March '18- Week 1- Grandma Here, Rome Day, Date, BABY GIRL is here!, Lots of Visitors, Ben Glasses

Thursday I went with Anna to music then went to the airport to pick up my mom.  

Anna was so excited to have Grandma here she showed her all her Barbies before it was time for preschool. 

All the kids were pretty excited to have her here.  They never give her much personal space.  :)

 We had our normal afternoon: driving carpool, Ben to music, McKenna to play practice.  There was a random power outage that evening so we had a later than normal dinner.  

Friday I woke up timing contractions every 20 mins or so, but when I got up to get the kids ready for school, they stopped.  McKenna had Rome Day at school and wore this lovely toga and I successfully braided her hair in a crown! :) 

I went and got groceries and Anna played at Lizzie's.  

Dan took me on a date that afternoon.  We saw Jumanji in luxury seats then had dinner at Zupa's!  

That night we cleaned up, Dan gave me a priesthood blessing and we packed for the hospital!! 

We also hung out and I did last minute blogging.  My sister got this lovely naked belly picture.  So shiny, lopsided and BIG! 

Saturday, March 3rd, I was awake from 3-4:30am timing contractions again, this time about every 10-12mins.  I got up to use the potty and they stopped.  At 6:15am we called the hospital and they said to come in at 8am. 

We took one last picture as a family of 6! 

 And one last pregnancy picture!  

I posted this funny Snap Chat-filtered video.  

Baby #5 Delivery Timeline:

8:25am: Check in to hospital. (My doctor was already scheduled to work that weekend so it worked out great for him.)

8:50- IV started

9:05- Cervix checked. Still 2cm and 70% effaced

9:35- Epidural started.  This was the least painful administration of an epidural I have ever had.  

9:55- Pitocin started.  

10:30- Doctor Watts broke my water, 3cm.  He went home for a while.  Said he lived only 5 mins away.  

11:05- 4cm

11:15- Upped the epidural dosage because I was feeling quite a bit of pain during contractions.  

12pm- 5/6cm and 90%, Beginning to feel a little nauseous.  In the past this has been a signal that things are getting close.  

12:40- 9cm! Paged Doctor Watts.  The very next contraction I felt LOTS of pressure and the great urge to push, but the nurses told me not to.  Thankfully, I only had to wait 5-6 more strong urges to push till the doctor got back.  

1:04pm- After about 5-6 pushes, baby was born!  IT'S A GIRL!!  And I was SO surprised!

 6lbs 13oz.  19.5 inches long!

 We enjoyed some snuggles and attempted nursing a bit. 

 My mom and Mickelle brought the kids around 2:30pm.  

Here's everyone's final guess if it was a boy or a girl.  

The reveal and reactions!  Everyone was quite surprised! 

I was most nervous about Ben's reaction.  I was worried he'd complain and say he wished the baby was a boy.  But he never complained even once.  Now he just tells everyone it's ok to have all sisters, because then he gets Dan all to himself. ;) 

Family of 7! 

Everyone got a turn to hold her.  In fact, once Bethany came in the room, and almost immediately climbed up on a chair and said, "Me hold baby now?" 

They cleaned me up and then wheeled me to our recovery room.  Dan followed nurse and baby to the nursery and got to give her her first bath.  

I love McKenna and Ben watching through the nursery window.  I also love her fluffy hair all cleaned up! That HAIR!! A famous trademark of all my babies.  

Some pictures with some of the visitors.  Grandma Kelly, Aunt Mickelle, and Grandma and Grandpa Webster.  

We hung out and ate dinner, which included a shake from Iceberg!  We then Skyped with my dad that night, Uncle Adam visited, and I snuggled with Dan (something I love being able to do more comfortably once that baby is OUT of me).  My mom also sent a picture of 3/4 kids asleep when they got home from the hospital.  :)

That night we sent baby girl to the nursery and had the nurses bring her to me whenever she needed to eat.  I had one of the nurses tell me, "I'm the most expensive babysitter you'll ever have and I get paid whether to use me or not, so you might as well use me."  :)  Sounds good to me! 

That night we had a pretty big snow storm roll in.  When the nurse brought the baby in to nurse at 5am, Dan woke up and joined me in bed for some snuggles.  We watched the news and weather and Dan was texting lots of people about road conditions and trying to assess if church should be cancelled or not (there were also two baby blessings that needed to be moved/changed).  In the end, he decided church should be cancelled since the snow plows were not clearing our neighborhood roads at all.  

We ate breakfast, napped, went for a walk, ate part of my lunch, then we attended an LDS fast and testimony Sacrament meeting right there in the hospital.  Such a unique experience!  We finished lunch then Grandma and Grandpa and Adam came for a visit.  Grandma Sibber took these beautiful pictures. 

Soon after that, my mom, Mickelle, and the kids came again.  We also Skyped my sister Emily in Alabama.  

Dan left the hospital around 5pm so he could attend a Court of Honor for our neighbor and good friend, Quinn Koldewyn.  He also helped get our kids ready for school the next day.  I watched the Oscar's and ate dinner and snuggled.  

Baby passed her hearing test and heart test.  Dan was back with me in the hospital by 8pm and we worked on figuring out a name for this little one.  We decided on... 

ALICE KATHERINE WEBSTER

*Fun fact: each of our 4(!) girls have a middle name from each side of the family.  

McKenna Jean (Thompson side) 

Anna Gayle (Condie side)

Bethany Sylvia (Nelson side)

Alice Katherine (Webster side)

Monday morning we were able to sleep in till 8am!  After breakfast I showered and we packed up ready to head home!  It's always fun playing dress-up for the first time with a new baby! Of course the clothes were huge on her.  

We were home by 11:20ish and Anna and Bethany were so cute with baby Alice! (It took Bethany a little while to not call her "Baby Bobo"which was the nick name while I was pregnant and we didn't know the gender.  

We had lunch and Anna went to preschool then we all napped for a bit.  Grandma Sibber came by with cookies and then the kids all got home from school.  That evening Marilee Novak and Sue Koldewyn brought dinner.  Then we had a very special visitor....Dan's Grandfather came by bearing a gift and taking cute pictures with his #117 great-grandchild!!  We are so grateful he takes the time out of his incredibly busy schedule to visit with us and give us his love! 

Tuesday after the kids got off to school, my brother came by to meet his new niece for the first time.  

After lunch, our friend Amanda Koldewyn came by for some baby snuggles.  She came bearing gifts for the kids, and candy and some medical cream for me.  Such a good friend!  After the kids got home from school, Dan and I left for an appointment for Alice to check her bilirubin levels.  She was pretty yellow when we left the hospital.  Janet Thomas brought dinner that night and it was a great feast!  She also brought some little toys for the kids.  (People are so nice!)

Wednesday the doctor wanted us back to check her bilirubin again and we found out the numbers were coming down, which is great news and she wouldn't need to be on lights for being jaundiced. 

Dan's Aunt Rosalie came by with a beautiful outfit and warm zucchini bread.  After lunch, Dan went with Anna to her "Be There" activity at preschool.  

McKenna stayed after school for rehearsal.  Ben came home, then Dan took him for his eye exam we found out we needed at his 7 year old check up.  Turns out his right eye is a -2 and his left eye is fine.  So, they ordered him some glasses!  Then they went to a Lego store for a bit before picking up McKenna.

 That night my visiting teachers (Brigette and Autumn) brought over hawaiian haystacks and homemade cheesecake.  My mom and Mickelle came to hang out in the evening as well.

Those first few days home from the hospital I felt so much LOVE for each of my 5 children!  I felt pretty positive and up beat.  It's amazing how blessed we are!  

Pregnancy #5 Note-Baby Alice Katherine!

Baby #5 Pregnancy Notes

• We found out we were pregnant on June 30th, 2017 Dan's 35th BD.  
• We are so blessed to be able to get pregnant easily and to have never miscarried!
• I felt more nauseous and sick with this pregnancy than any of the others, but still never threw up.  Also such a blessing.  
• I got bigger much faster than other pregnancies.  I felt like I was "showing" at 10 weeks.  
• We went public and announced we were pregnant the day before I went to girls camp July 31st, at 9.5 weeks.  
• I think I felt baby move around 13 or 14 weeks. 
• On our get-away to St. George, at 18 weeks, we looked over many, many girl names because we pretty much already decided on Paul David for a boy. 
• At our 20 week ultrasound, the tech used the pronoun "he" then quickly corrected herself with "or she," leading me to believe it was a boy.  I tried to push that out of my mind and not read too much into it.  
• I wrapped my belly in foil for Halloween and called it a baked potato.  I did the same when I was pregnant with Ben.  
• I started to get pretty uncomfortable around 6.5 months.  I usually feel uncomfortable later around 8 months pregnant.  
• McKenna took most of my belly progress pictures since I liked to do them on Sundays and Dan wasn't always around. 
• Felt like this was the wiggliest baby out of all my babies!
• I felt more laid back about "getting ready" for baby.  I didn't really feel as big of an urge as in the past to deep clean my entire house.  
• I felt almost bored waiting for baby to get here!  
• Felt hot most of the last month of my pregnancy, which also led me to believe it was a boy. 
• McKenna, Ben, and Anna, most of the time said the baby was a boy.  
• Bethany held strong and said the baby was a girl the whole time.  I came to find out later that Dan had told her after the ultrasound thinking she couldn't talk well enough to spill the beans.  
• Doctor stripped my membranes at 39.5 weeks.  
• Induction set for March 3, one day past my due date.  

2 months

 3 months

 4 months

 5 months

 6 months

 7 months

 8 months

 9 months

Feb. '18- Week 4-Bishops Wives Lunch, Sledding, Abby's Blessing, Ben 7 Year Check-up

Thursday after Anna had music, we went to Dan's work and had a family picnic lunch.  Anna had "dress like a pirate" day at preschool.  I read with McKenna and played Cover Your Assets with Ben.  Brooklyn Ulmer babysat that night while Dan and I went to dinner and Hunchback of Notre Dame at Hale Theater with Dan's parents. 

Friday I woke up feeling sick around 5:30 and Dan was nice enough to get up with me and watch some TV together.  I had a doctor's appointment that morning and was very late because I had to drive in a snow storm.  I never got above 40mph the whole way to St. Mark's.  I was still only 2cm and 70% effaced.  I wanted the Dr. Watt's to strip my membranes but he advised against it since he was going out of town for the weekend.  Dan was told again to work from home for the day due to the snow.  

I was lucky to be able to attend a Bishops wives luncheon that afternoon with the wives of the stake presidency.  The food, company, and conversations were so yummy and uplifting.  Dan was a bit of a shuttle driver since the snow storm was still going strong.  He loves his 4-wheel drive.  

We had Jordan and Lizzie over to play.  We went out to eat as a family that night when the snow finally stopped.  

Saturday the Alexanders were so nice to take the older three kids sledding at Lewis park! 

The kids then had lunch and played at the Alexander's while Charley came to sit with Bethany while she napped and I went to Bonnie Chatelain's funeral, which Dan conducted and spoke at, with Rachael.  That night we had pizza and watched Coco.  

Sunday we went to our own Sacrament meeting then we attended the baby blessing for Sam and Lara's baby Abby.  The kids loved being able to sit by Dan. :)  Dan's mom also got this historic picture.  Her Bishop is her son, Stake President is her husband, and the Prophet is her father!  :)  

We celebrated the Webster February BDs that evening at dinner.  That night we watched the last of the Winter Olympics.  

Monday Anna had gymnastics, I swept the garage, did laundry, and went through some baby clothes.  While Anna was at preschool, I took Ben for his 7 year check-up.  

Height: 46.8 in (25%) 2 in increase in a year

Weight: 47 lbs (25%) 5 lb increase in a year

We found out  Ben is healthy and growing but needed to get his eyes checked.  He was unable to read the eye chart, even the 5th line up from the bottom.  That night was the Nelson Family BD party at Mom and Dad's house.  

That night I nested big time and cleaned the kitchen sink, the stove, the master bathroom, and the car seat.  

Tuesday I did more cleaning then took the girls to Brynn's while I had my final doctor's appointment where he did strip my membranes.  

McKenna had a play date with Camille that afternoon.  McKenna worked on play practice and a book report that night while Dan had church meetings.  

Wednesday the girls played at Rachael's house while I relaxed a bit and worked on the blog.  We had a normal afternoon of homework and Ben and McKenna had art class.  I unfortunately felt grumpy and short with the kids all day.  Always grateful for "tomorrows" where I can do better.

Feb. '18- Week 3- Ben's Mexican Fiesta, Snow Day, No School All Week, Book Club,

Thursday I went with Anna to music, then I worked on clearing pictures off my phone and dropbox to get ready for the massive amounts of pictures we would take when our new baby arrived.  We had our usual busy evening with McKenna going to activity days and Ben to music.  Dan had late church meetings that night.  

Friday Dan took off of work to be with Anna and Bethany while I volunteered in Ben's class for their Mexican Fiesta Day.  They had a "photo booth," made maracas, played pin the tail on the donkey, spent their paper pesos at a "store," and had a pull string pinata.  

They also had tacos for lunch.  YUM!  I loved it being able to play with Ben a little at recess too.  :)

After school I stayed to help sell Beauty and the Beast tickets.  That night we had pizza, watched the Olympics, then went to Ugurt for a treat! 

Saturday was a "crack the whip" kind of morning.  We used it to clean up the family room, patio room, kitchen counters, basement, move the crib level up in the baby's room, do some laundry, and move car seats around.  

After lunch I went and got a haircut and picked up groceries.  To reward the kids for their morning's hard work, we took them to play at a park.  Unfortunately the first park we chose was way too windy and cold (Tunnel Springs Park).  So we went to Lewis Park instead (lower elevation).  We did showers and baths and after dinner we played games! 

Sunday was a nice chill day with just our family.  Our milk had my due date on it!  I took a selfie with Bethany where my belly looked really large! Ben built a nice block tower, and before bed the kids had a dance party to Greatest Showman songs.  We also watched Mulan 2, finished our scrabble game from the day before, and a snow storm rolled in later that afternoon.  

Monday was President's Day and the kids didn't have school and the snow was so bad, Dan's boss told everyone to work from home if they could.  The kids had fun playing in the snow and sledding in our yard!   

We had grilled cheese and hot chocolate when they came in. The kids still did some homework in the afternoon before we watched the Emoji movie as a family.  

 We received the sad news a lady in our ward, Bonnie Chatelain, passed away that afternoon.  Dan went and spent some time with their family.  After dinner McKenna and Ben planned a Family Home Evening about forgiveness which included a story from the Friend and a puppet show.  

 The kids didn't have school the rest of the week.  Apparently the parents at our school voted whether to have a longer Christmas break or a shorter Christmas break with a full week off in February.  Normally, we most likely would have used this "off season" break to go and do something fun!  But being 38 weeks pregnant, we were not about to go anywhere.  

Tuesday, Camille came over for a playdate and we played Cover Your Assets.  That evening was my turn to host our book club so I prepped the food all afternoon and McKenna helped make some cute signs/labels.  Even though the big kids didn't have school, Anna still had preschool and Ben had gymnastics that day.  Everyone came to book club except Shelly and we had a good discussion about "Siblings Without Rivalry."   I felt like I got a few new strategies to help me handle my kids arguments and fights.

Wednesday I didn't sleep well in the early morning due to a frenzied mind wondering if I over shared at book club or if we even had a good discussion.  Bethany had speech then I took the kids to the library and lunch at Keva Juice and Great Harvest.  That afternoon was spent reading with McKenna and Ben and helping McKenna with play practice.  I helped take dinner to the Pugsleys then went to a double baby shower for two Maxfield cousins.  Dan had the priests over for their activity that night.  

Feb. '18- Week 2- Olympics, Spelling Bee, U Bball, Braces Off, Valentine's Day, Jazz Game

Thursday after taking Anna to music I cleaned out and vacuumed the van.  McKenna and Ben had early out due to Parent/Teacher conferences.  McKenna also had rehearsal and Ben had music.  We had a chill evening where Ben worked on his Valentine's and we watched the Olympics.

Friday Bethany woke up with some pretty awesome bed head. We went to ladies lunch.  Ben and Anna went to play at the Alexander's.  That night we watched the Olympics opening ceremony and Skyped with my mom in FL.  Bethany had some fun with stickers while we watched.

Saturday morning Dan's stomach wasn't feeling too well so he stayed home with the kids while I went to the temple, then I went to get groceries.  Dan was feeling better in the afternoon so he went to help some neighbors install an attic air vent.  We gave the boys haircuts and then Mickelle came over to babysit while Dan and I went on a double date with the Alexander's to dinner and a Utah b-ball game.

Sunday was YW New Beginnings where we sang Peace in Christ.  We had Adam and Mickelle over for dinner that evening and watched more Olympics.

Monday my stomach didn't feel so good and I was pretty slow moving.  Dan went with McKenna and Ben to school to watch them participate in their school Spelling Bee.  They both did great!
McKenna spelled "bombastic" correctly in round one, but then got out in round two and misspelled the word "multiplicity."  Pretty sure she was competing against 5th and maybe even 6th graders too.

Ben's words started out with three letter words.  He made it to the 6th round but got out on the word "pesky."

After Anna's gymnastics she and Bethany played under the card table in a fort.  The kids worked on their Valentines, then after dinner the kids had a Nerf Gun fight, we had FHE, then Mickelle babysat while Dan and I went and visited Kaitlyn Pack (and husband, Riley, and Mama) to see Kaitlyn's new baby girl!

Tuesday morning McKenna got her braces off!!

She was brave even though it was painful and had nasty tastes.  And now she looks like a teenager!

Later, I went for another doctor's appointment and was at 2cm and 70%.  We also had our furnace serviced because it wasn't heating consistently.  That evening Dan had a free ticket to see the new Star Wars again in theaters, so he took Ben on a date.

Wednesday was Valentine's Day.  I watched Will and Desi Alexander for a bit in the morning.  The kids enjoyed going through all their Valentine's when they got home from school.  While I was making our fancy dinner, Dan and took a little snooze.  Anna needed it because she was coming down with a cold.

 After dinner, Dan took McKenna on a date to the Jazz game.  McKenna won two tickets (in the nose-bleed section) by writing an essay about what makes her a good student.

Feb. '18- Week 1- Bethany Sick, Stake Conference, Webster Fam. January BDs, McKenna Sick, Be There

Thursday I went with Anna to music.  After lunch Anna went to play at Paisley's house.  Bethany was still adjusting to her big girl bed.  She was taking good naps during the day still, but that meant at night she was having a bit of a difficult time falling asleep quickly.  Thankfully, she wouldn't cry or scream.  She would just play quietly.  Also grateful that she did not disturb McKenna sleeping on the top bunk.  It was fun to watch her in the monitor and hear her thump against the door every once in a while.  (Notice the blanket on her head in the picture on the right.)

We've also found her on the floor, sleeping in front of the door several times.  This is pretty much just like all our other children have transitioned.  

Friday was Groundhog Day.  I worked on our grocery order in the morning then took Anna and Bethany to Swa's house while I volunteered in McKenna's art class.  Bethany LOVED playing with baby Hazel!  We also found out that we had a broken spring on our garage door.   That's expensive.  Bummer!   After school, Dan went with the youth in the ward to do baptisms at the temple.  I made our traditional "dirt cups" for dessert that night.  After dinner, McKenna went to a movie night at the Roth's.  Unfortunately, also after dinner, Bethany started throwing up. :( It was a rough night for Bethany and mom and dad.  

Saturday Dan helped with a youth DI drive.  We went through kids' school papers and cleaned off counters.  The weather was nice enough after lunch that Dan took the kids biking at the church parking lot while I went and got groceries.  

This was Bethany early Saturday morning.  She had dry heaved so much (nothing left in her little body to throw up) that she popped a blood vessel in her eye.  Still managed some half smiles.  

I went to the adult session of stake conference that evening while Dan stayed home with recovering Bethany and the other kids.  The Cowley's spoke about agency and I loved the reminder that it's not my job to control my kids, but to love and teach them.  There were two "youth" speakers that spoke about learning how to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and the youth theme for 2018 of "Learn of Me."  Charlie Hall then gave a wonderful talk sharing many personal experiences and how they shaped his life.  Dan's dad spoke last about prophets and showed little videos of what some of the prophets were most well known for.  He then shared some personal experiences about our new prophet, Grandfather!  

Sunday morning Dan went to the Priesthood leadership session of Stake Conference.  

Here's another belly comparison shot.  6, 7, and 8 months pregnant!  All look about the same to me.  

After Stake Conference, we celebrated January BDs at Webster family dinner (and watched some of the Super Bowl).  Ben loved his heely things from the Stewarts and of course was so excited about a new LEGO set!  

 Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for spoiling him!  Another cute picture from the night was the "Fashion Cookies" designing their very own logo.  So cute! 

Bethany singing "Where is My Hairbrush?" from Veggie Tales.  

Monday Anna had gymnastics and we ran an errand to get some dance clothes for McKenna's play.  Bethany seemed to finally get her appetite back that evening.  Unfortunately in the middle of the night, it was McKenna's turn to start throwing up!  Super unfortunately, her first time did NOT make it in the toilet.  Another rough night of sleep for us three.  

Tuesday McKenna stayed home from school.  At gymnastics, Ben found out that he advanced to a yellow level in Ninja zone!  After dinner, McKenna spiked a fever, but thankfully, meds helped bring it down.  

A funny thing Bethany said that day... She kept telling me, "Mom, bye.  Me charge."  Meaning, she wanted me to leave so she could be in charge.  Funny girl! 

Wednesday McKenna stayed home again from school.  Dan stayed home in the morning so I could go to a doctor's appointment.  I had my first cervical check: only dilated to a 1cm and 70% effaced.  I went with Anna to a preschool "Be There" activity.  They talked about eating healthy.  

Then we all went to McKenna and Ben's parent/teacher conferences.  They both had great reviews from their teachers!  Dan went hiking to Donut Falls with the priests and McKenna and Ben went to their neighborhood art class.  

Bethany showing me some tricks! :)