On My Own

Today my parents left to go home. It was a sad moment for me because they have been here the past week. I convinced my mom to stay a week & miss her 1st week of teaching (what kid really learns anything new in their 1st week of school?). And my dad was able to come along as well. It was so nice having them around to love on Elliot non-stop. She'll probably go into withdraws without them around. My mom cleaned & cooked for us every day. The first thing they did was go to the store since our fridge was empty (we did go to the store right before the baby came). When they got back it was packed so full of food, that I had no idea how we would eat it all (but we did). And my dad got the best of both worlds by having to do nothing but play with the baby.

Now it's up to me to do everything myself! We'll see how hard that will be. Thanks mom & dad for coming! And thanks Uncle Justin & Aunt Jaymie for swinging by as well! We can't wait to see you guys soon!

Photo Shoot

I tried taking some pictures of Elliot, but it was a little harder to catch her in the moment. I need one of those cameras that takes the picture right when you press the button. Since mine has a delay, these were the best I could do.

First Bath

We decided to give Elliot a bath tonight. As you can see, she wasn't having it.

Is this not the saddest face ever?

All snuggled up & worn out.

Going Home

I was so glad to get out of the hospital today! I had stayed 3 nights & 3 full days & had major cabin fever, mainly from today. Lane had to go to class, so I was stuck in the room all day by myself. I was bored out of my mind! We had thought we would leave early this morning, but the pediatrician ordered an echo because she heard a murmur. I spent the entire day waiting for them to come get Elliot & they finally did at 4:15. The results came back & she has what they call Pulmonary Stenosis. Basically one of her valves is too small, making it hard for the blood to flow through. It sounds a lot worse than it is. It's pretty common. She also has a hole in her heart, which is common as well. I had a hole in my heart too when I was born & it fixed itself. We go to a cardiologist in 2 weeks, so I'll wait to think about it then.

Here we are before leaving. Everyone is dressed up but me :(

Caught mid-yawn

More Pictures

I realize that all of these pictures pretty much look the same, but oh well. So far Elliot is very alert, holds her head up from my chest pretty well & loves to suck on things, especially her hands. She's also pretty grabby. She's always grabbing at her face, which makes me nervous. I'm afraid she's going to gouge her eyes out. She's a pretty content little girl except when you changer her diaper.

Elliot Reese

Elliot arrived 10 days early! She was born on August 18, 2009 at 1:41 PM. She weighs 6 lbs 9 oz & is 19 3/4 inches long. I've already told you how I got into labor, so let me tell you how everything went. I was progressing nicely. I held off for 2 hours before getting the epidural. I have to say my contractions were about a 9. I had a wonderful night nurse & a great anesthesiologist who did my epidural. I was comfy all night long. However I didn't sleep a wink, which was annoying. By the time morning arrived my nurse changed & things went downhill from there. They started the pitocin around 8am. But about an hour later, my epidural machine was malfunctioning & I ended up going with out for over an hour. I was NOT a happy camper. I was so frustrated I started bawling. Reason being that my new nurse couldn't figure out how to fix it. And the new anesthesiologist wasn't listening to me. I kept telling here that every time I clicked my button, nothing would happen. She tried telling me that I was wrong & pretty much didn't know what I was talking about. So while I was in tremendous pain, Lane went out there & talked to a different doctor & said they were being ridiculous. She then came in & fixed everything...love her! But it did take some time to get back to comfortable. From there things weren't so bad. I was completely dilated & effaced around 9am. but they wanted to wait a while because the baby's head was facing up & they wanted it sideways. So by 11am she hadn't changed positions, but my nurse had me go ahead & practice pushing to get things started. After 1 try, she had to go do something & 1.5 hours later she came back! At this point I was in tears yet again because she was no where to be found & I think my epidural was wearing off AGAIN! Not to mention the fact I would kill for some water. I hadn't had food or drink for about 18 hours at this point. Finally around 12:45 pm they gave me another shot of pain reliever & we started pushing again. My doctor was called & we kept pushing. And Elliot was here shortly after! So if you take away the epidural not working twice, everything went smoothly. I was so surprised how easy it was to push her out. Lane & I are extremely proud parents, but I still don't think it's sunk in yet.
Here are some pictures...

The fam

I love the hospital hat with a bow

First picture

Me & my doc. Excuse the inappropriate outfit. Lane didn't crop.

Admitted

I had my doctor's appointment today & I was 80% effaced & 2 cm dilated. She was pretty rough down there when she was checking. After I left, I started having pains. I just figured it was because of the exams. But the pains (contractions) continued from 3pm & are still going on. So we decided to come into the hospital once they were 3 minutes apart for about an hour or so. Luckily I was not turned away & am currently in my room. I'm not dilated to a 3, but I probably won't have Elliot until tomorrow. My water is still in tact. I have to say I HATE contractions! And I get pretty snippy. An epidural sounds good right about now!

Swollen

Normally I would NEVER post pictures of my feet (I get teased about them constantly...Mike & Regina), but I had to for documentation purposes. As you can see, they are SO SWOLLEN! I've always had thick ankles due to spraining both of them twice in the past. But this is beyond that. I don't even have ankle bones anymore. They resemble something more along the lines of tree stumps. I have to say they haven't looked like this for too long, maybe just the past couple of weeks, which I am thankful. Anyway, this is just one of the many perks you get for being pregnant :)

Date Night

Lane & I decided to have a little date night since it will be our last weekend alone. We didn't do anything original, just a movie & dinner. We saw The Time Traveler's Wife (bring your tissues). I have to say I didn't love the movie, but it was ok. It was just nice to spend some time together.

37 weeks 4 days

I had another growth scan today & Elliot is in the 35th percentile. Right now she weighs 5 lbs 14 oz. If she holds out until the induction, she should probably be around 6 lbs 8 oz which I think is pretty average. Although I'm only dilated to a 2, I am 70 percent effaced. My doctor made it sound like she wouldn't be surprised if she comes early. Maybe because I went from 50 % to 70% in a week? I don't know. But I know of several people who have been dilated to a 2 & stay that way for weeks, so who knows.

Plug

I just wanted to give a quick plug to my friend Crystal. She makes the cutest things! She made me the most precious dress ever for Elliot (above). She recently opened her Etsy store. Right now she only has 5 dresses posted, but they are all adorable & until August 15th, they're on sale for only $15. You can't beat that! Her stuff is totally professional looking, so check it out & pass along to anyone with little girls!

I guess the "check it out" link isn't working. Here is her website: http://frivolousnecessity.etsy.com

Baby Shower #2

I'm so lucky to have made such good friends during my 2 years in Houston. Today I was given a baby shower by my close friends from church. They did such a great job. I received so many wonderful gifts. Elliot is truly spoiled already!

I love clotheslines because you always get to keep the clothes!

Jenny made this awesome diaper cake. The bottom layer is a really comfy blanket!

The food was delicious. My favorite food is Mexican, so why not have it at my shower, right?

Here's one of the games we played. I guessed it would take at least 15 pieces of toilet paper to go around me, but it ended up being only 9 & I'm ok with that. We also played a celebrity baby game. Lauren made a slide show of celebrity baby pictures with only the last name written. We had to name the baby & the parents. Even though I wasn't eligible to win the prize, I have to say I smoked the competition! Maybe I shouldn't brag about that.

Due Date

I just got a call from my doctor's office saying my induction is scheduled for August 19th at 5pm, so Elliot should be here on the 20th! Wow, it's official. Now I just have to wait. I am glad I know when it's going to happen (unless she comes early). That way the guy who gives the epidurals will be informed ahead of time that he'll be needed (haha). Plus, I don't really like surprises where I don't know what's going on. It makes me feel like I'm driving in rush hour traffic in a strange city...not fun!

36 weeks 5 days

Another appointment has passed. This was the quickest one yet...in & out in 30 minutes. She felt around down there for what seemed like forever! She was having a hard time because the baby is SO LOW & I guess pushing down on everything. But she's in a great position. I'm only 50% effaced & there's pretty much no dilation going on. I did find out that my doctor is going on vacation a week before my due date. Great, my worst fear! So they're going to check her schedule to see if we can get induced a week early. I wouldn't mind knowing exactly when everything is going down, for planning purposes. I'm not holding my breath though because they apparently told all the other patients the same thing & she's probably booked up. So if that doesn't happen, then I'll just keep my fingers crossed that Elliot decides to stay put until my due date.