Elliott's Room

Elliott's room is in progress at this point (for those of you that have been to our house, she's going in the green room and it's staying that color). Her crib is purchased, but has not arrived yet. Our good friend, Tina, will be making her bedding for us out of fabrics that I found. For a sneak peek of our plans (which could still change) see the picture below...the floral fabric in the corner was the inspiration for the whole room, the green square is close to the colors of her walls, the right two lightfixtures are being debated between, but will hand above the glider. That's a picture of her crib in the middle, with pictures of a sheer curtain idea to the left and the glider to the right. The yellow piece of furniture is from ikea, it's actually advertised as a buffet, but we thought it would be a fun addition to her room (and since Uncle David and cousin Grayson put it together for us last week, I can say that it makes quite a statement). The bookshlef on the right will hang above the yellow buffet with artwork on either side of it, we may of may not put a changing table/dresser combo in the room (depends on what it looks like when the crib gets here). In the center at the bottom is a rug that's being considered and a neat light fixture from pbteen.com that I love. Fun Stuff....can't wait to start putting it all together!!!

Our Expensive Hotel Stay

Day three of bedrest begins, and I'm already bored......but since I haven't posted anything in a while, I guess I better explain how I got here.

I had a couple of contractions the weekend before last, but didn't really think anything of it. Monday came and I was still feeling a little off....Elliott (for those of you who didn't know, we did decide on a name Elliott Parker Sones) hadn't really moved much during the morning and I was getting concerned, she started moving around lunch time and the contractions I was having cleared up for the most part. Tuesday came and the contractions were back, not painful just a tightening feeling and shortness of breath. At lunch I called my doctor and was told to go home, lay down, and start timing them. Once I got home I had a contraction every 10-15 minutes, the nurse from my doctor's office called to check on me and advised me to go to labor and delivery. Since this is something Trish had to do with both Grayson and Little David, I wasn't really concerned....figured we'd be there for a couple of hours and sent home. Unfortunately, my contractions were actually every 2 minutes. I was given a shot of Terbutaline every hour for the first 3 hours and then evey 3 hours for about a day and a half....I was admitted to the hospital, hooked up to monitors, hooked up to an IV (my potassium level dropped and they thought I might have a UTI). Wednesday morning we were told I would be there one more night, they were trying to get me acclimated to a pill with a name that started with 'p.' The pill didn't work and I had to have more terb shots and had to take potassium drinks every 2 hours for 3 doses (nasty tasting stuff). My cervix was not shortening or dialating, though, which is good news. Thursday morning came and the doctor sounded like I was going to be released, then they hooked me up to the monitor one more time and I was still having contractions, so we had to stay one more night. I was released on Friday after discovering that the oral Terbutaline worked. Saturday, I had to report back to labor and delivery with more contractions (again, about every 2 minutes). Luckily, they listened to Chad and I and approved me taking the meds every 3 hours if needed instead of every 4, which seemed to do the trick. I was told that I would have at least a week of bedrest and needed to see the doctor on Monday. Yesterday I followed up with my doctor and was told that I would need to have weekly appointments with sonograms to check my cervix length (see Chad's this is a sonogram post), bi-weekly ffn tests (which check for a hormone that would let the doctors know if it was likely that I would be delivering within a 2 week range), I am now on bedrest until 34-35 weeks (about 6 weeks from now), and they are setting me up with a home monitoring thingy for contractions and a Terbutaline pump (something that is stuck in my leg and administers medicine continuously). I researched the pump this morning and freaked out a little, something about giving myself injections on top of having this thing stuck in my leg.....will have to call the doctor for more information before I can be comfortable with it!!! Elliott looked great the entire time in the hospital, so I keep telling myself that I can handle all of this as long as she is ok, and hopefully not too early.

Anywho, so I'm at home on bedrest and bored....I'm sure my work isn't pleased that I won't be returning until next October (assuming I still have Elliott in August and figuring in maternity leave time), but really I can't do anything about that. Chad's work isn't too pleased since he spent the bulk of last week with me in the hospital. The nursery isn't even started yet, but we are ordering the crib today. Really, we need Elliott to stay put because we aren't ready for her arrival yet, and she might look a little creepy at only 3 pounds. Keep us in your prayers!

So not even Ian Kinsler could provide me comfort this past week. I know what you're thinking - "Chad, it's selfish of you to think of yourself while Tracy is plugged up to an IV with nothing to do." Fair enough, but I'm like a 5 year old who constantly needs to be entertained. In fact, when Grayson came to visit at the hospital I noticed several parallels between the 2 of us. We both had the attention span of a 2 year old, we each had a burning desire to go outside, we both wanted everyone else's food, and we each accidentally went #1 in out pants.

It wasn't all bad, the nurses began bringing me breakfast and lunch trays when they would feed Tracy. And while it tasted sort of like cardboard, it really brought me back to my elementary school days. The worst part was sleeping in the chair that would have been a perfect fit for Vern Troyer, or Gary Coleman, or Romes. Actually I take that back, the worst part was the lack of respect. Well that and the fact that the TV didn't have volume. I found myself watching a lot of shows that were moderately entertaining without sound such as sporting events, Ninja Warrior, or Emmanuelle in Space.

So I'll concede that this was probably tougher for Tracy but please understand that I'm pretty high maintenance. And I do feel bad for her because she will soon become part-robot when doctors install some sort of pump to regulate her Terbutaline intake. Combine that with the fact that she doesn't even have a gall bladder and suddenly she's some armor and a gun away from becoming Robocop. If she starts acting strange like those robots in irobot then we'll probably just have to euthanize her early on to prevent any sort of cyborg uprising. I'm pretty sure Will Smith, Christian Bale, and Governor Arnold all have more important things to do these days.

On a lighter note, we have settled on a name: Elliott Parker. Everyone seems to have a similar response when I share her name. It's typically "Oh...isn't that a boy's name?" To which I now simply reply "Oh...shut up." Or sometimes we get a less aggressive but slightly more irritating "Elliot?...that's...different..." In order to make everyone feel a bit more comfortable with the name, I've compiled a list of famous Elliots and some reasons why they're admirable:

Dr. Elliot Reid - Not only is she our only female listed here, but she's also the only doctor. She completed med school and managed a successful career in the world of medicine. Unfortunately, she also suffers from severe low self-esteem, the occasional identity crisis, and behavior that borders the line of schizophrenia.

Elliott Smith - Successful musician who has affected millions with his moving songs about depression, addiction, and the struggles of life. He was even nominated for an Oscar in 1997 after he wrote the soundtrack to Good Will Hunting. Tragically, the depression, addiction, and struggles of life got the better of him in 2003 when he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the heart.

Elliot from ET - Apparently he doesn't have a last name...I checked. While only a child, he managed to foil the US Government and help an alien escape back to his home planet. Coincidentally, befriending ET brought on a deadly illness that nearly killed Elliot and caused his entire family unnecessary trauma. I can only imagine the political outcry and persecution he faced later in life for helping an extraterrestrial escape or a possible slow, painful death do to Alien radiation.

Sean Elliott - Successful basketball star who one NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs. Elliott was a major piece of the Spurs championship puzzle and is credited with being a hard worker. Sadly, he was diagnosed with kidney disease and nearly died in 2000. He retired from basketball, but not life, that same year.

Scott Elliott - Not the one of RHS fame, but the Scott Elliot of Toughman fame. Elliot made a name for himself by dominating the Toughman Boxing Circuit in 1999 and 2000. He was known for crushing knockouts and his wild style. Ironically, his career was ended in 2001 when he was wildly defeated by a crushing knockout. He has since battled chronic neck pain and a lifetime of brain injuries.

As you can see, there are multiple famous Elliotts. Who's going to argue with our name choice now?

And here's some pictures for your entertainment:

At Mel's first shower...Trish is 33 weeks, Mel is 31 weeks, and I'm at 23 weeks

At Trish's shower...Trish is at 34 weeks, Mel is at 32 weeks, and I'm at 24 weeks....it was a movie themed shower and so it was concession stand food...needed a picture of the preggos with pickles (too cliche)

Mel had another shower the following week, but said the picture of us is too ugly to post :(

I have a shower this weekend and will try to get more pictures up then (also, since I'm at home bored I'll try to get a nursery in the works post going)