Baby Watch 2010: Day 22

Conversation heard in the ultrasound room:

Rachel: You're probably the only one who moves the furniture around.
Mark: I want to be comfortable for the show.

(Rachel drops trou)

Mark: Here comes the main attraction!

****

Doctor: Are you allergic to latex?

Rachel: No.

Doctor: You will be by the time you're done with this place.

****

Results: Rachel's cervix measured 1.59, down from 1.76. The doctor wasn't too concerned because the change was essentially a millimeter. The nurses are concerned her body maybe beginning to develop a tolerance to her current medications. A drug shake-up maybe in Rachel's near future!

Baby Watch 2010: Day 21

Still here....

Baby Watch 2010: Day 8

Greetings loyal readers. I should have known six days after I posted a map of all the places Baby Eaton and I have been and all the running around we have been doing since the holidays I would land myself in the hospital on mandatory bed rest.

We have successfully made it through eight days here at the hospital and are in high hopes that the next 68 or more are going to be just as successful and uneventful (uneventful is a good thing these day). So I lay here feeling poked and prodded like cattle but I am in high spirits and thankful that Baby and I are doing well.

Mark has been a Saint through all of this and should totally receive the title “World’s Greatest Father-to-Be”. He has been at the hospital fulfilling my every need and want. He has even been camped out by my side on what I can only deem as less than desirable sleeping conditions here at Hotel Baylor. The only thing I imagine would be worse is tent camping in a sleeping bag on the hard rocky ground with no air mattress for added comfort in 110 degree heat. But he is a trooper and does not complain. Earlier today he actually said it was comfortable and that he was used to it. I know he was lying but I appreciate the sacrifices he is making right now. Baby Eaton and I owe him big time when we get out of this bed.

Expectant Father-to-Be on Night 1

**Special thanks to my neighbor Alison and her two adorable boys, Carter and Hayden, for visiting me today and thank you for the bag full of goodies and great reads. 

Baby Watch 2010: Day 7

Today started the same as yesterday with a shot of terbutaline at 3am! Poor Rachel, I don't think she even fills the shots anymore. Rachel spent most of the day working and reading but mostly working. I had to leave my angel alone to return to corporate America. My employer, D3, is kind enough to let me work from the DFW office while Rachel is in the hospital. Everything was going great until about 2pm. D3 is located on the 6th floor of the old Chase Bank building off 820. The floors are basically wall-to-wall windows. I thought I had the privilege of working in a corner cube with a nice view of 820. It was a privilege until the outside temperature soared to 99 degrees. The windows at our office must not be doubled-pane because it was very warm when I left at 3pm. Let's just say I'll be working the bulk of my hours during the morning hours for the foreseeable future.

Ok, enough about me and more about Rachel. She is currently going on and on about what to buy with her two Amazon.com gift cards. Earlier today she chastised me for moving the bathroom trash can one to many times. During one of our sillier moments she defeated me in our "Sing that Lyric - Classic Country Edition" game. I could have sworn the chorus to the Urban Cowboy song was "Looking for love in two many faces, looking for love in two many places......". Never doubt a West Texas girl who still has all of her brain cells intact. Late.

Baby Watch 2010: Update and Day 6

Ok, this my attempt to keep whoever reads this blog updated on Rachel's condition and to keep a record of events so we can laugh when we look back on this tough time. I hope to keep this updated daily but don't expect it! It should be indicative that we've been at the hospital 6 days and I am just now making the 1st post. Thanks and Gig'em!

-Mark


Last Tuesday, Rachel was admitted to the Baylor-Grapevine Hospital (Grapevine, TX) and diagnosed with Pre-Term Labor (She is currently at 28 weeks and full term is considered 37-40 weeks). The doctors’ discovered she was having subtle contractions and also noticed her cervix decreased from an acceptable level to 1.9cm. We were told the contractions were the reason why her cervix shortened. She was given a terbutaline shot which quickly, but temporarily, but an end to her contractions. Wednesday evening, she was given an ultrasound which found her cervix shortened another 0.5cm to 1.4cm. Subsequently, she was placed on Procardia, every 6 hours, to help keep her contractions under control throughout the day. Not much happened Thursday other than early morning and late evening contractions which were put to rest with terbutaline shots. Friday morning Rachel was woken up at 7am to undergo another ultrasound. Unlike the previous one, this procedure brought as good news because it showed Rachel’s cervix had regained the 0.5cm she lost between Tuesday and Wednesday. Although 1.9cm is still considered extremely thin, it was nice to hear her cervix stopped thinning and maybe, just maybe became stabilized (we won’t know for sure until later). Saturday and Sunday were mostly uneventful. All I (we) do is watch Rachel sleep, eat, take off/ put on her “boots”, monitor her contractions, cringe when she has to get a shot to quell them, make her laugh, and refill her water bottle.

Rachel’s parents came into town this weekend from Odessa to help take care of their little princess. The visit also gave me a chance to rest because her Dad volunteered for night duty and forced me to go home. Her mom, against my wishes, cleaned most of the house and did ALL of the laundry. I just can’t say “Thank You” enough for all their help this weekend. I guess it goes to show you how wonderful it is to have family around in your time of need.

Special thanks are in order for my Dad and Donna, Cindy, Leah, my brother Bryan and his girlfriend Mari, and Rachel’s friend Rebecca. Dad, Donna, and Aunt Cindy were kind enough to grace ourselves with their presence Wednesday’s evening. Dad kept Rachel in good spirits by making jokes at my expense. Leah not only visited Rachel twice this week but also brought Rachel a bouquet of white roses, fresh bananas and cherries, Muffin tops (Random Seinfeld memory: “Only to Tops to You!!”), comfy pajamas, bath lotions, and books to read and listen. Bryan and Mari delivered a couple of movies for Rachel to enjoy on their visit. One was The Messenger starring Woody Harrelson and the other was season one of HBO’s The Tudors. Rachel wasn’t in the mode to watch the depressing The Messenger but she wanted to give The Tudors a try. After 15 minutes and 3 or 4 gratuitous sex scenes she told me to turn it off because she didn’t want the nurses to think we were watching porn. It’s the thought that counts Bro! Mari, the neonatologist, was patient enough to answer all of Rachel’s questions and dig up some info on the doctor’s responsible for Rachel’s care at the hospital. Rebecca gave us two bags stuffed with mom approved (Guy un-approved) gifts such as pajamas, chocolate candies (I like the Reese’s Pieces), two handfuls of DVDs, bathroom goodies and a lot of other stuff I can’t recall. Basically, she gave us too much but we both really appreciate it! Both Rachel and I are overwhelmed with all of the gifts, love and support that our friends and family have been showering us with lately.

Day 6:
Rachel awoke to contractions and a terbutaline shot at 2am! That’s not the best way to start anyone’s day unless you’re a heroin addict. Thankfully as of this post (3pm) she hasn’t had any contractions since. Earlier today we were treated by a visit from Lewis, Leah, Joe, Camelle, and Christina. For some reason, Joe, a freshman in HS, admitted he was a Tech fan which almost caused Rachel to contract. I hope, in due time, he will see the errors of his ways. We also had to say good-bye to Rachel’s parents who had to return to West Texas. It won’t be a long good-bye for her mother because she will be returning next week. I’ll promise to keep the house clean until then. More to follow!

Bump On The Road

As Mark and I prepare over the next 94 days for our new arrival we often day dream of the places he/she will go and the great and exciting things he/she will do.  So we thought it would be a good idea to put together a map to show Baby Eaton all the places he/she has already been.  I hope it is always this easy to travel with a baby.

With the whirlwind that was the first five months of pregnancy it was quite a few places.  Now, if only this map could show you how many times we were in some of these locations.

The iPad has arrived!

After I long month of waiting, my iPad finally arrived! In fact, this blog post is being typed on the iPad for the very first time. I'm still getting use to the virtual keyboard so please excuse any misspelled words. Now, for the most important question? Was it worth the wait (and $$$)? Yes! Some people, including my brother and Rachel, will say it is nothing more than a big iPod touch. To me, their opinion is short sighted. Yes, the are some application such as the iPod player and pandora that make the iPad seem like over kill. But the iPad specific apps really show off what the ipad can do l. So far I've only messed with the abc, netflix, and weather channel apps but I'm very impressed. The screen resolution and colors are a dream and navigating the iPad is very intuitive. Even if I didn't already own a iPhone I would say it's very easy to use.......Stayed tuned there is more to come as i try to figure how to run my entire life via the ipad

Now that the ipad is here I can focus on more important things such as my baby who's due in late August. I had a feeling Rachel was getting worried because all I could talk about was the iPad.