We are home...finally

Hi friends, I have so much to "report" but not enough time or energy to do it... bottom line is - we are home. I was discharged on Tuesday but our sweet baby boy had to stay for 2 more nights in the NICU. They wanted to monitor Elliott because he was having "blue spells". They conducted a 12 hour sleep study and discovered some sleep apnea and reflux. The docs felt the best course of action was not to medicate but to send us home with a monitor. So our 9lb bundle of joy just got a bit heavier. The monitor has gone off twice since we have been home indicating an episode of apnea.

Last night, was our first night home with Elliott - we did pretty well... up at 2, 6, and 9:30 - not too bad.

I will entertain you with hospital stories later, for now here are some pics for you to enjoy.

Oh, I forgot to mention... Elliott John Connor came in to our world at 6:27pm on August 22, 2008, weighing in at 9lbs, 2oz and measuring 21.4 inches long.

"Gram-O-Gram"

Greetings, Carrie fans! It's Patty, Carrie's mom, adding yet another item to my long list of qualifications for sainthood--yes, you guessed it--blog poster!

(Re: "Still here" posted 8-11).

OK--Carrie is spending most of her time lying on her left side in a little hospital bed that doesn't come close to the comfort level she had at home in her king-sized bed. She is finding it harder and harder to get comfortable enough to post this blog (among many other things) so she asked me to give it a whirl. Yesterday was a horrible day filled with uncertainties, hard decisions, and a crazy move to a new room (which involved Pacey hitching a ride in Mommy's bed in an elevator to another floor.) Trust me, it was more fun for Pacey than for poor Carrie who is probably the only patient ever to become "car sick" in a hospital bed! Anyway, today was a much better day. Carrie spent the morning catching up on some much-needed sleep while I worked at school. I spent the afternoon at her bedside in a very comfy recliner, thanks to Carrie's in-laws taking Pacey for the day! Happy Birthday, Pat! Carrie had the sweetest nurse today who really helped her get comfortable in her new surroundings. Carrie entertained the nurse and tech with the story of her shower adventures from yesterday. Then the tech surprised us by offering to give Carrie a wheelchair ride down to the "shower room" which brought Carrie more joy than I've witnessed in days! She came back a little later clean, smiling and not at all bruised!

OK, now to the medical update--Carrie had a little more swelling than usual today and a bothersome headache that even "TY-3" (that's what we hospital regulars call Tylenol three) wouldn't help. So, Dr. Buckson ordered more labs for tomorrow--blood work and another 24-hr urine check. Soooo.........stay tuned.....some day soon we may tell you about a new little baby boy who will no doubt charm us all! Love, Grammy

Waiting is the hardest part...

No doubt you've seen those commercials for "The Office"... waiting is the hardest part. Well, here we are waiting. We got the results of the 24 hour urine test and amazingly, my protein levels have decreased from 290 to 240. Not the outcome that we expected, but a good one none the less. I am having mixed feelings because a higher number may have meant delivery, but the longer he bakes the better.

Buckson said that she would deliver me by next Tuesday at which time I will be 37 weeks. She also said that I could go home if I wanted to but she would rather me stay here. I told her that I would talk to Eric about it and let her know, in the mean time I was going to take a shower. I thought that a relaxing shower would help me decide to stay but after bumping every surface of my naked plumpness on the shower walls, I was no closer to a decision.

After speaking to my mother, mother-in-law, Eric and nurses I have decided to stay. They kicked me out of Labor and Delivery and down to the first floor where they keep their mothers- in- waiting. The nurses here aren't quite as sweet but at least I can have frequent BP checks as well as fetal monitoring...I also have plenty of gas ;-)

FYI, Sweeny stopped by for a bio-physical...that is the game show type test that I told you about before...Healthy baby!

Short and Sweet - my post, not my baby...

Ok friends, I am going to make this short and sweet... after seeing Buckson this morning she was not sold on the idea of delivering me today... apparently I do not have a medical degree. She wanted to repeat the 24 hour urine... so here I am at the hospital for monitoring and pee collection - fun times. She opted to send me here rather than doing it at home because the results come in so much quicker at the hospital rather than me having to take the collection to a lab and waiting another 24hrs for results. So we are at another "wait and see" - should know something by Tuesday afternoon.

I have Eric's laptop with me but can't log in to my blog so Eric is going to cut and paste this in for me. I can see my blog and check emails - so please continue to post.

Ummm, I am thankful for the Olympics during my bed rest but seriously... trampoline, badminton, and table tennis???

Its time... I think

On Thursday I went for my regularly scheduled appointments but my blood pressure was higher than it had been. I had dropped off another 24 hr. urine sample that morning before my appointment but the results weren't in when I went to see Dr. James - Buckson's partner. Concerned about my pressure, Dr. James sent me to Labor and Delivery for bloodwork... quickest way to get results... 2 hrs later my results were in and were negative for pre-eclampsia so I was sent home to wait for the results of my 24 hr. urine. Friday morning, Dr. James called...my protein level was 290...remember 300 is pre-eclampsic. She told me to come in on Monday to see Dr. Buckson but because my bloodwork was fine, she was not going to admit me just yet... oh I forgot... she doubled my blood pressure medicine too.

So... tomorrow morning, We have my regular monitoring appointment at Sweeny's (8:30) and then off to Buckson's for a 10:45 appt. I have a feeling we will be having a baby tomorrow... it took 2 weeks for my protein levels to jump from 170 to 290... it won't take long to go up 10 points...I think its time.

We are as ready as we can be, Pacey and suitcase are at my parents, my bag is packed, Eric is packing his bag as I type... we have our list of phone numbers and a mental list of everything I want to take to the hospital, including several pillows, my cell phone, and a lap top...to update my blog of course!

Stay tuned...

Oops, I forgot...

In my efforts to entertain you fine people, I forgot all about telling you of my appointment with Sweeny last Thursday. There had been some concern earlier in the week that my amniotic fluid was low but he recalculated it on Thursday and it is fine. Also fine, is everything else with the baby - its just me who is screwed up! They calculated his weight to be around 6lbs 110z. They said that if could be off by a pound in either direction. He will be here before we know it. Did I tell you the nursery is finally finished - has been for about a week. Mom and Eric have really busted their butts to get it done and it looks great. Dad re-finished a shelf for the room - to match the crib - it only took 4 trips to Home Depot but it looks great!

On a more serious note, my good friend Jessica is newly pregnant - she suffered a stillbirth last year and could really use your thoughts and prayers... Her blog is accessible through the links on the right.

Me and Jack

...taken with my cell phone... me and Jack on bedrest...

Mad Charity Rackham

In a quest to cure my boredom as well as name my "space invader" (as our pediatrician calls him), I stumbled onto this website that will give you a pirate name after you answer a slew of questions... pretty entertaining - especially when you are a pirate loving bed rester! Sorry, its not lining up properly.

My pirate name is:

Mad Charity Rackham

Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Still here...

It has been nearly 2 weeks since I have taken to my bed and my house has never been cleaner and my checking account balance never higher... It's amazing how clean your house stays when everyone lives in one room and how much money you save when you have to stay in bed... thank God for online shopping. I got a massive deal at Old Navy.com - they are having their stuff and save sale which means 20% off your entire purchase, PLUS I had a $10 off coupon, PLUS free shipping when you use your Old Navy card, PLUS since they are owned by Gap, I could shop at Gap.com too without paying extra shipping , PLUS I had a Gap gift card - Yowzaa! I only paid about 70 bucks for $140 worth of baby and big sis clothes.

My house not only looks good because I am trapped in one room but also because my saint of a mother has been here nearly everyday keeping up with the laundry and dishes and such... she is my house maid meets laundress meets personal chef/waitress, not to mention dog trainer and nanny!

I am continuing with my biweekly Sweeny appointments - which aren't really with Sweeny - they are with nurses/techs who perform a sonogram and non-stress test (NST) every Monday and just an NST every Thursday. They are looking for 5 different things - for each thing I get 2 points - 8 out of 10 points and I pass - no partial score is given - either 2 or 0 - Sounds like a game show, right? OK so with each sonogram they are looking at gross movements, breathing (which does not equate to lung maturtiy), small movements, and amniotic fluid. With the NSTs they are looking for the baby's heartrate to accelerate by 15 points twice within a 40 minute period. Jr and I have passed each time but he as not been "reactive" on the NST so he gets the 8/10 points from the sono.

FYI - Buckson is on vacation this week so I will see her partner - Dr. James on Thursday... I am hopeing to hang in till she returns, I really want her to be the one to deliver Baby NoName.

Dreaded Bedrest

Well, here goes... last Tuesday (7/30) I had an appointment with my Endocrinologist. When I stepped on the scale, I nearly fell off because I had gained about 13lbs since my last OB appointment which was less than 2 weeks ago. I told the nurse that I was pretty sure the scale was wrong so she reset it and I got on again...well the result was the same. She went ahead and checked my blood pressure which at that time was normal. So, I went on with my appointment, my doctor made adjustments to my insulin levels...yada, yada, yada... I told her about the scale and she said that there was another one in the office that we would try on the way out - she got on first to check its accuracy then I stepped on - it read the same damn thing as the other one. Leaving her office, I really started to stress...not good for blood pressure right? Rapid weight gain is a sign of pre-eclampsia, when I got admitted with Pacey, I had gained 10lbs in 2 weeks. My endo is in the same building as my OB so I called upstairs to let them know about the weight gain. As I waited for her to call back, I sat in my car and cried...again, not helping my blood pressure. I was so upset because I knew what was coming. With Pacey, I was clueless - I had no idea what pre-eclampsia was but now I do and it scares the crap out of me!

So anyway, Dr. Buckson called back and told me to come up - she put me on the scale -my actual weight gain was 8lbs - still significant. By this point my stress had boosted my blood pressure to 170/90 - YIKES! Dr. Buckson said - "Well, you just bought yourself a 24 hour stay at the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect $200 -go straight to labor and delivery for 24 hour monitoring and testing."

So away I went, tearful and unable to reach Eric on his cell phone. I called mom and she met me at the hospital. When I got there they put me right into a room and in a gown. Dr. Buckson came in to deliver her orders - 24 hour urine collection, a slew of blood tests, and fluids via IV. By this point, I had contacted Eric and he was on his way - mom was there too. I have never in my life had an issue with needles, IVs, blood work, etc... well they could not find a vein for my IV - one nurse dug around and left a nice HUGE bruise on my arm before going to get a "pro" - she got my IV started and drew blood - no bruises. The nurses were great and while I was very upset, I knew I was in good hands.

Once Eric got there, Mom made 2 trips to my house - to pack me a bag and then to get my dogs and my child from daycare. Pacey was very upset and cried when Mom told her where I was... it broke my heart when she came to see me because as soon as she saw me, she tried not to cry but couldn't help it. She was very confused - asked lots of questions over and over...

OK - I feel like I am writing a novel - so I am going to condense - my blood work came back fine - no indication of pre-eclampsia - my pressures fluctuated between 140/70 and 100/50 - my 24 hr urine reflected a protein level of 170 - normal is 70 - pre-eclampsic is 300... so, I am on my way there.

Dr. Buckson released me around 6pm on Wednesday - BED REST!!! She really thinks she can get a couple more weeks out of me - we'll see. I have my bag packed JIC (just in case).

So, to recap...hospitalized Tuesday, July 29th - released and ordered to bed on Wednesday, July 29th - bored out of my mind with daily breakdowns by Monday, August 4th.