3 months already!

I've been really bad about keeping the blog updated since Miss Elliott arrived. One of my best friends (AMY) has been sure to remind me frequently that she is much better at the blogging game and has a much harder job (mommy to 3 and a nurse). So any excuses about not having time kinda don't work. With that said, I'm posting mostly pictures this time around because my child has colic and loves to fuss when I'm not holding her. Here's what has gone on since her birth in a brief slideshow....I've left out many of the ones of her screaming as to not scare those without babies and to not remind anyone who has had a colic-y one about how rough it was!

Briley came to visit on the same day Elliott had to begin phototherapy for Jaundice. We laughed that Briley didn't enjoy meeting her friend, and then I sobbed while taking the one of my poor baby in her tanning bed. It was really hard to not be able to hold her for those couple of days.

Here her color is starting to get better.

Her first bath. She LOVES them!

Taking a senior picture with Uncle Dangles at her first Groundhog softball game.

With Daddy (her favorite person). In the second one he is testing to see if she is hungry by sticking his nose near her mouth...if she latched on it was time to see mom.

At her sip-n-see with her G-Boo and GiGi

The Fam

Her newborn pictures with Nine Photography, our favorite people! She is actually closer to 3 weeks old.

Her 6 week pictures with 365 Photography (a rip off...when free turns into $400)

Hanging out with her cousins

Her and her BFF Briley

Just a couple of cute pics

At her first Ranger game (Chad's 10 yr reunion) eventhough the game got rained out.

With her BFF and Aunt Priss

She loves watching TV (football) with Daddy

At Alton and Becky's wedding in San Antonio (we only took a handful of pictures since she was not a happy camper during the trip)

Third Time is the Charm

After two trips to labor and delivery on the Thursday before Elliott's arrival (due to painful contractions) and being sent home, Chad and I were reluctant to go in on Sunday July 19. We spent the day celebrating Marla's birthday by seeing Harry Potter (3 of the longest, most terrible hours of my life) and then going to dinner. The contractions that started Thursday, after having the terb pump removed the day before, continued through the weekend...hurting about 70% of the time, but not getting any more intense then a 6 or 7 on a 10 scale for pain and not getting closer then 5-6 minutes apart. In fact, Sunday evening (after leaving the dinner early because I was hurting too bad to sit and eat...even to just sit) the contractions still were only every 4-6 minutes, I was just in too much pain to make it through the night, so Chad and I packed up and headed to the hospital. When we got there I was still only dialated to a 1, no progression since the Thursday night visit to l&d. They had me walk for 45 minutes and checked me again, no progress. They gave me a couple of pills for the pain, no relief. They checked me in overnight and gave me a shot of Demerol, some relief...and kept me until the doctor could see me in the morning (at this point it was about 4am, and he was expected around 7am or so). The doctor came in (not my doctor, but this was a relief since I ended up not liking him at all and was dreading that I would be in his care during labor...instead it was Dr.White (the same doctor that delivered LD for Trish)) and checked me and I had progressed to a 2 and my 'membranes' were bulging so he went ahead and broke my water (gross). I thought I was in pain before with the contractions, but they immediatley intensified both in the front and in my back. I was sobbing and thrashing about in my bed for about 45 minutes waiting on the epidural. Threatened Chad that if his mom came in with a camera I'd be pissed, almost didn't want to call my family and let them know that Elliott would be making her appearance by the days end because I didn't want anyone to see me like that (I would compare this entire scene to something out of the Excorcist). Of course, once the epidural was in I was dilated to a 5 and very relaxed...ready for visitors. Mel, Dan and Briley stopped by for a visit...things were going well. At noon they came in and told me to let them know if I felt any pressure, Trish was on her way up so that she could be our photographer (since my Dad had first dibs, but was in Iowa for his mardi gras on bikes ride across the state -RAGBRAI, Trish was the only person I would even consider having by my side...no offense Mom, but I know you too well and your worrying would make me worry more), my mom and Marla were there hanging out. Trish got there with the boys and since Grayson hadn't eaten, Mom, Trish and G went to the cafeteria for lunch. Marla stayed in the room watching little D. I looked at Chad and told him that I thought I might be feeling pressure, but since I was completely numb was having a hard time telling. Chad told me that the nurses were gonna be back in 15 minutes and just to wait. I waited about 5 and told him that I thought we should call them, Marla called Trish to let her know they were checking me. Dr. Gagnon came in and said it was go time. Marla gathered up baby D and tried to get out of the room, called Trish and told her to get upstairs asap. Dr. Gagnon had me do a couple of test pushes, told me I'd be pushing about an hour and left. Marla called Trish and told her I'd be pushing, but it would be a while....Trish was trying to find an elevator or stairs since the elevator they took downstairs was no longer working. Marla was still in the hallway gathering everything to take to the waiting room, I'm pushing with the nurses in the room and Chad by my side, when they tell me to stop and page Dr. Gagnon. As he came rushing back, Marla called Trish again and told her to hurry. Mom, Trish and G make it back upstairs. Mom and Marla gather the boys and head towards the waiting room. Trish gets the camera ready, Chad is still by my side, and after 7 hours of labor and about 5 minutes of pushing...Elliott arrives-7 pounds, 21 inches, full head of hair (darker than either of ours...Tracy has some explaining to do), and screaming. Mom and Marla had not even made it down the hall yet. I guess after 9 weeks of contractions, Elliott was ready to come out and play. NICU nurses were standing by because she was 4 weeks early, they laid her on my tummy for a second and then got to work on checking her and cleaning her up. They let us know that her breathing was not where they wanted it to be, but not bad...they'd be keeping her for 4 hours in NICU to monitor her. Chad went with Elliott to NICU, and came back with the news that she would be there overnight. It was very surreal to have had a baby, but not have her with us...not get to hold her. It was difficult to tell people not to come visit because there wouldn't be a baby to see. Elliott spent the first 15 hours in NICU on oxygen and a feeding tube, they removed them the next morning and began bottle feeding her. We were able to go visit at 11am, and Chad held Elliott for the first time (I cried)...since she was taking the bottle so well, we were able to try to breast feed her at her 2pm feeding (Chad missed this due to a quick trip home turned to a 5 hour deal due to a flat tire and no jack), since she did so good on that they brought her to us at 5pm and we were able to go home the next afternoon. Below are pictures from the hospital and Elliott's trip home. Another blog to follow soon with updates on the past 3 weeks. Tracy really got on a roll here and I can't imagine a detail that has been left out...so I'll chime in more on the next one.

T Minus ???

Well, we're finally making that final sprint to the finish line. Tracy gets taken off the meds tomorrow and this baby could be spitting out at anytime after that. I'm hoping she hangs out in that baby cave for another 3-4 weeks though. Sounds like Pat Swayze is really struggling so I'm not ruling out that she outlasts his life and he is reincarnated as my daughter. She will no doubt be born with the ability to dance provocatively and surf with Keanu Reeves. Regardless, I've got to feel more comfortable bringing her into a Michael Jackson-less world.

This entire pregnancy has been a lot tougher than we expected. (Really, it hasn't been too difficult, I've felt fine the entire time, but didn't enjoy being stuck with a needle every 3 days. And, I guess I'm not a very good bedrest patient, I've been extremely bored, but other than that....I can't complain). First Tracy starts getting contractions more often than Zantjer creeps out my co-workers (IMPOSSIBLE), then we spend a week at the hospital (where I watched Weekend at Bernie's and was very disappointed...was I just at an impressionable age before?), then Tracy is put on a medicine pump. It's got me thinking that it's time for a significant change in the human race. You know why chickens and lizards handle pregnancy so well? That's right, they simply lay an egg then monitor it for a while. Why can't we genetically enhance women to simply lay an egg right off the bat, stick it under a heat lamp, and play the waiting game? We can land on the moon, make moving pictures, clone a sheep, and make Star Wars movies that look like cartoons. Why can't we make this happen? How about it Science??? (I'm usually not one to go along with Chad's crazy ideas, but this one I'm on board with....no getting fat, no watching what you eat (I really want a sandwhich and a corney dog), and no pushing a 7+ pound baby out the hooha...it's a great concept).

Not everything has gone wrong though. In fact, the shower couldn't have been better. We saw all of our friends, we received a lot of gifts, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Well, everyone except for Badger who may have permanently ruined his man region. I've got my fingers crossed that Bella will someday have a sibling. (Because, honestly, what is better at a baby shower than a keg and drunk guys playing an invented game called "Man-Part"?!?! Go here to watch a short video clip of the punishment phase of the game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTghne7uFR0)

We've also made a lot of progress on Elliott's cribless nursery. Lots of drama where that was concerned....the crib won't be here until mid-August now, but the rest of the nursery is as done as it can be until I know how much room the crib will really take up. (The crown is molded, the quarter is rounded, and the chandeliers are hung. Big ups to Kyle for his assistance. My unborn daughter officially has a nicer room than me but I feel like a carpentry genius. F you Bob Vila.) I've posted some pictures below....the blue painters tape shows the dimensions of Elliott's crib, I think we'll be getting a small side table for next to the rocker in front of the window, and the pink lamp will be moved over there. The last picture shows the fabrics that will become Elliott's bedding...I'm very I'm very pleased with how it's turned out, it's not often I'm able to pull my ideas together how I picture them.....this comes really close :)

We also had our maternity pictures done, so there are a couple posted below for yall to enjoy...the belly has definitely taken over at this point!!!

That said, we will have a new member of the family very soon and we are very excited. We're counting the days. We'll be having a Cupcakes and Cocktails Sip'n'See Open House pretty quickly after Elliott's born (probably within 3 weeks), so keep an eye out for those invites...I figure this is an easy way for everyone to be able to meet our new little one.

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)

Picture update (blog to follow later)

Here's a belly shot from 22 weeks and probably our last mini vacation before the baby is born....I'm sorry (Amy) it's taken me sooo long to get something up. I'll work on a blog entry soon, but thought I'd give yall something to look at in the meantime.

Baby Sones has girl parts

Several people have been telling me that I shouldn't refer to our baby as "our fetus." The problem is that I just didn't know what we were having. The good news is that it's been discovered and I can now refer to that maturing zygote as "our female fetus."

That's correct, we will be having a daughter. Our child will no doubt develop girlish tendencies such as getting really into Rainbow Bright, putting on make-up, enjoying the intolerable musings of Dane Cook, dreaming of being a cheerleader, and anything else Hutch is into these days.

Suddenly I'm surrounded by one certain, unavoidable fact. I will be in a home with 2 chicks at all times, complete with emotional baggage and competitive attitudes. I'm thinking of purchasing an armored suit I recently saw on the Discovery Channel. Some dude in Montana created it to fight bears but I think I could use it.

Honestly though, we're very excited about our female fetus and her belly cave has really grown in the past few weeks. And even though Tracy forced a smile when the Ultrasound tech said it was a girl, I know she is getting excited too. Girl Time of the Month Talk...here we come!

So, now that we know what we are having....get ready for posts on the nursery's progress. For those of you familiar with our house, Baby Sones' room will be the guest room (the green one) and is probably staying the color it is. I also have enlisted Christina's help in converting my current guest room bedding (which I love) into crib bedding. Marla (to be called Mar Mar by the baby), Mel, Mel's mom, and I will be going out to Canton in a couple weeks to go baby shopping....time to stock up on hairbows (if this child looks like me, she'll need the bows for a while, or at least until her hair grows long enough to not look clear in photos)!! Also, the belly shot above is from right after my 17 week appointment. As I'm coming up on 20 weeks you can tell I got pretty far behind....so no "wow she exploded" when I post the next round of pictures...that would just be mean :)