2 week appt

Morgan and I ventured out to the doctor yesterday morning. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 13.5 oz and was 21 inches long. Her weight is right on track and she's getting longer, but she's still a little thing. I love holding her close and snuggling and cuddling with her. She's still eating like a champ and is sleeping pretty good at night. It was a little rough last night because she just wanted to be held, but who am I to complain about that. Today we took a lot of naps on the couch together to catch up on the missed sleep.

I was able to get out of the house last night, by myself, and go to dinner at Ruth's Chris with my work crew. I pumped a little on Monday to try Morgan on the bottle for the first time. I wanted to make sure she would take it before I left her alone. She took right to it and enjoyed being fed by her daddy.

And just because, here is Morgan (in a cute outfit from Beth) sitting in her bouncy chair.

Four great years

We went to the park this morning with the girls. I took a four hour nap this afternoon. Then we picked up PF Changs for dinner. And we might watch a movie.

A perfect anniversary. I love you so much Michael. You are such a great husband and father. And you mean the world to me.

2 weeks old

We're starting to form a little bit of a routine. Morgan has longer stretches where she is awake and I love to talk and sing to her. She's going 2 to 3 hours between feedings and I'm getting a little more sleep at night. I love this baby girl so much.

Day with mommy

What do you do when your two year old is home with a fever, you have a new baby and Noah is building an ark in the back yard?

You drag every toy out of your room, the nursery and the toy boxes so you can't see the carpet. You use the sidewalk chalk in the garage because the flood has covered the usual canvas. You watch a little more TV than you're supposed to.

You paint in the kitchen, soaking the table and floor.


And you build a fort.



It turned out to be a good day.

Morgan's birth story

This post has taken me forever to type, but I still wanted to get it out there so I have it for the records.

It was an early Friday morning. We were at the hospital at 5:30. I joked a little about asking for the same room and nurse as last time so I found it a little funny when the nurse walked us back to room 11, same room I had with Addison. And when she introduced herself I did a double take. Same night nurse as last time. Couldn't get better. The IV's were started and the monitors strapped on. The anesthesiologist came in and explained the spinal block and everything that was going to happen. And guess what? Same person as last time. Everything was ready.

Taken right before surgery.

They wheeled me in to the operating room at 7:30. My doc and the new shift nurse (who I loved) both stood by me and held my hand while the spinal was being done. All that worry for nothing. It really isn't that bad. The whole time I felt like I was in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. All of the talk in the room was something other than surgery and babies. My doc was talking shrimp. Me and some of the others actually talked Grey's from the night before. They did some "checking" to make sure I was numb and not feeling anything. The spinal started to take place immediately and we were good to go.

Michael was called in to the room as soon as the surgery started. The anesthesiologist was walking me through the entire process and I was shocked to see Michael standing, looking over the curtain, watching the entire thing. Morgan was born at 7:49 a.m. and according to the nurse it took all of 4 minutes after the first cut was made. She got a 9 and 9.5 for her apgar scores. The whole experience was so much different than with Addison. I didn't have any pain and all of the drugs running through me so I was able to understand what was going on around me. I was able to enjoy the first breath and cries of Morgan and it was very emotional for me. I'll never forget the first time I saw my baby girl.

I was back in my room by 8:30. My mom and Jim and Michael's parents were there to enjoy those first moments with Morgan. Addison came to meet her new sister that afternoon with Michael's sister and niece. The spinal and morphine kept me comfortable throughout the day and I never experienced a whole lot of pain so I was able to enjoy the day with family and friends. That night I was up and moving around already. The recovery has been so much better than with Addison. I guess not having to put my body through 12 hours of labor made the difference.


Morgan had a little bit of jaundice which probably caused her to sleep a little more than usual. I had a little trouble getting her to stay awake to eat so the doctor's were a little concerned about how much weight she was losing. I got the all clear to go home about noon on Sunday, but we were advised to keep Morgan in another day just so they could monitor her weight and jaundice. We checked out Monday morning with Morgan weighing in at 6 lbs, 11 oz.

We've already taken Morgan to her first doctor's visit. Her weight was up to 6 lbs, 14 oz, so even though she was sleeping a lot, she was still getting the nutrients she needed. That made me feel a lot better than I did in the hospital. She's already grown a quarter of an inch, but is still a small little peanut. Her measurements were only in the 25th percentile, but she's perfect in every way.

I just wanted to give a huge thanks to our families. Michael's sister (and niece) played a huge role in taking care of Addison while we were in the hospital. I always know that Addison is being well taken care of when Angela is around and for that I am grateful. It sure took away a lot of the stress that I would have had otherwise. And to everyone else that was around that weekend - we really do appreciate all of your help.

Sisters

Sometimes I see it, sometimes I don't. But I guess they look more alike than I thought. Except for the hair.

Addison on the left, 10 days old. Morgan on the right, 5 days old.

Michael said to me when he saw this, "add a pound to Morgan and they would really look alike".

First few days

I'm still working on Morgan's birth story, but I know what you really want to see is more pictures. The lack of sleep caught up with me yesterday afternoon so I will be spending most of the day napping. But for now...

Addison has been so good with Morgan. She goes looking for her first thing when she walks in the door everyday. She still wants to squeeze and touch her a little too hard, but we're working on that. All in all it's been pretty good. The first day we had Morgan home Addison wanted to share her food with her. This is what I found.


Morgan has spent most of her life sleeping. In the bassinet, crib, swing, bundled, unbundled and on my chest. Unfortunately that sleep is more during the day and less at night.




Michael gave her a little sponge bath last night. I love the smell of a fresh clean baby. Oh so snugly.

Morgan Lane

Born May 8th at 7:49 a.m.
7 lbs, 7 oz
19.5 inches long

Everything went so much better than I ever thought it would. The surgery was quick and painless and the recovery so far has been a breeze. There was a little concern about her weight so we had to stay an extra night at the hospital. She's a little jaundice right now, but has not had to go under the lights. We're off to our first doc visit in the morning to make sure she's right where she needs to be.

Here's a couple of pics from the last few days. I went a bit overboard so I have a ton more. I'll post more about the birth after I feed and sleep a little.

Not so little

I've been a little teary lately. I cried in the car the other day on the way to pick Addison up from school. I cried the next morning when I was telling Michael the story about me crying. Come tomorrow my baby won't be my baby anymore. It's a little sad for me. I've been worrying so much about how she will adjust to a new baby sister in the house. I know it will be rough at times, but I have a feeling that everything will be okay. Addison already has so much love for this little person in my belly. She's so excited to meet her and so am I. But I'm starting to get a little worried about how I am going to adjust. Things are going to change. Sleepless nights, a crying baby, a two year old who just wants her mommy to play. I hope it will all go smoothly.

I'm pretty sure that my heart is going to double in size and there will be twice as much love to go around. I just hope that I can do a good job as a parent and they both know how much I love them. And I will always love them.

Big mama

My friend Kara, who does a little photography on the side, took some pictures of us in April. This put me at 34.5 weeks pregnant. Addison was very uncooperative that day and really didn't want anything to do with the pictures. And since Michael spent most of the time holding her he isn't in many of them either. But I did get some good belly shots and that was the goal.

Here are some of my favorites.








This last one is Addison tickling the baby. And for the record her tickling HURTS! It's more like a fast scratch and leaves my belly all red and bumpy.

Thanks Kara for spending a couple of hours with us. I (at least) had a good time.

New "babe-ing" suit

We broke out the sprinkler for the first time this past weekend. It amazes me how children can run in and out of the cold water, lips turning blue, shaking like a leaf, and enjoy every second of it.




And for the record, it wasn't the settings on my camera. It was the smudges on the lens from when Addison took her own pictures. Problem solved.

Fully cooked

Put a fork in me. I'm done. I've thrown in the towel. I'm so ready for baby girl to be here. Everyone who says the last two weeks are miserable are so right. And to think that I'm going in 5 days early. I don't know what I would do if I had to wait until next Wednesday, my official due date. Last night was the worst yet. I was up three times, tried sleeping on the couch and almost had tears in my eyes this morning. The pain and pressure are getting to me, but I know I'm at the end so I'm trying to be positive. It will all be worth it when we get to hold our baby girl.

I went to my last doctor's appointment on Friday. Everything checked out great so he said there was no need for me to come back. I was up to 144 on the scale, which is 38 pounds total. I'm sure it's more today since I can't seem to stay away fromt he Oreos. Who cares at this point! I told my doc that I was a little nervous and anxious about the surgery, but he said it would be fine. Doc always knows how to make me feel better. One of the other docs in his office (the one I like) will probably be there to assist. Two for the price of one. Doesn't get much better than that!

I'm at work until Wednesday morning sometime and then I'm out of here for 10 weeks. I'm looking forward to some time off with my girls. Michael and I did a lot of cleaning and prepping this weekend and I'm almost done. Just a few things to finish up tonight and then hopefully I'll be able to rest a little. Ha!!!

Here's a belly pic I took this morning. Note to self - fix the settings on my camera before Friday. They're horrible!

We did have some maternity pics taken and I got a call Saturday that they're done. Michael had some stomach bug though and I didn't make it out to get them. Hopefully I can post a few by the end of the week.