So before I continue with what a fabulous vacation it was, here is my current reality. Unedited. This is how #fibro works. For me. I busted my butt for the #vacay and now cannot move. Literally. All day. I have not gotten out of bed except to use the bathroom. I haven’t eaten yet (yes I’m starving). The kiddos have scavenged for themselves in the #camper (luckily there’s plenty of easy to make foods). The laundry and all else is still piled up inside the car. There’s absolutely no energy whatsoever to move and my body aches everywhere. Throughout the day, I have checked my social media, but haven’t had the energy to even post more. I have napped on and off all day long...which means that my boys have been stuck in the camper with me most of the day and are itching to get out... Vacation: so incredibly worth it. Aftermath: just something I deal with. I’m not complaining whatsoever...just sharing what #fibromyalgia can be like...to give others perspective. I’m grateful for the vacay, for my body not giving up completely on me during the trip (yes, there were many challenges, but I was able to muddle through most). I’m also grateful to my oldest for helping to make it all possible, for without her, we couldn’t have seen and done all that we did. I’m grateful to my boys for their best attempt at patience today. And I’m grateful for my little snuggler today. 🤪 #blogpost #spoonie #chronicillness

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So before I continue with what a fabulous vacation it was, here is my current reality. Unedited. This is how #fibro works. For me. I busted my butt for the #vacay and now cannot move. Literally. All day. I have not gotten out of bed except to use the bathroom. I haven’t eaten yet (yes I’m starving). The kiddos have scavenged for themselves in the #camper (luckily there’s plenty of easy to make foods). The laundry and all else is still piled up inside the car. There’s absolutely no energy whatsoever to move and my body aches everywhere. Throughout the day, I have checked my social media, but haven’t had the energy to even post more. I have napped on and off all day long...which means that my boys have been stuck in the camper with me most of the day and are itching to get out... Vacation: so incredibly worth it. Aftermath: just something I deal with. I’m not complaining whatsoever...just sharing what #fibromyalgia can be like...to give others perspective. I’m grateful for the vacay, for my body not giving up completely on me during the trip (yes, there were many challenges, but I was able to muddle through most). I’m also grateful to my oldest for helping to make it all possible, for without her, we couldn’t have seen and done all that we did. I’m grateful to my boys for their best attempt at patience today. And I’m grateful for my little snuggler today. 🤪 #blogpost #spoonie #chronicillness

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We all know that I have an affinity for crazy socks, but today I am wearing them for a purpose. March 21st is World Down Syndrome Awareness Day. Wearing “silly socks” represents accepting people who are different. Do you have your silly socks on today?? Show me! 😊 #loveall #worlddownsyndromeday #downsyndrome #downsyndromeawareness #disabilityawareness #weareallcreatedequal #acceptance #tolerance #differencesarebeautiful #developmentaldisabilities #momlife #moms #parenting #parents #sillysockday #blogpost #downsyndromeawarenessday

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All set for the #stpatricksday #parade tomorrow!! We are feeling pretty #irish these days!! Good luck has finally come our way!! 😊🍀☘️ must’ve been that leprechaun that I caught ! 😉🌈 🍀Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all! ☘️ #stpattysday #blogpost #stpaddysday #lucky #luckoftheirish #luckotheirish #twins ##omlife #lovemyfamily #lovemykids #lovemyboys

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Guess who’s one month old!? Our little Sweet Pea!! She has been keeping me very busy! It’s been a wild ride so far! I’m sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. Between the lack of sleep, the other three kiddles, the house, the dog, you know...complete mayhem 🤪...I haven’t had much extra time. But she is doing great! She is 11 pounds already! So, she’s been growing about a pound a week. The good news is, is that she actually eats without me waking her now! I don’t have to keep her up constantly just to feed her for two or three minutes. She eats until she’s full and then goes back to sleep…But only in my arms. You forget how draining a #newborn can be, and I look forward to having more sleep at some point. 😴But I’m trying to live in each moment and cuddle her up! I know all too well how short this phase is! I’m not sure what is going on with me, but I’m wondering if the lack of sleep is flaring up my #fibromyalgia because my body hurts absolutely everywhere. I can’t seem to get a break from the pain. My neck is stiff, my back is achy, as are my arms and legs. I’ve been running a low-grade fever for several days, too. But I have no other symptoms other than a headache. I’ve never had a newborn baby while suffering from fibromyalgia, so I don’t know if it is that, but I never felt like this with the other babies. Who knows!? 🤷🏼‍♀️ For now, I guess it’s a good excuse to just snuggle with my Sweet Pea. 💗💕 #newbornphotography #newbornbaby #baby #imsotired #fibrowithnewborn #babylove #babiesofinstagram #fibro #chronicillness #blogpost

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Good news!! Although Sweet Pea does have a slight murmur, she’s going to be just fine!! Nothing that warrants even a follow-up appointment unless the pediatrician wants her to have one to check on it at 8 months when this type of murmur usually goes away. 😊 I’m feeling very grateful!! Thank you all for the kind words of support!!! #blogpost #newborn #momlife #momof4 #thankful #noheartdisease #sighofrelief #lovemybaby #lovemykids

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For those of you who are not on Facebook with me, a little update is in order. Sunday night, Sweet Pea was exhibiting signs of respiratory distress. So the pediatrician sent us to the ER to have her checked out. All test results came back okay and there was nothing emergent that needed to be addressed immediately, so we were sent back home to be followed by the pediatrician the next day. At the pediatrician’s yesterday, it turns out she has a slight heart murmur. So here I sit at the cardiologist’s waiting to have her tested to see what is going on. The pediatrician doesn’t believe this is going to be any kind of major issue, so I’m hoping for the best, but it’s still pretty worrisome and triggering to me because this is how it all started with Miracle Man originally. He had a slight murmur that ended up needing the heart surgery a couple of weeks later and has several other heart conditions that are being closely followed still. Many people have heart murmurs and do not need interventions. It just scares me because of Miracle Man’s history. But I’m going to stay positive and hope for great results today! This will be four ER/doc visits/appointments for her in four days...feels sooooo much like history repeating itself. #blogpost #congenitalheartdisease #heartmurmur #newborn #notthisagain #respiratorydistress

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When Little Miss Met Sweet Pea 💗A story of sisters. A story of love. 💕 Since about the year that Little Miss turned two years old, she has begged for a #sister . And for the 3 years leading up to being #pregnant with the boys, that request was made Every.Single.Day. No joke, no exaggeration. She begged every gosh darn day. Through failed attempts at pregnancy, and two painful #miscarriages , we endured the rentless requests of our innocent, unassuming preschooler. She was determined to convince us that she needed a sister. When we were finally pregnant with #twin boys, and we shared the news with her, she cried hysterically for a week because they were both boys. Of course, over the years she has grown to love and adore them, and also to fight with them incessantly as only loving and adoring #siblings should🤪. And I have always told her that she had been given #brothers so that they would have the energy to be able keep up with her. That a sister might not have had that same level of energy that she required in a sibling. (I know it’s a simplified, sexist, and ignorant explanation...but it was made with good intention and it served its purpose). And with her strong personality, I don’t know if she would’ve been as close to a sister nearer her age as she always thought she would be. I’ve always guessed they would have fought like cats and dogs. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Of course, who really knows?! But when you aren’t in charge of making those decisions, you grasp at straws to help your little ones understand why they cannot simply “have a sister”. Of course, we had also told her at times that @Walmart was out of stock on sisters the day we got her her brothers! 🤪 It was a plausible enough explanation!🤷🏼‍♀️ more in comments... #blogpost #baby #family #momlife #babyhasarrived #lovemykids #lovemyfamily #momof4 #momofgirls #momofboys #parenthood

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Thank you for all the 💕 !! It was a very long day yesterday. The baby was having a hard time learning how to latch, but she’s doing MUCH better with it now!!! It’s funny how you forget some tricks and remember others from previous babies. But I’ve had some FABULOUS #nurses and #lactationconsultant s to help remind me and help guide her along in this process. So shoutout to all the #postpartumnurses and #lactationconsultants out there!! You are amazing!!! #baby #newborn #babygirl #blogpost #sweetie #babygirl #csectionrecovery #fibroandnewborn #momof4 #familyofsix #lovemyfamily #lovemykids #chronicwithnewborn #imsotired #inlovewithmybaby #csection #spoonie

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This little sweetheart was born this morning, weighing 7 lbs, 12 oz. she’s 19 inches long and every inch adorable!! We are totally infatuated with her!! 💗💕 I’m trying to work on recovery and #breastfeeding at the moment. It’s super tiring and although the surgery went well, this first stretch of time is leaving me pretty sore with difficulty moving much. I look forward to the days ahead when the #nursing is a breeze and I hardly have any pain. In the meantime, she is just so stinkin cute!! I cannot get enough of her!! 💗💕💗 #baby #newborn #babygirl #blogpost #sweetie #babygirl #csectionrecovery #fibroandnewborn #momof4 #familyofsix #lovemyfamily #lovemykids #chronicwithnewborn #imsotired #inlovewithmybaby #csection #spoonie

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We did a little #maternityshoot to celebrate and mark the end of the #pregnancy the other day. 😊💗 These three kiddles are the absolute light of my life. They make everything worthwhile and fill my heart with incredible joy. 💗 They complete me. It’s hard to imagine what life is going to be like going forward. But we are all excited and anxious about our #sweetbabygirl joining us in two days. Just two short days! It’s amazing and scary to think about it. There are sooo many facets to adding a new baby to this mix. Questions in my head pop up by the minute. How will I manage #4kids ? How do I care for a #baby again since it’s been so long? Will the others feel left out and neglected? How can I manage to give each of my precious babies enough attention in the wake of the demands of caring for a #newborn ? How can I bring this #girlie into the mix as seamlessly as possible? How will the kids handle being separated from me for the duration of my hospital stay? I’ve never been away from them for more than 24 hours...and that was literally like twice. How will I be able to manage all of the care my little #specialneeds Miracle Man requires alongside the needs of a newborn? How will I manage my #chronicillnesses with all the sleepless nights ahead? Will my #depression and #anxiety flare up or will I experience #postpartumdepression again like I did with the boys? What damage will I do to these little loves, these sweet, innocent hearts that ARE my heart? Naturally, many of us have fears and anxieties...especially leading up to and during major life changes. I know I’m not alone. And I know that I will figure it all out. If nothing else, I’m a survivor. I’m a warrior. I have been through more major challenges in my lifetime than most. I’ve fought through it all. This is no different. And I will work incredibly hard to make sure that all of my children feel loved, supported, and special. I cannot wait to meet this #newgift and find out who she is. Of course, I hope she will be easy going and NOT high maintenance like each of the other 3 are, 🤪 but whoever she is, she will be loved and adored and she will be a very special member of our family. 💗 #blogpost

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More #bumpsnuggles from Kallie. 😊💗 #blogpost #goldenretriever #babycomingsoon #baby #dogmom #doglife #dogsofinstagram #doglovers #doglove #pregnancy #pregnant #preggers #goldensofinstagram #goldendog #goldenlove #goldenpuppy #lovemygolden #babycomingin4days #chronicillness #chronicandpregnant #fibromyalgia #fibroandpregnancy

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A little thank you shout out to my friend @holliboydwhite and her business, Burden Lake Market. She stopped over the other day with a few goodies for me...It turns out I won the Junkovers magazine from her recent giveaway!!! But she also gifted me one of her handcrafted lip balms (made by her hubby) and a bar of handcrafted soap that her sister-in-law makes. And can I just tell you that the lip balm is amazing!? My lips are so incredibly dry right now from all of this frigid weather we’ve had the past month and the resulting heating!! We have a wood stove that heats our whole main floor, and I love it. But it’s wicked challenging to keep enough moisture in the air. So between the dry heat, my #gestationaldiabetes and the #pregnancy I am struggling to stay ahead of my dry skin and lips. So naturally, when Holli brought me her business’s wares, I immediately tried out the balm and I LOVE it!!! No... I love, Love, LOVE it!!! ❤️💕💗It goes on super smoothly, lasts quite a while, and has a fantastic scent! It’s very high quality stuff!! I haven’t opened up the soap yet, but I think I’m going to bring it to the hospital on Thursday when I go to deliver this #sweetbabygirl so I will be giving it a try then. I’m running out if space here, so I will put more details about Holli’s business in the comments...but you should definitely check out the amazing products she and her family make and sell!! I, for one, have been won over!! And I’m a tough cookie to sell to!! 🤪🙄 #blogpost #buylocal #crafts #localbusiness #localproducts #upstateny #averillpark #chronicandpregnant #babycomingsoon #dryskin #chronicillness #spoonie #spoonieproblems #preggers #pregnantlife #pregnancyproblems

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I’m sooooo not even kidding when I say Kallie loves the baby already!! 💗💕💗 I think she listens to the baby’s heartbeat when she snuggles the bump. She also comes over to me when it’s time to take my insulin. She sniffs it and checks it out almost every night. She doesn’t leave my side all day long. Like at all. Even when I take my 5x per hour potty break. 🤪 And the other day when we finally put up the crib and got some things ready around the room, she was very interested—running all over the room sniffing at everything, wagging her tail, just very happy and excited. It’s definitely an enjoyable experience witnessing my fur baby preparing for the new baby. 💗😊 #babycomingsoon #blogpost #babybump #bumpsnuggles #goldenretriever #goldensofinstagram #goldens #goldenpuppy #dogmom #dogsofinstagram #doglife #goldenretrieverpuppy #goldenlove #furbaby #preggers #pregnant #pregnantat41 #chronicandpregnant #fibroandpregnant #baby #momof4

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