New Car
With the arrival of our newest little girl approaching, we knew it was time to bite the bullet and upgrade my mode of transportation to something a bit bigger. I was very reluctant to jump onto the minivan band wagon, but practicality won out. Jeff and I headed out to test drive cars one Saturday in late April and came home with our van. We purchased a 2012 Honda Odyssey Touring and I couldn't be happier! There is so much more room in the van. We can easily fit Nicholas' best pal in the back with him without folding down seats, and when Nana and Baba ride with us, it's not as tight of a ride. Even with the baby, we'll still have plenty of room. I also have to say that it is pretty sweet on the inside. I sometimes feel like a pilot with all of the controls in front of me! :)
Illnesses....AKA My Kids Like to Vomit
It's really shocking that I haven't had any stomach problems lately. Both kids have had vomiting spells in the past 2 weeks. Lexi's happened about a week and a half ago when she came upstairs crying in the middle of the night, only to vomit all over our bed. That was special. She spent the next day with a high fever and several bouts of vomiting..including all over our carpet upstairs. Within 24 hours though, she was fine. Definitely just a stomach bug.
Nicholas has had it much worse. He started complaining of stomach pains this past Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, he headed to SF with my dad and Jeff to watch the Giants game with his Little League team. Jeff said he was complaining again of stomach pain on the way over there and just about the time he reached his seat, he vomited all over the stadium chair (sorry Giants fans!). After having one more vomiting spell in the bathroom they packed up and headed home. By the time he arrived home he was doubled over in pain and screaming. We decided to take him to the ER, as I didn't feel comfortable making him wait until the morning to see the pediatrician. With my appendicitis scare back in September, that's all that I was thinking about.
Our ER visit included a blood draw, that he handled surprisingly well, to check his white blood cell count (which came back normal), as well as an x-ray (which also came back normal). So we left with some anti-nausea meds and really no explanation for his severe abdominal pain, except maybe it was food poisoning. He seemed better Monday during the day...he ate well, wasn't vomiting or complaining of pain...so I sent him to school. I got a call to pick him up halfway through the day as he was complaining of pain and by the time we got home he was doubled over in pain and shrieking...again. I called the pediatrician and she thought maybe he was just constipated, so we loaded him up with juice and gave him a warm bath. But, within 20 minutes of downing the liquids, he was vomiting again. So, after calling the pediatrician again, we headed back to the ER....for the second night in a row.
We went to a different hospital, where they had ultrasound technicians skilled enough to handle pediatric patients (which is why Nicholas didn't get an ultrasound the night before at the other hospital). The ultrasound was able to rule out appendicitis and another condition wherein the bowels get twisted. The only thing they noticed were some lymph nodes near his appendix. So, again, we left with no real answers.
The following morning we were back to the pediatrician. She seemed to have a theory as to what was going on. She said he may have a condition wherein the lymph nodes around the appendix can cause intermittent pain...which is consistent with what Nicholas was experiencing. She said most of the time they go away in 4-5 days, but in some cases, they can cause appendicitis if stool gets blocked in between the lymph nodes and the appendix. So, she said were were basically on appendicitis watch for the next few days.
I'm happy to report that Nicholas has been feeling much better over the past 24 hours and has been taken off his liquid diet. He has more energy and seems to be back to his normal self. It seems that perhaps the lymph nodes situation is resolving itself. Jeff and I said we'd be happy not to have to see the inside of an ER for a while.
Renovation
Jeff and I have decided that instead of moving Lexi and Nicholas into one room together we will be walling off our loft outside of our bedroom and turning it into a nursery. It has a window and we will be building in a closet, so it can technically be called a bedroom, albeit a small bedroom. The contractor comes in early next week to begin walling off the room and it should be done in about a week and a half. I can't wait to see how it all comes together!
Baby Update
My pregnancy is moving right along, as I clock in at 24 weeks tomorrow. I went in for an ultrasound this morning and the baby weighed in at 1 lb. 9 oz. or the 57th percentile. So, she's not to small but not too big The perinatologist has my due date as 8/27 due to her size, although my technical due date is still 8/31. Not that any of the matters...I won't be allowed to go past 39 weeks anyway...if I make it that long! The baby is currently breech and was somersaulting around like crazy during the ultrasound...the tech said she wasn't being too cooperative! We were able to get our first decent 3D ultrasound picture at this appointment though.
You can see her hand and arm resting up against her nose and forehead. I think she looks just like Nicholas and Lexi as babies, although I never had 3D ultrasounds with either of the older two kids. We decided to do the full ultrasound experience for entertainment purposes only and that is scheduled for mid-June. We though Nicholas might enjoy seeing what his baby sister looks like from the inside. And after experiencing his own ultrasound recently, he'll probably be interested to see it done to me too.
As for me, I'm hanging in there. This pregnancy has definitely been the most challenging so far. Managing my diabetes has taken much more effort this time and I've had many more aches and pains earlier on. Making childcare arrangements for both Nicholas and Lexi has been exhausting as well. I already have at least one appointment a week, and pretty soon that will ramp up to two to three appointments a week. Luckily I have two wonderful friends who have been very generous with their babysitting offers, as well as Mom and Dad.
Hopefully we will get a new camera soon and I can start documenting our summer happenings...it should be a busy one! Until then...
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