August 2014

August 2014

Our August has been off to a crazy amazing start. Aly started Kindergarten. I can’t believe it! It was a crazy busy morning. JV and I both wanted to take her to school and walk her in. We met up with Kylie and her parents in the parking lot so they got to see each other. Even thought they are not in the same class it made a big difference in both of their days to see each other. Aly went straight into her class and was doing great, she sat down and was coloring and was just fine. No tears. I couldn’t believe it. On the second day, I was going to walk her in again, but she said “you can just drop me off” I was so shocked. I asked her again if she was sure and she said Yes. I then said “no I’ll just take you today and make sure you know where you class is and she said, “ I know, I’ll be fine!” I have to admit I was a little sad but proud all the same. She got out of the car, was a little scared but walked with the teacher and did just fine. She is still taking ballet at Great Beginnings and loving it. She is so sweet to her brother. She loves playing with him and we catch her talking to him and telling him how much she loves him and how she will never leave him. So sweet.

Aaron is also doing great. He has recently in the past two weeks started sitting up on his own. He makes it for a few mins and then eventually falls backwards. He is rolling all over the place and he is so close to crawling. He is so much fun right now, he smiles all the time and is so much happier since his ear surgery. He has had a little cold these past few weeks so there has been a lot of snot, coughing and a few rough nights. He has moved up one room at daycare. I think he was a little to big for the equipment in the baby room so they moved him up. He has been doing great in there as well.

As far as food, Aaron has had: Sweet Potatoes, Butternut squash, Avocado, Peas, Green Beans, Applesauce, Pears and Peaches. If I had to guess I would say that the sweet potatoes and peaches are his favorite. We had to take him off the oatmeal in his bottles because he got the poops really bad and had a terrible diaper rash. It took coconut oil and several other things to clear it up, but we got it.

Still no teeth but we still think its coming. He is sleeping through the night and in his crib. He slept in the pac n play for a few weeks because he wouldn’t sleep in his crib but I think we made it through that.

As for JV and I we are doing great, staying busy with work and keeping up with the house. Seems like another full time job when we get home, but wouldn’t change it or trade it for the world.

September 2014

Sept. 2014

Aaron is 8 (8 ½) months old now. He is crawling everywhere and even starting to pull up on things. His favorite is the small couch, he loves to pull up and see what’s up there that he can play with.

He is still coughing, which we expected, but we are said isn’t over yet. Julie at the pediatrician office said that if they could diagnose kids with Asthma at his age they would, but medically they can’t until he is three. So for now they are calling it Respiratory airway disease. He is still using the air chamber twice a day. We do 4 puffs of the albuteral and 1 of the Qvar, which is for the wheezing, morning and night. He hates it and he screams but that is actually better because it helps him inhale better.

He had his first tooth pop through around the 10^th. It was the bottom, middle, right. We can see the one next to it and the two on the top in the middle as well so we know they are not far behind.  He is still not sleeping well and waking up many times a night, but we are working through it.

Aly had her first sleep over at Kylie’s house, Kristie was sending me pictures all day of them playing and having fun.  JV and I had gone Dove hunting with Dad, so it was the perfect time for her to spend the night with a friend. We got home with Aaron really late so we were planning on sleeping in Sunday morning. However, I received a text at 5:00am from Kristie that Aly had been throwing up since 2am. She was ok and Kristie didn’t want to wake us so she waited a bit to let me know. I didn’t get the text till 7am and I jumped up and went to get her. She had thrown up about 8 times, which was the most she has ever thrown up, so I was surprised. She threw up one more time in the driveway before we left and then we headed home. She hung out on the couch and about 11:00am I got her to eat some chicken noodle soup. After three bites she threw up again. We went on a liquid diet at that point. We made it through the rest of the day and put her to bed about 9:00pm. At 10:30 she woke up and had to throw up again, but she went right back to sleep. At 11:00pm, not so lucky. She threw up all over her bed, pillow and hair. We got her cleaned up and then put the owl bed on the floor next to me in our room for her to sleep. The next day she was a little better and was able to keep a little food down, but was still pretty weak. She said home from school on Monday but seemed back to her self that night so she went back to school on Tuesday. It was definitely a long weekend. I hate it that her first sleep over ended that way, but I’m so grateful that she had Kristie their to take care of her since I couldn’t. I know she took great care of her.

Charleston Aug. 31

Dad, JV the kids and I went to Charleston for Labor day weekend. We rented a van and left early Friday afternoon. We got there in time for dinner and just hung out and talked. Sat. Paige and I went and had lunch and did a little shoping before the GA game that evening. We had a great time watching football and being with the kiddo’s. Sunday we went to the beach and the kids played in the tide pool. That was really nice because it wasn’t very deep so the kids were able to just play and have fun. We went out to eat that night with everyone and that went well. We went to Gilligan’s and it was pretty good. The hush puppies were really good. The drive home went by quick and we made it home in good time. It was a great trip and I’m glad we were able to go with Dad and all be together.

 

Dove Hunting- Sept. 8, 2014

So I mentioned before that JV, Dad and I went Dove hunting. It was so much fun. We headed down to Henry Hollman’s (H & H body shop) land in the morning after we dropped Aaron off with JV’s parents. It was in Butler County so it was about 3 hours away. We stopped at a gun store to look at shot guns for me. Since I had never shot one, we wanted to find a smaller gauge for me. We found a pink 20 gauge and Dad bought it for me. I love it. We got to the Dove field and got our spots. Dad hung out next to me to show me the rules of Dove hunting. After only about 15 mins a few birds flew over us, so I just threw up the Gun and shot the three times. I didn’t put the Gun in the right place on my arm so it hurt a little but that was ok. I killed one shortly after that, but that was it. JV did really well. He went last year with Dad so he knew what he was getting into. I think between him and Dad they got about 7 to my 1. I was just happy I got one. It really was a lot of fun and I’m really glad for those memories with Dad!

 

 

Aaron is here!

January 16, 2014

Aaron Jackson Manderscheid is here!

Whew what a few days it has been. I went to the Dr. on Friday the 10^th for my 38 week appointment and was at 2 cm and 80%. After measuring my belly again at 41 weeks Dr. Hammidy asked if we wanted to consider inducing at 39 weeks. I was going to talk to them about that but she just beat me to it. I had been having contractions for a week and really thought I could have him any day so I was defiantly ok with that suggestion. She put us on the book for Thursday the 16^th at 7:30am. She was optimistic that I wasn’t going to wait that long for labor to start but just in case we went ahead. I felt a lot better after that was set because I knew that at least by then he would be here. I had been really uncomfortable and struggling to tell the difference in the real contractions and the fake ones for a while so I was on edge all the time. On Monday (the 13^th) I actually didn’t go to work because I didn’t feel well (which was the first day I missed due to the pregnancy) and thought maybe this was it, but nothing really happened. Tuesday I went to work and everything was fine. In the afternoon I started cramping and my back was hurting but no real contractions that I could tell. I had really finished up most of my stuff at work so didn’t have much to do on Wednesday so I just hung out at home, got some things done and went in for a few hours to finalize everything and came home. It was nice to have that time to prepare.

Paige drove in Wednesday night and got here around 11:00pm, we stayed up and talked for a bit and then went to bed around 12:30. I had to call the hospital at 5:30am to make sure they still had room for us that morning and they did and said to be there at 7:30am. Paige stayed here and got Aly to school for us and we went to the hospital. It all went pretty quick, we were checked in and they started the Pitocin by 8:30am. I hadn’t made any more progress so I was still at 2cm. They said they would come back around lunch and break my water. I started having back labor pains around 10am and I was having to pee every 10 mins and it was making it hard to get readings on the monitor of his heart beat and my contractions so we decided to go ahead and get the epidural so it would make things easier. I believe it was around 11am when they did the epidural. I don’t remember it hurting so bad last time, but I guess since I wasn’t in so much pain I felt more of it, but that was something I had not expected. I’m not very expressive when I’m in pain, but I was crying pretty hard when they were putting it in. After it started working I was able to sleep for a bit and that was nice. Dad, Aunt Cheryl, John and Alice got there around lunch and we were just talking and hanging out.

Dr. Johnson came in and broke my water around 12:30pm to get things moving (I was only at 3 cm then). I was doing great until about 2:00 and I started feeling contractions and thought the epidural wasn’t working. It wasn’t horrible so I told the nurse and we decided since I wasn’t in pain to just go with it and see what happens. At 4:00 I started feeling things differently and had them check me and I was at a 6. JV was out in the waiting room talking so Paige texted him to let him know. After that I had 3 contractions that I felt every bit of and they were excoriating. I told Paige all the sudden that I needed to push and she needed to get the nurse. The nurse came back and checked and said “oh, your fully dilated, that’s his head!” So Paige texted it was go time and things got started. They came in quickly and with in about 4 mins I was pushing (with no epidural because she didn’t have time to call the anesthesiologist). I pushed 3 times through 4 contractions for a total of 12 pushes and he was here. It was so crazy how fast it all happened. I went from 6cm to he was here in 24 mins.

 He was 8lbs 03oz and 21” long. His apgars were 8 and 9 and he was/is absolutely perfect. I was pretty emotional after everything and cried for a bit. It was a lot to take in.

They got us moved pretty quick and then everyone came back to see him. We stayed in the hospital till sat at about 1:30. Thursday night was pretty rough with me being in pain and him getting use to everything. Friday morning my dr. had come in and said that if his test came back ok they were good with us going home Friday night, so we were egar to get him checked and go home. The night nurse came in and said that the pediatrician said his belly ruben was high and they wanted to keep him for another night and check it again in the morning. We were bummed but knew it was for the best. They tested him again at 5:45am but we didn’t see the dr. till noon and everything was good.

Aly spent the night with Shannon on Thursday night and she brought aly up there to meet her new little brother. She had the biggest smile on her face it was priceless. She held him and loved on him for about 10 mins. Then she was bored and ready to go J. Shannon dropped her off at school on Friday for PJ and hibernation day and she had a great time telling everyone about Aaron. On Friday Mimi and Papa picked her up and brought her to the hospital again so we could see her and she stayed with them that night. They brought her home and were here when we got here on Sat.

Since we have been here Aaron is doing great. He pretty much eats, sleeps, pees and poops. I sure she did but I don’t remember those days of Aly sleeping all the time. We are going to see our pediatrician tomorrow to get his belly Rubin checked again. I think he looks a little yellow today so it might have gone up some.

We cant believe how cute he is and how much he looks like Aly. She is doing great with him and loves to help, which we new she would. JV is also been amazing. He has picked up so much of my slack during the pregnancy and now too while I’m still recovering. Our family and friends have been so great with bringing meals and flowers. Its seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant and now he is here and we home, its flown by. As hard as this pregnancy and labor was for me I still wouldn’t trade my perfect family for anything!!!

 



Dec. 2013 Christmas and baby update

December 2013

Christmas and baby update
 

As this year comes to an end, its crazy to think about the exciting things that are about to happen. We are all so excited to meet Aaron. Right now its looking like we will get to meet him soon. As of now (Dec. 29) I’m 36 weeks and 4 days. I went to the dr. on Friday morning for my first weekly visit and when she measured my stomach, she asked how big my first child was, when I told her 7 lbs 8 oz she said “hun”. So, I asked what she was thinking and she said that I was measuring big so they were going to schedule me for an ultra sound for the following Friday to check his size. Being that I feel about 48 weeks pregnant, it really wasn’t a big surprise. She said I was measuring 40 weeks already. It’s a little concerning because we don’t want him to come before he is healthy enough. I am already 1cm dilated and 50% so there is progress but we will see.

On other family news, we are still fighting Aly being sick, it seems like its been 2 months that she has been, as I am writing this she is running a fever (as well as most of the Manderscheids and some of the Deegans). We did go to the allergist about her Tree nut things and they confirmed what we thought. They did a skin test on the cashew and she reacted pretty quick. So with that information we are able to tell two things: 1, that yes she is allergic to tree nuts, not peanuts and it wasn’t the amoxicillin that caused the reaction. It was a better experience then we thought since they only tested her for the one instead of 50.

We had a great Christmas! We had the Stone Christmas Party on sat. Paige and the boys came up early for that so we were able to spend sometime with them. Then we had Alice’s Prime Rib dinner on Sunday which is always great. We were at dads on Christmas eve and had a good time. We went to the Manderscheid’s on Christmas day. We had brunch there and then headed home and hung out for the rest of the day.

This Christmas was defiantly different then any other. Aly really understood everything. She was so so excited each morning to find Rosie and see where she was. We even downloaded a Santa App so we could watch where Santa was Christmas Eve and she loved it. It was a Barbie and Baby doll Christmas for Aly. She got several barbies, and clothes, several baby things and some craft stuff. I never would of guessed that I would have been someone to get excited about receiving kitchen tools but I am and I do! I got a kitchen aid mixer and an awesome pasta/stock pot! JV got more bullets, camo and other hunting things, another first!!! We have been telling Aly that Aaron would be here after Christmas, so After she got done opening her gifts Christmas morning, she said, K Can Aaron come now? It was funny!! She is so excited to meet him!! She’s going to be such a great help and a great big sister!

We are all doing great and looking forward to Aaron’s arrival, we have everyone on standby and ready to help so now we are just waiting on him!!!

 



Stone Mountain Christmas

Stone Mountain Christmas

Nov. 22, 2013

Yesterday, we took Aly to Stone Mountain Park to see there Christmas activities and lights. We met Dad for lunch and then headed to the park.  It was pretty cold which we were not fully prepared for but we made the best of it. We went in and listened to Mrs. Clause tell a story about Christmas, then we walked around for a little bit before we saw the Polor Express 4-D movie. It was really cool. They had snow that fell, water that splashed in our faces and wind that blew from the seats. Aly wasn’t a huge fan during it but after said she had fun. After that we walked around the shops and got ready for the Christmas parade. Santa, Mrs. Clause, Rudolph and several Christmas floats came by, it was fun to watch. After that we did the main attraction, the sing a long Christmas train. Aly was most excited about this, it was cold but she had fun any way. She has been talking about going on trains for a long time so we were excited for her. She had a blast. The train stopped ½ through and a lady told us the about the story of Christmas. After the train we went and had pictures made with Rudolph and Aly actually wasn’t afraid. We let her pick out one toy to keep as a souvenir and she picked a dog with candy on it. She names him Candy. We all really had a great time. It was fun to spend some time with just her before Aaron gets here!!!

 

 

 



November 2013

November Update:

As of now Nov, 22 I’m 31 weeks. It has been a rough one. This pregnancy has been totally different from Aly’s from the start. I was super sick from weeks 3-14, then started feeling better but then started having other issues. My nose congestion has come back with a vengeance, the heart burn has been terrible and sleeping is pretty much non existent. While I am so grateful to be able to carry this child and I’m so excited to meet him, it has been hard. I am doing really well on my weight gain. Right now I am at 15lbs which is pretty good. At this point with Aly I was well over 30.

They did have me take my glucose test when I was 12 weeks because of my pre pregnancy weight and I passed it just fine. I had to take it again at 28 weeks and I failed the one hour test. They had me come back for the three hour test to determine if I had gestational diabetes. The test was ok, they took my blood when I got there and then had to drink the sugar water and have my blood drawn every hour. When I went back to the Dr. on Monday they said I passed the test. My levels were high on one test but I needed to fail 2 to be considered diabetic. So that was great news.

I pretty much don’t sleep much at all, about 30-45 mins and my hips hurt so bad that it wakes me up. I’ve been trying to sleep in the chair in the living room but only works for a little while. I just have to make it 8 more weeks!!!

 JV’s dad and him got the nursery painted last weekend, and we got border to put up soon. John is coming over soon to paint the trim and the doors. Brett helped JV get all the furniture down so we have that in the room and once we are finished with the walls we can put everything together. Its getting close and we are all so excited to meet this little guy!!!

We had Aly’s family feast at school earlier this month. It was great. They had prepared some songs to sing, made Indian vest and feathers. We had a great time and really enjoyed spending that time with her.