Meet Evelynn.

Here she is... Evelynn Rose Syddall.

8 pounds, 3 ounces; 19 inches long (I think).

Born January 9th... somewhere between 9:30 and 10:30pm (I'll add the exact time when I know it).

No known complications or concerns prior to birth.

Shazaam. Life likes to throw you some curve balls, that's for sure.

This is primarily a pictorial, with a few comments thrown in {wink}. All pictures are from my phone, either directly, or saved from your-favorite-family-app-and-mine, Snapchat. Aaaannnnddd I might have grabbed a few from Facebook.

January 10th

All I've got to say is OUCH!

Daddy Tay changing his first diaper...

...well done!

January 11th

January 12th

Grandma Fisher

Great Grandpa and Grandma G

January 13th

 It literally broke my heart to see this sweet baby try to cry, but having no sound come out due to the respirator tubes going down her throat (right up against her vocal chords). It felt so... incomplete. A good loud wail is one of the sources of satisfaction that come from crying. No satisfaction for Evie on this day {boo}.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Syddall (Grandpa had to step out due to a dry throat cough... and there's no coughing in the NICU haha)

 Gigi and Little Billy selfies with the Queen...

 Oh my precious baby toes!

Finally Lynnea gets to hold her sweet baby girl.

January 14th

No more respirator. Woot! Woot!

 Once Evelynn had vocal abilities, the nurses in the NICU referred to her as "the boss."

January 15th

Evie needed a little more oxygen, so was put on CPAP support for a few days.

 Great Auntie Lia... she's a pro at the whole NICU thing, so we were sooooo grateful for her visit!

January 16th

January 18th

Downsized {this time for good} to the high pressure ventilator... progress!

January 19th

January 20th

(Also Nae's birthday)

January 21st

 (I obviously screen-shotted this at the wrong moment... or did something funky as I did it to get the notification that Snapchat does not support split screen view.)

Jase and Lex finally got to come see Evie for the first time. Britt and Scarlett were there, too, so someone had to sit in the waiting room with Scarlett, then swap out to visit Evelynn. I think Wonderful Sweet Scarlett loved her time spent with Uncle Jason, don't you?

"Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining...

Her hair, her hair falls perfectly without her trying.

She's so beautiful..."

January 22nd

January 23rd

January 24th

January 25th

January 27th

January 28th

(This was the cutest video ever... literally, within seconds, Evie goes from being awake, to peaceful slumber. I loved it!)

January 29th

Burp, baby, burp.

January 30th

Skin-to-skin with Daddy.

So there she is!

This week just might be the week. Tay and Nae had to stay overnight in the hospital last night, then again tonight... if all goes well, Evelynn gets to go home!!

I am so excited for them all.

Goodbye NICU.

Goodbye feeding tubes.

Goodbye little curtained, windowless room.

Goodbye tiny roommates.

Hello sleep deprivation.

Hello home quarantine {for a few months}.

Hello quart-sized hand sanitizers in every room.

Hello complete responsibility.

Best of all:

Hello precious baby snuggles whenever you want them.

I'm planning another trip to UT. I can't wait to hold this sweet girl myself!

Hello January.

On Dec. 27th we made the long drive to Utah (with Britt, Austin and Scarlett PLUS Lo and her school stuff). The plan was to stay until the 30th, as Bill had agreed to preside at the marriage of a couple in our ward on the 31st. Dayna had planned a surprise birthday party for Jeff's 40th, and we were going to be able to attend (yay!). 

We {carefully and gently} passed around their new baby Easton. It was so fun to meet him for the first time.

Scarlett found the toy room, so she was a happy camper... for the most part... unless another child snagged a toy she was playing with. There would be an occasional meltdown heard coming from behind the stairs haha.

 Just look at all the love Easton got from his cousins.

 We grabbed this picture of us all together the night before Bill and Mar were leaving. I had decided to stay in Utah because I knew that Tay and Lynnea's baby would arrive the moment I left. 

On New Years Eve, since Britt, Austin, and Scarlett were spending it with Austin's family, and Jason and Lex were spending it with Jason's family, and Shilo had a DATE, I invited Tay and Nae over for dinner and a game or two (we played my new current fave, Ticket To Ride)... a nice quiet start to 2017.

Hello, 2017.

Later that day we attended Easton's baby blessing.

 A lot of the next week was a blur. I was just waiting. Patiently waiting. And enjoying spending a little extra time with Wonderful Sweet Scarlett.

Britt, Scarlett, and I also got Shilo settled into her new digs in Provo.

That Saturday Shi, Lex and I went to the Salt Lake Temple for a session. They loved it (a first for both of them) and I loved being there with them.

 I traveled to Bountiful to stay with my parents for a night, then had a flight home Sunday evening. Still waiting for my new little granddaughter to arrive. I was hoping that she would come on Mauri's birthday and BEFORE my trip home. Nope. Lynnea had been having contractions and had gone to the hospital to be checked, but they sent her home. Auuuuggghh! I stressed over what to do. 

Should I stay or should I go now?

At the very last moment (and after consulting with Billy-my-hero, who was in the middle of a Stake youth fireside with Mar), the decision was made to stay.

Monday morning I headed to Provo to chill with Lynnea while Tay started his first day of the new semester. When I got to their apartment, they were contemplating going back to the hospital because Nae had had a long night of painful contractions. After hearing the details, I thought going would be a very smart choice {happy dance that THIS might be the day}.

Once she was checked and the doctor was called, we were told she got to stay.

 {Happy happy dance}

 Lynnea labored throughout the day, initially progressing pretty quickly, but then things slowed a bit.

Shilo came after school to hang out with us, followed by Britt and Austin, Lex and Jason a little later that evening. Finally it was time to push, so we all headed to the waiting room.

 To wait.

The waiting made me a little nervous. I knew it could take a while for a first baby (I pushed for over an hour with Tay), but this was REALLY taking a long time. Every time the double doors would open, I would expect to see Tay with a big smile on his face telling us "she's here!" 

Finally the doctor came out and asked me to come into the room with Taylor and Lynnea. The rest of the family followed. It was there that we found out that sweet 8-pound-3-ounce Evelynn was here, but she had some complications immediately following her birth. She was in the NICU. It was something to do with her lungs, but they were still assessing. We would not see her.

Taylor and Lynnea would get to see her briefly.

They had done an x-ray, and her lungs looked cloudy, small, and were not inflating as they should. She would be on a respirator. Tay and Nae were told not to expect her home for 7 to 14 days.

This was not the excited, fun greeting I had hoped for, but I am so so grateful for the medical advances we have today. Evelynn would not be here without the quick reaction of the medical staff, and the expertise of educated doctors and nurses. I am especially thankful for them! It's been a lengthy stay for my new precious granddaughter {17 days today}, but her parents have had the best attitude. 

I have learned from them... about patience, about faith, and about love.

Next up: Meet Evelynn