Early Contractions

On Sunday things suddenly took a different turn around here.  About 2:00 on Sunday I started feeling contractions.  For some reason I didn't really think a whole lot about it.  We were in the car for a couple of hours and I thought it would definitely get better once I got home and was able to lay down.  Once we got home and I tried to rest, they kept coming.  I decided maybe I should download a contraction counter app and I realized they were coming pretty quickly...definitely less than 10 minutes in between each one.  I realized that maybe this was something I needed to take more seriously. I called the Labor & Delivery floor at the hospital and they told me to take two Tylenol, drink a big glass of water, and count my contractions for an hour.  I continued to have contractions...at this point every 3-6 minutes and they lasted around a minute each.  So, I called back and they wanted me to come to the hospital.  It was kind of shocking but I wasn't freaking out or anything.  Ellington was able to go next door and we called my parents so that they could come get her.  Obviously we had no clue how long we would be at the hospital.  I could be wrong but I think it was about 6:30 at this point.

I was so nervous about going to the hospital because I was worried that I was going to get there and they were going to say, "Um, you aren't having contractions".  Ha.  I don't know why I was worried about that.  Clearly I was having contractions!  We got to the hospital and all hooked up to everything in the world.  I was DEFINITELY having contractions.  They began to give me shots to stop them.  They were the most.painful.shots. I have EVER had.  Oh my.  It was terrible.  They gave the first and that didn't stop them. Then another shot.  Still didn't stop them.  Then a third shot.  And three is all you can have.  The shots never completely stopped the contractions but they did slow them down a little.  In the time that I was there I didn't dilate any more (I was 2 cm when I got there).  So they let me leave about 10:30 I think.  It was a long evening in the hospital but I was really glad we didn't have to spend the night!

We went to see my dr. first thing Monday morning.  We were there for about two hours and had Ellington with us.  She was such a trooper!  They monitored my contractions (still having tons at that point) and did an ultrasound to check on the baby and check my fluid level.  The baby was PERFECT so that was great news. :)  I am now taking medication every 6 hours which is helping a TON.  I still have contractions but they aren't as strong or as often.  I have to rest as much as possible which is much much much harder than I could have ever imagined!

Ellington has been great through all of this.  I am so sad that our last few weeks together won't be normal.  I was really looking forward to spending special time with her before the baby is born.  Now I feel like we'll just be stuck at home. :(  Oh well.  We want to keep the baby in a little longer.  I am 33 weeks 4 days today so we are hoping to make it a few more weeks.  

Tuesday while I was on the couch Ellington dressed up all of her friends to go to a concert. :)  Sweet girl!

So, that's the update from around here!

Mother's Day (???) 2013

We went to the Princess Tea Party last Saturday morning and Saturday night the stomach bug hit. :( Several times during the late afternoon Ellington said that her stomach hurt. I was rocking her before bed about 7:30 and Ellington started throwing up...everywhere.  It was BAD.  We layed on a pallet on the floor together from about 7:30-11:30 and she got sick the whole time.  It was sooo pitiful and sad.  At this point we didn't have a mattress on the floor and laying down there with her was killing me.  I was so uncomfortable but as any Mama would, I felt like I needed to be right with her.  Praise the Lord she didn't get sick in her bed all night.  Sunday was Mother's Day.  Haha.  Happy Mother's Day!  We moved the mattress from the guest bed in the living room and that is where Ellington and I spent all day Sunday and Monday.  Those were some looong days. :)  But we made it!  It was so hard seeing her so sick and weak.  Thankfully Robert was around for the worst of it on Saturday night and Sunday.  He did lots and lots and lots of laundry!

Poor girl :(

This was our life for a couple of days.  Haha.  So glamorous! 

I was a little bummed about Mother's Day but I kept thinking about next year on Mother's Day I will have my picture taken with my pre-baby body and two sweet girls in matching smocked dresses. :)  We "rescheduled" Mother's Day for the next Sunday but we ended up in the hospital (more details to come!).  Haha.  Maybe Mother's Day just wasn't my thing this year!

The Princess Tea Party

Two weekends ago a local children's store hosted a princess tea party.  I was sure to buy a ticket for Ellington the first day that they went on sale!  I knew this would be right up her alley! :)  I wasn't going to tell her about it until the day before or the day of, but a little girl in her class filled in her about it several weeks early.  Haha.  I guess they are already getting to that age!  I love having planned activities on Saturday mornings because Saturdays are kind of tough when Robert works so it is good to have something fun to do.

She was sooooo excited! 

When we first got there she was very overwhelmed (in a good way!).  The picture below was the best I could get out of many. :)

Belle and Cinderella hosted the tea party! 

They asked the moms to wait in an adjoining area because it would have been too crowded for us to all stay in the tea party room, but I snuck in for a few pictures.

Ellington loved it!  It was so funny when we got in the car after it was over because Ellington said, "Mama, I thought you said the real Belle and real Cinderella were going to be there.  They were just dressed up. They weren't the real ones".  Haha.  You can't pull anything over on her!

31 Weeks

My original plan was to do a picture and blog post about this pregnancy about once a month. Well, here we are at week 31 and I am just now doing my first one. :)  Haha.  Oh well.

I was 31 weeks on Sunday!

I honestly can't believe I still have two more months.  I have no clue how I could get any bigger, but I guess it will happen. :(  Ha.  It's worth it, but I am just starting to remember how hard the end is.  

Up until last week I felt SOOOO good.  I was in no hurry to have this baby and everything was fine.  It was funny because the minute I was done with school for the summer I was ready for her to come!!!  I feel like now all we are doing is waiting.  I am very sad about having to go back to work in the fall (although thankfully I don't have to start until October) and I guess I also think of these two months as months I could be spending with her.  I am trying to soak up these last few weeks with just Ellington though.

I am mostly feeling great.  Thankfully it has been really cool so far so that has helped.  I have lower back pain, but that's to be expected.  I crave frozen strawberries, strawberry popsicles, and strawberry smooties. Notice a theme??!!  

While we haven't done a ton to "get ready" for the baby I think we are pretty set.  Babies don't need as much as you think they do they first time!  

Overall I have enjoyed this pregnancy SO much.  I think this time I realize more of what a miracle a new life is.  I know how much we will love this little girl and am excited about her joining our family!

Wordless Wednesday

Big Sister Class

On Saturday we took Ellington to the big sibling class at the hospital.  I had been looking forward to this for months and we almost missed it!  Ah!  Apparently I had the 2012 class schedule, so I thought that the class was next weekend.  Thankfully I discovered my mistake Friday afternoon and we were still able to attend the class on Saturday.  If we had missed it I would have ugly cried.  For real.  I was that excited. :)  

I wasn't the only one who was excited.  This little girl was pretty excited too!

Ellington had her own little doll that she got to take care of.  She took off her clothes, gave her a bath, put on a clean diaper, put on a new shirt, and a hat.  She followed the teacher soooo closely and LOVED doing it!

She also swaddled the baby, gave her a bottle, and burped her!

I am all set...Ellington can do everything now. :)

She passed the class and got a certificate and a tshirt!

After the class we toured the labor/delivery and postpartum areas.  I was most excited about Ellington being able to do this because I knew it would help her visualize where we would be and what would be happening.  

We were all very disappointed that there were no babies in the nursery to see!

We also enjoyed the tour because this wing of the hospital is completely new from where we had Ellington.  It is sooo nice and I am actually looking forward to my stay. :)  

We had such a fun time at the Big Sister class!  Ellington is ready.  Well, we all are! 

Summer Is Here!

It seems a little weird giving this post the title of "Summer Is Here!" when it is currently 48 degrees outside on a May afternoon in Mississippi. But honestly, this pregnant lady is not complaining about the lack of warm weather. :)

Wednesday was our last day of school.  (Well technically, the last day of the school year was Thursday but I don't work on Thursdays.  E did go on Thursday because I had a doctor's appt. but that isn't a day she usually goes.)  This has BY FAR been the fastest school year ever.  If they all keep going this fast I am going to be 80 soon! We both had a really good school year.  Ellington loooooved her class and her teachers.  Spring Break was torture for her so I am not sure how she will survive until August with no school! :)

Last day of the school year - May 2013

First day of the school year - August 2012

So, I decided to let her wear her new precious Shrimp & Grits outfit to school on Wednesday because 1) They were having an icecream party so it fit the theme 2) It was raining and they wouldn't be going outside so it wouldn't get dirty and 3) We were having sandwiches at lunch so no ravioli stains.  I felt like it was a safe day to say the least.  Well ya'll, she cut her outfit with scissors.  Ahhhhhhh!  She has basically never used scissors before and I have no idea how it it happened, but wow.  It took awhile for me to get over. :)

Moving on...

Ellington in her classroom on the last day!

Ellington and Mrs. Meg

My favorite thing about Mrs. Meg is that I NEVER had to worry about E being loved unconditionally.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when adults talk harshly to children.  I never worried for one second that either of E's teachers would do that!!!

Mrs. Meg and Mrs. Lisa

We were so thankful for them this year!

My kids threw me a surprise baby shower on our last day!  So sweet and so fun!  They LOVED every second of it.  They all oohed and ahhhed and talked in high pitched voices when I pulled out baby clothes.  Haha.  I meant to get someone to take my pictures with the kids, but in the chaos of the last day I totally forgot.  

This summer will be very different for sure.  I will either be very pregnant or in the newborn fog, but I hope Ellington and I can enjoy it as much as possible!  We are thankful for such a wonderful school to work and play at during the school year!