The Daily Hailey

You’re in for a LONG one, folks!!

*****

I woke up on July 2nd, 2018, alert and ready for the day. It was 4:00am. Shoot. I knew today was the day we were all hoping for to be baby day, but there was no guarantee until I got that coveted call from the hospital. I lay in bed for a while but started feeling a little crazy, my mind wandering a bit too far. I opted for playing on my phone to pass the time. After a while, I heard Brady giggling. I looked over at him, thinking he was watching me and maybe I had made a face of picked my nose or done something awkward, but he was fast asleep, eyes closed, with a big dopey grin on his face. (I later learned he was dreaming of eating burgers at Montana’s. The firecracker burger, to be specific. Hold the spicy chicken, though, and the spicy ranch, right Brady?)

We had set an alarm for 7:00, knowing the nurses shifts switched over somewhere around there. Soon after, they’d look at their list of inductions and make decisions about who they could take that day, and then make their calls. We didn’t want to risk missing our call. Brady got up and made us coffee and breakfast. We waited and waited, and it seemed like today wasn’t going to be our day. Brady went to get the kids up for breakfast and I stayed in bed and sulked. Around 8:30, my phone rang. It was Dr. Guselle. She basically was giving me the inside scoop, that things were running behind this morning and they were just getting to their list of people to call, but she wanted to reassure me that I hadn’t been forgotten. Seriously, who else has a doctor like that?! I love her.

At that point, I decided to stop pouting and go join my family. I got dressed and “ready” sort of, but didn’t load those last minute items into the hospital bags just yet. It was a beautiful day, and Brady and I both decided to enjoy it as much as possible, regardless of what came or didn’t come from the hospital. We still had a whole bunch of kids to entertain! So after breakfast, we went outside to ride bikes and play. It was cute. Apparently I don’t have pictures of all the kids though, so I’ll say we were cute! Haha!

Cher also dropped in to take our FINAL belly pictures!

And around 10:30, my phone rang again. And it was our call!! Except the nurse was sneaky, and definitely let me believe we were getting bumped for a second there! She said “Dr. Guselle had requested you be induced today, aaaaand it seems liiiiike we can accommodate that!” Eek! I thanked her profusely. She laughed at me and asked how soon I could get there. It would have to be an hour-ish, to give Jerilee time to get to us and time for us to get to the hospital. She said an hour was fine, and hung up. We excitedly texted out to Jerilee and Brady ran to pack the rest of our stuff up while I stayed out with the kids.

Jerilee arrived around 11:00 (THANK YOU!!) and we were on the road shortly thereafter.

Cher wasn’t far behind, ready to join us with her cameras and mad skills. As we drove, I prayed and had a little teary moment, asking God to keep our little Bambina safe until we could get her. I was completely thrilled that it was delivery day, but honestly still so scared that something awful would happen. How would I ever survive if she didn’t?? Ugh.

We got to the hospital and made a ridiculous video for Cher to find the building that we needed to be in. She met us up in registration. It was so dark and quiet, I was right away hopeful for a relaxed day, a private room, etc. SO nice when its not bustling. No joke, the lights weren’t even on. We waited just a few minutes before our first nurse, Krista, came and introduced herself to us. Off we went with her to begin the exciting stuff!

It began with monitors. About a half hour. Baby was aaaaall over the place, and our poor nurse had to keep coming in and repositioning them. Over and over and over. I didn’t mind, and asked that the sound stay on. I liked hearing her heart beat.

She also did my IV. It was probably the slowest IV install ever of my life. She went from hand to hand to arm to arm and back again, tapping veins and locating the spots she didn’t want to use, etc. Finally, she nailed down what she felt was the prime spot, and POOF! IV was in, painlessly and quick. Crazy! I guess being so specific about its location really paid off! I appreciated that effort so much, because the IV is one of my least favorite things about delivering a baby. No joke.

Dr. Guselle came in and we briefly celebrated that today was the day! She did a quick cervical check to get a starting point, and made a comment about how she hadn’t gotten to check me yet this time around. I laughed at her choice of the word “gotten,” and said something back about “Well, lucky you.” We had a bit of a laugh, and I realized that I could laugh at a joke and look her in the eye, and carry on a conversation while she checked my cervix. I’ve come a LONG way from that first pregnancy! I’m so comfortable with her 🙂

I signed a form and consented to my induction. 1:17pm. Oh, and I ate a popsicle. Because celebrating. And also because no food for the labouring.

I peed. Yes, this is important to note. Lol! I was still in my regular clothes so I took that opportunity to change into the bralette I planned to wear for labour, and a gown. Shortly after that, I asked for my epidural. I wasn’t in big pain yet or anything, or even especially dilated, but I know my own history, and when I start labouring, it moves fast. We were off to a bit of a slow start, however, and had to keep increasing the medicine to get things moving, and I was nervous of the pain to come. I signed another consent form and ate another popsicle.

The anesthesiologist showed up and went through the motions with me about getting an epidural. I am pretty familiar with the process, so he went forward with it pretty quickly. He warned me that sometimes, people get a sore feeling on either side, in the leg or the hip. Its happened to me once before, with Dekker, I remembered. But it was nothing like the zing I got this time around. WOW! I’ve never come so close to jolting away from the pain. My right hip hurt SO BAD! I told him, he continued doing his thing, and the pain lifted. It wasn’t long before it started working and my feet got tingly. My nurse, Krista, came and ran ice along my body to confirm that, yes, the epidural was working its way up and down my body. Win!

Brady, Cher, and I continued to shoot the breeze for a bit. Brady ate a popsicle. Cher did not, and is still pretty bitter about it. Dr. Guselle made a couple of appearances. I found out there is a term for people “like me” (which I’m pretty sure means people with a handful of kids) called “grand multipara.” I’m not sure how it happened, but I heard “grand bottom.” It was all downhill from there, especially when the term “super pubis” made its appearance. We had some great laughs that eventually led to our nurse asking if we knew whether or not Dr. Guselle was taking patients. Haha! I loved that 🙂

Around 3:00pm, Dr. Guselle and Dr. Khatra arrived together. Being that Dr. Guselle is teaching, I basically became Dr. Khatra’s patient, and the “work” was up to him. The next move was the cervical check and we talked of breaking my water to get things moving. But my poor student doctor 😂 He became the butt of ALL the jokes very early on that afternoon. Unfortunately (for me, mostly) Dr. Khatra has massive hands. MASSIVE. There is nothing dainty about them whatsoever, to the point where the hospital does not possess gloves that fit him properly. Its a bit nerve wracking, as his patient! He briefly ducked out of the room to try and find gloves for his monster hands but it was to no avail. He came back and settled for the gloves a half size too small. The whole room was far too interested in watching him try to put them on, which likely didn’t help the process. By the end of it, he couldn’t really look anyone in the eye. Hopefully it felt like more of a “laughing with him, not at him” situation. It was a healthy mix of both. Or we were just laughing at him… Lightened the mood, anyway!

A lighter mood was handy, considering I had barely progressed :/ He broke my water but almost nothing trickled out. I knew there was more to be had in there, but you can only do what you can do! So we continued our wait. And wait and wait and wait.

Things kept taking their time, and I had the “pleasure” of the catheter-forced pee. There is something so strange about hearing myself pee into a plastic box and feeling none of it. Our nurse gave me a cloth to wipe up the antiseptic (or whatever that orange stuff is) and I casually mentioned I had to “clean the things.” I’m very mature, I know. My doctor referred to myself and “the thing” separately from there on out. Another good laugh there. Seriously, SO MANY TIMES I was left wiping my eyes from laughing super hard 🙂 Who can say that about their labour??

It was becoming clear that things were just going to go slow. Baby wasn’t dropping much, I wasn’t dilating much, etc. So the peanut-shaped ball made its appearance. My pain was also resurfacing, and  got the all-clear to start pushing the epidural boost button. I lay on my side with the huge ball between my legs in hopes of making more space for the baby to come down. It did its job slowly but surely, while also accomplishing the task of KILLING my pelvis. Like the exact OPPOSITE thing that I’ve been doing for my pelvis over the last nine months. My pubic bones no longer were even related by the end of it. OUCH! We moved to a very upright sitting position after a while, and it was as I was getting into that setup that I leaned forward and Brady commented that I had a bulge in my back. He said it looked like there was fluid under my skin. I rang my nurse and asked her about it. She was super calm, but agreed that it wasn’t normal, and she tried to reach the anesthesiologist.

The one who had put the epidural in was unavailable, but another came just a few minutes later. He examined it closely and said it looked in order, though he suggested it didn’t look quite like what the paperwork said it should be. He did something (I truly don’t remember what) and said this particular dose of medication should be more than sufficient, and to lay off the button. He returned 20-30 minutes later and it hadn’t touched me. Not. At. All. My epidural wasn’t even functioning anymore. The ice test was icy cold from my hips to my boobs and back down to my knees. It was just gone. So he offered to redo it, and I accepted. But I peed first, before I lost all feeling again. Win for peeing in a toilet hat and NOT in a box! The anesthesiologist was incredibly meticulous about finding his spot for it, almost like massaging my love handles and tracing up and down my back, finding the EXACT right place. And he nailed it! When it was placed, it was completely painless and easy! I thanked him profusely and he laughed at me, saying he appreciated being appreciated. As soon as that sucker was in, we started pushing that button to get it moving. I was scared to suddenly fly into crazy painful labour with absolutely no pain management!

Timelines are fuzzy, but somewhere around here, both Dr. Guselle and Dr. Khatra’s shifts ended, and they kicked around. They hung out together down the hall and worked on her big list of tasks. Because they are the BEST.

Once the epidural was set and starting to work, we began the flipping from side to side with the peanut ball again. It was right around then that it was brought up that baby was having some decelerations after each contraction. I tried to keep track of contractions with the clicker. I was terrible at it, though.

My doctors showed up and we talked about it. They explained that sometimes a contraction can squeeze the baby’s umbilical cord a bit, so baby’s heart rate will drop a tad, and as long as it comes right back up, we’re in the clear. Just something to watch, not to worry about, they assured me. But as you know, I was on pins and needles, almost waiting for the worst to happen. So this was NOT reassuring for me. It became clear that she was neither happy on the right side, nor the left, and I was asked to hang out on my hands and knees for a bit. Now I know some people LOVE this position but I do not. They cranked the head of the bed up for me to basically drape myself over, and then I had the pleasure of sticking my butt out for the world to see while shoving that ridiculous peanut ball under me. Nothing – I repeat nothing –  about this was flattering. I super didn’t care for this position, also, because my legs were shaky from the epidural, obviously, so I was tired pretty early on. My nurse could tell I was shaking (considering she was basically under my body, holding the monitor on my belly) and she called Dr. Guselle in to talk to me about options. They brought up the little probe monitor that they could place directly on the baby’s head, and that way I could maybe lay down more comfortably. I didn’t nix it, but I didn’t love it, and it showed. My nurse was lovely and said she was more than willing to hang out and hold the monitor in place as long as I wanted to stay on all fours. (Somewhere in there our nurse switched over, by the way! I don’t remember when, but this nurse wasn’t Krista. She was Danna.) While I didn’t love this position, it was one of the nicest parts of my labour. Both of my doctors came and hung out for a bit, and we all just talked about baby names. I’ve always liked keeping the name private for the big reveal at the end, and this was the first time we shared with the room what the baby’s name would be. We talked about names we had previously considered for other kids, and what names we possibly liked for the future. Our nurse said Rowan was on her list of boys names that she was hanging onto for the future 🙂 I loved that. It was so normal and nice.

Things seemed stable after a while, so we tried to relax again. Brady went to find Tims but was unsuccessful. Cher teased me about apologizing too much and started to keep track of how many times I said “sorry” on a whiteboard. Danna came in and out, asking questions about how I hoped the rest of my labour and delivery would go. A couple more cervical checks. Very little progress. Slowwwww!!

After a while, out of nowhere, I felt a big goosh. I thought maybe more of my water had broke, and that usually means we’re on the way! I was excited! My nurse was right there, and I mentioned it to her. She lifted my sheet and confirmed that, yes, there had been a goosh, but I was actually bleeding. She, like everyone else had been all day, was super calm about it, but rang Dr. Guselle and Dr. Khatra right away. They came and examined the special fun that had just exited my body, and also very calmly told me they were going to call obstetrics to get their take on it. I think the panic showed on my face, because Dr. Guselle reassured me right away that there was no need to panic, and we were still on track for a vaginal delivery, BUT obs might want to move me to the operating room to deliver, just in case. She has this AWESOME way of calming me down. I love her.

An OB showed up within just a couple of minutes to check my cervix. She said I was at 7 cm, but she said everything on the inside was good and stretchy, and if suddenly baby was in trouble, she could easily stretch me to a 10 and grab her out with forceps. Now, I KNOW, that is not ideal at all, but it was an option that felt safe and avoided surgery, so I felt some reassurance there. It also helped that I didn’t keep bleeding and bleeding. Just that one yucky gush of fun. We followed that all up with another break of my water. There was definitely more in there, but it still didn’t seem like much compared to my usual crazy amount of fluid.

And as history would dictate, it was just minutes after that break of my water that I felt that pressure that you’re supposed to feel! I was instantly in quite a bit of pain, as epidural #2 had been great but had never completely caught up, regardless of our diligent button pushing. I rang for our nurse, who then called my doctors. I know the pressure feeling, and I know I only feel it basically when the kid is crowning. I tried to breathe calmly and fought the urge to push. I was only a bit panicking.

Dr. Guselle and Danna helped Dr. Khatra into his baby-catching garb,

and everyone around me moved quickly. In moments, I lost my blanket, the end of my bed, and all modesty, haha! All of it, GONE! I couldn’t lift my own legs because they were so dead with the epidural, so Brady grabbed one and my nurse grabbed the other.

I was mid contraction when the set up was ready, so we just started halfway through! I gave a good push, without any real direction, counting, etc. Just went for it. Her head was out right away. The millisecond her head came out, a torrential waterfall of fluid and blood followed, clocked her in the face, and came back ALL over me! It was bananas! It soaked my chest and neck, but Brady says the nurse basically caught it in the air and stopped it from soaking my whole head and face! She was on the ball! Thank goodness for that towel over her shoulder! Two seconds later, as she was wiping my chest off, I gave my second push and out came the rest of our baby!

The room was celebrating her arrival! She’s here! Look at her hair! She’s perfect!

But there I was, panicking and crying, because my daughter wasn’t crying! I asked “Is she ok?” over and over and over.

Our nurse was right nearby, wiping her down, with a HUGE smile on her face! “Yes, she’s great! She’s perfect!” And she was right. Our baby was fine. MORE than fine. She was just peaceful and content. And GORGEOUS!!!

Our daughter was finally in my arms! Waverly Violet was born healthy and well on July 2nd, 2018 at 10:46pm. Her doctors stayed over 5 hours later than their shifts to be part of her birth, which soothed her mommy’s soul. Wavy weighed only 7 lbs 14 oz, and was only 20″ tall! The teeny one of the family! She had a FULL mop of hair, the biggest (grossest) umbilical cord I have ever seen…

and tiny everything else, from her ears to her nose to her hands and feet. They’re all SO LITTLE! She had wide, alert eyes, and a little sticky outty tongue. She had the clearest lungs of any of my kids thus far, likely thanks to her longer labour. She found her fingers to suck on right away. She must have been practicing on the inside. Her little hands were a bit blue, which I assume was her one “lost point” on her APGAR score, but I only just overheard that even. There was NOTHING to worry about.

Probably my FAVORITE picture from the day 😭💗

I admit that most details are blurry and out of order from here on out. I was clearly FAR too preoccupied with the new little girly on my chest than anything else. I remember hearing something about three stitches only. So thats not much! I’m happy about that. I remember Dr. Guselle checking the placenta over and commenting that the blood clot from earlier was probably just blood resting in a funny place because my placenta was tearing away a little early, maybe. I don’t remember the details, but it all made sense to her, and we all know I trust her implicitly. This right here is a FABULOUS woman!

Cher ducked out once things had settled down for the most part, and graciously brought us back some Subway. She knew I was super hungry for it. (Cher, did I ever tell you I ate mine at 3:30 that morning?? Best night snack ever!) Now Brady says Wavy was weighed and measured in delivery while Cher was gone, and Cher says it happened upstairs in postpartum. I remember neither 🤷 I remember that I still had a super numb right leg so I couldn’t get a shower or even stand on my own by the end of delivery. Danna lovingly cleaned me up herself, and then called another nurse to help her get me into the wheelchair to transport me and Wavy upstairs. It was actually a bit hilarious, because for some reason, the wheelchair we ended up with didn’t have foot rests and as much as I wanted to just hold my legs up, that right leg would not be controlled AT ALL. So I was legitimately sitting cross legged for my wheelchair ride up to postpartum! Lol!

The day couldn’t have ended smoother.

Waverly was a touch on the cold side, so she and I were draped with a good stack of warmed blankets and left alone for about an hour, and then another half hour or so until her temperature stabilized. Just she and I. Brady was there, of course, but it was a good time for him to sleep. I had my little deary aaaaall under control. Aaaaall to myself. While it was not the smoothest day, or the smoothest delivery, I can clearly see God’s hand it in. Clearly. If labour hadn’t gone so slowly, I wouldn’t have had time for my second epidural. My bleeding was scary but there was a simple, non-scary solution. Both of my doctors willingly, happily stuck around long after their shifts were done. All kinds of things worked out so beautifully, and I credit it ALL to God! Thanks to HIM, Waverly is here, and her family is THRILLED!

*****

Thank you, all who prayed along with us through this pregnancy, and the last year or two of our lives. We are SO fortunate to have who we have in our amazing circle of support! We do NOT take you for granted, friends.

Tomorrow, we CELEBRATE together!!

*****

ALL photo credit goes to my girl, Cher Andrea Foto. She went pretty far out on a limb to make this session happen for us, and we are THRILLED with the results!

SO much love to you, Cher, from all of us over here!

Ok, three events! From the evening, the night, and the morning. And one bonus thing at the end. Lol! In case you were looking for a previewed layout of todays blog. 🙈 Guys, one day I’ll sound more normal but that day is not today. My brain is still mushy.

So event one. Yesterday evening. This is probably the most exciting one. We finally washed Waverly’s hair, and she has CURLS!!! 😍 I can’t guarantee that they’ll stay, and one sleep later, the sides and back were already flattened, but I’m super hopeful that I FINALLY got my curly kid!!

This morning, the mohawk was still in tact! Eek!

She is SO stinking pretty!!! I’m SO excited for her hair!

Also a win with bath time – she didn’t poop in our sink! Win!!

Yes, we washed her in our en suite sink. We CAN! She’s LITTLE!

Thing number two! Waverly had this amazing night last night! She drank some milk around 9pm, woke up shortly before 2am for another drink, and only lulled me awake around 6:30am! AMAZING, right?? Except wrong. I texted Brady and told him I was SO thrilled, and that Wavy had such an amazing night. He responded with “Haha. She did not.” He went on to tell me that, after Wavy’s 2am feed, she was in and out, grunting and fussing like a maniac until 3:30! I heard NONE of it! Seriously, NONE! Poor Brady dozed in and out, and rocked her and burped her until she finally gave in to sleep. I had been suspicious that she’s had some awake time in the night, thanks to her 3-4 hour “pre-bedtime” nap. Might have to rearrange that tonight, Wavy.

Thing three is that my aunt came over for a chunk of the morning. I’m not sure if she had met any of our kids before today, but she did it right! She came with Tim Bits for the bigs and a present for the baby. The kids were totally comfortable pretty much right away, giving her hugs, chatting, etc. Solly hid behind my bum for a little while but it didn’t take long before he was comfortable, too. She held Wavy through most of her visit, and we chatted and caught up after years of not seeing each other. My mom came as well, and lovingly occupied the bigger kids through pretty much the entire visit. There was so much hotting and hollering and belly laughing as they ran around the house. SO cute to listen to, as always. Was a little sad to see them go when the time came :/ But they had other commitments today, and it was time for me to feed the kids and nap the littles so they’d have enough energy forrrrrrr…

The bonus thing! Which is shopping for the final baby party groceries!! All the fresh stuff is coming home TODAY! Brady is working a pretty full day at work so if I want a partner in crime for this shop, it’ll have to be one that comes after supper. I told him I’m more than willing to go on my own with the kids, but I think he secretly wants to be part of it 😉 There has been SO much lead up to her party, and besides a bit of basic tidying and cleaning, this is kind of the last thing! So we’ll do that tonight!! YES! Feels good to be getting all of this stuff done! Don’t forget to tell me if you’re coming to Wavy’s party! But if you don’t RSVP, you can obviously still come 😉 You just can’t eat anything. Nope, that was a lie. Feeling SUPER sarcastic right now. Oy! Just come 🙂 Come ALL! I can’t wait!!!

Today is such a strange day! Brady was home this morning, and is now working this afternoon. This almost never happens, and Brady would always prefer to crush his work in the morning rather than the afternoon, but this was just how the house had to be scheduled. He could not get in sooner. So we’re rolling with it.

This morning was spent playing, coloring, putting the last batch of cold brew together for the party, and filing our insurance claim on our van to get the hail damage repaired. Wavy also had her first try at tummy time, which she tolerated to a point but didn’t much care for. Pretty normal, if I remember right. So the morning was relaxed, but we got a few things done, anyway!

Brady had to haul out halfway through lunch, and I realized that I have no one coming through to snuggle Wavy today! Is this the first day without company?? I think it might be, and that feels crazy! Just yesterday, we had friends pop by three different times to hang with Waverly and the other kids. Today, nada! No excuses, guys 😉 I assume none of you are here today because you’re ALL coming on Saturday. Correct? Good! Seriously though, it feels strange!

I put the three middles down for a nap, Dekker is reading books and coloring, and Wavy had some milk and is now sawing logs in her cradle so I can blog. All in all, this is likely what our “normal” will look like for the next while. I can hope, anyway!!

Brady is picking up a little side table for me after work, and hopefully a cheese slicer so I don’t cut my fingers to shreds the day of Waverly’s party. Is anyone else HORRIBLE at slicing cheese? I’ve always been terrible at it, and its time for that to change. (Yes, I’m FAR too excited about the cheese slicer. Don’t judge me.)

Maybe in the remainder of quiet time, I’ll tidy up my bedroom and my en suite. Its all such a mess, and I admit, I have yet to fully unpack our hospital bag stuff. At this point, I should really just wash everything thats still in there. And my en suite is just generally messy and could use a tidy. C’mon, Hailey! Motivation!!!

Orrrrr I could just hold Waverly instead.

Boom. Decision made.

So, I have this baby. And she’s super great. Suuuper great. I could just sit and hold her all day long! But the reality is that I actually can’t, because I have four other children to manhandle and contribute to, a house to keep, and a never-ending list of tasks to work on. I’m totally happy with my choices, don’t worry. Not complaining in the slightest.

Today has been a wonderful day. Jerilee came over in the morning with coffee. Brady put the kids down for naps after lunch, and headed out to have our van inspected from the fender bender that we experienced a few days before Wavy was born. Jerilee and I put the party favors together, which for some reason felt like an ominous job, but once we got started, it was so simple. I love how they turned out! She and Brady did a few other things on my list while Cher came and took some pictures of Waverly. Her first little photo shoot! Well, second, I guess. Birth pictures 😉 I’m SO eager to post those, by the way, but I think I should wait for the birth story. Right? Put them all together? Or separate posts? 🤔 Hmmm…

Our company has been gone for a couple of hours now, and its usually early to mid-afternoon when I settle in to blog. But rather, I settled in with my Waverly Violet, and it was all over.

Who ever chooses to move when they’re under a baby?! But I know I’m going to feel even less motivated later on, so we’re making it work.

Yup, we’re rolling with it! This is not my first rodeo blogging whilst trapped under a baby, but this is also the calmest, most chill baby ever, so she makes it easier than usual. She can join me anytime! Until I get a desk, anyway. I don’t have one, and I’d really like one! Just a little bitty desk for in our bedroom. But until I acquire one, snuggling under my half-asleep baby girl will have to do!

More and more party stuff is getting done every day! Let us know if you’re coming, if you haven’t already!! The more guests, the better!! Come snuggle this little miss before she gets too much bigger!

💖

We have had our delicious little daughter in hand for just about a week, and what a sweet week its been! We are all just completely over the moon. Tickled PINK. Beside ourselves. All the phrases for downright thrilled. I figure now is a logical time to close out this series that I have SO enjoyed putting together week after week! I’m almost sad to see it go, yet I am happy to wave goodbye to pregnancy for the moment. Hopefully this won’t be my last series 🙂 Did you guys enjoy it, too?

Size Comparison: Wavy’s size is now only comparable to a baby. A small baby! I haven’t had her weighed since last week Wednesday but assuming she’s gained at least a little since then, I’d peg her around 7.5 lbs. I should get one of those baby scales…

Appointments: I guess our only “appointment” since Wavy was born was when Healthy and Home came over. If you’ve been following, you know we checked out well, no problem. We were deemed healthy and functioning well. Our next appointment is our two-ish week check, which we’ll have on July 20th. I weirdly love those early appointments because I like knowing my baby is doing well, and I like seeing my doctor. I know that seems weird but it really isn’t if you know my doctor. Either way, getting the all clear feels good. 

How am I feeling emotionally: Truthfully, I feel victorious! I am thrilled beyond belief that our baby came home, and that she is healthy and thriving! I am not 100% anxiety-free, thats for sure, but I don’t think I can ask that of myself anytime soon. It took a lot of lead up to get to where we are, and its going to take some time to wind down again, if that makes any sense. Wavy breathes SO quietly, with absolutely no gurgle or rattle whatsoever, and while I’m happy her lungs are clear, I definitely get nervous when she’s SO quiet and SO still! There is a constant “Is she breathing??” worry in the back of my mind. Hopefully I don’t feel that way for a whole lot longer, but its already petering out. Thank goodness.

How am I feeling physically: This one might be a long one! Sorry folks! Physically, I’m feeling a lot of things, yet everything is pretty under control at the same time! I’m taking Tylenol, which I’m sure is taking care of some of the discomfort, but my observations so far go like this: I’m hardly cramping at all. I’m hardly bleeding at all. I wouldn’t know I had stitches if they hadn’t told me. My pelvis still cracks sometimes but rarely hurts anymore. My reflux stuck around for a day or two, but is gone now. Everything has been SO smooth. My two big issues – my boobs and my back. As many of you know, I bottle feed from the get go (PLEASE let’s not get fired up about this issue! ❤) so my boobs are engorged like there’s no tomorrow. I’m trying to take the best steps in drying them up, and while its working, its taking SO LONG! I’ve been wearing a tight fitting, life sucking bra non-stop for 3+ days now and these suckers are still rock solid. Sooooo thats been interesting! My back is also quite sore, as it tends to be after I have an epidural. Its not unreasonably painful or anything. Just enough to remember that there was a pretty sizeable needle in it not that long ago. However, this time, I had TWO full epidurals, so thats probably why it hurts more than usual.

Wish Lish/Purchases: Inevitably, we’ve purchased Waverly a few clothing items in order to have some that fit her! We ONLY purchased 3 month items, and we were gifted a good handful of newborn items which have helped immensely. Yet, most of the sleepers we were given were 0-3 and she is still just swimming in there. So we bought a few newborn sleepers, and were given a gift of a few other beautiful little newborn sized clothing items. And for a wish list? Nothing 🙂 We are SO set up. We have everything we could ever need or want for her. We are GOOD.

Pictures: Have you not seen enough pictures?! Lol! I can give you more!

And those aren’t even the labour and delivery pictures yet!! EEK! Just you wait until I get that birth story together, pictures and all! THAT will be a post, let me tell you!!

How are the kids feeling: I definitely jumped the gun on this one, but I couldn’t resist! You can read the post on how the kids feel about Wavy here. Spoiler alert. They LOVE her!!!

Getting to know the baby: No more speculating! Waverly has a beautiful, content, happy demeanour. She’s been sharing her sweet little secret smiles already, and they have not been followed by gas or vomit. Say what you will, but I think she’s pretty aware. Just the other day, she was laying on the floor when Solly meandered his way over. He sat down and leaned over to be near her face, and smiled at her. And she smiled back. It. Was. Awesome.

Yes, I admit I 100% stole this picture from my mom. But she stole the smile from my daughter so, fair and square.

The BEST part of being pregnant: The BEST part of being postpartum is sleeping comfortably, using my right leg again, bending forward, etc. My body is much happier in general, and I’m so thankful for it. Its funny because so many women say they forget the pain of labour when its behind them. I very much remember what labour pain feels like, but what I forget is the pelvic pain, leg pain, and the general weighted down ness. So while I am incredibly grateful to be able to be pregnant, its a welcome change to go from full term pregnant to suddenly be not pregnant, and physically comfortable again! The distraction of the newborn baby doesn’t hurt either. 

Favourite thing: Dekker is hanging with me as I write this, and he’s pretty adamant that my favorite thing should be Waverly. And he’s not wrong! She is the BEST thing about this last week! But I feel like that would be an easy answer 😉 I think I’m going with Wavy’s hair being my favorite thing. Its thick and beautiful and even and gives her SO much character!! The best thing is about is that it smells AMAZING! Which isn’t surprising, but doesn’t make it any less my favorite. The best. The absolute best. 

*Snnnnnnniff*

I have so loved this series. It helped me stay sane through this pregnancy, and has let me enjoy it a bit more than I would have if I didn’t have to dig in deep to get some of the answers. Does that make sense? Its been a good push to celebrate my pregnancy, no matter how far it went. And guys, it went full term!! Today would have been my due date, and instead, we’ve been able to have our amazing Waverly Violet at home for an entire week! Hopefully there are many, many more weeks to come. I appreciate SO MUCH how so many of you have followed along, and contributed in our life. You’ve prayed and encouraged and helped and loved us through all kinds of in the last year and a half. In that span of time, our life changed drastically, and it was really interesting to see how many people stuck with us as we struggled to figure our life out, and as we didn’t figure things out and just treaded water instead. Its not been smooth, but the love and prayers have not gone unnoticed. Please hang around as we keep on trucking, with our now FIVE kidlets!

Womb in Bloom is officially closed!! 🌸

We decided to brave church this morning, and honestly, I’m so glad we did. Since summer has begun, the group was fairly small, but it felt good. Like home. We showed up a tad early, to try and get our crew settled in somewhere before everything started, yet I admit I was completely useless to Brady this morning. I stood in the foyer and chatted and showed off our beautiful little Waverly. She was SO sweet in her little lemon romper, with her beautiful soft hair and her skinny little legs and content little self. She was happy to be passed around and loved on by as many people as would have her. But eventually, it was time to go locate the rest of my family and actually participate in church.

It was a pretty lovely morning. The church called Brady, Wavy, and I up to the front and welcomed Wavy, prayed over her, and encouraged us as her parents. We feel so supported and loved by our church, even though our attendance is far from perfect, and sometimes, our bench is the loudest bench in the building! It was really touching. Wavy was gifted a rose as a “welcome” present, which is now displayed on our island. Her first flower!

(I feel like the roses from church are almost always red. I can’t help but feel a liiittle bit extra special being given a pink one!)

She spent the rest of the service completely cashed out on my chest. Just flopped. It was SO cozy and cute!

As you can imagine, it took a while to actually exit the church. We could’ve stayed and visited all afternoon! Well, Wavy and I could’ve. Brady too, maybe. The other kids, however, were running circles (literally) and we needed to get them out. Brady took it upon himself to get everyone out and settled, and then ever so gently brought me the car seat, and slipped Wavy into it. Never a rush, but it was obviously time to go. Especially considering my parents were coming for lunch! Oy! At least they had offered to bring it, right?? We did eventually get home, and we had a super yummy lunch all together. Wavy was wide awake and next to us the whole time. She is just SO content!!

But eventually, nap time was upon us, and my parents headed home. The little boys are down, Dekker and Laela are playing Lego, and Wavy is snuggling with Brady while I blog. Tonight, we will receive yet another supper from the church (How great is that?!) and hopefully get to bed at a good time! Waverly had a decent night last night, but Brady is back at work this next week so he needs real rest! Wish him luck!

Thing One: Wavy’s Party

How cool is it that its not just a baby party anymore! Not even Bambina’s party! WAVY’S PARTY!! Is it strange how thrilling it all feels so say? She’s HERE, and we can PARTY! And by “party,” I mean eat brunch together, lol! Still counts 😉 So guys, we are ONE WEEK away from the party, and I’m amped! Most things are organized and arranged, but one or two food items are being ordered or made by others, and I’d love me some rough numbers. I think I’m going to put a poll on the Facebook event to see if you think you might bring your families, are coming on your own, etc. Nothing has to be exact, so if you even think you might bring more people, just say so, and if you don’t, thats fine. I just want to have enough for everyone!! That being said, we ducked out to the farmers market this morning and gathered up a couple of party things. Our first real family outing!! I’m not counting the one earlier this week where we all stayed in the van while Brady ran up in the hospital to grab some stuff we left there. It went pretty smoothly, if I do say so myself!

So we have everything we need to put together a small favour for our guests. Feels GREAT to have that in hand and ready to go! Especially considering the farmers market is only open a few days a week. We got there! Done and done!

You REALLY should all come snuggle this!

Thing Two: Today

Wavy had her first rough night here at home, and her exhausted parents woke with a start at 9:30!!! We bolted out of bed and rushed downstairs. Our kids were beautifully tucked away in their beds, chatting with each other, patiently waiting. We apologized to them profusely, and they were surprisingly gracious about it! We decided to buy them breakfast at Tims, and they were thrilled! Once everyone was adequately treated and happy, we ran our errands. Farmers Market first, like I mentioned. Then a few little things at a nearby mall. Then lunch, because of our later start. Miss Wavy had her first van bottle session, which she handled beautifully, as one would expect.

We hit Costco after lunch, and it was the single time that Wavy got upset and let everyone know. So I scooped her out of her seat and carried her through the store. And let me tell you, she was popular!!! A very cute little hitchhiker to pick up! She and I basked in the sun while Brady unloaded the groceries out of her car seat. Got some vitamin D together.

We got home in the blazing heat and decided it was too hot to take the kids out on the deck as planned, but we pulled the van out of the garage so they could at least play in there. Only a few minutes into that was when that crazy hail storm hit. You guys know the one if you’re from around here. I ran into the garage and right away got the kids inside so Brady moved the van in. He was out in the hail for around ten seconds. Less than.

Is this reminiscent of that awful ping pong “Welts” game to anyone else?

Wavy skipped the storm.

The other kids were VERY concerned with her being right up beside the window. I was eventually able to reassure them that we were all safe, even though the hail was VERY loud.

We began our day in the beautiful, hot sunshine, and its wrapping up in the sunshine, but we have now filed two insurance claims – our house and our van, both of which took a serious beating. Its been such a weird day…

Don’t forget to RSVP for Waverly’s party, and let me know how many of your group might be coming 🙂 Just what you can. No big worries either way. Just come!

This is probably one of the most asked questions I’ve been getting since we brought Waverly home, and I really love that 🙂 Just some solid concrete evidence that people haven’t forgotten the rest of our sweeties in the shuffle of adding a new sweetie. Thanks, guys, for loving ALL of our kids!!

So, their reactions to her and their feelings about her, in no particular order. So far, anyway! Let’s keep in mind she’s 3.5 days old…

I should tell you guys about Laela first. People have been the most amped about her gaining a sister. While she was less concerned about gender than anyone else, she was totally thrilled about “getting” a baby! She was the first to hold Wavy upon bringing her home.

When we told her the baby’s name, and asked if she liked it, her response was “Kinda…” I saved it, though, in telling her Wavy’s middle name was Violet. THAT sold her. Though she still calls her Bambina often enough. Habits are hard to break 😉 Laela often says she “likes the look of her,” and when I confirm that she thinks Wavy is pretty, she nods and says “Yup. And her head! Smells so good!” She’s been listening, haha!

Dekker has been heavily anticipating her, knowing full well what was to come and understanding what it meant to add another kid to our family. He was a bit ripped that Laela got to hold her first, and snagged his turn shortly thereafter. This is the FIRST time EVER that Dekker has asked to hold the new baby. He’s always been fairly hands off when it comes to new family members, never being mean to them, but being at least uninterested or nervous. But he LOVES Wavy.

He is her protector. If she makes the slightest noise, he heads on over to her to check on the situation. He loves to kiss her fingers and touch her hair. But that shouldn’t really surprise anyone who knows him. He is SUCH a sensitive soul. When she first arrived home, he couldn’t pronounce her name very well. He skipped the R completely. Wavely. Like, Navel-y. I told him that daddy and I usually call her Wavy, and he jumped ALL over that! He’s figured out the pronunciation of her full name now, but we all opt for the short form most of the time anyway. So far, Dekker has held firm on his decision to give her a billion kisses. Its a great relationship.

Rowan is easily the most neutral on the subject of his new sister. He loves her name, and insists he’s always called her Wavy. Its all lies, for the record, haha! While he likes her and isn’t at all scared of her, he’s pretty uninterested thus far. I’m not especially surprised, because she’s obviously not doing much of anything at this point, but I’m thankful he’s not put off by her.

For instance, these pictures didn’t happen naturally. I asked him to go over to her and give her a kiss. He was happy to oblige, but he was soon off in the other direction, doing something else. No jealousy or anger to speak of. He’s just doing other things. When I asked him his favorite thing about her, he says he really likes her stuffie. Lol!

I thought Solly would be the most put off by her presence, to be honest, being that he’s been the youngest for quite a while now, and he tends to wear his opinions on his sleeve. But he LOVES Wavy!!!!

He often hangs out by her rocker, if she’s in it. He’s never come close to toppling it over or anything either. He’ll sit on the window sill sometimes and just watch over her. If I ever say “baby,” he thumps on over to her and announces “Beeebee Weewee!!” Like he LOVES her!!! When he met her for the very first time, he was SO excited! He kept trying to smack her, which we quickly talked him through, and he traded his smacks for gentle rubs. But then he’d rub her whole face, or poke his finger into her mouth. Basic toddler-meets-baby stuff. He took a little dolly hairbrush to her beautiful hair, and dug in pretty good for a second there, but she tolerated it and didn’t even fuss.

Come to think of it, I don’t think any of them have made her cry yet. But like I said earlier on, she’s only a few days in 😉

I have a list of things I want to write about and share with you guys, but they’ll all take a decent amount of planning and thought, and frankly, I feel like an easy one today 😉 I know you’ll all understand.

Yesterday was our first full day at home with FIVE children! It was surprisingly full, but I really loved it. We kicked off with breakfast and a visit from Healthy and Home. If you’re not from around here, Healthy and Home is a program where a nurse from public health drops by your house, does a little check over of you and your babe, and offers advice or help anywhere needed. Our nurse this time around was just amazing!!! She was instantly smitten with our kids, and included everyone in the visit. Since we were considered an early discharge from the hospital (Wavy was only about 14 hours old) there were a few things that needed doing. Wavy had her first blood draw to be sent away, which she didn’t much care for but tolerated nonetheless. She was also checked for jaundice, and passed easily!! Its so different having a baby thats considered “of average size” because they get poked and fussed with WAY less! Its refreshing for everyone. We also checked Wavy’s weight, which has dropped a little as is super normal. But guys, she’s 7 lbs 4 oz now 😮 I don’t even know what to think! She’s SO SMALL!! But she passed everything with flying colors, and the nurse had no concerns with anything. She made the comment that she loved it here, and said she wished she could stay all day. It was right around then that Solly and Rowan started to break down and fight, and Wavy decided she was, in fact, finished with her exam. So I think we cured our poor nurse of that feeling pretty quickly 🤣

My mom came over for a shorty visit shortly thereafter, to play with the kids, hold the baby, and be a familiar, fresh face in our home. It was LOVELY to see her! She offered to bring us supper that night, which we happily accepted!

Once the kids had eaten and were either down for naps or settled in for some Lego time, Brady and I put our feet up and enjoyed a restful lunch together as well. See, guys? I PROMISE I’m resting!

When the kids woke up, we actually braved the rest of the world and headed into the city. I know!!! We shouldn’t be out and about already! But here’s the thing. We realized the day before that Brady had accidentally left an entire change of clothes at the hospital. Included in that stack was a brand new pair of cozy sweat shorts, his favorite tshirt, and one of those wretchedly expensive pairs of underwear. We couldn’t just leave them there :/ So in we went! Brady did the legwork and picked his stuff up from the 5th floor (SO thankful they held onto it for him!!) and then we tried to head home, but accidentally detoured into Carters. Whoops. It was a short visit there, and then we went home. I had a great phone date with my sister as we drove, which was so refreshing. I miss her so much.

We got home shortly before my mom arrived with golden mushroom chicken, rice, and veggies for us. We destroyed that meal, lol! It was delicious!

We wound the kids down for bedtime by watching some music videos on YouTube, and bedtime turned out pretty smoothly. It all went as it usually does, even with Wavy added to the mix. She just makes it that much sweeter, giving all of us one more person to kiss and love. I love how low maintenance she is at this point and how little she asks for, yet I’m SO EXCITED to see what changes come with her joining our family!!!

We made it through day one! I hope we have many, many, many more days like this ahead!

Everyone loves the little details, right? Todays post will hopefully cover most of them for you guys 🙂 Some of you responded to my Facebook post with ideas, which I REALLY appreciate! Some of them will be answered today, and others will come in the posts to come. Today is JUST Wavy’s specific details.

Waverly Violet was born on July 2nd, 2018 at 10:46pm after 9.5 hours of labour.

She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was only 20″ long. Our teeniest baby.

She has a FULL head of thick hair that almost looks silvery to me. It isn’t, but our other kids started out with dark brown fuzz and her hair is definitely different. Maybe golden brown is the right direction? I’ll know more when we wash it.

She has dark eyes, as is common in newborns. Her eyes are blue, and they will remain blue, as Brady and I both have blue eyes, as do all the other kids. Did you guys know blue eyes are a genetic mutation? She HAS to have blue eyes because we do. So no surprises there.

Continuing on with her physical details, she has little while “milk dots” across her nose and in her brows like all of our babies have. I LOVE those things. They last such a short time.

Of all the kids, the most common perception is that she looks the most like Rowan.

She is a finger sucker. She makes the BEST slurping sounds!

Wavy was born with a MASSIVE umbilical cord. Like THICK! It looks very slug-like. I won’t lie. I’m excited for that sucker to fall off. Thankfully, its already drying up a bit, so its less *dry heave* sticky.

Our little girly gave me a fright when she first surfaced by not crying. She was wide awake, and gave annoyed grunts as our nurse wiped her off, but wouldn’t cry. Her personality continues to be that way. She is amazingly content and peaceful.

When Wavy is awake, she is WIDE awake. Totally alert. Yet again, she’ll lay wide awake, perfectly content, for longer periods of time than I expected.

Her lungs are 100% clear, which is a first for us. There is no rattle whatsoever in her breathing, leaving her mother in panic mode when she sleeps. Can’t she just gurgle a little even, so I can hear her breathe?!

Lastly, she is already SO familiar with her siblings. It must be very true that unborn babies can hear whats going on in the outside world from inside the womb, because she is so calm in all the chaos and noise that play out in the day. She just watches on from wherever she’s hanging out, totally at peace.

Did I get most of it? Do you feel like you know her a little bit better? She is truly remarkable in every way. Her personality is sweet and patient. She is low maintenance. She fits in so well here. And she is SO pretty!! I’m so thankful to have you all celebrating along with us!!