*The kids meet their baby sister for the first time. Thank you so much to BrianBadgerMay for helping me write this!
August 9th
Erin carefully walks down the steps with John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson trying to not make a ton of noise.
*John, Grayson, Blakelyn and Paisley's pajamas*
PK is currently in the birth pool with Mike and his midwife sitting on the outside as he is in the next stage of labor - which is pushing the baby out.
PK and Mike wanted the kids to be involved in the birthing process of their newest sibling if they were able to have a home water birth.
Thankfully, PK had an uneventful and easy pregnancy so he was able to have his home water birth he always wanted!
Erin, John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson all watch in a distance because they didn't want to be in the way or have PK feel uncomfortable.
"Is da baby out?" Blakelyn asks Erin with a little lisp she has now since she has no front teeth.
"Not yet! But really really soon! Are you four excited to have a baby sister?" Erin asks the kids in a whisper.
"Yes! I am soooo excited!" Paisley says with excitement.
"Me too!" Grayson says as he jumps up and down.
"Me three! Lainey is going to be the baby in our family now and that's so cool." John says with a smile.
PK grunts loudly as he pushes again, holding Mike's hand tightly.
"Great job, baby. We see her head now." Mike says as PK pushes again and he grunts loudly.
"Why does Daddy sound like that?" John asks Erin in confusion.
"Because it hurts having a baby without medicine! He is okay, don't worry!" Erin reassures John.
PK pushes again and Lainey's head comes out, causing PK to scream loudly.
Grayson gets a little scared and hides behind Erin.
"It's okay! Lainey is almost born! Do you guys wanna go see? I'll go with you!" Erin says as she hugs Grayson.
The midwife smiles and waves the kids over to watch.
Mike gets in position to catch baby Lainey and smiles at the kids.
"Lainey is almost born! Do y'all see her?" Mike says with a grin.
Paisley nods, curious about the process. Birth grosses some people out, especially kids, but PK and Mike's kids are more modern, raised to be open minded and curious.
John, Blakelyn and Grayson also look in curiosity, seeing how cool it is to see their baby sister about to be born.
PK and Mike also wanted to know how brith worked and what happens when you are born.
'I bet she gonna be so cute." Grayson whispers, glancing every now and then.
"I wonder if dere's hair on her head." Blakelyn
says out loud.
"Good question, Blakelyn." Erin answers.
A minute later, PK pushes Lainey out and
Mike catches her, putting her on PK's chest.
"Hooray!" John whisper-cheers, not sure what to say.
John is happy, though, his newest baby sister is here!
Lainey begins to cry softly causing PK and Mike to both tear up in happiness and joy. Their ninth baby and these fifth baby girl is here!
The midwife rubs Lainey's back with a towel and she begins to cry louder. The midwife smiles and covers Lainey with a few towels so she doesn't get cold.
"Hi, Lainey! Hi, pretty girl! Happy birthday!" PK says as he kisses Lainey's forehead and looks down at her.
"She's a blondie just like all of y'all!" Mike says proudly at the kids with a big smile.
John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson all cheer in excitement knowing their little sister has the same color hair just like they do!
"Aww! Another blondie! That's all you two make are blondies!" Erin says playfully as she, John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson all walk over to the tub and over to PK and Mike.
"Well, that's because Mike and I had blonde hair as kids! We still have blonde hair but it's darker." PK says playfully to his little sister.
Lainey continues to cry but PK rocks her softly and she relaxes in her Daddy's protective arms.
"Shhh, It's okay, baby girl. Daddy and Papa are here! Yeah! And your Auntie Erin, big brothers John and Grayson and big sisters Blakelyn and Paisley." PK whispers to Lainey.
"What do y'all think of your new baby sister?" Mike asks John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson, giving each of them a hug and a kiss.
"I like her!" Grayson decides, stepping closer.
Grayson wasn't so scared anymore since his Daddy wasn't screaming in pain anymore.
Mike had washed his hands before giving his four oldest kids hugs and kisses, and he was intrigued to know what they thought.
"I love her, she's cute." Paisley and Blakelyn both say, giggling at speaking in unison.
"I'm a little worried, but mostly happy." John
explains, causing a concerned glance from his
parents.
"Why are you worried?" PK asks John softly.
"Because I worry she's gonna make the triplets
jealous, and that they might hurt her on
accident." John responds.
"Oh bud, babies and toddlers will feel jealous - and it's ok if you feel jealous, too. But we've taught them to be kind, just like we taught you four and Ensley." Mike tells his oldest son.
"She's so toote!" Blakelyn says with a cheeky smile.
"She is, isn't she?" PK asks the kids with a cheeky smile.
"She's nakey!" Grayson says as he giggles.
"You aren't born with clothes on, silly! Once Daddy and Lainey are upstairs and in bed, we will put an outfit on her. Will you help us pick an outfit?" Mike asks John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson and they all nod.
"Is she cold?" Paisley asks Mike and PK.
"No, I'm keeping her warm, so is the water, it's nice and warm." PK says, smiling at Paisley.
"I wanna jump in!" Grayson says as he giggles and tries to climb in but Mike stops him.
"No no, the water is yucky." PK says to Grayson.
"Oh, okay." Grayson replies and backs off, inspecting how the water in the birth pool looks.
Grayson scrunches up his face in a silly way to agree with PK that the water is yucky.
John watches quietly, relaxing as he looks around at the surroundings, but he goes over to PK and whispers barely loud enough for him to hear.
"Daddy, if I have a baby when I grow up, will I
have to give birth? I don't want to." John asks,
feeling insecure.
This was John's way of dealing with a new sister; questions, worry, joy and doubt. It was a lot, but he didn't really know it was ok to feel several emotions at once.
"It depends if you are a carrier or not. You won't find out until you are a teenager or an adult. I found out when I was an adult. If you aren't a carrier you can't give birth. But if you are one, you can always give birth with medicine just like I did a few times." PK explains and John happily nods, relieved with the answer.
"Can I have a baby?" Blakelyn asks a little loudly.
"When you are an adult you can! You, Paisley, Ensley, Addelyn and Lainey can all have babies. Your brothers won't know if they can until they are older and they do a test." Mike explains to Blakelyn.
Lainey coos and opens her mouth, causing everyone to awe at her.
The girls are a bit young to learn about infertility, so their parents just focus on explaining ages appropriate things that still I answer their questions.
"She looks like she's about to fall asleep." John
says with a giggle.
"Babies need a lot of sleep, because you grow in your sleep." Mike tells the kids, causing them to sound amazed.
"Her cheeks are soooo chubby! So cute!" Erin says as she takes a few pictures of Lainey.
"I think she is around the same weight Grayson was!" Mike says as PK nods in agreement.
"I think so too, or bigger!" PK says, making all of the adults laugh.
PK and Lainey continue to cuddle with each other in the birth pool while Mike, John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson happily look on.
After a few more minutes, PK and Lainey are out of the birth pool and now everyone is back upstairs in the master bedroom.
PK, John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson all sit on the master bed together while Mike holds Lainey in his arms, walking around the bedroom.
Lainey is wrapped in a light pink blanket and she is sleeping.
Erin snaps a few candid photos of the family and smiles.
"Okay, you guys can pick her outfit now." PK says to the four kids, and all them look excited, but don't make loud noises.
John and Paisley choose a yellow onesie, while
Blakelyn and Grayson pick out some grey booties and a headband.
*Ensley's outfit with light gray pants*
"After she's dressed, may I hold her?" John asks as he turns to his parents.
"Of course! Can you help your sisters and brother wash their hands? I want everyone to have clean hands before holding Lainey." PK says as John smiles and nods.
"Blakey! Paisy! Gray! We gotta wash our hands so we can hold baby Lainey!" John says as he, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson all slide off the bed and over to the master bathroom.
Mike smiles at PK proudly and PK smiles back.
"She is so beautiful. I don't know who she looks like yet." Mike says as PK smiles.
"I don't know either but she's perfect." PK says as he puckers his lips for a kiss and Mike kisses him.
Erin hears some noise from the triplets' bedroom and Ensley's bedroom and knows the four youngest kids are now awake for the day.
Addelyn and Wiley babble to each other, unaware they've got a baby sister. Weston put his face back onto the pillow, still sleepy.
Ensley comes out of her room and walks into her parents room, yawning and then making a surprised face.
*Ensley's pajamas*
"Baby?" Ensley asks excitedly.
"Yes, meet your new baby sister, baby Lainey."
Mike introduces Ensley to Lainey.
"Yay! Baby Lainey!" Ensley says as she jumps up and down while Mike bends down to Ensley's level.
Mike smiles and kisses Ensley's forehead, causing Ensley to smile.
"Yeah! Baby Lainey is here!" PK says as he films Ensley, Mike and Lainey together.
Ensley smiles at her baby sister and rubs her head softly.
"Do you wanna sit on the bed with Daddy?" Mike asks Ensley.
"Yes!" Ensley says, jumping up and down with excitement.
Mike hands Lainey to PK before he picks up Ensley and sits her next to PK.
"Hi, sweet pea. Did you sleep good?" PK asks Ensley and Ensley happily nods.
John, Blakelyn, Paisley and Grayson all return from the bathroom after having a small argument on who should wash their hands first.
"The triplets must be getting up, Erin hasn't returned." Mike says with a chuckle.
"Aww, I'm so excited for them to meet Lainey." PK says and Mike nods in agreement.
PK and Mike have been really focusing on getting Addelyn, Wiley and Weston ready for a new sibling. PK and Mike want to make sure that every triplet feels loved and special just like their older five siblings do.
Grayson gets to hold the baby first on a chair in the room, and PK helps support Lainey's head while the boy holds her.
"Awww, so cute." Mike coos.
Grayson nods and gives Lainey a kiss on the
forehead.
Paisley gets a turn next, and her parents remind her- and the other kids - that there will be plenty of opportunities to hold Lainey.
John gets a turn next and finally Blakelyn. Out of all of the older kids, Blakelyn gets anxious when holding a baby because she's afraid she'll hurt them.
Erin comes into the bedroom, holding Weston
since he was tired and not a morning person, and smiles as she takes a few more pictures one- handed.
*Addelyn, Wiley and Weston's pajamas*
Wiley and Addelyn talk to each other and look up at Mike and PK.
"Hi, guys! This is your new baby sister!" PK tells the babies with a smile.
"BABY WAINEY!" Addelyn yells as she smiles.
"YAY!" Wiley says as he claps his hands and hops around with a big grin
"That's right! Blakelyn is holding baby Lainey right now! JJ, Paisy and Gray already had turns!" PK says to Addelyn and Wiley as Mike helps them onto the bed.
"I next!" Ensley says with excitement.
"That's right, Ensy, you are next!" Mike says, kissing Ensley's cheek.
"What do you think, Wes? Are you still sleepy? Come to Daddy." PK says in a babyfied voice as Erin hands Weston to PK.
Weston nods slowly, cuddling up to PK. It usually takes him a while longer to fully wake up.
PK smiles and hugs his youngest son, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
Blakelyn holds her new sister for another minute, then gives her to Ensley.
"There you go, support her head." Mike tells
Ensley and helps her hold Lainey.
"Baby cute." Addelyn mentions happily.
"She is cute isn't she? She's your baby sister!" PK says as Addelyn smiles.
"BABY!" Wiley says as he gets excited
"Shhh, inside voice, bud." Mike says to Wiley.
Erin smiles at all of the kids and admires baby Lainey.
"She is so precious." Erin says with a cheeky grin.
Weston sits up and glances at Lainey, looking
more curious. He decides to stay with his Daddy, though, unsure.
"Thank you, she is. Not much crying except for
when she was born." PK agrees with Erin, smiling.
"She looks a bit like us." John observes.
"You're right, she has blonde hair, just like you all do. And I'm sure her eyes are going to be blue." Erin tells John.
"Who wants to hold baby Lainey first?" Mike says as he picks up Lainey from Ensley.
"Meeeee!" Wiley yells with excitement.
"No! Me!" Addelyn yells at Wiley and pouts.
"Don't argue, okay? We need to take turns." PK says to Addelyn, Wiley and even Weston.
All three triplets nod, Addelyn and Wiley now using inside voices.
"Otay, Wiwey go sirst." Addelyn says politely,
letting her brother hold the baby before her.
Erin gets a boppy pillow and helps Wiley get in
position to hold baby Lainey. Weston feels like waiting his turn, he was more of an observer anyway. That way, he could see how to do it right.
Wiley smiles as he examines baby Lainey laying on the boppy pillow.
"What do you think, Wi Wi!" PK asks Wiley and Wiley smiles happily.
"Baby!" Addelyn says as she gets excited
"Yeah! That's baby Lainey! She is so beautiful just like you, Blakey, Ensy and Paisy!" PK says to Addelyn and Addelyn smiles.
"Baby tute wittle!" Wiley says softly and smiles ear to ear
"She is cute and little! That's right." Mike says as he films a video of Wiley and Lainey.
"You guys are crazy having nine kids, nine years old and under. Are you guys the gay Duggars?" Erin asks PK and Mike playfully, laughing loudly.
"Not the Duggars! Erin! They are trash! But sure let's be the Gay Duggars, babe!" Mike says to Erin and the, PK, smirking at him.
"I don't think I could handle ten more pregnancies! Maybe one more. Since Mike is obsessed with even numbers!" PK says as he laughs and smiles at Mike.
PK and Mike never expected to have nine children but they love all of them so much. PK and Mike can't imagine their lives without any one of the kids.
PK and Mike struggled with infertility for almost a year and a half before becoming pregnant with John and since then, PK hasn't had trouble getting pregnant. In fact, PK conceived twins and triplets naturally!
"You are too silly!" Mike says with sass back to PK.
"I am! But nine is a fun number too. We can't think about that right now! Lainey was just born a few hours ago!" PK says with a little giggle.
"I don't wanna know when or if number ten is created! Also I never thought you could have baby fever right after going through all of that." Erin says to PK and Mike.
"You think you wouldn't but you do! You will find out one day." PK says with a smile.
After Wiley's turn, Addelyn and Weston both get a turn to hold baby Lainey.
For the rest of the day, PK, Mike, John, Blakelyn, Paisley, Grayson, Ensley, Addelyn, Wiley, Weston and Erin all hung out together, enjoying every moment with baby Lainey! :)