More pictures....

I still am trying to get around to typing up my birth story, but I have been very sleep deprived and busy with visitors, etc, etc...SOON! I am looking forward to the reflection of the whole process. I think about it all the time. The miracle of birth is still so immensence that I still can't quite wrap my mind around what I have been through. Wow...motherhood is incredible!! In the mean time, here are some newer pictures of our little sweetie...

First Bath!! (At home)

Someone is trying to be the baby!! Poor pup! How cute is she?!?!

Ps. I HAVE been keeping up with all your blogs on my blackberry....sorry I have been terrible at commenting. I will get back into it soon!!!

Baby Morgan PHOTOS!!!

I look forward to recounting the birthing story in detail, but as you all know my computer time is very limited these days. Here are the much anticipated photos...

Morgan is born!!! 8/13/10 @ 9:02 AM

Getting to know eachother on the outside....most amazing moment of my life!!!!

Daddy with his brand new daughter.

First family photo taken just minutes after delivery!!!

Our AWESOME birthing team: Dr. F, the L&D nurse (Judy) and our amazing doula, Eileen.

7lbs 11ozs, 21 inches long!

First time in her car seat

Finally bringing OUR baby home after all this time...a dream come true!!!!!!

Home at last!!

Taken over my shoulder while toasting her arrival (champagne in background!)

3 days old

Thanks again for all the loving support during this amazing experience!!!! XOX

SHE'S ARRIVED!!!! (After a very LONG labor)

Morgan Perry was born on August 13, 2010 at 9:02 AM after 55 hours of labor. She weighs 7lbs 11ozs and is measuring 21 inches long. Both of us are healthy and very happy together.

I will post pictures and our birth story when things settled down. She is even more wonderful than we could have imagined. Ben and I are just head over heels in love with our new baby!!!!

Thanks for all the bloggie support during my labor updates!!! All of you in this community are so wonderful!! XO

Labor Update #3

It's 6 AM and the sky is lightening and so is my spirit. I feel renewed strength that I CAN do this.

Our doula arrived and she is making things seems much more manageable. Also a hot shower helped.

We are making progress...probably headed to the hospital in an hour or so.

Almost baby time!! :)

Labor Update #2

It's 3:30 AM.

I'm still home, still laboring, and still no doula. It's been 25.5 straight hours of contractions and I'm exhausted. My body is shaking and nauseous from the pain that has gotten close to unbearable.

I'm starting to think that it's time to go to the hospital...so I'm gonna call and wake up our doula to see what she says.

My contractions are still wavering between 5 and 8 minutes apart, but they last more than 60 second and I'm barely able to make it through them...

Questioning my choice for an unmedicated labor....If this weren't taking SO long....good God this is so tough!!!!

Cervical plug passed around midnight so hopeful that I'm making some progress.

This labor is no joke!!!!! I just want to hold my baby....

Due Date & Having Contractions UPDATE #1

My OB determined that I'm STILL only 1cm dilated and 75% effaced. Boo...I was hoping to hear that more had changed now that I've been having contractions for 12 + hours.

He sent us home saying that this early labor could continue for 12-18 hours or things could turn quickly and I could start progressing faster. Only time will tell.

We are to call him if my contractions become more intense (I feel they are already headed in that direction since he checked me...ouch) or if they get closer together. Right now I'm contracting about 60 seconds every 5-9 minutes.

We called our doula on the way to the OB to give her an update (since we had only been texting earlier today) and I learned that she is already at the hospital with another mama who is getting ready to push. We signed off quickly and I told her I would be in touch when we knew anything. I've texted her and have yet to hear back. I'm sure she's in the midst of delivery with her other client. Yikes...I wonder how many hours she's already been awake?? We'll see how this goes as well.

I'm going to try to get some rest now since it appears I have a long night ahead of me. I'll update as things change....

Due Date & Having Contractions

Today is my long awaited due date and I started contracting at about 2 AM!!! It's looking like we might have a very punctual baby!! :)

Nothing too serious yet, but my contractions were strong enough to wake me up throughout the night. We've been timing since about 7 AM and they are lasting 30-60 seconds and coming anywhere from 5-10 minutes apart. Some are mild and others are more intense. I'm still leery about this being "real" early labor and I'm aware that this could go on for many hours (or even days .... heaven forbid!!).

We contacted our doula, Eileen, at about 8:30 AM to let her know what's up. She agreed that this could be a great sign that things are about to get going or it could just be the babe doing some positioning. She told us to call her back when my contractions were lasting 60 seconds and consistently coming every 3-5 minutes. This works for us since I'm coping just fine so far and don't feel like I need her yet. Ben is home and being wonderful to me.

We have our weekly OB appointment this afternoon at 1 PM, so I'm really looking forward to seeing him to hear what he thinks. (Since my water hasn't broken, we haven't bothered to call since I know I'll be seeing him in a few hours anyway.) Hopefully he'll discover that I've begun to dilate and we're on our way to meeting our little Morgan.

Here's to hoping that today is our finally our baby's birthday!!! :)

(I'll continue to update as we learn more.)

1 DAY LEFT

It's so weird and amazing to look at my tickers and see only 1. I remember when I first started those and they read 265 or something. It was a lot of days to go, but now I have reached the last day....according to the tickers...who knows how many more I actually have left???

Breast pump!

A lot of you have suggested using a breast pump to help get things started...but I have one little problem. I don't have one. My plan was to rent one from the hospital and eventually buy one when I knew something about them and could get a better idea of what model I wanted. I guess I need to revise that plan. This is where you come in...

What pump should I buy?

I will be a stay-at-home-mom so I wont need to be mass pumping every day in the long run, but I know I would appreciate efficiency and quality vs. a difficult manual pump. I've heard that Medela are the best brand...is that right?

Please help!! Any and all advice will be much appreciated!!



And finally here is my (hopefully LAST) update...

How far along: 39 weeks, 6 days


Total Weight Gain: 10 million lbs....or something like that. (really only 35.5 but it feels like more..ugh)

Symptoms: Heartburn, braxton hicks, slightly swollen ankles, slight impatience and pure excitement.
Sleep: Fortunately I still sleep very well with almost no pain....its all about the Tempurpedic mattress!! Best investment ever!!!

Most recent Doctor’s Appt: 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Blood pressure was low and baby looked great. All good news.

Best Moment Last Week: Watching my cleaning lady scrub my whole house. She really helped to calm the nesting instincts I have but am too pregnant to act on. :)

Movement: Baby's movements have become more subtle since she is so cramped and her arms and legs are facing in. She gets the hiccups all the time.

Food Cravings: Nothing particular.

What I Miss: Being able to go out in public and not worry that my water could break at any second making it look like I peed my pants.

What am I looking forward to: GIVING BIRTH TO MY BABY GIRL!!!

Milestones: Reaching the last page of our pregnancy journal...now we're in the full term + pages....oh dear!!

How is Daddy? SUPER READY to meet his little girl. He just can't wait!!!!!

Still pregnant...home remedies for inducing labor?

Day left until my due date: 2

Apparently our Morgan is still very cozy in my womb. I'm glad that I've provided such a warm and nice home for her, but come on Baby we want to see you!!!

I walked 4 miles the last two days and spent 3 hours wondering around IKEA yesterday. I was hoping all that time moving around on my feet would do the trick, but alas here I am still as round as a pumpkin feeling no closer to L&D.

People keep giving me the funniest advice..."lift a couch or something really heavy, go play tennis, do jumping jacks, eat some spicy Indian food." I highly doubt these are scientific and three out of the four sound a little dangerous to me. Indian food will most certainly give me the worst heartburn of all time. I'll pass...

Our doula and doctor have both suggested sex.

Making love at 40 weeks pregnant when your parents are staying with you just down the hall is about as unromantic as it can possibly get, but desperate times call for desperate measures.....still, we've had no luck.

Also our doula, my doc, my sister (who's a midwife) and our childbirth educator have all suggested nipple stimulation for 30 minutes a day to help my body produce oxytocin, the labor inducing hormone. In theory it sounds like a great idea, but who wants to sit around for half an hour every day and squeeze their own nipples repeatedly like a monkey? I just can't quite get disciplined enough to follow this one, but give me a few more days of this endless waiting...I might change my mind. :)

I'm telling you, it seems our baby does not want to be coaxed out yet. She is very cozy and content for now, so we just have to continue to be patient.

Oh and some others have suggested castor oil. NO thanks. I would rather wait and be induced medically than experience this self inflicted hell:

"Castor oil almost always causes diarrhea. Its primary use is a stimulant laxative. It has an unpleasant taste and may cause nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramping. If you do not wish to experience these symptoms, do not try castor oil."

Yeah.

Here's a picture of me from last night. Football preseason has started and my team's jersey is a little tight this year...only one solution for this. GIVE BIRTH!!

No Baby Yet...

5 days left until our due date.

So I never really expected her to come early, but I hoped she might. It seems to be the popular trend these days...most of my bloggie cycle buddies have delivered their babies (early) and so have all my pregnant friends in real life.

I love studying all the baby pictures they've posted on their blogs and facebook accounts. It still just amazes me that those precious little faces came out of those baby bumps I've been admiring for months. Then I look down at my bump and I still have trouble believing that there is a sweet little face in there waiting to greet me one of these days.

It still seems surreal. The longer I wait and the longer the time goes by after receiving news of my friends' deliveries the more I have trouble believing that this is actually going to happen to me too. I feel the way I did when I first got that positive pregnancy test. It was so wonderful that I couldn't seem to wrap my head around the great news.

Yes, I feel her kick constantly, but in a way I've gotten used to pregnancy. It feels normal to me now...even if I am becoming increasing less comfortable.

I know this is a finite process and eventually she will HAVE to come out, but today it feels very far away.

I don't want to seem impatient like I'm trying to will her out since I prayed so hard in beginning for her to implant after our embryo transfer. This wait is just very long and seems to get harder every day and I'm running out of distractions to keep me busy until her arrival. Not to mention my energy is limited so doing all kinds of thing is out of the question. My parents are here waiting for her to arrive...all her clothes have been washed and her car seat is installed. I have my hospital bags packed and I've checked all my lists twice. I AM READY, but apparently SHE ISN'T quite yet...and I respect that. I know eventually she will arrive when she's ready.

I just hope that it's sooner than later. I am prepared to be patient for 5 more days, but I know once I pass my due date it's going to get very difficult!!! 

Come on baby...PLEASE COME OUT SOON!!! WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU!!!!

39 Weeks - Ultrasound Update

Today Dr. F did an ultrasound at my regular weekly appointment to check baby Morgan to make sure all is still going well. This is what we learned:

My blood pressure is normal at 118/70. I am still only 1 cm dilated and about 50% effaced.


Morgan's heart rate was 151 and she is head down, in an anterior position, and at -2 station. Great news!! Perfect position to come on out!!! Her fluid is measuring 10.2...also perfect! He estimated that she's weighing about 7lbs 10ozs. Her legs are measuring long so that might make the weight estimate a little light. He guessed we're going to have an 8lb baby or maybe even 9lb if she waits another week or so before her big debut. Good news is that her head is measuring on the smaller side so hopefully that will make things easier on me. (Ben has a huge head, so I was worried...phew! She's taking after my hat size!!)

All great news!! We're both very healthy!! I feel really blessed!!

I hope this is my last doctor's appointment update before she arrives...if not, our next appointment in on our due date...August 11th.

I am feeling really ready, confident and very excited to welcome our little one into the world. I keep trying to picture what it's going to be like the first moment I get to hold her and look into her eyes and touch her tiny little hands. I know it's going to be magical and I can hardly wait!!!!

Its hard to believe that this special time has really arrived...I, Me, Priscilla is really about to have a baby any day now! I feel like I'm living in a sweet dream!!!

Update

How far along: 38 weeks and 5 days (only 9 days left until my due date).


Total Weight Gain: Who gives a sh*t at this point....last week I was at 30 lbs. I don't want to look at the scale anymore...it depresses me.

Symptoms: Heartburn is only kept manageable by Zantac...I have no room left in my abdomen! Contractions have started to get more painful. Some swelling in my hands, feet and ankles.

Sleep: Some nights are better than others. I have even more trouble rolling over now....I feel stuck sometimes.

Most recent Doctor’s Appt: My BP was 110/62, baby's HB was 145. I was dilated 1 cm and about 50% effaced. Everybody is very healthy! Ultrasound scheduled for this Wednesday to check her size and fluid level.

Best Moment Last Week: Getting an full body massage...from my mama!! She set up her professional massage table in the babies room and it was heavenly!!!!

Movement: My baby is getting really, really strong. She likes to push against my bones now...I hope that means she's getting ready to come out!

Food Cravings: All I want is junk food and I know that's the last thing I should be eating. I dream about cheeseburgers, ice cream, and candy....ugh! Good thing my parents are here and doing lots of healthy cooking otherwise who knows what I'd be feeding myself. I have just lost my motivation in the kitchen.

What I Miss: Having pregnant friends to hang out with in real life...I'm the last one left! Not much longer I hope!!! I can't wait to hold my baby too!!!!!

What am I looking forward to: MEETING MORGAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milestones: Getting EVERYTHING done from my list of things to do before baby comes. Now I'm just playing the waiting game....

How is Daddy? He's getting anxious for baby to come. He's trying to be calm and patient, but I can tell that he's getting tired of waiting just like I am.