Baby Announcement

I am finally finding a few moments to post about our newest blessing!

Glorielle Blossom Leigh Kelly
Born July 26th at 1:14 a.m.
7 pounds 14 oz, 20.5 inches long.

Her arrival was quite a surprise!  She was 3 days late but I expected her to be at least ten days overdue (Evi was 14 days overdue and Brighton was 13).  She also arrived just past midnight where as all my other labors started between 2:30-3:00 in the morning and babies arrived early morning or early afternoon.

One of my dearest friends, Michelle, was due two days before me.  It was so much fun for the two of us to go through all the stages of our pregnancy together.  We joked about who would win the race to the finish!  She emailed early Monday morning to tell me that her water broke.  I emailed back in the afternoon to tell her that I was having a lot of sympathy contractions!  We went to my brother and SIL for dinner and I was having some increasingly painful "Braxton Hicks" contractions.  They were irregular and varied in intensity so I didn't think much about it because this was common the last two pregnancies.  I was feeling pretty lousy so we went home right after dinner so I could take a bath and then go to bed.  I did so and went to bed around 9:30.  I was up at 10:00 with some intense contractions and decided to head up to the hospital just in case.  Phil came up shortly after once my parents arrived.  I had a quick and intense labor and Glorielle arrive just after 1:00.  Michelle's daughter was born 1 hour and 38 minutes earlier!


Meeting Glorielle!  She was a beautiful newborn with lovely pink skin and a perfectly round head.

Our new family of 7!

Sleeping beauty

Cuddling with Mom

More sleeping!  

How precious is this little girl!

Sisters

The first week:

About having a baby...

I stayed in the hospital just one night and came home Wednesday evening.  I have had a fairly good hospital experience with each of the 5 deliveries.  I noticed this time around how much more business oriented giving birth has become even since my first birth 6 1/2 years ago.  People are friendly and kind but there is so much "pestering" that goes on during the stay.  Constant monitoring, forms to fill, vaccines, tests, policies, people from this department and that department, hand outs, and since I declined most things...even more forms to fill out!  I think sometimes too, that people forget that if you have been up all night that you might want some rest the following day.  I was surprised at how many people came in the room, saw that I was asleep, and took care of business anyway.  I also realized that you have to be extremely careful how you answer questions.  One of the several forms of questions that I was asked was about post partum depression.  I answered that I just had the usual hormonal issues (thinking your basic PMS type symptoms) and shortly there after, I had a social worker come to the room to discuss depression with me.  I told her that there must have been some sort of misunderstanding.  I even had a phone call the following day from the hospital asking probing questions about how things were going that made me wonder what the intention of the call was.  I thought perhaps my "file" had a big black mark on it since I refused so many of the typical procedures.

About Falling in Love...

Every baby is such a precious gift.  I spent that first week in absolute awe at how wonderful she is, how adorable, how tiny, how cuddly, how sweet smelling, how cute all the newborn noises (grunts, snoring, squeaks and squeals), how she knows me when she hears my voice and when I hold her.  I am so grateful for her and so amazed that she has been entrusted into our care.  I love her more everyday!

About Nursing...

If you are familiar with my history, you will know that I have had a lot of struggles.  I was very discouraged to find that I was having a lot problems.  Glorielle is my sleepiest baby and I have struggled to get her to wake up enough to get a successful latch.  She is also tongue tied, meaning that she has trouble positioning and keeping her tongue in the proper place.  I will say, that while the first several days were rough, we have worked past some of those issues!  I am really pleased with her progress!

About Rest and Recovery...

This is always a hard road.  The after birth cramping was pretty severe this time and took several days to subside.  I have been sleeping fairly well since she cosleeps and can nurse while I am lying down now.  Naps are important.  Laying down is important.  And for me, having it quiet, is important.  It is easy to forget the importance of rest and taking it easy when you start to feel better are ready to get back to normal.  We had a day in town with appointments on Thursday and then a family outing on Friday.  Friday evening, my body felt like it did the day I came home.  A good indicator that I overdid it and needed to focus more on laying low and letting my body recover.

About Transitioning...

The children are doing so well welcoming Glorielle to the family.  The girls adore her and want to hold her all the time.  Brighton is surprisingly gentle and very concerned when she cries.  He is always wanting to get a nice close up view when I am holding her.  Sawyer is a tad indifferent most of the time but will on occasion observe her and comment on the cute things she does.

With every baby, I have the same challenges as I adjust.  First, it is hard to switch my concentration on recovery and caring for a newborn and turn over the care of the other children and the house to Phil.  I don't like giving up one job for another.  I find myself easily overwhelmed by noise and chaos so I do retreat to my room quite a bit.  I miss the children, I miss Phil, I miss caring for my home. I do have a lot of trepidation as I wonder how I am possibly going to do all this on my own.  That being said, I am truly blessed and honored to be the wife of the most wonderful man and the mother to 5 children!