Welcome Miss Tiegan!

On Wednesday, December 17th at 8:11 PM we welcomed our third precious Johnson baby, Tiegan Marie into our family!

After a relatively tough pregnancy and a history of large babies with big shoulders, the doctors suggested induction and we decided to induce at 39 weeks.  I was really hoping to go into labor naturally this time around but when the time came, we knew this was probably the best decision for us.  I was given a window of time to wait for a phone call that morning and the time came and went.  I spoke with the charge nurse and she said I was next on the list but it could be awhile later or even the next day.  At that point, I had resigned to mentally preparing to be pregnant for one more day - Jed was off of work anyway, Wyatt needed a hair cut and we could just enjoy the day together.  Shortly after this mental shift, I got the phone call to head in.  So, back to plan A we went.  We packed the kids up, dropped them off and got checked in at the hospital at about 11:30 AM.

The last (and one of the only) belly shot(s)!

I think I mentioned this before with Wyatt's birth day but I feel like with your first baby, things are somewhat scary because you don't know what you're in for but with subsequent babies, you know exactly what you're in for and that in itself is a little unnerving.  Thankfully you also know the joy of the ending and that is what pushes you through the not so fun stuff... like nearly passing out while getting the IV and the epidural.  There were also the mental distractions of my own expectations (I thought things would go a bit faster than they did) and the fact that I was away from my big kids for so long (they were in FABULOUS hands but I still missed them of course).  

Everything went relatively well until the very end.  I was stuck at 8 cm for quite awhile before reaching 10.  Once I did, 3, yes only 3 pushes later, we had ourselves another sweet baby girl!  

She weighed in at 9 lbs even (my "smallest" baby yet :) and was 21.5 in long.  Therein lies one of the reasons I'm thankful we chose to induce when we did.  In addition to size, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice and Jed was unable to cut the cord.  You just never know what could happen in situations like that.  So thankful the Lord was protecting her.

What you can't see in these first few pictures is her beautiful dark thick hair!  What a fun surprise!  I have actually hoped with each baby that they would be born with lots of dark hair but didn't get my wish until now.  Third time's the charm!

This guy.  He is the best support through labor and delivery - extra encouraging, knows just when to lighten the mood and really good at fetching popsicles!  I love this picture.  He looks so proud and I do believe you can see a little tear twinkle in his eye! :)

It is so amazing to look at your new baby.  All of those distractions and worries melt away in light of their perfection and sweetness.

A bit about her name...  we threw around TONS of names this time around once we knew she was a she.  Some of them I really liked and Jed was just okay with... others, Jed liked and I didn't love.  We made the mistake of sharing a few of our ideas with Lainey and she was absolutely adamant about what her name should be, even spilling the beans (very proudly) to a few of my mom friends.  Toward the end, as was the same with the other kids, we found the name Tiegan.  Jed actually found it and loved it.  Jed is a man of few preferences and doesn't get overly excited about much.  Since he loved the name so much, I thought it would be nice to go with it.  I liked it before she was born and I love it now.  We are totally aware that she'll be spelling and pronouncing it for people the rest of her life, that was my hang up :)  Her middle name is Marie, which is my middle name and a family name from my mom's side of the family.

Our big kids ended up staying overnight with some wonderful friends so Jed stayed with me pretty late before heading home.  It's funny with your third baby... with #1 I never let him leave my sight let alone go home to sleep but I figured my nearly 6'2'' husband would appreciate a night in our own bed and be much more rested and helpful with the kids if he didn't have to sleep on that little pull out sofa.  So Tiegan and I got to snuggle and get to know each other a little bit.  She did a fabulous job of nursing right away after birth and has continued to do well each feeding.

She got her first bath the next morning and I couldn't wait to see what that hair was going to do once it was clean!

Sweet girl,  Wild hair.

Jed picked the kids up the next morning, took them home to eat and get dressed and then brought them to meet their new sister!  I was so excited they were able to visit - I was afraid of cold and flu season ruining our plans but they didn't!

And this picture pretty much sums up Lainey's feelings about Tiegan.  She totally adores her and has had a hard time leaving her side.

Wyatt was rather pleased as well.  He is so proud to be a big brother!

OH MY GOODNESS, I HAVE 3 KIDS!!!!

Tiegan got her big sister and brother some fun play sets with a story, figurines and a play mat.  Big hit, well done Tiegan!

We had a few visitors in the afternoon while Jed took the kids home for naps and then returned to join us for a fabulous hospital dinner and then we had a few more visitors.  That evening and the next morning, I got to do more of this... I really enjoyed the peace and quiet of the hospital stay.  I knew when I got home, things would be a little crazy so I tried to soak it all in!

And then it was time to go home!  We dressed our newest little lady and headed out!

Look at that hair!  That bow!

We are so thankful and so excited about our sweet new baby!  Life as a family of 5 is sure to be MORE... more challenging but much more sweet.  More bodies to clothe and mouths to feed but more joy to share together!  Looking forward to this next season of life!

Best Buddies

Maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones or maybe it's reality but I feel like Lainey and Wyatt have reached a new level of sibling-ship in the past few months that has been so precious to watch.  I remember a few other moms with kids really close in age telling me, the first couple years are hard but then, it's so great.  There is the struggle of learning to share, there's learning how to wait for needs or wants to be met, there's all of that.... but they have each other.  Lainey was so young when Wyatt came along that she too will never know life without her brother, just like he'll always know life with his sis.  I feel like I've gotten pictures of some really fun moments that needed shared...

It's monkey see, monkey do... ALL. OF. THE. TIME.  Usually Lainey is the instigator but sometimes it's Wyatt.  Like here, yelling, screaming, singing at the dinner table.  

They are  really affectionate with one another, a lot of times without being prompted.  Precious.

They may be best buddies but they certainly have different taste buds.  Wyatt loves sweets (like his mom).  Lainey will eat a few bites and be done.

The pajama band!

Miraculously, they can even share the iPad.


One of their favorite places to hang out is in Lainey's room.  Lainey always "reads" Wyatt one bedtime story before they go their separate ways.  We aren't sure if we'll have them share a room sometime in the future or not... it kind of depends on if this little lady coming is a good sleeper or not.  Wyatt is SUCH a good sleeper that I don't want to put them together and have Lainey ruin it for him.  She literally sleeps a good 2-4 hours less per night than he does.  It's crazy.



Snuggles!  Even my 31 week bump showed up in this one!

Thankful that God chose to surprise us with these two so close in age.  I'm sure as time goes on some things will get harder and some will get sweeter and sweeter.  Love being their mom!

Lainey, the big sister

[I will post about Wyatt's birth day and share lots more pictures soon but I wanted to get some thoughts down about and for our sweet Lainey right now while it was fresh in my sleep deprived, mother of a newborn mind...  Warning: this might get sappy.  I blame the hormones.]

Lainey,

YOU are a big sister now!  Without knowing it or understanding it at all, your entire world has just been beautifully rocked.  Your brother was just born a week shy of your 15 month birthday.  My heart was honestly heavy in many ways in the days leading up to November 6th, feeling all kinds of emotions about how our family was about to change.

The day before your brother was born I made sure to fill our day with lots of your favorite things.  We had waffles for breakfast.  We went to Book Babies at the library.  You actually had your "best" story time experience so far.  The class was smaller than normal and you were loving the extra space to roam but you actually sat down in my lap a few different times to watch the teacher.  After that, we met your Dad at the mall for lunch and you took a rock star nap in the afternoon.  I was actually kind of sad you slept so long and so well because I was already starting to mourn the "just you and me" moments we had left.  We had an extra sweet bedtime too with lots of snuggles.  It was a really great day.

We dropped you off the next morning at a friend's house on our way to the hospital and I didn't get to see you for about 12 hours.  That was the longest I think I had ever been away from you!  You were in good hands and had a great time with your best friend all day.  Your brother was born early evening and your dad really, really wanted you to meet him as soon as possible.  You visited us in the hospital that night but you were pushing bedtime and had had a jam packed big day so you weren't super interested in what was going on and you weren't really sure what to think about your mom sitting in a hospital bed.  

The next day when you returned, you really owned your new role as "Best Big Sis."  I wish I would have counted how many times we heard you say "bay" (baby) as you pointed at your new brother.  We got you a big sister present to open in the hospital and the first think you did was share it with Wyatt.  Precious.  You spent a few hours with us over the course of two visits during the day and your attitude towards your brother only got sweeter.

Our first night at home and our first full day together as a family of 4 could not have gone any better.  You love to point out his toes and his nose.  You love to pet his head.  You love to share your toys with him and you've already learned to place them near his hands (rather than his face :).  You love to throw away his diapers and bring him his pacifier.  And at the same time, you are still as busy and independent as ever.  Even more so maybe than you were before he came.

I'm not naive.  I know we have a lot of challenges and sibling type struggles that will come our way but I so badly wish I could just bottle up the pure sweetness and joy of the past few hours and days with you being a new big sister.  I can tell you are really going to love your little brother.

I'm really thankful that God has given us you and now Wyatt and that the two of you get to grow up together.  We are so, so, so blessed.

Love, 
Mom