Labor Day Weekend 2020

 At first I was bummed out we had a long weekend but no plans because we (and I wish this was everyone) don’t do groups of people during a pandemic. However, the weather cooperated - no humidity and nice temperature meant a lot of exploring our Nature Center. 

We finally checked out a smaller property of the Nature Center that is members only and further out in Goshen, OH. Much smaller amount of people. Some nice trails, and one that wove in and out of a creek. 

Meanwhile, Hannah does not have stamina on hikes which is a bummer. Tim and I love hiking and I will make Nora love it too 😄. We borrowed a carrier from a friend, but it’s not cutting it. Hannah is too tall and heavy (35lbs) for this carrier. 

I did some digging and found this: The Freeloader. It has a lot of good reviews from special needs families too! Although super expensive, we think it’s worth a shot. If it doesn’t work, we know we could resell it easily. 

Great Hannah Health News!

 Hannah had her ... 5th (?) sleep study last Friday evening. It was Tim’s turn up to bat. I was glad - after the first week of remote learning, donating blood that morning and just having a general heavy workload, I was able to have one-on-one time with Nora. 

We actually ate at a local Thai restaurant - we went right at 5pm and sat on the patio - the only customers! 

Hannah did fairly well and slept enough to get a good reading. 

The results came back already this week - Hannah’s apnea episodes went from 3 an hour down to 1! That’s huge - and without any changes in behaviors, surgeries, etc from last sleep study! 

We won’t go over the specifics until mid-October, but we can breathe easy. 

Now to try and focus on why she still gets up once a night... whether it’s behavior or what. We wordlessly walk her back every night and walk straight back out. 

I have added ferritin labs to her annual blood work. Low ferritin can cause sleep issues. 

So for now - good news!

SIX!

 I was super bummed the pandemic halted plans for Hannah’s birthday - I was so excited she’d made friends this past year and had planned on having Hannah’s first “friend” birthday... 

I tried to get creative, but nothing is the same as Hannah having a social birthday because that’s how she operates. 

So - it was just a quiet birthday at home. Nana & Papa stopped by the weekend before to drop off some baby doll accessory gifts that Hannah (and Nora!) loved. 

Hannah’s new classmate, Jordan, came down this week to play a little. Molly (the Mom) reiterated how happy she is we are around the corner. The girls enjoy each other and Jordan doesn’t know Hannah has Down syndrome. 

So Happy Birthday Hannah Banana - every year you grow and blossom and prove you can meet expectations! 

First Week of School

 Lots of learning and flexing and more adapting this week as we step our toes into remote learning for the semester. 

Nora will be sitting with us in our bedroom (WFH office 👎) so that we can oversee her work and help her as needed. Why our bedroom? Only the bedrooms have doors to close. We have a 3rd floor but it’s hot as Hades during the summer. (Our HVAC isn’t strong enough to cool all three of our floors which is a story for another day) Tim is okay working in the unfinished basement - I am not. I need daylight.

Our caregiver and Hannah will be on the first floor and we don’t want to be a distraction. 

On the first day, the neighborhood Moms wanted to take their annual 1st Day Photo. We aren’t bus riders, but I appreciated the inclusion! I’ve enjoyed slowly getting to know all the other elementary families and like feeling included. 

Learning Nora’s new school platforms (Schoology, Flipgrid, etc), where to find her assignments, Google Meets, gathering passwords, has been a learning process this week. We have Facebook groups for all our district’s remote grades. It’s actually quite helpful. 

Our caregiver is taking Hannah to her house for afternoon Kindergarten. Again - less of a distraction. Mentally, if Hannah is in a new space, she understands it’s time for school. So far it seems like it’s going well. 

Monday afternoon we had a knock at the door. A woman, Molly, from down the street came over with her daughter, Jordan. They wore masks which I totally appreciated and thought was very polite. Molly had run into Tim and Hannah on a walk not long ago. On the Kindergarten video class, Molly saw Hannah and was excited to see her. She walked around the corner with Jordan to re-introduce themselves. It meant so much to me. I’ve worried that Hannah would have no classmates/playmates in our neighborhood and it makes happy to know there’s a girl in Hannah’s grade a few houses down. 

The following morning, Molly texted to say Jordan woke up happy and excited she met a new friend 😭

Learning curves, getting used to new schedules, but slowly getting our footing.

Christine’s Health - Special Edition!

To start, I’ve been very clear two children was my cap. My ObGyn was one of few “natural” OBs in the Cincinnati area - also in Springdale. Since I’m done having children, it felt unnecessary to travel that far, plus I can give up my “spot” for another patient. 

I found a great new Gyno closer, also close to my age. 

I brought some flags up to her: 

1. I’ve been having hot flashes for approximately a year and 
2. I haven’t had my cycle since Halloween 2019

We did some lab work and it turns out my estrogen is barely in normal range. So turns out I’m a rare case of early / premenopause! Bonkers. 

However, I can’t begin hormone therapy until after they remove .... the 6cm cyst found on my left ovary! Ta-da! So come Oct 16th, I’m headed in for laparoscopic surgery to remove the cyst and ovary. 

Recovery is two weeks which is a lot. And takes up essentially all my PTO for the rest of the year 😕I’m not used to being the one in our family who is admitted for a procedure. Nor am I ready to rest for two weeks. Everyone knows I’m a busybody, so this will be interesting. 

And I have to get a COVID test pre-surgery to boot. Boo.

Mini Getaway

 Our caregiver took a week off so to ease the balance of taking care of the girls while working, we took two days of the week off and headed to my parents for an escape to the woods and river. 

We took a trip into downtown Tipp City, which I’m not sure I’d been to since maybe my 20s? We enjoyed seeing a few shops and played in the town playground. 

The second day we got on the river for the 3rd year in a row. This year Nora and I shared a double kayak. Nora did a great job helping paddle - soon she’ll be able to maneuver on her own!