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!

Life lately {November}

Life with 2 (almost 3!) kids just doesn't slow down.  We like it that way around here.  We enjoy our busy, fun filled weeks.  I can't believe how quickly November passed us by!

When I take out a learning activity, no matter what it is, Lainey just devours it.  I love this about her.  I was busy folding laundry the other morning and let her do her thing with these letter tracing cards.  Back in September, she was really slow with these.  I don't mean that in a bad way, because it was new to her and even holding a writing utensil was not very natural.

It's incredible what can change in just a few months.  She worked much faster and traced, then wrote her letters more efficiently, even grasping her pen correctly.  It was so fun and encouraging to watch!


Wyatt is a riot right now.  110% boy, loves his momma, loves his trucks, trains and cars and LOVES to nap.  I cannot believe how big he looks in this picture.  I know he's 2 but he is just still my baby.

Wyatt did his annual croupy cough in the middle of the night a few weeks ago.  This time I had a few tricks up my sleeve and didn't panic and drive like a maniac to the ER.  Luckily he improved and we held out until our doctor's office opened the next morning.  He just took a day or two to recover so I am hoping mayyyyybe he will grow out of this tendency.  I was also thankful to (hopefully) get it out of the way before the baby arrives.

He's pretty much attached to my hip most of the time when we're home.  He's constantly grabbing his blankies and climbing into my lap for a snuggle and is more and more interested in things I'm doing in the kitchen, helping with chores, etc.


Our community group and our church held two different events this past year to pack shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child.  This is such a fabulous ministry to be a part of and support and it was really fun to involve the kids more this year, especially Lainey.  She carefully packed at least 8 boxes herself this year, meticulously choosing each and every item and making cards to put in them too.  Such a fun way to teach kids about the blessing of giving to those in need!


November brought us a couple of fun snow falls and our kids LOVED every second of it!





Love those red cheeks after playing outside!

And hot chocolate is a must!

And this is how we ended many, many November days.  To say we are excited and ready for her arrival is an understatement!

May Days

Well, June is nearly over and here I am catching up and blogging about May.  I suppose my excuse is a good one and is no surprise to any of you that read this blog since I know all of you in real life, but it's share worthy anyway...

SO instead of blogging, I've been napping.  And going to bed at an embarassingly early time.  We are due on Christmas Eve and we're all very excited!  Well, Wyatt has no clue, but Lainey, Jed and I are thrilled!

Back to what we were up to during the month of May...

I didn't really struggle with morning sickness but afternoon/evening sickness, which was not fun, but I think God was giving me grace because He knows I have two energetic kiddos who need to get out and about in the mornings.  Thankfully, most days we all take lovely afternoon naps and then when I'm really feeling my worst, my knight and shining armor comes home, helps with the kids and usually makes dinner.  I'm looking forward to feeling more normal to provide food for my family and give the poor guy a decent meal and a break!

My little monkey!  She's gotten so good at climbing at the play grounds.

Picnics have become our new favorite way to eat lunch.  As long as I can get a few things packed before we head out any given morning, it is great.  They eat whatever I pack, I don't have to "clean up" lunch and then if they pass out on the way home from where ever, I can just throw them in bed when we get here.

I cannot get enough of this sweet little man.

Lainey's been working at riding her bike!

This was a genius idea I had one day.  We got to play in the water AND did something productive!  All of my years of car wash fundraisers in high school for the dance team really paid off.

Wyatt is usually more interested in climbing on benches and picnic tables when we're at a park.

We eat popsicles pretty much every night.  Sometimes in the bath tub, which saves me from having to pretreat their clothes before they go in the wash.

Our church did another Mission to the City over Memorial Day weekend where people served dozens of other churches, ministries and individuals throughout Des Moines.  Lainey tagged along with Jed quite a bit throughout the weekend.  I'm thankful he was willing to swap car seats in and out of our cars a bunch of times and even pull Lainey in the bike trailer, just to allow them to spend some time serving together.

She was a great help and loved canvassing neighborhoods and inviting people to church and hanging these door hangers!

May was great!  Can't believe how fast it went - felt like it took forever for the weather to really warm up but we loved enjoying those warm May days!

Wyatt's BIRTH day!

We are so thankful for the blessing of our new baby Wyatt!  His birth day was a wonderful and special day for our family.  I've been meaning to get this post written ASAP so that I don't forget anything noteworthy and so that some day, Wyatt will know all about the day he was born!  This is kind of long ... it's more for my memory and Wyatt's sake than anything else...

The weeks leading up to the big day were a little crazy for me pregnancy-wise.  You can read about of that here.  Between a maternity triage visit, extra OB appointments and regular OB appointments I got bounced around quite a bit through the multiple doctors at the OB practice that I go to.  All along throughout my pregnancy, the doctors would read my chart and give me their own little scenario for how the end of the pregnancy could potentially go based on the labor and delivery with Lainey.  Lainey was not only a large baby (9 lb 4 oz and 9 days late!) but she had large shoulders (shoulder dystocia) which complicated things and actually could have been a lot worse.  Since subsequent babies tend to be larger than the one before, they wanted to keep an eye on my measurements and do an ultrasound toward the end to see just how big little mister was going to be.  On November 1st, I finally saw the doctor who delivered Lainey and the one that I would say I'm most familiar with and the one I trust and like the most.  Based on how big he estimated the baby to be (he said about 8 lbs and some that day) and the fact that I was already 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced, he suggested induction during my 39th week.  I definitely would have preferred to go into labor on my own but the doctor was reassuring and since my body had already begun some of the work AND since it was my second baby, he all but guaranteed things would go a little smoother this time around.  Dr. H. wasn't even actually on call that day - he was working the clinic which is across the street, but he still offered to deliver our baby and just pop over to the hospital a few times during the day, which was so nice of him.  So, we were scheduled for Tuesday, November 6th...

I think with your first baby, it's scary in some ways because you have no idea what you're in for.  With your second baby, it's scary in some ways because you know exactly what you're in for.  I was definitely battling some nervousness and fear that morning, but I was also so so so excited that by the end of the day, we'd get to meet our baby boy!

So excited to have a baby!

We got checked in around 8 AM and were assigned 2 nurses.  They were both awesome!  Shortly after, the on call doctor, Dr. F. did his rounds and came in to check in with me.  The nurse told him that Dr. H. was actually going to deliver our baby (which was kind of awkward) and he wished us good luck and went on his way.  Dr. H. made it over to the hospital and broke my water at 8:53 AM.  (I only know this because it was written on the white board in the delivery room which I stared at all day)  At this point I was dilated 4 cm.  They had me get up and walk the halls for about an hour or so and then started pitocin.  Around noon, they checked me again and I was still only 4 cm.  I was getting more uncomfortable but it was bearable.  I definitely wanted to avoid the fentanyl that I got while in labor with Lainey - it made me feel totally crazy and loopy - so I just had to grin and bear it while they continued to up the pitocin.  At 2, I was still only at 4 or 5 cm and so I decided to get an epidural.  The same thing happened with Lainey - I never progressed past 5 cm until I got an epidural.  So around 2:30, I was enjoying the benefits of near numbness from the waist down - ahhh!  I was able to relax and even nap for about an hour while Jed watched Jeopardy.

Around 3:45, the nurse came in to re-position my fetal heart rate monitor (which they had to do constantly because the baby was so so SO active!) and said she'd be back around 4:00 to check my cervix.  Right at 4:00, the on call doctor popped in to check on me.  He said he was going to check my cervix and see where I was at to let Dr. H. know.  When he checked me, he asked me to push a few times.  The baby reacted to this and the doctor said the nurses would be in any moment (since they watch the monitors from their station in the hallway).  Sure enough, they came rushing in and were surprised to see the doctor and we were all surprised when he said that I was at 10 cm, the baby was "right there" and was ready to be born!  I couldn't believe it was time already!  He said that he didn't have time to call Dr. H. over from the clinic and that he knew he would make 10 patients wait over there if he did, so he asked if it was okay if he deliver our baby, which was totally fine with us!

They finished getting everything set up and at 4:15 I started pushing.  I'm not exactly sure, but 5, 6 or 7 pushes and 8 minutes later, Wyatt was born at 4:23 PM!  The nurses and Jed were SO encouraging and it all just happened so, so fast.  I kept saying that over and over again, I just couldn't believe he came so quickly!  They put him right on my chest and we got to meet our son!  We enjoyed a few sweet and wonderful moments!

 Jed followed him over to the table as he got cleaned up, weighed and checked out.  He was totally perfect in every way.  He even got a perfect 10 on his second Apgar test and one nurse said it was the first 10 she had ever given!  Coupled with his crazy movements while still in the womb and the fact that he cried and cried and cried even louder for a long time after he was born, the nurses told me I probably would have my hands full with this wild boy!

This might be my favorite picture from the whole day.  Look at those cute feet!

The whole experience after he was born was drastically different than it was with Lainey.  He never left  our room, he was able to nurse within the first hour of his life (and did so like a champ) and traveled with us down to the mother/baby floor after about an hour and a half.  He met his big sis briefly and got his first bath within the first 5 hours of his life - how exciting!

Our hospital stay was great - we had the same nurses both nights and days, which was really nice.  Jed was busy with Lainey during some of the stay, so I got to have lots of one on one time with my new little man.  He is just the sweetest!

Those cheeks!  All of his weight is in his cheeks!

That is the story of Wyatt's birthday!  We are so thankful for our handsome new addition.  We are surely blessed!