May the Bryson Force Be With You

Our kids chose a Star Wars theme for Halloween this year. Claire as Rey, Everett as Luke Skywalker, Seth wanted to be Chewbacca, Caleb made a perfect Yoda and Hailey made a cute R2D2. And then Scott and I had to go as princess Leia and Han Solo. :) Having a baby only 2 weeks before Halloween made costume planning a little harder for me this year. I usually enjoy making and putting costumes together but this year we mostly borrowed and bought costumes. I did make Hailey's onesie before she was born and cut up a shirt for Scott's vest, and I sewed a robe together for Everett but most everything else was already made.

Our ward put together a Fall Festival this year with games and trunk or treating. We walked around playing games, eating treats and then went trick or treating around to the classrooms cuz it was so cold outside.

The next morning we all went to the school to watch Claire and Everett show off their costumes at their costume parade.  

We took our usual photos that afternoon. It was so so cold so we had to be quick and kids played inside while I took individual photos of each of them. Hailey wasn't loving the photo op but she was a cute little R2. :P

Because we had gotten candy from most of our neighbors the night before at the ward festival and because it was so cold we decided to try something new this year. We went trick or treating at the mall. It was a new experience for us. It was really crowded (probably because of the weather) and it was slow walking through and many of the stores had run out of candy but we made it around and kids had fun. Caleb was completely worn out by the end. We got pizza on the way home and watched a Halloween movie and relaxed pretty early in the evening compared to past years. It was nice. :)

And our 2019 Halloween Poster :P

Pumpkin Painting

We like painting our pumpkins instead of carving them. This year was fun too. Caleb loved it and didn't want to stop and I love Seth's little tongue sticking out as he concentrates on what he's doing. :P

Newborn Hailey

It's so weird having a baby girl after having three baby boys. It's fun, but just different. Girly colors for her clothes and blankets, using Claire's old clothes, changing diapers and I keep catching myself wanting to say "buddy" or "little guy" when talking to her. :p

We've had so much help from friends and family and ward members. They've brought us meals and kept us fed for over two weeks. :) Hailey is a great eater, she picked up on the whole nursing thing pretty fast. She hates the pacifier already, she knows it's not giving her what she wants.

The kids are mostly doing really well. Caleb is definitely struggling a little more but seems to be excited. He smiles and laughs at her noises and says she's cute. Seth is a little more involved and wanting to help and be close, a little too close sometimes. :) And Claire and Everett have been busy with school and their own things so they don't seem affected by the change. Scott has been doing everything and I'm so grateful for him and all he does. The first two weeks with a new baby can be hard, but he's made it so much easier. I've been able to focus on her and recovering.

I tried to take newborn photos a couple different times, and I got a few good ones but I hate that I forget everything I've learned when doing my own baby. ;)

Hailey Rose

Introducing...

Hailey Rose Bryson

born October 12, 2019

1:26am

8 lbs 3 oz

18 inches

So our little Hailey came as a little surprise to us. A very pleasant little caboose to our family. My pregnancy with her was similar to my previous pregnancies. I knew I was pregnant before I took a test. Throughout the first trimester I think I felt more nauseas than tired this time, but other than that I dealt with the same aches and pains and varicose veins. :P She had an anterior placenta which was a little different and I believe was the reason I couldn't feel as many kicks from her. During her ultrasounds she was always very wiggly though. I also didn't feel as many Braxton Hicks as my last two. I started feeling a few here and there the last couple weeks but not a lot. I do not love being pregnant but I do love what it brings. :)

Hailey was due on the 6th. Scott had cleared that weekend from football games and my parents were going to be home for a couple weeks in-between trips out of state starting that weekend so we really wanted her to come on time. Also, since my C-section my doctors never want me to be overdue. So we were all hoping for another general conference baby. She had her own plans though. After stripping my membranes on Monday, eating pineapple, spicy foods, lots and lots of walking and everything we could think of, she still wasn't coming. We had scheduled and canceled an induction for Tuesday wanting to give her a little more time and then they forgot to reschedule the induction for Thursday, so by Friday we were just ready to go to the hospital and have our baby. I woke up around 5am on Friday to get ready for the phone call from the hospital telling us to come in, but when we hadn't heard anything yet I called the hospital around 7am. They said they were full and to call back at 9am. I called back at 9 and they said they were still full and might not be able to get us in that day. I was in tears, I was frustrated and so uncomfortable and didn't want to go another night being pregnant. Scott had taken the day off so we decided to go walk the mall and get our minds off of the disappointing news. It was good and we enjoyed spending some time with Seth and Caleb before the baby came. That afternoon, Scott rented a movie and got cookies for our usual Friday night movie night and then the hospital called. They told us to come in within the next hour or we might not get a bed. It was around 4, so my mom came downstairs to watch the kids and we were off to the hospital, finally! :)

The hospital really must have been busy that day. Scott and I went straight to the labor and delivery floor and waited at the front desk for at least 5 minutes or so before anyone came by. Luckily I wasn't in active labor or anything. When they finally got us all checked in and settled into a room, I changed into a gown and the nurse checked me and said I was 3 maybe 4cm dilated already. Dr. Jacobs checked me and said I was definitely at a 4. They put an epidural in place (without any drip) just in case of an emergency and then finally around 7:20pm Dr. Bennett broke my water. She also told me as she did it that I was dilated to a 5, so something may have jumpstarted my labor already. Having my water break without being numb was a new experience for me. It didn't hurt at all, but I felt the loss of weight from the water and it was weird every time I moved or shifted more water flowed out. It was like I was peeing but didn't have any control over it. They put a huge pad on me and I was able to walk around still but I leaked a little. So weird. :P

I wanted to see how long I could go without an epidural, and if it went quick enough possibly not have to use the drip at all. I felt like I was doing well and I was handling the contractions pretty well. Scott was being really supportive and I think trying to make up for falling asleep last time during the decision making. I sat on a big ball and just tried my best to relax and breathe through them, but after two hours I was still only at a 6 and they said my contractions weren't normal. I had a weird pattern and they were getting too spaced out so they wanted to give me a little pitocin. At that point I felt a little defeated. I wanted the epidural and I just wanted my baby to come already so I gave in. I laid back in the bed with the epidural going around 10pm and was able to relax and eat some jello. :) I was really hungry. I hadn't eaten since lunch at the mall. Scott and I tried watching a movie and just talked and relaxed for the next three hours. My contractions became more regular and I progressed pretty quickly once they did. And finally around 1am on Saturday the 12th I was ready to push.

They had told me she was a bigger baby than my last two since she was at least 8 pounds. Everett had been my biggest before and was over 8 pounds and I had had to push for 3 hours so I was expecting it to maybe be a little harder like his, but I had two practice pushes with the nurse and Scott helping me and then they called in Dr. Bennett. I pushed through two contractions with her and Hailey seriously just slipped right into our world at 1:26am. :) They handed her to me and the doctor handed Scott the scissors and he cut the umbilical cord despite his request not to do that part. :p

This time was our shortest hospital stay. Recovery was quick. Initially, I had awful shakes that I couldn't stop. I had to hand Hailey to Scott cuz I felt like I was shaking her too much. She did really well though from the beginning. She was breathing fine and she latched on really quickly. The after labor pain was bad. They kept the pitocin going all night which kept me up all night with the contractions. After getting a few hours of sleep, we spent Saturday getting checkups and visiting with family. Scott left and brought all the kids to see her along with grandma and grandpa. Caleb "held" her for a couple seconds before "throwing her" aside to go explore the room. :p Then later Ken and Kyle's families stopped by to see her. Scott went home that night and came back Sunday morning to get us. She had passed all tests and we were ready to go home Sunday morning. And now to get used to being a family of seven! :)

Caleb's Facts

1. Caleb is 2 years old!

2. He is 34 and a half inches tall and in the 48th percentile.

3. He weighs 27.4 pounds and is in the 58th percentile.

4. A few months before Caleb turned two we transitioned him to the crib mattress on the floor by our bed. First I had to lay down with him until he fell asleep and then I sat on the end of the bed until he fell asleep. A couple weeks before he turned two we moved the mattress back into the crib/toddler bed and I sat with them all until he fell asleep. He did great with the transition, although it took quite a few steps to get used to. He still comes into our room at night and climbs into bed with us occasionally which I don't mind too much. :)

5. Caleb is talking quite a bit saying more and more words. One of his go to words he uses when he doesn't get what he wants right now is "whhhyyyy???!!!" Very dramatic like so we kinda think it's funny to hear out of someone so small. :)

6. He loves monster trucks! He likes cars in general and likes to line them up in rows all the time in random places. He loves watching these educational shows with big monster trucks in it. He loves when we play this one car game on the tv and use a monster truck. And he had a favorite toy monster truck that he liked to play with all the time before it broke.

7. He is my paci boy. He still loved his paci so much, I really dreaded taking it away, but then we lost it one night and couldn't find it anyway so we figured it was a good time to take it away anyway. He actually did really good without it. I don't think he really noticed that first night. He fussed a little before quiet time the next day, but he seemed okay. Without his paci, and next to the new baby he seems so much bigger! He's not a baby anymore. :(

8. Caleb throws quite the fit when he doesn't get what he wants and like many toddlers do, throws himself to the ground and cries. Well during one of these fits, Caleb hit his face down into the ground, just on the kitchen floor and came back up without part of his tooth. His front tooth got chipped! It was so random. We took him to the dentist and they put some kind of sealant/medication on it. They made sure it wasn't too deep and shouldn't bother him and told us we could get it fixed or just leave it. We decided to leave it. He'll just be our little "chip" until he looses his baby teeth. :p

9. He has a special relationship with all his siblings. Claire helps do things for him and is much more caring in her play with him. Everett and him are always playing some sort of hide and seek or chasing  each other around the house. Everett usually running away and always ending up in a fit of giggles. :) Seth and Caleb play a little more roughly. Seth likes to get really close to others (he's very cuddly) and sometimes it starts out with just Caleb pushing him out of his bubble but then they end up wrestling each other and (mostly) laughing. :)

10. Some of Caleb's favorites (that we know of) are- song: Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam, show/movie: Brain Candy TV (monster truck educational shows) and Umizoomi, food: hot dogs and chicken nuggets, dessert: cookies, activity/toy: playing with cars and lining them up, animal: dogs and cats (from a distance).