Update

I get to stay in the hospital tonight. Doc is pretty sure that it is a nasty bladder infection and it has gotten the best of me! Doc decided to keep me thinking that a couple more doses of IV antibiotics wouldn't hurt! I didn't want to go through what I did this morning again, so I was all for it!

Christopher looks awesome and has been kicking me all day long!

Jason is at home with the boys and I hope that Drew makes it to school on time! He didn't want to leave my side tonight, but was SO tired!

Another Scare! SERIOUSLY!

I woke up this morning with horrible pressure and pain where pain and pressure shouldn't be these days. After trying to doctor it myself for 2 hours and just putting up with it, I followed the advice of Amanda, Kerkman and Jolene and called the doc!

I got a free trip to the hospital! Once here they hooked me up to the monitor and he looks great! We also did a biophysical profile and that looked great as well. He is still a big boy! The rest of his body looks good, but his head is starting to make me nervous!! I should have known though, both of the boys had big noggins!

I had quite a bit of blood in my UA and therefore doc is wondering if I have an infection going on that is upsetting my body! So I have had 2 doses of IV antibiotics and working on dumping another bag of fluid in me! We will see what doc says when he comes after clinic!

Mr. Christopher

For those who have been waiting to here...aka Anne Tucker! I thought I would share the little man in my bellys name!


After many weeks of threatening Jason that this child would have severe issues if we named him Johnathan Wayne, we settled on Christopher Wayne! This being after two amazing people! Unfortunately, Jason and I haven't met either member from the opposite family!

I'm sure most of you know that Christopher comes from my cousin Chris Vandersnick who was killed in a car accident along side his wife in 1996. He was like a big brother to me and one of the most amazing people I have ever had the chance to meet! He was notorious for joking around was very competitive! One of my last memories with Chris was a very intense croquet game which Chris attempted to win by cheating, but still ended up losing!

Wayne comes from Jason's grandfather who passed away in 1997 or 1998! (Jason can't remember! HAHA!) Jason and Grandpa Glover were very close and he misses him very much all these years later! I think Jason even may slightly blame his Grandpa for the Iowa State win last weekend! Grandpa Glover was an avid Iowa State fan!! He loved to fish (so did Chris)!

To add too it, being born around Christmas I wanted to go with the "Chris" theme and it helps that my great-grandpa was Christian and my dad had a brother Christopher.

We also decided to add another God parent for this little man. His god father will be my best friend, Matt and will have have 2 god mothers, one being his Aunt Jairren and the other being Chris' daughter, Emily. She was excited when I called her last night! Jason has yet to call Jairren...so by the way Jairren when you read this...SURPRISE!

Only 7 more weeks until we get to meet this little man!

Scare

With 7 weeks to go and me hoping I was about out of the woods with the problems that I had with Matthew, I began having a few contractions last Thursday!

With Matthew's pregnancy I would have contractions for 2-3 hours at a time and that was with meds on board. These are just a couple here then a couple a few hours later and maybe one or two that get my attention!

I wasn't worried about it and wasn't going to go into the clinic early until I had a nightmare last night that I had lost this little man. The freakier thing is that Jason had a similar dream last Thursday!

I went in to the clinic and doc decides to check things out just in case. His non-stress test was awesome! Doc was even surprised at how reactive he was for only being 32 weeks! I would be more impressed if the kid could produce a non-reactive strip! He never settles down! :) I guess he settles down when the boys try to feel him moving! HAHA!

The scary part was that they checked my cervix and I was already dilating! Doc reassured me that this was normal for a mom that already had a couple of kiddos, but it still worried me because it took me forever to dilate with both of the boys!

He thinks that there could be some type of infection that is upsetting and irritating my cervix. I got a round of antibiotics and another visit for Thursday! :)

So we will see! I'm not planted on the couch yet! And my goal is to not be! I would only have 4 more weeks to be on bedrest anyway!

Matthew in his Prime

Matthew and I snuggled last night and he was in his prime mode!! I jotted down some of the funny things he was saying!

Matt: "How you feel Mom?"
Mom: "Good! How do you feel, Matt?"
Matt: "Perfect!"


Matt: "My tummy hurt."
Mom: "Is the jell-o helping?"
Matt: "Right here it do. Right here it do not!"
A little later.
Matt: "Now, over here feel good too!"


He handed me a play cell phone and goes..."Somebody text you a message, Mom!"

What a character!!!

Influenza day 3!

Andrew's fever broke last night around 7 or so! He was immediately feeling better!

He broke my heart however, when he wanted to snuggle with me and I made him sleep in his own bed. I tried to explain to him that we couldn't run the risks of getting Mommy and the baby sick! He didn't understand! He just knew that he was starting to feel better and he wanted to snuggle with Mom!

This morning he slept in late...like 10:15...and when he woke up he was feeling a LOT better! He is back to his self and is running around the house, playing with Matthew! He would still rather eat applesauce versus real food, but I'm okay with that!

Sickness...once again!

As, I was trying to go to sleep last night, the only thought I could get through my head was...why does Andrew always seem to get the weird things! Not that they are weird, but Drew just gets them!

When Andrew woke up yesterday to get ready for school, he was complaining of a headache! In true parent manner I gave him a Tylenol and told him to get ready for school! He went and I went off to work for a 9 hour day of meetings/training.

A little after 1230 I got a call to call my mom on her cell phone! I knew that she was on her way to pick up Andrew from school because he was told to call Grandma if he needed to go home. I was proud of him for that! He was running a fever and continued with complaints of a headache!

I emailed our doc real quick to tell him what my plan of treatment was and what he suggested...all his reply said was...influenza swab!

I ran him into the clinic at 4 p.m. and they did a quick swab...which after my last nurses meeting, was the correct way...but that's besides the point! We waited the 10 minutes and then the door swung open to the room and doc just stood there with a grin on his face! All I had to say was, it's positive isn't it...A or B?

Of course, it was A pos, which for those of you oblivious to the rest of the world right now or like me avoid watching the news...a positive influenza A swab translates to positive for H1N1! NICE!

It wasn't like 30 min before we went to the doc that I was joking in my nurses meeting that since H1N1 had hit the hospital I was feeling contractions and would need to be off until after the flu season! :) The supervisors didn't find it funny, but the rest of us did!!

Needless to say, Andrew, Matthew, my mother and I all got prescriptions for tamiflu! I just feel bad because I feel like I'm treating him like he has the plague! Trying to prevent Matt from getting it and myself, but all I want to do is snuggle the poor kid!!

Now, I'm pretty sure he can't tolerate the tamiflu because he starts puking about 30-45 min after the medicine! We will try it again tonight and see what happens.

We will see what the next couple days bring!

Like a Cow

After running to the grocery store this morning for 7 up and other supplies, Matthew was helping me unload the suburban when we got home. I grabbed the two bags and told him to grab the milk.

His response..."Mom, I can't carry it! It's like a cow!!"

I said...From a cow, yes! As heavy as a cow...I don't think so!

I then told him that his baby brother would weigh about that much and if he couldn't lift the milk he probably wouldn't be able to hold the baby!

Amazingly...he carried the milk into the house AND put it in the fridge! Crazy how things like that happen!

Stop Jumping!

Matt was rummaging through the fridge tonight looking for something to snack on. He brought me a sandwich and told me that he thought I should eat the sandwich because that would make the baby stop jumping!

I don't know where he comes up with these things!!!

Wise Beyond His Years

I don't know that I should admit this story because it was a horrible moment in motherhood, but I was so proud of Matthew when all was said and done!

I was highly stressed this weekend, not sure as to why, but I was. Matthew caught me in a bad moment tonight and I snapped at him, yelling at him to get to bed.

He ran into his room and fifteen minutes later I went into his room! I knelt at his bed, leaned in and kissed him and apologized for yelling!

I said...Can you please forgive Mommy? I shouldn't have yelled at you!

He said...No..

I said...Why?

He said...because I love you mom!

I then had to explain that when someone asks you to forgive them, you usually say yes. He said...OH! Yes, Mom, I forgive you!

All I could do was kiss him over and over again!

Wish List

I asked Matthew tonight what he wanted for Christmas tonight and he simply said...a shovel.

Jason asked him what kind of shovel he wanted and his reply...

I want one my age. I don't want one you age!

Jason is pretty sure he can fullfill this request!

True Love

This isn't about the boys tonight!

We have a mouse in our house and living next to a field, I expect it!

Jason was setting the trap and so he asked me to put peanut butter on the trap. My theory...the more peanut butter...the quicker I am catching this damn rodent!

With peanut butter piled high I hand the trap to Jason and he sets it and then it immediately goes off in his hands. Luckily for him, he didn't get it!

His reaction...You can't weigh down the trap! You have to make it want to get on!! You're not making it a F***** sandwich!!

This lead to uncontrollable laughter and my husband questioning my genius!

Here a Wheeze...There a Wheeze

For the last couple of years, it has been normal for Matthew to have a little asthma attack when it goes from warm to rainy and cold. Drs. Kronberg and Murphy have both just told us to expect it! It's only when he runs a temp that throws me off! Thank God for Jessica answering text messages at all hours! :)

Needless to say, Matt attacked this weekend and earned himself a trip to the ED because of course it was on a Sunday! We have pediapred and breathing treatments for a few days. By Sunday night though, I thought we should have padded walls, because he was bouncing off of them! Gotta love pediapred and albuterol!

As I snuggled into bed last night, I was so looking forward to sleep, but about that time, Drew started with a tight harsh cough. At midnight I started neb treatments and then every 2 hours until we got to the doc a 9 a.m.!

Hit up the doc at 9 a.m. and tells me what I was kind of thinking...Drew is now attacking as well! I questioned that his PFTs were normal in July and so how could this be? He said...things change nurse Jennifer! I knew this, but Dr. Murphy was so hopeful that we would avoid this!

Now, I have TWO children on pediapred and I would like to thank the doctors right now for helping me to lose my hair! JK!

2 O'Clock

Matthew has decided that he is learning to tell time! He is always asking what time it is! Last night around 10:30 he said...let me see your phone, I want to see what time it is.

I showed him my phone and he goes..."2 o'clock!"

I chuckled of course, but tonight at 8:45 p.m. Matt says..."Let me see your phone, I need to know what time it is!"

I show him my phone and he goes..."2 o'clock!"

What a kid!

What a day!

I started the day by calling the doctor today to let him know I've been a little crampy the last couple days, instead of being like "Okay, watch yourself." I get..."Get in here as soon as possible!"

I go in and he says that he's worried about my history...pre-term labor with Matthew...and my job...being a nurse! :) He then sends me up to the hospital for a non-stress test, which at 27 weeks, isn't the greatest, but would show what my uterus is doing! :)

The test turned out fine, it was actually really good because he was more reactive in the test than he should be at 27 weeks! However, he wanted to see if bringing my stress level down would help with the cramping, so I get to get acquainted with my couch for the next couple of days!

He also sent me home with instructions to drink lots since my heart was racing and my urine wasn't really good!

I have to go back in Friday and get the final verdict then!

This child I have a feeling is living up to his namesake...early! I think he may have flipped too because my ribs are getting kicked tonight, rather than my bladder!!

Choke!

Matthew is taking Dallergy twice a day during this awesome time known as allergy season!

I had forgot to give him the pill tonight, so I said to him real quick...Matthew should we go take your pill real quick?

He goes...YES! Momma, I need milk with it though so I can choke it down!

I'm not sure where he came up with this, butI got a good chuckle out of it!

God Moment

I find joy in many little things and can cry at pretty much the smallest things tonight, but this took the cake!

I am putting together a small scrapbook for my boys about their Great-grandparent Shoemakers. Matthew was snuggled up next to me and was looking at the pictures and he goes..."I know him."

For those that don't know...my Grandpa passed in 1998.

I asked and said..."How do you know him?"

He said..."That my Grandpa."

With a big smile on my face, I showed him another picture...all of these pictures are from way before even my time!!

I again asked..."Who is that?"

He said..."Bob, my grandpa!"

I started crying. I talk about their great-grandpa often, but not in great details. I will say things like..."Your Great-grandpa would have loved you so much!" I say this when they are being goofy and I can picture grandpa sitting here smiling!

I asked further..."How do you know who that is?"

Matt said..."I see him."

I asked..."Where did you see him?"

"In my head!"

Then I started telling him about how Grandpa went to live with God way before Matthew was ever born.

Then Matthew said something that stopped my heart..."Momma, he was with God when I see him!"

Now, I'm not a quack, and it's not like I take what a 4 year old tells me to heart, but it was just one of those perfect moments.

For those that don't know...Matthew was named after his great-grandpa...Matthew Robert!

Dreaming

last night Matthew crawled in bed with me about 3 a.m. He crawls in bed with me and tells me that when my tummy gets big enough...the baby will just "pop" out! I chuckled and then he snuggled right in!

Who knows what he was dreaming about, but he is so concerned about this baby and how he's going to get out of mommy's tummy!

Updates!!

We visited with Dr. Murphy and Dr. Rhinehardt again today!

Dr. Rhinehardt said that Matthew's hypermobility is doing great. Needs some more help to stabilize hips and ankles, but we can do that! He said as far as long run, we don't need to see him, unless we have issues. As far as long, long run he may have to wear ankle braces to support his ankles from rolling when he plays sports, but so did Jason and I!

Okay...so allergy update!

Drew's regimen got all changed again today! He will continue with the Dallergy twice a day and the steroid cream for now, but since all of his allergies are things we can't control...grass, trees, ragweed...and the medicine isn't working very well, we get to start allergy shots.

He said with Matthew's being food allergies, we could take them away from him so therefore no shots. This is not the case obviously with Drew.

They mix up the serum and then send it to the clinic here and then we go in once a week for shots.

He wanted to do this therapy so he doesn't have to shove pills down his throat for the rest of his life! :) I like that theory!

He was very hopeful that we could make Drew feel better! He said the downfall to all of this, is that he's allergic to all the things that little boys love!

Matt got some help out with allergies too, and possible future testing later, but for now, just a pill to help!

School

I picked up Drew this afternoon from school this afternoon and said tohim...what did you learn today?

Reply..."NOTHING!"

I said, "surely you had to learn something!"

He goes..."No mom, we learned absolutely nothing!"

Who knows...but he cracks me up!