What a crazy week

This has been the craziest week for Miss Adelyn and I and it is only Wednesday! So about a month ago I started having these severe pains in both of my wrists when I would pick Adelyn up. I experienced these pains in college and they were not able to figure out what was wrong. I just told myself to ignore them and they would go away. Unfortunately they did not go away and I started having trouble picking her up because it was too painful. So I had to make an appointment to see the orthopedic. Well turns out I had a severe case of tendinitis in both of my wrists. I had to have a cortisone shot in both wrist and I now have to wear a brace on my right wrist because it is pretty tight. The shots weren't too bad. I am still nursing so to be safe I pumped and dumped for about 6 hours after the shots. I think I almost cried watching the milk go down the drain. That breast milk is so precious I hated to waste it. On top of all of that going on, we waited at the orthopedic office for almost 3 hours. My little Adelyn was such a trooper and did great the entire time!
Well we made it to Tuesday and things took a turn for the worse......we had our first trip to the ER :(
I was taking Adelyn out of the car at my mom's house and she started screaming. The only thing I could see visibly wrong was that she was kind of pulling her leg up and squishing her body to one side. I brought her inside and tried to calm her down by feeding her. This did not work and the screaming escalated. I started to notice that everytime I picked her up a certain way she would throw her arms out like she was falling. Something just wasnt right. I called her pediatrician and he said to come on in. By the time we got to his office Adelyn was holding her head to her left side and she could barely move her should or her neck. Of course I was in panic mode and I think she was too. Dr. Radimecky looked at her and sent us to the ER at Cook's right away. Rene met us at the hospital. When we took her back for paperwork and they started moving her around to take her blood pressure Adelyn freaked out. She started screaming the loudest I have ever heard her scream and cried so much she produced tears, which has never happened. You could just tell she was in pain. As she sat there crying I started crying and just held her and rocked her. They put us in room #71 where we waited for the doctor. She finally fell asleep and calmed down. Once she fell asleep her body relaxed quite a bit and her head kind of shifted. They came and took X-rays on her and thankfully nothing was broken. They ended up diagnosing her with "torticollis." The doctor said because of the way she holds her head (that is also the way she spits up) her muscles were overused on one side causing them to spasm in her neck and her shoulder. They kind of locked on her and she tensed up not allowing the muscles to relax. They told us to start stretching her neck out everyday so it doesn't get locked on one side and they also recommended we check for a hip alignment as sometimes this can be caused by one hip not being connected properly. After a long day of tears and then a long night of sleep she is feeling SOOOO much better today. I actually got several smiles from her this morning. Hopefully that will be our first and last trip to the ER for awhile because I'm not sure my blood pressure can take another one!!!

Such a brave girl

Finally fell asleep

So here we are on Wednesday with more appointments to come so hopefully we survive them all with smiles and class!!!

3 months already....

I absolutely cannot believe Adelyn is 3 months and 5 days old. Time is flying by so fast and what's worse is it's almost time for me to go back to work. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and I'm so excited for another year, but how in the world am I going to be able to leave Adelyn. I haven't spent a day without her since she was born. It might be a little easier if I was going back to work six weeks after she was born, but I will have gotten to spend 4 months with her and it's going to be so hard to say goodbye the first day I go back. (I cry on the first day every year because I have to put the dogs up all day....I know I'm a weenie). I do feel much better knowing that she will only be a block from my school and I will get to see her everyday when Mrs. Cameron comes to pick up her son! I know she will have fun with her sitter as well as my mom on Mondays!
Adelyn is becoming such a little character. Now that we have finally got the spitting up/screaming under control she is so much happier! Now when she spits up all over herself she smiles and laughs at you instead of crying in pain. In fact we have only gone through one outfit the past two days!
She also finally started lifting her head up during tummy time. I haven't done it that much because everytime I would put her down she would throw up and cry, but then out of no where I put her down and she held her head upright. I could just see it in her eyes....."mommy-I can see the world"
The same day she also found her feet! She lifted them up and wouldn't put them down. This has made for very difficult diaper changing, but she loves those little feet. She is still figuring out what they are and hasn't touched them yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.
She still LOVES mirrors. Everytime you put her infront of one, even if she is crying, that frown turns upside down!
She FINALLY started sleeping through the night about a week ago!!!!! It took 3 months for her to do it which was pretty exhausting, but I very much enjoyed getting to look at her beautiful face at 1 am, 3 am and 5 am for three months! She did wake up once in the past week for a midnight feeding but when right back to sleep! So hopefully she keeps it up!
Adelyn is wearing 3 month clothes. Her jammies are all still pretty long on her. When we first put her in pjs I dryed them all on extra hot because they were too long on her, well now she has outgrown them and all of the 6 months pjs are 5 inches too long. So I had to go and buy some 3 months pjs and this time I just won't dry them so hopefully they will fit for a little while before we slide into those 3 months!
I've also decided to attempt to breast feed her until she is 6 months old. I've been storing up milk in the freezer for when I go back to work and if my schedule works out then I should be able to pump twice during the day. I know it may not work out, but I am going to at least give it a shot. Wish me luck!!

Well Adelyn is calling ( actually I should say that Rene is calling.....men....they can only take so much)!

My amazing class!

So I know my blog has been all about my sweet Adelyn lately but something else in my life this past school year needs mentioning! I was so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing group of kids this past year. I had 20 kiddos in my kindergarten class for the 2011-2012 school year. I had all but one student pretty much the entire year. Way back in August of last year I got to meet some of my students for the next year and I was immediately excited! I was lucky enough to have three students who were siblings of former students, and three other students who were best friends with those students. When my class came together on the first day of school I was in love. I mean I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing these kids were. I had some of the brightest group of kids as a whole that I have had in my three years at my school. I had some incredibly high readers and some students who I could actually have meaningful converstaions with. My kids this past year had spunk and personality. I was so excited, yet a little sad when I found out I would be missing the end of the year with these kids. Lucky for me, I got constant updates and pictures from their parents and my long-term sub.

The above picture is with three of awesome girls, Kaya, Sofia, and Mia!


Not only were my kids fantastic, the parents were the best! The parents of my students actually cared about their kids well being and my own. They were always checking in on their child's progress and always making sure there wasn't something that I needed. Because of these parents, the kids and I had a fantastic year together. I am 100% sure that these children will have many great adventures and are in for many exciting things in their futures! Thanks to the help of some great parents, I was able to put together an end of year picnic (after school was out) at the park. All but 5 students and their parents came out to the park for a picnic lunch. All of my kids got to meet Adelyn and I got to talk with them one last time before they become first graders. I know I will see many of these kids, as I have become close friends with their parents, but I needed to see them one last time before summer started. I will also be fortunate to hopefully have many of their siblings in my future. It killed me not to put the picture of the kids I took at the park on here, but I am putting up the picture of the three parents who will be okay with my post. Thank you to the parents and my class for making my year such an amazing one!

6 weeks already

I cannot believe it has been almost 6 weeks since Adelyn was born. She will be six weeks old on Thursday. Things have gotten so much better at our house, though I have no idea how people go back to work in 6 weeks because I'm not ready. I am still only getting a couple of hours of sleep at night and I'm still in pain (down there if you know what I mean). I can't imagine going back to work in a week. I think I will have to try really hard to plan to have the rest of my babies in April, May or June because 6 weeks just isn't long enough.
We finally had to take Adelyn in for an acid reflux sonogram because she has been spitting up after every meal and she cries in pain because her tummy is hurting her so badly. We haven't gotten the results back but we should hear from them today. Hopefully they can give us something to help her digest her milk because right now it's all coming back up. She did great at the sonogram by the way. I was so worried because she wasn't going to be able to eat for 3 hours prior to the test, and lets just say my child eats like every two hours. I just knew that last hour was going to be awful. But lucky for me, she slept all the way until the time of the test and just started to cry when we got there. More importantly, they got us right in so she could eat!
This past weekend we also went to our first pool party. We have a super cute swimsuit, but it doesn't fit yet so I bought Adelyn and her cousin Leighton matching Memorial Day outfits to wear. We had so much fun at the cookout, but we couldn't stay outside very long because it was just too hot outside. I guess I won't be getting my much needed tan this summer because I don't think Addy can take the heat. At the cookout, we also got our first real smile from Adelyn. My dad was talking to her in his different voices and she started beaming and I thought she was going to start laughing, but she just smiled. I wished I had got it on camera, but I wasn't fast enough.
She also almost crawled right off of her lamb mat. We put her down and she was not happy. She went from position A to right off the mat in a matter of seconds by moving her feet. (We also did not get this on camera). So I'm sure that crawling and lots of smiles are just around the corner!

Oh and if you are a facebook friend of mine I wanted to apologize for my oh so many pictures on facebook. I just can't help sharing her with my friends and family. So I won't be offended if anyone needs to block my status's from showing because I probably won't be able to stop posting pictures of my sweet girl!

Adelyn is one month old!

I can't believe Adelyn is already one month old! For her one month birthday she had quite the celebration. We spent the past weekend in San Antonio for Rene's cousin, Megan's, wedding! The wedding was so beautiful and Adelyn got so much attention. Her grandpa Paul was on baby duty as Rene and I were both in the wedding. I think Grandpa was in heaven. He spent the pre wedding hour watching Spurs and watching Adelyn sleep. Then he held her and fed her during the ceremony. Thank goodness she was super quiet because I would have been so embarrassed had she been screaming. During the reception she was grandpa's little angel. We think she likes loud noises because she either is wide-eyed the whole time or sleeps the entire time. Her grandpa took her around to every person he knew at the reception to show her off, though he was a baby hog and wouldn't let anyone hold her. He told them they could look at her but couldn't hold her because she was all his. I secretly was glad for this because I didn't want her to get too many germs on her!
During the wedding weekend we finally had our first night of almost, and I mean almost full sleep. We purchased this rock'n sleep bed for her. It is basically a little bed that is on an incline and you can rock it back and forth with your hand. She loves this and finally sleeps so well in. She was either sleeping in her swing or on my chest. She just refuses to sleep on her back or in the pack'n play so this is proving to be a good solution since we can't swaddle her. On Friday night Rene and I actually got to sleep in the same bed. Adelyn slept from 1:00-5:00, then I fed her and she slept again from 5:30-8:00. Mommy and daddy got some much needed sleep. Though she still makes so many noises when she sleeps because she is so stopped up. We are running the humidifier every night, but so far it hasn't been much help.
Adelyn is also taking to the bottle well. We are only giving it to her once a day and will move to three times a day next week! Her favorite thing to do is make these hilarious grunting noises when she is eating or trying to go the restroom. I feel so bad because her poor tummy hurts, but the noise is so funny that Rene and I can't help but laugh.
She also loves the tv. In the hotel, we laid her on the bed with all of the lights off except for the television and I think she watched the tv for almost an hour without making a peep. I know this is a bad habit already, but we had to get things done for the wedding!

 The above picture is Adelyn at the bridesmaids luncheon! She was so alert and pretty in pink!

The above picture is Adelyn on her one month birthday at the wedding!

I can't believe how much she has grown already. I let her lay on my chest and she just feels so much longer. I know what people mean when they say that the little ones grow so fast. I'm a little sad, but I can't wait to see how beautiful and active she becomes as she grows! I am just so in love with her and I am so thankful I get to spend the entire summer with her before I have to go back to work!

She's got me wrapped around her little finger

My how quickly my life has changed in 2 weeks! Adelyn is 2 weeks old today! She has already gained 2 pounds and 7 ounces! She really likes to eat. For almost a year I prepared myself for what I thought it was going to be like to be a mommy, but I'm starting to realize it's much more complicated than that.
I am REALLY not a night person, which has been rather difficult for me because Adelyn likes to eat and stay up all night long. We have tried and tried to put her in the crib, or even the pack n' play, but so far she either screams until you pick her up or will only sleep for about an hour. This makes for one very tired mommy. I know everyone says to sleep when she sleeps, but when your such a day person this is very difficult. I try to sleep when she does, but every noise she makes I startle and I have to force myself to not get up and go check on her. She also eats every 1-2 hours, making actually falling asleep almost impossible. It feels like right when I just fall asleep, she is hungry again. We finally had to introduce her to the pacifier. This is helping a little bit, though she already knows the difference between that and the real things. :)

Another thing I wasn't completely prepared for was driving with her in the car. I am so terrified to even drive on the street because I'm afraid someone will hit me. For now, I am driving Rene's truck so we can save money to purchase a crossover this summer, and his truck is soooo large that it scares me. I have to park like a mile away from anywhere because it's so hard to manuever that vehicle. Adelyn's car seat is so heavy that it makes walking that far quite painful on my arms. Though I should have some amazing biceps here pretty soon!

For everyone that knows me I absolutely LOVE my dogs and spoil them so much. I was so worried about how they would react to her. But so far, they have been great. Sadie likes to give her head baths and every time we fall asleep on the couch, Sadie is right there sleeping with us. Chloe is still a little unsure about her. Chloe will come and sniff her and as soon as she makes a move Chloe will jump backwards. The most important thing is that they have not been aggressive towards her. They seem very interested and very calm. This has made things so much easier for me because I hate to see my dogs suffering from lack of attention. Rene and I make sure to walk them twice a day and always let them sniff her when we are holding her.

Adelyn had her first doctor's appointment and it went much better than I expected. We didn't have to wait at all and they were so patient with her while she was crying. (She hadn't eaten in 4 hours due to some blood work at the hospital and was very hungry). They said she looks fantastic and is very healthy! What more could a mom ask for! Though I told Rene he was taking her to her two month appointment because I don't want to watch them give her the shots. I know it probably won't bother me, but she's just so little that I don't want her to be in pain.

I think my favorite thing about being her mom is just looking at her. I love watching her sleep. She makes all of these cute noises as she is dreaming. Then when she wakes up she stretches her body out just like her dad and gives you that look like why are you waking me up. It is so cute. When she is awake she is such a little squirmer. She holds her head up high and moves her arms and legs all around. You really have to hold her tight or she will try to jump out of your arms. She also has these beautiful blue eyes. They may decide to turn green, but for now they are just so big and beautiful and I love looking at them!

Now that we are at two weeks, I'm hoping that the nightly feedings will start to get better here pretty soon. The doctor says I can start pumping at 3 weeks, so hopefully then I can get some real sleep! Until next time.....

I couldn't be any happier!

A little over a week ago a perfect little angel entered my world! Adelyn Michelle Aelvoet decided to grace us with her presence on her actual due date, April 19th! I have wanted a baby for such a long time and I am so blessed to have her. I wanted to share her delivery story since she was not expected to come on time!
On Monday April 16th, I went for my weekly appointment and I was still not dilated or having any contractions. My doctor and I decided to set her induction date for Wednesday April 25th, almost a week after her due date. Little did I know, Adelyn had other plans!
Well on Wednesday the 18th around 10:45 I was having a little come to Jesus meeting with one of my students when all of a sudden a severe pain shot through my back. I told the student to go sit down and I would talk to him a minute. Well that back pain came and went for the rest of the day. It wasn't unbearable, just uncomfortable. Well I called my doctor that afternoon just to let her know what was going on. She told me to go to Labor and Delivery to get it checked out. So that is what I did. After 2 hours, I learned that I was having contractions every 2-4 minutes in my back, but I wasn't dilated, so they sent me home. Rene and I went and got something small to eat and headed home. The nurses had told me to take some Tylenol and take a hot bath. Well 11 pm rolled around and I had taken the medication and taken 3 baths and the back pain was almost unbearable. Everytime I would have a contraction I had to sit down and rock myself because it hurt so bad. I told Rene we had to go back to the hospital cause I was in so much pain. We loaded the car and returned around 11:30.
They hooked me up to the machines and once again told me I wasn't dilated. All they could do for me was give me some phengren (sp?) and some pain meds. This made me a little woosy, but it didn't take away the pain. All night long Rene had to listen to me moan everytime I had another contration. The medication helped to slow them down, but didn't make them any less painful.
The next morning, the 19th, around 5:30 am my doctor came in to see me. She told before even checking me that even though I was contracting every 2-4 minutes all night long I still wasn't dilated and therefore they had to send me home. I was about to start screaming because there was no way I was going home in this much pain. She decided to go ahead and check my cervix one more time and guess what: I had dilated to a 3. The doctor looked at me and said forget everything I just said because your staying here. I breathed the biggest sigh of relief. She told me I could have the epidural within the hour. Our only problem was that little Adelyn was facing the wrong way inside my stomach. She was still head down, but she was face up. They said the only solution was to turn my over and move my body as much as possible during the day so that hopefully she would turn over. Her position was the reason for this awful back labor I was experiencing.

So once I got the epidural I felt tons better!!! My awesome nurse, Kathie, helped to turn me over and move my body around for pretty much most of the day. My parents and Rene sat and watched me basically all day long. Around 3:30 p.m. they checked me and I was dilated to a 10! So the pushing began. I pushed a couple of times and Adelyn's heart rate dropped too low so we had to stop for awhile. They turned me over several more times and then about 30 minutes later I began pushing again! Thanks to Kathie and Rene she finally made her way out (still turned the wrong direction) at 4:32 p.m. She was 6 lb. 15 oz and 19 inches long!
I was so happy and so relieved that she looked absolutely normal and she was just perfect. Most people know about my chromosome problems as well as Adelyn's and when Rene brought her over to me I knew that everything was absolutely perfect and she couldn't be anymore perfect! I was and still am in heaven!
Now we have been home for a week and we are just in love with her! We are still working on some kind of a schedule but we are getting there! This week would have been chaotic if it weren't for Rene's mom, who has been here cleaning and cooking our every meal. We are so thankful for her and are going to be sad when she leaves tomorrow.
Adelyn is already so loved and I am so glad that God gave me a second chance! Now it's breakfast time for Adelyn.....stay tuned!