Throwing a new person into the mix is never super easy. We wouldn't trade it for anything. But it has been an exhausting, interesting first 3 months. I think for time, I will stick more to the Cliff's Notes of our new normal.

The first two weeks after we brought Remy home is kind of a medicated blur. I had more difficulty healing and bouncing back after this c-section than the previous two. Stu had to return to work pretty much right away, so my mom came up daily to help out. 

We spent a lot of time just snuggling our new baby. 

We have a beautiful baby cradle. I used it for Reagan and Riley. I think I slept in it as a baby. Naturally, I expected to use it for Remy too. It had been next to my bed for nearly a month. Then we got home, put him in it, and I realized that I could not bend down to pick him up. *insert sad mommy face* Oh well. Our pack-and-play had a bassinet attachment, so we used that. 

Remington was born around lunchtime. Stu and I talked (well, mostly it was me talking) extensively about how we wanted our hospital time to go. 11 years ago, when I was about to give birth to Reagan, I did not give any thought to how many visitors I wanted (or didn't want). As a first time Mom, I had no idea what the delivery and recovery would be like. And because of my lack of foresight, a LOT of people came to the hospital to meet our princess. I don't think my door ever closed. 

This time, I knew I wanted to keep it relatively private. So I only told family when we scheduled the delivery date. And I gave a few very close friends the heads up the day before. I'm glad I did this, my hospital time was rough. More on that in a few minutes. 

As you know from the last update, we ended the 36th week in OB Triage at the hospital. A part of me was ready for the baby, but most of me is glad he stayed in. 

No joke, these were probably the most chaotic and busiest weeks of this pregnancy (maybe the entire year). 

Week 34 started out like most, with a trip to the doctor. I went to see the high risk OBGYN, had an ultrasound, had an NST, and a meeting with my diabetic counselor. Stu and the kids came with me for the ultrasound, but they took off after. It was going to be a long morning. 

Everyone was super excited to see the baby. Ultrasounds are so much fun. Reagan and Riley have LOVED being able to check in on their growing brother. This one was especially excellent since the baby looks much more like a human. According to the tech and doc, the baby was about 5.5 pounds (give or take half a pound). 

We are rounding the corner, heading toward the finish line. And, as I expected, we have come across some speed bumps. 

It seems my body does pretty well (relatively speaking) in the first two trimesters. Then I get to the third trimester, and it says "Meh, I don't really love this anymore." 

Let me back up a bit. At my 27th week, my OB ordered my glucose test. No surprise there. Every pregnant woman experiencing this test with varying degrees of disgust. I was diet-controlled diabetic with both Reagan and Riley, so I was absolutely mentally prepared to fail the test. But much to my shock, I was told I passed. I said "Really? Are you sure?" Doc said, "Yes. Whatever kind of studying you have done has paid off. You passed the test." 

Cool. 

Then some strange things started happening. I was getting these horrible dizzy spells. I was sweaty and nauseous. Twice at church, I nearly passed out. A doc friend at church told me she thought I needed to retake the glucose test. And sure enough, my perinatologist thought the same. And she reordered the sugary nightmare during my 31st week. 

It has been quite a ride. We have been in a tornado of sick and tired. 

It all began two weeks ago with Reagan. On Sunday night she went down hard. It was like she hit a wall. Totally fine one minute. The next, she was down on the couch. Both kids had just returned from a weekend trip to North Carolina with their grandparents. So I attributed it to exhaustion, and I decided to keep both kids home and resting on Monday. 

On Monday night, Stu and I talked about how it struck us as odd that Reagan had been spending so much time just laying on the couch. Usually she is cartwheeling, handstanding, backbending all over the place ALL THE TIME. Something was clearly up. The next day, we sent Riley to school and took Reagan to the doctor. 

It turned out her ear needed to be drained. This was the first time we've ever experienced such a procedure. Let me tell you, it is utterly disgusting. I nearly threw up when the nurse showed me what they got out of Rea's ear. YUCK! 

Buddy has an allergy to eggs and soy. We found out about it when he was around one and a half.

It is not fun. 

I know all the food allergy moms out there know the stress. Luckily for us, Buddy's reactions have always been fairly mild. I give him a dose of Benadryl, and he throws up. Usually that's the worst of it. I count myself very lucky... we have a few friends whose kids have peanut allergies. 

As I said, Grammie was making a special cake. Buddy helped put the decorations on the cake. He was SO excited! 

​Then, the moment of truth:

He selected a piece with 2 of the candies. He was cautiously optimistic. 

SUCCESS!! YAY! He loved the cake! He was so happy. Mommy put the camera down to go enjoy the egg-free cake. 

Then, he popped one of those candies into his mouth. 

Immediately, his face changed. He knew right away there was a problem. He said his throat and tongue felt strange. I dropped my fork and ran to get the Benadryl. While I was doing that, Grammie fished the candy wrapper out of the garbage.... The second ingredient: Egg Whites. 

Buddy took the Benadryl. He pushed his plate away. 

We were all so sad.

I watched him like a hawk. I looked on my phone to see how long it takes Benadryl to work (15-60 minutes). Buddy was at the table, trying to play a game with family. He kept coughing - it was a strange cough. Like an asthma cough. One that's induced to bring more air in. His cheeks were flushing. He kept clawing at his neck. He said his tongue and throat still felt crazy. 

We stuck him in the backseat. And took off for the hospital.

He was squeaky. He was quiet. He was coughing. 

I was trying not to panic. 

About the moment we were turing in to the ER parking lot, Buddy threw up. 

The hospital was excellent. They had us back and in an ER room within 3 minutes of walking in. The doctor and nurse were great. 

We stayed in the ER for about 1-2 hours. They gave him a steroid. But they were pleased that so much time had passed between taking the Benadryl and vomiting. The doc said that gave the meds enough time to be absorbed and begin to work. And throwing up got the egg out of his body. 

What an exhausting adventure. I am so glad that it ended up ok. 

Anyone else have food allergy stories? I'd love to hear them. Comment below or email me privately. 

The other day, after school, we were all playing outside. The kids love to decorate the driveway with sidewalk chalk. They like to ride bikes, scooters, skateboards. They love chasing the dog, and she likes when the kids play frisbee with her. 

This particular afternoon was not any different. Rea was riding up and down the driveway on her skateboard. I was goofing off on her bike. Buddy was drawing. 

Bud wanted to see what would happen if I ran over a piece of the sidewalk chalk. Challenge accepted. The air in the tires absorbed the chalk and I rode smoothly over. Before I could stop it, Rea said she was going to go over it. On the skateboard. The skateboard that has solid wheels. 

Buddy was back in school for only a few days before Rea said she wasn't feeling so well. Great. 

She declined steadily throughout the week. When I picked the kids up from school on Thursday, she looked more like an extra on the Walking Dead (minus all the blood) than my energetic 8 year old. It was right then I knew it was going to be another long weekend. I suppose I should be happy that my kids were able to hold out most of the week at school and then crash for the weekends. 

But I am not an idiot, of course I take temperatures. Rea's was in the 101-102 range that day and Friday (1) morning. I was going to let her rest out the bug. I didn't think she had the flu. When Buddy tested positive for the flu, his temps were in the 104s. So I worked from home on Friday (1), and Rea reclined peacefully on the couch. 

Right about the time I was getting ready to take Buddy to karate, Rea seemed to decline. The fever that had been low-grade the morning shot back up over 102. And she was complaining her head was killing her. I called the doc's office, apologized for the late-afternoon Friday phone call, and got an emergency appointment. 

The doctor agreed with me: it's a sinus infection. Rea tested negative for the flu in the office that day. 

Friday (1) night, Rea woke up around 11pm with a fever of 104.6. It always freaks me out to see temperatures above the mid-103s. Saturday (1) was a pretty bad day for Rea. She spent most of it laying on the couch or on the bed in the office (so she could be downstairs). She rolled around complaining her head felt so bad. She asked me several times to take her to the hospital. I talked to our pediatrician on Saturday (1) night, and she thought we should begin Tamiflu. Even though Rea tested negative the day before, the fact that her fever spiked and her brother had the flu the week before meant there was a decent chance she had it. 

​Although she was on two antibiotics, her fever persisted. She never had a day without. But Monday seemed fairly hopeful. Her fever was low-isa and only spiked once to the 102s. She even perked up enough to talk and play the WiiU. I was beginning to think we were coming out of the woods.

You know what they say about counting your chickens before they hatch. Don't! 

Tuesday morning I called the doctor because her fever jumped back up to 103. The nurse and I talked on the phone for a while about her symptoms. We decided a visit wasn't necessary (I could call if I wanted to have her checked). But as the day went on, she declined. Every 5 hours, her temperature would jump up to nearly 103. There was no need to set an alarm or schedule for Advil doses. Her body let me know. 

My Mom-tuition told me something bad was happening. The hubs and I decided that our spring break vacation was a no-go and the local ER was probably going to take its place. 

On Wednesday morning Rea woke up with a 104. I was worried about dehydration - from the high temps and tummy troubles she'd had since Thursday (1). Hubs told me to take her to the Emergency Room. I talked to our pediatrician after dropping Buddy off at school. She wanted me to bring Rea to the office first. 

In the office, Rea's pulse ox was low. And the doctors didn't like what they heard in the lungs. Her doctor wanted to have some blood work and a chest x-ray done, so we left the office and headed right down to the ER.