The First Two Weeks

Our first two weeks have flown by! We have made it with everyone intact and healthy, but the house is falling apart. The "big kids" get out every toy they own EVERY day, so it is hard to keep up with their mess. But, we are loving our new baby, so the house can wait!


We have had some visitors come see us- Grandma and Grandpa Slagley came to visit and get their hands on Morgan. Morgan slept on Grandma for a good long time.

This is just to show you how long she is- it is hilarious that she seems so tiny, but she is just long and skinny.

Sweet girl has been staying awake for longer periods of time during the day, and it is funny to just watch her look around. She has a busy world to watch!

And don't worry, Kate hasn't lost interest yet! She still loves to hold Morgan any chance she gets. She helps keep her covered up, tells me is she needs a new diaper, and buckles her into the bouncy seat. It is nice to have such an attentive helper!

Sweet Baby

We have had a great first week with sweet Morgan. People always say third babies are low-key, and that has been the case so far. She eats, poops, and sleeps. She stays awake after a feed two or three times a day, and sleeps the rest of the time. I am NOT used to this, because Kate and Blake had reflux from such an early age, and were pretty fussy. I do realize that babies change every day, so I am not getting too used to anything yet. I think I am taking more time to enjoy the little things since this could be (probably is) our last baby. I always said I wanted four, but pregnancy has done me in! I think it is pretty sad that I feel better and have more energy AFTER having her- that just shows all my complaining was legitimate!

The big kids have handled Morgan very well, it helps to have each other as playmates. Kate is still REALLY into Morgan, and sometimes a little too hands on. Blake is sweet to her, but holds her hand a little too hard and runs past her a little too fast. There has been some hyper-sensitivity too, they get really upset when they are punished or corrected, which they should be very used to by now. And they don't really like for us to be out of their sight. All of these things should be better soon, at least it isn't worse! I will take some extra snuggle time with the bigger ones, which seem HUGE by the way, compared to my little peanut.

We went to the doctor on Tuesday for Morgan's one week and a really late 4 year checkup for Kate. Brandon was able to be off and go with me, and I don't know how I would have done it without him! Kate got a finger stick and two shots, so we had our share of drama. Morgan got a heel stick, but recovered quickly. When Kate cried, I was trying to entertain Blake so he wasn't watching, and he burst into tears because Kate was sad. So my hormones couldn't handle it, and I teared up at his tender heart. We were a sight! The good news is that Morgan was above her birth weight. When we left the hospital, she was down to 6 lbs 6 oz, and at one week she was up to 6 lbs 14 oz, so I got the go ahead to let her sleep more at night. I was having to wake her up after 4 or 5 hours the first few nights, but now she is back to around 3 to 4 hours between feeds at night. Another thing I was not used to from the other two. They were 2-3 hour night babies, so I will take this! I had planned on putting her in her crib, but I chickened out (or got lazy) and put her in the Moses basket next to my bed, and it seems to be working pretty well. She doesn't really cry when she wakes up, she just makes grunting noises, so I worried I wouldn't hear her.

It is an adventure, but we are making it! And enjoying this sweet new baby. I forgot how much I love a newborn curled up on my shoulder, no wonder I have 3 babies in 4 years! I am going to have to volunteer at a nursery or something after this!

By the way, check this link back to a blog post when Blake was a baby to see how similar they look.

Morgan May Slagley

These kids are so proud to announce the arrival of Morgan May Slagley, born Tuesday at 11:06 am.

I was induced around 6:40 in the morning, and let myself feel painful contractions until about 8:20 until I got the epidural... why wait? It was STRONG! Stronger than my other two epidurals have been, so I couldn't feel much of anything, until I shifted and felt pressure very low and thought I might need to let me nurse know. When I did, she told me we could let the kids back in to say goodbye until after we met Morgan, she was ready to go! It was kind of crazy fast, but we knew once she was coming, she was going to be quick. Two pushes later, she was screaming in front of me. It was so surreal, I was still waiting to exert any sort of effort, but she was already here... thank you epidural (and two other kids to pave the way)! She looked little from the start, and she was our smallest, at 6 pounds 10 ounces. I am a little partial to the smaller ones anyway with my NICU nursing history. :)

They got everything ready for visitors and the kids came running back in. I had so much fun introducing them to their new sister. Their faces were so sweet and excited. Kate's hasn't changed since, Blake has already lost a little interest.

Our new normal...

There is not a better moment than the one where you meet your sweet baby. I just stared at her and tried to see who she looks like- still can't tell you! I see Kate and I see Blake, I see me, and I see Brandon. She is her own little person!

We got settled into our room upstairs and the kids got to come marvel at her again. See Kate's super smile?

There is the super smile again! She is really good at holding Morgan, she stays still until she tells you she is ready to move. Blake will hold her for a minute until something else comes along, then he bails.

Sweet sisters.

Sweet brother!

Getting her first bath. Kate got to help with the lotion after the bath, and she loved it!

We got home yesterday, and we are starting to adjust to life with 3 kids! Thank you for all the calls, texts, and emails- we are so thankful for a healthy sweet girl.

Last Minute Before Morgan

A few more additions to her room... I love the pale blue of her room, and it ties into the bedding, but I had to add a few touches of pink to make it more girly.

I have been busy making her some burp cloths, onesies, bibs, and gowns. She is using SO MANY hand-me-downs, it is nice to make something just for her!

Brandon's work did a diaper and wipe shower for us, and it was a huge blessing! We have diapers and wipes stored behind the glider, under the crib, on her changing table shelves, everywhere! It is so nice to get "showered" with a third baby, especially with things you know you will use! There were a few extra treats thrown in there too, along with a gift for Kate and Blake.




She will be coming on Tuesday if she doesn't make an appearance before then! So, this is my last post before she gets here! I am praying for a smooth delivery and transition to a family of 5! Kate and Blake think they are going on a vacation for a few days with my parents, so I am not so worried about them!

And- I forgot to tell you that we got great news at the foot doctor the other day- I will not need surgery, and I got out of that ridiculous hot boot. Now I am just trying to get used to wearing normal shoes again and keep kids from running ON my toe all the time!

I will be back soon with news about Morgan...

A Few New Things

Even though she is the third, Morgan is still getting a few new things. I am finally getting to the point where I want things a certain way in her room, for her carseat, etc. I won't even call it nesting because it is NOTHING like I had with Kate, and even less than I had with Blake. It is just wanting to be ready, I guess. Both other kids liked the green soothie pacifier, but there was no easy way to keep up with it, until I found this cute paci clip. It is by a brand called "Booginhead," and I found it on Amazon.

I am normally a COLD natured person, but this pregnancy and heat has almost sent me over the edge, and I am afraid it will send Morgan over the edge too. I have seen some friends with stroller fans, and then I found this little stroller/carseat fan with foam blades in case any little fingers get near it. Also found on Amazon!


I know we will be outside a good bit, so I got a carseat net so the mosquitoes cannot get her. I think I would cry if she got the huge welps that my other two get even when they are covered in bug spray. I got a super cheap one at Babies R Us.

I know most people have a pack n play by their third baby... but mine was borrowed and mysteriously returned broken a few years ago, and my kids were big enough not to really NEED one. I found this one on Target.com for way cheap, and I love how plain it is.

And finally, the diaper bag. I fell in love with this green diaper bag with the pink lined straps. I have a friend whose mom works for Pottery Barn and could get me a discount on it, so I went ahead and treated myself. :) I think diaper bags are something you have to get new with each child, because they get worn out, spilled on, etc., so this is the one I chose for Morgan.

I am getting excited, we will meet her two weeks from tomorrow at the LATEST! That is July 12th, the day after my birthday, and I couldn't imagine a better birthday present. I go back to the OB this Wednesday to see if I have made any progress, and back to the orthopedic next week to check on my toe. I was not feeling too much pain last week, so I let myself take off the boot for a little bit, and even drive myself around, but then I think I overdid it. Yesterday and today I have been hurting pretty badly, so Brandon put me on house arrest. I am not the best patient, I get too restless, and I have these two other tiny people who don't want to prop their feet up and rest. I am enjoying a reason to rest when I do rest, but I also feel like Morgan is going to get a little too comfortable in there if I am not active at all- and I wouldn't mind if she came a little sooner than expected. I will get some pictures of her nursery and a few other things I have done for her, and show you guys a little more of what we have done to prepare for sweet Morgan.

OUCH

Sorry for 2 things: Sorry I couldn't turn the picture around. AND

Sorry this picture is gross, but I just have to post it for myself. If you are grossed out- just wait to read another post and hang this one up!

We had Kelly and her kids over yesterday morning to play outside and wear all the kids out, and I am so glad they were here! John Burke was getting up from his nap and the "big" kids were jumping on the (zipped up) trampoline, so I decided I could water our garden and porch plants while I had a chance. I was trying to get the hose back down to the backyard, while keeping the fence closed, while stepping around my dog, and I started to fall. I turned around facing back up the stairs to catch myself, but my toe stayed where it was- not sure if it was caught under the step, by the hose, or just caught in my flip flop- but it hurt IMMEDIATELY! I started hopping and crying, and Kelly asked if I was ok, so I pointed to my foot and she saw the beautiful crooked big toe and knew I was NOT ok! I just picked up the phone and called Brandon, luckily he was able to leave work to come get me since I could not drive. Thanks to Kelly for staying here with all 4 kids and managing lunch and naptime until we got home around 3:30 or so! I don't know what I would have done if I had been alone with my kids when it happened!

One perk of the countless hours Brandon spends at the hospital is a little quicker treatment at his ER. We got there, he had let them know we were coming, so they got my information, and then we were in a room with the doctor. Thank God for the speedy process, because I was crawling in pain, shifting side to side, and crying nonstop. They asked what I wanted to take for pain, but I hated to take anything that could hurt Morgan. Keep in mind that I will be meeting her in just under 4 weeks, so the stress was causing some pretty painful contractions too. I decided that I would take something to take the edge off so at least I wouldn't add a delivery to my day too. Once I got some pain medicine in my system, I was able to go get an x-ray and wait for the results. We were hoping for a simple dislocation that could be snapped back into place and we could move on, but it wasn't so simple!

The ER doctor came in and told us that the x-ray was pretty nasty, and he took Brandon to see it. The big toe had a spiral fracture (broken into 2 pieces and twisted around) with an avulsion (a piece of bone chipped off) in the joint space. We talked about options to reset the bone, but my pregnant options were not great! He said he would normally sedate someone to reset this kind of fracture but NOT ME. When I asked what we could do for the pain, he told me I could "have a stick to bite." I started crying all over again because that was not funny when they had already built up how badly it would hurt. Then, I decided that it is just a toe, I will be fine until after she gets here, but he quickly told me that your big toe accounts for 80% of your balance, so it needed to be fixed now. We knew the foot specialist at St. Vincents East was great, so we asked if he could look at it and give us more options. He had already left the hospital, but they called him and he came back! He said that any other patient would get to have surgery and have a pin placed to hold the bones together, but again, NOT ME. I got a nerve block of my big toe, which is a series of shots going all the way around the toe, and it was the most painful part of the whole day- not kidding! But, once the block worked, he was able to snap my toe back into place with only a little pain. It was so nice to look down and see a straight toe again!

Now I have my big toe taped to the toe next to it, and we are just going to hope that it stays where it is supposed to. I have a boot to wear to help me get around and keep it protected, but it is HOTTT. I was fine last night, but once that nerve block wore off, I was back to the pain from earlier. I don't want to have to take much pain medicine, but right now it is needed to be able to put any pressure on it at all. Remember these two kids I have? They don't understand why I can't pick them up and run around to get their cup or find their book, etc. I go back to see him either right before or right after Morgan arrives and we will see if a pin is still necessary, and see if I have kept it straight enough. I don't think surgery immediately after having her sounds good, so pray with me that everything stays where it should! In the meantime, I am on self-imposed bedrest, my kids destroying the house, watching way too much tv, while I prop my foot up and hope nothing touches my toe. They are not kidding about pregnancy making you clumsy and off-balanced! Sorry for the details- just want to make sure we don't forget this. I can tell Morgan one day that I sacrificed my toe so I wouldn't fall on her. :)

Birthday Girl

How is she 4? Didn't I just start this blog when she was born? She has been looking forward to this day for a while, and it seems like it shouldn't be the end of May yet. My Kate Bug is 4, and she wants everyone to know it! Luckily, she has let Blake think that it is his birthday too and they have shared the celebration.







































She had a BLAST celebrating with friends and family. She mostly loves attention, but she got a little overwhelmed a few times and needed some space. Blake was pretty unsure of the whole thing, so he just stuck to his popsicle.















She had plenty of help opening her presents, but she quit halfway through to play in the water some more.




































Brandon picked out a new bike with training wheels that will be fun to learn how to ride. It is strange that she is big enough for a real bike!































She loved her party hat so much, she didn't take it off for the water fun. We had baby pools, slip n slide, and other fun yard toys for all the kids, so she just went from one to the other. It is amazing what a little water in the yard can do for kids! We spent another few hours on the slip n slide and in the pool again today. It is fine with me, it wears them out and allows me to sit to the side and rest while they play. I am glad we got to celebrate Kate before Morgan comes in just over 6 weeks! She has had lots of questions of what happens when Morgan comes, where will she stay, will she get to see me, and will I be leaving her alone- that one made me sad! I hope she will always know how special she is to all of us, our lives changed forever 4 years ago today!