Fair warning, there are 59 pictures in this post! I think I may have just set a single post record and I'm not sure that's a good thing. However, for the last few weeks my iphone has been acting up every time I've tried to upload my photos and finally today I was able to do it without incident. So for posterity's sake, or something like that, here is a glance at the last 3 weeks according to my iphone.
I know, I know...another day, another riveting blogpost! This is like a purging of the soul for me...
What does one do when there are days to kill before having a 3rd baby?? Make tiny cupcakes with the two big kids and their Grammy. Although they looked cute, they did not taste quite so good! We used one of Ava's birthday presents, a cupcake baking set, and while she was thrilled about it, I made a mental note to use my own recipe next time!
I can hardly express the relief I felt to have Trav home from summer camp on time and not because I was in labor. I held my breath for most of that week he was gone, but praise the Lord, Walker stayed put and we were all thrilled to have him home with us again!
One of my last preggo shots...I was 39 weeks exactly here.
Hard to believe Walker was all curled up in there!
The very last thing I was hoping to do before I had my baby, was to attend a shower for Trav's former associate Jackie, who was due with twins! She worked with Trav for years in junior high and we love her and her husband dearly. They moved to Iowa a few years ago but she was in town for this shower and I really wanted to make it if possible. Thankfully I did make it and Jackie just made it too. I believe she was 30 weeks in this picture and she delivered a healthy, but tiny, boy and girl just this week at 31.5 weeks! Hilarious to see our bumps together, we laughed when we took this because we had a Mary and Elizabeth moment when we stood next to each other, and all of our in-utero babes started moving at the same time! We are so happy for them, thankful they are all doing well and healthy, and I'm so glad I got to hug her before her life changed forever!
On Sunday afternoon my parents and I took the kids to a park to play. It was a gorgeous June day and we all enjoyed the fresh air and watching the kids run wild. It was a bittersweet moment knowing I would be saying good bye to them for a week and that it was my last night to be pregnant. As weird as that sounds, knowing how hard this pregnancy was, I was a little sad to see that chapter come to a close. It's such a miracle.
As the night wore on, so did my anxiety about the c-section the next morning. At some point that night I had to claim the peace that only comes from the Lord and trust Him with all of it. I tried to do that and amazingly, I slept like a rock that night.
Got a quick pic on our way in the next morning!
On June 30th at 9:00am we had to be there for Walker's scheduled delivery at 11:00am.
And boy was he worth the wait!! This was his first pic from his Daddy's phone. I think this was in the recovery room after I got to hold him for the first time. It is truly amazing how holding a brand new baby will melt every ache and pain in an instant!
I was feeling well, still heavily drugged (haha!) and soaking up every second of the whole morning. What a relief to know he was here, he was healthy and everything went perfectly.
Such a holy moment to be cradling our sweet Walker Cole.
Look at all that hair and that swollen face.
I think he looks like such an old man here!
After Walker got his first bath, we got to my room sometime around 2:45pm I believe and we were just hanging out waiting for my parents and the kids to come up and meet Walker.
I looked over at Trav and saw this moment happening, which I was so happy to get a picture of.
There is NOTHING like watching your husband love on your kids. Precious.
This picture cracks me up because of my swollen feet and ankles. And you can hardly see them, but I had to wear these cuffs around my calves for like 24 hours that constantly expanded and contracted, to keep my legs from developing any blood clots. I was NEVER so happy to get them off as I was the next day! I hated wearing them and I hated the noise they made every time they expanded.
Obviously I'm thankful for no blood clots, but I hate those things like crazy!
This pitcher however, I did not hate! I was so happy to have that on my little tray and I drank like a camel from that thing and I'm still drinking like a camel from it at home!
I love this picture of my cousin Jenny holding Walker. Jenny and Chris were our first visitors, after my parents and the kids left, and I thought Walker looked so sweet in this!
That first night was a quiet one, which was great. I was pretty exhausted and we were happy to soak up our time together.
Totally looks like Carter to us!
Hilarious! That is a face to love, isn't it??
Milk coma, sleep coma, first day of life coma...
Before I turned off the light on that first night, I found myself reflecting on this verse and how incredibly faithful and generous the Lord has been to Travis and I. It was unbelievable to be in the hospital again with baby #3, just 7 years after we started the paperwork and had our first appointment with the infertility clinic at my former OB/GYN office.
We have been so blessed with the desire to be parents answered, three times over!
I must be crazy to post this but this was from my first middle of the night wake-up with Walker.
So wild to be doing this all over again! If I remember correctly, he went for like a 4 hour stretch that first night, which was great!
And here we were the next morning. We did it! We survived the first night!
So many ID tags on those tiny little legs.
I loved this picture of him.
That hair is awesome!
Daddy and Walker after our first night together
Way to go buddy!!
It's amazing what a shower will do!!! I was up and walking very well the next day, I just couldn't believe how good I felt! I think it was a beautiful blend of a great surgery experience and NOT being pregnant anymore.
I felt like a new woman!
We had a great second day and finally at 11pm that night, I posted an update on my blog with lots and lots of pictures for the relatives. I didn't mean to make everyone wait but my dumb computer was full of pictures and I could not upload any until I deleted a bunch. That set me in a panic for a few hours, making sure they were all backed up in several places before I got rid of them. Glad I got it done!
Day 3 was a busy one! We had lots of sweet visitors and Carter had lots of tests too.
This was during his hearing test, which be passed with flying colors.
I love this one! He looks like he's got earbuds in :)
I loved this day.
What a sweet time we were having in the hospital!
Of course it made our time so much easier to know that these two were having a ball with my parents in Iowa! My Dad sent me these pics from their golf excursion together! Twice during the week they went with my Dad while he played 18 holes of golf!
And clearly, they loved it!
Meanwhile this guy was eating and sleeping like a champ!
I took this at 4:45 am, while feeling particularly exhausted and thinking this verse was going to be new mantra for the weeks and months to come! I also love that you can see my nursing log in this shot, I forgot how often you get asked about all the details of their feeding schedule when you're in the hospital! I was so glad to get home and stop writing all of that down :)
We had a great morning of snuggles with this guy on day 4!
Is that not the sweetest little face??? We took this as a sign that he was ready to go home!
Just chatting it up with Daddy before we started getting ready to get out of there.
Finally in the car and on our way! I always forget how tiny they look in those big car seats.
What a cutie!
This was from our trip to Target for things like pain meds, a new breast pump, diapers, wipes and groceries! He was a perfect Target guest, sleeping his way through the whole thing.
Getting home meant trying out all the baby things...the bouncy seat, the swing, the bassinet, etc.
He wasn't too stressed about it!
Milk coma on the 4th of July :)
We got home from the hospital to perfect weather and wasted no time getting out for a walk.
It's been months and months since I've been able to walk more than just a short distance without tons of pain so it felt so great to move again!
Eat, sleep, poop, repeat!
That's basically the life of a newborn! This was taken on Sunday, after his first trip to Church.
Another gorgeous night for a walk!
Love those little fists up on his face! Ava used to do the same thing as a baby, too.
One week old on Monday, July 7th.
My new life includes lots of this and I just love it.
Oh so true...
Walker, getting excited for his big sister and brother to come home!! Ha!
Well I was excited anyway, Walker was more or less just along for the ride!
We managed to get out for a walk together on the kids' first night home.
We all loved looking at Walker in the stroller!
Travis, the baby whisperer! He's got a gift...
Night two of the kids at home, after my first full day alone with them! Also the night we went to the park at 8 pm and Carter had his shorts on backwards. Nobody said this would be easy!
Walker loves to be swaddled!
Sweet Ava before our photo shoot the other day...I found that cute dress in 5 minutes at Target and it was darling on her.
Here's a sneak peak of Walker in some cowboy boots!!!
3 little snuggle bugs in my bed, I'll take it.
Looking so cute and long!
Got a new duvet cover for our bed and I love it.
What did I do all day before I spent the day holding this guy??
And here we are today, 2 weeks in! Walker turned 14 days old today, the big kids got haircuts and we made it here, there and everywhere on time even. A good day for sure!
And there you have it, life on the iphone for the last 3 weeks!
I've been wanting to get these off my phone and now I'm happy they are on here too.
It's the little things in life, isn't it??
Happy Monday night, friends!
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