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).

Seth Facts

1. Seth is 4 years old!

2. He is 40 inches tall and in the 44th percentile.

3. He's 37 pounds and is in the 67th percentile for weight.

4. The obsession with my hair continues. He still on occasion will grab it and run it across his face, but more often he just "needs to kiss my hair". We'll be driving somewhere and he'll reach for it just saying he needs to kiss it once, or I'll be on the couch and he'll run from his room to go to the bathroom but must stop to give my hair a kiss. :) So funny, but cute.

5. Seth is mostly sleep trained now, and will sleep in his own bed, but on occasion goes through spurts where he'll climb into bed with us to sleep. Not sure if it's bad dreams or he just can't sleep. We're sometimes able to just lie with him for a bit in his bed and he'd fall back to sleep but sometimes he's just quiet and sneaky and just climbs right between us and we won't even wake up or know until we get a head in the back or a foot in the face. :p

6. Seth is super sweet. He's also at an age that he likes to test boundaries. He tries to do things he shouldn't like a normal 3 year old boy but he's also so quick to please others. I can tell he doesn't like making us upset and is always very quick to say sorry.

7. He is a very active boy. He runs around, wrestles with his brothers. Plays with action figures and plays pretend fighting games all the time, by himself or with others. He's getting rough and more destructive with things. He's all boy.

8. Seth has a softer side although it's tricky to see sometimes. He's sensitive and loves cuddling and being close to others.  But he likes to wrestle and is a little rough as well so he has a hard time calming down and being gentle with his hugs. He likes to get right into people's faces and I have to remind him to back up and be careful. He's definitely not as shy as his older siblings and will play and wrestle with visitors if they give him the opportunity. He likes to give everyone hugs and will make his way around a room giving hugs when we're saying goodbye. :)

9. He says the funniest things sometimes. He makes us laugh all the time. Many of the things he says are sayings that we have no idea where he picked them up.

10. Favorites... color- red, song- Popcorn Popping, show/movie- Power Rangers/ Spiderman, food- pizza/ fruit, dessert- chocolate chip cookies, activity- play with toys, animal- lion, drink- kool aid (cuz it's red), wants to be a dad and zoo keeper when he grows up.

Everett Facts

1. Everett's 7 years old

2. He is now 48 inches tall and in the 51st percentile.

3. He weighs 47 pounds and is in the 30th percentile.

4. Everett has started 1st grade this year. He likes school and so far his favorite part is the computer lab. Claire and him love to ride their scooters home together by themselves this year.

5. Everett loves to climb. He's always climbing on things, including furniture and on top of all playground equipment. He's made me nervous quite a few times with his dare devil attitude. He's really good at monkey bars and balancing.

6. He still has a love for games. He likes card games, board games, video games, etc. He's gotten a lot better at not being too competitive as well which makes playing games with him pretty fun. He's smart and good at so many things.

7. Everett is already such a good reader. Thanks to Claire's help, he is already reading things on his own without much help.

8. He loves to make lists and calendars and he stays up late writing point systems and ranking games for his action figures. :) He likes to talk gibberish and make up his own silly language on the spot. He still is always trying to make people laugh by being silly. We love his silliness.  :)

9. Everett talks and plays with Claire so much but he's also playing more and more with Seth. The two of them have so much fun together playing more boyish games, but they also probably fight the most as well. I think it's true though that you fight more with the ones closest to you so hopefully they'll always be good friends. Everett is a good brother to Caleb as well and always tries to include him when he can. :)

10. Favorites... song- Nephi's Courage, show/movie- Storybots and Dino Dan, food- spaghetti, dessert- oreo milkshakes, activity- play games, color- gold, animal- dog, drink- Sprite, game- UNO, toy- Big Dinosaur, holiday- Halloween and Easter, day of the week- Saturday and Monday, Wants to be a PE teacher when he grows up.

Claire Facts

1.  Claire is 9 years old! She is half way to adulthood. Yikes!

2.  Claire is 51 inches tall and in the 29th percentile. 3 inches taller than last year!

3. She is 59 pounds and in the 32nd percentile for weight.

4. Claire is starting 4th grade and her favorite subject is still art. She's gotten closer with some old friends. Her friend Kiery moved farther away and to a different school, but she's been getting along with some other girls that have been in her classes.

5. This last summer, she made really good friends with the girl across the street- Maddi. They would capture bugs and ride scooters and bikes. They would make stores and clubs and play dress up with their stuffed bears. It's been good for her to get out of the house and it's been a new experience for us as parents letting her become more and more independent.

6. Speaking of becoming more independent, she is growing up so fast. She likes to do things as much as she can on her own, including walking to activity days and back and showering on her own. Sometimes she wants to do things that mommy and daddy are not quite ready for and it's caused some hard moments as we both try to compromise and work on ways that we're both comfortable.

7. Claire loves art and crafts. She makes all sorts of things out of cardboard and tape. She loves creating gadgets, purses, games, whatever she can think of. She uses up a roll of tape a week and leaves her room covered in pieces of cardboard and tape, but she's creating things. :)

8. She is the sweetest girl. She's learning and growing so much. She's obedient and sensitive. She sees  a mess or one of us struggling and is quick to help (sometimes without even being asked). She's emotional and occasionally has shown a little anxiety in situations. She is shy around new people, but once she's opened up she can be so friendly and fun to be around. We love her sweetness.

9. Claire and Everett still continue to be the best of friends still. They talk and play together and Everett likes to join her and Maddi when playing outside. I love that she's always willing to include him even with other friends around. She's helpful with Seth and Caleb still but also loves to play and tickle or wrestle with them. She gives Seth piggy back rides and picks up Caleb and mothers him. She's excited for baby girl to come so she can have a little sister to help and play with. :)

10. Favorites... color- aqua, activity- coloring or playing with friends, book- Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, song- Gethsemane, show/movie- Sabrina the teenage witch, food- spaghetti, dessert- ice cream, holiday- Christmas, day of the week- Saturday, animal- horse and black panther, drink- kool aid, game- Harry Potter trivia game, toy- Pink Build a Bear (Lizzy), Actor or Teacher when you grow up.

Caleb's 18 Month Facts

1. Caleb is 18 months old, so... time for a "facts blog". :)

2. Caleb is 24 pounds and in the 47th percentile for weight.

3. He is 32 and a half inches tall and in the 51st percentile.

4. Unlike any of my other boys, Caleb is pretty attached to his paci. We've started to make sure he only has it at night and quiet time, but with another baby coming, I'm dreading taking it away, cuz he loves it. I'm sure it's also been soothing to him while he's teething. He has 4 teeth on top and 4 on bottom, and some molars I'm pretty sure are on their way in.

5. Caleb knows a bunch of words, specifically he says - mommy, daddy, ball, no, baby, doggie, sad, me, snack, bye, hi and cookie.

6. Much to our dismay, Caleb has a habit of hitting. If he's told "no" he will get upset and hit the person who told him no. We put him in time out in his room, which he hates and will give us a nice hug afterwards when we let him out. Hopefully, he's starting to understand. ;)

7. Caleb is definitely my most adventurous and independent child. He does what he wants and goes where he wants, and if he hears us calling him back, he will quicken his steps but won't even bother turning around. He's constantly climbing up things and he'll even push chairs around to get to higher places. He has a natural curiosity for everything and loves to see new things and check them out.

8. Caleb has been sleeping in our bed since he was born. I don't think he's spent even one full night in his crib. Since he wasn't using it and to make it easier to night potty train Everett, we decided to take the crib down. So now he doesn't really have his own bed and sleeps with us cuz he has no where else to go. I tried getting him to settle down with Seth in his bed, but gave up. We might try that again later. I've had to put a big pillow between us though so I can at least prepare him a little for the night time separation from me.

9. He loves animals, especially dogs. He sees a dog from far away and gets super excited and he makes "woof" sounds at it. It's pretty funny. He clearly says "doggie!", it's so cute. He also loves seeing other animals. We recently took our kids to the zoo and he was getting excited and pointing at all the animals he saw. He did get a little nervous next to the big sea lion window though. :P

10. Caleb is a joy to have around. He keeps us on our toes and we have to keep an extra eye on him at  all times, but Claire is getting so good at working with him and helping us out and he handles Seth's play so well even when it gets a little rough. He's a tough little boy but is so sweet at times as well. He can give me some of the cutest, sweetest hugs when he's sad. We love having him in our family. :)

All About Caleb

1. Caleb is one year old already! :)

 2. Caleb is 21 pounds 14 ounces and in the 57th percentile.

3. He is 30 inches tall and in the 51st percentile.

4. Caleb has been walking since about 10 months. I felt like it crept up on us so quickly. We caught a good video of it on Everett's birthday. He had to learn quickly I guess to keep up with his siblings. :) Just a week or two after his birthday he started climbing as well and would climb up onto the table from the chairs. We have to really keep a close eye on him so he doesn't hurt himself. This kid has no fear. :)

5. Caleb has had a few ear infections this year. He wasn't taking the medicine very well so when we discovered the last one we had to go back to the doctors again and again for three separate shots. :( Not fun. He's also been teething a bit as well so it makes for a cranky baby sometimes (especially at nights). One of the reasons for the ear infections could be from me nursing while laying down. We're hoping once weaned, it won't happen as often.

6. He has a funny little habit lately of reaching his hand down my shirt when he's fussy and wants to nurse...He'll reach down my shirt, swiping and grabbing at anything he can until I have to either give in and nurse him or put him down or something so he can't reach. He also will reach down and just swipe or rub my chest when he's cuddling in my arms before falling asleep or in the middle of the night when he's having a hard time sleeping.

7. I have not done well with sleep training my youngest two boys. I've been lying down with him for naps, in my bed, so he goes down without any fuss. It gives me a little time to read scriptures while laying with him for a bit and later he just climbs out of bed and comes out super happy when he wakes up. :) At bedtime it's a little harder. I sit in the boys room until he falls asleep continually giving him a paci, soothing him or patting his back until he falls asleep. Then, as soon as he wakes up  we bring him into our bed to sleep with us.

8. Caleb says a few words or at least blabbers like he knows a few words... He says mamama, dadada,  (I don't think he's trying to say mama or dada yet though). He says ba I think for (bottle, banana, or ball) and he says moh (more).  He's also got his waving hi and goodbye down. :)

9. He's eating pretty well. He likes bananas, grapes, strawberries, yogurt, cheese, chicken, and interestingly... fresh tomatoes. :) It took him a little bit to figure out how to use a sippy cup but he finally figured it out and loves chocolate milk. :)

10. Caleb seems to love his siblings. He looks up to Claire. She helps pick him up and carries him around. When we left the kids for a few hours with my sister, he didn't want to leave Claire's side. He thinks Everett is so funny. Everett's always trying to make him laugh and he usually succeeds. And Seth is so full of love and is always either smothering him with hugs or wanting to involve him in their play which is maybe a little bit rough for a boy his size. Caleb handles it well though. He gets right back up and tries to play just as rough. He's adorable and we all love him so!