Monday, August 5, 2019

Grandma & Me: Welcoming Baby Atticus Into The World

I am so excited to share this very special "Grandma & Me" post with you this month.  Normally my "Grandma & Me" posts are a bit more staged with near-perfect settings and photography, but with all the chaos involving a new birth in the family, we did not have time to stage a formal photography shoot.  So instead of the usual "Grandma & Me" post, I decided to share some snapshots of our family welcoming Baby Atticus into the world, along with his birth story from a "Grandma's Perspective" and I will also give you deets on the outfits we wore, why we wore them, and where we got them.  Ha ha! So a lot of info in one post!

First of all, here are the outfits we wore to see Atticus for the very first time.  I wanted Alethea and I to coordinate so I picked out this cute floral top from Target, blue shorts, and a white sun hat for her to wear.   I wore my Stitch Fix T-Shirt dress.  I thought the coral in the dress went beautifully with her coral top and all the white and blue ties are two outfits together nicely.

We were all concerned about how Alethea would feel no longer being an only child, so we wanted to do things to make it a special event for her.  We stopped at the Dollar Tree before we went to the hospital and picked out a balloon.  Alethea loved to watch the salesman blow up the balloon and tie a ribbon on it.  We let her carry it once we were inside the hospital.  She loved it!


Now before I move on with more pictures of the week, first let's start with Atticus' birth story.  Many of you are already aware of Atticus' late arrival in the world.  I would love to say that my daughter always has to give birth so dramatically, but it's probably more like MY reaction to her child bearing that's dramatic.  ðŸ¤£  Just once, I would like a normal delivery, you know, when the baby comes just around the time of the due date, mom goes to the hospital, and a few hours later the baby is born.  But, I realize those are quite rare and I should just be thankful that everyone is healthy and well...and believe me,  I am!  So what was so dramatic for me this time?  Well, I think we were all in the mindset that because Alethea, Ashley's first born, was early that Atticus would be early  as well.  Alethea's birth was dramatic for me because she came surprisingly early.  Mom's water broke, and we literally had to drop everything and drive to Illinois in hours.  I expected the baby to be born by the time we arrived, instead Ashley was still in labor.  I was awake all night worrying that something was wrong, until finally I got the call that she was born.  Now, when Ashley was pregnant with Atticus, we all expected him to come early, since he was the second baby and Alethea came early.  So even though his due date wasn't until July 8th we were expecting him to arrive at the end of June.  My husband kept working ahead at work so he could leave at a moment's notice and not have a nightmare of work to come back too.  He kept putting in "vacation requests" only to have to rescind them when Atticus didn't arrive when expected;  he ended up doing this three times.  I was at a complete lost to what to do with myself.  I never really realized how organized I was till I couldn't be.  Every day, every week, every month I have completely planned out;  what projects I want to work on, where I want to go, what I want to do...etc.  I felt I couldn't plan or do anything because at any moment I would receive a phone call and I would have to drop everything and leave.  I hated living my life in limbo.  Even food was an issue for us.  I couldn't go grocery shopping because I didn't want to leave a bunch of fresh fruits and veggies in the fridge to spoil.  It was hard to even come up with things to make meals with. We ended up not eating very well for a few weeks and neither one of us felt very good.  And of course, there was the "Motherly Worry" syndrome.  Why hasn't the baby arrived yet?  Was something wrong?  What if he gets too big and there are problems with the delivery? On, and on, and on.  I tried to pray about it, but got very little reassurance as I constantly reminded myself of how many babies are born with health issues.

Well, a few days past the due date Ashley called and asked us to come to Illinois early, that way we'd already be there when she went into labor and we could have some fun as a family before Ashley went to the hospital.  At first, I wasn't keen on the idea.  What if she didn't go into labor during my husbands vacation?  Then he'd have to drive back to Wisconsin to go to work, leaving me in Illinois, and he would miss seeing Atticus in the hospital.  Plus, I was worried about leaving Jackson, my cat, alone too long not to mention my garden.  After running the idea past my husband, he put in his final vacation notice, and we left for Illinois the next day.  It ended up being the very best thing we could have done because our being there helped Ashley to relax and we had so much fun as a family for two days.  Time we wouldn't have had if we would have arrived only after Ashley was admitted to a hospital.  Alethea was so happy we were there!  We went for long walks to local parks, swam at the pool, went to a farmer's market and the splash pad.  I was able to feel Baby Atticus move in mom's tummy.  I even felt him having the hiccups!  Grandpa Todd kept rubbing Ashley's belly saying "Come on out little guy, we're all ready to meet you!"

In the meantime, Ashley was having contractions on and off for about a week.  They would start up, but then stop.  On Saturday morning, they started up again, but we just went about having fun and keeping busy to try to get the labour to progress and not stop.  FINALLY, Saturday night, things were looking up.  We started praying that tonight would be the night.  We had dinner, put Alethea to bed, and around 10:00 Ashley felt the contractions were strong enough and close enough to head to the hospital.  We were all so happy and excited and so relieved the time finally arrived.  Hubby went to sleep and went out like a light.  I unfortunately had a little more difficulty, waking up multiple times during the night to check my phone.  Finally, around 5:42 in the morning Atticus was born and I received a phone call not too late after.  Turns out they had texted me multiple times during the night, but something was wrong with my phone and I didn't see them.  Ashley said her 9 hour labour went very well, she did it naturally again, just like she did with Alethea, and took no drugs nor an epidural.  Although the baby was big because he was six days past his due date (9lbs 2 oz) he wasn't difficult to push out...so Grandma worried for nothing!  ha ha!

These are some of the very first photographs of Alethea meeting Atticus for the first time.  She was wonderful with her new baby brother.  She even gave him a kiss.  Mom and dad prepared her well.


Because Alethea looks more like Jason and his side of the family, my husband jokingly predicted when Ashley was pregnant that she would have a boy and he would look just like her!  And he was right!  He looks exactly like our side of the family.  I think he is absolutely beautiful.  He took my breath away the first time I saw him (still does!).  




Here is "Grandpa Todd" my husband, with his two grandchildren.


One of the smart things Ashley and Jason did to prepare Alethea for Atticus' arrival was give her a "Big Sister Gift" at the hospital.  They gave her this cute fox back pack and inside were little items like Play Dough that she could play with at the hospital so she wouldn't get bored.  She was so tickled pink with her gift!  She loved wearing her back pack and wanted to wear it everywhere we went for the rest of the weekend.


This is my son Jordan with his new nephew.  Isn't he handsome?  And ladies, he is still available and looking to settle down!  ha ha! Just a little plug there.  I would love to welcome a new daughter into the family!


On the second day visiting Atticus at the hospital I wore my Stitch Fix maxi dress and I put Alethea in this cute teal romper.



The second day was much more relaxing for all of us so we decided to take some professional shots.  Ashley got all dressed and made up,  I opened up the hospital drapes to let in some beautiful natural light.  I absolutely LOVE the way these photos turned out, even though the hospital background setting isn't the best.  They capture such beautiful, happy moments.










And finally, on day three, we coordinated outfits so we could take some "going home" photos on the hospital grounds.  They have such lovely flower gardens on their property.  I bought Atticus' going home outfit at JCPenney so everyone coordinated their outfits around Atticus.  I loved the color in Atticus' shirt.  Ashley received so many baby boy outfits in blue or grey I pretty much decided anything I buy for him here-on-out is going to be full of color!  All the hospital staff went ga-ga over his going-home outfit, saying it was the cutest ever.  Atticus even wore this outfit to church for the first time, so he is getting good use out of it.


Dad wore neutrals, mom wore a coral top, and we put Alethea in a coral tutu and a blue top with coral embroidery.


My husband and I had to head straight home with a six hour car drive after this photo shoot, so we had to select comfortable clothing.  I went with a white tee and my new Stitch Fix shorts and hubby wore neutrals.



Well, that is how we welcomed Baby Atticus into the world!  I am now the grandmother of two precious grandchildren and I couldn't be happier!  I can't wait to see them again in just a few weeks!  I'm going back to Illinois in the middle of August to spend a week with the kids doing lots of fun stuff, including seeing the staged musical version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"!   I can't wait!

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

36 comments:

  1. It's so nice that you got to be there when the baby arrived! I can imagine all the worry but so happy it all worked out perfectly. The pictures all look wonderful and Alethea looks so cute with her "big sister" backpack!

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    1. Yes, I am so happy we left early, before the baby arrived. And I'm also happy Baby Atticus came before my husband had to go back to work!

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  2. First of all, congrats Amy. Atticus is so precious! I'm glad it all worked out well. It also feels very special that you shared these special family moments with us.

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  3. It is a beautiful family! Congratulations!

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  4. Mine were in reverse.. my first was over a week late and oh so big while my second came almost 2 weeks early and was 2lbs lighter. All three of my births were pretty dramatic though; my first requiring all sorts of assists with delivery including a D&C. My last almost requiring a C-section as the baby's heartrate kept dropping. So glad to hear all went well! Congrats again grandma. :)

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    1. Wow! That is dramatic. I'm surprised you still had three kids after all that.

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  5. He is really adorable! I am glad all went well and you were able to be in town! Each birth is so different! My last one was induced 2 weeks early and was 9 lbs so I have always wondered how big he would have been at term!
    Congratulations!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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    1. Thank you. Yes, every birth is different. Wow! That's a big baby for two weeks early. Good thing you had him early.

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  6. A happy occasion to celebrate! Lovely photos! You are a beautiful, youthful grandmother Amy!

    God bless you all!
    ❤️carmen

    https://fashionableover50.wordpress.com

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  7. aww...so cute....Alethea looks excite and happy with Atticus....
    your son and your husband look so happy too....

    Thank you for sharing photos of happy family....

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  8. Such an adorable family! Lovely snaps you have here dear.

    Jessica | notjessfashion.com

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  9. Thanks so much for linking up at the #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 3!

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  10. Oh man! What a story! Congratulations on your beautiful new grandson!

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  11. What a gorgeous little boy and now I understand why we haven't had you visiting #MLSTL lately. Congrats to everyone and I'm so glad he's here safe and sound and you got to meet him and also be such a great support for your daughter.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I've shared on my SM :)

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    1. Thanks so much! I haven't been writing any lifestyle posts lately that's why I haven't been visiting MLSTL. Hopefully that'll change soon.

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  12. Thanks so much for linking up your post at the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty 42!

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  13. Congrats Amy on your new little blessing, how precious!

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  14. I come from a long line of worriers and try as I might, I can't help but worry. Thank goodness all was well, and Atticus just had different ideas about what day he wanted for his birthday. Love that he is such a chunk! Bravo to Ashley for delivering naturally without drugs. I know Alethea is going to be the best big sister. Will be anxious to hear how she adjusts. Wondered about our Lucia and how baby sister is going to turn her world upside down. Congratulations to all.

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    1. Thanks so much! I hear from mom that Alethea is a very good big sister so far!

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  15. Pure preciousness! Thanks for linking up with us at the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty 42

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  16. What wonderful pictures Amy, Congratulations!! What a precious family. I love all of the dark hair her has!
    thanks for linking!
    jess xx
    www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

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  17. Love the color and pattern on your dress. Congrats on becoming a grandma two baby number 2.

    http://www.amysfashionblog.com/fashion/2019/8/7/6z9ojalmt8pwfg07zd9uw9ns73zcod

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  18. So sweet you got some family time together before your grandson arrived! I was so excited to have my mum come over to look after my eldest when I went into labour, she had her bag packed and ready! But by the time I woke hubby to let him know this was the real deal he was worried there was no time for her to arrive so we called his mum instead. Luckily she got ready quickly and hurried over, there was almost a car baby, he arrived right after we got to the hospital, haha! I was a little sad my mum missed out on the excitement but she was first in the room (after my eldest boy) to meet her second grandchild!

    Thank you so much for joining the #weekdayWearLinkUp :) I just posted this week's linkup, I'd love you to join again! :)

    Hope that you had a great weekend :)

    Away From Blue

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    1. that's so great she at least got to be the first in the room to see the baby. Wow! What a story.

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