Growing the Fletcher Legacy

Baby Fletcher took a long road to get here. Forty one weeks and six days, almost forty two. For about a month we kept getting asked “how are you doing?,” “any updates,” and we kept smiling and saying soon, baby will come on it’s own time. This was not the birth Shelby and I had been planning for. We wanted to have the baby at home, the way we did with Archie. At the last minute, our plans changed, and we ended up at a hospital instead. Hospitals have not always been a safe or easy place for our family, so walking in was hard. When the baby was born, there was a quiet moment before the first breath. Those few seconds took me right back to another time, another baby of ours who was born just as peacefully but who never took a breath at all. I held my own breath and waited. Then the baby moved, and I could finally breathe again. Baby Fletcher was here, safe and healthy, and this time the quiet turned into a cry. The hospital we were scared of ended up taking good care of us. Everyone is healthy, everyone is tired, and we are so relieved. This baby means everything to us. Our family has lost babies before. One was our daughter, Havenly Ariel, who was born still in October 2021. After losing her and others, we started to wonder if the pattern would break and allow us to bring a baby home. This baby changed that. After bracing ourselves so many times, this is the one who came and stayed, and we still can hardly believe it. Havenly will always be part of our family, and we love hearing her name, so please do not be afraid to talk about her with us. Our family is not the only one who knows this kind of loss. My sister, Lauren, lost two of her little ones too, our nephew Liam and our niece Aubree, and we hold them close right along with our own. Aubree passed during her birth in April 2024, just days before my birthday, so that time of year is heavy for all of us now. We live surrounded by an amazing community, and we love it. Our home is small on purpose, because it keeps us close together and makes room for a lot of adventures, which is exactly how we like it. Right now every ounce of energy we have is going to this new little one and the kids, so a meal we do not have to plan or shop for is worth more than almost anything. Our family eats regular meals, and we have one tiny new crew member on a strict milk only diet. 😊 We have picked a name, and we love it. We will share it after our closest family hears it first. For now, Baby Fletcher works just fine. I built a little website so everyone can stay updated without waiting on a text. That is where the photos, updates, and the name will continue to show up. You can find it here: https://baby.kodifletcher.com After all the waiting, and all the breath held, we finally get to let it out. Thank you for helping us spend these first tender days doing the one thing we hoped for all along, just being together as a family. A few other ways to help Meals are a huge help, and honestly so is anything that hands us back a little more time with our kids. If you are already stopping by or just want to pitch in, here are a few things that make a real difference right now: • A quick round of dishes • Taking out the trash • A load of laundry, washed or folded • Grabbing a few groceries while you are already at the store • A quick tidy up so we can sit down with the kids instead of cleaning None of it has to be big. Even ten minutes of one of these means ten more minutes we get to spend holding this new little one and being with Fayeli and Archie. No pressure at all, but if you have the time and the heart for it, we would be grateful. Thank you, from all six of us. ◡̈ Fletcher Family