Week 38: Learning

Olivia has always looked up to her big brother, so when he started school this fall she struggled with why she didn't get to school, too!  She's been getting up early and packing her backpack so she is all ready to join him when we drop Nolan at school.  She ends up sobbing frequently when I tell her that she doesn't get to go to school until she is four years old, potty trained, and able to write her own name.  One morning after a particularly heartwrenching sob-fest, she told me she wanted to write her name when we got home.  She did an  AMAZING job.  I wrote the letters on one page and she copied those letters completely on her own on the other page.  We also got her a potty watch that beeps every 45 minutes to tell her to go to the potty.  It works so well for my super independent girl, because the watch tells her it's time to go, not Mom.  She's only had two accidents in over two weeks. I'm nowhere near ready to have my little girl head off to school, but it is fun to see her conquer these milestones and be excited about what's coming next fall!  

Week 37: Fall

We FINALLY got out to the cabin to enjoy some of the fall colors.  Illness has been plaguing us for the last few weeks, so we missed peak color weekend, but were still able to enjoy quite a bit of nature's autumn show.  Grandpa Jim, Grandma Marcia, Grandpa Steve, and Grandma Patti all joined us and we had a delicious soup supper out there later that evening.

ER #2

Well, we've definitely seen enough of the hospital lately...I just spent the whole day in the Emergency Room!  All day yesterday, I felt really run down and had low energy.  My appetite wasn't normal and I just didn't feel good.  To top it off, I had some spotting, which was upsetting to me so early in my pregnancy.  About 4am, I woke up and was unable to get back to sleep.  I kept feeling like I needed to pee, even though I had just gone.  I got Nolan on the bus for school, and headed back home for breakfast when all of a sudden I had a sharp super intense pain on the right side of my back.  It was so painful and intense, but I got in the shower to see if maybe the heat would help.  I ended up getting really nauseous and collapsed onto my bed.  The pain was getting worse and worse and I was getting really scared.  My first thought was that I was losing the baby.  I called my OB, but there was no one available to talk to me.  I gave them an urgent message and told them to call me back as soon as possible.  In the meantime, I called Eric and told him to come home from work right away. There was no way I could drive myself to the hospital.  I called Patti next, and asked her to come to watch Livi so Eric could take me to the hospital.  The ten minutes it took for Eric to get here seemed like weeks.  I crawled from my bed to the bathroom floor and threw up.  And then I just laid there in terrible pain, waiting for him to get here to help me.  By the time we got to the ER my pain had virtually stopped.  I felt pretty much fine, but was still really freaked out about what had happened to me.  The doctor decided to run a bunch of tests to make sure both the baby and I were ok.  They found blood in my urine, so they decided to do an ultrasound of my kidney and my baby.  Of course, right in the middle of my ultrasound, I had another pain attack.  I had to lay there still on my back in agony for an hour and a half with tears running down my cheeks while she checked to see what was going on.  Though they couldn't see anything, all signs pointed to a kidney stone.  Baby checked out just fine and we got a glimpse of our little bug squirming all around on the monitor.  Because of my pregnancy, they couldn't give me any pain medications or additional imaging without posing some risk to the baby.  That meant that all they could do was send me home with a filter to try and see if I could pass it.  The next night, I caught the teeniest tiniest little speck of sand you could possibly imagine in my filter.  I haven't had any pain since, so I suspect that teeny, tiny speck was the culprit. I can't believe the pain such a little thing can cause.  But, I am so relieved that Baby is ok and that (hopefully) this whole mess is behind me!

Ory Party of Five

Well,  there's some big news in the Ory House....Baby #3 is on his/her way!!  He/She should be making an appearance around April 2, 2019.  Nolan really struggled with this news at first (change can be so hard for our sweet boy) and there were lots of tears for the first hour or so.  Then we thought that maybe he'd like to come up with a nickname for Baby...and Eric suggested FartMark.  Anything with farts is hilarious, and the tears quickly turned to hysterical laughter.  Once we got him laughing, everything was okay and now I think both Nolan and Olivia are excited for a new little sibling.

I have been struggling a bit more with this pregnancy than the previous two.  I have been A LOT more tired and low key than usual, and have had the hardest time getting projects done, which is very out of character for me.  I have also struggled with nausea and heartburn, though hopefully second trimester will bring some relief.

We are very excited (and of course, a little nervous) for this big change for our family.  We can't wait meet our sweet baby!

Little Movers

Livi spent the morning in the Little Movers class at the YMCA.  After watching Nolan in swimming from the sidelines all summer, I promised her that she would get to do a fun class or two once school started.  She had a blast running around, jumping on the trampoline, and playing with the parachute.  She was very brave and was good at following the directions of her teacher.  Yay, Livi!

Week 36: Sleep Tight

Olivia is such a sweet little sleeper.  Ever since she was a baby she's sucked her thumb.  (Much to the frustration of her dentist, Andy...)  She wraps her pink birdy baba around her index finger and rubs it gently under her nose.  And ever since her birthday, she insists on sleeping with "Squishy," her sweet stuffed puppy that needs to be under the covers too.

Every night before bed, we read a book.  Her favorites lately have been Pete the Cat, Llama Llama, and anything Princess related.  When it's time for lights out, we have our own version of a secret handshake that she came up with on her own!  A hug and a kiss start things off, followed by an Eskimo kiss (she makes a funny humming noise while we rub noses), and then I give her a Butterfly kiss with each eye.  Next up is "Moose" where we bang our heads together like moose banging horns, and we finish up with an "I Love You," spoken at exactly the right volume - not a whisper, but not too loud.  Then I put on her Okee Dokee Brothers CD and close the door. ("Quietly, Mom, so you don't wake Nolan!")  This is such a precious time with her every night  - I love my sweet, hilarious, and PARTICULAR little girl!

ER

This weekend brought us a parenting first - a middle of the night trip to the Emergency Room.  Nolan complained throughout the day on Saturday of a drippy nose and slightly sore throat, but it seemed like nothing to be overly concerned about.  I gave him some cold meds and sent him to bed without much fanfare.  At 11:30 or so, he woke up and was barely able to breathe.  He was gasping for air with terrible striders with each breath.  Eric had just gotten home from a business trip that evening (Thank God), so he stayed home with Livi while I loaded our sick, gasping boy into the van.  The drive to the hospital was terrifying.  He wasn't really able to talk because he couldn't get enough air moving and of course, that scared the both of us.  I couldn't see him well in the dark and all I could hear were these terrible sounds coming as he struggling to move air behind me.  When we got there, I hoisted my 71 pound son up onto my shoulder and sprinted into the ER.  When we got there his heart rate was extremely elevated (pulse was 169) and they got him back right away.  The respiratory therapist administered a breathing treatment of epinephrine, which helped to open his airway.  Within about 20 minutes his breathing became much more regular, but the poor little guy had gotten so much air in his tummy from hyperventilating that he vomited all over.  The medical staff sent him to x-ray and ran a panel of tests before they made their diagnosis of croup.  He's had croup several times since he started school last year, but it has never presented so suddenly or with those dangerous striders.  We stayed in the ER for several hours for observation to ensure that his breathing was under control and came home with a big dose of steroids on board.

His croup improved rather quickly with the steroids, but a few days later when we went in for a recheck the poor little buddy had a sinus and ear infection!  And because when it rains it pours, Olivia was in Urgent Care for an ear infection and bronchitis the following Saturday.  Thankfully courses of steroids and antibiotics helped my poor kiddos get back on track because hearing Nolan breathe like that was one of the scariest experiences of my life!

Week 35: Back to School

My little boy confidently headed off to his first day of Kindergarten this morning.  He was up, dressed, and ready to go by 6:15 this morning.  He told me he was excited, and a little bit scared, and a little bit brave, which sounded like the perfect combination for the first day of a new year.  I've asked to have him evaluated by the school reading and math specialists and I'm quite certain he's met most (if not all) of the kindergarten benchmarks, at least in math and reading.  I'm hopeful the team can figure out a plan that will enrich Nolan's schooling to keep him from getting bored learning things he already knows.  But for now, we will focus on the adjustment to all day, every day school.  It will be a big change for our whole family!  Nolan, we're proud of you and excited for your school adventures to begin!  You will be great!