Four Month Update

Height: 26 inches! (95th %)

Weight: 14 lbs. 2 oz. (80th %)

Morgan Likes:

Trying to stand while we balance her, the “Little White Duck” song, laughing at her flower toy, baths and she is just starting to like rice cereal!

Morgan Dislikes:

Bottles, pacifiers, going to bed early, Infant Tylenol, boredom, and getting her diaper changed in the morning when she is hungry!

What’s New:  Morgan just started to roll over both ways. She used to dislike tummy time but now she seems to enjoy it.  Her hair is growing quite a bit and several people have said that it looks auburn.  Her eyes are still blue and she is full of smiles and giggles.  She is a little shy when we get out but is a real ham at home with her Mommy and Daddy.  Morgan looked like Jeremy a lot more the first couple months but several have said she is looking a little more like me – which I don’t mind.  J  She is getting to the point where she is starting to really “play” since she has better control of her hands.  We think that her food allergy is probably to milk and soy so at least we have narrowed it down quite a bit.  Also, we think she might have her first tooth coming in.  When you look closely, you can see it through her gums. 

What Morgan Plays With:

She enjoys jumping in her Jumparoo.  She is not technically tall enough so we put a book under her feet so she can put weight on her legs.  She also likes her flower toy Petal which she thinks is hilarious.  Her play yard is fun and Mom likes it to when she needs a break for a quick shower.  Morgan has also had a sudden interest in Katy, my parents’ dog.  She likes to laugh at her as she runs around the room.  We also read books every day.

What Morgan Eats:

Morgan is starting to really like rice cereal.  Since she won’t take milk from a bottle we are looking forward to her being able to eat in different ways.

What Morgan Says:

The cutest noises you can imagine!  She talks up a storm in the morning and also during diaper changes.  She likes to “sing” along with her two favorite songs – “Little White Duck” and “You are My Sunshine.”  She and her Pop Pop have very in-depth conversations. 

How Morgan Spends Her Time:

Every morning Morgan usually wakes up at about 7:00 or 8:00.  She likes to be fed first thing and then is in a good mood afterwards.  Then we spend some time talking and singing songs.  Morgan usually takes a little nap at about 10:00.  Then we run whatever errands and play.  Yesterday we went to her first birthday party for her friend Clara and she really enjoyed taking it all in and watching the “big kids”.  Her buddies Adalyn and Emma were there who we have playdates with.  She will usually take an hour-long nap at about 3:00.  When Daddy comes home she sits at the table and watches us eat.  Then we feed her rice cereal, give her a much-needed bath and put on pjs.  We do our bedtime routine but she usually doesn’t go to bed until 10:15 at the earliest.  She is officially out of the swing at night and is sleeping in the carrier which is in her crib so we can watch her on the monitor.  We think she likes to be in a tight space.  She could probably sleep in the crib but it is kind of nice that we can rock the carrier to get her to sleep.

We love our sweet girl SO much and don’t know what we ever did without her!

Big Girl Food

The last few days we have been experimenting with rice cereal.  We had low expectations since she has had no interest in a bottle.  However, she actually likes it and is even learning to open her mouth like a baby bird when she wants a bite. As you can see, she probably gets more on her than in her but she is making progress. Jeremy and I can’t believe how fast she is growing up!

Four Month Appointment

This week Morgan had her four-month check-up.  It seems like it was just the other day that we brought her in for her first appointment and now our baby is four months old.   It is so refreshing to look back at how far we have come.  In the beginning, I was so nervous about how I was going to be able to care for the little baby I was just getting to know.  Now, I know her cries, her expressions, her favorite songs and even her best tickle spots.  I’m not sure who has grown more in the past four months – her or me?

Speaking of growth, I was happy to see that she is still in the 80^th percentile for weight and 95^th percentile for height.  Fortunately her dairy allergy hasn’t affected her appetite.  Dr. Henderson suggested we start to experiment with rice cereal some with a goal to get more in her than on her.  J He asked how she was sleeping I was happy to report to him that she has been sleeping seven or eight hours straight at night.  (This will all change of course now that I am posting it on our blog.)

The shots seem to take a lot out of her so we had a nice quiet day at home.

Grandad and Micki Visit

Grandad and Micki came today to see Miss Morgan.  She enjoyed their visit as always and we even went out to eat at Cenare, Jeremy's favorite restaurant. She was pretty good most of the time.  However, at one point I tried to put a bib on her and she let out a very loud wail.  Suddenly we were "those people" who can't seem to get their baby under control in a nice restaurant.  Fortunately, she calmed down in a matter of minutes and needless to say, I just let her slobber all over herself with no bib.

Afterwards we went back to the house and I enjoyed the luxury of a much-needed nap while Grandad and Micki spent time with Morgan.

First Trip to Katy

We recently took Morgan to meet my grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousins in Katy, Tx.  She managed to stay in a good mood for the entire trip.  Everyone got a kick out of her little expressions and also were amused with how goofy Pop Pop acts around her.  She is one loved little girl.

It was a beautiful day and my mom, Aunt Lisa and I talked on the deck.  Morgan enjoyed the attention as always.

Morgan's Birth Story

Disclaimer: This may be TMI for some.  :)

         
After nine long months of carrying Morgan, I was so ready to finally deliver…or was I?  My pregnancy was somewhat eventful.  I had your typical morning/evening sickness in the first trimester but in my second trimester I had to finish work early due to a rapid heart rate.  Then, in the third trimester, I had very painful muscle spasms in my hips and back that made it difficult to walk.  As ready as I was to no longer be “with child”, I have always had a tremendous fear of childbirth due mainly to my tendency to be extremely squeamish.

Although I was nervous, Morgan was very ready to make her grand entrance!  At week 36, I was already 3 centimeters and 75% effaced.  Dr. Jansky set an induction date for November 29^th instead of my original due date of Dec. 3^rd.  With my rapid heart rate, she wanted to have a “nice planned delivery.”  So, that evening before, I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight.  Of course I laid in bed nervous and hungry awaiting the big day.  I got a couple hours sleep and was surprisingly in a good mood and ready to see my little girl.  We got to the hospital and met my nurse Pam.  She was great.  I changed into my gown and she got the iv in.  Then my nerves started to kick in.  I started to immediately get nauseous and was getting sick.  I didn’t feel like I was nervous but maybe my body was uneasy about this miraculous event ahead.  It was that or the fact that the nurse informed me that the doctor would be in soon to break my water.  It turns out that I was already 4 centimeters and 90% effaced.  I remember thinking to myself “things usually don’t progress this fast in Baby Story.”  I was allowed some medication in my IV for nausea and it didn’t really seem to help any.   

Dr. Jansky came in and broke my water.  The action had begun!  The pitocin started and so did the contractions.  They started coming hard and fast.  They weren’t so bad at first but after a while I told the Pam I was ready for the epidural.  I knew I was going to get one so I wasn’t concerned about waiting long.  The anesthesiologist took about an hour to get to the room.  Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal but I was already at six centimeters and more than a little uncomfortable.  As the anesthesiologist was prepping for the epidural I made the mistake of asking her if it would make me tired.  She came around the bed and gave me a 15 minute explanation.   I wanted to tell her to get back to work on the epidural but I didn’t want to tick off someone that was about to stick a needle through my spine.

The epidural is an amazing invention.  Not only does it take away all the pain but apparently the drugs have a very nice calming effect which was just what I needed.  The next several hours consisted of family coming in to say hello, nurses checking on me and the opportunity to bask in the state of painless contractions.  At about 1pm, Pam checked me and informed me that I was already at nine centimeters.  At about this time, I told myself that maybe I should stop watching Seinfeld and mentally prepare myself to become a mommy.

Pam came back in a little over an hour and I was at 10 centimeters.  The plan was for her to coach me in pushing for a while until Dr. Jansky came.  So, the time had finally arrived.  My mom and of course Jeremy were in the room.  With Pam’s instructions, I started to push with all my might although I couldn’t feel a thing.  Things were going well or so I thought until Pam suddenly told me to stop pushing.  She walked over to the phone and called Dr. Jansky.  Dr. Jansky was there in less than a minute.  There was lots of whispering towards the other end of the bed and I kept asking if Morgan was alright.  Apparently Morgan’s head was stuck in my right hip and wasn’t budging. This was the cause of the spasms in my hips in my pregnancy.  The pushing only forced her further into my hip and had just caused tearing.  Unfortunately, every time I pushed her heart rate would drop.  At that point, Dr. Jansky knew she needed to work fast and continued to instruct me in pushing.  She did an episiotomy and got out the vacuum.  Jeremy said he couldn’t believe how hard she was pulling.  With one last push, Dr. Jansky was holding up Morgan for me to see.  Her cry was music to my ears.  It was amazing to see the very face that all those ultrasound pictures could never adequately convey.  They started cleaning her up and everyone kept saying how big she was.  Dr. Jansky and Pam guessed her weight and they both thought she was over 9 pounds. My engineer husband said she was “dense.” My mom helped the nurses hold her while they cleaned her up and Jeremy took pictures. I will never forget the tears in Jeremy’s eyes when he came over to show me a picture of my baby girl.  The doctor took about 45 minutes to sew me up so it seemed like an eternity before I finally got to hold her.  I asked the nurse if she was ok and she assured me Morgan was fine.

Our Morgan was so perfect in every way.  I felt exceedingly blessed and I knew I would be starring in her little eyes for the rest of my life.  Morgan Kathryn Peters was born at 2:40p.m. on November 29, 2010 and was 8 lbs and 1.1 oz and 20.5 inches long.  She had a head of brown hair and pretty blue eyes.  After getting to nurse her for the first time, our families got to meet her.  I am continually amazed at how God has blessed us with Morgan. It is still very surreal as I can’t believe she is ours.   I am honored to be the mother of such a special little baby and I have never been happier.

2 Months

Well, I am actually posting on our blog.  I had told myself that I would make updates all the time as soon as Morgan was born.  However, reality set in with its sleep deprivation, feedings around the clock and diaper changes and it didn't happen.  So, hopefully I will start to get in the habit soon.

Morgan went to her 2 month appointment last week.  She is in the whopping 95th percentile for length and 80th percentile for weight.  Jeremy and I can't really figure out where the height comes from since not many people in our family are very tall.  It will be interesting to see if the trend continues.  As far as the weight goes, let's just say that Morgan has never turned down a meal.  The appointment went really well except for when she had to get her shots towards the end. 

Morgan started smiling at about 5 weeks and it has been SO much fun.  My favorite part of the day is when she wakes up in the morning.  I say "Good Morning Sunshine" and she immediately responds with a huge grin!  She has also started to babble in response to us talking to her.  She is quite the go-getter as she does not want to be in one place for long.  She is such a wiggler and much prefers sitting or standing with our help - and she certainly does not want to be held like a baby!  She is a really good snuggler for nap time though.  Morgan sleeps long stretches at night now - usually 6 or 7 hours.  This has been so nice as I feel like a new person now that I'm getting a lot of sleep.  Unfortunately, she will only sleep in her swing.  We think it has to do with her colic because it seems like she just has to have the movement to sleep.  She is pretty fussy in the evenings still but fortunately her colicy time has shifted from 6pm to 1am instead of 12am to 5am.  Also, it is not nearly as intense.  All in all, Morgan is such an incredible blessing in our lives.  I don't know what I ever did without my sweet baby girl.