Finally friday....

I'm SO happy it's Friday. This has been such an up and down week. We kicked off this week with Ellie being sick. Throwing up and fever. Not sure if it's from the antibiotics for her deer tick or just a flu bug. She's doing fine now, but was really, really sick.

Nick's parents have been watching Ellie and that was a little bit of an adjustment for her, but she's doing fine now. I'm so happy that she can spend some time with them and get to know them. They've also been making dinner and helping out with laundry and cleaning. Seriously. We are spoiled.

Wednesday was a stressful day since my dad had to go to the hospital for his heart. He had some major blockage so they had to put in 2 stents and replace an old one. He's doing much better and hopefully can come home today. I'm greatful for good doctors and the capabilities they have to treat people. It's amazing.

I'm excited to relax this weekend a little, but also need to get a lot of stuff done for the baby's room and Ellie's new room. I'm looking for fabric for curtains and a big arm chair for Ellie's room.

I'm counting down the days my mom comes home from Japan. We all really miss her.

The good, the bad and the really, really ugly.

When I look back at the weekend, I feel like it was a pretty decent one, but it kind of wasn't (just being real).

Good things:

1. I had off on Friday
2. Got rid of a lot of things at our rummage Fri/Sat
3. Made $200 at our rummage (not too bad)
4. Ellie played outside a lot!
5. We decided to buy our neighbors Rainbow playset
6. It's stained dark brown and has green fabric (better than the rainbow)
7. Ellie's butt rash is gone
8. Nick's mom took Nick grocery shopping on Sunday (we have lots of food)
9. Nick's parents stopped over and Ellie didn't cry or act shy (this goes along with a bad)
10. I did a lot of laundry
11. My dad sold a chicken at the rummage (he has 18 baby chicks for eggs; long story)
12. Turned the A/C on (Nick would see this as a bad thing for sure)

Bad things:

1. We had an ant issue near our garage door (hate, hate, hate bugs)
2. I got my first progesterone shot on Friday (hurts, burns and takes a long time)
3. I was tired and crampy because I over did it on Friday at the rummage
4. I was stressed out because I felt pelvic pressure and worried I might have made my cervix worse (sorry, tmi)
5. Meeko barked a lot this weekend and still has his voice box (wish we could mute it without being too inhuman and pyscho)
6. Someone stole our rummage sale sign at the entrance of our subdivision. (pricks)
7. Ellie had a fever, threw up several times and was very lathargic on Sunday hence why she was totally fine around Nick's parents. She just didn't have energy to give a crap.
8. Rushed Ellie to the doctor on Friday for a deer tick (HATE bugs, HATE)
9. I'm a bad mom, goes with #8.
10. My mom doesn't come back for another 2 weeks.
11. I have a lot to get accomplished in our house before the baby comes and am freaking a little.
12. I need a cleaning person.

# 8 on the bad things list was definitely the worst and it gets worse once I explain it. Thursday we took Ellie to Children's to see a dermatologist for her butt rash that was pretty much gone anyways. It took 2 weeks to get an appointment and by then, it cleared up. As I undressed her I saw a little scab on the back of her neck, no big deal. I was trying to calm her down because she was freaked out by all of the people in the room. (Children's is a teaching hospital; which is great, but intimidating even for Nick and I).
Friday during the rummage when there were dozens of crazy rummagers over, Wendi saw the "scab" on the back of Ellie's neck and took a closer look. NOT a scab. It was a deer tick. OMG. I almost died. We took her to the doctor's office in Sussex and the family practitioner actually took her right away. He pulled it out and gave us anti-biotics. This should prevent lymes disease. I will have her tested in a few months just in case. I don't know how she got this since she wasn't really around any wooded areas and doesn't roll around it the grass. I was so mad at myself for not paying more attention. I am so dumb and I couldn't believe we were at Children's and none of the 3 doctors or 2 nurses that were in the room caught it. I mean they were looking at her skin!!! ugh. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Doctor appointments

This is a busy week of doctor appointments! Ellie had her eye exam last night. Everything looks good and the patching seems to be working, so we are going to continue doing the patch 2 hours a day. Her presrciption went up slightly too. The doctor said this was a good thing since it meant that it's not her muscle that is making her eye go in. I don't really get it, but I've learned that sometimes I just have to trust the doctor, since they are the expert. Ellie is still in her shy mode where she hides or closes her eyes and thinks you can't see her. It's super cute, but really inconvenient when the doctor needs to see her eyes! I should have video taped it. She's such an actress.

Tonight we are taking her to the dermatologist at Children's. Although her really bad diaper rash/flair up has gotten better, we figured that we've had the appointment for 2 weeks, that we'll just keep it.

Ellie loves wearing other people's glasses. It's hilarious how she just puts them on and goes on with her business.

Ellie's new room

The docter's office called and the FFN test came back negative. Phew! I'm still waiting to hear about the shots and if insurance will cover it. (crossing my fingers)

We finally found a convertible crib for Ellie. I was going to head down to Ikea to pick something out, but it got too complicated with a trailer, so we looked around here. We got the Carter's Sleep Haven Lifetime Convertible Crib in white from Babies R Us. We got a great deal because all their furniture is 20% plus if you buy 2 or more of this brand you get an extra 30% off!! It was the last one too. I'm pretty excited :) So, Nick will have to pick it up and my dad will have to put it together. I still need to pick out fabric for the baby's room and also get a book case or something for Ellie's new room. Here's a picture of the crib. It also converts to a full size bed, which might come in handy down the road.

Things totally happen for a reason.

I was suppose to have a test done on Friday to see if I had any 'medical' signs of preterm labor. It's called the Fetal Fibronectin (FFN) test. They didn't have the 'kit' to do the test because it was in a new office, so I went today. This test is done between 24-34 weeks if you've had a premature baby (Ellie was almost 6 weeks early) or if you have other signs of preterm labor (contractions, pelvic pressure, etc.) It tests the 'glue' down there. This test should come back tomorrow and I'm hoping it's negative. If it's not it could mean that I could have the baby really, really soon. Like within 2 weeks :(

My OB also did an ultrasound and checked around to look at my cervix. I knew something was wrong because she was really, really concentrating and also printed out a bunch of copies from the ultrasound machine. Basically, I have a short cervix. At 24 weeks the 'normal' cervix is about 3.5 cm and mine is only at 2.7 which doesn't seem like a huge difference but it's also a small scale and it can change quickly.

I will be doing progesterone shots every week to help and have to take it easy. Bed rest might be something that we will talk about at my next appointment. I'll be having the FFN test and ultrasound test every 2 weeks until the baby comes.

I'm actually really glad that we couldn't do the test on Friday as I would have been worried all weekend and I probably would have told my mom and that might have prolonged her trip to Japan. She left on Saturday to go see her mom, who is really sick. My dad will be helping take care of Ellie. Ellie is going to learn so much! They'll probably play in the garden and get dirty, work on her new closet (she's a good assistant) and go to the park a lot. She is so lucky :)


 

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was really relaxing. I woke up to Ellie, Nick and Meeko giving me a homemade card. Ellie even scribbled on it! Then we went to breakfast w/ the family and stopped at my parents to check out my dad's baby chicks.  Ellie thinks they are really silly. She just giggles at them. The rest of the day was spent watching tv and hanging out - oh and a stop at Bubba's for my free Mother's Day sundae. The place was packed too!

Ellie in bath

Yippie!

Well, finally my favorite day of the week is here!! Pizza tonight, 2 parties tomorrow and Mother's Day on Sunday! WOOHOO! If Nick read this blog, I would remind him that this year should be extra special as I'm Ellie's mama and I'm baking another baby. It is a 'bonus' Mother's Day year for sure! Don't you think Kristin? Here's a short video of Ellie. She's so silly.

Oops

I cut Ellie's hair the other day. As you can see I'm not an expert nor should I EVER cut her hair again. woopsy. (I should also note that her hair is in a pony tail, so I only screwed up her bangs)

More organizing

We did some more organizing in the house to get ready for the rummage sale and thought I'd get rid of this. Nick and Ellie really like it, so we'll keep it. I think I only paid $8 for this at St. Vinneys! What a steal, huh?

I think Nick should put this on anytime we leave the house, so he can kinda get the feel of being pregnant.