Aedan: 38 Months, Week 4
After having the Clemons family visit the previous weekend, we had this week around home before our next round of visitors came Sunday night. The next time people come visit us and stay at our house will be after this little baby is born, which is weird to think about.
The life of a stay-at-home mom can be kind of mundane at times, repeating the same weekly and sometimes daily activities. For example, on Tuesday I was just trying to get things done like grocery shopping and scheduling appointments, like for Samantha's consultation at the pediatric dentist down in Petoskey. After calling the dentist back, they recommended that we see the pediatric dentist for her further treatment, as she will need either a pulpotomy with a crown over the top, or it will need to be extracted and have a space maintainer put in so that her adult teeth will grow in the right places. I made her appointment for the following Monday, even though my parents would be in town, because we are trying to get things taken care of before school starts and before this little baby comes as well. Part of me just had a hard time not feeling bad that Samantha has to have work like this done already. I feel like I did something wrong, or that I didn't care of her teeth well enough and that's why she has such bad decay on this baby tooth of hers.
Aedan has been doing so well with being potty trained, that I often don't even think about the fact that he is so new at not wearing diapers. However, after Samantha got home from the Summer Learning Program, he and Samantha were out playing in the back yard together, and he had an accident while playing outside. Again, this is only his second real accident since being potty trained, which is great, but it was mysterious why he didn't tell me that he needed to go. I think he must have just got caught up in playing with Sissy and waited until it was too late.
One of the best parts of living in the U.P. is the summertime. The weather is beautiful. If you get get temperatures into the 80s that is as hot as you're going to get, which is perfect for me. We can have our windows open all day and all night, letting in lots of fresh air and sunlight, and the days are long and beautiful to play outside and enjoy the outdoors. The kids have definitely been enjoying playing outside together, and they love having the play set back there now. It's great to hear them laughing, being silly, swinging, and sliding together. Aedan sure is going to miss Samantha when she goes back to school. He will be sad without his special play mate.
Tuesday night was Samantha's last tee-ball game for the season. They played a shortened game so that way they would still have time to give awards and have a little party with pizza, snacks, and cupcakes. Here is one of Samantha's last at-bats.
Jenny
And here is her little tee-ball team that was split into the Angels and the Cubs.
Even though we had some snacks at the end of the game, we decided to still go out and celebrate the end of Samantha's tee-ball season with getting ice cream at Zak's where you can get whatever flavor you want for $2 on Tuesdays. It was a fun evening, and I felt like we were trying to squeeze every bit of enjoyment out of these wonderful summer evenings (blocking out all thoughts of the cold and snow that lasts far too long in the winter).
Speaking of squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of these summer evenings, on Wednesday night we made it a priority to go to the concert in the park because the Petoskey Steel Drum Band was performing. We went to this concert last year, and it was great fun. They have one of the highest crowd turnouts, and the music is fun and energetic, the perfect thing to hold the kids' attention. We arrived a little early so that we could get a good spot to sit, finding a nice little opening close to the front by the performers. Daddy took the kids off to run around, play, and climb trees before the concert started, and after a little while I got popcorn for the kids and for Ben and me to share. We ate our popcorn, the kids danced around, and we had a great time enjoying the music. I took a lot of videos of both the band and our kids dancing, so here they are.
We stayed all the way until the end of the concert that evening, mostly because it's fun, but also because the kids get to go up and play the drums after the performance is over. It was a fun evening out together.
While Samantha was busy attending the Summer Learning Program at school Monday through Thursday from 8:30-12:30, Aedan and I did more stuff around the house. He's a lot better about just hanging out and being content without wanting to do as much or be as entertained as Samantha, at times, so I was trying to take advantage of the time she was gone to get more things done around the house so I can hopefully get things crossed off my list and spend the last couple of weeks before her school starts spending more one-on-one time with her and doing some last summertime day trips before she starts 1st grade on September 5th.
On Thursday morning, I did some laundry, changed the sheets and towels, measured Samantha's curtains so I would know how much fabric to get for the curtains I will make for the baby's room, things like that. In fact, I was able to have Ben go with me to the store quick to pick out a fabric that he liked as well. We decided on this blue, green, grey, and white striped chevron pattern because it brings a pop of color and pattern without being too overwhelming. Samantha has flowers on her curtains, and Aedan has blue, tan, and white stripes on his curtains, so we wanted something different, but also something that would not be too babyish and could grow with him as his interests change over the years. Now I need to bust out the sewing machine that I got for Christmas and find the time to sew these curtains together for the baby's room.
For some reason I was very tired on Thursday. Sometimes I sit down to get some work done or even to work on my blog in the afternoons, and I almost can't keep my eyes open. I definitely have not been getting enough sleep. I need to not be staying up as late at night in an attempt to get things done or to actually have time to myself or time with Ben. I probably should be taking advantage of my time to get decent rest now before having a newborn, but I feel like we have had a lot going on lately and have had a hard time not feeling overwhelmed with my to-do list at times. We have had a lot of meetings and appointments going on lately when we don't have visitors here, so our days have been full with dentist appointments, swim lessons last week, things to get re-certified as foster parents, and even meeting with a doula on Thursday night.
However, before I talk about the doula, we decided we didn't want to make dinner at home that night, and Ben was craving burgers, so we went over to Clyde's drive-in for dinner. It's fun to order our food and sit at a picnic table to eat our dinner. Then, the kids just run around and play in the grass while waiting for our food to arrive. Samantha loves getting cheeseburgers, and Aedan eats his hot dog fairly well. But best of all, we walk over to Rotary Park afterwards for the kids to play on the playground, watch freighters go by, and just enjoy living in a place where it is so easy to be near water.
As I said earlier, on Thursday evening, after getting the kids to bed, we had a meeting with a local doula, who also happens to go to our church. We had some trouble connecting at first, so I was excited to finally officially meet her and to discuss our plans for the birth of this little boy. Having a doula with Aedan really helped, especially in trying to give birth without an epidural. Even though it's much more painful, I preferred my experience with Aedan because I could be up moving around, I felt more in control, and I only had to push four times rather than for two and a half hours. So, I would like to repeat that part of the experience, if possible. My new goal would be trying to be a little smarter about when we go to the hospital. In the past, my contractions were pretty steady, but would often taper off if I changed my activity level. Especially with Aedan, I kind of felt pressured to go to the hospital before I was probably ready because we had already dropped Roscoe off at the kennel, and Ben's parents had already arrived to help take care of Samantha. However, as soon as I arrived at the hospital, my contractions slowed down and really only walking around would increase them again. I was even given sleeping medicine and slept pretty soundly through the night. So, because of that, I was given the choice of getting Pitocin to get my contractions going, or to go home. I didn't want to go home, so Pitocin was my choice. This time around, I would love it if my body would progress naturally through the stages of labor. Now that I know how the active phase of labor feels, I think I will know better when I need to head to the hospital. I would like to avoid getting Pitocin this time and really experience a natural labor and delivery. Now obviously, every baby and every birth is different, so who knows how this one will progress, but I know that having a doula present with us in the labor and delivery room will help us know what positions and strategies to try to provide comfort and relief as I progress through the phases and stages of labor.
Friday morning was another somewhat busy time with a WIC appointment for Aedan and me. Just recently we realized that we would qualify for WIC since we are a family of five and I am no longer working. We figure any help we can get is great, as WIC definitely helps lower our weekly shopping costs, and it is extremely beneficial once you have a baby that is eating baby food. It was easy to get in and get in the system. Aedan did a great job being patient during the appointment, even for the finger prick. Then, we got back home in plenty of time for our home visit for renewing our foster license. They just needed to make sure our smoke detectors were working and that we were all still in compliance. However, the one negative thing we discovered is that we are not allowed to use the old, white crib we used for both Samantha and Aedan because it is an older crib that still has a drop down side, even though we have modified it with a screw holding it in place. The same rule that we have to follow with a foster child also applies to our own children. Any crib we use in our home must meet all the current regulations and guidelines, so after putting up the white crib, we will actually have to take it down and use the other crib we were given by our church when going into fostering. We almost passed it on to someone else since we aren't planning on having a permanent placement anytime soon, but I'm glad that we kept it after all.
Samantha loves to read, and Aedan loves to listen. They will often look at and read books together, and on Saturday Samantha got out a Cars book that she had that she was passing on to Aedan since he loves cars more than she does. The book also comes with a CD that reads the book aloud to you, so she decided to get it out and play it for Aedan. They were so cute sitting on her bed together listening to the story. I love them, and I'm so glad they have each other.
Friday night I got to have a really special experience, just for me. My friend, Kristen, who I just recently met, decided to throw a little "Diaper and Dessert" baby shower for me. It was so sweet of her to think of me because she knows what it's like to be in a new place, and she wanted to celebrate this baby with me. A few people from the MOPS group came to the shower, and she had this cute set-up outside the local crepe restaurant. It was simple but sweet. Kristen made a diaper cake, and they even decorated the outside of the crepe containers with little blue ribbons and beads. It was fun to just get together and talk with other moms, discussing kids and having babies, and just enjoying time together without kids.
I have never been one to take a weekly picture of my baby bump, but I am trying to do it a little more frequently this time, especially since we are planning on this being our last baby, which means this is the last time I will be pregnant. Sometimes it's difficult to enjoy this last trimester of pregnancy, but I am trying to focus on the joy of feeling a life grow within my womb. I am trying to remember what it feels like to feel baby hiccups, and to feel him roll and kick inside me. You also forget how big you actually get when you are this far along, so it's good to have pictures to remind me of that as well. Here I am Saturday morning at 33 weeks along.
Saturday was supposed to be another beautiful day, so we decided to take a trip to Tahquamenon Falls to walk around and play in the water. However, we thought that Samantha was over her pollakiuria, or frequent daytime urination, but it seemed to have come back or flared back up again. In fact, I had scheduled an appointment with our pediatrician for that previous Thursday afternoon, but it seemed she was was doing much better, so I cancelled it. After Saturday I wished I would have kept the appointment just to get Samantha checked out and get advice on how to handle it and help her through it. To say the very least, I was getting frustrated with it. I tried to be calm and understanding when she was first struggling, trying my hardest to not make a big deal out of it, and to try to understand where the feelings might be coming from that were causing the behavior. However, after dealing with it for a month, and having it seem to be going away and then coming back again, it was very easy for me to lose my patience. She was going to the bathroom at least every 40-45 minutes, and she was completely irrational if she ever sensed that we weren't near a bathroom, like when we were driving in the car or when we took the boat across to the little island and she knew there was no bathroom there.
Ben and I tried to have good attitudes and have a fun day, but it was very difficult and part of us wished we wouldn't have taken the time to drive all the way there when no one was fully enjoying themselves. Despite just Samantha's physical issues, she has been having a rough time this summer. She has shown a lot more disobedience when we tell her to do something she doesn't want to do. She has been much more whiny and overly emotional when she reacts to something. She has been extra sensitive to correction. She has been extra needy for attention and for people to play and spend time with her, but only on her terms and in her way. It's been difficult for me to know how to handle it, whether it's because of the change of routine of summertime, or if it still has anything to do with being in a new town where we don't really know anyone or have any friends, or if it's in reaction to and anticipation of the changes that will occur when her new baby brother comes. There is a lot going on in her little world than she lets on. We often say she is like a closed book, and it's difficult to read her at times. She doesn't let on to a lot of her emotions about various circumstances, so we don't want to overlook what she might be dealing with internally, but we also don't really know how best to help her recognize or deal with the feelings that she may have, especially if she doesn't share those feelings with us.
The water was going pretty quickly that day at the falls because of all the rain we had gotten the week before, so there weren't many places where we felt it was safe enough for the kids to wade around in the water. We did find this one area that was blocked off by a fallen tree, so the kids were able to climb into that water and play for awhile. They had fun throwing rocks over the log and playing with the foam bubbles that built up on the other side of the log.
After playing in the water for awhile, we got out to dry off and continue walking around the island, but the mosquitoes were pretty bad, especially now that we were wet. Unfortunately, we didn't bring any bug spray with us. I didn't want to be eaten alive, and Samantha was already complaining about having to go to the bathroom again, so we decided to just row around the water for a few minutes before crossing back over to the other side.
Once out of the boat, we had our picnic lunch and did another bathroom break before heading back home. We usually spend a lot more time there, but it just wasn't working that day. The kids napped in the car on the way home and seemed to be in better moods that evening at home. We cooked out for dinner, and Samantha and Aedan had a blast just playing on the play set in the back yard while Daddy cooked on the grill. Maybe they were just tired? Or maybe they just want to stay home more often lately? I don't know. Kids are confusing sometimes.
Sunday was another day when both Ben and I volunteered to help out with the kids' ministry, so we were at church for both services. Samantha continued to have trouble with having to go to the bathroom a lot, going at least 4-5 times in the two services at church. I just asked her on Saturday to makes sure it didn't hurt when she went to the bathroom, and she said no. She just has to go a lot, and when she does, she acts like it's an extreme emergency. We tried to encourage her to hold it, but decided it's not worth it to make a big deal out of it.
On Sunday evening Chicago Grandpa and Grandma arrived at our house to stay through Thursday for a visit. They were going to come on Monday evening instead, but I mentioned that they come a day earlier so they could spend more time with Samantha since we signed her up for Camp Good News that went from 9:00-4:00 Tuesday through Friday. On Sunday evening we ate dinner together and then went out for ice cream at Dairy Queen before getting the kids to bed a little later than we should have.
Monday morning we were off to Petoskey because Samantha had her consultation appointment with the pediatric dentist that afternoon. Since we were all going to make a trip together, we decided to leave earlier so that we could stop and play at a playground and have lunch before taking Samantha to her dentist appointment. The playground was right by the marina, so it was a beautiful place to play. We found a yummy local Mexican restaurant to eat at for lunch, and Samantha's appointment went pretty well. They took another set of x-rays and basically determined the same thing our dentist in Sault Ste. Marie did. They would go in to clear out the decay in her tooth and depending on how bad it was, they would either need to do the pulpotomy with a stainless steel crown or pull the tooth out and use a space maintainer. The dentist made it seem like extraction was unlikely, but that meant Samantha would basically be getting a baby tooth root canal. This pediatric dentist deals with things like this all the time in her patients, so I had no doubt that she could handle it, I just felt bad that Samantha would have to have this much work done on a baby tooth at six years old. I feel like we have been doing a pretty good job of taking care of her teeth. I know there are some things we can improve on, like flossing more and either making sure she is brushing well or brushing for her more often. But, I was surprised that she would have to have this kind of work done, and I guess I was also slightly embarrassed that she would have to have something as noticeable as a metal crown covering her tooth until the tooth eventually falls out three to six years down the road. When we scheduled her next appointment, the only day they had available was September 12th, which was certainly not ideal as school would have already started and that is awfully close to my due date. However, they did put us on a call list for cancellations, so hopefully we can get Samantha in sooner rather than later. It's unfortunate that we have to drive all the way down to Petoskey to see a specialist like this, but we are glad they caught the problem before it got any worse.
(Blog about July 25-31, 2017)
No comments:
Post a Comment