So, I woke up Sunday morning in a bit of pain and definitely having some stronger contractions than I had felt in the previous few days. It was time for another dose of my Procardia, so I got up to swallow the pill and then laid back down to relax and time a few contractions. I quickly realized they were around 5 minutes, or less, apart. Even though I was worried about another unnecessary trip to the hospital, I decided to call and check-in with the on-call nurse at the clinic just to be safe.
While I waited on the nurse to return my call, these two bed rest friends laid around and relaxed with me. When the nurse called back and we discussed my hospital adventure last week and the fact that I was around 3 cm dilated when I was discharged on Tuesday, she told me to go on and head back to the hospital. They certainly didn't want me to deliver Morgan at home or in the car!
Pop Pop and the boys patiently waiting at the hospital Sunday morning while they got me settled and started to monitor contractions, etc. Dr. Bush was the weekend doctor on call and he came in soon after I arrived. He checked me and I had not dilated any more from when I was last checked on Tuesday, but the monitor did show some pretty strong contractions. Since it was almost time for another dose of Procardia, he thought I should take the medicine again and get some IV fluids and then decide what we would do next. Another few hours passed and the medicine didn't really stop the contractions but I also wasn't dilating much more. He checked me late Sunday afternoon and told me that he wasn't comfortable sending me home anymore but that he was hesitant to break my water and induce labor since I wasn't quite 36 weeks. He told me it would be my decision, though, and I could think about it before I let him know. Adam and I talked and decided that I wouldn't get him to break my water but that we would just rest and lay low and hope to make it to Monday morning when Dr. Cole could come by and make a decision. I surely didn't want to miss out on her delivering my last baby after she had delivered my other two!!
Lili and Shuffie took Sam and Jack home with them for a sleepover on Sunday night and we planned for them to get dressed first thing and head back up to the hospital on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, back in Labor and Delivery, me and Adam sat in the quiet, wondering what the next twenty-four hours would bring. I knew one thing for sure...I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since Saturday dinner and I was starving! Adam munched on some seeds and worked on his CPE and I sat and chewed on the only thing they would give me - ice chips.
Sunday night, early Monday morning was extremely restless for me. I was very uncomfortable in the short bed and they had a heart monitor on Morgan and I believe I watched that number pretty much all night long to make sure she was doing ok. I dozed a little bit here and there but by 6 a.m. Monday morning I was sitting back up in bed and putting my makeup on again in case Monday was Morgan's birthday! Dr. Cole came in around 7:30 and the first thing she did was look at my contractions from the night and then checked me. She immediately said there had been a change, I was between 4-5 cm dilated and it was finally baby day, ready or not! We were SO excited.
By 9:00 a.m. I had gotten my epidural and was feeling good. I had a bit of a "hot spot" in an area of my stomach where the epidural didn't take, but I was ready to roll and couldn't wait to meet my girl.
The boys made it back to the hospital around 8:30 Monday morning and were busy getting hugs from Didi while they waited on me to get my epidural.
After the anesthesiologist finished with my epidural, I was ready for company and couldn't wait to see my boys.
They were so excited to hear that we were going to meet Morgan soon and kept asking if I was feeling better. So sweet.
Meme arrived at the hospital around 9:30 and brought a pretty plant for Sam to give me.
Jack wanted to see it, too!
Thumbs up, Sam. He says he is ready to be the biggest brother!
These guys were patiently waiting in the hall for the news that their baby sister had arrived.
After my epidural, Susie (my labor and delivery nurse) said she was going to give me a tiny bit of Pitocin to see how I progressed. It wasn't long after that I told Adam I was feeling a great deal of pressure and that he better go get Susie to check and see if we were almost ready. At 10:00 a.m. Susie came in and was surprised to find out that I was completely dilated and ready to push! She made a quick call to tell Dr. Cole to head over and the hustle and bustle started. Nurses and aids were in and out quickly preparing the room and before I knew it Dr. Cole flew in ready to bring my girl into the world! I was very fortunate and only had to push three good times before I heard the first screams of our sweet Morgan at 10:24 a.m. on May 5, 2014 (a Cinco de Mayo baby). What a blessing and a relief to me that she was finally here!
Dr. Cole suctioned her nose and mouth and then laid her up on my chest so I could get my first look at my baby girl.
I was SO happy to see her and couldn't wait for us to get to snuggle once they checked her out and cleaned her up.
Didi stayed in the room during delivery and took Morgan from Dr. Cole to do a private transition.
We were so glad that Morgan was in great hands by having Didi as her nurse.
She was pretty upset that she had been taken from her comfy resting place and wasn't sure if she liked this new world just yet.
Tell us the news, sister!
Morgan weighed 6 lbs 8 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
Didi and Morgan
Look at the cute bow hat that Didi made for her. I loved it!
Now that she was cleaned up and warm, I got Morgan back in my arms and we were able to snuggle and visit. I just stared at her and tried to take it all in. For months you wonder what this little baby growing inside of you looks like and it was so wonderful to finally get to hold her and see her pretty face.
Proud Mama and Daddy!
After I got to snuggle for a minute, Adam went out to get the boys and bring them back to my room so I could be there when they got to see Morgan for the first time.
Sam couldn't believe she was here and just kept staring and smiling.
She was crying a little bit when the boys came in and Jack wanted to touch her so bad!
First photo as a family of FIVE! My heart just might explode!
After the boys got to meet her, they were excited to go back out where our family was waiting and introduce Morgan to the rest of the crew.
Our sweet Chelsea, the best friend and videographer in town, came for the big day. She was at the birth of Sam and Jack and I'm so glad she was able to be here to video Morgan's birthday, too!
He was beaming!
Introducing Morgan to our family.
Look at those pretty lips!
These two big brothers are in love already!
After meeting the rest of the family, Morgan came back to my room to rest. She hadn't been back long before she started "grunting" and having a little trouble breathing. It was a sound I quickly recognized from when Sam was born and did the same thing. We knew this was a possibility since I was exactly 36 weeks when I delivered, but we were hopeful she would cry enough to work the fluid out of her lungs.
Sam's first time to hold her.
He did great!
Jack wanted a turn, too.
He was so proud of himself.
Look at her blonde hair. Sam had said for a while that he knew her hair would be "yellow" and he was right!
Everybody took a lunch break while Morgan was resting. I bet that cafeteria was entertained with these four boys and the great-grandmothers! :)
Banks and Hayes meeting Morgan for the first time.
Early afternoon they transferred me from Labor and Delivery to a room on the floor. This was the same room I had stayed in when both Sam and Jack were born - Room 116.
Morgan's door hanger was so cute.
I put her stats on the sign and it was ready to go!
Once I was moved to a regular room, they took Morgan to the well-baby nursery to give her a few more hours to stop grunting before they made a decision about admitting her to the NICU.
Look at that sweet head of hair!
Around 3:00 p.m. Amanda called my room and said they were going to do a chest x-ray on Morgan to see how much fluid was in her lungs. This would help them decide whether to admit her or not. About an hour later the results came back and the decision was made to send her to the NICU. They were hopeful that she wouldn't be in there more than a few days. Unfortunately, it was an all-too-familiar place since Sam had spent six days in the NICU when he was born. They did allow Sam back there to see her and he was so excited when we went to get him to go back with us for the first time.
Didi had to take Sam's temperature before they would allow him back. No sick kiddos allowed around the little babies! Sam's temp came back normal and we were ready to head back for our visit.
It was hard to see our sweet baby hooked up to the tubes but we knew she was finally getting relief from her struggle to breathe and she would be feeling better in no time.
Late Monday night I went back to the NICU and they let me hold her for the first time since earlier in the day when I had delivered.
They also said they were going to try to bottle feed her for the first time, instead of tube feed, so I asked if I could give the first bottle. She did pretty good and we snuggled a bit before it was time for us to all go to bed.
Tuesday morning I went around 9 a.m. to visit and found her pretty eyes open! I was so surprised and excited because she hadn't kept them open very much.
While I was there Tuesday morning I fed her a breakfast bottle and they said she had been doing so well breathing that they were able to keep turning down her oxygen.
During my visit Tuesday afternoon the respiratory therapist, Michelle, came by and they took off the nasal canula and decided to try her on room air.
Daddy had some good time to love his baby girl and it was at this moment I realized I probably won't be the lady of the house anymore! I think she has already stolen his heart. :)
Tuesday night we had some fun visitors come by our room. Mrs. Faye, William and Annelyse came to say hello. Sam and Annelyse had so much fun entertaining each other in our room. They had us all laughing!
Late Tuesday night Adam and I went back down to the NICU to give Morgan her last bottle before we all went to bed. When we got there they had dressed her in her first outfit and she looked adorable.
By Tuesday night she had finally gotten rid of most of her wires and was doing well on room air. I decided it was way past time for some snuggles and hugs. She smelled so good and I needed some sweet girl kisses.
Tiny toes
Wednesday morning was the day I had worried about for so long. Sam had his Mother's Day tea at school and since I hadn't been discharged from the hospital I wasn't going to be able to make it. I couldn't bare the thought of him being at school without a mama for that event so we let him skip school that day.
Instead, he went with Bobi to see Banks' end-of-the-year party at his school.
Jack and Lili came to visit me while these three boys were at the program.
After the program, Sam went to help pick out some clothes for Morgan since all of her Newborn clothes were too big! We didn't expect our little sister to be so little!!
He did a great job picking out some really cute things and he was very proud of himself.
When he got back to the hospital Wednesday afternoon he was begging to go down to the NICU and hold Morgan again.
He was so sweet and gentle with her.
And all he really wanted to do was hold her tight and hug her.
After Sam had his turn, Shuffie and Lili came in and got to hold her. It was so nice of Sam to finally share! ;)
Wearing her first monogrammed outfit. Love my MMM.
I had been religiously pumping since Monday and I was thrilled when my milk finally started coming in on Thursday!
Thursday morning I went to visit Morgan in the NICU and after talking to Dr. Miller, the neonatologist, he felt like she would be ready to go home on Friday morning. Hallelujah! I was thrilled! This meant that Adam and I would "room-in" with her in an outpatient room and take care of her all on our own Thursday afternoon and night. By early Thursday afternoon, even though we hadn't moved to our outpatient room, they brought her out to our room and Jack and Sam got their hands on her again.
Jack was especially happy to see her since he hadn't been allowed to go back and visit in the NICU. He hadn't seen her since Monday and that had been too long!!
Jack had a sweet kiss for her on her head.
Thursday night, once we got settled in our out-patient room where we would spend the night with her, all four boys came to have a photo shoot in their matching shirts.
Once we got the four boys in place, Morgan put on her coordinating gown and bow and was ready to join the guys.
Pretty girl
Four men and a baby. Good luck to the poor guy that ever tries to date her!!
My three precious babies. What did I ever do to deserve these blessings??
My heart
Banks got to hold Morgan for the first time and Sam was quick to come sit with him and tell him all about her.
Hayes got a turn, too. He couldn't believe how small her hands were!
After the photo shoot was over, the four amigos took a trip down the hall and headed home so we could all get some rest and get ready for Morgan's homecoming today.
Thursday night was our first all-nighter with the little lady. It was just the three of us and Adam and I wondered if we were going to make these feedings every three hours after sleeping so good (all night long) for the past two years.
This pretty sign was made by one of the night NICU nurses and was in Morgan's crib the whole time she was in the hospital. Isn't it beautiful?
We had a pretty uneventful night last night. Just waking up and eating every few hours and then going back to sleep wasn't too difficult. This morning we had a very special visitor. Mrs. Marilyn came on her way to work to meet Morgan. Morgan should have immediately recognized Mrs. Marilyn's voice voice since I spent so much time at work while she was in my belly.
We had to wait a few hours for the doctor to come around this morning and release us so I played a little bit of dress up with her. Doesn't she look pretty in her crown? :)
The doctor came by late morning and said she was doing good enough to go home. She had weighed in at 5 lb 13 oz. in the night and they wanted to see us back on Sunday, Mother's Day, in the outpatient clinic to check her weight and her bilirubin.
I dressed my sweet girl up in the same gown I wore when I went home from the hospital almost 29 years ago and we took a few pictures by the door before we loaded up our things to take her home.
Daddy carrying her out of the hospital and to the car.
All buckled up in her car seat and ready to go check out her new home.
I was SO happy to be leaving the hospital this time with my baby girl.
When we pulled up at our house, this pretty little carriage sign was waiting in our front yard. It was true...our little princess had arrived. Thanks, Lili and Shuffie!
The boys and Rusty were so glad to have everybody under one roof. Our first family photo at home together.
Rusty was wearing a festive pink bow for the homecoming and had to get a few good sniffs in of his new baby. I think he's going to like her!
Adam had quite the audience when he took Morgan out of her car seat.
Next stop...her room. We wanted to see how she liked her crib!
She wasn't too worried about it, and actually slept through it all!
The precious shoes she wore home from the hospital were also mine when I was a baby. It is so neat to be able to use these special things again.
Once we finished with pictures, I changed Morgan out of her pretty homecoming clothes, swaddled her and put her in the nap nanny. She was snug as a bug and snoozing away.
What a week! What a wonderful, busy, sleepless, amazing week it has been bringing this sweet baby girl into the world and introducing her to all of those we love the most. I am so thankful for her safe arrival, her health, the help of our families while we stayed in the hospital with her and most of all the love her brothers have shown since they first laid eyes on her. They haven't shown a moment of jealousy or acting out, but have only shown love and helpfulness. Adam and I have been blessed beyond measure with three healthy, beautiful children and we couldn't be more thrilled to have everyone home together and under one roof. Welcome to the world, Morgan Marie Milner! We're so glad you're here and we love you so much!
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