Updates

I thought I'd post a few updates since the last time I blogged something.

Olivia:
*  February 2, Olivia had an appointment with her new ENT.  We were not comfortable and satisfied with her previous one so we wanted to try a different one.  After this visit we were very pleased, extremely happy, and felt much better about Olivia's ear infections/tubes once we left.  Best decision to switch ENTs!  He was surprised that one of her tubes had fallen out after 7 months but said that he wouldn't even think of putting tubes back into her ears unless she had more than 2 infections this year.  He was VERY informative and explained things thoroughly with us.
*  Olivia continues to amaze us!  It's so much fun seeing and hearing everything that understands and knows how to do.  I was trying to keep track and write down everything that she was doing and saying but I seriously can't keep up with it anymore!  One of her new things, not sure where she learned it, is doing a fake laugh and covering her mouth to do it.  She loves to lip sing the ending of her Veggie Tales songs.  When she goes shopping she now has to point out all the numbers that she sees in the store.  She does so much imaginitive play now.  She loves feeding, reading, and dancing with her friends (piggy, baby, owl, monkey [aka Cat in the Hat], Pooh, and George).  She enjoys drawing on her magnedoodle, coloring books, and chalk board.  She always wants someone to run, gallop, crawl, roll, hop, jump, dance, or play ring-around-the-rosy with her.  She still will touch my belly and say baby but then touch her's and say baby too.  She enjoyed going sledding for the first time last week.  Some of her favorites that she likes to read about and can identify, too, are farm animals, zoo animals, letters, numbers, veggies/fruits, and things that "go".

Terry:
*  FINALLY, Terry has started on the baby's room!!  The paneling has been torn down, ceiling trim touch-ups painted, and dry wall bought.  Thanks to our dads for helping with the tear-down!  Terry also spent many hours boxing up and sorting through "junk" from the office.
*  New computer cabinet has been assembled in the living room now.  Levi came over one evening and helped Terry assemble it.  Only took 5 hours!
*  Terry continues to play the roles of dad, mom, entertainer, chef, cleaner, and remodeler along with teacher and graduate student!
*  Last Sunday Terry was able to get out for the day with his dad and brothers and went to Columbus to a Buckeyes game.  Mom and Dad came over to help with Olivia that day while he was gone.

Carissa:
*  Adjusting to being at home all day.  As the days progress I am finding myself being able to do less and less.  Didn't know it was possible since I wasn't doing much to begin with.  Unfortunately, any walking, standing or sitting at the table is extremely uncomfortable and can lead to contractions.  Therefore I am in the recliner most of the day and will lay on the couch for a small portion of it.  It has been so hard for us to except help from others but it has come to that.  Our moms has helped out so much with cleaning and making some meals for us.  Recently I've had some dear friends bring us some freezer meals!  This helps out SO much and I can't express the thankfulness I have for them. 
*  Taking a shower, getting up to use the restroom, and meal times are the extent of my mobility.  I no longer am able to get out of the house other than for doctor's appointments.  It is just too much for me and I regret it later if I try to do too much.  I have cancelled the rest of my chiropractor appointments until after the baby is born.  It's hard not being able to do things let alone not being able to leave the house!  Terry and Olivia go grocery shopping, go choring, go to church and go to basketball games without me! : (
*  Thankfully we now have our wireless internet hooked up so that helps me during my long days with keeping connected to the outside world.  Brandon came over last Sunday and moved our computer out into the new cabinet and hooked up the wireless!

"Resting"

I had a regular OB check-up yesterday and she informed me that I need to be off of work for the duration of the pregnancy. We had discussed this 2 weeks ago at an appointment but at that point she was giving me the option and now she wasn't. Unfortunately, I have been having a lot of pain/contractions and tend to be uncomfortable and not able to move well at all by noon each day. By the end of the week the contractions tend to be very strong. Then I worry, of course. Last Friday evening, there was an hour and half that I could time them, every 7 minutes. I asked her if I could finish out the week or go a couple more days at school but she said that wasn't an option. So...we're taking no chances for the next 7 weeks (God-willing) and I will be taking it easy and "resting". Just another hurdle during this pregnancy. Again, a reminder that I am not the ONE in control! Although this is not what I wanted by being off of work this early but we have to do what is best for this little "ornry" one. Another hard decision we are having to make with this transition to me being at home is that if I am to rest it is about impossible to have Olivia here with me all day. She wants and needs someone to run and play with her and well...I just can not do that right now. So, we're trying to figure out a schedule for her to still go to Beth's house (sitter) part of the day or some days. Please continue to pray for the 4 of us!

Happy 32nd Birthday Terry!

Today is Terry's 32nd birthday and he gets to spend the entire afternoon at school (on a Sunday!) for the dedication and open house of his new school building. He wasn't thrilled about it. Olivia gave him a card before lunch today and told him to "open" (as she was opening it) and didn't even let him read it before saying "color". She had to go get her crayons and color some more on the card before he could have it. We practiced saying "Happy Birthday love you" and she did a very good job. We were suppose to go out to eat the 3 of us on Friday night but my "issues" landed us at the hospital instead getting a non-stress test, blood work, and another ultrasound of baby, gall bladder, and kidneys/liver. Nothing definite was determined. I go back to the doctor tomorrow. So...I'm feeling bad that I have come in the way of something again. Hopefully, things will begin to calm down here and become a little less stressful for all of us.

Happy Birthday Terry/Daddy!

We love you,

Carissa & Olivia

'Tis the season...to be SICK!

We were infected with sickness in our household over break. It feels like if it's not one thing it was something else. Terry is the healthy one of the 3 of us! Christmas morning I ended up getting up and beginning to feel light-headed and sick to my stomach. So I went back to bed and sent Terry and Oliva off for Christmas dinner at the Beck's. After I slept a couple hours I had begun to feel somewhat better and joined the family for the afternoon/evening. Christmas evening Olivia had hives begin to appear. They would show up thick in certain places for about 20 minutes and disappear and reappear somewhere else. These continued through the weekend but they didn't really seem to bother her except when they were on her neck. Olivia and I also had been working on congestion and that only worsened over the weekend with coughing, stuffy/runny nose, and being tired. I had a regular OB check-up with my doctor on Monday, Dec. 28 and took Olivia along to get looked at for her hives. It was determined that she ingested something that she's obviously allergic to but we couldn't pinpoint what that might be. We were just told to give her Zyrtec for 10 days. At the time of this appointment the doctor looked at her throat and said it was clear. On Tuesday, Dec. 29 my coughing had gotten much worse and I was put on an antibiotic. On Wednesday, Dec. 30 Olivia's coughing was HORRIBLE so she was put on a Z-pack. So, we spend New Year's Eve and day at home. Olivia was done with her antibiotic on Sunday, January 3 and still was not better and was up from 2:45 a.m. on that night. That made a long first day back to school on the 4th for me! I have trouble sleeping anyways, and 3 hours of sleep was definitely not sufficient for the day on Monday. On Monday, January 4 Olivia developed a rash (not sure where this came from but it wasn't hives). By January 5 I was feeling much better but Olivia now had liquid wax literally running out of her right ear. So...we went to the doctor AGAIN! Poor girl has "issues" like her mom. It obviously was determined she has an ear infection and she was put on a different antibiotic. Thankfully, she is not irritable, but still coughing A LOT, and is not running a temp. This is different from how she reacted to ear infections last winter. Hopefully, this antibiotic does the trick. It frustrating knowing that her tubes in her ears have come out after 6 months. We do not want to go through that again of having to have more put in. Please keep her in your prayers!

Update: January 7 Olivia started to show an allergic reaction to her antibiotic (Omincef). By bedtime it was pretty bad. Doctor's office was closed (of course) so I called the pharmacy. We stopped taking the medicine and he gave us the name of one more alternative medicine to try so I will be calling the doctor tomorrow morning right away to see what needs to be done. Olivia had even been on Omnicef last February and March with ear infections and didn't have an adverse reaction to the medication then. Frustrating!

January 9 we took Olivia back to the doctor for her HORRIBLE skin reaction to Omincef. She is now on some ear drops that she will get twice a day. Above are a few pictures of her poor "rash".

Another Update: Olivia needs to go in for an allergy test on January 22. She also will be going back to see an ENT on February 2. We are going to try a new ENT. Our doctor said she is looking at most likely getting tubes again.

Behind on the blogging!

So I'm realizing it has been a LONG time since I have updated this blog. Sorry. I see others who are excellent bloggers and I am definitely lacking in this area. I am going to try to sum up the last several months on the happenings in our household.

*Terry is finishing up a class he is taking for his master's. This class has been more time consuming with more paperwork to do. He will be thankfully once it is over this coming Monday night! He also is busy with school this year for several reasons: he's teaching a new grade level again (4th grade) so he spends some extra time there working on things and goes back some evenings or weekends, too. He also is busy with a book study they are doing. Not thrilled about that one! He officially has his keys for the new school building which they will begin teaching in come January after Christmas break. Therefore, he has a lot of packing up and moving of things from one school to the other. Terry finally sold our Bonneville. Thank goodness! I was tired of having 3 vehicles in our small driveway! On top of all of this he has been a single parent a lot of evening due to me being sick and not feeling well.

*...which leads to me (Carissa) has had a rough time during this pregnancy. I have learned to be more compassionate to those who deal with chronic pain! I have had a terrible time controlling my gall bladder issues and finding foods that I can eat. These pains are aside from the nausea that I continued to feel through week 24! A couple weeks before Thanksgiving I had finally started to have more good days than bad days during the week and now it has started to lessen a bit again. Issues! A month ago my sciatic nerve really started to give me fits and has continued to worsen. It has brought me to tears recently in getting on the floor to play with Olivia, carrying Olivia places other than in the house, and even this morning tying my shoes! I have resorted to seeing a chiropractor for the first time in my life to try to find some relief in this pain. I continue to go 2 times a week and started to see a slight improvement. The pain isn't as constant as it was before. I am happy to report through all of this the baby continues to grow and get stronger (feeling lots of kicking!). My class of first graders this year is great! They are a really good group of kids. This helps out tremendously on all of my days of not feeling so well.

*Olivia will be 20 months on Monday! Time does fly. Olivia and I were watching videos of her when she was a baby last weekend and I could hardly remember her that small. (She was very upset with me when I turned off the videos after 20 minutes!) Her favorite things to do right now are puzzles, Play-Doh, coloring, hammering, animals, building with blocks, running, and reading books. Her vocabulary is so vast! It truly amazes me! She says new things each day. She has begun to put 2-3 words together. She had a 6 month check-up with her Ear specialist. He informed us that her tubes are no longer where they "should" be in her ears. They are beginning to come out so this means that they are no longer functioning the way that they should be. We need to be cautious of infections again. He did say that there is no sign of fluid or infection now, though.