33 weeks
Another week in the books and more life unscripted, along with the beginning of a new year! It's officially 2017 and we have SO much to look forward to for this new year - a new baby, a new sister-in-law and some other potential changes coming down the pipe in the next two months! I can't wait to see where God leads us!
I've always loved this stretch of holidays because it's one after the other so you keep that holiday spirit for an extended period of time. Granted, I did take the tree down before New Years but I figured if I didn't do it while I had the energy, it wouldn't come down until after Penny's arrival (Lord willing, in February) :/ We had plans for it to be a fun-filled weekend of more celebrations of the holiday but alas, life has a way of laughing at your plans.
Emma was coming down with what I thought was a seasonal cold or allergies, complete with the constant running nose and sneezing. It didn't seem to phase her or slow her down even a little bit so Rory and I didn't think much of it. We pushed the liquids and did what we could to just let it run its course, but Thursday, we were proven very wrong in our assumptions. She came down with a rough cough Thursday morning, but again, I thought it was only from the drainage. Thursday afternoon, I got the text from her daycare that she had woken up from her nap with a fever and then she'd wet the bed...something she's NEVER done so far. I knew from then that we were in for a long weekend. I made an appointment to see her doctor on Friday and made a call to a friend to see if she could keep her on Friday since Rory and I still both had to work and I wasn't going to be sending her to daycare with whatever it was that she had.
I, of course, went into full "crazy mommy" mode and started looking up her symptoms at that point - fever, runny nose, cough, sneezing - and narrowed my list down to either bronchitis or walking pneumonia. While I prayed fervently that she didn't have the latter, I knew that she had it around this time last year so we knew a little more of what to expect, recovery-wise.
Thursday night, her fever spiked to 103.3 and, of course, I tried to keep my freak-out level down. I gave her some Motrin and we sat on the couch cuddling until I felt the fever break. I knew we were visiting the doctor the next day so I wasn't going to call in a panic unless it got worse. She was so pitiful! :( She didn't want to do much of anything except lay on the couch with me (which I wasn't going to complain about) and she actually fell asleep earlier than usual so I took that opportunity to lysol everything down, just in case.
Friday, thankfully, wasn't a busy day at work. I wouldn't have been much good since my mind was on Emma wondering if she was any better. My friend was giving me updates until her doctor's appointment, and it was much of the same as Thursday night - fever and cuddles on the couch. I was glad when the afternoon came and we got her to the doctor! I felt like a terrible mother after that because I was only able to stay there long enough to fill out paperwork and pay the copay and then I had to go back to work. Thanks be to God that we have such wonderful friends! My friend stayed with her and relayed all her symptoms to the doctor. She even had to endure Emma's freak out when the nurse had to swab for the flu and strep throat - tests that I don't even like as an adult! The nurse practitioner concluded after a thorough exam and the two tests that Emma had an ear infection (only the second one in her life) and strep throat, neither of which I was expecting. Thankfully, there are antibiotics for both so she was sent home with plenty of medicine.
She was actually on her way back to normal first thing Saturday morning so our weekend was still fun-filled with her having to wear her Ana and Elsa dresses (most of the time at the same time) ALL weekend and lots of playtime with Barbies and the kitchen set. Oh, parenthood with a girl :) And we'll be adding another one soon! Emma is now back to her normal self and we're looking forward to spending a relaxing Monday at home doing absolutely nothing!
On the pregnancy front, this weekend has also been filled with the return of some contractions. They haven't been anywhere near the severity that I had a couple of weeks ago, but I can tell they're more than just your typical Braxton Hick's contractions. I concluded that they were brought on by trying to do too much, so I've tried to force myself to sit down and take frequent breaks when I feel like I'm pushing it. This is much easier said than done with a sick two year old and husband to take care of!
Rory has stepped up like a champ and helped SO much with Emma the last month and he continues to do an amazing job taking care of me! We had a crazy morning mishap at 1 am this morning when Emma fell out of her bed and took the table lamp with her to the floor. In an attempt to run around the end of the bed to get to her room, I myself slipped on the carpet and took a tumble. Thankfully, I only sustained a carpet burn on my knee and I fell in a way that Penny was totally fine. Rory's face and voice was almost in a panic wondering who he should check on first and I almost couldn't help but laugh at our predicament. I was totally fine so I told him to go on and get Emma and I was able to get up fairly quickly and get to Emma's room right behind him. She was fine too and I think it was more the shock of falling and waking up on the floor instead of in her bed. Rory sat rocking her on the floor for a few minutes to calm her down while I went to the bathroom (since I had gotten up and Penny was now situated on my bladder) and then got back in bed. I really wish I'd gotten a picture of that sweet moment between Rory and Emma. He loves that girl so much.
The RLS is still here but it's hit or miss now. Some nights I can get a full nights sleep and not deal with it and then other nights, I can barely get into bed before I feel like I need to start my horizontal marathon! I'm not having any more round ligament pains, but I doubt they're gone for good since I've still got a potential 6 weeks of her (and me) to grow. With her taking up more and more room, I can't eat a ton nowadays, so I've resorted to snacking so I'm not starving by the time lunch or dinner rolls around. Most days, I can also push through the exhaustion. I have to, really, so it's more a matter of getting into survival mode.
I've started to make a calendar now that we're 6 weeks or less from welcoming Penny to the world, and the next two weeks will consist of hitting the nursery hard! Painting, furniture assembly, decorating, etc. Then will come installation of the car seat and packing our bags to get ready, just in case she decides to follow her sister's example and show up early. It's getting real for me when I think of it all in terms of a timeline of what needs to be done. I know that these are just formalities at this point (except packing our bag and installing the car seat) but I would rather get it done now before Penny gets here so I'm not trying to get it done while a zombie after she gets here.
Tomorrow is back to the grind (at least for two more weeks before the next holiday!) and training my replacement to get ready for Penny's arrival. I'm already starting to get into the mindset of countdown and I'm so excited/scared! I can't wait to hold my baby and see how she will fit seamlessly into our lives but I'm interested to see how it will be this time around with an almost-3 year old vying for my attention! God will provide me the strength!
I hope everyone is having a great start to 2017! May God bless your year and provide you with the strength and understanding to endure whatever He has planned for your 2017!
6 more weeks!
God bless!
I've always loved this stretch of holidays because it's one after the other so you keep that holiday spirit for an extended period of time. Granted, I did take the tree down before New Years but I figured if I didn't do it while I had the energy, it wouldn't come down until after Penny's arrival (Lord willing, in February) :/ We had plans for it to be a fun-filled weekend of more celebrations of the holiday but alas, life has a way of laughing at your plans.
Emma was coming down with what I thought was a seasonal cold or allergies, complete with the constant running nose and sneezing. It didn't seem to phase her or slow her down even a little bit so Rory and I didn't think much of it. We pushed the liquids and did what we could to just let it run its course, but Thursday, we were proven very wrong in our assumptions. She came down with a rough cough Thursday morning, but again, I thought it was only from the drainage. Thursday afternoon, I got the text from her daycare that she had woken up from her nap with a fever and then she'd wet the bed...something she's NEVER done so far. I knew from then that we were in for a long weekend. I made an appointment to see her doctor on Friday and made a call to a friend to see if she could keep her on Friday since Rory and I still both had to work and I wasn't going to be sending her to daycare with whatever it was that she had.
I, of course, went into full "crazy mommy" mode and started looking up her symptoms at that point - fever, runny nose, cough, sneezing - and narrowed my list down to either bronchitis or walking pneumonia. While I prayed fervently that she didn't have the latter, I knew that she had it around this time last year so we knew a little more of what to expect, recovery-wise.
Thursday night, her fever spiked to 103.3 and, of course, I tried to keep my freak-out level down. I gave her some Motrin and we sat on the couch cuddling until I felt the fever break. I knew we were visiting the doctor the next day so I wasn't going to call in a panic unless it got worse. She was so pitiful! :( She didn't want to do much of anything except lay on the couch with me (which I wasn't going to complain about) and she actually fell asleep earlier than usual so I took that opportunity to lysol everything down, just in case.
Friday, thankfully, wasn't a busy day at work. I wouldn't have been much good since my mind was on Emma wondering if she was any better. My friend was giving me updates until her doctor's appointment, and it was much of the same as Thursday night - fever and cuddles on the couch. I was glad when the afternoon came and we got her to the doctor! I felt like a terrible mother after that because I was only able to stay there long enough to fill out paperwork and pay the copay and then I had to go back to work. Thanks be to God that we have such wonderful friends! My friend stayed with her and relayed all her symptoms to the doctor. She even had to endure Emma's freak out when the nurse had to swab for the flu and strep throat - tests that I don't even like as an adult! The nurse practitioner concluded after a thorough exam and the two tests that Emma had an ear infection (only the second one in her life) and strep throat, neither of which I was expecting. Thankfully, there are antibiotics for both so she was sent home with plenty of medicine.
She was actually on her way back to normal first thing Saturday morning so our weekend was still fun-filled with her having to wear her Ana and Elsa dresses (most of the time at the same time) ALL weekend and lots of playtime with Barbies and the kitchen set. Oh, parenthood with a girl :) And we'll be adding another one soon! Emma is now back to her normal self and we're looking forward to spending a relaxing Monday at home doing absolutely nothing!
On the pregnancy front, this weekend has also been filled with the return of some contractions. They haven't been anywhere near the severity that I had a couple of weeks ago, but I can tell they're more than just your typical Braxton Hick's contractions. I concluded that they were brought on by trying to do too much, so I've tried to force myself to sit down and take frequent breaks when I feel like I'm pushing it. This is much easier said than done with a sick two year old and husband to take care of!
Rory has stepped up like a champ and helped SO much with Emma the last month and he continues to do an amazing job taking care of me! We had a crazy morning mishap at 1 am this morning when Emma fell out of her bed and took the table lamp with her to the floor. In an attempt to run around the end of the bed to get to her room, I myself slipped on the carpet and took a tumble. Thankfully, I only sustained a carpet burn on my knee and I fell in a way that Penny was totally fine. Rory's face and voice was almost in a panic wondering who he should check on first and I almost couldn't help but laugh at our predicament. I was totally fine so I told him to go on and get Emma and I was able to get up fairly quickly and get to Emma's room right behind him. She was fine too and I think it was more the shock of falling and waking up on the floor instead of in her bed. Rory sat rocking her on the floor for a few minutes to calm her down while I went to the bathroom (since I had gotten up and Penny was now situated on my bladder) and then got back in bed. I really wish I'd gotten a picture of that sweet moment between Rory and Emma. He loves that girl so much.
The RLS is still here but it's hit or miss now. Some nights I can get a full nights sleep and not deal with it and then other nights, I can barely get into bed before I feel like I need to start my horizontal marathon! I'm not having any more round ligament pains, but I doubt they're gone for good since I've still got a potential 6 weeks of her (and me) to grow. With her taking up more and more room, I can't eat a ton nowadays, so I've resorted to snacking so I'm not starving by the time lunch or dinner rolls around. Most days, I can also push through the exhaustion. I have to, really, so it's more a matter of getting into survival mode.
I've started to make a calendar now that we're 6 weeks or less from welcoming Penny to the world, and the next two weeks will consist of hitting the nursery hard! Painting, furniture assembly, decorating, etc. Then will come installation of the car seat and packing our bags to get ready, just in case she decides to follow her sister's example and show up early. It's getting real for me when I think of it all in terms of a timeline of what needs to be done. I know that these are just formalities at this point (except packing our bag and installing the car seat) but I would rather get it done now before Penny gets here so I'm not trying to get it done while a zombie after she gets here.
Tomorrow is back to the grind (at least for two more weeks before the next holiday!) and training my replacement to get ready for Penny's arrival. I'm already starting to get into the mindset of countdown and I'm so excited/scared! I can't wait to hold my baby and see how she will fit seamlessly into our lives but I'm interested to see how it will be this time around with an almost-3 year old vying for my attention! God will provide me the strength!
I hope everyone is having a great start to 2017! May God bless your year and provide you with the strength and understanding to endure whatever He has planned for your 2017!
6 more weeks!
God bless!
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