Easton's speech update, Praise God!

When Easton first had his speech evaluation in April, he failed the hearing portion of the test. The woman who was conducting that part said it was probably fluid in his ears and to expect an ear infection within the next few days. She was right, and when we were at the pediatrician’s office the following week, we discussed possibly referring Easton to a specialist (basically an ENT), if he failed another hearing test after the antibiotics cleared up the fluid.  I didn’t want to- we’d been there and done that with Cory, numerous times. Cory’s had tubes put in his ears twice, his tonsils removed, and still has ear trouble. We’ve since learned with Cory that we could pretty much chalk all that up to allergies. Once he was older we discovered he’s allergic to grass (nothing we can do about that!), and cat/dog hair. Even with his nose spray and allergy meds, he still sneezes constantly (darn grass), and has frequent upper respiratory infections. He still wears ear plugs when swimming/bathing, and he knows that he’ll probably get swimmers ear if he’s diving repeatedly. That took over 4 years to figure out though! So once an ENT was suggested with Easton I just said no. I was determined that even if it took longer to figure out the cause, we were not going through all that again. Tubes are not always the answer. Our pediatrician was so, so nice and said he’d back me up 100% whatever I decided. He just reminded me to be patient as we figured it out.

 

We finished the antibiotic and went back for a hearing test at the pediatrician’s office after 14 days. Failed. Next step was a more sensitive hearing test, outsourced at a center in Athens. We went to that apt., and they said they’d send the results to our pediatrician, but it looked like acute hearing loss. I knew not to freak out at that term, but was still ticked- if I didn’t know what that actually meant, I probably would have bawled thinking my baby couldn’t hear. A week later we were back at the pediatrician’s office for the results. Failed. I wasn’t surprised because we hadn’t done anything to treat the fluid in his ear yet, we were just taking more hearing tests. That’s when we tied his delayed speech in with all the ear troubles- it made perfect sense!

We started over the counter allergy meds and a nose spray, and this time my pediatrician urged me to see an ENT. He said we could still avoid tubes, but he would be more knowledgeable as to what the next step would be, if the meds didn’t work. He referred us to an ENT in Athens, and we tried again. After waiting ONE HOUR in the waiting room, I finally asked what was going on. Was there an emergency, were we not booked, should we reschedule…..? The receptionist was not the least bit friendly and said they had a new computer system and it was putting things behind. Finally we were taken back and waited another half hour in our room when I stuck my head out again. I explained to the nurse that we’d been there an hour and a half and wanted to know how much longer we should expect to wait. She said she’d send the doctor right in. The doctor did come in and he seemed rushed too. He asked me to explain what the troubles have been, but then interrupted me to say he’d get a hearing test done, and walked out the door. I had to literally call out down the hallway to him, “We’ve already done hearing tests, you have the results, and I am not finished.” I’m sure he loved me at that point, but he did come back in the room, and then for whatever reason decided to give me a lecture on the inner ear. He pulled out his diagrams and started to explain how the ear works. I listened because I was sure there was a point to his speech, and then he followed up by saying he’d be right back in to discuss allergy medications. He left the room again, and then I heard him go right next door into the next room and greet that patient, “Hi! I’m Dr. _________, how are you doing today?” I was boiling at this point, and just gathered up our stuff and left. None of the nurses asked me where I was going, nor the receptionist, and we never heard back from their office, ever.

Back to the pediatrician! I love him by the way, have I said that? He just laughed when I told him what happened and said he could refer us to another ENT, but if I still didn’t mind being patient, we’d just try out different allergy meds and repeat the hearing tests every 2 weeks, no ENT. I was completely fine with that- anything over surgery. From April-August we played the guessing game with different brands before Easton FINALLY passed his first hearing test on August 14th!!!!!! I was SOOOO happy we had found the answer!!!!! NOW we know why his speech was delayed, the poor guy couldn’t hear for months, and who knows how much time passed before we even discovered that. Yay, my baby can hear!!!!

He started school on August 11^th...

 

 

 

....and between that and being able to clearly hear, his language has BLOWN UP. I am so proud of him! Family and friends have noticed a huge difference in him too, and Heath and I are thrilled. Easton jabbers non-stop now and is finally enunciating. The stutter is gone, I’m guessing that was developmental, but praise God, our baby can hear!!!!

 

 

12 Weeks!

Yay, we’re pregnant! I know, same opening as last blog post, but sometimes it’s still hard to believe.  At 12 weeks, 5 days, I feel pregnant now, and my expanding waistline reminds me I am, but I feel like I get more caught up with life now. Cory started 4^th grade & football, Easton started 3 day/week preschool, I’ve been baby-sitting here and there, we joined a new Sunday School class, I had a birthday, we’ve been planning for vacation, and life feels busier- in a good way! Sometimes I feel guilty for not thinking about being pregnant more. I know the time is coming when I can’t ignore it, so I’m thoroughly enjoying the “forgetting”. Also I’ve been trying to do a lot of “big kid” activities before the new baby comes and I’m loving each stage the boys are at. I’m busy being a cool Mom and taking my children to 7:30pm movies- what?!

 

 

This “he/she” thing is going to get weird to type, so I’ll just randomly refer to the baby as a “he” or a “she” but don’t get excited, because we know nothing yet, and won’t find out the gender until October. Instinctively I call him “him”, but I think that’s just my past experience talking.

We had our 12-week apt & ultrasound on August 15^th and it’s so amazing to see how much the baby’s grown from our first 7-week apt. The first apt he looked like a little kidney bean and I was shocked to see how much he looks like a little baby now!

7 weeks:

12 weeks:

Isn't he so cute? ;) Heartbeat was in the 160's- way high (girl)- but my doctor said it's too early to go by that. Pooh.

I know what a baby’s heartbeat sounds like, I’ve had 2 pregnancies before, so I wasn’t prepared for how emotional I got while hearing our baby’s heartbeat and watching him kick and wiggle! It just never gets old! I didn’t expect it to get old….just… I don’t know what I was really expecting?.. but it’s the same sweet little rush of emotions you get with each child. It somehow made the pregnancy feel more real. I feel like there’s always a moment where you’re like, ‘whoa, I am pregnant’, and that was it for me. Baby #3 is coming. I almost had a slight panic moment where I felt like we needed to sell the house and buy a van, but I calmed myself down.

Symptoms/Cravings- No cravings really, more like food aversions. My best meal is lunch, my worst is dinner. Usually Heath cooks dinner and I sit outside in the heat to get away from the smell, and then eat cereal or ice cream before bed. Ha! Basically anything hot is a food aversion. Vegetables, which are one of my favorite foods, are on the ‘do not cook in the house’ list. Meat of any kind is also disgusting. Anything cold is fantastic! I’m a grape-addict for the moment, oranges also make me salivate to think about, any fruit or cold dish is a yes. I am FIGHTING the carb cravings, but feel most unsuccessful. Since carbs have no smell, they are generally on my ‘sure, why not’ list, and I do not like the amount I’m consuming. Even Cory commented that we never get to eat the things I’ve been buying lately, and he wants me to be pregnant again. Sorry, kid. My weirdest (as in not typical for me) craving was a Coke float. I don’t even know if I’ve had one before? Definitely not in the last 10 years. One night that was it though, I knew I needed one. Heath went to Kroger and bought the Coke and ice cream, and I took a huge gulp and was like, “this is disgusting- who drink this? Throw it away!” Sigh. I hate myself sometimes.

As far as symptoms go...ya'll know how it is. It's like being a baby yourself. I either want to sleep or eat all the time.

I plan to post every 4 weeks with a picture, it’s fun to watch the bump grow! I’m still in the stage of the game where if you don’t know me you might miss the belly, but then I just feel fat and would rather wear tighter clothing & show that it’s not chips and salsa, it is a round baby bump. Don't think I'm not showing though- this belly has popped! It's not bloating, like my pregnancy app suggests. However, I’m fully aware that maternity clothes come next and it feels like you wear those forever, so I’m not complaining that I can still wear most of my clothes. Pam was SO, SO nice to let me borrow these elastic-waist shorts from Loft. They are so comfy, and will carry me through to Fall when I’ll resign myself to maternity clothes. I do love the confidence that comes with being pregnant with your third baby. I’ve done this before, I know how miserable the last stage is, I know to enjoy the small things (like sleeping- I loooooove sleeping through the night right now, pants with a button, etc.), and I just feel way more relaxed. I don’t worry that if I’ve rolled onto my stomach that I’ve maimed the baby, nor do I feel the need to call my Ob about every stretch & pull. It’s just so nice to enjoy it and know this is our last baby, and my last time being pregnant.

These are my, "did she just eat a huge meal?" pictures:

 

 

And hopefully, these are the "oh- she's pregnant" shots:

 

 

 

I love, love, love that my boys are old enough to understand what's going on and are excited about it. They regularly talk to the baby, and Cory is so sweet to offer to do more things around the house for me. He'll make a great husband one day! Easton blows raspberries on my stomach at night and dies laughing when I tell him the baby's going to get him.

 

 

The biggest concern to me right now is delivery. I'm not considered a high-risk pregnancy, but after the complications with having Easton, my Ob wanted to talk about some of the precautions they'll take this time in the OR. I'll have this baby in the main OR, as opposed to the one on the labor/delivery floor, basically with a team of people ready for "just in case". They'll have my blood type ready to go at delivery and will give me Pitocin after delivery to make sure my uterus contracts this time. The side effects won't be too bad, but if it doesn't work, some options are to cauterize an artery to my uterus, or a hysterectomy. Yikes. I didn't want to even hear those things. It seems silly to stress about it now, but how can I not? I'm upset about it. Here's my prayer request: please pray that my uterus contracts at delivery. Sounds like the silliest request, but it's not to me. I need a contracting uterus, prayer friends.

 

On a happier note, I have sweet, sweet boys awaiting this baby and can't wait to add to our family in February!!!