My Birthing Survey

The Firstborn Survey (with all the rest thrown in for good measure):

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
no
yes

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?

yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?

excitement followed by shear panic

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?

No

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?

33 and 34 at delivery

35 and 36 at delivery

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?

Home test
Home test

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?

Tim


8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?

Absolutely

9. DUE DATE?

July 21st
March 5th

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?

no

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?

ice cream

12. WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?

students and work

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?

my husband does- me I'm fine with 2 girls

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?

too many

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?

2 with the first, 1 I attended and 1 my in laws had in MI --video taped and mailed the presents to us

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?

knew about it

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?

yes, Riley was breech and I had an aversion- WITHOUT DRUGS!!!! and for those of you wondering what that means. . . the Dr. strong armed my stomach and spun her around in my belly like a football

yes, Natalie was determined to come early and put me on bed rest for the later part of my pregnancy and ended up coming early on Superbowl Sunday with an abnormally short umbilical cord

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?

IN THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS!!! All the McGovern Girls are Native Texans.
Temple, TX
San Angelo, TX


19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?

From the time we got to the hospital to the time of birth:

6
7

20. WHO DROVE YOU THE THE HOSPITAL?

my mom- I was induced and Tim came later
Tim

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?

Tim and my Mom
Tim- then he threw up

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?

vaginal yes, natural hell no- I got drugs

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?

The day you deliver should be a day you enjoy. . .not endure.
Hell yes I had drugs and I got them early too! I had epidurals before I even felt hard labor. With Riley the Dr. gave me my epidural early since I already endured the aversion and since there were all men on duty with Natalie on Super Bowl Sunday I got every thing early.


24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH??

7lbs 1 oz

6lbs 13 oz

25. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS??

Riley wouldn't put on weight and had jaundice

Natalie suffered jaundice and was in for an extra week

26. WHAT DAY WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ON?

July 16, 2002
February 6, 2005

27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?

Riley Catherine
Natalie Morgan

28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?

4
2

Okay Jennifer I did it!

On the Road Again!!

This is our family theme. During one of my many trips this month, I went to Lubbock, TX where I experienced my first "Dust" storm. That was wild. I truly understand why cowboys wear bandannas. I had dirt in my ears, hair, even all my stuff on the bus was covered in dust that came through the windows. UCK!!!!

Riley and I went to TFA State in Dallas, Tx (Feb 28-March4) where we enjoyed the luxury of a very nice Hampton Inn in Addison, TX. I am now staying in the barrio of Austin at the Baymont near the Highland Mall. Yes, the nasty one next to the Exxon and Denny's. I am here on Spring Break without my family attending the UIL CX State tournament-again. These kids just keep winning.

I'm Back

Hello, yes I have been a little busy here lately. Tim went to Germany and just returned after 51/2 weeks. A lot changed in those few weeks. Natalie began talking our ears off in sentences. She turned 2 (a minor mildstone of course) and the new catch phrase is, "I got it" only to be replaced with the seagull chant from Finding Nemo, "mine, mine, mine!!!!!"

Riley has blosomed into a beautifully behaved 4 year old (thanks to SuperNanny Doodie). She is actively into coloring and loves to watch movies. It I would allow her to, she would watch them over and over and over again. Hence her new language of saying that if she does not go play and sits and watches movies all day, she will develop a "bowling ball head."

Hmm, I wonder what else will develop in the coming months?

Riley's Self Portrait

Riley is becoming quite artistic lately. Her latest and greatest... her own self portrait.

Happy "Mommy, I throwed up" Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, a time for looking back, remembering the year past and things one should be thankful for, right? Not at the McGoverns. Wednesday morning at 6:30 am Riley calls us into her room. Blaugh- "Sorry, Mommy. . . I throwed up." We run to the bathroom where the ritual continues of throw up and words of encouragement. Tim calls the clinic and gets us an appointment.

8:45am Riley, Natalie and I arrive at the clinic which is the most crowded it has ever been in any of our visits. The room is full of weary parents and all of the other children with the same Thanksgiving tradition, the day before a major holiday sickness that sneaks up unsuspecting families.

We are quickly escorted to see Dr. Carroll only to have the misfortune of being officially diagnosed with "THE CRUD." High fevers, occasional vomiting and a promise to make the rounds through the entire family during the holiday. I myself am currently fighting back the nausea.

The good news is that today, Riley is symptom free and no signs of Natalie coming down with anything. We hope each and everyone we knows had a great Thanksgiving.

A C T U A L L Y

Actually. Riley's favorite new word. The most recent and best use Riley had was telling her 21 month old sister why Daddy was in the hospital (he was discharged today). "Natalie, Daddy is in the hospital because he has kidney stones. Actually, his kidney stones are wiggling and that makes them hurt a lot.. . I saw him throw up in Mommy's new flowerbed. He said, 'Honey, don't watch Daddy.' But I watcheded anyway."

You tell Riley its time to go to bed. "Actually, I have to brush my teeth and I think I'm hungry." Her growing vocabulary contines to amaze me.

Don't Drink the Water

It has lately come to my attention that drinking water among my friends and family is dangerous. No, you won't die. You will not become poisoned. It is a far more dangerous fate. See, if you drink the water and know me. . .you will find out that you are pregnant. Worse, I may find out that I am pregnant. In the past 7 days one sister-in-law has given birth to a beautiful baby boy (she is 42), my other sister-in- law found out that vasectomies are not guaranteed to work, followed by a dear friend (who's youngest child is 14) who discovered the blessed news of her future being turned upside down with one approaching their driver's license and the newest addition in diapers, a high school friend and his wife are expecting triplets (yes, you read that correctly), another friend found out 2 days ago that 4 is a great number of children to have- even if you will be turning the big 40 this year, and now. . . my cousin and his wife found out that their son of 5 months will have a sibling in about 8 months or so. Hence the fear of drinking the water.

This fear is further reinforced by my precious 4 year old daughter Riley. Every night since Natalie was born, Riley has faithfully prayed and asked God to please put her baby brother Jack in her Mommy's tummy. This scares me the most- because as we all know the little children have God's ear.