I weighed Morgan this morning and she is over 10 lbs.!  Hard to believe Matthew was 8 lbs. at 2mos., but theoretically he was about 2wks old when you factor in the preemie time.

Hope to get out this weekend and get some good pics (maybe going to a friend’s mom’s house with a pool and hot tub

Everyone have a great and safe July 4th and stay cool!

Michelle

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First I want to say Happy Mothers Day to my beautiful wife for giving me two amazing and beautiful children. The timing was off for both, but I could not be happier She has given birth to the most wonderful son as well as the most beautiful little baby girl a father could ask for. So let me begin by saying thank you and I love you more than you will ever know.

Next to my Mother. Happy Mothers Day! I am sorry I don’t keep in touch more, but please know I think of you often and you mean the world to me.

Third, a huge congratulations go out to our friends Donnis and Shawna who on the Saturday before Mothers Day received a gift like no other. After trying, fertilizing, and finally adoption, they have their own son Memphis Brodie Hunter.

And finally another congratulations goes out to my old friend Kristi Courtney who recently found out her and her husband will be celebrating the birth of their first child in oh about 7.5 months What better anniversary gift then an oh by the way I am pregnant Congrats guys!

And as to our family, everyone is well. I know I am lacking in updated and pictures but it has been a busy vacation I promise to post more pics and updates in the next day or two!

Scott

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Matthew’s meeting with Morgan, went great.  I think Michelle and I both were a little concerned over the fact that there wasn’t much personalization for Matthew leading up to the birth, so I for one wasn’t sure how he was going to adjust to her, but we couldn’t ask for anything better to be honest.  Matthew loves on her all the time and wants to be right next to her and hold her and the whole nine yards.  It really is wonderful to see.  Two wonderful things that came out of yesterday though, I have to share.

Michelle got up to get the portable breast pump that the hospital left us to pump, more on that shortly, and she was rolling it over to the bed.  Matthew was standing next to me out of Michelle’s way and he looks over at her and says “Mommy, is that a gas pump?”  Where this came from I have no idea, but it was absolutely hilarious.  It was difficult for Michelle to not laugh to hard because it hurt so much.

Next as I was holding Morgan, Matthew was next to me petting her face and giving her kisses.  He looks up at me and says so matter-of-factly, “Why’s she not purring?”  I had to make sure everyone in the room heard that one.  Boy can you tell we are cat people or what   We later explained to Matthew that only kitty’s purr

So back to the breast pump.  Michelle is very much in favor of breast feeding and was adamant with me that she wanted to ensure whatever happened in surgery that she was to breast feed Morgan an hour after she was born.  So we got all finished and back to the recovery room and she was able to feed her, all was well.  I think she even fed her again once we got to our next room, but I could be mistaken.  Well of course as I go to pick up Matthew and take my mom home, a nurse comes in and tells Michelle that she can’t breast feed, there is an issue with her medication.  Now let me remind you we have seen umpteen doctors during this pregnancy.  We saw a regular OB, we saw a high risk OB, Michelle saw her Lupus doctor in Baltimore, she saw a Lupus doctor in Philly, she saw a psychiatrist in altimore, and I can’t even count the total number of visits.  But what I can count is the number of times there was an issue about breast feeding, none.  Michelle made it a point to ensure her vast medications would not in any way bother the baby in utero or afterwards during breast feeding.  Well apparently one doctor/nurse here at HUP got a hair up her butt about Wellbutrin.  So she said, was not a recommendation as they later tried to say it was, she couldn’t breast feed until more info was known and discussed.  So Morgan was given bottles of formula until the issue could be resolved.  Well after discussing with numerous doctors during the day and Michelle calling most of her doctors to get them to contact HUP and let them know there was no issue, they said OK, it won’t be a problem, but not so fast.  Turns out for whatever reason they decided that Prilosec was not the devil and she could not be on it and breast feed.  So now we had to wait 24 hours to get the Prilosec out of her system before she was able to breast feed.  Well one sympathetic nurse let Michelle breast feed her that night and she has continued ever since.  Problem with all this is, well there is too many to discuss in detail but, Morgan didn’t want to latch on in the beginning, nipple confusion as they say, but no arm no foul as she has taken very well to things today.

Michelle is doing good as long as they keep her percocet and Motrin in her.  Morgan is doing great.  She is one lazy kid   Sleeps most of the day and is the quietest thing in the world as long as you let her be.  The minute you try moving her around or uncovering her, she starts to wail.

Finally, barring any setbacks tomorrow is going home day!  We hope to be out of here by noon, but we’ll see how everything goes.  Nurse said they should be in in the morning to remove Michelle’s staples and there is nothing left for Morgan so after that we should be fine.  Will post again as soon as we get home to let everyone know.  Sorry no pictures tonight because I will be staying here and don’t have a memory card slot in this laptop.  But I will make sure I post some tomorrow.  Thanks to everyone for their thoughts, prayers, emails, the works.  It’s greatly appreciated.

The Miller’s!

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Saturday Michelle was having contractions and we went into the hospital for the heck of it. They were about 10 to 7 minutes apart. Doc came in and basically said not much we can do until you get down to about 2 minutes apart. So we packed up and headed home. Michelle was leery because the contractions were close to 5 minutes apart but we headed home anyway.

As the night moved on they were definitely 5 and sometimes closer apart, all the while increasing in pain. By 7:00am Michelle was in quite a good bit of pain. Unsure if it was just the labor pains or her sciatica acting but with every contraction she said it was like someone was jabbing a knife into her back. She called the Doc again and they said come on in we’ll see what we can do. So while Michelle was getting ready I got Matthew ready and packed the car with the essentials that I missed Saturday.

We got to the hospital and by this time contractions were between 3 and 5 minutes apart and Michelle was in a great deal of pain.  Reluctantly she came to the realization it would probably be best to do a C-Section than try natural with as much pain as she was feeling, so we talked to the nurse and she said she would have the doctor come and talk to us.  Doctor James came in and was extremely delicate in her examination of the cervix, extreme sarcasm at this point, which was dilated to over 3 cm.  Michelle gave quite a scream and the Doc said OK we’ll get you in for a C-Section.

At this point everything moved real quickly.  I don’t think there was any need to rush as far as issues go, because both Michelle and Morgan were fine.  I really don’t know what the rush was but there was a rush.  From the time the Doc said C-Section to the time she was in the OR, it was only about 3 hours or so.  Thanks to Tom and Theresa who came to the rescue quick fast and in a hurry to get to the hospital to grab Matthew and whisk him away.

The epidural didn’t go so well as the “resident” or as I call them trainee, took numerous jabs at Michelle trying to get it right.  Luckily I wasn’t there as they gave it to her in the OR and I was waiting in the recovery room until she was all ready.  Finally they came and got me and back I went to the OR.  This is where I tell you the story that I will never forget for the rest of my life.  I, in no way, consider myself an expert in births or C-Section’s having taken place in only 1 before, so just keep that in mind.  When I came in I sat down behind the curtain next to Michelle’s head where she was out cold.  As I watched her as the procedure was happening I kept seeing her eyes move around and her lips move like she was dreaming.  I made a mental note to ask her if she remember what she was dreaming about because it looked like she was active to say the least.  Well they started pulling on her pretty good and all of a sudden her eyes just popped wide open.  I start hitting the anesthesiologist and pointing to her, not wanting to alarm her any more than she already was.  He looks down and looks back at me and says “What?”  Shocked and appalled my wife possibly was awake during this thing and feeling everything I start frantically pointing at her and he again says “What’s wrong?”  So I politely but nervously say “She’s awake!”  He then proceeds to take all the air out of me by saying “She has been awake the whole time.”  So as I look down at Michelle and she gives confirmation of this, I have to take a huge breath and relax.    OK all of you can stop laughing, because it wasn’t so funny to me at the time, I promise you

So, now at 2:27pm on Sunday May 18, 2008, Morgan Michelle Miller was born weighing 5 pounds 14.2 ounces and 19 inches long.  Crying and screaming away as she came out, and it got worse as they tried to suck the gunk out of her lungs and pipes   Afterwards, Michelle had no issues at all and is doing well.  Morgan the same.  The whole family is doing well.  Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers and continue to do so please.

That’s it for delivery day, will try and post some more especially Matthew’s first visit with Morgan earlier today either tonight or in the next day or so.  Will also post a few more pics as well.

Scott

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They had 2 monitors on Michelle listening for kicks and movement and it got pretty loud anytime Morgan moved.  When Matthew and I were allowed in, he was listening and said “Is she talking to me?”.  The longer he listed he started having a conversation with her.  It was the cutest thing.

Well it turned out to be a costly visit, as a studious cop decided to pull us over as we were crossing the state line into Delaware.  No I was not speeding, I saw him twice already and knew he was going to be there, once going to get Michelle and once on the way to the hospital.  So as I passed by he decided to pull behind us, I don’t think he was targeting us but he ended up pulling us over.  Yes I know my tags have been expired for 4 years now, that’s what happens when I move back and forth and back and forth.  Anyway he was nice enough not to tow the car seeing Matthew in the back seat, but he did issue two tickets in excess of 150 bucks.  Yippee..

So all’s well that ends well.  Everyone is doing good.  Time for me to crash as it’s been a long day.  Take care.

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After Michelle and Matthew dropped me off at work, they went and ate breakfast and dropped by Walmart to waste some time until the doctors appointments.  Michelle started picking some small things out one in blue and one in pink.  She started asking Matthew which one he liked.  After awhile he started saying “I don’t like the pink one, I want the blue.”  Previously Matthew has really not commented on the boy or girl question, other than a small “I want a baby brother.”

In any case, they came and picked me up from work off we went to the doctors.  Michelle’s first appointment was her visit with the high risk doctors.  As usual we waited and waited and finally got into an office where one of the doctors in the practice came and chatted with us.  We went over a few things and we then were pushed back into the waiting room to wait for a room for the ultrasound.  He I think we waited another hour before being taken back, but the time waiting was well spent as we discussed more baby names.  After awhile, Matthew finally wanted to join in so he gave his opinion on all our suggestions, “No!” and gave some choices of his own, Mater, Marlin, Nemo, Sally, and various other cartoon characters

Michelle went back first because the nurse didn’t want Matthew around if by chance there was anything wrong.  I don’t know about you, but this bothered me.  I understand her concern for Matthew, but he is so young, the only thing he understand is if his mother or father are upset.  What about Michelle, should something be wrong, she would have been alone in this cold room as the nurse tells her “I am so sorry to tell you this, but…”.  In any case MBS was not cooperating very well so Michelle went to relieve her bladder and try to get MBS to turn some to get a better look see.  In the mean time, the nurse brought us back to the room and we waited for Michelle to get back.

Michelle got back and got all set up and here’s where the fun began   Matthew stood on the stool next to her and I stood up as we watched the pictures come across the screen.  I have to pause here and say, in my opinion, ultrasounds are the most amazing thing in the world.  There is nothing like knowing you have created a new being, but to see this being alive, moving, and to actually see fingers, and bones, and a spine, all I can say is breath taking.  Matthew really enjoys seeing the baby on the screen and talks the whole time.  Well we get a good picture of the heart and see it beating up a storm and the nurse tells up it’s the heart but Matthew proclaims to us “I see the babies head!”  We try to tell him that it is the heart but he was having nothing to do with it, “See you can see the mouth moving!”  Well we all got a kick out of that and the nurse kept getting pretty good shots of the fingers and arms and legs, the whole nine yards.

Well MBS was not cooperating much at all in getting a head shot or a genital shot so the nurse proceed to push pretty hard into Michelle’s stomach and wiggle quite hard.  Kind of felt bad for the kid as they were going through a hurricane right now   Well MBS finally moved a bit and we did get to see the head and face as well as a quick glance at the genitals.

Have I put you through enough torture yet   Well, with 95% certainty the nurse says, “It’s a girl!”  To be honest I am thrilled for Michelle, because I knew she wanted a girl.  The cliche of wanting a healthy baby is really true for me.  The only thing I care about is a healthy baby whatever   But the only thing I am having difficulties with at this point is that I don’t see a baby girl currently at 20 weeks old, no, I see a 16 year old beautiful young lady trying to go on a date and me with numerous guns there cleaning them as her date comes calling to the house.  At some point pretty quickly I am going to hvae to get this image out of my head   In any case, she had her legs crossed at the ankles and her head down to her chest which made things very difficult.  The nurse and the doctor who later came in said that everything looked great.  She currently weighs 12 ounces.  No visual birth defects, everything looked completely normal which I am thrilled with.

Well Matthew still I don’t think has taken to the fact that he will have a little baby sister instead of a brother.  Michelle is a little worried about that but I told her he will have to adjust to any new child, boy or girl, doesn’t matter.

To be honest I can barely keep my eyes open any longer as this has taken way longer than I wanted, but it was fun torturing all of you that made it this far The next step is to go to the polls section and vote for what name you like.  Michelle and I have our favorite, but I am not willing to call it a day yet as we still have plenty of time left to make a decision.

Thank you to all of you that read this and for all the support you all give us!

All our love, Scott, Michelle, Matthew, and MBS!

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Saturday Michelle had been complaining about a spot in her left eye enough that I made her call the doctor Saturday night. Of course the doctor wanted us to go see them so we jumped in the car and went to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital about 9:30 Saturday night and Michelle was examined by a few nurses and then seen by two of the doctors in the practice. Both agreed they thought that the spot was more neurological symptoms of the preeclampsia and that the best course of action would be to induce her since she had pasted the 32 week marker. Michelle was admitted around 1:30 Sunday morning and given some IV’s to try and induce her.

At around 3:30 her water broke, and we thought we were home free then, but it didn’t quite work out that way. It seemed that after her water broke her contractions slowed down and she stopped dilating. After numerous uncomfortable exams and some extreme discomfort, the doctors decided the best course of action would be to perform a C-Section at about 10:30 Sunday Night.

Michelle was in the OR by 11:00 and Matthew was born 11:22 Sunday night the 4th of January, which most of you know is my birthday as well. He weighed 3 pounds 10 ounces and 16.5 inches long. He currently has straight dark colored hair, which doubtfully will change, and has dark colored eyes.

Matthew is currently in University of Pennsylvania Hospital’s Intensive Care Nursery only due to the fact that he was premature. From day one he has been breathing on his own and has never needed any help. Tuesday they placed a feeding tube in his nose to help things and he has an IV in his right hand for fluids. The nurses said they might end up taking the IV out this evening because he’s eating enough that the fluids are minimal now. Early estimates are for Matthew to stay about 2 to 3 weeks, until he is at least 4 pounds and with no other complications.

Michelle is doing well and has looked much better as the last few days have gone by. She had a strange reaction after the surgery and her saliva ducts clogged causing massive swelling around her jaws. If you see some of the pictures don’t be surprised if it looks like her head is twice the size because it almost was. The doctors came up with some wonderful medicinal treatment for her, shock tarts. Yes I said correctly, the Willy Wonka Candy. They said it hasn’t happened often but the last time the mother ate some sour candy and it cleared the ducts and the swelling went away. So since Monday, Michelle has been eating lots of candy to try and clear it up. As of this morning, most of the swelling was gone. Outside of some cramping and pain when she coughs, everything is tolerable right now, that is as long as she’s on the percocet. The doctors said she should be able to go home Thursday.

Stay tuned as more pictures start popping up and hopefully some video clips as well if I can get my new toy figured out

Thanks again to everyone for all their thoughts, prayers, flowers and words of encouragement. I can honestly say this has been the most exciting and wonderful birthday’s I have ever had.

All our love,

Scott, Michelle, and Matthew

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Tuesday we found out from the doctor that her latest lab results were absolutely normal. As we all were confused by the results the doctors wanted to rerun some of her labs to find out which set were in error. Friday we found out that miraculously everything was fine. Michelle came home and is under strict bed rest for a long time and has to see the doctor twice a week to make sure everything is going ok.

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, emails, and calls. Michelle is home for the holidays and both her and Matthew are doing fine. We will certainly keep you up to date on everything as it occurs.

Once again thank you again for everything.

Love,

Scott, Michelle, and Matthew!

Saturday, was mostly monitoring and rest for Michelle. Saturday night after 24 hours on the magnesium the doctors gave her another steroid shot and took her off the magnesium. They then moved her out of Labor and Delivery and placed her in another room on the women’s floor.

This morning, one of the doctors finally did tell us they think that Michelle has severe preeclampsia and the the plan now is to keep Michelle in the hospital until the baby is at the 32 week mark and then induce labor to eliminate the threat to Michelle and Matthew. The 32 week mark will be approximately Monday the 22nd of December. This is about 8 weeks ahead of schedule, and of course Michelle and I are concerned, but the doctors feel very comfortable with the situation.

So to wrap it up, Michelle is currently in the Hospital at the University of Penn and will be there until the birth, around the 22nd, unless there are further complications. I hope you’ll keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.

All our love,

Scott, Michelle, and Matthew!