Weird Science

We finally put our Science Center membership to use and took Morgie on a little excursion. It was such a blast. The last time we visited she wasn't really into it- but this time, she was so entranced by the dinosaurs, butterflies and all the other "bright shiny objects". One of the most fun things about the little Miss is how everything is so exciting and new. Really puts a new perspective on life, even for us big kids.

Morgie's first Christmas

Morgan was completely spoiled this year, with all of her aunties, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and, admittedly, parents. I sort of feel like I was spoiled, too, since I love to dress her in fabulous little outfits and she got a million new clothing items (yes, this is one of the MANY joys of having a little girl). Christmas eve we hung out with Uncle Jo Jo and Aunt P.P., and then spent Christmas Day night with Fanny, Fimmy and their parents.

We're still missing Grandma(s), but we're feeling the love from all of our friends here in the Seattle area.

From Morgan 4-5 Months

Morgan is 4 months old!

From Morgan 3-4 months

Goodbye floppy larynx!

Morgan was diagnosed with "laryngomalacia", a super fancy name for a floppy larynx, at her 2 month appoinment. Basically the larynx flops over her breathing hole, making breathing and eating difficult, and making every breath sound like a little song (do you love all my medical jargon, or what?). We scheduled a surgery for yesterday, and we scheduled it for so far out with the hopes that her weight gain would take off, but she has a hard time eating much more than 1.5-2 ozs, and it's really only gotten worse.

So, of course, a completely unprecedented snow storm hit the day before the surgery, and we had to get up at 5am to make sure she made it to Children's by 7:15. We arrived, and Matt and I both shed a few tears while we waited for our little peanut. Fortunately we had a top surgeon in this field, the surgery only took 20 minutes, and Miss M did GREAT! We stayed the night at the hospital because they had to monitor her after the general anesthesia, but got home just in time to start on some Thanksgiving goodness! Whew, what a week!

Morgan is 3 months old!

From Morgan 2-3 months

My pumpkin at the pumkin patch

1. How cute is this outfit? (thanks Auntie Steph, Uncle Mark and cousins Hanna and Sophie!)
and
2. How fun is the pumpkin patch?

I had a blast. Morgan slept through most of it, but I'm just excited that she fits into her 0-3 month clothes just in time to wear this perfect fall outfit. We went with our friends Marie and Jason, and their little boy (and one of Morgan's BFF's), Matyas. I had a carameled apple for the first time in years, and it was absolutely delish.

2 months!

We have a 2 month old! Time sure flies when you're having fun. Here's our little gal with her fave giraffe on her 2 month birthday. And, PS, the shots weren't fun. Morgan cried her first real tears. Poor babe!

Go Wildcats!

So, Matt is a K-State alum, and for the first football game of the season we dressed our little doll in some K State gear. I spruced it up with this fabulous bow, which Matt did not appreciate. But, seriously, how cute! After his family saw this picture they sent us the true, hardcore, purple K State gear. She has yet to fit into any of it, maybe she will during basketball season.

Morgan's first boyfriend...

Love, love, love the Fisher Price Seahorse! Matt and I have named this magical seahorse "Manuel", and Morgan cannot get enough. She just lays in her crib gazing into his eyes as he plays classical music, and eventually falls asleep. Only downside- he only plays for 5 minutes. Sometimes it takes a few presses of his magical tummy to get her to fall asleep.

Yay sleep!

Morgan has been such a great sleeper the past few nights! And, so have Matt and I! When we first brought her home she was waking up every hour or two, and even when she wasn't awake she'd make snorting noises that kept us up all night. I think she had her days and nights confused, and Matt and I didn't help by keeping lights on, waking her up to feed, talking to her when we fed her at night, etc.

I picked up the no cry sleep solution and read some advice on the interwebs, we started turning off the lights, making less noise...AND we moved Morgan into her own room. She is now sleeping 3 hour stretches MINIMUM, and usually starts off the night with a 4-6 hour stretch. Hoorah. I feel sane! And, I think she's feeling happy, too!

AAAACHOOOO!

What? How does my one month old baby have a cold? OK, she totally got it from me...fortunately, there isn't a fever involved, just a really stuffy nose. And, thank goodness for the Nose Frida! Seriously, this thing is my saving grace. Initially I just would put saline drops in Morgan's nose, and then use an aspirator to attempt to suck the boogies out. The saline drops are great (although Morgan would vehemently disagree). But, the aspirator just sucks.

When her cold began late last week I was in U Village. I noticed her nose was completely filled with boogies, and she could barely breathe. I forgot my aspirator at home and rushed into Village Maternity and asked if they had one....they then sold me the Nose Frida (my lovely friend Marie had already told me about it so it didn't take much to talk me into buying it). It sounds gross...you suck into one end and basically suck your baby's snot out, but there is a filter that prevents any of that yuckiness from going in your mouth. And, I tell you, SO MUCH BETTER than an aspirator. It's my new favorite toy! And, Morgan likes it better than the aspirator.

Here is a hilarious (but accurate) pic of a mom using a nose frida.

Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now.

One month!

Morgan is one month old today! It's so strange...the days seem to go by slllooowwwlllly when you're completely sleep deprived. But, looking back, the time has FLOWN! Morgan is now about 6 lbs (YAY Morgan!) and can roll from her belly to her back. She is so cute and sweet. We adore her.

BFFs

Morgan and Lilah met for the first time on 8/21! I went into the hospital on bedrest and then Kerstin went into labor. With all the settling in, etc after both babies were born we were so excited to get together and visit. These girls are going to have so much fun growing up together.

Lilah is so sweet and cuddly, I just loved meeting her. And, Kerstin is a total natural at being a mommy!

Splish Splash...

Morgan lost her umbilical cord...meaning...time for her first bath. And, she loved it! She did not like getting out of the tub, though. Matt and I made the mistake of not turning on the heat in the bathroom, so she was freezing when she got out. Whoopsy!

Mommy and Morgan post bath

One Week!

We have a one week old! This picture cracks me up and is the perfect depiction of life right now. Missing sock, missing mitten, total chaos but so cute and snuggly! And, she's a whole 4 lbs, 10 oz. That's 1 oz more than her birth weight.

And, Uncle JC and Uncle Brian met Miss Morgan for the first time on her one week birthday.

Seriously, This Kid is Awesome

Check this girl out! One week old and already holding her bottle. Okay, so they're the little plastic hospital bottles, but still! AMAZING. We've got a little super woman on our hands.

A Star is Born

After one month on bedrest at home and one week at Swedish Hospital, Dr Robin Cole delivered Miss Morgan Biagi Scheck at 35 weeks, 5 days gestation. During our hospital stay we had several ultrasounds, and on 8/5 it was determined that my womb was no longer the best place for baby. I was given the news at 11am, and told I would be having a c-section sometime between then and 7pm. I called Matt at work to let him know that he would be a daddy today. His response? "What should I do?". I kindly told him to get his butt to the hospital.

At 2pm they decided it was time. I was prepped, brought into the OR, and immediately started having anxiety. That quickly ended when Matt strolled in all scrubbed and ready for surgery. Thank goodness for the little things that make you laugh! The spinal wasn't so bad, it just felt like water running down my back. The paralysis once the spinal set in freaked me out, but once I got my breathing under control, it took no time at all. They announced "It's a girl!" and Matt was able to see Morgan's little pink body kicking, and then we heard her little cries. I then finally got a glimpse of my little girl. There was a team of neo-natal specialists waiting to check her out and whisk her to the NICU if necessary....before we knew it, they were gone and Morgan was still in the room with us! She scored a 9/10 on her APGAR, what a tough little cookie!

I am so grateful for the top notch care both Morgan and I received from the most amazing group of doctors at the Seattle Women's Clinic, as well as the care I received from Swedish. Although my doctor was out of town on vacation, she left me in the care of one of the premiere high risk doctors anywhere. Because of them, we have this adorable, healthy little girl. I couldn't be more grateful.

Bedrest

I'm now officially and indefinitely on bedrest beginning Thursday, 7/8. I went in for a routine appointment and mentioned I hadn't felt a ton of movement and the doc realized my uterus hadn't grown since my previous appointment. 2 ultrasounds later and my amniotic fluid is at 6 cm. Should be between 5 and 25, and 6 is getting dangerously low. Which means bedrest until my levels go up or baby is born. So it could be 4 weeks. Holy boredom batman. Baby is doing great though, other than only being in the 14th percentile. She's gonna be a little one!

So, what does an active girl do while on bedrest for 4 weeks? Some thoughts:

- Finish my thank you cards for the baby shower. I've been slacking on those
- Watch as much TV as I can handle (may as well...since I probably won't be getting a ton of TV time once Morgan is here)
- Work- Oh, yeah, did I mention this bedrest occured less than 1 week before the customer event I've been working on the past 8 months? Awesome
- art projects? I would love this...just not sure how I"m going to get the supplies. I want to finish my lampshade and create a few pieces of wall art...hmmmmm

Open to other ideas!

Now...and then!

18 weeks vs 28 weeks!

How far along: 29 Weeks

Total weight gain: Changes daily...but about 17 pounds (technically 7 pounds up from pre-preg weight)
Size of baby: The size of a butternut squash
Maternity clothes: Love my maternity dresses, but not loving the jeans. Instead am still wearing my pre-preg jeans with the belly band. Thank goodness for the belly band!
Stretch marks?: No, thank goodness! But, I think I'm starting to see the beginnings of stretch marks around my belly button......
Sleep: Pretty good for the most part. Missing sleeping on my back!
Best moment this week: Arriving home from Vegas. Walking non-stop in a hot, smoky climate while pregnant is not fun! Oh, and flying while pregnant sucks, too.

Movement?: She's been pretty busy this week, and we can officially see her moving from the outside. That's awesome.

Food cravings?: Nope, but loving food.

Gender? Girl

Labor signs?: No...thank goodness
Belly button in or out?: Still way in, but is starting to become more shallow. It hurts.

What I miss: Beer. Wine. Sushi.

What I'm looking forward to: Of course I'm looking forward to meeting Miss Morgan!

Milestone: People have started commenting on the pregnancy, FINALLY! I'm tired of just looking fat.

Beginnings of the nursery....

I knew from day one that Baby Scheck's nursery wouldn't be pink, blue or themed. And, in typical Katy fashion, I also decided to take on a thousand nursery projects in an effort to save money. I always seem to forget how much time these projects will actually take!

Fortunately, Matt took on the painting of walls and furniture, and even helped me cut out the butterflies for my favorite part of the room, the mobile!

There is still a ton to do but we're getting there.

Zofran is my new best friend!

7 weeks and 4 days in and today is the first day in almost 2 weeks that I haven't dry heaved, puked or even really felt that sick. Thank you Zofran!

Monday I only peed once (I'm usually a light pee-er...but, hello, I'm knocked up, I pee at least once an hour or so) and I was down 8 pounds pre-Philippines weight (so, really closer to like 10 pounds). I called the doc and they had me come in that afternoon for fear of dehydration. Once the PA saw my green tinged skin she sent me home with a prescription for zofran. Hallelluja! This shiz works. Just 3 little pills a day means that I can actually keep food down. Now hopefully distance is not born with 2 heads.

I think I might actually be able to eat pho today. I'm going to venture out and try it.

So, really my only preg symptom is that I'm more tired than usual, am a little woozy, and the bosom is quite full. I think I'm a-okay for another month until I hit 2nd tri. Here's to hoping!