Miss Morgooo, birth to 6 months

I figured the 6 month mark is the perfect time to put this photo collage together! I'm already thinking about how fast our little chickapee is growing up. And, looking back at the first few months of her life I can't believe how much she's changed. Please note week 1- missing sock, missing mitten, no pants and 2 hats. I think that probably sums up the first month of parenthood (and, her life). Not that we've perfected this whole parenting thing (by any means), but it brings me back to those first few weeks of staying up all night, even when Morgan was sleeping, to make sure she (or was it we?) survived through the nights.

Food, food, eat your food!

I probably could have included this in Morgan's 6 month post, but I think we can all agree that solids deserve their own post! We have an eater. And, so far, not a picky one. We've now introduced some basics like avocado, sweet potato, squash, banana and apples. And, Morgan literally gobbles them up.

Now, with the blessing of our doctor, we're starting to move into taking our meals and modifying and making them baby friendly consistencies. For example, right now there is a chicken and vegetable curry dish (with barley) slow cooking at la casa de Scheck. When I get home I'll take some of the vegetables and barley and a bit of the chicken and grind it up into Morgan friendly food. This will be the true test of the baby palate! We're experimenting with the hope that she'll learn to enjoy a variety of foods...and ultimately eat whatever mom and dad are eating. Crossing fingers!

6 months old

I've mentioned it before, but the past couple months have been the best EVER! Morgan is just a blast- rolling around, giggling, chatting, and just having so much fun with life. I cannot believe she's now officially half a year old. CRAZAY! Here is our favorite little gal posing with her favorite giraffe:

Our little roller girl.

From Drop Box

We have a roller. Miss M is now rolling from back to front- and sleeping there. Yes, I know my generation was raised sleeping on our bellies...and YES, we are (obviously) still around to talk about it, but these days we are told non-stop (by pediatricians, and, you know, trusted health professionals) that babies should sleep on their backs. Until they're able to roll themselves over. So, needless to say, although it's perfectly fine that our little gal is sleeping on her belly- since she's rolling herself there- we felt nervous about it at first. For the first few days we'd check on her constantly- kind of felt like the first couple weeks home from the hospital.

But look how cute, and clearly cozy, she is! She's sleeping like a champ. And when Morgie's happy, momma and daddy are happy. I especially like the bum in the air, decorated with a big pink heart.

From Drop Box

Submersion

Swim class today was INTENSE. It wasn't for wimps. It was for hard core swimmers! And, let me tell ya, Morgan B stepped up to the plate. Previously, in waterbabies, it was all about back floating, flower swim caps, and other baby swim stuff. This week, it was about under water acrobats. And, Morgan was a fish. Check out this video of Morgan taking her first full under water dive. She is serious about our upcoming San Diego vacation. Sea World, watch out.

Bouncy baby

Ahhh, the jumperoo. It's just a good time had by all. Morgan loves the lights, noise and bounciness, and we love to watch her enjoying it! I keep telling her this is my favorite Morgan phase. I swear she's learning something new every day. She's this close to sitting up on her own, she's now rolling from her back to her tummy and sleeping there (more on that later), and she's getting the hang of life in general. Cuteness and fun!

Love that face

Morgan's interest in toys is very minimal (unless it's Manuel, Senor Frog or Jacque the poodle- aka animal toys with smiley faces). She does, however, LOVE social interaction (wonder who she got that from?), as well as showing off her mad core and leg strength (standing, sitting, etc). This is one of her new favorite games- standing on the end of the couch while we take thousands of pics of her. She is quite the little charmer!

Morgan practices standing

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'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.

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.