33 Weeks

I can't believe it. I only have about one month to go! Yay! After having to go to the doctor's office every week to have a sonogram, listen to the baby's heart beat and check to make sure everything is going well since I have cholestasis...I'm more than ready to have this baby join our family! Things are going well though. The medicine that I am on to treat the cholestasis is working. From what I understand the medicine bonds to the bile, preventing it from dumping into my blood stream. It makes me very very happy that my numbers have come down. Hurray! 

(The monitors are checking his heart rate on the top of the screen and his movements on the bottom of the screen.)

Each week I have to have a sonogram. They always check to make sure the baby is still growing at the same pace he has been. They also check his heart during each sonogram and the third thing they check is the amniotic fluid. When my doctor does the sonogram, which is most of the time, instead of the sonographer, he also checks his kidneys because they are measuring larger than they should be.

The doctor and I talked about scheduling the c-section already. While my numbers are down, there is still risk involved with letting him go too long. With cholestasis, the risk of still birth is much higher once you get to 36 weeks. At the same time you don't want to take the baby too early and risk having the baby having to go to the NICU. So, he wants to deliver as soon as I hit 37 weeks. I get to 37 weeks on March 23rd and he wants to schedule the surgery for the 24th. I have to admit, I'd love another day since the 24th is the one year anniversary of my miscarriage and D&C. I guess it would be better than the 26th though since that is Isabelle's birthday.

While it is fun to see our baby each week, it does get old driving the hour to the appointment, spending an hour or more there and driving an hour back. It totally wears me out. Especially when you add in that I take the three girls with me each and every time. It is an adventure... I am very much looking forward to the weekly visits being over!

Conversations with Ella and Emery: Part 4

After watching Olaf sing "In Summer" on youTube...
Me: "What do frozen things do in Summer?
Emery: "I don't know.... They sing songs!"

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While playing ponies with Ella...

Curt as Rainbow Dash: "I'm Rainbow Dash and I have a cutie mark. Do you have a cutie mark?"

Ella as Ariel: "No...I just have purple boobs and a green tail."

***

Ella: "Mom! Isabelle's running in your house!"

Me: "Isabelle, stop running in the house."

Ella: "Mom! No, this is not your house. This is Daddy's house."

***

 While driving, there was a fly in the car so we rolled down the windows to try and get it out. 

Grandma: "Should we roll up the windows? Are we blowing you away?"

Ella: "No! I'm buckled in!"

***

Ella: "Grandma, when I get big and you grow small, then I get to drive."

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Ella: "Aunt Chandler, will you kiss me like you did last night?"

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Ella: Emery are you done?

Em: No, there's still poop in my bum!

Ella: Ewww.

***

Joy School

On January 6th, this little big girl went to her first day of Joy School.

A group of four ladies had started a Joy School last Fall, but I didn't find out about it until after the school year began. I didn't want to intrude and honestly...I just wasn't ready to commit to being a part of the school and teaching every few weeks. However, when one of the mothers moved during the Christmas break, I jumped in and took her spot.

Isabelle has been asking to go to school for a good nine months now. I actually even thought about letting her go to pre-school this Fall, but I didn't want to put her in something every day or commit to having her at school everyday. This has turned out to be a really good balance.

There are several reasons why Curt and I decided to do Joy School. The first being we knew Isabelle would love it. Kindergarten starts this coming school year for Isabelle and she is very much excited to turn five and go. Another reason is because she hasn't really made friends since we moved to Houston. She doesn't seem to mind and she loved going to a birthday party for one of her Sunbeam classmates, but really she just wants to hang out with the adults or her Sunbeam (or her CTR teacher, now) teacher. So we did it to encourage friends. That is also tied to another huge reason we started Joy School...to separate Emery and Ella a little bit from Isabelle. Seriously, they play together, they sleep in the same room, they are with each other 100% of the time, with the exception of class time at church. That's it. For a whooping two hours (it's actually closer to 1.5 hours cause our ward sacrament meeting has never, not once let out on time since we've been here) a week, they are separated. One of the last reasons, was actually a reason for me. To use Joy School as a stepping stone to getting up and getting everyone ready to take Isabelle to school. I have to admit...I really really don't want school to start just because I like not having anything to get ready for first thing in the morning. Yet another reason is for Isabelle to get eased into Kindergarten ever so slightly too. Curt and I both had a hard time with attending school and I would very much like to not have to go through what each of our parents did. Other than that, I also did it because Curt encouraged me. :)

Isabelle has very much loved it. Then night before her first day, my mom texted me a warning to be patient with Isabelle as my first day of Joy School did not go over well. Apparently, I hid under a bed in someone else's house. Isabelle did perfect though. She went right in and barely looked back.

As for me, it's been fine. Teaching is really hard on me. While the other moms have six kids they have to handle, I have eight. Emery and Ella are technically old enough to attend Joy School, but between just now potty training, struggling with them in Sunbeams and the other moms not seeming too excited to add two more three year olds to the bunch, they are not attending unless I'm the teacher. Em and Ella actually did pretty well this last week when I taught...and much better than some kids, but they'll just have to wait their turn...if I agree to do it with them.

While Isabelle has loved it, Emery and Ella have hated it. They HATE dropping her off and some unknown place and having to stay in the car. It's really traumatic for them. I'm not quite sure if it's because we leave Isabelle at a strange place and they are scared for her or if they are upset they don't get to go too. It's probably a little of both. Most days we have to come home and have some snuggle time and read books together for them to be okay without her. They sure do love when it's time to go pick her up though. I do not look forward to next week when I am not teaching and they, therefore, do not get to attend. It will be horrible, I can guarantee it.

It seriously blows my mind that Isabelle is already this old. She'll be turning five at the end of next month. Kindergarten is on the horizon. (!!!!!)