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. 

The New Life - Part II

Well, the first couple weeks seem to be a blur.  It is amazing how much our lives have changed for the better in such a short amount of time.  Morgan is keeping us busy and we have had lots of help from both of our families. She is really something else and I am so in awe of what an amazing blessing from God she is.  He consistently reminds me that he has big plans for our little girl.  We are already starting to see some of her personality.  She is quite a stinker and has the funniest facial expressions.  Morgan is so sweet but at the same time let's us know exactly what she is thinking! (Why doesn't that surprise me?)

Morgan had her two-week follow up appointment on Tuesday.  Right before that appointment, we had three really rough nights with her up crying and the doctor says she probably has colic.  She is up most hours of the night with the exception of last night!  She actually slept for 2 3-hour stretches and it was the most sleep I have gotten since we've come home. Jeremy and I take shifts during the night and realize that the colic won't last forever.  Our pediatrician was so impressed with how well she is eating and putting on weight.  She was 8 lb., 1 oz when she was born and was 7 lb. 5 oz at her 3 day follow up.  She had already gained back that weight and is over 9 pounds.  Dr. Henderson called her "Porky Peters" at one point during the appointment and said he was very pleased.  I'm sure she will really appreciate that one day.

Well, I have definitely fallen down on the job with not posting many pics this week.  Hopefully we will get some posted later today.

The New Life

We have been home for about 5 days, and ironically enough, last Friday was the original due date.  We have come a long way in a week.  This time last week, we were making sure the bags were packed and making sure Karin got enough to eat and drink before midnight.  Now we have our perfect little Morgan home and are getting used to our new life.

As you can probably tell, Karin is still letting me update the blog.  The funny thing is that Karin has opened her laptop once since we went to the hospital Monday morning. 

Things have been going well.  Morgan has been eating more and sleeping more.  Our moms have been spending the nights (one at a time), which has helped a lot, but I think we are starting to get into our routines. 

Here are some new pictures.  As you can see, Morgan has already changed a lot.  Check back for more updates.  I'm sure Karin will start writing at some point.  At which time the blog will become more informative and contain more of what you want to know. 

Home

Well we are home now.  Karin and Morgan are sleeping, I'm blogging.  Apparently we have collected quite a following.

Karin is feeling much better today.  She is walking and getting around a lot more.  Morgan is great too, although her progress is isolated to sleeping, eating, and pooping.  But I guess that is our lives for the coming months.

Karin hasn't approved this one, but its cute:

Well, I am micro-managing the timing of sleeping, feeding, changing, and taking meds.  So I better get back to it.  Check back for updates.

The Next Day

Well, it was a very interesting night.  Nurses coming in, what seemed like every other hour, and feedings all through the night.  Karin was in a lot of pain throughout the night.  The Vicadin did not work real well overnight. 

Today, Karin's doctor put her on some stronger pain killers, and they seem to be working very well.  This morning was very interesting.  We got about a dozen visits from what I have dubbed the "Cavalcade of Knowledge".  Apparently, St. Joseph's lines up experts of all sorts at your door to come tell you how to be a good parent and not injure your child.  This experts included the anesthesiologist, several people who claimed to be experts on breast feeding, the pediatrician, a photographer, and a woman who I think was trying to convince me that I may not be the father.  Needless to say, we were happy when people quit coming in.  The best part was about halfway through, they decided knocking was not needed.  That made things real interesting.

Karin is doing a lot better now on the new pain killers.  She is moving around a lot better, and was able to get quite a long nap in this afternoon.  I have not. 

Morgan is doing well.  She has been feeding regularly, and apparently we are the talk of the nursery because we have "3 poopy diapers and 1 peepee diaper".  This is a good thing, although I am thinking in about a week or so, I will fail to realize the value. 

If things continue to improve, we will probably be discharged tomorrow, and be back home.  I am looking forward to this, as my "home" now consist of an 18" wide by 6' long vinyl bench.

While my sense of humor has seemed to returned amid the hours of lost sleep, this has been an amazing experience.  All in all, everything has gone very well.  Karin has done a great job and is a terrific mother. 

Keep checking back for updates, and I will try to get some more pictures up soon.  (Karin has high standards for the quality of pictures posted to the world wide web.  Unfortunately, these standards are not widely available in a hospital, post-pardom environment.)

Pictures