in Christian's new room
2. Move his furniture over
3. Set up crib and get baby things out
He said, "Oh, I guess we are busy then."
Yes we are!! I want these things done!!!
(He says we need to winterize the jet skis, which is also important to do, but that can clearly be done later!!)
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
35 1\2 Week checkup
Little by little, we are getting to the end of this pregnancy!!! (What is going to get done first, the house or this baby??)
I saw my midwife today for the beginning of my weekly appointments. Today she thought it was funny to tease me about how far over I will go! I think her exact quote was, "Ah, she always goes to 45 weeks!" This was in regards to the test for strep b, which they usually do at 36 weeks. She didn't want to do it today because it is only good for five weeks and if I go past 41 weeks, I have to do it over again. Honestly, I have always been negative for strep b in the past, so I am not too worried about it. She said she will check me next week and do the strep b test then too.
Today she measured the baby and my belly grew 3 1/2 cm in two weeks! I measured 33 cm last time and today I was 36 1/2!!! No wonder my belly feels like my skin is stretching and that I am going to pop! I only gained two pounds in the last two weeks too (Up 26 1/2 now). I think weight gain starts to slow down near the end.
Baby's heartbeat was about 150 and my blood pressure was 104/56, or something low like that! She even messed with the baby a little bit while she was getting his heartbeat and heard a "nice acceleration." Good!!
She says I am ALL baby and that is what so many people have said lately! I am glad! I feel so much better this pregnancy than I did with the last two. It was well worth it to take three years to heal my body. I also think getting chiropractic adjustments every week or two has helped tremendously.
I also gave her my birth plan that she has been begging me for. I know that she will do everything I want, so I am not even worried about how my birth will go. I have had three great births, so I don't anticipate anything different with this one. She knows me well enough! She has already delivered one child of mine (Courtney); I have completely confidence in her.
At the end of the appointment today, she said, "Don't worry, I think you'll be pregnant for awhile yet!"
I head back again next Tuesday for my 36 week appointment. EEK! Baby is full term already!!!
I saw my midwife today for the beginning of my weekly appointments. Today she thought it was funny to tease me about how far over I will go! I think her exact quote was, "Ah, she always goes to 45 weeks!" This was in regards to the test for strep b, which they usually do at 36 weeks. She didn't want to do it today because it is only good for five weeks and if I go past 41 weeks, I have to do it over again. Honestly, I have always been negative for strep b in the past, so I am not too worried about it. She said she will check me next week and do the strep b test then too.
Today she measured the baby and my belly grew 3 1/2 cm in two weeks! I measured 33 cm last time and today I was 36 1/2!!! No wonder my belly feels like my skin is stretching and that I am going to pop! I only gained two pounds in the last two weeks too (Up 26 1/2 now). I think weight gain starts to slow down near the end.
Baby's heartbeat was about 150 and my blood pressure was 104/56, or something low like that! She even messed with the baby a little bit while she was getting his heartbeat and heard a "nice acceleration." Good!!
She says I am ALL baby and that is what so many people have said lately! I am glad! I feel so much better this pregnancy than I did with the last two. It was well worth it to take three years to heal my body. I also think getting chiropractic adjustments every week or two has helped tremendously.
I also gave her my birth plan that she has been begging me for. I know that she will do everything I want, so I am not even worried about how my birth will go. I have had three great births, so I don't anticipate anything different with this one. She knows me well enough! She has already delivered one child of mine (Courtney); I have completely confidence in her.
At the end of the appointment today, she said, "Don't worry, I think you'll be pregnant for awhile yet!"
I head back again next Tuesday for my 36 week appointment. EEK! Baby is full term already!!!
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Christian's surgery
Today Children's Hospital called and wanted to pre-register Christian for his surgery next week. I got their message and called them back right away. They just wanted our names, occupation, and to make sure they have our insurance information correct. I proceeded to ask the lady if she had any idea how much this would cost. She said the fee for the hospital is $8900, his surgeon fee is $1300, and the anesthesiologist would be another fee. I figured this would be at least a $10,000 surgery and I was right! And it will only take about an hour! Crazy!!
She also told me that they like us to pay a little bit of it the day of the surgery. Luckily, we only have $353 left of our $6500 deductible for the year, so we will probably just finish off the deductible next week!
This is one of the main reasons we decided to do his surgery this year. After we finish the deductible, we continue to pay 10% of the rest of the bills for awhile. I think I would rather pay $1,000 compared to $10,000. I think we will go the cheaper route!! (These are all estimation prices.)
At the end of the phone call today, I admit, I was getting a little weepy about it all. I really don't want to have Christian go through surgery, but I know in the end, it is the best decision for him right now. After I got off the phone, Christian leaned over and gave me a hug to make me feel better. He is so sweet!
Tonight, we prayed for a successful surgery and Courtney asked,"Are you going to cry again?" I said not tonight, but I will probably cry a lot next Thursday, I will be 36 weeks pregnant at the time too! In response to this, Christian said, "I will just have to give you more hugs and kisses, mommy!" He's going to make me cry even more because he is so sweet!! I am crying over him and he's the one trying to make me feel better! I love that kid!
If you were wondering, Christian is having an umbilical hernia repair surgery. He has a hole in his muscle under his skin from where his umbilical cord was attached to his belly button, but his muscle never came together like it should have. We want to catch it and fix it before it gets any worse. They said if they don't heal themselves by the age of five, they will probably not ever heal themselves, hence the surgery to fix it.
I thought this website does a great job of explain what will happen next Thursday.
http://www.chp.edu/CHP/Umbilical+Hernia+Repair+Surgery
She also told me that they like us to pay a little bit of it the day of the surgery. Luckily, we only have $353 left of our $6500 deductible for the year, so we will probably just finish off the deductible next week!
This is one of the main reasons we decided to do his surgery this year. After we finish the deductible, we continue to pay 10% of the rest of the bills for awhile. I think I would rather pay $1,000 compared to $10,000. I think we will go the cheaper route!! (These are all estimation prices.)
At the end of the phone call today, I admit, I was getting a little weepy about it all. I really don't want to have Christian go through surgery, but I know in the end, it is the best decision for him right now. After I got off the phone, Christian leaned over and gave me a hug to make me feel better. He is so sweet!
Tonight, we prayed for a successful surgery and Courtney asked,"Are you going to cry again?" I said not tonight, but I will probably cry a lot next Thursday, I will be 36 weeks pregnant at the time too! In response to this, Christian said, "I will just have to give you more hugs and kisses, mommy!" He's going to make me cry even more because he is so sweet!! I am crying over him and he's the one trying to make me feel better! I love that kid!
If you were wondering, Christian is having an umbilical hernia repair surgery. He has a hole in his muscle under his skin from where his umbilical cord was attached to his belly button, but his muscle never came together like it should have. We want to catch it and fix it before it gets any worse. They said if they don't heal themselves by the age of five, they will probably not ever heal themselves, hence the surgery to fix it.
I thought this website does a great job of explain what will happen next Thursday.
http://www.chp.edu/CHP/Umbilical+Hernia+Repair+Surgery
Monday, October 5, 2015
Science Videos for tomorrow
Australian water holding frog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuWo_kWMihs
Fringe toed lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflWc_VuEqI
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Fringe-Toed+Lizard+North+America&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&mid=78D31C347FCCD4D04E4478D31C347FCCD4D04E44
Wood Frog
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A0LEVz8pMBNWSXMAgRZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0N2Noc21lBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNwaXZz?p=wood+frog&fr=sfp&fr2=piv-web#action=view&id=4&vid=8fce5028b8a5499d273e26386fa5265e
Lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NI1TYBwAuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQnDx6BIcE0
Rolling Salamanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SayGAmWXGDY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuWo_kWMihs
Fringe toed lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflWc_VuEqI
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Fringe-Toed+Lizard+North+America&FORM=RESTAB#view=detail&mid=78D31C347FCCD4D04E4478D31C347FCCD4D04E44
Wood Frog
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=A0LEVz8pMBNWSXMAgRZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0N2Noc21lBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNwaXZz?p=wood+frog&fr=sfp&fr2=piv-web#action=view&id=4&vid=8fce5028b8a5499d273e26386fa5265e
Lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NI1TYBwAuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQnDx6BIcE0
Rolling Salamanders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SayGAmWXGDY
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Things are moving along today!!
We have many projects going on at our house right now! They are all leading up to the baby boy that we get to meet in about a month. :)
1. Our house painters showed up at 8:15 am and by 2 pm, they declared the job DONE!! Our house looks great! We had the whole things painted plus the trim (which has never been done before.) These painters were great! They were here every night this last week working on it until dark and were here all day yesterday. I would highly recommend them!! We gave them a check plus a nice gift card to a restaurant as an added bonus.
2. Matt did go get a rug doctor this afternoon, so he is busy cleaning carpets upstairs!! He is going to do the playroom, Christian's room, the hallway upstairs, and then come downstairs and do the living room and piano room. Yay for fresh, clean carpets!!
3. The woodwork for the window in Christian's room is going to get replaced tomorrow morning. Our window company had to come take it off and redo it because not only were two pieces wrong, but they were also put on crooked. This is the final step and then we can move Christian into that room!!
4. After we get Christian moved out of his current room, I would like to do a few paint touch-ups on the walls and then we are ready to get the crib up and all the baby stuff out. :)
5. I did forget the new shades we ordered a couple of weeks ago have to go up too. These are going in Christian's new and old room and on five windows in our bedroom. I think this is the next project after the carpets get cleaned today.
6. In addition to these projects, we have a door to the attic that has needed to be stained for about five years now! Matt finally decided to stain that! YIPPEE!
7. Don't forget the new curtains by the front door and the bathroom that we had done this last week.
Those areas sure look better now!
Anyway, off to keep cleaning the living room, so we can clean that carpet, it's going to be a mess!!
1. Our house painters showed up at 8:15 am and by 2 pm, they declared the job DONE!! Our house looks great! We had the whole things painted plus the trim (which has never been done before.) These painters were great! They were here every night this last week working on it until dark and were here all day yesterday. I would highly recommend them!! We gave them a check plus a nice gift card to a restaurant as an added bonus.
2. Matt did go get a rug doctor this afternoon, so he is busy cleaning carpets upstairs!! He is going to do the playroom, Christian's room, the hallway upstairs, and then come downstairs and do the living room and piano room. Yay for fresh, clean carpets!!
3. The woodwork for the window in Christian's room is going to get replaced tomorrow morning. Our window company had to come take it off and redo it because not only were two pieces wrong, but they were also put on crooked. This is the final step and then we can move Christian into that room!!
4. After we get Christian moved out of his current room, I would like to do a few paint touch-ups on the walls and then we are ready to get the crib up and all the baby stuff out. :)
5. I did forget the new shades we ordered a couple of weeks ago have to go up too. These are going in Christian's new and old room and on five windows in our bedroom. I think this is the next project after the carpets get cleaned today.
6. In addition to these projects, we have a door to the attic that has needed to be stained for about five years now! Matt finally decided to stain that! YIPPEE!
7. Don't forget the new curtains by the front door and the bathroom that we had done this last week.
Those areas sure look better now!
Anyway, off to keep cleaning the living room, so we can clean that carpet, it's going to be a mess!!
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Another delay....
I thought we were going to spend this weekend cleaning carpets at our house. Matt's plan was to go to the store right away Saturday morning, rent a rug doctor, and spend all day cleaning carpets. We have an event at 4 today, so we would not have gotten the whole house done, but we would have gotten enough done to start moving one certain child to a new room tomorrow.
Matt came home from work yesterday and had a different plan! UGH!
His new thought was to buy a carpet cleaner instead of renting one. Really?? We have been together for 15 years and are going on our 4th child and he decides we need a carpet cleaner. We should have had one years ago!
So anyway, he pulled up his account on Consumer Reports and looked for the best rated cleaner; it was a Hoover. I then asked him to look at places in town to see if anybody had one. I really wanted to clean my carpets this weekend! NE Furniture Mart and Sears did not carry the one he wanted, so he looked on Amazon. Of course, they had it, but it would take two days to get here. I don't think he ended up ordering it last night. I don't think any other place in town would carry this certain carpet cleaner. I just will have to wait to clean my carpets. :(
So what are we going to do today instead of cleaning carpets?? Put up our new shades of course!
Matt came home from work yesterday and had a different plan! UGH!
His new thought was to buy a carpet cleaner instead of renting one. Really?? We have been together for 15 years and are going on our 4th child and he decides we need a carpet cleaner. We should have had one years ago!
So anyway, he pulled up his account on Consumer Reports and looked for the best rated cleaner; it was a Hoover. I then asked him to look at places in town to see if anybody had one. I really wanted to clean my carpets this weekend! NE Furniture Mart and Sears did not carry the one he wanted, so he looked on Amazon. Of course, they had it, but it would take two days to get here. I don't think he ended up ordering it last night. I don't think any other place in town would carry this certain carpet cleaner. I just will have to wait to clean my carpets. :(
So what are we going to do today instead of cleaning carpets?? Put up our new shades of course!
Thursday, October 1, 2015
More Reptiles for Science tomorrow
Wallace tree frog:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/wallaces-flying-frog/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYj4RP_WfJE
sidewinder rattlesnake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-MIDcbopBU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2S0Qr0QbLU
crested geckos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlALkVXH2qY
basilisk lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yabrnryXk
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/wallaces-flying-frog/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYj4RP_WfJE
sidewinder rattlesnake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-MIDcbopBU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2S0Qr0QbLU
crested geckos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlALkVXH2qY
basilisk lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yabrnryXk
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