One week ago, on the evening of Wednesday, April 13th, our third baby was placed on my chest — A GIRL! Our family is beyond blessed to be a family of five!
Zack and I left for the hospital early Wednesday morning…
…and Marigold “Goldie” Tanzania Whitley was born at 6:53 pm, weighing 7 lbs 9 oz and measuring 20.5″ long. Her birth was such a gift to me, just like Natalie’s and Maxwell’s.
Although all three of my babies have given me very different birth experiences, there is one thing that’s been the same throughout: there’s nothing quite like the exhale of holding our baby for the first time outside of my womb.
For months I’ve been thinking about Goldie, with great anticipation of who she’ll look like, what color hair she’ll have, how her two older siblings will respond to her, how I’ll adjust to becoming a mama of three. And while there’s not a dull moment at our house (ha!), Zack and I are beyond blessed to have Goldie in our arms. Around 20 weeks of my pregnancy we learned her kidneys looked a little different. We’ve had many (many!) weekly appointments, and so last week was a big day for our family.
Goldie’s kidneys don’t look quite like they should. We have a few doctor appointments ahead of us, and we would covet any prayers you could blanket our family with. Now that we’re home from the hospital, we’re fully embracing the sleepless nights and increase in dirty laundry ;) these are happy, tired days!
Maxwell and Natalie have totally taken Goldie under their wings, kissing her and asking to hold her constantly. And the questions Max has for us (where did she come from? did you pop her out? was she in your tummy? can she eat a cracker? can I give her a bath? and so on…) are hilarious. His curiosity and caring gestures are another bright light in my life. Natalie, on the other hand, can’t stop saying “baby”. She’s our 17 -month-old parrot ;)
PS. Goldie’s middle name, Tanzania, is from our 2012 trip to Tanzania, Africa with Compassion. Soon after we returned home to Minneapolis we found out we were pregnant with Maxwell. Not too much later, we announced Natalie’s pregnancy…
There’s absolutely nothing like the gift of life. We are beyond blessed to have you, sweet Goldie.
Congratulations! She is precious.
Congrats! She is beautiful! You certainly make beautiful babes. My friends daughter had kidney issues that were found before birth and she is all good now. Prayers coming your way. Much love from down under
Congratulations Whitley family! Will keep Goldie in my prayers.
There’s nothing like the first few weeks with a new baby, I love that time slows down so much!! She is beautiful, congratulations!! Praying over her health and your time transitioning to a family of 5.
She is absolutely stunning and I love her name.:) Praying for you guys on your journey with her kidneys.
Congratulations Maggie & family on your new addition born on the same day as my eldest daughter just 26 years later…
Have fun & snuggles with beautiful Goldie, she is adorable xx
Beautifully written, beautiful baby girl, and prayers and hugs sent your
way in this new journey!♥
Lots of love and thoughts sent your way! Kidney issues are very treatable if caught early, so she’s in the best hands already!
Congratulations! Nothing as precious as a new baby and what a sweet little name!
Oh congratulations!!! She’s just darling. And she’s just under a month younger than my third child/second daughter, Ella. I’ll be praying for you all as you adjust and concerning her kidneys.
Congratulations Maggie! She is sooooo sweet – that picture of her smiling reminds me of Maxwell so much. I am so with you – there’s nothing like holding your babe for the first time, especially after labour. :)
Will be praying for wisdom (doctors) and health (kidneys)… and for rest and recovery for you! If I lived closer I would bring you a casserole and fold your laundry, but pleasant thoughts will have to do. <3 <3 <3
Congratulations! Goldie is absolutely precious and I’m loving that name. I love thinking about “the exhale of holding your baby for the first time”.
Oh my, blown away by the beautiful introduction of sweet precious Marigold. Maggie, you are such a beautiful writer, keep sharing. Love you all. Gramma Tractor
Congratulations, Maggie! Blessings and prayers for your little Goldie Baby! Even far away in Germany I kept thinking and anticipating your news about the arrival of your third child! And now she is here and precious as all of your children! What a beautiful family you have!
You are such an inspiration! I hope you continue to find time to share your thoughts and activities.
Love to you and your loved ones!
Wiebke
Congrats!!! She is so precious <3
Blessings,
Edye // Gracefulcoffee
[…] I’m also thick in the memory loss phase of mamahood, oh my goodness! In case you missed it, here’s Marigold’s birth announcement. I can’t tell you the number of times I blanked out when trying to remember what I was doing. […]
Are Marigold’s kidneys good? She seems like a healthy 8 year old to me!
She sees a nephrologist regularly to check in. We can discuss in person if you’d like. Thankfully she’s had very little concern, we pray this remains.