*Welcome to Labor and Delivery*

Once I picked John Morgan up from his office we immediately headed to Rush hopsital for the "tests" that I needed to have done. After getting lost in the hospital for a bit we finally arrived on the Labor and Delivery floor. I had been in there before, when my friend Tiffani had her baby, but I had never really paid attention to everything around me. We went up to the front desk and handed the nurse all of my paperwork that my doctor had given me. She must have been expecting me because then she said, "Oh, come on honey... follow me." We waited for her to come from behind the counter and she started heading towards a delivery room. I looked at John Morgan and both of our eyes got really wide and we honestly started laughing. I couldn't believe that I was going into a real DELIVERY room! I looked at John Morgan and said, "they are admitting me into the hospital!" The nurse took us into the room, and while we were still in shock, she told me to go ahead and change into the hospital gown. Yes, I do mean the gown that I will put on when I am actually having my baby! John Morgan and I were still a little confused about what was going on, but we went along with everything that she told us to do. She told me to go ahead and get into the hopsital bed and she proceeded to hook me up to all of the heart rate monitors and blood pressure cuffs (the whole nine yards)! I literally looked like I was fixing to give birth!

The nurse then started telling us what all they were going to be doing that day. She told me that a person from the lab would be coming at some point to take some blood from me and that they would test my blood to see if I had preeclampsia. She also told me that they were going to test my urine sample for protein (which is a definite sign of preeclampsia). She said that they were going to monitor my blood pressure at ten minute intervals to gather data about it. I was a little confused at this point because I had no idea that I would literally be a patient for the next few hours!

After a little over two hours of being in the hospital, the nurse came back and told me that urine sample came back negative for protein and my blood samples were great; therefore, I did not have preeclampsia! I was totally relieved, but she did say that it doesn't mean that I will not develop it later on. She contacted Dr. Nelson and she said that even though my results were good, she still wanted me to remain on bedrest for the weekend until I came back to see her on Monday.

*4D Ultrasound Take Two/Doctor's Appointment*

On August 12 John Morgan and I went back to the doctor's office to re-try our 4D ultrasound. If you can remember, the day before he was not in a very good position and the nurse called to see if the other ultrasound technician would come in early the next day to re-try ours. She agreed! We immediately went into the ultrasound room to try for round two! It didn't take her long to realize that he still wasn't cooperating very well. He had moved his position a little bit, but his head was still turned to the side so you couldn't get very good pictures! We still saw the most precious little profile and loved every minute of it, but according to the nurse it wasn't worth the money for the 4D. She kept trying for a while and started looking at his other areas. She all of a sudden said, "He has the chubbiest cheeks! I can barely see his lips and nose because his chubby cheek is in the way!" She didn't have to point it out to me and John Morgan because we instantly saw the chubbiest cheek on the screen! He looked like he was saving up food for the winter! It was precious! Oh my, words can't describe how cute he is! The nurse said that is a good sign to her because that means that he is already storing up his own fat and putting on his own weight! She also told us that it looks to her like he is going to have a head full of hair! I didn't necessarily think that you could detect hair on an ultrasound, but she explained her reasoning behind thinking that, which makes total sense! John Morgan and I were so excited to hear all of these wonderful things about our sweet little boy! She continued to tell us that he has a rather large foot and that his fingers look to be really long! She told us, even though we didn't get good pictures, that he is doing perfectly fine! His heart rate was 143 and he is still in a great position! We are going to try again for a 4D ultrasound so we'll see how it goes next time! We were pleased to get to see what we saw! He is the most precious little boy already! :)

After the ultrasound John Morgan left to go back to work. Usually my meetings with Dr. Nelson are pretty standard, so I didn't mind at all that he went back to work. I typically have to wait a long time to meet with her, but this time was different. Right after the ultrasound they called me back into a room to meet with Dr. Nelson. I also had to re-do my glucose test. If you can remember, my levels were borderline the first time I took the test so she wanted me to re-do the test so I had to drink the NASTY drink again! Before meeting with Dr. Nelson the nurse pricked my finger again to test my glucose levels. While I waited on those results, I went to talk with Dr. Nelson. When she walked in the room the first thing that she said to me was "Well Anna, I can see that you are having a little bit of swelling." I told her about how much my feet and ankles swelled up when I went to visit my sister in Fairhope, but I wasn't aware that I was still that swollen. I thought that it mostly went down, but she said that he definitely noticed it in my legs. She showed me how to test for fluid and, of course, I was swollen! She also told me that she wanted to re-check my blood pressure herself because the nurse took it for the first time and it was in the 150's and re-did it a few minutes later and it was alright. Dr. Nelson continued to tell me about the condition preeclampsia, which is when you have elevated blood pressure and swelling among other symptoms. She told me that she did not think that I have it right now, but she thought that I was a good candidate for developing it since my blood pressure has been "on the fence" my whole pregnancy and now I was starting to swell. She told me that she would rather be safe than sorry and that she was going to be monitoring me closely from now on (which I definitely appreciate). She said that she wanted me to go straight to the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital and have a few tests run so she could have a baseline of data on me and to see whether or not I already had preeclampsia so she could start treating it. Of course I was a little freaked out because she was telling me a lot of information all at once, but I knew that I was going to do whatever I had to do to make sure that me and the baby were alright! She also told me that she wanted me to see back the next Monday and that until then she wanted me to stay on bed rest. Dr. Nelson kept reassuring me that everything was going to be alright and that she was doing all of this right now to be cautious.

I never lost my cool while I was talking to Dr. Nelson because I didn't want anyone to think that I was scared (although I definitely was). It was a lot of information to process at one time and I was in there all by myself. To top it all off, the nurse came and told me that I didn't pass my glucose test, which meant that I was going to have to take the 3 hour glucose test at the hospital. I got all of my paperwork from the nurses and was instructed to go straight to the hospital for my tests. I never thought that I would have a pregnancy with "complications," but I am glad that Dr. Nelson is doing everything possible to make sure that me and Baby Mims are healthy!

I left Dr. Nelson's office and immediately called John Morgan. Of course when I got on the phone with him I definitely got emotional! I didn't quite understand everything that was going on, but I knew that I was going to do whatever I had to do! I told John Morgan that I had to go to the hospital to have some tests run. I thought that I would possibly have some blood drawn, but little did we know what was to come...

Until next time....

With love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*The Nursery is Coming Along*

His beautiful crib with all of his bedding!

We found this mobile and it matches his bedding perfectly!

His changing table/hutch! We still have a lot that we need to do with this!

The most adorable canvases EVER! They match his room perfectly and are going to look precious hanging over his glider!

I have been spending the majority of my time off this summer working on creating the best and most comfortable nursery for Baby Mims! After we picked out his furniture and bedding, the rest of the stuff kind of seemed to fall into place! I am so excited about his room and can't wait for it to get finished! We still have a few more things to get and we need to hang his name on the wall (sorry guy, no such luck yet!) and a few other canvases, but we'll get there soon enough!

*More pictures will come soon!*

Until next time....

With love,

Anna and John Morgan

*4D Ultrasound Take One*

On August 11 John Morgan and I had our first real session for a 4D ultrasound. We got to Dr. Nelson's office and immediately went into the ultrasound room. The nurse started the session, but pretty soon noticed that he was not cooperating very well. She got a few pictures of the side of his face, but she said that he was obviously very comfortable in the position that he was in and that he was not interested in moving. We did get to see his profile, which is mighty handsome, but we didn't get real good pictures! The nurse said that he looked great and that he was in a good position! She also said that we should reschedule and try it again because she wanted us to get really good pictures and video because we were paying for it! We told her that we had our original doctor's appointment for the next day so she called the other technician and said that we could try again the next day. We were keeping our fingers crossed!

We'll try again!

*Baby Shower Goodies*

I think that we are going to have a problem! Mayzie thought that the bouncy seat was hers! I didn't have the heart to make her get out... she looked so comfortable!

When we got home from my fabulous baby shower I wanted to let John Morgan see everything that he got! What better way than to display everything like it was Christmas morning! He was totally floored by the amount of stuff!!

*My Baby Shower*

Me, Ashley, Jessica, and Taylor :)

The food was delicious! These cookies were so precious!

Oh my! I had the cutest and BEST cake EVER!

My beautiful hostesses! Thank yall so much!!

Nanny!Me and Ashley!

I was so happy that John Morgan's family came! Mary Lindley, Neely, Heather, and Maggie!

Baby Mims is already going to be SPOILED! He got some of the best stuff!

I wanted this frog so bad! Thank you so much Neely!!

His first big boy Polo from his Uncle Vaughn! :)

John Morgan got me the diaper bag that I wanted really bad! :)

My fabulous hostesses got me the bouncy seat that we wanted! :)

Hotty Toddy!

Probably the most hilarious gift! His pee pee teepees!! HAHA! :)

On August 8 some of my very dear and sweet friends planned a wonderful baby shower for me and Baby Mims!! It was so much fun to see everyone and to celebrate with family and friends! Baby Mims got some of the cutest things and I was so thankful for everyone that was able to come! I will never be able to describe to everyone how much the shower meant to me! It was definitely a very special and memorable day for me! I can't wait to meet our sweet little boy and to introduce him to all of our family and friends!

Until next time...

With love,

Anna and John Morgan

*He is DEFINITELY a Mims!!*

He DEFINITELY looks just like his Daddy! He was trying to smile at his Mommy! :)

He loves his "boy parts!" Notice his fingers wrapped around his little tee tee! :)

Can you tell what this is? HA :)

On July 22, I had another doctor's appointment with Dr. Nelson. I knew going into the visit that I was scheduled to have an ultrasound (and Dr. Nelson told me that they would take a few "test shots" in 4D of his face) so I asked my Mama to come along. John Morgan was out of town for the day and I definitely didn't want to go by myself. I didn't have to wait long to get in for my ultrasound and my mom almost missed it! I got into the room and, like always, as soon as I see him on the screen my heart stops and a huge SMILE immediately flies across my face! The technician started her exam as usual and again stated what is always said, "He is going to be big!" She asked me again when my due date was and I told her October 15 and she looked at me like there was no way that I would make it that far! She told me that he was still measuring about two weeks ahead and that he was already in a good position with his head facing down. She continued with her exam and all of a sudden stopped in the middle and said, "Oh my, I do not think that I have seen a foot this big in a while!" I immediately started laughing and she said that his foot is already 2.5 inches long! My mom pulled out her tape measure that she always carries around with her and measured out 2.5 inches and we were floored! He is going to have a huge foot!

After we looked at his foot and got a good laugh out of that for a while, the nurse finally started trying to get a good picture of his face! When she finally got a picture and I saw it on the screen I nearly fell of the chair! He was absolutely the most adorable, precious, beautiful little boy that I have ever seen! You could actually see him moving his lips, like he was trying to smile, and flaring his nostrils! It was a priceless moment and to top it off, he looks exactly like John Morgan! EXACTLY! I didn't necessarily expect any less (their genes are VERY STRONG) and I couldn't be happier! He is beautiful! She also started looking around his "boy parts" area and started laughing again. She said "he will not let go of his boy parts!" I was laughing so hard because I knew that John Morgan would have been so proud! She got a fabulous picture of him actually holding his boy parts! It was wild! I asked her if she had any idea how big he was since I keep being told he is going to be big and she estimated him weighing 2 lbs. and 14 ounces already! He is going to be my big boy! I definitely recommend trying a 4D ultrasound! It is unreal what you can actually see! I knew that I needed to go ahead and make my real appointment because he was plenty big to get good pictures! Oh yeah, his heart rate was great as always.. it was 146 beats per minute!

After the ultrasound my mom had to leave. This happened to be the week of Mississippi's Junior Miss and she needed to get back to all of her Judge's Chairman requirements. I went back into the waiting room to wait to meet with Dr. Nelson. After a little bit, I got called back to see her. I immediately had to weigh in, like always, and I gained a few more pounds (I am continuing to tell myself that it is good weight gain). The nurse came in to take my blood pressure and it was fine (136/72). Dr. Nelson came in to talk with me and she said that everything was looking good. I asked her about my 4D ultrasound and she said that it would be a good idea to go ahead and schedule it for my next visit.

All in all the visit was great! I got to see GREAT pictures of my beautiful little baby who looks EXACTLY like a Mims and my meeting with Dr. Nelson went good! Thank you for all of your continued thoughts and prayers! We are getting closer and closer to meeting our sweet little boy!

Until next time....

With love,

Anna and John Morgan

*July 8 Doctor's Appointment*

Again, I am sorry that I have been slacking so bad on updating the blog! I am going to fill you in on several doctor's appointments that I have had recently!

On July 8, I had another doctor's appointment! This time was a little different, however, because I had to take my glucose sugar test. I had to drink a very sugary and thick drink within 2-5 minutes an hour before my appointment was scheduled to begin. I drank the drink, which was not very fun, and headed to the doctor's office. I got to the office and, like always, began the wait to get in to see Dr. Nelson. Before I met with Dr. Nelson, the nurse called me back to test my glucose levels. I went into the back and the nurse pricked my finger real fast and told me that my results would be ready by the time I go in with Dr. Nelson. I waited and waited and finally my name was called to go into the back to meet with Dr. Nelson! Like always, they immediately made me weigh in and it was not a pretty sight! Me and Baby Mims must have gone through a huge growth spurt because I gained a good amount of weight! I went into the room and the nurse came in and took my blood pressure! Again, like always, my blood pressure was high when she first checked it, but after a few minutes it was fine (132/72). I wasn't scheduled to have an ultrasound at this visit so the nurse then used her instrument to check his heart rate and it was 146 beats per minute, which is great! About that time Dr. Nelson came in to talk to me! She asked me again if me and John Morgan were big babies because she said that me and the baby went through an obvious growth spurt! She informed me that everything looked great, but that my glucose sugar test results came back borderline. She told me that she wasn't going to have me take the more detailed three hour test yet, but that she would re-check my glucose levels at another appointment.

So, all in all, this particular visit wasn't that interesting. I didn't have an ultrasound to admire and everything else was pretty standard. I did ask Dr. Nelson about scheduling my 4D ultrasound because I knew that Baby Mims was getting pretty big and she told me that she would recommend it in the coming weeks. She said that at my next appointment she would take a few "test shots" of his face in 4D to see if he was ready! That excited me and that was all for the day!

Until next time...

With love,

Anna and John Morgan

*More Bump Pictures*

John Morgan loves his little man!

This was on Father's Day! I was almost 24 weeks pregnant!

I can't really remember when this picture was taken! I will try and get better about labeling future bump pictures! And yes, we do take most of the pictures in front of this solid wall because you can see the bump better! :)

*Baby Mims' Nursery*

Baby Mims' nursery is coming together! I am so excited to see the final product, but I just thought that I might fill you all in what we have so far! We have finally decided on his baby bedding and this is is! After I scowered the entire state of Mississippi and every possible website on the Internet, I decided to have his bedding made at a store (believe it or not) in Fairhope, Alabama where Regan lives. It is the coolest store and has the neatest website where you can actually design your own bedding set and see what is looks like on the screen before ordering it. I actually went into the store and consulted with the owner about my design and I was very pleased with what we decided on and it should be here ANY DAY NOW! The store is called Javis Davis! Check it out! It is so much fun to play around!

www.javisdavis.com

We also finally decided on what furniture we want and we have that on order! We ordered a beautiful crib and a dresser with hutch combination piece! I am SO happy about our decision and cannot wait for it to come in! Here is the link to it: (if you can't see it, we ordered from the company Munire and we got the Bristol collection in the cherry finish!!)

http://www.munirefurniture.com/bristol_01.htm

We have also already ordered and received his cradle and it is absolutely beautiful! It is made by Million Dollar Baby and it is the Chloe Cradle! Here it is:

http://www.milliondollarbaby.com/SS_M3303QP.html


Now we are just waiting on everything to come in and for us to assemble it all! I still have to order my glider and other than that, we are almost done! I am getting really excited!!

*Another Day at Dr. Nelson's Office*

Ok, again, I apologize for slacking so bad on the blog! I am going to fill you in on another doctor's appointment that we had!

On June 9 I had another doctor's appointment, this time with Dr. Nelson! Yes, I realize that it was less than a week since my visit with Dr. Pupa, but that is just the way everything fell into place! I got to the doctor's office and, of course, had to wait a pretty good while! I didn't expect to have another ultrasound since I had just had one, so I was just waiting to talk to Dr. Nelson for a bit, which makes the wait seem even longer! After a good wait I finally got called back to see the nurse. I knew immediately what my first order of business was... WEIGH IN! Now, I am going to be honest, I know that I am not the smallest pregnant person ever! I have indulged a bit and I will not lie, I have enjoyed it so I wasn't totally surprised to hear that I had gained six more pounds since my last visit at her office. I am not going to tell you what total that makes....(you can figure it out on your own, haha), but the nurse continued to tell me that it is a healthy and perfectly normal amount to gain through the first half of my pregnancy so I wasn't concerned at all! Their motto is that "this is good weight gain" and I live by that motto these days! :)

I went back into the room and the nurse went ahead and checked my blood pressure. It was good for once! Thank the LORD! It was 126/76, which is great for me! They were pleased so I was pleased! Since I wasn't having an ultrasound (keep in mind that this was the first appointment that I had not had one) they checked his heart rate with a hand-held monitor. I sat back and when she put the wand on my stomach I instantly heard a thud, thud, thud! It was music to my ears! She said that his heart rate was great! It was 133 beats per minute! Now I was just waiting to talk to Dr. Nelson!

When she came into the room she started by going over all of my information from my previous visit with Dr. Pupa. She started by saying, "So I see that you have a pretty good sized baby..." We talked about that for a minute and she reassured me that was perfectly normal if not good because she would rather him measure on the bigger side than the smaller side. She measured my stomach and her comment was, "Well, you are getting you a good size belly!" I just laughed at her and she said that there was nothing wrong with that! She was VERY proud of my blood pressure and even commented that it was about time that I had a good reading! She asked me if I had any questions or concerns before she left and, of course, I did! (John Morgan would have been cringing in his seat had he have been there!) Let me give you a little bit of background information first. My dad teaches CIC insurance classes all over the country (even out of the country some) and they schedule his classes years in advance and once they are scheduled he really has no way of getting out of them! So, when he first found out that I was pregnant and when my due date was, he was a little concerned that if for whatever reason I went into labor early that he wouldn't be there. He has a class scheduled in Texas for October 8 and 9. The company requires him to be there the night before the classes begin, so he will have to get there sometime on October 7. Let me put it this way, I did not (if AT ALL possible) want to have my baby, his first grandchild, when he was not there! So, with that being said, I asked her what she was thinking about my due date. I was just seeing if she could give me any information that could ease mine and my dad's minds. I knew that Dr. Nelson is notorious for inducing early if there are no problems so that is, for the most part, why I was asking. I told her that I completely understood if she couldn't give me any kind of information, but just as I said that she said something that I was TOTALLY not expecting! She said, "Do you want me to tell you when you will have this baby?" I was in shock and didn't really know how to react... I kind of thought that she was teasing me, but of course I said YES! She told to me to hold on really quick and she was going to check her calendar. She immediately came back and said that if I do not go into labor on my own, she will induce me on October 6. She said that the absolute last day that I will be pregnant will be October 6. I was still in total shock! She told me that I could be my dad's worries to rest because that would be the absolute last day that I will pregnant! Her telling me this had nothing to do with my dad being out of town, but she said that she will be out of town at a conference the actual week of my due date and she wants to be at all of her births if at all possible! She also told me that if he continues on the track of measuring bigger than his age, that she wouldn't want me to wait until my due date anyway!

Needless to say, this was a rather quick visit with Dr. Nelson, but it was very informative! I was still in total shock when I left her office because it was just weird to actually think of a date that he might be born! We are so excited and continue to thank all of you for your continued thoughts and prayers! Mama and Baby (and Daddy) are GREAT! :)

Until next time.....

With love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*20 Week Ultrasound*

I know that I am really, really behind on updating the blog! I figured that I would just give you a brief overview of my BIG twenty week ultrasound that I had a few weeks ago!


I went to Dr. Pupa (a radiologist in Meridian) for my twenty week ultrasound. I was really anxious and excited about it because we were going to get to see our baby again PLUS we were going to see if everything with the baby was on track! John Morgan went with me to the doctor and thankfully we did not have to wait that long. We went back into the ultrasound room pretty quickly and the technician got started with everything. Like I always am (very anal), I went ahead and told her that I had several questions and concerns that I wanted to clear up during the ultrasound. John Morgan looked at me like I was totally embarrassing him, but I told him to chill out because I wanted to find out that everything with our sweet baby boy was alright! She started the ultrasound and like every time before my heart started pounding out of my chest as soon as I saw him on the screen! My first reaction is, "Oh my gosh, he looks so BIG!" He literally looked like a baby that should be sleeping in my arms already! She continued with the ultrasound and was checking for all of the routine things that she checks for. (Now keep in mind the bulk of this ultrasound is on tape, with no audio). She reassured me that he looks great and that all of his organs and his heart are looking exactly the way that they should. She showed us an enlarged picture of his heart and it was beating so fast and it was so sweet! She told us that his heart looked perfectly normal! She was trying so hard to get a good picture of his face, but like always he had his little hand in front of his face (little stinker)! She was trying everything that she could to get him to move his hand. She was poking my stomach, jiggling me every which-a-way, making me lay in different positions, and making him bounce around. It was unreal to see on the screen that when I make any little movement, he moves right along with me! She kept telling me that everything that she was doing was not hurting him at all (because I guess she saw the looks on ours faces like she was bothering him)! She said that she was going to wait a few minutes to see if he would move his hand if she left him alone for a minute or two. When she came back and tried again she was right... he had finally moved his little hand and we could see his beautiful face! It is still one of the best feelings and moments when I get to see his little face and know that he is a product of me and John Morgan! CRAZY! Then we saw one of the most memorable ultrasound moments ever.... he was opening and closing his sweet mouth and swallowing!! It was amazing to actually see him in action and to know that he is our little baby. It always makes me thank God every time because it reminds me constantly how magnificent the pregnancy process is and that he is the one that made it all possible for me and John Morgan! Thank you GOD for bringing us such a wonderful, joyous, and beautiful little baby boy and we haven't even gotten to meet him yet!

During the ultrasound, completely out of nowhere, the nurse looked up and us and said, "Were yall big babies?" This kind of took me back because I was immediately thinking, "Why is she asking us this?" I said, "Oh no, why? Is he too big, what is wrong?" She started laughing and said that nothing was wrong, she could just tell that he was a little bigger than what he should have been at that gestational age. I knew how much I weighed so I told her that I was about 8 pounds 5 ounces, but John Morgan had no clue! He was already in the process of texting Mrs. Susan to find out his weight, which turned out to be about 8 pounds 1 ounce. He told her that and she said that it figured because our little baby looked like he was going to be a BIG-en! (This did not surprise me at all since my entire pregnancy has been plagued with questions about whether or not I was further along than I thought or if I was sure that I wasn't having twins...) She measured his thigh bone and his head (and maybe something else, I can't remember) to determine an estimated size and weight. She determined that he was about a week and a day ahead of schedule (based on his size). She told us that is perfectly fine and that we would much rather have a big healthy baby than one that is too small, so I was totally alright with it! It shouldn't have been a surprise at all because when she enlarged a picture of his little foot she measured it and told us that he foot was already about 4 cm! WOW! This is a baby that still has halfway to grow! The nurse also told us that he was around one pound (give or take a few ounces), which was great!

All in all, the doctor's visit went great! OH YEAH, about my questions and concerns for her! When she was doing the ultrasound I made sure to fill her in on Baby Johnny and my cousin's baby that was born with her bladder on the outside of her body. Maybe I might have been embarrassing John Morgan, but I thought that it was the best time to at least ask and she if she could ease my mind. She checked for his kidneys and his little bladder and she said that everything is in place and where it should be, which was a blessing for sure! We walked out of the doctor's office with a wonderful tape of our baby moving around to show our family and friends and some great pictures of him for our collection!

We are so excited and can't wait to meet our little man! We love all of our family and friends so much and look forward to sharing the rest of this experience with each and everyone of you!

With love and until next time,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*Baby Mims Bump*

I am definitely starting to show!! I LOVE my little man! Sometimes it is hard for me to grasp that the sweet baby in the sonogram pictures below is really growing in my belly!

*Baby BOY Mims*

"Daddy's Boy"

**Look at his little face!!!!!!! He looks like an ANGEL already!!**

Ok, I apologize for taking so long to update our blog since our most recent doctor's visit so here it goes....

If you can remember from our last appointment, the doctors and nurses told us that they were about 80% sure that we were having a baby boy. Of course we were SUPER excited, but there was still a little part of us that did not want to celebrate too much or buy anything yet because we knew that there was still a possibility that it could be a girl (which would have been TOTALLY fine!) I think, down deep, John Morgan prayed every night that we would have a boy. It's crazy when you think about when the meteorologist says that there is an 80% chance of rain, you sometimes cling onto the 20% chance that it won't, but in this case we were so excited at the prospect of being 80% sure that we were having a BOY! I thought that I would preface my post with this to think about/refresh your memories.

On May 12, I was scheduled for another doctor's appointment. My doctor knew that I couldn't wait four weeks so she scheduled me for only three weeks after my last appointment. This time we played the game a little bit differently. I went to the doctor's office (knowing that it would probably take a VERY long time, as usual) and John Morgan stayed at work. We arranged that as soon as my name was called (which you are always called for an ultrasound WAY before the actual visit with the doctor), I would immediately call him and he would rush to the office (his office is less than one mile from my doctor's office, FYI). Well, just as we suspected, the time kept passing me by minute by minute, hour by hour. I was having a good time actually because I was talking with several other pregnant women that are further along than me and was learning some very valuable and interesting things. After what seemed like hours, my name was finally called to go back and have my ultrasound to find out FOR SURE what we were having! It is actually kind of comical to a certain extent because everyone pretty much starts cheering and clapping when someone finally gets their name called! Like we had planned I immediately called John Morgan. I didn't even listen for him to answer. I told him as soon as he saw my name come across the screen of his phone to drop whatever he was doing, do not stop, do not pass go, just HURRY! I went back into the ultrasound room and told the nurse that my husband was on his way. She asked me if she had time to see someone else before he got there and just at that moment he walked in the door! She was amazed at how quickly he got there! We got situated for the actual ultrasound and she was asking us about what she told us at our last visit. She did not want us to tell her what she thought we were having, she just wanted to see if her 80% prediciton was correct (she couldn't remember whether she told us a boy or a girl). She started the exam and I could feel my body shaking. She put the gel on my stomach and then the machine. I still do not think that I will ever get use to the feeling that I feel as soon as the machine touches my stomach. An immediate sense of excitement, happiness, and shock all seem to occur simultaneously. The feeling that I get when I see my beautiful baby on the screen is priceless! The baby looked so big at this point. In the past, you could see the whole body in one image on the screen, but this time the baby was almost too big to fit the whole body into one image. She would show me the head, then she would go to his stomach, and his leg area. We were just in awe and she said, "Well, I know what it is! There is absolutely no denying it!" And then she said these words, "It is 100% without a shadow of a doubt a BOY!" I immediately starting smiling so big and my first thought was to look at John Morgan. Like before, he was staring at the screen and he said "Oh my gosh, are you sure?" He had the biggest grin on his face and for some reason I felt so proud at that moment! It is incredible to think that your whole outlook on life can change in an instant. I was so HAPPY! I was happy for me, I was happy for John Morgan, I was happy for EVERYONE, but I was especially happy that my dad would finally have a boy (other than Beau) to love unconditionally! He would finally get to go to tee-ball games, little league baseball games, and help teach someone to play golf (instead of sitting through hour long dance and gym recitals)! The whole moment was unforgettable! The nurse finally got to write the words "BOY" on the ultrasound! She even took one and wrote "Daddy's BOY" on it for John Morgan! After the ultrasound, John Morgan went back to work because there was no reason for him to stay and wait in the waiting room with me to see the doctor.

It got to be about 4:30 and I had still not been called back for my doctor's visit! I was starting to get a little aggravated when one of the nurses came from around the corner and said, "I would just like to let everyone know that Dr. Nelson has been called in for a very difficult delivery. She might be gone for a while." Of course people were irritated, but I was actually relieved. If I were the pregnant person having a difficult delivery, I would hope that she would be there for me too! The nurse announced that she wanted all of her OB patients to please stay if we could, but that all other patients (yearly check-ups, follow up visits, getting prescriptions filled, etc) could re-schedule their appointments for another time. The waiting room quickly thinned out until there were only five women left in the room (all pregnant). I had still not been called back at around 5:15 and by this time John Morgan was off work. He was able to come and sit with me for the duration of my wait and would get to meet with the doctor with me. I FINALLY got called back and we were so excited! Like always, I had to step on the scale first! Now remember, it had only been three weeks since my last weigh-in where I had only gained two additional pounds to make a grand total of eight pounds gained. My jaw dropped instantly when she gave me the new numbers. I gained seven (do you hear me, SEVEN!!) pounds in three weeks, which raised my grand total to fifteen total pounds! I was of course in shock (while John Morgan was laughing at me) and the nurse continued to reassure me that was perfectly normal. She said that I need to gain anywhere between 30 to 45 pounds and with me being nearly halfway through my pregnancy, fifteen pounds was great!

We got back into the room to wait and talk with Dr. Nelson! If you can remember from last time, she told me to take a daily log of my blood pressure from home so she can monitor it somewhat when I am away from the doctor's office. The nurse came in to take my blood pressure and she gave me a very surprised look. She told me that my bp was 156/70! I almost cried! She got Dr. Nelson in there quickly and she told her to re-check it in about ten minutes once I had been sitting in the room for a bit. She continued to do the usual check-up and was asking me if I was having any problems! I did not sugar coat anything, I told her that my tailbone was STILL KILLING me! Dr. Nelson finally came back into the room and she re-checked my blood pressure (this time on my other arm). After the ten minute wait, my bp was 132/69 which they said is fine! I gave her my daily log from home (I even took in the machine that I use) and she wrote all of the numbers down. My bp at home averages anywhere from 120/60 to 124/72 so she said that I am doing great, I obviously just get nervous without realizing it at the doctor's office. She went on to tell me to keep logging my bp at home just in case. She started explaining to me her ideas as to why my tailbone is hurting me so bad. She had me point to exactly where the pain was and she said that is 100% my tailbone! She prescribed to me an anti-inflammatory with a pain reliever and wanted to see me back within 48 hours to check my fluid levels. She said that medications with an anti-inflammatory have the possibility to reduce the fluids around the baby (which we do not want). She said that if my fluid levels are fine then it is still safe to continue with the medicine. Other than that, she said that the baby looks GREAT and that I am doing WONDERFULLY and that everything looks perfectly FINE!

By this point it was after 6:00 and we were exhausted! We learned some of the best news of our lives and couldn't contain our excitement! I wanted to immediately go out and start buying our baby BOY stuff! We are so excited about what our future holds and are so thankful for having a wonderful family and friends base to support us, pray for us, and love us! We are SO looking forward to meeting our baby boy, introduce him to the world, teach him new things, watch him grow, and more than anything else love him unconditionally!

I go to my BIG ultrasound on June 3 so please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. This appointment is with Dr. Pupa, a radiologist in town. This is a standard appointment in Meridian (nothing to be concerned with)! She does a BIG and long ultrasound that checks EVERYTHING! She will check his growth developement, the size of his head (to rule out any birth defects, etc.), she will count all of his little fingers and toes, and check that his heart is formed correctly among other things!

We are almost halfway there! The countdown begins!


Until next time....


With love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*I Think I See a......BOY!*

Here HE is! Isn't it AMAZING! This is "Baby Mims" at fourteen weeks and four days old! Can you believe how much he has grown in another four weeks? I can't imagine the sight when I go back in three weeks!

Now let's talk about our doctor appointment! For starters, I couldn't sleep for about a week before the appointment because I was so anxious and nervous about potentially finding out what the baby was. I was a wreck the whole day at work because I couldn't concentrate on ANYTHING else except for when 2:45 was going to hit the clock! I knew going into the appointment that there was a chance that the ultrasound technician was not going to be able to tell, but I was still hoping for the BEST! I left school early to make my appointment and John Morgan met me there shortly after. Well, the time kept passing, and passing, and passing! We watched show, after show, after show! We watched pregnant lady, after pregnant lady, after pregnant lady go back for their appointments when finally John Morgan and I were the only people sitting in the waiting room! Now, by this point, you can imagine how irritated John Morgan was! Our appointment was at 2:45; however, we did not get called back at ALL until 5:05! A friend of mine had told me to drink some caffeine right before my appointment because that would make the baby move around a little bit so the technician might get a better angle on the baby. Well, I chugged a Diet Coke (and this was the first one that I have had in over 5 months) at 2:30. I can't tell you how many times I went to the bathroom in the waiting room.... I was so nervous!

Anyways, we finally got called back there and when I heard them say "Anna Mims" my heart sank! I knew that it was time to have my ultrasound and hopefully find out whether we were having a little girl or a little boy! We went back into the ultrasound room and immediately got started. The nurse put the machine on my belly and again we saw the most amazing sight ever! Our baby was growing up! John Morgan and I were both in shock at how big the baby was! I even made the comment, "It looks completed formed... like a baby!" The nurse said, "Anna, it is FULLY formed now.... it just needs to get a lot bigger!" That completely took my breath away to think that the thing growing in my belly was now a fully formed baby!

The nurse was moving the machine around all over my belly to try and get a good image of in between the baby's legs! It was priceless to see what the baby was doing! The nurse said, "Well, this baby is just chilling out it is sitting back relaxed in a recliner!" It kept sitting Indian style and then would cross its' ankles. The nurse was telling us that she could not tell a thing due to the way the baby was not cooperating! She said, "All that I need is for the baby to do a quick spread eagle!" I was doing everything that I could (not that anything helped) to make the baby move! I was wiggling around and the nurse was pressing the machine really hard into my belly to make the baby irritated and hopefully move around! Let me tell you, this baby was getting irritated from being jerked around! I couldn't help but laugh for a brief second and the sight that I saw was unbelievable! I have always known that "what I eat, the baby eats.., what I drink, the baby drinks..., and that whatever I do directly effects the baby." Well, when I started laughing and my stomach was moving up and down, the baby was moving every which-a-way in my stomach! It was almost like the baby went to one of those inflatable bouncing machines that you can rent!

After about twenty minutes of not being able to tell, John Morgan and I both looked at each other and were at this point convinced that we were having a little girl. We had always heard that if the baby's legs are crossed then it is more than likely a girl, which would have been great! Then, all of a sudden, the nurse said "Wait!!! What is that?!?" John Morgan and I looked really quick stunned, not knowing at all what she was talking about! She froze the monitor and pointed the arrow and something on the screen! My heart was beating so fast and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen (not knowing what I was looking at)! She then said the words that titled this entry: "I think I see a..... little BOY!" I immediately started screaming and crying and saying "What??? Where? How do you know?" She pointed the image out to us and we saw what she was talking about! The baby finally decided to cooperate and opened HIS legs for a little while. The nurse was getting every image from every direction that she could and the "little thing" never left the screen! There was definitely something in between the baby's legs! I can remember looking over at John Morgan and seeing a look of complete shock! His mouth was wide opened and he wouldn't take his eyes off the screen! It looked as if every dream he ever dreamed was coming true! It was a priceless moment for both of us!

I asked the nurse if she could tell me, without a doubt, that it was a boy and she said not now. She said that she is 80% sure that it is a little boy. Of course I was asking a thousand questions and she said that if it were a girl, she wouldn't have seen that at this stage. Dr. Nelson also agreed and said that she is pretty definite that it's a boy! After we calmed down a bit, the nurse checked the baby's heart rate and it was 143! She assured me that "Baby Mims" looks perfectly normal at this stage! Words can't accurately describe the emotions that John Morgan and I were going through in the ultrasound room and it is definitely a moment that neither one of us will ever forget!

After the ultrasound, I weighed in AGAIN! To my surprise I had only gained an additional 2 pounds from my last appointment! I was blown away (since I KNOW that I have been a lot more hungry lately than normal!) I went into the waiting room to meet with Dr. Nelson. John Morgan and I were still in shock at this point! Another nurse came in and checked my blood pressure, which was fine! I was so excited! It is still a little higher that I would like, but the nurse said it is alright! I got every nurse in the office to look at our sonogram and tell me what they thought! Every one of them said, "Oh that definitely looks like a boy!"

Dr. Nelson came in and asked me how I was feeling and how everything was going! I told her that I have felt great! I did tell her that I was a little concerned, since my previous appointment, about my blood pressure. She told me to take a daily log of it at home and report back to her with how it goes. She said that a lot of people have what they call the "white coat" syndrome, which simply means they get anxious and nervous while in the doctor's office so their blood pressure tends to be higher. She also asked me if John Morgan and I were interested in taking any birthing classes and we said sure! She gave us information about that for the coming weeks! I got a last opinion from Dr. Nelson about our sonogram. She told me that it definitely looks like a boy and that she would also say 80% sure. She told me not to necessarily go out and start buying a ton of stuff yet because things do happen and I am still a little too early to say 100%. She told me that she knows that I will be so anxious to hear FOR SURE so she is bringing me back in three weeks instead of four! She also wants to check my blood pressure logs at that point! She also informed me that I will probably start feeling the baby move within the next two to three weeks!!! I can't wait!!!

After a VERY long afternoon spent in the doctor's office, we were finally ready to go home! John Morgan and I are so excited about the coming weeks and are looking forward to seeing each and everyone of you to share our good and exciting news with! We never forget to thank God everyday for blessing us with such wonderful family and friends that love and support us! We are so thankful that me and the baby are healthy at this point and appreciate your continued prayers and love!

Until next time......

With love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*More Pictures of Baby Mims*

Here are two other sonogram pictures of Baby Mims! I just thought that I would "show off" our sweet baby a little bit more!! :)

Love,

Anna :)

*God is GREAT, God is GOOD*

Here it is! Isn't it unbelievable?! I couldn't think of a clever title for this post until I was looking again at this beautiful picture. I can't help but think about how GREAT and how GOOD God is for creating such a miraculous and totally amazing little thing that we love so much already! This is "Baby Mims" at ten weeks and four days old! :) Notice how much it has changed in only four weeks! Our doctor told us that it would be a lot different, but we weren't expecting this! If you look closely you can see that its' little mouth is open! PRECIOUS! AMAZING! God is GREAT, God is GOOD!

We had our second doctor's appointment yesterday! All that I can say is that everything was wonderful! We went back for our ultrasound and, as you can see, we were blown away by the magnitude of what we saw! The baby was beautiful and moving around! It's heartbeat was 161, which the nurse said was perfectly normal! She also moved the "wand" around my belly so John Morgan and I could see different angles of the baby. She moved it around and told us that the baby has two arms and two legs! We were so excited! They were little nubs (shout out to Aunt Mary), but they were beautiful nubs! We were just thankful that it had two of each! She couldn't quite make out fingers and toes yet, but that will come later! I asked her several questions (being the anal person that I am) about whether or not the baby looked "normal" at this stage and she reassured me that "Baby Mims" looks perfectly PERFECT at this stage, which made me breathe a lot easier! Another bit of wonderful news is that my cyst has disappeared! I asked my nurse to look for it because it was worrying me a little bit and she said that there is no trace of it now! They usually do go away, but I was still so thankful to hear her say those words! We could have stayed in the room for hours looking at our baby, but sadly we had to go into another waiting room so I could meet with my doctor! I wish more than anything that each one of you could have experienced the sonogram with us! It was the most surreal, unreal, amazing, spectacular, and miraculous thing that we have ever seen! I will say it again, God is GREAT, God is GOOD!

I had to weigh in after the ultrasound and that was a very unpleasant and surprising experience! I would NOT let John Morgan watch me stand on the scale! My nurse was laughing hysterically at me and assuring me that any weight gain was GOOD weight gain! Can you believe that? I never thought that I would hear those words! Unfortunately (or fortunately), I have gained a few pounds since my last appointment! I am TOTALLY alright with it... as long as the baby is healthy and I am healthy! :)

Our next stop was the waiting room to wait on Dr. Nelson to see me. John Morgan and I both went into the room and were asked a lot of routine questions by the nurse (mostly about our family history of illnesses, etc.) and then she took my blood pressure. She said that it is fine now (it is 136/72), but they just do not want it to go much higher! I think that I was really anxious and excited about just seeing our baby, so maybe it will go down! My nurse then told me that I was going to have a routine pap smear and that is where the doctor's visit concluded for John Morgan Mims! He saw the outfit that I had to wear and he was out of there! I was completely alright with it, I mainly wanted him to be able to see our beautiful baby! Dr. Nelson came in, performed a routine pap smear, and she told me that everything looks great! She checked my cervix and said that it looks nice and thick (I apologize to any men reading this), which made me feel good! Dr. Nelson then told me the best and most exciting news of the day! She said, "Alright Anna, we will be determing the sex of your baby at your next appointment in four weeks!" I grinned from ear to ear! I wish that JM could have seen that! She is extremely confident that she will be able to determine the sex of the baby at my next appointment, which will put me at fourteen and a half weeks pregnant! I couldn't believe it! She said if for some reason the baby is not at all cooperating on that day then I might have to come back for a "sneak peek" the next week! My next appointment is April 20! Mark your calendars! :)

Yesterday was a wonderful day! We got to see our beautiful angel and we got good news about the upcoming weeks! We want to thank everyone for your thoughts and prayers! Please continue to pray for the health of me and the baby! We are so thankful to have such wonderful and caring family and friends! We cannot express our gratitude to you all and we look forward to continuing to share this experience with everyone!

God is GREAT, God is GOOD!

Love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*The First Picture of Baby Mims*

This is the first picture of our beautiful baby! This was our first ultrasound and, at the time, I was six weeks and three days pregnant! It might just look like a fingerprint, but it was the best fingerprint that we have ever seen! You can't see on the picture, but its' little heart was beating so fast on the screen! It was unbelievable!

Love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*First Doctor's Visit*

I also wanted to fill everyone in on our first doctor's visit on Monday. After being there for three and a half hours, I will definitely say that it was all worth it! We did our first ultrasound, which was unbelievable! The nurse put the gel on my belly and as soon as they stuck the instrument on my stomach the image that we saw was the best thing that we have ever seen! We could instantly see what we knew was "Baby Mims!" It was the smallest thing, but it was the most incredible thing ever! The baby's heart was beating so fast on the screen! All that we could see was a "flutter" that kept going up and down, up and down...very fast! It was unreal and such a special moment for us! We were able to take home our first pictures of the baby and they are our absolute favorite pictures ever! You can barely see anything, but it is still our most prized possesion!

Our doctor said that everything looks great! She planned our next appointment for four weeks from now (March 23) and we will have another ultrasound! She said that we will be so surprised to see how much "Baby Mims" grows in four weeks! We can't wait to see! She confirmed what we originally thought- my due date is October 15! Smack dab right in the middle of Ole Miss football season! Needless to say, I am anticipating this football season more than I ever have!! :)

Our doctor also talked to John Morgan a lot about what HE can expect from me within the next few weeks! It was funny to hear what she had to say to him! She also told him that he needs to read a book called "What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding!" I was laughing at their conversation the whole time!

John Morgan and I are so happy and so excited that we have such wonderful family and friends to share in this experience with us! We appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers and can't wait to celebrate with all of you!!

Love,

Anna and John Morgan :)

*Baby Mims*

Yes, the rumors are true! John Morgan and I are having a baby!! We found out on February 9 right before we went to New York City! We are so excited!!! We told my parents this past Friday and John Morgan's parents on Saturday! We told both of our parents that we bought them a "happy" in New York and little did they know that their "happy" was this picture framed! They were all speechless and so happy! Their reactions were priceless! We are so excited for what the future holds and can't wait to meet Baby Mims in October! :)