The Morgazine

My collection of essays written during the month of January/February.

Transcript

1. The Morgazine
2. The Morgazine February 2013 Jon Morgan Project Hover Shepherd, MI
3. The Morgazine Copyright © 2012 by Project Hover. This book was produced using PressBooks.com, and PDF rendering was done by PrinceXML.
4. Contents The Morgan Family Gone Sledding 2 Baby on Board Waiting for Baby 4 Early Signs 5 Ten Fifty Six 6 Elijah’s First Week 10 First Family Outings 15 iv
5. The Morgan Family
6. Gone Sledding This afternoon I took Kayla and Josh sledding near Little Salt River Park where there is a decently sized hill between the baseball diamonds and the river. With Theresa home on maternity leave this was a rare opportunity for me to take the older kids out to do something while she stayed home with Elijah. After lunch, we scrambled around searching for snow pants that would fit Kayla, and then the kids loaded their sleds into the trunk of my car. When we arrived at the hill, we found that it was already occupied by other people who had the same idea. It didn’t take long before Josh and Kayla were mingling with some of the other kids who were riding sleds down the hill. I drifted between taking pictures, and killing time by sitting in the car and soaking in much needed sunlight. It wasn’t terribly cold out, but it was still quite chilly. [ Read Online | Comment | The Morgazine | Activity Log ] 2
7. Baby on Board
8. Waiting for Baby Theresa Morgan and I are on pins and needles waiting for the baby to arrive. We’re more than a week away from the due date, but whenever Theresa reports a new ache or ailment, I wonder if it is a “sign” that she will go into labor. I think a lot about how much life will change after the baby, yet still need to stay somewhat the same. When Kayla Morgan was born, we set our schedules around her feedings and naps. With Josh, we continued the schedule that we started with Kayla without too much interruption to our lives. But, it was easier to stay in step with our kids when they were a baby and a toddler. Now that Kayla is 12 and Josh is 10, they require a schedule that is more flexible and busier. We’ve also branched out a great deal more since they were babies and made friends, gotten involved with community projects, and found a home church. I’m sure that we will slow down as we adjust to the new baby, but I think he will benefit the most if we stay as close to our regular routine as possible. Kayla and Josh certainly would, too. The first time we attend church after he is born will be a test of how well we can stick to our “normal” routine. Theresa and I weren’t regular church goers when we first got married, so we didn’t look for a home church in Lansing, and once we had Kayla it seemed to daunting to try. With Shepherd being smaller, it seemed right to start looking into the churches. But, after Josh was born it was a question of whether I wanted to get a toddler and a baby ready for church on my own each Sunday morning. My thinking shifted when we started going, and now it is a much bigger priority. With Josh and Kayla being older now, I hope that I am up to the challenge of getting all four of us ready for church. If I am, and can keep it up on a regular basis, then other events should be a breeze. [Read Online | Annotate | Comment | Activity Log | The Morgazine ] 4
9. Early Signs Thursday, January 31, 2013 Early on Thursday morning, just as I was getting up to start my day, Theresa asked me to work from home instead of going into the office. She reminded me that it might not mean anything, but she had noticed some signs that seemed to say that she would have the baby soon. I emailed the office to let them know, and then called Jenny to let her know that I would be working from home so that she knew to drive in that day. But, Jenny offered to work from home too in case something did happen and we needed someone to take the kids. The rest of the day went pretty normal. Theresa took Kayla to skating practice that night. I had started to watch “Star Trek: Nemesis” on Netflix while I was eating my dinner, and Josh ended up staying a little bit later to watch until it was over. It was ten o’clock when I sat down to catch on some work that needed to be done for the Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival. My instincts told me that I needed to go to bed instead of diving into something computer-based, but I also knew that I might not get another opportunity. [Read Online | Annotate | Comment | Activity Log | The Morgazine ] 5
10. Ten Fifty Six We had made our mad dash for the hospital at approximately 1:45 a.m., then spent the majority of the rest of the morning sitting and waiting in between visits from a nurse. The only exception had been the twenty minutes that we had spent shuffling through the corridors of the birthing center. But, around 7 a.m. there was a shift change, and we got a new nurse named Chelsea and a new doctor on call named Dr. Elliot. Dr. Elliot checked Theresa, pronounced that there still wasn’t much progress, then okayed a pitocin drip. I’m not sure of the exact medical translation, but to me the word “pitocin” means “we’re going to have a baby.” Chelsea started Theresa at a low dosage, then said she would be back to check on us in a little bit. She also suggested that we should have the goal of having the baby at 3 p.m. that day. This seemed like a good goal, although 3 p.m. sounded pretty far away. The pitocin started to kick in, and Theresa started to feel more contractions. I spent more and more time by her side. I offered her my hand to squeeze as a show of support, but as the contractions continued to increase I began to wonder if I would see my hand again. I tried to put her at ease by reading the computer screen that was showing the magnitude and interval of her contractions. It was like reading a seismograph. I felt like a weatherman, able to read a couple of sciency looking charts and predict when her next contraction might hit. “We’ve seen a lot of peaks and valleys over the last few minutes, but that will change over the next few minutes as we enter of a period of high valleys and very few peaks. You might want to pack an umbrella.” “Shut. Up. Where’s your hand?” Chelsea returned to perform another examination. After she was done tickling Theresa’s nether regions, she glanced at the line graph on the computer and said that it was good that the contractions were getting stronger and Theresa was starting to make progress. She upgraded her dilation level to “4.” Then, she increased the pitocin drip. So, it went like this for the longest time. Theresa would squeeze my hand, I would pretend that I knew what the line graph meant (“Hey, if this graph was from Google Analytics right now, it would mean that you have a lot of web traffic right now.”), and then Chelsea would look in on us and raise the pitocin levels. I could tell from the way that my fingers were mashed together that Theresa was starting to feel a lot more pain. “Do you want me to ask about an epidural?” I asked. “No,” she said. “Not yet.” Well, okay then. Someone from the cafeteria arrived with a tray full of food. Theresa mixed together some tea and dove into the jello. “Did you want some?” She asked. I said no. Some of what happened is a bit of a blur. Theresa might have shifted around, and she might have used the bathroom. Actually, pretty routine stuff. Chelsea returned a couple of times to check on us. The next contraction hit. Theresa adjusted her tactics so that now she was grabbing a hold of both of my hands, and needed me to stare at her, so that she could focus on my face. Finally, she said that she wanted something to mask the pain. 6
11. I wandered out to the nurse’s station, and talked to Chelsea. She said she would take a look and get the paperwork going. Again, things are a little fuzzy but as I was guiding Theresa through another wave of contractions she suddenly announced that she felt nauseous. Nauseous? I asked. “Yes, like I’m going to throw up,” she answered. I froze out of panic. She couldn’t move, so the bathroom was out. Where would you find something for puke in a hospital room? Out of desperation, I began looking for a wastebasket. At Theresa’s suggestion, I paged the nurse’s station. Chelsea returned to our room while I was searching for something to give Theresa. I looked her way, and said that Theresa was feeling nauseous. Chelsea’s response? “That’s okay, and in a few minutes I’ll tell you why.” And then she opened up one of the cupboards–one of the many cupboards, pulled out a receptacle and handed it to Theresa. It’s a good thing, too, because as it turns out Theresa was right about the whole being nauseous thing. Instead of sharing the grizzly details, I’ll just tell you the first thing she said when she was done: “I shouldn’t have eaten the Jello.” Hmm. Or the tea. Now things were starting to get serious. I mean, we went into the hospital to have a baby, and after witnessing the births of our first two children, I was pretty much prepared to see a little bit of blood, and to see Theresa in painful labor. But, those other births were Level 5. This was Level 12. Soon after throwing up, Theresa announced that she was feeling the urge to push, as if she needed to poop. Chelsea explained that she was simply feeling the baby now that he was much lower. Theresa repeated this several times, and of course the contractions were also growing more painful. Chelsea paged Dr. Elliot, and a few minutes later he arrived to check. Theresa was much farther along with the dilation. Chelsea told us that we were going to need to skip the epidural, the baby was so close to being born. Dr. Elliot prepped, and Chelsea transformed the ordinary looking hospital bed into a much scarier looking “Baby-having” bed, complete with stirrups and buckets for the blood. “We’re almost ready,” Chelsea said. “We’re just waiting for a baby catcher.”Of course, when she said “baby catcher,” the first thing that popped into my head was a net. But, it turned out to be another nurse who took a position next to me. “I need to push!” Theresa exclaimed. She was, of course, told not to. Dr. Elliot made some snips, and after a few more minutes of waiting Chelsea told Theresa that she could push with her next contraction. The other nurse had said something about our son having hair, and I glanced down where I could see the first little bit of hair poking out. Also, there was blood. Theresa called my name to get my attention, and we resumed our hand-crushing, no-flinching, staring contest. Another push, and the baby’s head emerged from within Theresa. The nurse gave him a little bit of a bend and a nudge, and pulled the rest of him out. They inspected him, then laid him down on Theresa’s belly. Dr. Elliot and Chelsea clipped the umbilical cord so that I could cut it. By now I was half in a fog. I had been near tears watching Theresa being in so much pain and thinking about how we were about to have a baby. With guidance, I accepted the medical scissors and snipped the umbilical cord. Then, Nurse “baby catcher” carried him over to the heat lamp to clean him up and take his vitals. Ten Fifty Six - 7
12. By then, it was after eleven o’clock. Elijah Jacob Morgan was born at 10:56 a.m. For the rest of the time, I took photos while the nurses cleaned up Elijah and the doctor treated Theresa. There was the afterbirth, and then he stitched her up. Once the dust had settled, Theresa was able to hold Elijah for the first time. She and I took turns holding him. Eventually, it was three o’clock and I knew that the kids would be getting home from school. Or, at least that they would be with Jenny Holliday who had agreed to watch them. Because the hospital was on lock down, neither Kayla or Josh were allowed inside, so they wouldn’t be able to meet their brother until he came home. I called Jenny’s cell phone and talked to Kayla. Then, I launched a facetime call and aimed my iPhone’s camera at Elijah. That was the first time that Kayla and Josh were able to see Eli. Around dinner time I left to meet Jenny and the kids at McDonald’s. I took Josh and Kayla back to our house so they could pack their clothes. They were going to be staying over night with the Hollidays. I visited with Theresa and Elijah later that night and helped move them into a postpartum room, then headed back home. 8 - Baby on Board
13. [Read Online | Comment | Activity Log | The Morgazine ] Ten Fifty Six - 9
14. Elijah’s First Week Saturday, February 2, 2013 The kids stayed overnight at the hollidays’ house, and after I was done visiting with Theresa and Elijah at the hospital I returned home where I watched a couple of episodes of The Clone Wars, and then went to sleep. Saturday was all about getting Theresa and Elijah discharged from the hospital, but of course this was easier said then done. I stopped by the hospital at around eleven o’clock and ended up staying the rest of the afternoon while tests were run, Elijah’s picture was taken, the nurses checked on Theresa, and meals were served. Finally, both patients were given the okay to leave the hospital. The last thing we did was review a packet of information which I affectionately call an “Owner’s Manual” for newborns. A nurse wheeled Theresa down to the front entrance in a wheelchair while I carried Elijah down in his car seat. I pulled the car around the loop in front of the hospital, plugged Elijah into his base in the backseat, helped Theresa get in, and then started our drive home. The kids had been waiting patiently for their brother to come home so that they could finally meet them. By this point, they had been with the Hollidays for nearly 24 hours and hadn’t seen their mom since Thursday night. After Louie dropped them off, Kayla and Josh immediately took turns holding Elijah. We settled into our new routine of taking care of a newborn baby. 10
15. Sunday, February 3, 2013 Life continued to be eventful as we waited on Sunday for family to arrive to visit with Elijah. With the lockdown at the hospital, it wasn’t really practical for anybody to come for a visit until after Theresa and Elijah had been discharged. Susan arrived first with Amelia, Allyson, and Alex. My mom, Amy, and Jerry arrived around two hours later. Almost everyone took a turn holding Elijah. Elijah’s First Week - 11
16. Sandra Morgan holds Elijah Kayla plays “This little piggy” with Elijah’s little toes. 12 - Baby on Board
17. Elijah’s ten year old cousin Amelia Volz had the chance to hold him during their visit just a couple days after his birth. Monday, February 4, 2013 On Monday we took Elijah to see Dr. Walvisch for his postpartum checkup. Everything looked okay. Wednesday, February 6, 2013 On Wednesday, Susan, my mother in law, and Sarah Milton stopped in to visit with Elijah. This was Sarah and my mother in law’s first chance to meet the new family member. Elijah’s First Week - 13
18. [Read Online | The Morgazine | Activity Log ] 14 - Baby on Board
19. First Family Outings Your second time out of the house was on Saturday when your mom, sister, and I ate out for dinner at La Senorita’s in Mount Pleasant. You attracted a lot of attention from the restaurant staff. We eat at La Senorita’s enough that most of the waitresses knew that your mom was pregnant, so of course the first thing we heard was, “I was wondering when you were going to pop.” On Wednesday, we went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. This was also a chance to introduce you to Theresa’s co-workers. We stopped by the fitting room and then over by the break room so different people could see you, then resumed our shopping trip. After we were done at Walmart, we stopped at Burger King for a late lunch. You slept through this meal, too, but this could still count as your first visit to a fast food restaurant. [ Read Online | Comment | Activity Log | Website ] 15