Life Post Baby

Wow, I cant believe I had Spencer almost 2 months ago. Not that the time has flown by though because that has not been the case at all. On the contrary, these first few months have crawled by. Up to this point he has been a really fussy little guy. Thankfully we finally know why and he should start feeling better very soon. Well before I get into all of that, lets start from the beginning...

On February 6th, Nolan and I went into have one of my weekly appointments with my OB and I told her that I was ready to have Spencer out and asked her to do everything in her power to help things along. We also asked her what we could do at home besides walk to help get things moving. After checking me she said that I was dilated to a 3 and that I could have Spencer at anytime. To not over share I wont tell you what else she did to help things along but she did a small procedure to help let my body know that it was time. She then proceeded to tell Nolan and I a trick to help induce labor at home. This trick was to stimulate the twins which sounded like an amazing idea to Nolan. So then around midnight Nolan decided that it was as good a time as any to test the trick. I was pretty tired but I agreed to try. Well sure enough he had barely started before I started have a hard core contraction. I immediately told him to stop. At this point I started to panic. Having just that one contraction reminded me how horrible childbirth is and I was not ready. Well once the contraction was over Nolan wanted to try again and when I was resistant he reminded me how much I had been praying to have Spencer out. So once again within seconds of him touching the twins I had another contraction. By this point I was freaking out and telling him to stop. He waited a few minutes and then wanted to try again since I only had the contractions when he was touching me. It was that last touch that did the trick. At 12:15 am on the onset of the next contraction my water broke. The next two hours were a world wind. We called a good friend to come watch Maddie because we didn't want to wake her up. We left for the hospital as soon as she arrived. We got to the hospital right around 1 am and Spencer was born a little over an hour later. He was born at 215 am weighing 6lb 13oz and measured 20 inches long. He was so tiny and cute and didn't cry at all post birth and not even when they were cleaning him up. We thought at first that this was a good indication that he was going to be just a mellow kid. Time will only tell for that one. Anyway, we were so beyond thrilled that he had finally arrived and were just so excited to hold him constantly but unfortunately that didn't really happen at all in the hospital because he wasn't in our room but a few hours before they tested him for Jaundice and discovered that he was way above normal for being so new and they rushed him out to put him under the blue lights in the nursery. Because his levels were so high we only were able to see him every 3 hours and only for 30 minutes so I could nurse him. Anyway, It was a bit of a stressful hospital stay because they were not sure whether or not they were going to let us bring Spencer home when I was discharged but after a lot of talking, and a wonderful blessing given by Nolan, they finally decided to let us bring him home. And the rest is history.

The last two months have been both a blessing and a trial because after just a few days of Spencer being home he started becoming this really fussy guy. In the hospital he had been so mellow which they told us was from the Jaundice making him a little lethargic, but once that started clearing up he was crying all the time. It was such a blessing to us to have so much help from family. At first Jenny was here and she was amazing and so helpful. Later my Mom, Guy, Clay, Zane, and Karen came to see the baby. Then Jenny, Paul, and Sadie came back so we could bless the baby while my mom and brothers were in town. It was so amazing having family in town and to share our joy with everyone. I was very nervous for everyone to leave because it was so helpful but luckily for me my sister decided to stay and help. She will never know how much that meant to us. She was so helpful. Once she left, which was only a week ago, I felt very overwhelmed with how much Spencer was crying because I wasnt getting any role relief during the day while Nolan was at work. I have felt for sometime that it wasn't normal for him to be crying all the time and have talked to his doctor several times about it. She wasn't sure what was going on because he is gaining weight so well which is usually a sign that something more then just colic is going on. Anyway on Friday I went in again and talked to his doctor and told her that I just knew something was wrong with him. We talked about it for a while and I told her that I have been noticing that his poop is always green which she had said was normal but I just didnt think so. So sure enough she ran a test on his poop and found blood in it. She diagnosed him with a severe food allergy to dairy products. So from now on I am on a strick dairy free diet which will be a big adjustment but well worth the sacrifice. After only just a few days of cutting dairy out of my diet we have seen a huge difference. Spencer is so much happier and really only cries now when he is hungry and tired.

Anyway, that is the Scharman family update. I will try to upload some pictures next time.

Family Hug!

A couple of nights ago Nolan and I were just hanging out with Maddie after dinner. We started talking about how soon Spencer would be here and how much he would change our lives. Very soon it will no longer just be the 3 of us. It was interesting to verbalize this thought because it has been something we both have been thinking about a lot. Nolan started talking about how he has been trying to take little mental pictures of our everyday life because he knows it is about to change. This idea really stuck with me because I have been so impatient for Spencer to get here. I feel like I have not been looking for or appreciating the cute everyday moments that make my life so wonderful. So for the last few days I have been trying to pay more attention. As I have been doing this I have felt so overwhelmed with gratitude for how wonderful my life is. We have this little tradition we started right after we got married called the Family Hug. It is exactly what is sounds like. One of us will say family hug and everyone has to stop what their doing and gather for a group hug. Tonight as we did it, I felt such a spirit of love and harmony in our home. It was such a sweet moment in our little family and a mental picture I hope I can keep with me forever. I don't know how many more family hugs we will have before Spencer gets here and is joining us for this family tradition but I am grateful for tonight. I am thankful for the reminder that it is the small everyday moments that make life sweet and that I should not be so focused on some future event that I miss the precious moments of the day to day.

Living the good life!

This week has been super busy for our little family. Nolan is in his second week of school and it looks like it is going to be a busy semester. Plus the first weeks of work post a very long, fun holiday have definitely been an adjustment. I feel so bad because this week he had to meet with several of the students he is over and review there standing at school and with the Navy and although he never complains about it, I know it has to be super stressful for him. Especially since he had to kick 2 students out of the Navy this week alone. Poor guy! Anyway, after a very long week of work I am sure he was secretly wishing he could veg out this weekend but alas he ended up helping me out all day. So I am going to take this minute to brag about how awesome and loving my hubby is! I have been so tired and fatigued this week and our house has really suffered. So I had a long to-do list of jobs around the house that needed to get done. This morning Maddie woke up at 6:15am and came right into our room, expecting like always for us to just wake up and play with her. This of coarse didn't happen, poor thing. She ended up watching cartoons in the chair next to our bed until Nolan got up with her around 7 because she was hungry. With her out of the room I was able to fall right back to sleep and Nolan let me sleep in until past ten o'clock. This was heaven to me but when I finally woke up I felt pretty guilty because I know Nolan would have loved to sleep in as well. When I came downstairs I realized Nolan hadn't just woken up with Maddie but he had straightened up the whole down stairs, including sweeping and spotting the floor, wiping down the counters, and vacuuming our living room rug. I was so blown away. He had Maddie helping him and it was so cute because she was singing, "Saturday is a special day, it is the day we get ready for Sunday!" He then asked me what was on the rest of my to-do list and after I told him he started knocking out all of the chores on my list. He has been so worried I will over due myself that he barely let me help him today at all. By the end of the day he had cleaned the whole house. I mean we are talking vacuuming the whole house, sweeping the down stairs, doing dishes, deep cleaning all the bathrooms, and doing 5 load of laundry. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. He takes such good care of our family and is always willing to step up and help me out in anyway he can. I love him so much!!!! Anyway, after the work was done we went on a fun family outing to a local park and played until dinner time. It was a very productive day.

This week I have tried to get as much done as I can because Spencer could come at anytime. I took a tour of the new school I want Maddie to get into next year. It is called the Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies and it is super competitive and hard to get into. I had to fill out this application and if we meet all the requirements they will then schedule a time for Maddie to come in and get tested. She will have to take an oral test with two teachers who will ask her a variety of questions. About 200 students are applying for the PRE-K program and they only have 40 opening so she has to do really well to get in. I am really praying that she does because although I have loved her preschool this year, she hasn't really been pushed academically and this new school would definitely push her. This year was all about getting her use to being away from me a little everyday and to help her develop her social skills. We have seen such a dramatic improvement in her these last few months because she is in preschool. She is so much more confident and independent. This new school is amazing because they start Kindergarden material midway through the year and most the kids coming out of their pre-k program are reading and are more then kindergarden ready. So we are keeping our fingers crossed for that.

Another thing I got out of the way this week was Maddie was due for her 4 year old well child checkup which we did yesterday. Let me tell you how much I did NOT want to schedule this doctors appointment. I knew it was going to be hard and because I am pregnant and a lot more sensitive then normal I had a really hard time making the call. But I did make the call and yesterday was the deaded day. It was such a long and awful appointment. Maddie was so sad and it took everything in me not to cry. I had to hold her down while they not only took blood from her finger but gave her a total of 6 shots. 3 in each arm. It was the worst ever. I am glad she wont need anymore shots for a while.

The last thing I will share is something super cute maddie has been doing lately. Usually she tells me how much she loves me after I tell her that I love her but recently she has started to just tell me out of the the blue. We will be driving in the car just listening to music or talking and she will say, " Momma, I love you!" and it just melts my heart. Then I usually say, "I love you more!" and she will say. "I love you most!" Another thing she does is she will tell me how much she misses me all the time. I mean we will even be hanging out and she will say, "Momma, I am missing you already." and I will ask her why because we are hanging out and she will reply, "Because I know that we are going to be apart soon and I always miss you. Like when I am at preschool and daddy's." It is just beyond sweet. Another thing Nolan just reminded me that I wanted to share was a conversation Maddie and I have been having all week.
Maddie: Momma, how can I make all my dreams come true?
Me: Well that is what I am here for. To help all your dreams come true.
Maddie: I really want all my dreams to come true. Well only the good ones!
Me: Maybe we could sit down together and write down some of your dreams so we can make them come true.
Maddie: How do we make them come true?
Me: Well depending on the dream, you have to work really hard, and be dedicated to making it come true and if you do that then maybe they will
So this week she has brought up various dreams she has and at first I wondered if they would be childish like wanting a new puzzle or a pony or something but they are a lot bigger then that. She told me this week that when she grows up she wants to first be a pilot so she can ride on airplanes whenever she wants and then after that she wants to be an astronaut so she can go into space. She is so much fun! I love my family so much!!!

Wow, I am the worst blogger EVER!!!

So I have decided that I am probably the worst blogger ever, but oh well. I have embraced it and am moving on. I will do my best to be better about it this year but we will see. I have realized that the reason I am not a huge blogger is because I feel like I have to say something important or profound and lets be honest, that is a lot of pressure. So karen suggested that I just write about cute or funny things Maddie does or says and that sounded pretty good to me.
Lately, I feel like all of my conversations with Maddie have been about 3 topics, Marriage, Babies, and Death!!!! No I am not joking! She is obsessed with all of these subjects. She is such a curious girl and wants to understand the ins and outs of everything. Especially with me being pregnant she has been talking about how she wants to have a ton of babies when she grows up. Everyday the number of babies she is going to have changes. Someday it is only 12 or 13 but sometimes she wants to compete with the Duggers and have in the 20's. It cracks me up. Luckily she finally understands that I am not going to have that many because at first that is how many she wanted me to have. So with her talking about this desire to have babies I told her that she had to get married before she could have any babies and the very next day she started asking this little boy who is in her church and preschool class to marry her. For the first couple of weeks he kept saying no and she was really upset and she would come home everyday and tell me that she asked Carson to marry her and that he said no. However, after a little discussion with his mom who is a really good friend of mine, Carson finally agreed to marry her and let me tell you how excited she is. She talks about how they are going to get married in the temple and that she wants to marry him so that they can play together all the time. It is pretty precious.
The other topic she wants to discuss all the time is death. It sort of makes me sad how worried she is about it. We have these multi volume Book of Mormon scripture books we read together every night before bed. We are on the sixth book and pretty much someone has died in every book so far. The other thing about these books are that they have pretty graphic pictures on every page. So when we read about Jesus being Crucified there is a picture of him on the cross. Or we are about to read about Abinadi and there is a picture of him being burned at the stake. So I think Maddie now has a very violent idea of what death is like. She is always asking me when I am going to die and who is going to take care of her when I die. I keep trying to tell her that I am not going to die for a really long time and that when I do she will be old and married but because she doesnt fully understand time yet, I dont think my reassurance is helping. Tonight we talked about it again. Here was our converstaion.
Maddie: Mom, once we die we cant come back to earth huh?
Me: No not until the Savior comes back to earth
Maddie: If I die and I go to heaven will you still be my mother?
Me: Yes I will still be your mother but I am your earth mother and when you go to heaven you will get to see you Heavenly Mother and Father.
Maddie: Momma, if we both die and I am in heaven sitting in a chair will you come sit next to me?
Me: Of coarse Maddie, I will always sit next to you!

The last thing I wanted to share tonight is how excited I am for our little guy to get here. I am so ready for him to be born and start being apart of our family. It is such a interesting feeling to realize that I don't ever have to share this child with anyone, beside Nolan of coarse. I never have to be away from him unless I chose too. It is a wonderful and somehow a weird feeling because it has not been the norm in my life up to this point. Anyway, we are so excited!!!! Here is a short video of my stomach. As you can see Spencer is very active and it is sort of hard to see but he has the hiccups which he has had 3 times today alone. Good Times!!!!