Monday, October 31, 2016

Evy Kay {1 month}


Height: 20.8 inches (36%)
Weight: 8 lbs. 5 oz. (24%)
Head: 14.4 in. (50%)


On the eve of her 1 month birthday she slept a 6 hour stretch. And she has continued to sleep 5 to 6 hour stretches then another 3 hours after.

 She will take the pacifier while waiting for a feeding, but she doesn't love it. She rarely falls asleep with a pacifier.

 She is a spit-up champ. You can count on at least 2 spit-up experiences after each feeding.

Her eyes have been dark brown since day 1.


Evy suffers from severely dry skin all over. She is constantly flaking especially on her forehead and feet.

 She has great head control. She no longer bobs around. And while it's not her favorite thing to do she will tolerate tummy time.

She nurses 7 to 8 times a day typically going 3 hour stretches during the day, then cluster feeding in the evening and sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night. We are down to 1 feeding a night as of her 1 month birthday.

She still has lots of dark hair, but the new growth is coming in blonde.


She loves warm baths.

She tolerates the swing, but does not love it.

She loves to be talked too.

She gave mommy her 1st real smile on her 1 month birthday.

Friday, October 28, 2016

Eveyln Kay {Weeks 1 - 4}

Beware: picture overload!



You were a busy little lady in your 1st week…

1st bath at home
1st soccer game
1st football game
1st doctor's appointment…you weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz.
1st visit to a classroom…Sawyer took you for show'n'tell
1st visit to the cafeteria
You also were a champ at eating, sleeping and pooping. We couldn't ask for a better baby!
You were also loved on by all of your siblings, Mema, and Papa & Grandma

Evy's 1st soccer game


Her 1st bath at home



1st trip to school





Week 2
This week was a little more chill as we settled back into our routine.
We still had lots of help from Mema, Papa & Tache and Grandma.
1st Bible study
More soccer games
You had a weight check and were back up to your birth weight, exactly 6 lbs. 13 oz.
You are having more awake times, especially from 8-11 am and 8-11 pm 









Week 3
Aunt Audi and Koen came to see you and help with the chaos.
1st movie night
More soccer games (are you seeing a trend here)
1st football barbecue



napping at a football game




Week 4
Papa, Nana, Tache and More-Papa came to meet you
More soccer and football games
1st zoo visit...you weren't really that impressed ;)

The many faces of Evy Kay...



Your 1st 4 weeks were a breeze and you really just jumped right into our family routine (not that you had a choice ;)

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Monday, October 24, 2016

Birth Story {4th Edition}

Evelyn Kay Schenk was born on Wednesday, September 14th 2016.
Before I can get into her actual birth we need to back up a few days. During football season Mondays are LONG days. Kyle leaves at 5 am and doesn't return home until after the kids are in bed. Which means I do the crazy the morning routine, school drop-offs and pick-ups, all the child entertaining, meals, homework and bedtime routines. Tuesday was another busy day with my Bible study in the morning and the kids soccer practice at night. Add in being 9 months pregnant and enduring almost a week of regular contractions and by Tuesday night I was physically and emotionally DONE! On the way home from soccer I broke down. The kids were quite concerned as I cried. They wanted to help Mommy feel better, but I explained Mommy was just tired and didn't feel well. I called Kyle and he came home to save me (and the kids ;) All week I had been vacillating between being soooo done with pregnancy and trying to enjoy every last detail of being pregnant since these were the final days of experiencing the miracle of growing a baby. I was at the end of my rope, but I didn't know if the actual end was in sight.
I went to bed exhausted and praying the Lord would give me the strength to get through the next day...even if that meant enduring for another week (my due date).
The next thing I remember is my water breaking. I checked the clock and it was 1:15 am on September 14th. I quickly got out of bed to confirm my suspicion and while my water did not break fully I was fairly confident it had ruptured. Due to my Strep B diagnosis the doctor instructed me to get to the hospital quickly if my water broke so antibiotics could be administered. I began getting ready and after about 15 minutes I woke Kyle up with the news and texted our friend, Betsy, to come watch the kids.
At this point my contractions were very manageable though they were intensifying. By 2:30 am Betsy had arrived to keep the kids and we were ready to leave for the hospital.

I used a small women's hospital, so the check-in process was a breeze. They tested to make sure my water had ruptured and once it was confirmed I was moved to the birthing room. At this point I was 6 cm dilated. Once we got to the room I could tell the process was speeding up quickly as I started to shake, shiver and feel lots of pressure. Then I learned a new piece of information, not only did I need 2 rounds of antibiotics to ensure the babies safety, but they had to be administered 4 hours apart!
They quickly started an IV so I could get the required antibiotics. After realizing this labor experience was going to be delayed (i.e. I did not want to sit around in excruciating pain for an extended period) I chose to get the epidural at this time. My labor was progressing so quickly the epidural couldn't get on top of it, so I was having a lot of back pain. Thankfully, they gave me another dose.
Once the epidural took full effect I couldn't feel anything from my chest down, so Kyle and I got a bit rest as we prayed that the baby would stay put for 4 hours. At this point I was 9 cm dilated.
I got a little rest even with all the commotion of vital checks, baby checks, etc. At 6:30 am the nurse came in and administered the 2nd round of antibiotics. At 7 am my doctor arrived for delivery (which was a treat...I thought I would just get the on-call doc). I pushed once and she told me to stop because the nursery workers were still setting up the equipment. She also announced the baby had quite a bit of hair, so I knew we were close to meeting this little one. Kyle later told me when the doctor instructed me to stop pushing the baby continued to slide out...I guess she was very ready to enter the world. I pushed one more time, the doctor presented the baby and we found out it was a GIRL! Sweet Eveyln Kay.
I had some precious skin-to-skin time with our sweet girl then they weighed her in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 20.5 inches long (our longest babe).
While I received the 2nd antibiotic it was barely in my system before Evelyn arrived, so as a precaution we were kept for 36 hours of observation and then we headed home to become a family of 6!
It was a smooth delivery and a sweet experience to be surprised (though I knew it was going to be a girl ;)





All ready to leave the hospital

Friday, October 21, 2016

Who's Who? {1 month comparison}


With each kid we love to compare and contrast. We study them to see who looks alike and what features favor someone else. How are their personalities the same or different than their siblings?

Here's a look at each of the kiddos at 1 month (top to bottom, L to R in age order). Who do you think Evy looks like?

Below are a couple more 1 month shots of each babe.

Sawyer
This picture of Sawyer reminds me of Evy's eyes. Her eyes are already a deep brown and so are Sawyer's.

Nora
From birth we felt Evy favored Nora in the facial feature department and I think these profile pictures confirm what we already thought. Evy has a bit more hair, but the hair pattern, eyebrows, nose, cheeks, lips and chin are basically the same!

Evy
Kolter

Then we have our outlier…it's pretty safe to say he has his own unique look. It's also safe to say he is our only blue-eyed, dimpled baby.




Wednesday, October 19, 2016

4 x 4

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