Thirty Three: Sonogram & Pre-Registration

We had several rounds of baby-related appointments scheduled for today- it made the day fly by, although we've looked forward to it for weeks! Our first appointment was with the Labor & Delivery ward of the hospital, at 2:30p. So, Tyler was able to get a few hours sleep after work before we had to drive up to Overland Park for our meetings. We went over the basics of the ward and admissions, including paperwork for Morgan's birth certificate. Once we were done there, it was time for our appointment with Dr. M.

When we made it up to the floor of the doctor's office, I really had to use the bathroom! However, since it was a sonogram day, I had to wait. We went in and soon enough the screen was filled with our little Morgan Kaye! I already had an idea of what part of her was where judging by her movements the past couple of weeks- I was surprised, though, to find that I was right! Morgan is still head-down (good girl!) with her back curled up against my left rib-cage and her feet and legs curled under my right breast and onto my right side. This explains why sometimes she thumps so hard that my entire right breast raises and/or jiggles! Her little hands are all over the place, but mostly by her head and low on my right side. In one of the photo-captures, she was resting her chin on her little fist. <3> showing off her girly parts- we got another great shot of them this appointment. I laughed and told the sono tech that she's always sure to give us a glimpse and reassure us that she is all girl. She was wiggly for most of the viewing and my favorite part was seeing her heart pumping. Another neat observation is that she's already got plenty of hair on that nogin of hers! I just hope she isn't as hairy as daddy! :-) We watched as the tech measured her head, waist, femur, arm bone (name escapes me), etc. Then, we were free to wait in the waiting room while she did the math for the measurements and we waited for Dr. M. After a while we were ushered into an exam room, but it would still be quite a wait. We entertained ourselves (not an understatement) with our goofy senses of humor. Someone had left the tie-back of a robe hanging out of a drawer, so we joked about doing something funny with it before Tyler actually got up and tied the straps into a pretty little bow, so they weren't dragging the floor. That set me off with a case of the giggles. Then, while viewing a copy of Time magazine in the wall-stash of magazines I came across this extremely odd ad with a woman (lady ga-ga, maybe?) nude but covered with photo-shopped bubbles. I opened the magazine to that page and replaced it in the front of the clear magazine holder so that it was clearly visable to anyone in the room- again setting us off with the giggles. As we continued to wait we started playing with the long, skinny light that they use for examinations. I turned it towards Tyler and started saying, 'Wall-e,' in a mechanical voice. That transitioned into us joking about turning off all the lights in the room and when Dr. M walked in we would have the little light turned towards ourselves, turn it on, and freeze like deer in headlights. Giggles again- and some snorts. Finally, we settled in on the hypothetical option where Tyler would sit in the corner chair with the light facing him as a microphone- when the door opened, he'd turn on the light and serenade me with Paul Anka, "Having my baby... what a lovely way of saying how much you love me..." At that point, Dr. M and his student walked in to find me snorting and giggling. I explained why to them and they just awkwardly looked at us and smiled. C'mon, Dr. M- we chose you (among other things) for your sense of humor! I think it had been a long day, as he was about an hour late to seeing us.

Dr. M went over some routine details (he hasn't seen us since May...) and then confirmed that by the measurements taken during the sonogram, Baby Morgan is about 5lbs, 11oz, putting her into the 76th percentile, which is a-okay. It's good to have an estimate, as we haven't had an idea of her size up until this point. Tyler asked about travel to Wichita for his brother's wedding on September 4th- Dr. M said we'll have to wait and see because, "You could end up giving birth down there." Ummm... yeah, not the plan. I think we'll be okay for travel, though... time will tell.

In nursery-related news, daddy got Morgan's crib put together last week. The only thing we need to fix is the setting he has for the mattress- he has it on the lowest. I was a little worried when I went in and leaned over trying to reach down... it makes me feel better knowing that the mattress will be way further up. Speaking of mattresses, that's the next on our 'priority purchase' list. We've been saving our gift cards from showers so that we can purchase these last minute essentials and I think we'll use our Target cards tomorrow to purchase the mattress. It's between the Serta Nightstar Extra Firm Mattress and the Kolcraft Sealy Natural Rest. Any opinions out there?

Last weekend was the Lawrence shower, which was lovely! Morgan was showered with love by many friends and family members. Grandma Ronnie made some lovely star-shaped cakes and we also had a moon made of cupcakes. The veggies and food were delishious, and the games made for some good entertainment. Morgan now has several more outfits (whew!), homemade blankets, diapers, wipes, some toys, a bassinett, and other misc. items.

The day after the shower I packed up and headed to Chicago for the week with some colleagues. We did A LOT of walking throughout the week and Morgan wasn't always fond of that. I felt sick-ish after a few days in, but I'm pretty sure it was just how active we were, that we weren't eating well, and I was tired. I mentioned it to the doctor today and he didn't seem to have any concerns.

It's SO nice to be at home again and getting back into the swing of things. On Saturday I took a scrapbooking class (a birthday present from Tyler) and made a magnetic board for Morgan's room:

I'm still procrastinating lesson plans, but need to get the ball rolling on that this week. Tomorrow night Tyler and I plan on a 'date night' with dinner and a movie. It'll be a nice change of pace, as we haven't been able to spend much 1:1 time with one another. I hope we get plenty of that in the next few weeks before we bring little Morgan into our lives and the (organized?) chaos begins! :-)

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Thirty Weeks & Some Change

Things are moving right along here in the Jenkins household. Tyler has started his new job and thus was unable to attend today’s thirty-week appointment. He now works weekends, in preparation for being a stay-at-home daddy during the week; Morgan’s in for a treat! His schedule now, though, is all over the place since he has some training to do as he transitions in with the organization.

We’ve been going to our appointments in the Overland Park office now, since that appointment is connected to the hospital where we’ll deliver. This was our first scheduled appointment there and realistically it’s just as easy as going to Lawrence.

I saw Dr. P today, as Dr. M was again taking a vacation day. The appointment part was fairly serious (Dr. P, too, has a pretty good sense of humor), but he goofed a bit afterwards as we attempted to get me in for a pre-consult with anesthesia. As for the appointment, it was pretty typical- baby’s heartbeat, blood pressure, etc. Morgan still appears, well, from his pushing and feeling from the outside, to be head down (good girl). She was in an odd position today, though, so we had a difficult time hearing the heartbeat the way Dr. P wanted to. Apparently, the beat makes a ‘whoosh’ sound when it is traveling away from the Doppler and the actual ‘beat’ when it is traveling towards it. We eventually heard her heartbeat the ‘normal’ way it typically shows up and it was around 146 bpm. Then, I made a comment about the Herrington rods in my back (from scoliosis surgery) and he noted that he wanted me to do a pre-consult with anesthesia as to whether or not that would interfere with an epidural.

I told him I was fairly sure I’d had an epidural before, but he still wanted me to talk with them. Also, he wants to do a growth scan and formally ensure that Morgan is head down still- so we set that up for our next appointment (when Dr. M will finally be there!) I made sure to schedule this appointment so daddy could tag along and be well rested, too! Next stop? Anesthesia consult.

I met with Dr. G regarding anesthesia. We talked and in talking I realized what I had in 2005 was not an epidural but what he called an epidural injection, which is apparently different. He went over his concerns and laid things out for me, basically saying that the majority of the anesthesiologists would not even consider performing an epidural for a candidate such as I. He explained that doesn’t rule it out, but with the rods and my scar tissue there is only a 50% chance that the epidural would relive any pain. Additionally, there is a risk for infection along the rods, which could lead to damage and future issues. So, he told me he wouldn’t give me a solid ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as to whether or not I can have an epidural, but I made the decision from what he did say that it is pretty much out of the question. If I end up having a C-Section (which is not the plan), then they can do a spinal epidural but there are risks there, too, for infection as well as what he called a spinal headache. At this point (and I know when the time (read: pain) comes I’ll think differently), though, I’m preparing myself to endure what will be and prepare to manage what pain I can through other means.

Tomorrow is our breastfeeding course and I think Tyler is going to try and stick-it-out and attend with me, although he’ll have been up all night with work. What a good daddy!

The nursery is really coming along! We painted last week and have everything up on the walls. Tyler plans on putting the crib together when I’m in Chicago and then it will be nearly Morgan-ready… whew!

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Heads & Tails

Our 28 week appointment was today (28w, 4d) at 11:30a, in Lawrence. We dropped by Hyvee beforehand and I grabbed some fresh fruit from the salad bar to snack on- yummy! We arrived at the appointment and quickly were seen- and of course to drink my ever-so-tasty orange glucose drink.

I drank that and the one-hour count down began! At about 45 minutes the physician's assistant (P.A.) came in for my check-up (Dr. M was out on vacation). We listened to baby Morgan's heartbeat and everything sounded good. I mentioned the intense pressure I've been having (on and off, particularly after walking longer than one mile) and the P.A. decided they would just check and see if it was related to a contraction. So, I got to wear this interesting contraction belt and they hooked up the fetal monitor so that I could also hear Morgan's heartbeat. Again, everything looked great- we got to watch her heart rate fluctuate between the 130's and 150's for about twenty-five minutes!

After that point, I mentioned a couple of other concerns with the P.A. and they drew my blood for the glucose test once my hour had elapsed. The P.A. decided to run a few tests after we discussed my concerns and a couple of them came back with results that left her wanting to know more. Firstly, I have a bacterial infection which is treatable, but could lead to pre-term labor. I have a prescription now, so that should be taken care of in about a week. Secondly, she did a test to ensure that I was not leaking amniotic fluid- the results were inconclusive. So, she decided to send me up to Overland Park for an ultrasound just to be safe.

So, we jumped in the car and headed straight to the O.P. for the sonogram. We got there around 2p and were seen within about 15 minutes. Although I was concerned about the idea of fluid loss, I just had a feeling that everything was a-okay. However, I was thrilled at the idea of being able to see Morgan again, I've SO wanted to be able to, because I needed the reassurance (visually) that everything was developing normally. The tech did many things, including measuring the amniotic fluid around the baby, which measured in at 12 (can't remember the unit of measurement). She said they like it to be anywhere from 10 to 20, so Morgan was fine there! Then, they did a series of battery tests to assess her gross and fine motor skills and her practice breathing, she passed all of them!

She put on quite the little show for us! She had been moving and kicking quite a bit since we were in the waiting room and she continued once the gel was on my belly and we were 'watching' her on the big screen. We saw how well developed her little spine is as well as her arms and legs. She had her knees up at one point and it was really cute- we also saw her female genitalia (as clear as day, developing nicely), so there is no doubt that she is a little girl (I'd had a couple of 'surprise, it's a boy' dreams). She rolled over and looked right at the monitor and we saw her little eyes (both open and closed at different times) as well as her lips. Then, she made an ordeal of putting her little arms up in front of her face. Daddy said this was her 'no more photos, please' pose. She was moving so much it took a while for the tech to be able to check the 'blood pressure' on the umbilical cord. However, that, too looked good. Finally, Morgan rolled over and looked toward my back, giving us a cute little shot from behind.

With that, we checked my cervix and it became pretty apparent to me what the pressure has been about. The little booger is head-butting my cervix! The P.A. in Lawrence felt her head when doing the exam and then we picked it up on the ultrasound too- her little head 'bopped' my cervix a few times and I sure felt it. Now, if we can get her to stay that way for the rest of the pregnancy! :-)

Our appointments now will be every two weeks up until 36 weeks, then we'll go weekly. Our next appointment is actually on my birthday! We scheduled it at the Overland Park office, so that we can get familiarized with the location (it's attached to the hospital we will deliver at).

I introduced Tyler to Chick-fil-a after our appointment. It was delicious and he really enjoyed it, as did I. I was SO worn out when we got home that I went into the bedroom and just rested for a few hours, reading my book (My Name is Memory). Now, I'm up and about to convince Tyler to go on a short walk around the block before dark! I hope to upload pictures once he's back from Wal-Mart with copies!





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Moving Right Along

It's been a while! We are now sitting at 28 weeks and a couple of days- hard to believe we only have about eighty more days until Morgan Kaye will be outside of the womb. As the baby belly grows and the summer heat rises, the reality of everything is setting in. WHOA. There are moments when I just stare at her sonogram picture and wonder what she looks like at this point- especially when she gets feisty and starts bumping around in there.

We had Morgan's first baby shower this past weekend, in Wichita. We did this one early since we didn't know how long I would want to be making extended road trips. It was hosted by Nana Cherie, and Ami & Amber (the twins, Tyler's step-sisters). About ten of us gathered and munched on delicious cookies, fresh fruit, and a near-perfect cake. A good time was had by all and Morgan gained all kinds of goodies- including a homemade blanket/quilt, diaper bag, outfits, blankets, dolls/animals, a first aide kit, pacifiers, etc.

On Friday we have our 28 week appointment where I'll take my glucose test. I've had the pleasure (ha) of this once already, early in the pregnancy, so I'm prepared. I think we'll have one more appointment before I leave for Chicago in late July. We also have Morg's second shower before I leave, this one in Lawrence for friends & my mom's side of the family.

I've noticed that I'm finally in the stage where it is getting uncomfortable and near impossible to bend and move normally. I was sitting in the car yesterday and nearly cried when I couldn't even bend over forward to pick up my purse from the floor! Dear me. Cleaning house and doing household chores is still possible, but it isn't too long before my back starts aching and I have to stop and stretch. I have a feeling I need to contact maintenance at the school and ask them to HURRY and get my room cleaned for the summer so I can start putting it back together before my energy level (and ability level!) plummets.

I put curtains up in Morgan's room today- the next step is to stencil on the border and for daddy to re-do the trim in the room. He's said he'll put the crib together while I'm gone to Chicago in July.

Our breastfeeding class is coming up in mid-July and I'm going to call OPRMC to schedule a tour of the labor & delivery area, so we are prepared and know where to go and what to expect when Morgan decides the time is right to make her appearance. Tyler starts his new (weekend) job on my birthday (7/16), so I want to get as much out of the way as possible before then.

Once August rolls around, things are going to get crazy! I was actually looking at a calendar the other day and realized that I will only be teaching for a little under a month when the time comes for my due date!!! I just hope I can get everything established and my expectations set prior to having my long-term sub (well, if 5 weeks is considered long-term) come into the class.

^ 28 Weeks!

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What's Kickin'?

We had our 24 week (read: six month)appointment at the doctor's office this morning! I'm very glad we had an 8:30am appointment, as the air condition at the office has stopped working for the time being. WHEW. This appointment was a quickie with the physician's assistant, as Dr. M is on vacation.

Blood pressure, as usual, was great. Then, it was time to hear Morgan's heartbeat- which I was SO looking forward to. It was funny, the nurse started high and on my right side and couldn't find anything. So, I politely guided her hand to where I gauge Morgan 'hangs out' and BOOM- there was the heartbeat. It made me feel very special. The heartbeat was nice and strong, in the 140 BPM area. Tyler likes to make 'goosh' sounds to copy baby's little beat. Morgan's next appointment (7/2) will be the glucose screening: round two. I did this VERY early on since I was borderline for diabetes myself, so this time will be the regular screening. Since I've been through it before I kind of know what to expect. The one thing that has me motivated and ready to go is that I know the 'drink' makes baby SUPER active and the first time I wasn't far enough along to feel her, so I'm very excited to see how she reacts!

After our appointment we did a bit of shopping for baby at Hobby Lobby. We picked out the stencils, sponges, etc. needed to get started on the walls of her room. Picking a paint color, however, was not as easy. So, it looks like another trip to Lawrence is in the future for trying to get that decided and ready to start the project.

This past weekend we made our first major stop at Motherhood, the maternity clothing store. I purchased several summer tops and grabbed some comfy maternity shorts from Target. The baby belly is in full bloom- which was confirmed today at our appointment- I've went from a total weight gain of 3lb since 1/15 to 10.2 lbs since 1/15. Now, if I could just put that maternity swimsuit to use!

We've started reading Morgan stories at night and/or playing tunes on the iPod/MP3 player for her to listen to. The other night I was reading Kitten's First Full Moon as Kibbles pawed my belly- Morgan enjoyed (or didn't?) that and started moving around. Then, Tyler read Roly Poly Pangolin to her the other night, which didn't seem to stimulate her. This afternoon we came home from our appointment and napped- but first I put the iPod on and was playing Bryan Adams' Never Let Go, to which she started kicking and moving around like crazy! She's becoming more active every day- this past Sunday we were in Wichita and Grandma Cherie and I are fairly sure that the hard spot pressed into my right side and felt with our hands was Morg's little foot!

Daddy, too, has experienced Morgan move more lately. This afternoon, when she was listening to the iPod, he put the side of his face up against my belly and within seconds she had punched/kicked him in the face, he enjoyed that! :-)

It's been such a fun ride so far and just gets more exciting every day!

n



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Morgan Kaye Jenkins

On May 7th Tyler and I ventured to the doctor for sonogram day! Our technician described herself as 'picture happy' and we were very lucky to get to see many images of our baby up on the screen. As we watched and noted the baby's development we were anxious to see whether Baby J would be a Morgan Kaye or Cade Matthew.

As we observed the baby's development we checked on baby's heart, brain, kidneys, stomach, and bone development. Everything is progressing nicely and it was so neat to see each and every 'piece' that makes baby 'whole'. We saw baby's hip bones and at that point it became obvious that Baby J is indeed a girl, Morgan Kaye!

I think the highlight of the session was when the technician said, "Look, she's taking a drink," and we watched as baby sucked in some fluid! Then, she moved for us and did a little flip. The pictures came out nicely and we now have a lovely face profile and a slightly scary image of the skeletal development of her face (like a Halloween shot).





I lost another couple of pounds as of this appointment (20 weeks and some change) which brings the grand-total of weight gained so far to three pounds. Dr. M assured us that baby has plenty of room to grow, though, and that everything is going swimmingly (ha, pun intended).

Our next appointment is June 4th and we are scheduled to take our breastfeeding course in July and our birthing course in August. It looks like baby Morgan will be having a shower in Wichita in June (Date TBD), one in Lawrence on July 24th (invites to follow), and one in Ottawa in early August (Date TBD). We've started registering at BabiesRUs and have lots of goodies we've picked up at garage sales, too!

We've started the first stages of baby's room and have the closet system partially installed (need to make another trip to Home Depot...) and the crib purchased. I think we'll get around to putting that together sometime in June. We also ordered a rug from Nebraska Furniture Mart for Morgan's room, as it has hard-wood floors and we wanted something with a bit more cushion. I'll post pics over the summer when things start coming together.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've begun to feel Morgan move much more frequently. What I've read says that she's now developing a sleep pattern and it seems to me that she is very active when I first arrive at work (8 am-ish) and in the early afternoon when work is almost done (3 to 4p-ish). I think she is protesting/celebrating (respectively) the alteration of my stress levels at those times (HA!)


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To See or Not To See....

It was up bright and early this morning and off to Lawrence for our sonogram. The mission? Determine the sex of the baby! We've been excited and waiting for this day for several weeks now. On the car ride up, I drank two bottles of water and was up to my eyeballs in pee by the time I arrived.

Imagine my surprise when the receptionist told me I could 'leave a sample' and wait for the doctor. I was confused. "They NEED my bladder full for the sonogram, right," I questioned. She replied that no sonogram had been scheduled and that I'd need to talk to the doctor. Tyler and I waited in a room and when the doctor came in I asked if we were indeed getting a sonogram today. He replied that I'm only at 18 weeks and he likes to conduct them around 20- so, I begged to go to the bathroom and when I returned we got back to business.

We heard the baby's heartbeat. The babe is down low, and I could almost pin-point where we'd find it, as I've been feeling (not movement, but pressure) it there. It was a strong 140 bpm. So, the waiting game continues. We will actually have our sonogram on Friday, May 7th at 9:00a.

In other baby related news, we've been making purchases here and there. My new favorite pastime is hitting garage sales on Friday's and Saturday's! We've found enough clothes for baby (gender neutral, of course) as well as a swing, bouncer, blankets, etc. Today we found a sale with tons of washable diapers. These aren't 'your grandma's' washable diapers- they are like the kind we were wanting to buy (gpants) that snap and are a sort of vinyl on the outside. In addition to that, we found a cute Graco playpen for $5.00!





We are, of course, still planning on registering (Target, Burlington Coat Factory)for our initial decisions on the play yard, etc. but you can't beat a great buy!

We plan on starting to clear out baby's room this weekend and organizing all of our purchases so that they aren't scattered around the house. Tomorrow night is Prom, Sunday is a volunteer fundraiser at The Cat Association Of Topeka and Monday is back to the grind!

Let's hope the next two weeks FLY by!



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