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As Thanksgiving approaches I have many reasons to be thankful this year and many people to be thankful for. Its been a rough year for my family. Not only have we had a few deaths, but Andy was unemployed for a little bit and we were notified that I would be losing my job at the end of the year as well. To counter balance this we did have a wonderful event in the birth of our daughter Morgan. She is the bright spot in my life and has been one of the main reasons I have been able to cope with the other things in life. Another huge help has come from family and friends, so I am thankful to have them in my life. It is a shame that it takes a death to bring people closer together, let us just hope that now that we are close we can maintain that relationship in times have joy.

Today is our 3rd Anniversary.  We some how managed to both get the day off work and Andy’s mom was able to baby sit for us.  So we had a late breakfast, made a quick stop back at home (and no it was not because we had to check on the baby) and then we headed out to a relaxing afternoon together.  We went to the zoo, I had not been there in over a year I think.  We walked around the whole place and seen most of the animals.  I can not wait til Morgan is old enough to appreciate going.  Anyway, after we left there we headed to Union Station to continue a tradition that Andy and I have been doing since the year we met.  Every October we have our caricature done, this year we were able to add little Morgan to the pic as well.  It turned out really cool.

We had a nice dinner and then came home so Andy could head to class.  All in all it was a great day.

Ok, so October is here finally.  Its been an ok month so far.  Its the beginning of a lot of different things.

First off I am renewing my job search, which I started the week mom went into the hospital.  Its very scary to be looking after having been here for over 10 years.  I worry that I will not find something I like as much as this place or that we will not be able to find someplace willing to pay the amount we need.  But we shall see.

Secondly, my family had the first Abernathy Family picnic.  It was a great success, despite it being so cold.  From what I could see, the kids had a great time as did the adults.  It was a day of fun and games, between hoosier golf and washers to just kicking the soccer ball around or throwing the football around.  Food was plentiful and yummy.  Especially those sugar free chocolate chip cookies.  MMMM.  I look forward to next years.

Thirdly, October is our Anniversary, we will be married three years on the 21st.  Boy how time has flown by.  I doubt we will do anything too extravagent as time and money do not allow for it, but we are going to spend the day together and that will be nice.  Life has gotten busy and its been hard to find time to be together except at bedtime.  I love you honey, if you are reading this!

So lets hope that October continues to be a great month for us, full of pleasant surprises.

So now that its over, I can officially declare September the worst month ever.  It should have been a joyous, if not stressfull, month since Morgan was here and we had to adjust to being parents.  However, not only did we have to be new parents, but we had to deal with a parent passing away.  Now that would be a parent for each of us, so two deaths in less than two weeks.  Of course for me one was harder than the other.  My mom and I were pretty close, at least until the last few years.  We were still close but not the gotta talk to each other every day or even every week close.  I know I got busy and did not take the time to call, I regret that now.

We found out that Andy’s dad had passed away right after the holiday (Labor Day) and then the following Tuesday my mom went into the hospital and passed away on the following Sunday (Sept 20).   At least with Andy’s dad we did not have to do much to finalize things, Andy’s mom and brother took care of most of that, thank goodness.  With my mom however, she was as unprepared to go as we were for her to.  She had no will and no life insurance.  It was hard to go thru all the paperwork and to know what we were supposed to do.  I kept sitting there going ok what do we do next?  Where do we start.  Things move pretty quickly that first week.  Honestly if it were not for my sister in law I am sure we would not have accomplished all that we did.  She did a lot of the running around for us and kind of pointed us in the right direction at times.  Anyway we managed to put together a Memorial Service that I am sure mom would have loved, the rest of the stuff is still being worked out.

I have no idea where we will put mom’s ashes, we have not even discussed it yet, but I am sure we will figure something out.  I do know that I refuse to have them sitting in my car or in my basement (which I do not have at the moment) for any length of time.

I am sad to know that Morgan will not have gotten to know her Grandma MJ or her Grandpa Don.  I guarantee she will hear all kinds of stories and see tons of pics (at least of my mom).   We love you mom!

We arrived at Memorial Hospital at 6pm (on Sunday, Aug 23) as scheduled, the ER was pretty busy. We had to check in there because it was a Sunday. They called back to Labor and Delivery and asked if I could just come back and they said yes they were expecting me. So this time we walked back, there was no real need to be sat in a wheel chair and wheeled back, especially with them being so busy. So the nurse we had Friday night was there and we go to have her for a little bit. I got all settled in they set up the iv and took all the stats before putting the servadyl (sp?) in. This was to help my cervix dilate (soften the scarring up a little). It was about 8 pm. So the thought process was that this medicine would take about 12 hours to do its job and then the doctor would induce labor.

Looking back right now, I think we watched a little tv and then tried to get some sleep, but I am not really sure. I know at some point (around midnight) the cramps starting getting worse and I was getting the shakes every time they got bad. I could not get comfortable for nothing and so they gave me a sleeping pill. An hour later I was still awake and had to get up out of bed the cramps were pretty bad. I had to go pee so I went to the bathroom and at that point I could not decide if I had to go to the bathroom (number 1 and 2) or throw up. The shakes were so bad I had to hold on to the rails in the bathroom to get thru them. Andy came in and seen me, then went immediately to find a nurse. Apparently we were in labor. So they got me back in bed, removed the servadyl, and gave me some pain meds to hold me over til the anesthesiologist could get there to put in the epidural. As it turned out the anesthesiologist was around the corner so they got that set up pretty quick too. So I was feeling no pain once that kicked in. Andy made some phone calls, letting mom’s know we were in labor. Of course my mom did not hear the phone, but it was ok, cuz she had plenty of time to get to the hospital. Andy’s mom showed up pretty quick and was sitting in the room for a bit. I was out of it and did not remember much other than the fact that she was there and at one point went out to the waiting room before being told to go back home for a bit as we had plenty of time.

From that point til morning (it was about 3 am) I dozed on and off, not sure if Andy did as well. In the morning when they checked me they could see the baby’s head and they called Dr. Frank, he said for me to give one push and see what happened. Mind you at this point I had no, and I mean absolutely no, feelings in my legs. It was the strangest feeling I have ever had. After one push the baby’s head was crowning. The nurse told me not to push anymore until the Doctor got there. During all this Andy’s mom showed back up at the hospital and we were not sure if my mom was on her way or not. When Dr Frank got there, he asked if he had time to change, he was told yes, but to make it quick, then Andy’s phone rang, it was my mom looking for directions. Her and Uncle Jerry had gotten lost. He handed the phone off to his brother (who was in the waiting room) and had him get them to the hospital.

The doctor walked back into the room and we were ready to go, except Andy was not back yet. So I am sitting there, legs in the air, ready to push and they keep telling me to wait! Lol Once everyone was in place, I was told to push when I felt it, after two pushes little Morgan joined the world. It was a very emotional time for both Dad and I. I will never forget that feeling. So we did the picture with the baby, mom, dad and doctor, then snip the cord was cut and baby was cleaned up. The nurse put Morgan’s foot print on dad’s arm and he headed to the waiting room to make the announcement and see if my mom was there yet.

She was not in the waiting room so he said it would be just a little bit longer. As he was on his way back to the room he seen my mom trying to go thru the nurse who was standing guard outside the door. I had requested that no one come in until my legs were back on the bed, so the nurse was keeping all but Andy out. Of course anyone who knows my mom, knows she was having none of that and was trying her hardest to get thru the nurse. She did manage to get around her and poke her head in, making sure her baby girl and new grandchild were ok. She said she loved me and then waited outside. Andy went and told his mom that she officially was a grandma and showed off the footprint. The got me cleaned up and my feel back on the bed and then both grandma’s, Uncle Doug and Uncle Jerry were allowed in the room.

So Morgan was officially born at 8:36am on Aug 24, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz.

Now, these events are as I remember and what I think I was told. Feel free to correct me if you are reading this and know the story differently.

ok, so I have been meaning to do this for a few weeks now, but have not had time.  Our little Morgan is three weeks old today and the weekend before her birth was very interesting.  I am wanting to document that weekend here so we can tell her about it when she is older.  It was rather comical now that I think about it. One of the last minute things that happened was that I was going to be induced due to some scarring on my cervix.  The doctor convinced me to change hospitals the week before I was due from Memorial to St. Elizabeths, neither Andy nor I were very happy about this, but I thought the Dr knew best.  So we were scheduled to go to St. Elizabeths at 8 am on Sunday, August 23.

So here goes…..

It was friday, Aug 21 and we decided to invite some friends over for one last movie night before we had a little one in the house that we had to think about.  So there were a handful of people over and we decided to all have taco bell for dinner and watch Blazing Saddles (one of the guys had never seen it).  During the movie I was a little uncomfortable, but that is to be expected when one is 9 months pregnant and due the following day.  I went to the bathroom and had a little gush of water, was not sure if it was my water breaking or the baby pushing on my bladder as it was after I had already gone to the bathroom and was standing up.  I did not do anything at this time, but change my clothes and go back out to watch more of the movie.  After the movie most everyone had left, only two were still here - Dan and Pierre.  I noticed some blood when I went to the bathroom (as I was spending a lot of time in the bathroom these days).  I called the hospital (Memorial, as I was very comfortable with them and had been there several times prior for Non Stress tests), told them I was not sure if my water had broke and that I had some blood, they told me to come in to be checked out.

Now I need to preface all of this by saying that I had woken up that morning at 4 am and was unable to fall back to sleep.  I had gotten up with Andy and cleaned house and “nested”, thinking that I would take a nap later in the day.  Well I never got tired so I did not have a nap.  So by this time, its after midnight and we are gathering all our things and heading to the hospital.  The bag was not ready, so we were still gathering things to put in it and stuff.  One would have thought we were moving in as both Andy and I each had a bag plus we had my laptop.  hehe  We registered in the ER, they wheelchaired me to Labor and Delivery and got me set up in a room.  The nurse we had is one I had seen on a few occassions for the Non Stress Tests I was doing every Monday.  She checked to see if my water had broke, however the initial test was inconclusive so she did another test that she sent to the lab for results.  Those results came back saying my water had not broke.  During the wait I started cramping pretty bad, or as I found out later having minor contractions.

The nurse called my doctor, he said to go ahead and keep me for observation, see what happens.  So I laid there all night, hooked up to monitors (one for baby and one for my contractions).  Cramping got a little worse, but not to the point where I wanted drugs or else.  Neither Andy nor I slept much thru the night, but we tried.  We also tried walking and rocking.  By early morning the nurse said I had dialated a little and she could feel the baby’s head, so she called the Doctor on call.  He would be making his rounds at the hospital later that morning and would come can check on me, until then we waited.  Keeping in mind I had not had anything to eat since 8 the night before.  The doctor showed up about 10 that morning and declared that I was not making any progress and that the best they could do is send me home with some benedryl to help me sleep.  The Cramping/Contractions i was having were “minor” (although to me they were a bit more significant, I was on the verge of asking for pain meds).

W discussed the reasons why we were at Memorial and not at St. E’s as he had spoken to my doctor and was curious.  He was not sure why my doctor was set on using a particular drug that only St. E’s had, and did not completely agree with my doctor.  It was enough to get both Andy and I on board with coming back to Memorial to be induced if they had room for us.

So they sent me home, finally around noon with a dose of benedryl and directions to get some rest and show back up at Memorial on Sunday at 6 pm.  We headed home by way of McD’s for a cheese burger.  When we got home I went to bed and slept for 6 hours.  By the time i woke up my cramping had decreased considerably.   We had dinner (Outback Steakhouse carryout) and then i headed back to bed.  I was soooo tired.  On sunday we did some running around, went to the mall then came back home to take a little nap before heading back to the hospital.

See the next entry for the epic story starting from when we get to hospital and ending at the birth of our beautiful little girl.

So today marks 33 weeks, time is going so fast.  WIthin 7 weeks or so we will have our little girl home here with us, still seems a little unreal.  Even after listening to the heartbeat today and seeing her the last ultrasound.  Its amazing to me.

So many things to think about and to do, I keep thinking we have plenty of time, but really its going to be here before we know it.   I started making a list so that we don’t forget something.   Which even with the list I am sure we will, nothing monumental, but something that we should get done I am sure.

Well I am going to keep this one short, not much in mood for sitting here typing, the little one is a little rambunctious right now.

So with all the things going on in our lives, it is expected that things would be different and this past weekend did not prove me wrong on that front.  Andy had to work all weekend and was probably a good thing, because we did not have anywhere to be anyway.  Last night was reminiscence of our early days.  We ate dinner here at home and the we went for a long drive.  I think its been quite a while since we did that.  And ended the evening with a rousing game of putt putt.  Somehow we tied, is that weird or what???  So today, is Sunday, but it so does not feel like a Sunday as Andy is at work for a few hours and we, luckily, are both off tomorrow.  Although I know we both have things we need to do tomorrow, but we do get to sleep in a bit and maybe relax together a little bit before I head to the Hospital for a NST and he heads to class in the evening.

I am going to take this month, hopefully to spend a little time updating this website with pics and getting myself geared up for tax season by taking some classes, both online and in the classroom.  I need to work on my resume as well, as I will be looking for a new job as soon as the baby is born.  Long story short, my company is downsizing and getting rid of most of the overhead people.  They do however want me to work part time for a bit, so if I can find another job we might also have a small opportunity to make a little extra money once or twice a month with them.

Also, with any luck i will be able to start putting together the baby’s room.  We need to finish a little bit of painting and put the trim up. The Baby Shower is next weekend and I am getting excited.  Basically we are about 7 weeks from my due date, so the time is flying by.  I have started the “nesting” process I think.  I did lots of cleaning type stuff on Friday and today I went thru drawers in the kitchen cleaning them out and stuff.   Oh well, right now I need to get up and move around.

ok, its been awhile since I updated this, but theres not been much to report.  Until this week.  So a few weeks ago I took a glucose test and yesterday we got the results back (only because I did not call and they swear they left a message on the first).  Lesson to be learned, always call to find out results, never wait to hear from them or assume all is good when you dont hear from them.  Anyway, as it turns out I have gestational diabetes.  At first I was pretty close to devastated, but it occurs to me that this might be one of the best things that could happen.  I am forced to change my eating habits or risk complications with our baby AND if I could change for good then maybe later in life I can reduce my risk of developing diabetes (my dad has it and so does my older sister).  So tomorrow I am meeting with a dietician and a nurse to discuss diet and how to check my glucose levels several times a day.  Woo hoo.

Secondly we have been taking birthing classes and boy are my eyes wide open now.  I had never actually seen a child being born til last week.  So of course all kinds of things start going thru my head, I know full well all will be good and I can do this, but oh my.  Its a rather scary event.  So here’s to hoping that I dont think too much about it the next two months.

Also, I worry about my mom.  She has retired, but I fear with no reason to get out every day she will just become a recluse.  I think she needs a hobby or part time job just to keep her engaged in life.  I do not know what to do.  Some days its hard to find time to stop by and see her.  Part of me just wants to come home after work and relax, not stop and visit and get home late.  I know that is lazy of me.  Anyway, I am going to make a concerted effort to spend more time with her and stuff.  Hopefully we can get her happy and full of life for her new little grandbaby.

Ok so I have rambled, but my doggie is begging for some attention, so off I go.  Promise to write later.

so I am noticing lately that I am tired in the evenings and prone to emotional tears at the drop of a hat.  I try to stay as busy as i can so that I am not just sitting on the couch all the time.  I hope things will continue to go well with the pregnancy.  I think a part of me is getting nervous with it being 3rd trimester and the glucose test coming up.  So many things we need to get done still and I can not do alot of them.  I only hope Andy does not take on more than he can do.  I am sure he will be fine and all will get done.  Just need to stay calm and positive.  ok.  this has helped a little and now am feeling scattered so will go before i start to ramble on and on and on and on….hehe