Happy 1 Month Birthday

Wow!! I can't believe Morgan is 1 month old already!! This mont has gone by so fast! Seems like just yesterday we went to the hospital to have her. Oh my, how quickly times flies!

At 1 Month Morgan:

weighs 10 pounds and is 22 inches long. We just went to the dr. and she was in the 90th percentile and up in every area. Getting to be such a big girl! She is still wearing newborn diapers but growing out of them quickly. In the past couple of days I have decided that she is too big for newborn clothes so I have moved her onto 0-3 month clothing. Most of it she can wear but there are still some outfits that are a little too big. The newborn clothes are just getting too tight and it's beginning to be a struggle to get her into them. Makes this Momma sad!! :(

is really starting to look around. She really seems to be seeing things instead of doing so much staring off into no where. She loves to look at bright lights and the fan. She has started to turn her head when we talk and definitely takes notice when daddy talks. She can hold her head up pretty good and will be doing it with out a problem very soon. She is so strong! She will kick and kick and push her feet against your belly.

usually sleeps about three to three and a half hours between feedings at night. We have started giving her a formula bottle with rice cereal at her first feeding of the night to help her sleep longer but I really haven't noticed much of a difference. Other then the one formula bottle at night she only breast feeds. She has done great with this since day one. She didn't spit up for the first two and a half weeks and for some reason has started to a lot! It was gradual at first but has gotten worse and worse. Sometimes it looks like it's about half of what she has just eaten or more.

is not crazy about getting a bath. She does ok until you start washing her hair. Once you start washing her hair she screams her head off, poor baby. I'm hoping this will soon change and she will enjoy it.

is on a flexible schedule of nursing, playing for about an hour, then sleeping for about two, in three hour intervals. She is starting to put herself to sleep some but mostly Cory rocks (or bounces) her to sleep. She slept in the bassinet for the first two weeks but we moved her the rockin play because she seems to sleep better in it. I think because it does not lay her flat on her back. We swaddle her and lay her on her side. She took her first nap in her crib yesterday on her belly.

has hated the pacifier for the first three weeks, but is starting to come around. We bought just about every kind of pacifier there is in hopes she would find one she liked. She refused all of them, opening her mouth wide for milk. But, finally this past Sunday she decided to take one all day. Oh my, what a wonderful day it was! There was minimal crying. But the very next day she refused it again. I wanted to cry because some of her problem is she just wants to suck and I know a pacifier would help. She took it a little today and last night so I'm hoping she will decide she likes it.

LOVES her daddy! I think she is going to be a daddy's girl. He is so good with getting her to calm down and quit crying. He does this bouncing thing and she loves it.

cries a lot. The Dr. thinks she might have colic. She cries a lot, and I mean a lot. The first week she cried ALL the time. After that it got a little better but not much. I really struggle with her getting spoiled because I'm not sure if she's crying because she is getting spoiled or because of the colic. We are praying this colic is short lived so we can have our smiling little girl all the time.

First bath given by Grammy and Granny Jan

1 month old

First Big Trip

We took Morgan on her first big trip at 2 weeks old to see my Meme and Papa in Horatio Arkansas. What were we thinking was all I could think the whole drive. My mom was still at our house helping us with Morgan. She needed to go back to her house to pack things up so she could move. We weren't really ready for her leave yet so we started begging her to stay, Some how in the midst of the conversation we got talked into going with her. Cory and I both kept thinking and asking if we were stupid to be taking a 2 week old on a 7 hour trip?! We quickly packed our things and got on our way. I was hoping Morgan would sleep the whole way and kind of figured she would. She loves riding in the car and usually falls asleep. This trip was no different. She slept almost the whole time, which was good because by this point she was pretty much screaming if she was awake.

About half way there we pulled over to change and nurse her. I had laid her down in my seat to change her. Things were great, I was almost done. Then, she pooped. I'm talking it shot out of her booty projectile like. It was everywhere, all the down the car, all over her, and on the blanket I had laid her on. I'm not sure how but it didn't get on anything that couldn't be wiped off. It didn't get on me and it didn't get on any fabric on the car. Wow!!! I get her all cleaned up and was about to put her diaper on, when she does it again!! THEN, I get her all cleaned up and she pees everywhere. It was crazy! My mom and I just stood there and laughed and prayed she didn't do anything else. Thankfully I got the diaper on before she could.

We got into town too late to go to Meme's so we went to mom's and surprised Meme and Papa the next morning. I loved to see her face when she opened the door to see her granddaughter and new great granddaughter!! She was so surprised and so happy! She was instantly in love with Morgan and couldn't wait to hold her. I loved every minute of it! I am so so thankful my Meme and Papa are still alive to meet their great granddaughter. They are very important to me and I want Morgan to know them the way I do.

I got to spend some wonderful time with my Meme just talking and watching her love on Morgan. While we were there it was Mother's Day. It was nice to spend my first Mother's Day with my mom and Meme. We went out to eat and had a wonderful time. I so wish we lived closer so I could see them more often. Thankfully things went great the whole trip and there were no major catastrophes except the poop incident. I am glad we decided to go even if it was last minute and even if we were crazy to take a 2 week old on a 7 hour trip! Our first big trip with Morgan was a great success. Hoping that is of things to come!!

4 Generations- Meme, Mom, Me, Morgan

Meme and Papa

My first Mother's Day

First Week With Morgan

The first week home with Morgan was crazy. Thankfully my mom came and stayed with us for two weeks. She was so helpful and I am glad she was able to come. The first night home Morgan was awake every hour and a half. We were exhausted. That morning my mom took her for a couple of hours and Cory and I were able to get a little bit of rest. I'm not going to lie, that first week was awful. All she did was cry. My mom said she had never seen a baby cry like that before. We changed her diaper, we held her, we fed her, we laid her down, it didn't matter what we did, she cried. I wanted to cry. Thankfully the next week was a little better. She seemed to cry less and less and she was sleeping for about three hours with out waking up at night. That was way better then every hour and a half.

My mom (and Cory) did everything from give us a break with Morgan to making dinner. She was wonderful. We knew that if we didn't know what to do with Morgan, my mom probably did. It was so nice in the morning after a long night she would take Morgan and Cory and I could go lay back down and get a little bit of sleep.

Morgan did great with breast feeding from day one. She didn't have any problems latching on. The only problem was that I was so sore for about two and a half weeks. It hurt so bad at one point  I was in tears and almost gave it up. The only reason I didn't was because people kept telling me that the soreness would go away after a couple of days or a couple of weeks. I just kept thinking that I had to be almost there. Thankfully things healed up and was much better.

Most of our visitors came to the hospital. We had a few come to the house but not as many as I thought we would have. I wanted to show her off but it was kind of nice to not have a ton of interruptions. We did have some very sweet friends bring us dinner two nights which was very helpful.

Things have been tough and Morgan has good days and bad days but we love our little girl more and more everyday and we wouldn't trade her for anything in the world.

Abby Meets Miss Morgan

Before we brought Morgan home we were a little nervous about how Abby would react. We didn't really think she would be ugly or jealous but we weren't sure. Well the day came to bring Morgan home and Abby couldn't have done any better. My mom took Abby out before we brought Morgan inside. Cory got her out of the car seat and was holding her on the couch when we brought Abby back in. We tried to show Abby Morgan but she acted like she didn't see her or care she was there. Finally Morgan moved and Abby took notice. She immediately wanted to know what Cory was holding. She sniffed and sniffed and licked. We were still very nervous because Abby is so hyper. We had to hold her back so she wouldn't scratch Morgan.

We put Morgan in the bassinet and watching Abby was so funny. She kept standing up on the side of the bassinet and trying to look in every time Morgan moved or made a noise.

At first every time Morgan made a noise or cried Abby was right there trying to figure out what was going on. When she cried she would pace the floor like she didn't know what to do, or she would try to lick her hands and feet trying to fix it. It was so sweet.

We are still going to have to teach Abby to be gentle around Morgan but I have no doubt in my mind that she won't hurt her on purpose. We both think Abby is going to be good big sister and we were nervous for no reason.

Bringing Morgan Home

We actually got to go home faster then we thought and probably faster then we should have, but the OB department was filling up and they needed my room. Everything was good with both of us so it wasn't a problem. I had a low iron because of blood loss but it wasn't too bad and everything looked great with Morgan. The second they told us we could go home we both got nervous, Cory more then me. He went to get the car seat out of the car and ended up calling because he couldn't figure out how to get it out of the car. It was so funny because he was freaking out about it. Our nurse offered to go out and help him but he finally figured it out. When we were packing things up and getting her strapped in Cory kept pacing, it was so funny. Poor guy!

Her going home outfit was a gift from our good friends Korley and Brandy Martin. I found it on Etsy and thought it would be perfect for her to go home in. Brandy surprised me with it at my baby shower. It was a little big but she still looked so adorable in it. I'm thinking about getting her pictures made in it when it fits better.

Ready to go home!

Cory was so nervous driving and even said he felt like he needed to drive like 30 the whole way home. Thankfully he didn't and we got home just fine. Not a single peep out Morgan the whole drive. She slept like a baby, literally :)

Morgan's Birth Story

I wanted to get this on here before I forgot too much of it. It was such a whirlwind of a day anyway, I want to get it all down so I don't forget.

Friday, April 27, came quickly. I was to not eat after 2:00 am that morning, not good for me. Cory set an alarm for 1:00 am for us to get up and eat something but some how we slept right through it. Darn!! I don't do good when I don't eat. Everybody told me that I would be fine because I would be so nervous and excited. Well, they were wrong! I woke up starving, and stayed starving until it was time to go back. Oh well, it was all for a good reason. Thank goodness I never threw up before the surgery. Anyway...............we didn't have to be at the hospital until 9:30 or 10:00, which was nice because we got to kind of relax and not rush before going. We got to the hospital about 10:00 and got settled in our room. They started asking me tons of questions, started my IV and fluids, and took some blood. I loved the little nurse we had. She was so nice and kept a smile on her face. I got to have her a couple of times while we were there. A nurse came in to ask our nurse a question and at first she said we weren't going to be able to go back until 2:30 (we were scheduled for 12:00), Cory and I just about freaked out! Then she realized what she had said, she meant 12:30. Ok, that was a little better.

Before I knew it a man came in saying he was from surgery. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me that he was coming to get me, but it didn't. I just thought he was coming to ask me questions. Before I could blink he was moving things around and rolling me out of the room. I didn't even get to say anything to Cory. I couldn't believe it but I started to tear up. I think a lot of it was because it was all happening so fast and I wasn't ready. They wheeled me into the operating room and it all started becoming too real. I was then moved over from my bed to the operating table, which by the way was very small! Dr. Wright was in there and was asking if I was ok and telling me things would be fine. I think he could see the terror on my face. They then sat me up and gave me my spinal. It was painful but not like I thought it would be. I could feel the needle in my back and on the other side of my backbone. Thankfully it didn't take long. Dr. Wright was there the whole time talking to me and making sure I was ok. They then laid me back down and the spinal came in full force. I couldn't feel a thing. I hated they way it made me feel and could not wait to get feeling back. I couldn't feel anything but felt so heavy at the same time. They started prepping me and before I knew it, it was time to start. Dr. Wright started cutting and Cory wasn't even in the room yet. Thankfully the anestioloist noticed and asked if he could come in. At this point I was freaking out a little bit. I didn't like the way I felt, my leg felt like it was bent and it was uncomfortable and I was just scared. When Cory came in he could tell I was freaking out and started telling me it was ok, things would be fine. I felt much better with him there holding my hand. The worst part was when they were pushing on my chest to get her out. She was still very high and they couldn't get her. It hurt sooooo bad! I squeezed Cory's hand so hard, I'm sure it had to hurt. She was so high they almost had to get out the vacuum. Thankfully she finally came out. The first thing I heard was how healthy she looked and that she had a ton of hair. He finally lifted her over the blue curtain so I could see. She was so beautiful and not at all what I thought she would look like. When Cory looked at me he had tears in his eyes. He was smitten from first sight! The first thing I noticed was how chunky her cheeks were and how little she looked. She didn't cry for the longest time, but I remember not being worried because everybody kept saying how healthy she was and how big she was. She finally cried and so did I. They cleaned her up and brought her over to me. She was beautiful! Then they took her to the nursery to get checked out and cleaned up better. Cory followed behind. I was told later that in the nursery he was like a kid in a candy store, a giddy, smitten daddy. So wish I could have seen it.

After they finished stitching me up they took me to recovery. I remember shaking uncontrollably because I was freezing. Thank goodness, recovery had hot lights and this heater that went under the covers to warm me up. They were going to bring Cory back with Morgan but there was another patient in there also so they only brought Morgan back. The nurse laid her on my chest and I remember thinking that I was about to drop her. She was so perfect and quiet. (Of course that has changed) Before I knew it, it was time to go back to my room. When they wheeled me in, Cory was holding Morgan. When he turned to look at me, he had a huge smile on his face. I knew right then he was completely smitten! He was holding her like a pro. Didn't look scared or awkward at all. He looked like he had been doing this forever. I couldn't have been happier.

Morgan did great on her apgar test, got an 8-9 the nurse said. She passed her vision and hearing with flying colors. She only ended up losing about 4 ounces and gained them back by the time we went back to the doctor that Wednesday. She had a tiny, tiny bit of jaundice, but thankfully it wasn't enough to make her stay in the hospital or even need a blanket.

We had many visitors, who I felt bad for, because there were two different times that I was puking my guts up and they all had to stand there and hear it. Thankfully they gave me some medicine and that problem was taken care of. By Sunday the OB department started to fill up, and since Morgan and I were both doing so well they let us go home. Cory and I were both excited but very nervous to be leaving the hospital and the nurses who could fix everything for us.

I still can't believe she is finally here and we have a beautiful baby girl who we absolutely adore!! She is gorgeous and we couldn't have asked her a more perfect little girl!!

Fresh out of the oven!

 

8 pounds 2 ounces

   Meeting Morgan for the first time

Getting cleaned up in the nursery.   

 

            Our beautiful baby girl!