More Pictures

 

Today is our first day at home. We got here around 2:30pm. We stopped by my parents house first because Elliot is staying with them. I think that has been the hardest part. I miss my girl! I'm fine being apart for 1 day, but anything more is too much. I feel so bad. I worry she'll wonder why she's not with us. She's spending the night with her cousins tonight, so I know she's super excited about that. It will just be me missing her I guess. Luckily tomorrow she'll be back with us full time and we can get into a good routine.

Davis Reid

I started contracting every 6 minutes around 5:30pm on Thursday, October 6^th. We hung out at my parents’ house with Elliot until around 8pm. At that point the contractions were coming every 4 minutes. I got settled into Labor & Delivery triage around 9pm. Apparently everyone & their dog decided to have their baby tonight because there were no empty rooms. So I had to labor in triage for 2 hours! I normally wouldn’t mind, but at 9pm my contractions were every 2 minutes. Luckily Lane kept me busy with his comedy act.  And by the time I got into my room, they were every 20 seconds. And keep in mind I couldn’t get my epidural until I was in a room. And they had to monitor the baby for at least 20 minutes before allowing me to have it. Plus it takes about 20 minutes to kick in. So needless to say I was in excruciating pain. I may or may not have bawled waiting for the relief to come. I was sure that I was going to have the baby before they could put it in. Luckily that wasn’t the case. Once everything started working, it was probably midnight. My legs felt like a rubber chicken to the touch and I couldn’t will them to move if I wanted to. When the nurse lifted my gown to insert the catheter, her eyes widened. I had lost my mucus plug, my water had broken, and you could see the baby’s head. All along I had no idea. That’s how numb I was. I couldn’t even feel any pressure. The nurse wasn’t sure if I’d be able to push since I had no feeling in my bottom half, but we got my doctor in there anyway and gave it a go. Two sets of pushes later, Davis entered the world at 1:16am on Friday, October 07, 2011. He weighed in at 7 pounds 4 ounces. He measured 20 inches long. I gained a total of 22 pounds with him. I find that odd because I gained 32 pounds with Elliot and she was 11 ounces lighter. Strange. Anyway, he is absolutely perfect.

39 Weeks

 

Today is the day before the BIG day. You would think that I'd have great things planned. Instead, I vacuumed the house and decided it would be a good time to rid my closet of maternity clothes, things to give away to Goodwill and give it a good reorganization. Aahh, now that's done. I can move on.

I met with my OB today and I'm still dilated to a 2. She went ahead and stripped my membranes. Let me just say...OUCH! Not a pleasant experience. I've been contracting about every 6 minutes for the past 2 hours, so maybe today will actually be the BIG day. We'll see. I put myself on a liquid diet today. Although I did just eat a drumstick and a few bites of cheesecake. But that's it for me. You can look at it 2 ways...liquid diet = a better chance for a cleaner delivery (if you know what I mean). Or you could eat like there's no tomorrow since you can't be sure when you'll get food/drink again. I'm choosing the first.

Things about being pregnant this past week...shaving is next to impossible. I made sure to do it today, but I'm pretty much shaving blind. I can barely swing my leg up onto the shower wall. What else...my belly button is almost nonexistent. It hasn't popped out, but it's not an innie. It looks so weird. Like a small dot. Very strange. Sleeping has been horrible. I'm still camping out on the couch, but even that is not very restful. I wake up every few hours. This past week I've been extra emotional. The other day I cried twice. Although my reasons were justified, I would never have done that under normal circumstances. I probably would have just gotten ticked off.

Last picture as family of 3

We're actually at my parents house right now. We are dropping Elliot off for the weekend. I feel so sad about leaving her. I wish she could stay in the hospital with us, but I know she will be much happier here. She won't know what hit her when she comes to see us and finds another kid! I thought we would be gone by now, but since I'm contracting regularly, we might as well hang out for a little while longer and just head into the hospital. More updates to come!

Pumpkin Patch

I was so excited to take Elliot to the Flowermound Pumpkin Patch. I have heard that there's lots of fun things to do. We met up with my sister & her kids. The girls had a blast. I tried to take lots of pictures but Elliot is at that age where she won't look at the camera, and when she does, there is no smile. These were the best I got.

38 Weeks

I had my 38 week  appointment today. First I had my ultrasound. I asked her if I could get some pictures this time around. She said that since it's so close to my due date that I probably wouldn't because the baby is too big. Case & point...see picture below.

 This is the back of his head. Ha!

Sorry I look like trash in this picture, but I didn't think to take one until I had already gotten undressed. Oh well, at this point I don't care.

Nothing new to report, except that I am 2cm dilated & Davis is weighing in at 7 pounds 2 ounces (sheesh!). The doctor said she was surprised he's measuring that big. That scares me a bit. I have 1 more appointment the day before my induction. She's going to strip my membranes & hopefully that will get things going. Davis should be here Friday or Saturday!

Daddy Daughter Time

I just thought this picture was cute. Elliot LOVES Lane's hats & they are constantly lying around the house because she plays with them so much. The other day she insisted that Lane wear a hat & then she followed suit.

36 weeks 5 days

I found a few maternity pictures on Pinterest that I liked, so here's one that I tried to recreate.

Another quick check up today. She checked me & said his head is down, but I am not dilated yet. That actually surprised me. I was sure I would be. As of October 7th, if Davis hasn't arrived, I will be induced. I'll be 39 weeks at that point. I cannot wait! Hopefully he'll come before that, but at least I have a deadline. Next week I'll go back for an appointment & sonogram. I will make sure they give me pictures this time around. So I hope I will make it to that point because I really want those pictures. I know that's silly, but whatever.

Things about the past 2 weeks...I have had to pee so much! I know that is totally normal, but last time around it was the complete opposite. I could hold it all day long. Now I go 3 times in 1 hour. It's crazy. Davis now weighs about 6 pounds & is 16 body fat. More fat is accumulating around the knees, elbows and shoulders.

Day Trippin

Lane had the day off, so we decided to take advantage & make a little road trip to Corsicana. Why Corsicana you ask? I understand your concern. Well for one, it's only an hour drive. And the past 4 years we have traveled between Houston & Arlington countless times. And every time I thought to myself, "I want to check out the Russell Stover store & the Collin Street Bakery". So I finally got my wish. This trip was all about food. 

First stop, Collin Street Bakery. I forgot to get a picture of this place. They have tons of good stuff. We got cherry angel food cake, m&m cookies, lemon sugar cookies, white chocolate chip cookies & a chocolate covered praline...all of which were delicious.

Next stop, Russell Stover Candies. This place had so many different chocolates and candies, that I was a bit overwhelmed. When this happens, I usually end up getting one thing because I can't decide on anything. That was the case today, and I ended up with a raspberry truffle. Yum!

 Elliot picked out this wolf looking animal & of course my parents bought it for her. Lane & I both tried talking them out of it, but with no success.

 Third stop, Napolis. A long time ago, we met one of Lane's friends at this restaurant. It's a little hole in the wall, and I'm not sure how they stay in business because the space is so big & it's always empty. But the food is so so good! I got the baked ziti and I plan on recreating this dish at home one of these days.

Last stop, Dee's Place. This is the oldest continuous running soda fountain in Texas. I have a love for soda fountains. They're hard to come by, so whenever I find one I always go. This place was very cute, but at the same time could use a little tlc.

 Waiting for her treat.

 Oh boy a cherry soda! She really enjoyed it. I got a chocolate shake, which was ok. I wish it was a little thicker, but it still tasted good.

And that concludes our tour of Corsicana. It was a nice little day trip & now I can say I've been to those places.

Random Side Note

I was just on the Costco website because I wanted to find out some information about their pictures. As I was looking for the "photo" tab at the top, I noticed they have a tab for "funeral". This piqued my interest, so I clicked on it & low & behold they sell caskets at Costco! That is the weirdest thing to me...

Baby Shower

This past weekend I was given a baby shower for Davis by my best friends Regina, Amy & Kristen. I wanted to keep it really low key. I only invited about 10 people, mostly family & a couple of friends. I was totally shocked when I walked into the house. They went over the top with adorable decorations & fabulous food. I should have known better who I was dealing with! I so appreciated all their hard work & love that went into making me feel so special.

 

Here's the entry table. You can see my invitation. And is that little onsie not to die for?!

 I loved the colors they chose. In fact it inspired me to change the colors of his nursery. I had originally planned on keeping the same bedding that Elliot had since it was gender neutral, but now I just changed it out for navy, red & brown. Davis will thank yall later :)

 

Love all the little clothes! And those shoes!

 Just an up close example of the perfect details that went into this shower.

 We had a Mexican dinner spread that was delicious. And for dessert there were my personal favorite, sopapillas!

  Thank you bags that could be filled with candy! And another cute onsie!

 My wonderful hostesses!

 Me & my mom

Me & Brenda (Lane's step mom)

 Me & Jan (Lane's mom)

 Me & my sister, Jami.

 35 weeks 2 days

 I can't believe how big my stomach is!

 Regina & I are twins!

Amy thinks she's going to get good luck or something. LOL!

As I previously said, everything was wonderful & I am so lucky to have these girls in my life. I loved everything about this shower- good food & good friends. I also received so many wonderful gifts. I already had most of the basics, but I did get a high chair & swing that I'm super excited about! Thanks to everyone that was a part of this day.

Elliot's 2 Year Checkup

We went to the doctor today for her 2 year well check. This is a new pediatrician for her & he is wonderful. He's so nice and is very thorough. He even gave Elliot a book to keep. At this visit she had to have blood work done & get her TB shot. She didn't cry for either one. What a tough cookie. Here are her stats:

Height: 2 feet 9.47 inches (he said that's between the 25th & 50th percentile-that's a large range)

Weight: 24 lbs 14.8 oz (25%)

Head: 18.31 inches

*Elliot repeats what we say.

*She is starting to talk in sentences. Her most complex one is "I had fun swimming."

*She is a little snuggle bunny. When she's watching movies, she always asks me to sit down next to her & she'll lay her head on me. 

*She really enjoys taking showers with me. She thinks it's the best thing ever.

*She has a shoe fetish. She is constantly trying on her shoes, my shoes, friend's shoes & even boy's shoes.

*She loves candy, aka...gum & mints.
*This past week she's been great with nap/bed time. She's actually been putting herself to bed which is crazy! She'll just walk in her room, turn on her fan & climb into bed & pull the covers up. Then she'll say "night night". It's amazing!

Painting with a Twist

Saturday night I went with some friends to Painting with a Twist in Fort Worth. It's this studio where you get to create paintings. There's an instructor guiding you through it. It's a pretty cool place. Unfortunately, there is no amount of help I can get that would make me want to hang my "masterpiece" anywhere to be seen. Oh well.

 

Here's the example.

 And here's my interpretation. No mocking please!

34 weeks 5 days

I had a quick visit to the doctor today. She said next time we'll schedule a sonogram. Can't wait for that! At this point baby's lungs are more mature and the circulatory system & musculoskeletal system are complete.

3rd Trip to the ER

Well as I mentioned in my last post, Elliot was up all night with a high fever. I alternated Tylenol & Motrin all day, but her fever didn't seem to break. Every time I checked it was 104.5. And on top of that she had developed a lot of congestion in her chest. It sounded like she was a 40 year old smoker. We decided to take her into our local CareNow. Her pediatrician is in Dallas & I did not feel like driving all the way out there during rush hour traffic. Plus, she probably wouldn't have been able to squeeze us in that late in the day. Anyway, the doctor said that her throat looked bad & ordered a strep test. It came back positive. But that wasn't all. He decided to refer us to the ER because there were some indicators that she could possibly have Kawasaki Disease. One of those indicators is "strawberry" tongue. At this point, I did not freak out because I highly doubted that she had this since it is pretty rare. But I will admit there were a few times later in the day when I was on the verge of tears on the inside just because E looked so pitiful & I felt so bad for her & what if?!

We made it to the ER & the doctor examined her. Elliot does not have strep. She said that it is not strep season & that a strep test was unnecessary & isn't very accurate. E does have a slight ear infection in her left ear though. She was a little puzzled as to why the other guy thought Kawasaki. She said that Elliot's tongue was not "strawberry". It would have been super red & E would have been out of control screaming. Plus you also have to have a super high fever for at least 5 days. And strep & coughing doesn't really go with that diagnosis, etc. Whew, what a relief! That CareNow doc was mistaken on everything he told us!

Just when I thought we would be getting out of there, they decided to take a urine sample to make sure she didn't have a UTI. This involved inserting a catheter, which as you can imagine is not very pleasant. The test came back negative. Then another doctor came in to talk to me (Lane said he's world renown) & checked E out. He decided to order a chest x-ray since she sounded so bad. That came back clear. Then he ordered fluids through IV since Elliot was refusing liquids. That made me feel better because I would have been so worried if she continued to refuse them & got dehydrated (which she already was). So anyway, we finally ended up leaving around 11pm with a prescription for a high dosage of Amoxicillin that she will take for the next 10 days. Hopefully that will treat her congestion as well.

I have to say Elliot was a champ throughout it all. She handled everything so well & was not freaking out or flailing around when they had to do the catheter, chest x-ray, or IV. And even though she felt so bad, while she was lying on the bed, she would still pucker her lips to give me a kiss (on her own free will...several times!). Sweet girl.

Motherhood the Musical

Tonight we went to see Motherhood the Musical in Fort Worth. It was really cute. I think any mother or someone currently expecting would appreciate the humor. Afterward we went to Sweet Sammies. If you haven't been there, it's a must. They have the best ice cream sandwiches. You get to pick out the kind of homemade cookies you want & your choice of ice cream as well. And it's all under $3! I guess it was kind of fitting after seeing the show that Elliot decided to wake up at 2:30am with a high fever. Therefore I was up all night getting her medicine & trying to make her feel better.