Graduation

Yesterday was Mason's preschool graduation. He has been waiting for this day for quite some time! They had a small ceremony where they sang a few songs and received their diplomas. Afterward they had some cupcakes and punch. Grandma Luckritz and Grandpa Jim were able to come celebrate with Allegra and me. Ben was unable to attend as he was working. I was very lucky to get any pictures as my camera battery had died and so had my back up battery. I did manage to get a few but I had to take them as quick as I could. Here is a picture of the proud graduate!

Now he can't wait to start kindergarten!

Same Day Surgery

Not only did I go the the ER last Wednesday for a kidney stone, I revisited them in the early morning hours Thursday for more excruciating pain! The ER doctor had said that I had passed my "smaller" stone but I did have a BIGGER stone. He was going to consult with the urologist a little later in the morning and call me at home. Both doctors had called me at home. The urologist had said that she was pretty sure I wasn't going to pass the stone since it didn't move much in two days. Pretty much the only way to get rid of it was to have a laser procedure to blast the stone. I was glad to hear that I could get rid of it instead of just waiting. Only I had to wait for Monday to have the procedure as the laser that is used is from a different company. It was early afternoon Friday by the time we even decided this was the route we had to go. I had to put up with this wonderful pain all weekend! I did have pain medication from the ER visit I could take, a heating pad, and drank LOTS and LOTS of water that would help me with the pain. I was pain free Saturday and most of Sunday as I had drank so much water. I had the procedure today and everything went well! The stone has been blasted and it should all be gone within a week, hopefully less! I have a follow up appointment in a few weeks and hopefully I will be done going to the doctor and enjoy the rest of my leave!

ER Visit

Apparently I'm not finished having complications from having a baby. I had a check up Monday for my blood pressure and liver enzymes and they came back normal! However, around 1:30 this morning, I woke up to severe back pain. Ben took me to the emergency room and I found out I have a kidney stone. The doctor said since I am nursing, I am becoming dehydrated and that caused the stone. I feel like I am in labor all over again! I've never had a kidney stone and never want one again! He said I should be able to pass it on my own. I have a pain medicine I can take if needed and I need to drink lots of water to help it pass faster. I have to throw away my milk if I take tha pain medicine. I don't like wasting it like that. I'm really hoping that it passes soon! This is not how I expected to spend my maternity leave!

It's a girl!

Allegra Lee Luckritz was born April 30, 2011 at 5:02 pm. She was 8 lbs. 0.8 oz. and 19 inches long.

I know this announcement is a little late, but we have been trying to adjust to our newest lifestyle so that doesn't leave too much time for the computer anymore.

Ben has been working a two week shutdown at work and has been working nights. When we found out about the shutdown, my biggest fear was going into labor while he was at work. Well, sure enough, Allegra decided to start making her grand enterance in the early hours of the morning. I called Ben at work about 3 am and told him he needed to come home because my water broke. Marc had been staying at our house off and on while Ben was working just in case we needed to head to the hospital in the middle of the night to be there for the boys. He just happened to be staying that night! Ben came home, and off to the hospital we went.

Mom came to our house later that morning to take care of the boys. Jasper had a baseball scrimmage they went to and they played outside. Once Allegra was born, Ben went home to take a shower, eat and get the boys. He waited until they got to the hospital to tell them if it was a girl or a boy. The nurse brought Allegra into the room after the boys had come and Jasper read the crib card that said she was a girl. They were really excited! They couldn't wait to hold her.

Allegra is the only girl on the Luckritz AND Jacobs side. I have a feeling she is going to be one spoiled little girl! Her big brothers and daddy are going to be so protective of her too. Even the doctor said she wasn't going to have any dates when she's older.

It was a long day, but well worth it! Allegra is just perfect!

Baby update

Recently I have been having problems with my blood pressure and swelling. I was put on bed rest a week and a half ago to prevent labor as I was not at term yet. They have been doing lab work and monitoring the baby twice a week now to make sure everything is still fine. My swelling has pretty much gone away and my blood pressure has been lowering. I now have a problem with elevated liver enzymes. They don't have an answer as to what can cause that, it's just something that can happen in late pregnancy. My levels go up and down within just a few days. Now that I will be 37 weeks tomorrow, they can induce me if my levels continue to go up.

Those aren't the only issues I've had with this small blessing that has yet to make it into this world. I mentioned to the doctor on Monday that any ultrasound that I have had, the baby has been breech. That caught his attention and said that we could do a c-section. I do not want a c-section if at all possible so he suggested we do a basic xray for the quickest way to find out the position of the baby. Sure enough, baby was totally breech. So today, Ben and I made a trip to the hospital so they could do an external version where they "flip" the baby into proper position. I have heard this maneuver hurts like crazy, but I was determined to do it. An ultrasound tech came in to find the position of the baby. She couldn't believe the strange position of the baby and didn't know how the doctor was going to move it. This made me a little nervous. Doctor pushed and turned my belly a little, probably wasn't even five minutes, then he said he thought it had moved. Low and behold, it had turned! It was nothing like I expected. My nurse said that was the easiest version she has ever seen. Woo hoo! I had to be monitored for two hours afterward to make sure baby's heartbeat was fine and to make sure the move didn't cause labor to begin.

I go for another appointment on Thursday for more labs, etc. and we will see what he says. If things are elevated again, then we may have a baby very soon!

First Communion

We have been blessed to have celebrated Jasper's first communion. At our church, the pastor allows children to take communion as long as the parents agree to it without having taken the class. Jasper was very interested to start participating in communion. I had asked him if he knew what communion was about when he first asked and he had the basic idea. I told him he still had to take a class to learn a little more about it. The pastor held a class and he was the only one to participate. It was kind of nice that way. They also made unleavened bread to share on Maunday Thursday. He had fun taking the class and making the bread.

He was so excited that he could invite grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. to share in his night. Our family that was there with us got to join Jasper in the front of the church when he received his first communion and when he had the opportunity to give communion to Ben and me. He also got to share with his "supporters." Jordan is one of his sponsors and was able to take a night off of work to join us.

After the service, we had a small family reception with juice and cake.

We are very proud that Jasper was so eager to learn about such a special event and what Jesus did for us.

Patience

I continually have to remind the boys about using their patience for different things. It would be a good idea to practice what I preach! This has been a very frustrating nine months and I'm starting to lose my patience! I can't wait for it to come to an end with a cute little baby. My patience has been tested with serveral sinus issues, headaches, itchy skin, trouble with my hips out of place and a touch of the flu last week. Now to top it all off, I have extreme swelling in my feet and my blood pressure has been starting to go up. My NP wants to start seeing me weekly just to keep an eye on my blood pressure. I'm hoping to not have to stop working too early because of blood pressure problems. I would rather be off longer after the baby is born. I just have to be patient for about a month longer!