Not the baby's name

37 week doctor's visit update: Dilated to 2 (yay) and doctor's would consider inducing at 39 weeks since Finley was so big.  I'm kind of panicking now since that is 2 weeks away.  We'll see how things are progressing at next week's appointment, but this baby will likely be here before the first week of May.  Woooooaaaahhhhhhh. 

And I have like 10 posts to do before the new baby dominates the blog...stay tuned : )  Easter pics coming soon, mom!

While we won't be sharing the baby's name until her birth day, I thought it would be fun to share some of the names we didn't pick since we aren't planning to add any more children to the Morgan family - well, unless Pat gets his greatest wish and we adopt a little boy from Ireland - cause you always hear about poor Irish orphans with pretty blue eyes and curly auburn hair, right?  ; )

I always loved hearing what my parents almost named me (Carleen) or my sister (Marta) or Pat's (Sean)...so here is a re-cap of our thought process with the name so I can tell it to my girls someday.

Names that entered the mix in some shape or form:

Frances - really liked this one mainly because it's a family name of Pat's (his middle name, too) but we couldn't get past the fact that someone would surely shorten it to Fran or Frannie

Johanna - liked but didn't make the cut

Harper - Pat's pick, but I though it was too trendy

Emerson - Also too trendy - I have a rule that the name can't be embroidered on anything in the Pottery Barn kids catalog

KC - for a while we really wanted a name that would have initials, but this is much tougher for a girl name than a boy's, and ultimately we couldn't think of 2 names that we loved enough with the initials K (I didn't want to repeat Kristin!) or C

Erika - I liked, but Pat thought it was boring

Campbell - I loved, but Pat thought she'd always be associated with soup

Meredith - one of my favorite names, turns out Pat knew a chubby girl in school with this name so that one was ruined I guess

The name we have chosen was actually one that was kind of always our favorite since we found out it was a girl, and the only one we couldn't come up with a reason we didn't like it.  Can't wait to share it!!

P.S.  If any of these names are yours or your mom/sister/niece/neighbor's, they just weren't right for our family.  We are not implying that any of these names are ridiculous, okay :)  If you have a problem with this, contact Sean and Carly Morgan.

37 weeks

{thanks for the Easter dress mom!}

Full Term - I'd say this pregnancy has gone extremely fast, but I then remind myself of how freaking long the first 20 weeks were with fatigue and nausea. 

How am I feeling:
My bumper sticker should read "Ready to not be pregnant, but not ready to be a mama of another newborn quite yet!"  I wish there was a window of time between that transition so I could rest before baby arrives, but alas I know this isn't possible.  My complaints are pretty common ones for this stage - horrible sleep, lots of hip pain - in fact I don't remember this much with Finley, shortness of breath, and general difficulty with doing anything that involves me moving (tying shoes, changing diapers, buckling car seats, getting up from a chair, working - ha!)  But, overall I'd take this discomfort 50 times over the pukey first trimester. 

What's new with me/baby: A lot!
-At 30 weeks my ultrasound showed that my placenta had migrated to the right spot - a miraculous 7 cm away from my cervix which means no planned c-section for me!  I was ecstatic and celebrated with lunch at Panera after my appointment :)
-I asked the ultrasound tech to measure the size of the baby even though the MD didn't order it.  While she warned me that the accuracy is low and the size can be off by up to a pound...at 30 weeks the baby was measuring about 3.5 lbs.  I jokingly asked her "so it doesn't look like I'm going to have a 6 lb baby?" and her response was not unless it comes in the next few weeks.  And, since that has come and gone it looks like we may have another large baby on our hands. 
-The MD did say that if my cervix, etc is "ready" at 39 weeks they would consider inducing due to my previous history of GIANT baby :) but that if they induce too early the likelihood of an unplanned c-section goes up.  My attitude at this point is the longer I wait, the longer into summer I get to be at home.  We'll see if this holds up in the coming weeks :)
-My hemoglobin is crazy low (9.1) and while I was doing a great job of iron supplements and eating my bowl of Total every morning a few months ago, I haven't been that diligent of late mostly because it upsets my stomach, but I'm giving this another go so that I don't need a blood transfusion after labor.  Us Zenz women tend to have low hemoglobin normally, so the MD is not that concerned.
-I was positive for group B strep which means antibiotics during labor - yipee!
-Size wise, I'm measuring right on track...but then I remember I've always measure right on track and can evidently hide a few extra baby pounds in some cavity within my body that the doctor doesn't know about.
-Babies heart rate was most recently 125.
-This baby moves ALL THE TIME.  Bladder, hips, ribs, she likes to bump into it all. 
-I have braxton-hicks contractions nearly everytime I move - walking seems to set them off the worst.  I am not foolish enough this time around to think that this means that these contractions will actually lead to active labor!
-At my 36 week appt I was dilated to 1cm.  Maybe this time I will progress past this before my induction date!?!
Weight Gain:
I officially stopped looking at 30 weeks when my weight was 155 lbs.  I don't care to ever know what I weigh beyond that, so I just turn around on the scale.  I'm sure it's up there though because my appetite hasn't decreased this time like it did with Finley.

Cravings:
-Vegetables and Salad.  I could eat a whole bag of baby carrots if given the opportunity.  And the Panera Fuji Apple Chicken salad is something I dream about.
-I've had quite a few root beer floats lately!
-Bowls of cereal
-Oranges - I have eaten 4 cara cara navel oranges in the span of an afternoon

Ready or not?:
-Most of the 0-6 months baby clothes are washed and hung up in the closet (I forget how tiny newborns are, even10 lb ones!)
-My goal for this weekend is to get all of the baby stuff down from the attic - bouncy seat, swing, play mat, bottles, etc.
-Baby's room is basically Finley's old room.  It needs a little deep cleaning, and a new name sign, but otherwise it's ready to go. (by the way, I always thought I would re-do the nursery for baby #2, but I guess this is what that monster test, a new big girl room, a mom living many states away, and a basement remodel will add up to)
-We need to buy diapers!

Favorite quotes I receive at work on an hourly basis:
"How overdue are you?" - said about 3 weeks ago
"Are you sure there aren't 2 babies in there" - classic line that no woman wants to hear
"You're still here" - said in a surprised voice every time a returning pt sees me
"You look tired" - yep, I am
Most of the time I can keep my humor, but somedays it wears on me.

Overall, I don't take for granted the ability and strength that God is giving me to carry this baby for as long as it needs to grow.  Plus, I firmly believe that the only way I'll ever get excited for labor is that I'm so darn uncomfortable that pushing out a baby seems like the best option : )

At the most, 4 more weeks until we meet her!!

Newest Addition

The blog may have been neglected since August, but it turns out I've been pretty busy getting my butt kicked by baby M #2!!  We've recently had 2 ultrasounds (one early to find out the gender before the Morgan family Christmas celebration last weekend and one this past week)

Enjoy!

Finley is going to have a sister!!!  And they are exactly the same months apart as me and moosh, so odds are they'll be great friends, can borrow each others clothes, make fun of their mom together, etc!

On both ultrasounds, this baby was very shy - legs folded so nicely over the jewels, but with some jumping around they were able to get a peak at the gender. 

Tootsies.

And, honestly I kinda think 3D/4D pictures are weird, but the face on this one is so precious I had to share.  For reference, the baby is vertical, hand by face.

Overall, things look great with the baby.  Great heart, face, bones, and spine.  What a relief.  I do have a marginal placenta, which means that it's awful close to the cervix opening, but the Dr is very hopeful that it will migrate upwards as the baby grows.  I will have another ultrasound at 30 weeks and if it hasn't moved, I'll be scheduled for a c-section eventually.  We are praying for placental migration or just a safe delivery : )

How Far Along: 20 weeks, 6 days

Due Date: 5/1/12

How Am I Feeling: Pretty good.  I was just as sick this time around as with Fin, but had more actual vomiting.  The fatigue was overwhelming and some nights I was asleep before Fin at 6:30.  Most of this has subsided, but I still have a metallic taste in my mouth at all times, however food is tasting delicious again.  I do notice that I'm starting to get full pretty quick, so that means I've had only about 2 weeks of completely bliss free eating.  I guess that should help my weight gain.

How Much Weight Have You Gained: 14 whopping pounds.  I can't say I'm shocked because although I was sick for 18 weeks, I needed constant carbs to settle my stomach.  Think 4 bagels before noon!  And, this was the pattern with Finley and things dramatically slowed down during the second half, so here's to hoping I don't gain any more than the 38 pounds from last time.  Oh, and that the baby weighs less than 10 pounds.  That would be awesome too.

What's On Our Plates Right Now: Finding a girls name...we have a few in the mix but nothing we love with the same passion as Finley's name.  Good thing we've got time.  Also, finishing up (or I mean starting) Finley's big girl room, possibly potty training, getting rid of the nuk...general toddlerizing of Fin!  All while Pat is working like crazy and I'm studying for a huge certification exam for work that comes in March.  Now you know why lights are out by 9 at this house. 

We are so excited to meet this little baby in 5 months!

A year ago...

What a difference a year makes!  I was finally getting over my morning/noon/night sickness and starting to actually look pregnant :)

And we found out our little bean was a GIRL!

She's much cuter now!