Welcome to the World: Maggie Everett Wolf

 

And just like that we are a family of 4....

Maggie Everett  joined us on March 12th at 1:05 am, weighing 7.6 lbs and 20" long. By the time she arrived, I was 12 days past my due date (Hazel was 15!). Apparently my womb is a mix of hot baked cookies, puppies, and freshly laundered sheets that makes our girls not want to ever come out.

But come out she did - happy, healthy, and with a full head of hair. It was really special to have the same midwife that delivered Hazel, deliver Maggie. Variety is the spice of life, though, so this time I mixed it up and got pain relief.  I went au natural with Hazel and well let's just say I can see why people get that little thing called an epidural.

Ahh that moment you meet your baby it's truly one of the most amazing moments in life. That part honestly makes me want to have about fifty babies, the other parts well they make me want to stick to the single digits. Hard to believe Maggie is already 12 weeks old.

The past 3 months have flown by and I've found the transition from 1 to 2 kids much easier than the 0 to 1 adjustment.

There is still the same amount of  spit ups, poos, and sleepless nights, but it's much easier to handle second time around (even with a toddler in tow). People tell you it's temporary the first time, that this stage will pass, and with your second kid well...you can actually believe them.

Shortly after delivery I went to Warkworth Birthing Centre to recoup and get some one on one time with Maggie. Adam and Hazel came to visit and it was great to be back in such a supportive environment. Birthcare is basically like a B & B for new mothers. Located in the country, you get round the clock care, meals delivered to your room, midwifes there to you help establish feeding and answer any questions you may have. And it's all free!

Cultural side note: NZ has a huge breastfeeding initiative and it's just the norm here. So if you are doing something besides that, don't expect to hear Journey's, "Open Arms" playing in your hospital room.

As great at birthcare was, it was nice to be home. Hazel was so excited to have her new sister under the same roof.

I could regale you with tales of leaky boobs and diaper blowouts but I think we will just hit  the highlights picture style. Here's some from the last few months.

Sisterly love:

 

 

Mother's Day "pup pup" outing:

 

 

Swingin':

 

 

A visit from "Gaga," Adam's mom:

 

 

Trips to the park:

 

 

One of our favourite stops, Juicy ice cream in Kumeu:

 

Hazel's first pony ride:

 

Still loves her scooter:

 

 

They start out so small:

 

 

 Ahh those first smiles:

 

  

 

Almost as sweet as the newborn cuddles:

 

 

 And right before your eyes they go from a newborn to a baby:

 

 

Maggie 2 months old:

 

 

Now 3 months old:

 

Making friends:

 

 

And no post would be complete without a scenery shot:

 

 

Waiting for a Baby

I can't believe it's already March and we are heading into Autumn here in the Southern Hemisphere. I could say I can't believe I'm still pregnant, but I can. I was so late with Hazel that I've been preparing myself for that elusive due date to come and go, and come and go it has. The whole waiting for a baby thing is an excellent test in patience and self control, as in literally not torching the three maternity items that still fit me and I can comfortably move in.

 

 

Speaking of torching, did you know Kiwis call flashlights torches? I didn't for a long time. When we first moved here we got these great books called NZ Frenzy which highlight all these cool, off the beaten path hikes and adventures. I would flip through the book to pick out possible places to explore, but I was often put off by certain locations since the author suggested bringing a torch. I kept imagining King Arthur and Guinevere and finally vented to Adam, "I mean who has a torch these days." Adam kindly told me that flashlights are called torches here. Right.

 

 

But I digress. Back to the current state of affairs, me barefoot and pregnant. There was a time I thought the summer heat might bring me down, but alas it didn't. Thank goodness for swims in the ocean. Overall, I can't complain. I've truly had a fantastic pregnancy and am so excited to meet our new baby whenever he or she decides to enter the world. In the meantime, here's a few pics from the past couple months.

Hazel turned 2:

 

 She got a scooter which she LOVES to ride:

 

 

We spent New Years Day at the beach:

 

 

I think we might be ruined for life because this is the beach we walk to when we can't be bothered to do anything else.

 

 

Days at the park:

  

Hanging out with friends:

 

 

Loves to wear her gumboots even when it's not raining:

 

 

Lots of coffee and scone outings with my girl:

 

 

No shortage of kid friendly cafes:

 

 

Baking at home is always a treat:

 

 

Fun at the farmers market:

 

 

A view from Adam and Hazel's AM walks (they go every morning!) :

 

 

A day out at the aquarium:

 

 

 

Practicing up for her new big sister role:

 

 

 I think she would scoot everywhere if she could: 

 

 

In honor of my due date, we took the ferry into the city to get gelato:

 

 

The original baby in my life:

 

 

Only a few more days (hours??) until we are a family of 4.

 

Holly Jolly Christmas in Fiji

I find the whole living a million miles from home around the holidays kinda depressing, so this year we decided to do the only sensible thing I could think of and spend Christmas in Fiji.

We wanted to go some place that was easy to get to, toddler friendly, but also had that I'm on a tropical vacation and we are going to live it up before this other baby gets here vibe (6 weeks to go now!). Voila Fiji.

It is literally the closest place you can fly to outside of  New Zealand, even closer than Australia. It's an easy, direct 3 hour flight from Auckland to Nadi.

Adam and I had been once before when I was pregnant with Hazel and stayed on one of the smaller islands which was great, but this time since we had miss thing with us we decided to go the resort route and stay on the main island. Breakfast buffet and crab races anyone?

It was actually a lot of fun. I should have know it was going to be a good trip when as we were boarding they upgraded us to first class (sittin' next to Vanna White). No Vanna wasn't there, but I know all of the middle aged men who actually paid for their first class tickets were very happy to see a family with a toddler sharing their cabin space. Clearly we were psyched. Hazel even had her own seat, that turned into a bed of course.

 

But alas we couldn't stay in first class forever and had to get on with our Fijian holiday. It was sum sum summertime and we spent a lot of time in the pool.

 

People had told us before we went that Fijians loved kids, but nothing could have prepared me for what we experienced. Everywhere we went all the Fijian people treated Hazel like they had never been happier to see a child before, I'm talking grown men picking her up and kissing her and just overall joy oozing from every Fijian when they came in contact with a baby or young child.

 

 

In any other situation it would have weirded me out, but in this case it was remarkable and made our vacation that much more relaxed and fun.

 

 

One of Hazel's favorite things to do was to take the Bula Bus around town.

 

 

She referred to this woman who took the tickets all week as, "my friend," and would look for her every time a bus passed.

 

 

Mostly we just went to the pool, hung out, and read a lot. Naps were taken and relaxation was made a top priority.

 

 

There was that one day I did water aerobics and the time on Christmas day when I decided to participate in an egg race, where I balanced an egg on a spoon while racing against mostly 6-12-year-olds. I don't know about anybody else, but I find a certain sense of freedom being massively pregnant. I mean not this free, but pretty free.

 

 

One day we did venture away from our place and take a boat to one of the smaller islands. We went to the South Seas Island which, although only 30 minutes away, really gave us a taste of that Castaway meets the Bachelor kind of location feeling. Our greeting committee when we got off the boat:

 

 

It was great because they provided a free kids club so we got to drop Hazel off while we did some snorkeling.

 

 

Otherwise it was business as usual.

 

 

I wasn't sure what to expect doing an island Christmas, but if you can't be home with your actual family this certainly was a fun way to do it.

 

 

They had carolers each night and a big Christmas tree in the lobby. We packed a few presents for Hazel to open Christmas morning, it was easy and completely stress free.

 

 

We had a couple great meals at the Flying Fish and got some serious R & R in,  overall a super way to end 2014.