Hi friends!
I wanted to pop on and share some very happy news: Matt, Riese, and I welcomed baby boy Wesley (Wes) to the family on June 1! So much for having a May baby! 😉
I wasn’t planning to post an announcement on the blog because I’m on maternity leave as you all know, but I’ve heard from a few of you that aren’t on social media (where I did post an update) wondering if he was here yet and I absolutely did not want to just leave you hanging!
It means a lot to me that you all have been sharing this journey with us and that you care enough to ask if baby is here, safe and healthy. Thank you <3
We are so excited that he’s finally here, and thrilled to complete our family.
Riese has been adjusting pretty well to being a big sister – we have definitely had some tantrums in the mix with the big change, but mostly at 3.5 years old she’s at a good age where she wants to help out with the baby and also hold him. It’s so sweet. <3
Oh and yes, those are approximately 800 bandaids on her leg. She decided to do that by herself one night after bedtime and we didn’t know til morning. Quite the fashion statement – they are covering her entire leg. 😉
Anyway – I’m thinking I’ll share a full birth story in the fall when I’m back in the office, or maybe sooner as a bonus post if I feel inspired, so stay tuned for that.
But for now, I’m happy to share that Wes was born via successful VBAC! I ended up being induced the morning of our backup scheduled C section at 40 weeks + 6 days (June 1).
When we went in that morning I was already 2 cm and fairly effaced (and had been having fairly consistent painful contractions for days, but it never progressed oof) so my doctors agreed to a gentle induction rather than the C section, and thankfully my body responded quickly.
By the time I got an epidural a few hours later, I was at 6 cm and my water had broken on its own, and by an hour or so after that, I was 10 cm and ready to push.
Pushing ended up taking 5 hours (omg), but we did it. Very grateful to our doula who was amazing throughout the whole process!
I was so excited and happy to finally meet our little boy!
I also highly recommend ordering a milkshake to the hospital after birth – it was basically the most delicious thing ever after not being able to eat all day!
Wes was born at 10:26 p.m. on June 1, and weighed in at 7 pounds 1 ounce – so bigger than his big sister was (6 pounds 5 ounces), but not as big as we thought he might be given how uncomfortable I was by the end! 😉
So far he’s a total cuddlebug and has proven to be a lot more chill (knock on wood) than Riese was as a baby.
Having done this once before I feel a lot less overwhelmed than I did last time, and knowing that this is our last child I’m really soaking up the cuddles this time because I know they really do go so fast!
Oh and yes, I’ve already cried multiple times about how quickly he’s growing up (ah, postpartum hormones, my old friend…). 😉
Thank you again for sending good thoughts and love our way in the last weeks of pregnancy! I’ll be sharing some pictures and updates occasionally over on Instagram if you want to follow along there. 🙂
And in the meantime, enjoy the recipes I have lined up for you every Wednesday this summer!
Bye bye for now, my friends! <3
