Brenlee is now 7 months old, so in true blog fashion, here’s our “we had a baby and here’s how it all went down” post for our sweet girl (buckle up, it’s a long one)! I’ve made one for Hudson (here) and Holden (here) and it’s been such a sweet reminder of their births. I love looking back and being reminded of all the small details, so I knew I needed to do one for Brenlee!

Brenlee was a surprise, but also not. When we decided we wanted to add another little one to our family, we never imagined it would happen so quickly. It took over a year to get pregnant with each of the boys, so naturally, we assumed it would be the same this time around. Instead, it happened in two months. God had the perfect timing though (when does He not) and we found out (shortly after finding out we were pregnant), that the husband got selected for EWS (Expeditionary Warfare School) for a year in Quantico. Quantico is definitely not where I wanted to end up, but I couldn’t have been more thrilled for a work schedule that doesn’t include night flights, trips, or deployments. It’s a much slower pace than the fleet and perfect for adding another little one.

At our first ultrasound, I ended up getting the same doctor that walked me through Holden’s pregnancy (though wasn’t able to deliver him). I was suppose to have a different doctor for that ultrasound, but things always work out as they should and we ended up with the same doctor. As soon as he saw me, he immediately started asking questions related to problems from my pregnancy with Holden. It was so nice to have someone who knew what issues to be on the look out for and I was so blessed to have been able to have him as my doctor up until the last month of pregnancy (in true military fashion, he was PCSing the month she was due).

At that first ultrasound, they gave me a due date of July 25th, the same day the husband was set to check in to EWS. Talk about stressful! We were suppose to move in June, but base housing wasn’t ready for us, so we ended up staying in North Carolina to have our sweet girl, and moved with her 2 weeks after she was born. I was happy that I was able to give birth to all three of our children at the same hospital, and bring them all home to the same house, even if moving with a 5 year old, a 1 year old, and a 2 week old wasn’t for the faint of heart.

Like with Holden, I had gestational diabetes, but this time around, I had to start monitoring super early. We also found out during our anatomy scan that Brenlee had hydronephrosis (extra fluid in a kidney), so I got to have a few extra ultrasounds to see her (she’s good to go now). This time around, we didn’t wait until the anatomy scan to find out the gender. While the husband was in Colorado for a training, I went and found out (we videoed so he could also see) so my mom and I could do some shopping for the baby when we were in FL together for a family Disney trip. When the ultrasound tech told me it was a girl, I had to have her show me and repeat it several times! I couldn’t believe we were having a girl- I had assumed we were going to have a little boy gang running around. Though we would have been thrilled with that, we were so excited to complete our family with a little girl (she was going to be our last, boy or girl).

Since I had gestational diabetes again and had previously had issues with high blood pressure during pregnancy, an induction date was planned. Thankfully we were able to schedule it 2 weeks before our move so we could “adjust and heal” as best as we could before moving. The morning of our induction, we said goodbye to the boys and headed to the hospital. We were running late and I was teasing the husband about it. As soon as we got to the hospital and started to head inside, The National Anthem started playing so we were delayed a bit longer. I’m pretty sure I had tears streaming down my face from how funny it was after I had given him a hard time about us being late.

Once we got checked in and settled in our room, the nurse came in and did an exam to see where I was at and start the Pitocin (I was already dilated). From there they gave me two options: option 1 was to break my water immediately to get things rolling or option 2 which was to let the Pitocin and contractions kick in a bit before breaking my water, aka the “ease into the pain” method. We went with option 2. Unfortunately, with this labor, I had the traditional labor pains AND back labor. It was awful. About an hour after they broke my water (and after I’d been on Pitocin for a while), they checked me and I was only at a 6. I decided I needed an epidural. They told me the anesthesiologist would be with me when she could, but she was busy with an emergency. An hour later, she came in and got me set up to get an epidural. I told the nurse I was feeling a lot of pressure, so before the epidural, she decided to check me. Thank goodness she did because Brenlee was ready! Instead of getting the epidural, I immediately turned around to give birth. Two pushes and our little girl was born! It was the longest labor of the three, though it only lasted around 8 hours start to finish.

After she was born (before I was moved to our recovery room), the husband went home to see the boys for a bit and take Hudson a polaroid picture of his new baby sister. When he was gone, I got checked so we could be transferred to a recovery room. Right before, I started having intense contractions again and the nurse had asked me to scale the pain I was in. When I told her an 8, she told me I wouldn’t be able to be moved if that was the case. I told her it felt like I was having contractions again and she looked at her screen and started apologizing. She had started the Pitocin drip again. I was so thankful there was an explanation, because I thought it was just a third baby thing!

Since I had gestational diabetes, Brenlee had to be checked for the first day to make sure her numbers were okay, which they were! I didn’t have to check mine anymore, so on the way back to the hospital, the husband stopped to get me a milkshake. It was the best thing I had ever tasted!

The day after she was born, her big brother, Hudson, got to come visit and love on her for a bit and the next day we got to take her home to meet her other brother. I am immensely aware of how blessed we are that the boys love their little sister so much and it melted my heart to see them instantly love her. We knew Hudson would, but Holden was a bit of a wildcard. The way they all three love each other makes my heart so happy and I pray they continue to have such a special bond. Getting adjusted to being a family of 5 has been the most chaotic thing we have ever done, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. That chaos means we have three little humans to play with and love on and it’s honestly the greatest!