Happily Ever Madsens

Archives for October 2021

Birthday Parties, DIY, Everett

Come ONE Come All | Circus 1st Birthday Party| Everett Turns One!

Come ONE Come All | Circus 1st Birthday Party| Everett Turns One!

The theme idea for a “Come ONE Come All” party was actually Caden’s idea! I had been racking my brain trying to think of a unique theme that I really loved and I couldn’t think of anything. Haha. So, I turned to Instagram and there and only there did Caden give me his idea. Typical. Haha! But I was immediately obsessed and had a million and one ideas!

Party planning is so much work (like SO much) but I absolutely love it and the outcome is always worth the hassle! One piece of advice I stand by is that you can’t do it ALL! Sure, I could make my own cake or do my own balloons, but there are professionals for a reason and they will save you so much time and effort!! I was so grateful to have collaborated with so many talented people and businesses who truly made this possible! If you are throwing a circus birthday party (or any party for that manner) definitely reach out to them and they can help make your party dreams come to life! I will list all of them at the bottom of this post with links to their sites!

I think one year old parties are so much fun and such a celebration of life! We had all of Everett’s friends and family there to show their love and I will always be grateful for our circle of loved ones. We always like to do a “sign-in” of some sort so one day our kids will be able to look back and see who was there! This time we did the book “If I Ran The Circus” by Dr. Suess and had everyone write a little message inside! So easy and so cute to look back on!

I really wanted this circus party to feel like you were AT the circus! I had a million ideas for food but settled on the options that were easiest to eat without sitting at a table, which was a blessing when we got rained out and had to move the party inside! I displayed all of the food “charcuterie” style with popcorn, nachos, cotton candy and cupcakes! All SUPER simple foods but fun and definitely went with the theme! We also did carnival type games including: a ring toss, fish bowl drop, a can knockdown, pin the peanut on the elephant, and a bean bag toss! We also did face painting and that was a huge hit for the kids!

Perhaps my favorite part of the party was the candy cart that my husband built for me from SCRATCH! All I gave him was a inspo picture off of Pinterest and he did such a wonderful job! I didn’t want to worry about winners and losers and tickets and prizes and all that, so I decided I’d do a make your own treat bag bar and it was perfectly displayed on the cart he made! We had little stickers that said thank you for coming on each bag and fun names for each of the treats and it was everything I wanted it to be!

Throwing my children birthday parties was something that I looked forward to YEARS before becoming a mom! It’s something that brings me so much joy to plan and see it all come together for everyone to come and enjoy! This Come One Come All party will be tough to beat in my head! I absolutely LOVED how it all turned out and I hope you can find some ideas for your own party here too! Never hesitate to reach out if you have questions on how something was done or just need someone to talk party with! Thank you for being here!!

Again, a HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful people and businesses who helped bring my dreams to life! Definitely reach out to them to help create your next party!

Here’s where everything is from:

If you have any other questions about anything at all or need any other links, comment below or send me a message! I’d love to help!

Birth Stories, Everett

Everett’s Birth Story | VBAC Birth Story

Everett’s Birth Story | VBAC Birth Story

It was October 9th 2020. I had my 39 week checkup that day and things were looking good. All I wanted during this pregnancy was to go into labor on my own, not being induced, and increase my chances of successfully having a VBAC and a better birth experience overall. The doctor said I was 4.5 cm dilated and completely effaced. I opted for a membrane sweep (again) and he told me my water bag was bulging. I was so excited I couldn’t even stand it. With Clyde, just 19 months before, I was BARELY a 1 at 41 weeks so this was the most exciting news I could ask for.

That night, I started feeling contractions as I ate dinner and bathed Clyde, but didn’t think too much of it. I had my hands full and honestly wasn’t paying much attention to them. Once Clyde went to bed around 9 pm, I noticed my contractions were very consistent and happening every 5-6 minutes lasting about 20-30 seconds each time. An hour later I started bleeding. I had been told some bleeding was normal and expected after the sweep earlier that day so I tried not to think too much of it. 

Caden on the other hand went into immediate “go mode” which meant he dusted the house and cleaned the garage… hahaha. True Caden fashion. We began to worry so we called labor and delivery and they assured us “bloody show” was normal and to just continue monitoring baby’s movement and watching my contractions. 

I tried to get some rest but kept getting woken up by my intensifying contractions. I was in complete disbelief that this was actually happening. By 4:30 am I woke Caden up, called my neighbor to come stay with Clyde, and we were on our way.

We arrived at the hospital just after 5 am and got checked into the triage room. They checked me and I was a “5+” and they said my contractions weren’t quite strong enough so they wanted me to walk the halls for a couple hours and then come back. Caden and I paced the halls and I was in PAIN! My contractions were crazy consistent to the point where Caden would squeeze my hand right as it started. Less than thirty minutes of walking and I just couldn’t anymore. We came back to triage room and asked to be checked again. I was a 7.5 at that point and I believed it with how much pain I had been in. 

I asked for an epidural through tears and was told it would be a while because there weren’t any rooms available but seeing how much pain I was in they assured me they would do their best. An hour and a half later, at almost 8 am, I was finally in a room and got my epidural. I was at an 8 and told to try and take a nap and rest! I was literally floating on cloud nine and could NOT sleep. I texted everyone and told them baby would be there soon and was just so overwhelmed that everything was going so smoothly! 

Then, a little less than 2 hours later, my nurse comes in and tells me baby is having some heart rate drops and they’re concerned. I had stalled and hadn’t progressed at all, which was so discouraging after how well I had progressed leading up to this. I was in tears thinking about how all of the problems with Clyde’s birth started this same way and was absolutely devastated.

My nurse kept telling me that I should probably start to consider a C-Section and that I wasn’t looking like a good candidate anymore. This was really really tough especially since she had been supportive up to that point and I had heard nothing but support from my doctor my entire pregnancy as well. After trying new positions for an hour with no luck, I asked to speak to my doctor who was on call and get his opinion. She told me that he would not be coming in and had me speak to the doctor that was there. That doctor basically told me we could continue to wait for a time and such but a c-section was definitely on the table. They stopped my contractions since they were making everything worse and told me to rest and consider my options. 

Five minutes later my doctor walked in the room, Captain America shirt, jeans and all, and we were all in tears. It was truly a miracle to see him and I was filled with so much hope. He talked to me about how the day had gone and talked me through all of my fears and questions. He told me we were on no timeline since the contractions had been stopped and baby was completely stable, that he 100% believed I could in fact give birth vaginally (contrary to what the nurse had told me) and that no matter the decision I made, we would make it a completely different (healthier/happier) experience than my first birth. 

Before I made my decision, I asked if I could be checked once more just to see if I’d made any sort of progress in the past 30 minutes he was talking to me. He checked, looked up at me, and said “looks like you’re supposed to get that VBAC!” I was at a 10 and ready to push, after not progressing since I had gotten my epidural 4.5 hours earlier. We were all a little shocked and just so grateful. 

My doctor went to get some scrubs on and we began to do some pushing. Since my contractions were stalled before, they were not overly effective and pushing was taking a long time. My doctor asked how I’d feel about using a vacuum assist to get him there sooner and after going over the benefits and risks, I felt strongly that was what we should do. Two pushes later, and baby Everett Brooks was on my chest. 

I truly can’t put into words the pure JOY I felt in that moment. It was everything and more than I had hoped for since (even before) I found out I was pregnant with him. That skin to skin bonding time I had grieved so much before. Knowing he was okay because he was right there with me. Nursing him immediately and having such success. Just holding him right then and there was everything to me. He had a head full of dark hair and my heart was fuller than I ever thought was possible. My baby boy was healthy and in my arms and I truly couldn’t ask for more. 

Everett Brooks Madsen

10 • 10 • 2020

7lbs 10oz 19.5 inches