A Day of Firsts!

Yesterday was quite a day for us! Morgan had her first photo shoot with our fave photog, Amy Larson. Morgan did GREAT!! She slept through most of it and pooped through part of it (no diaper, all over Amy's blanket, pretty funny!), but Amy got some wonderful pics and I can't wait to see them all! After a 2.5 hour photo shoot, we were STARVING so we went to Red Lobster for lunch. It was so completely delicious, and Chris & I hadn't been on a date in a bit, so we really enjoyed the time together. Morgan slept through the whole thing but we still made a few pics 'cause that's what we do! Even more exciting is that Morgan umbilical cord dropped off! She's growing up so fast!! :D We enjoyed a fun day together and we're so thankful for our sweet baby!!

See you soon!!

C-section, part 2

OK, so after my spinal block, they had me lay down on the operating table and prepped me even more for surgery. My lower half immediately began to numb, but I could still tell they were doing something down there, which I told them over and over!! Didn't want the fun to start with me still able to feel anything! They reassured me that this was all normal. My anesthesiologist told me that I might feel nauseated and to tell him IMMEDIATELY if I did. I love that man! Can you see the pattern? Give me drugs and I'll love you forever? Glad I wasn't this way in high school - ha! ha! ha! Anyway, I also received oxygen, which made me feel better since I have sinus/allergy issues. Chris was then allowed to come into the OR, all dressed in paper from head to toe - literally, to his toes because he had paper shoe covers on! I felt what seemed like them pressing on my stomach to feel how big Morgan is and assess the situation. Little did I realize that the dr. had already started the section!! Ignorance sure is bliss!! I then began to feel a little sick, so I told the drug guy and he put something into my IV that immediately made me feel better. We did this 3 times I think. The last time, I felt REALLY sick and thought I might cough! I panicked!! But he got that medicine on-board and I was better in no time! LESSON #3: When a dr. wants to know something immediately, TELL THEM so they can help you IMMEDIATELY!! That's all for now!

See you soon!!

How Time Flies!

I just can't believe our little one is a week old now! We're actually settling into somewhat of a routine and she is doing great! Lots of eating and pooping mostly, but also lots of sweet little facial expressions that I just love to sit and watch. She'll smile, she'll furrow her brow, she'll yawn - wonder what she's dreaming about? We're doing better with nursing than I ever thought possible which is a big ol' blessing. The only down side so far is that my incision is still bleeding and it is so unnerving that I am weepy a lot. The dr. isn't concerned (we've seen her twice this week), but when you continue to bleed from a spot you're not supposed to be bleeding . . . well, let's just say it doesn't do much for your peace of mind. However, the blessings far outweigh the inconveniences! We've received some delicious meals, beautiful cards, sweet phone calls, and lots and lots of FB messages. And then there's that sweet baby we have!! I'm still in shock that she's ours! I guess that's why I hold her so much - can't bear to put her down sometimes. Have wonderful Friday!!

See you soon!!

C-section vs. um, not a C-section!

So, as a person who has delivered beautiful babies via C-section and vaginally, I can tell you that there are pros and cons to both ways. The pro is that you have a beautiful baby at the end; the cons are pretty much endless! Not really, but it can feel like it at the time. When we found out last week that our baby was breech and that a C-section was on the horizon, I was completely panic-stricken! The whole idea of my sweet child being cut from my body was almost too much to handle. Obviously, you're sedated, but the whole pulling and tugging that you feel during the procedure really sent my imagination reeling. Sadly, that's how I operate - typically what I imagine will happen is far worse than what actually happens. Turns out the IV in my hand was the most painful part, but that's another story. I checked in on Thursday and told them right away that I would appreciate ANYTHING they could give me to take the edge off. They gave me Stadol. I love them!! I laid in that bed and laughed at the military surplus catalog Chris was showing me and laughing at Ellen and was generally in a fantastic mood! LESSON #1: Don't ever be afraid to tell your medical staff what you want. After a while, I was taken to the OR where they prepared me for my spinal block, another aspect of the section that scared me to death. LESSON #2: With a section, you have the choice of an epidural or a more comprehensive spinal block - take the spinal block!! It was uncomfortable, but not as mind-blowing as I feared. More C-section excitement to come . . . :)

See you soon!!

Baby Morgan is here!!

I can't believe my sweet baby is 4 days old and this is my first blog post! To be fair, the hospital where we were blocked Facebook and blogs, but that was my only complaint with them! That and the fact that there are no electrical outlets in their bathrooms!! :( Anyway, Morgan Frances was born on the 16th via the C-section I was absolutely dreading, and she's doing beautifully! She weighed 8 lbs. 3.1 oz. and measured 20 3/4 inches long. She is perfectly pink with big blue eyes and a little bit of light brown hair. We are absolutely in love! We stayed in the hospital till Sunday afternoon since I had a section and were wonderfully cared for. The entire experience was better that I ever imagined. For those of you facing a C-section, I will blog more about my experience soon. I will say that it was NOTHING like I feared! I will blog much more in the coming days about our perfect little princess!

See you soon!!

Waxing Poetic

"'Twas the night before my C-section and all through our place,
every creature was running around in a race;
Mom in her spotted maternity shirt
was spinning around cleaning all forms of dirt;
while Dad was a wonder with toilets and such,
Miss Bailey was trying to do not so much!
But once all the chores in the house were complete,
the parents sat down and put up their feet;
for tomorrow brings lots of excitement our way
and we can't wait to meet our sweet Morgan that day!"

OK, so I have NO idea why I felt the need to be poetic tonight! It could be that all the cleaning and running around and list-making and general THINKING I did today has sent me right over the proverbial edge! I think I'm trying to put my C-section tomorrow out of my mind so I can focus on the sweet baby we'll have at the end of that procedure - a sweet baby who, at the moment, feels like she's trying to tunnel out the front of my stomach!! Please keep us in your prayers - I can't wait to post pictures of our sweet Morgan as soon as I can tomorrow!!

See you soon!!

Gimme a "C"

Today was my weekly check-up - woo hoo!! I saw another dr. in the group and had an ultrasound to see how big Miss Morgan is and she is B.I.G! She weighs 7 lbs. 13 oz. YEA!! Now, the bad news . . . she's been head down for WEEKS, but today we discovered that she is breach. Obviously, I realized the implications of this development, but it didn't really hit me until the dr. said the word "C-section." Then he continued with a barrage of questions and information - are we planning to have more children because when they do the C-section my tubes will be RIGHT THERE and they can go ahead and tie them but I have to sign a paper that I have to sign ahead of time and not wait till I'm in labor and this doesn't commit me to anything but it gives me the option that I won't have if I wait until I go into labor . . . WHEW! I don't think he even took a breath! Meanwhile, all of the blood has drained from my face! No, of course we're not planning to have more children - I'll be 40 in January. Of course, we've discussed family planning but having my tubes tied never really came up. In my head, all of this made sense, but in my heart . . . well if was all just so much information so fast that my heart didn't really have time to digest it! So, next Tuesday, I'll see my dr. and discuss our game plan which, since her surgery day is Wednesday, looks like it will include a C-section as early as the 15th. Keep sending up those prayers!

See you soon - perhaps with a baby!!

Tomorrow COULD be a big day!!

Tomorrow is my last ultrasound and we will find out how big Miss Morgan is. Then we will know how to proceed these next few days. Bailey is counting on her being born on Saturday. I'm hoping some "progress" has been made by 9:30 a.m. tomorrow or it could be a loooooong time before we see our sweet baby. Lift up those prayers, please!

See you soon!!

The concept of sleep eludes me . . .

In a perfect world, I would be getting the very best sleep of my life during these last few weeks before Morgan is born. In a perfect world . . . Sadly, my sleep world is far from perfect!! If it's not bathroom runs every 1.5 hours, it's terrible back pain or leg twitchiness or Morgan has her feet in my lungs making it hard to breathe. So, it's 6:30 a.m. right now and I have been up for almost 3 hours after only 4 hours of sleep. I never thought I'd be able to function on so little sleep, so I guess my body is preparing for all those middle-of-the-night feedings and diaper changes, but I sure would like to sleep a little more now before Morgan arrives. On the upside, I have neatly repacked her little bag, washed dishes, washed and folded laundry, and had breakfast. When life gives you lemons . . .

See you soon!!