Morgan Ann Holladay

Here it is - Morgan's Birth Story

Monday morning of December 13th around 4ish in the AM my water broke. David was still asleep off course and I wasn't quite sure if it really was my water breaking or not, so I got up after many trips to the bathroom. Around 5:30 David woke up to get ready to take his final and I told him I wasn't sure but I think my water broke. He suddenly seemed very awake. So he called his mom hoping to get a better idea of the whole water-breaking thing. She said it sounded like it and to call the midwife. I was a bit reluctant because the contractions were very weak and very far apart still. So I took a shower and told David I would just go up to campus with him and take a final also. He insisted on first calling the midwife, and of course she said I needed to go in right away. So I waddled my way to the car with David making fun of me the whole way and made sure I was sitting on a trash bag.

When we got to the hospital I was only dilated to a 3, 1/2 cm more than my appointment the Thursday before. So they told me I would probably have to be induced because 3 hours had already gone by since my water broke and nothing was happening. I really didn't want that so they said they would give me some time to try to start things up on its own. We had the lights dimmed and the sound of the beach playing to help me relax with visualization. 12:00 rolled around (8 hours after my water broke) and still no progress and hardly any contractions. So they induced me. It hit so hard and fast that I barely had any time to get in my "zone". Two hours of that went by and I wanted drugs. I felt bad doing it though because of all the work David and I had put into hypnobirthing. I asked him if he was okay with it and of course he said it was up to me and he didn't care.

After the epidural, which didn't hurt at all, I was so happy. It took a few minutes for it to kick in but once it did I just sat there and watched Boy Meets World and played Sudoku. About two hours later I felt pressure that I assumed was just contractions and me needing another dose of the epidural. The nurse came in about that time and I asked her about it. She explained that I just hit the button and another dose of the epidural would start but it would take about 20 minutes. Then she asked when was the last time I was checked and I told her two hours. She decided it was probably about time to check again but when she lifted up my gown she said "Oh! There's the head!" This was at 4:00. It seemed like only minutes before everyone was in the room with all the equipment and such. I could definitely feel her pushing through the canal but there was absolutely no pain. Two pushes later, at 4:16, Morgan Ann was born.

Everyone at the hospital commented on how fast it was and it seemed like this was my fourth baby rather than my first. They said my body was just made for having babies. So the official record is that my labor only lasted 4 hours, pretty good for a first baby! I guess all those false alarms paid off.

DING!

I thought when the belly button popped it meant the baby was all done cooking and was ready to come out????

Baby.... ?

life as we know it...

I feel like it has been forever since I lasted posted so I thought I'd better hop on the ball.

Things are moving right along but I seriously feel like the weeks are getting slower the closer we get to baby coming. Thanksgiving break is next week so I intend on taking that time to fold all her clean clothes and organize her room to the most acceptable point for her arrival. We still have a few months before we will bother with getting a crib so it may make the room look slightly bare for a little while. I am getting more and more anxious for her to come as I think about how exciting it will be to hold her for the first time. Our hypnobirthing class has really made me aware of what a special moment it will be and I am really looking forward to it. This hypnobirthing class has been great in teaching both of us the right way to go about birthing to make it as pleasurable as possible. I think knowing I will get my baby at the end of the whole experience will make it go by a lot faster than when I have bouts of contractions now when I know there is no baby coming at the end of the 5+ hours - just waiting for it to pass. I finished her baby blanket... almost. The final step is the backing but everything else is done! YAY for me!!

Other exciting news - David got the job at BYU Broadcasting! After months of nagging Julian, the guy who does the hiring and a friend of David's, they must have realized he is persistent and caved - a decision they will never regret. So all last Thursday and Friday David had training for the switcher that the Technical Director is in control of and each night came home mentally worn out but with a huge smile. I am so grateful that he got a job he will love, especially when he is filming more intense sports games :) We are especially grateful that they decided to start him out on a wage that is significantly higher than originally intended (must be because they know how good he is gonna be). That is something I'm sure the Lord had a hand in and I am endlessly grateful.

Not as exciting as David's job but I made two perfect omelets this week! This was quite the accomplishment for me because whenever I have tried making an omelet in the past it always turned into cheesy scrambled eggs with other stuff. This time I was determined. So with two spatulas and a huge frying pan I owned that omelet like no one's business! And it was all pretty and colorful :) The second time I made it using only one spatula - progress! Rejoicing in my personal triumphs!

That is about it really. Only 2 1/2 weeks left of classes - hoorah!

32 1/2 weeks

So I guess my lack of patience has rubbed off on Morgan because she doesn't seem to like the idea of waiting out this whole full-term pregnancy thing.

Yesterday around 3:00 I started feeling a lot of pressure and slight contractions that were still far apart. But as the evening went on the pains got worse no matter what position I tried and spread more to my back. Still being new to this whole pregnancy and having-baby thing I called my sister-in-law to get some advice. By 11:30 I was in super pain and could barely move. I asked David for a blessing and immediately after I just wanted to cry because the pain just intensified more. Thinking about it retrospectively I figure the Lord was trying to tell me to go in because I really didn't want to. So just after 12:30 AM we got to Orem Community (10-15 min away) where they told us we needed to go to Utah Valley (which is only 2 minutes from our house). Apparently, if I was going into labor they wouldn't be able to take care of Morgan there because she would be too premature. So we went to Utah Valley instead. They got us all settled in and upon evaluation discovered that I was dilated 1 cm, which apparently wouldn't be as big of a concern if I had already had a child once before, but seeing as I haven't - not so good. So they gave me a shot to stop the contractions and made me drink A LOT of water FAST because I hadn't had enough that day. Well that didn't settle well with me and shortly after I just threw it all up. So they came back with more water and juice for me to drink, slower this time. Some tests later they discovered I had a serious UTI which was most likely the leading cause for the early contractions. They gave me a prescription for that and once the contractions seized they let me go home with strict orders to rest for the next few days; it was now 2:45 AM.

I think Morgan is going to come on a Friday night. This same thing happened last Friday night but went away after about 5 hours. This time reached almost 11 hours and only stopped with medicine. I also now have a better idea of what to expect and know that I'm gonna have A LOT of back labor pains - that was the worst! And I couldn't stop shaking. It seemed ridiculous how much I was shivering, even before we left the house. David was great though the whole time - I love that boy! So baby Morgan needs to hold off at least 3 1/2 more weeks but more preferably a little longer than even that. Just like the blessing said - have trust and faith in Heavenly Father. So that's what I'll do.

third times a charm

Fall is here and we are finally settled into our third apartment.

Furniture has trickled in thanks to the kindness of family and I realize how silly I was to fret over it that first week. The Lord blessed us with the things we needed without having to spend an outrageous amount of money. I was reminded of President Uchtdorf's talk at General Conference regarding focusing on what matters most rather than letting stress keep you from rejoicing. I was definitely letting the stress of the new apartment and not having furniture get in the way of my rejoicing, and it wasn't until I calmed down and reminded myself that it would all come together in due time that I saw everything working out. I would have saved myself a lot of hassle from the negative consequences of stress if I had just trusted in Him sooner. Lessen learned.

So, our apartment: 2 bedrooms which allows for baby Morgan to have her own baby's room when the time comes (and I am super excited to decorate once I have some more time during Thanksgiving break), 2 full bathrooms, dining room, kitchen with pantry and plenty of storage space. David finished building our dresser last night and now we actually have somewhere to put our clothes. It makes a huge difference in the room and I loved just sitting in there this morning admiring the cleanliness/organization. David's brother and sister-in-law gave us their couch and my sister is giving us a lot of her furniture since they recently decided to move out of state at the end of the year. The apartment is a lot brighter than I had remembered when we checked it out at the very beginning. The windows bring in ample lighting for every room and since we don't have to pay additional costs for any utilities we have lights on more often. It is by far better than our first apartment and I am happy we found it. It met all our criteria plus some; the Lord really was looking out for us and our best interest.

The colors are changing outside and it really is quite beautiful - the best part about Utah is its fall colors. It's getting colder in the mornings but usually always warms up by the afternoon. Snow will inevitably come soon - not exciting. I do enjoy wearing sweaters though and feeling the crispness in the air and the crunching of the leaves on the ground. It always reminds me of family, I guess because of the holidays.

I think baby Morgan is going to be one smart little girl because I feel like I am doing better in school this semester than I have in semesters past. She must be helping me out with all her great intelligence. But school really isn't all that bad it seems. Exercise Physiology is starting to pick up in intensity however so will require more dedication, and History of Creativity exams are a bit ridiculous, but overall all is going well. Doing the work and staying on top of the reading and assignments makes me feel good.

Speaking of baby Morgan, only 9 weeks left til she is supposed to come! We had another ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and she is doing great. About every other week David looks up the development of the baby and where she is according to how far along I am. It is amazing all the things she can do now. One night, not long ago, I was laying in bed and she was moving like crazy for quite a while! David was having a field day with it and I truly loved the whole experience. It has been such a blast feeling and seeing her move, each day getting stronger and stronger. Putting aside the difficulty in eating, breathing, and sleeping, as well as the vomiting and fatigue - I have really loved being pregnant. I'm excited to actually meet her!

Ode to Boy Meets World

Sitting and watching Boy Meets World brings happiness to my heart! I have grown up watching it and really feel there are more good morals in this show than the ones on TV today. In a lot of ways I see several people from my own life in this show. It makes me happy! The following clip is just a compilation of Eric's Feeny Call, one of the many funny parts of the show. Makes me feel like a giddy little kid again :)

and life goes on

It is nearing the end of September which puts us into October which makes December only 2 months away! Exciting!

You can definitely tell school has started around here. Textbooks and notebooks seems to pile up on our counter every day and we are tired much more often. David is taking some interesting classes (and by interesting I mean impossible for me to even fathom taking). He is in Economics which goes toward his new Business Minor and seems to take up a lot of time; Research Methods, required as prerequisite for other classes in his major; TV Production, which he loves because they get to sit around for 1 1/2 hrs once a week talking about directing - right up David's alley; New Testament and Weight Training which will, according to him, make him "buff" for Gymnastics next semester. We are both in History of Creativity, which I find more amusing than I had anticipated it being. I'm trying to wrap up my major classes this semester with Exercise Physiology, Worksite Health Promotions, Stress Management and Mind/Body Health. Graduation seems to be getting further away though with those darn GE's.

We are moving again. We found an apartment we both like - 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, all utilities included, huge kitchen with 2 pantries, dining room, and personality; most importantly - it's cheaper than where we are now and even about 4 houses closer to campus (but because this is Utah it is also in a different Ward). I was up the other night thinking about all the possibilities of decorating. Since we will be settling in for longer term and have to buy our own furniture there are more possibilities. Should be fun.

Baby is moving around a lot these days. She is super cute and sometimes distracting because instead of listening to teachers I just want to watch her move my belly. One down side though: her kicks are getting stronger and at times it hurts. But I love that she seems to be having fun in there. Super excited for her to come out and play.

I got a new calling at church, about a month ago. I am now a Relief Society Teacher. This past Sunday was my first time and boy was I nervous. David kept reassuring me everything would be fine and was running through the lesson with me but despite all the kind words - I was still petrified. A year before David and I got married, my roommates and I were sitting around talking about callings and which ones we didn't/did want to receive that coming Sunday. I commented that teaching would be my least favorite. Everyone said I should knock on wood and I laughed at the idea and said the Lord knew me better than to give that one to me. I was called as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher - I wanted to die. But as it turned out I loved that calling and it remains my favorite. Well, after this past Sunday, I remembered that the Lord knows me much better than I know myself and I actually enjoyed being in front of the class. I noticed a lot of things I needed to improve but I was kinda excited to do it. Too bad we are moving in a month.