Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Still Here
I can't believe it's been over two months since I've last posted :( I'm still here, still pregnant, and still sick (just threw up again this morning, and I'm 17 weeks!). I'm on two different anti-nausea drugs that do help, but they obviously don't completely take care of the problem.
I have been doing a lot better in the last few weeks. At the end of August, I couldn't keep anything down for close to a week and had to go in for iv fluids. My mom and Katie then came to help out with the kids for a week while my dad was traveling.
I'm up to about 50/50 on good days and bad days. It's really hard with the kids at time, but we're all making it. Steven just knows that my tummy hurts a lot, but we've been careful to not connect my being sick to the baby that is coming, and so far, he hasn't made the connection on his own. Michelle is just her usual self, but at first, they both were acting up more because their life was all out of order when I had to stay in bed for days at a time.
I haven't taken pictures in months (just found my camera last night after realizing that neither Mark nor I knew where it was), but the kids and I are going to see Auntie E this afternoon, so maybe I'll get her to take a belly picture for me :) She doesn't know about the baby yet, so that is part of the purpose for our trip. We haven't been up there since Birthmother's Day this spring, so we are a bit overdue for a visit. We've just been putting off telling her about the baby, and I've been way too sick to make plans anyways.
If you read this in time, please pray for our visit and for her to have a positive reaction. In the past, when I mentioned that we wanted four kids, she was shocked that we'd want more than the two that she'd placed with us. I was a bit taken back by her reaction, but I did remind her that she has four kids :) I just don't want her to feel displaced or to think that we'll somehow love this child more than the other two just (I cannot imagine how that would even be possible!).
Well, I had better start getting ready. One of my triggers is brushing/washing my hair, and that definitely has to be done before the visit :( I am so ready to be done with all the sickness!
I have been doing a lot better in the last few weeks. At the end of August, I couldn't keep anything down for close to a week and had to go in for iv fluids. My mom and Katie then came to help out with the kids for a week while my dad was traveling.
I'm up to about 50/50 on good days and bad days. It's really hard with the kids at time, but we're all making it. Steven just knows that my tummy hurts a lot, but we've been careful to not connect my being sick to the baby that is coming, and so far, he hasn't made the connection on his own. Michelle is just her usual self, but at first, they both were acting up more because their life was all out of order when I had to stay in bed for days at a time.
I haven't taken pictures in months (just found my camera last night after realizing that neither Mark nor I knew where it was), but the kids and I are going to see Auntie E this afternoon, so maybe I'll get her to take a belly picture for me :) She doesn't know about the baby yet, so that is part of the purpose for our trip. We haven't been up there since Birthmother's Day this spring, so we are a bit overdue for a visit. We've just been putting off telling her about the baby, and I've been way too sick to make plans anyways.
If you read this in time, please pray for our visit and for her to have a positive reaction. In the past, when I mentioned that we wanted four kids, she was shocked that we'd want more than the two that she'd placed with us. I was a bit taken back by her reaction, but I did remind her that she has four kids :) I just don't want her to feel displaced or to think that we'll somehow love this child more than the other two just (I cannot imagine how that would even be possible!).
Well, I had better start getting ready. One of my triggers is brushing/washing my hair, and that definitely has to be done before the visit :( I am so ready to be done with all the sickness!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Morning Sickness
The morning sickness is getting worse and worse :( Today, I'm not even keeping liquids down, so the doctor is calling in a prescription for me. Please pray that it helps!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Chicken Pox and Morning Sickness (aka It Never Really Ends Around Here!)
Yep, you read that right. It's always something at our house, and our most recent adventure is chicken pox. Michelle broke out last Monday, and it took me a while to realize what it was. She looked like she had bug bites all over her arms, shoulder, and legs, and since she is dark skinned, they weren't red. I was feeling sorry for her and trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong, and when I came home from work, it hit me.
I quickly searched online for pictures of chicken pox, esp. ones of dark skinned kids with chicken pox, but it was still hard to tell. Since she was just breaking out, she just had blisters, not scabs like I expected. However, all the descriptions matched, and by Tuesday morning, it was clear that she had chicken pox.
Thankfully, she has a relatively mild case (which fits since she had the apparently less-than-effective vaccine at her 12 month visit). Her torso and most of her face is clear, but the poor kid's arms and legs are covered. I don't know if I've mentioned this on here before, but she has a very, very high pain tolerance. That has come in handy because other than Monday/Tuesday, she hasn't acted sick at all. I think she's past the contagious part now, but we're keeping her home from church tomorrow anyways. We'll see if Steven breaks out in the next 1-2 weeks.
Oh, and morning sickness. See the ticker up there? We found out two weeks ago (the week between Michelle being in the hospital and then getting the chicken pox) that we are expecting a baby. We're still in shock :) Baby #3 is due March 15!
I quickly searched online for pictures of chicken pox, esp. ones of dark skinned kids with chicken pox, but it was still hard to tell. Since she was just breaking out, she just had blisters, not scabs like I expected. However, all the descriptions matched, and by Tuesday morning, it was clear that she had chicken pox.
Thankfully, she has a relatively mild case (which fits since she had the apparently less-than-effective vaccine at her 12 month visit). Her torso and most of her face is clear, but the poor kid's arms and legs are covered. I don't know if I've mentioned this on here before, but she has a very, very high pain tolerance. That has come in handy because other than Monday/Tuesday, she hasn't acted sick at all. I think she's past the contagious part now, but we're keeping her home from church tomorrow anyways. We'll see if Steven breaks out in the next 1-2 weeks.
Oh, and morning sickness. See the ticker up there? We found out two weeks ago (the week between Michelle being in the hospital and then getting the chicken pox) that we are expecting a baby. We're still in shock :) Baby #3 is due March 15!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Catching Up
The last two weeks have been chaotic, and a lot of that was because of Michelle's asthma. In her first couple days home, we were in and out of doctor's office and the ER. We discovered that she is allergic to the inhaled steroid they prescribed as a maintainance medicine. She first reacted on Wednesday night, and in addition to having swelling red patches, she was burning up and struggling to breathe.
We rushed her to the pediatric ER and were told that no one is allergic to inhaled steriods and that her fever was causing the breathing problem (similar to a dog panting). They gave her motrin, which took away the fever and the breathing problems, and the benadryl we gave her on the way to the hospital took care of the swelling. The doctor said no one is allergic to the inhaled steriods (which I questioned).
She was still burning up on Thursday, so I gave her tylenol every couple hours and was in contact with the doctor's office thoughout the day. We also were continuing with her breathing treatments. When I gave her the inhaled steroids, I stripped her clothes and waited for her to swell, and she did :( I started taking her to the ER again, but halfway there, the benadryl kicked in, so we turned around and went to the doctor's office. The doctor confirmed that she was allergic to the medication and said that she was probably coming down with either pneumonia or a bronchial infection and gave her antibiotics for it.
By Friday night (7 days after this all started), her eyes cleared up, and Sissy was starting to look good again. Her fever was gone Saturday morning, so we were finally able to go back to church (it'd been 6 weeks since we'd been in our church!).
We took her to her allergist, who is also an asthma specialist, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a treatment plan. We were continuing to do albuterol breathing treatments several times a day, but the doctor wanted us to do that only as needed. Michelle is now taking a chewable Singular tablet once a day, and starting tomorrow, will only be having breathing treatments as needed.
Michelle is definitely back to her perky, feisty, determined little self and is working on new words and commands ("more grapes!") every day. We are so blessed to have her happy and healthy again!
We rushed her to the pediatric ER and were told that no one is allergic to inhaled steriods and that her fever was causing the breathing problem (similar to a dog panting). They gave her motrin, which took away the fever and the breathing problems, and the benadryl we gave her on the way to the hospital took care of the swelling. The doctor said no one is allergic to the inhaled steriods (which I questioned).
She was still burning up on Thursday, so I gave her tylenol every couple hours and was in contact with the doctor's office thoughout the day. We also were continuing with her breathing treatments. When I gave her the inhaled steroids, I stripped her clothes and waited for her to swell, and she did :( I started taking her to the ER again, but halfway there, the benadryl kicked in, so we turned around and went to the doctor's office. The doctor confirmed that she was allergic to the medication and said that she was probably coming down with either pneumonia or a bronchial infection and gave her antibiotics for it.
By Friday night (7 days after this all started), her eyes cleared up, and Sissy was starting to look good again. Her fever was gone Saturday morning, so we were finally able to go back to church (it'd been 6 weeks since we'd been in our church!).
We took her to her allergist, who is also an asthma specialist, on Tuesday afternoon to discuss a treatment plan. We were continuing to do albuterol breathing treatments several times a day, but the doctor wanted us to do that only as needed. Michelle is now taking a chewable Singular tablet once a day, and starting tomorrow, will only be having breathing treatments as needed.
Michelle is definitely back to her perky, feisty, determined little self and is working on new words and commands ("more grapes!") every day. We are so blessed to have her happy and healthy again!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sissy's Home!!
Michelle was doing well enough that we got to bring her home earlier today! We had originally anticipated bringing her home yesterday morning, but her oxygen levels dropped during the night Saturday, so she had to stay until she could sleep without supplemental oxygen.
Michelle definitely has asthma, and it is pretty severe. We have to give her breathing treatments every four hours (including at night), and she has a follow up visit with her pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon. Depending on how she is doing at that time, we may be able to decrease the number of treatments she gets each day. I am sure that sometime soon we will be meeting with her allergist again. We were pleased to learn that he specializes in asthma, and that is a huge blessing. Michelle's pediatrician was glad to hear that he is her allergist.
Thank you for all your prayers, but please don't stop praying. We have a long road ahead of us as we adjust to a new way of life. We don't know exactly what we'll be doing long term, but we are thankful for a God who not only is there with us each step of the way but also provides for all of our needs. We have already had to spend a couple hundred dollars on her breathing machine, and I have no idea what kind of bills we're going to get from this weekend. Needless to say, we are very thankful for health insurance!
I'll be sure to update you again after her appointment on Wednesday. Again, we appreciate your prayers for Michelle, our family, and her doctors.
God is good. All the time. All the time, God is good!
Michelle definitely has asthma, and it is pretty severe. We have to give her breathing treatments every four hours (including at night), and she has a follow up visit with her pediatrician on Wednesday afternoon. Depending on how she is doing at that time, we may be able to decrease the number of treatments she gets each day. I am sure that sometime soon we will be meeting with her allergist again. We were pleased to learn that he specializes in asthma, and that is a huge blessing. Michelle's pediatrician was glad to hear that he is her allergist.
Thank you for all your prayers, but please don't stop praying. We have a long road ahead of us as we adjust to a new way of life. We don't know exactly what we'll be doing long term, but we are thankful for a God who not only is there with us each step of the way but also provides for all of our needs. We have already had to spend a couple hundred dollars on her breathing machine, and I have no idea what kind of bills we're going to get from this weekend. Needless to say, we are very thankful for health insurance!
I'll be sure to update you again after her appointment on Wednesday. Again, we appreciate your prayers for Michelle, our family, and her doctors.
God is good. All the time. All the time, God is good!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Please Pray for Michelle
Last night around 1:30/2:00, I took Michelle to the ER because she was really struggling to breathe. She received several breathing treatments and was on oxygen before we were transferred by ambulance to a better hospital. She was tired, cranky, and hungry (and I was getting there too!), but the breathing treatments were helping. Late this morning, right after Mark and Steven arrived, she was moved to her own room. It is a huge room with a nice size tv, dvd/vcr player for her favorite videos, bathroom/shower (way bigger than the one on our cruise!), and a very cute plush teddy bear just for her.
The plan was for Steven and me to take off since I haven't slept since Thursday night. However, we waited around until she was settled in, had at least one more breathing treatment, and were confident that Mark was sufficiently up to speed.
She is scheduled to have treatments every three hours (so she should have just had one), and they started her on steroids. When I checked in with Mark, she was playing but starting to slow down, which was good since she only slept until 1:30 or so last night and then took a 1 1/2 hour nap in the ER before they transferred her to her room.
The current plan is for Steven and me to catch up on some sleep and then head back to the hospital. Either Mark will return home with Steven or he'll go to a friend's house. We're just waiting to see how things go.
I was told this morning that Michelle would be there overnight. We're praying that she isn't there longer. At this point, they don't know what is causing the breathing problems. They have ruled out pneumonia through chest x-rays (so fun to do at 2:30 in the morning!). We really believe that it's asthma, but the doctors are hesitant on that right now. From what I understand, they don't like to diagnose it before the age of 3. However, with her medical history, it makes sense. Her allergist all but said that she'd develop asthma and that it was just a question of when, not if. At this point, there is no indication that this is an allergic reaction.
Thank you for praying for Michelle, for us, for the medical staff, for Steven, and for our families. My dad has been sending out updates through Facebook and Twitter, and I'll do my best to update when I can. However, I'm hoping to be asleep for quite a few hours :)
The plan was for Steven and me to take off since I haven't slept since Thursday night. However, we waited around until she was settled in, had at least one more breathing treatment, and were confident that Mark was sufficiently up to speed.
She is scheduled to have treatments every three hours (so she should have just had one), and they started her on steroids. When I checked in with Mark, she was playing but starting to slow down, which was good since she only slept until 1:30 or so last night and then took a 1 1/2 hour nap in the ER before they transferred her to her room.
The current plan is for Steven and me to catch up on some sleep and then head back to the hospital. Either Mark will return home with Steven or he'll go to a friend's house. We're just waiting to see how things go.
I was told this morning that Michelle would be there overnight. We're praying that she isn't there longer. At this point, they don't know what is causing the breathing problems. They have ruled out pneumonia through chest x-rays (so fun to do at 2:30 in the morning!). We really believe that it's asthma, but the doctors are hesitant on that right now. From what I understand, they don't like to diagnose it before the age of 3. However, with her medical history, it makes sense. Her allergist all but said that she'd develop asthma and that it was just a question of when, not if. At this point, there is no indication that this is an allergic reaction.
Thank you for praying for Michelle, for us, for the medical staff, for Steven, and for our families. My dad has been sending out updates through Facebook and Twitter, and I'll do my best to update when I can. However, I'm hoping to be asleep for quite a few hours :)
Monday, July 5, 2010
Adoption Blessings on Etsy
I started making hairbows for Michelle earlier this year, and because of all the compliments I'd get on them (you have to admit they are stinking cute!), I decided to start selling them online. I've been very busy building inventory, and I now have over 50 different ones for sale. You can check out the complete list of them under Adoption Blessings on Facebook or see the majority of them at my etsy shop, AdoptionBlessings. Custom orders are always welcome too, of course!
All the hairbows/flowers are on fully lined alligator clips, and all ribbon ends are heat sealed to prevent fraying. I also stitch together the korkers (instead of just bundling them), so your child, if she's anything like Michelle, won't be able to rip them apart. The only advantage of Michelle's distructiveness is that I've refined and reinforced all my items. If she can't destroy, I doubt anyone can!
Large Flowers (5")--$5.50
Small Flowers (2"-3")--$3.50
Butterflies--$4.00
All the hairbows/flowers are on fully lined alligator clips, and all ribbon ends are heat sealed to prevent fraying. I also stitch together the korkers (instead of just bundling them), so your child, if she's anything like Michelle, won't be able to rip them apart. The only advantage of Michelle's distructiveness is that I've refined and reinforced all my items. If she can't destroy, I doubt anyone can!
Korkers--$3.50
Large Flowers (5")--$5.50
Small Flowers (2"-3")--$3.50
Butterflies--$4.00
These make great gifts, so even if you don't have a little girl, you probably know one who'd love one! The large flowers also look great in Mommy's hair too! Again, check out AdoptionBlessings on etsy for about 35 more options!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
New Words
Michelle's vocabulary is growing at an amazing rate right now. We couldn't believe how many new words she was saying when we picked her up from my parents after the cruise. Most of them are helpful, but the one she picked up today wasn't the greatest--"mine!" Lovely.
Other new (and relatively new) words:
Blanket
Pineapple (and she says it very clearly!)
Welcome
Bless you! (which she says over and over and over again when anyone sneezes)
Up!
Diaper
Eat (at least I think she says this)
Trash
Michelle
Sissy
Truck
Ball
Fruit Snack
Duck
Quack
I know there are others that I just can't think of right now. I'm too exhausted to think, and it doesn't help that I just realized that our garage sale is this weekend (and I already have the required permit). Anyone want to join me? It's a sub-wide sale, and we usually do pretty well. This is my first year having to do it completely on my own, and that makes me very nervous because of the kids. I'd love to have some company whether you want to sell with me or not!
Other new (and relatively new) words:
Blanket
Pineapple (and she says it very clearly!)
Welcome
Bless you! (which she says over and over and over again when anyone sneezes)
Up!
Diaper
Eat (at least I think she says this)
Trash
Michelle
Sissy
Truck
Ball
Fruit Snack
Duck
Quack
I know there are others that I just can't think of right now. I'm too exhausted to think, and it doesn't help that I just realized that our garage sale is this weekend (and I already have the required permit). Anyone want to join me? It's a sub-wide sale, and we usually do pretty well. This is my first year having to do it completely on my own, and that makes me very nervous because of the kids. I'd love to have some company whether you want to sell with me or not!
Conversation at Naptime
You just never know what's going to come out of Steven's mouth, and most of the time, he's pretty hilarious. Of course, he doesn't always try to be, but just like I was probably at his age, he needs to cover all the bases.
Just a few minutes ago as I was trying to get him to walk from the bathroom to my bed for his nap, we had an interesting conversation. He's been wearing Mark's falling apart slippers today (which means that he is walking like a penguin), and I had just told him that he could not wear them during his nap.
Steven: Can I take my toys (bubble blowers) with me?
Mommy: No, no toys at naptime.
Steven: Can I take my popper?
Mommy: No. You can't take anything with you at naptime.
Steven: Can I take my arms?
Mommy: Yes, you can take your arms.
Steven: Can I take your shoe?
Mommy: No. Get into bed and stop asking! If you don't go to sleep, you're going to have to take your nap in your bed.
Steven's now in my bed, quiet as can be :)
Just a few minutes ago as I was trying to get him to walk from the bathroom to my bed for his nap, we had an interesting conversation. He's been wearing Mark's falling apart slippers today (which means that he is walking like a penguin), and I had just told him that he could not wear them during his nap.
Steven: Can I take my toys (bubble blowers) with me?
Mommy: No, no toys at naptime.
Steven: Can I take my popper?
Mommy: No. You can't take anything with you at naptime.
Steven: Can I take my arms?
Mommy: Yes, you can take your arms.
Steven: Can I take your shoe?
Mommy: No. Get into bed and stop asking! If you don't go to sleep, you're going to have to take your nap in your bed.
Steven's now in my bed, quiet as can be :)
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