Change

A new baby really changes things. Life kind of revolves around them and their schedule. It's an adjustment not being able to just go where I want. For example I told my Mom we should plan a camping trip to Bear Lake. After thinking about it I realized that it would probably be a nightmare with a 2 month old baby. Fussy nights would be a big problem in a tent. I'd also have to think about him being exposed to the outside air all day and then there's mosquitoes. Nope we won't be doing that. I wanted to go to the pool with the boys this week and realized that the baby would have to stay in the shade. How do I watch the boys swim if I'm hiding out in the shade? We won't be doing that without another adult to help.

I've decided to teach full-time next fall. It's the only way we are going to get into a new home anytime soon. So I promised myself we'd live it up this summer and I'd have lots of fun with the boys. I definitely feel guilty about not being home with my two little ones but after a lot of prayer I feel good about it. They need a new home too. A home where they can play outside and run around with the neighborhood kids. So I've made a summer activity bucket list and we are going to have a lot of fun even if we have to drag the new baby around with us.

So far we've finished up spring soccer and t-ball for Carter. Both boys are currently in swimming lessons and we've gone to the park, splash pad, library, Union Station, and Treehouse Museum this summer. I'm finally feeling human again after the pregnancy and Braden has figured out his days and nights (knock on wood). He still wakes up twice and eats every 4 hrs but as long as he goes back to bed after eating I can handle it. After he turned 7 weeks his temperament has been better too. He's starting to smile and is acting more content and less fussy. Even though we have to do things a little bit different now I love having him in our family. He's a little piece of heaven.

 Carter playing soccer in the spring

Go Green Dragons!

 He's much more aggressive this year and figuring it all out.

 This was Carter's first year playing t-ball on the Angry Birds Team and he loved it.

 At first the kids wouldn't run to the next base until someone ran to theirs. It was like falling dominoes.

 The coach had the kids take turns catching the ball and throwing it to first base when someone hit. During the first game they would all tackle each other trying to get the ball from each other. It was hilarious!

 We are taking advantage of the free Weber County Activities on Saturday's. We went to the Union Station Museum and checked out the trains.

 Every time we would drive past the museum Garrett would point to the trains and beg to go see them. He was happy we finally did.

 We then went to the Treehouse Children's Museum for free. It was packed but the boys didn't mind.

 They spend most of their time playing with the trains (even though we have a train table at home) and they like milking the cow.

 Peeking over the fire truck

 I hope these two always stay best buds. They get along so well. 

Here they are being silly together at breakfast.

 Driving the Jeep at Grandma Slater's. I always wanted one of these when I was a kid.

 Carter pretty much ignores Braden, but Garrett is often in his face.

 Such a sweet baby boy!

He even likes being on his belly.

Braden likes to lay outside and kick around :)

Baby Braden

Braden is a sweet little newborn and I can't believe he is almost two months old. It's taken me two months to adjust and get on a schedule again. I wanted to write a little about him and these last two months so that I can remember it. I also have some adorable newborn pictures to post that my friend Aubree took. I love how they turned out and am so glad I did them even though it was the last thing I wanted to do at the time. He is exactly one week old in the pictures and such a precious little bundle. Newborns are a little piece of heaven.

In the hospital Braden was a typical sleepy newborn. He was pretty easy going and hardly cried at all. I kept crossing my fingers that it would last. He didn't like to open his eyes for a couple days and just peeked out of one. We just cuddled all day in the hospital bed together and he was very content. He pulled a lot of funny faces and rolled his eyes. I wonder if he's going to be like Garrett and have many facial expressions? I worried about his reflux and the funny sounds his breathing made. He sounded like he was always out of air or needed to cough something out of his throat. But I was assured he was fine and his reflux isn't so bad now. Garrett's was much worse. Braden liked to be wrapped tight in his blanket and still does when he is tired but now he fights to get an arm out.

At six weeks I noticed his hair was receding a little from the forehead. I love all his strawberry blond hair but know he'll probably lose it. He has a dimple in his chin like me and has long fingers and toes. His legs are a little short and bow legged right now. He knows my voice and would just listen to me in the hospital. Now he spots me across the room and will fuss to get my attention. He likes me to wrap him up and hold him. Actually he prefers to be walked around the house. He just looks around and then fusses when I sit down or rock him. He just likes that feeling of me walking and patting his back or bouncing him. He knows when I sit down. We had to do that a lot at night his first month.

Braden loves to eat. In the hospital he downed a bottle after he was born and continued eating more than he should for his age. The nurses even told me not to feed him so much but he really wanted it. He's still a little piggy and loves his bottle. He attacks it and it can be frustrating because he always thinks he has to eat. It shows, he's got himself a cute little double chin and is starting to pack on the rolls.

After coming home from the hospital Braden was pretty good but was more awake at night than in the day. At about 2 wks he started getting belly aches and was gassy. We changed his formula a couple times and have found that he does best on lactose free, soy formula. He currently drinks five ounces at 7 weeks old. His fussiness got much better after changing to soy but he was a grumpy baby his fifth and sixth week. Lots of crying came from our house. It was especially hard at night when I was sooo exhausted and needed some sleep. At seven weeks he seems a lot happier. I think we skipped the colic stage, hooray! All my babies have been pretty fussy in the beginning but grow out of it. Hopefully he will be as easy going as his brothers are.

Braden sleeps best right now in his swing just like Garrett did. Sometimes it's the only thing that calms him. After about 6 weeks Braden started sleeping longer at night and will go back to sleep after feedings. He started cooing around 6 wks. His first smiles were at seven weeks and he also gets excited and starts kicking those little legs. He's starting to get more fun because he is responding more to us.

Our New Little One

He's here! Hooray!! Our brand new sweet little baby Braden. Oh how I instantly fell in love with this little guy. The months of miserable pregnancy suddenly became worth it when I heard that first sweet cry and saw that little face. Love, instant love. I'll admit I was worried this time. Worried that something would be wrong with him. I don't know why I worried. Maybe because life was a little too calm and I was waiting for something to stir it up. But everything went smoothly and he had all his parts, all his fingers and toes. In fact he was perfect and an absolutely gorgeous baby if I say so myself. I told Mark, "We sure make them cute, don't we." He looks a lot like I did as a baby. That's the first thing my mom noticed and said, "Chelsey, he looks just like you did." He has a reddish blond hair and a decent amount of it. His eyes, lips, and chin resemble mine. His nose is just like my other boys noses. Each of my babies have had similarities in their looks, but have all been a little different. He was smaller than I expected, 7lbs 6oz. They said he was only 18 3/4 inches long but I don't buy it because at two weeks old he measured over 21 inches long. He did seem like a little bundle though. A little bundle straight from heaven.

I was sooo done being pregnant. The end is mentally, emotionally, and physically a challenge for me. My goal was to make it to 38wks so that I'd know he was big and healthy. After about 32 wks I couldn't walk anymore. My belly would contract when I walked very far and I would actually feel it get tighter and tighter until I literally couldn't move. Many times I would be somewhere and just have to stand there like a statue until it calmed down. I tell you I'm not a normal pregnant person. Anyways, at 36 wks I started contracting consistently. They weren't painful just uncomfortable. One Friday afternoon we decided I better go get checked out at labor and delivery since the contractions were starting to hurt and were every couple minutes apart. Since I had the cerclage (stitches) in for my incompetent cervix, I didn't want them to tare. At L & D they monitored me and the contractions were about 3 min apart, so my doctor took out the cerclage. Ouch!! It hurt this time. They gave me a shot that was supposed to stop Braxton Hicks contractions but it didn't stop them so apparently they were real ones. My doctor would have done the c-section but I was 36wks and 6 days along and I needed to be 37wks. I was literally 6 hrs away from being full term and he wouldn't do it unless I was in active labor and my cervix was changing. I was only at 1cm so they sent me home and told me to come back when the contractions were harder. I didn't want to leave but didn't complain because I knew the baby could use some more time.

I had my weekly appointment the next Tues. and since I was 37wks and a few days along and was contracting still my doctor said he'd do the c-section that day. The problem was it was April 24th Mark's 30th birthday and I didn't want them to have to share birthdays so I declined the offer. That was hard. I cried and cried. I wanted this baby out. I was spending my days laying on the couch waiting and I had to say no. Well just my luck the next day the contractions stopped altogether. I really cried then. Saturday came and still not much was happening. I thought it would be cool to have him that day because it was my dad's birthday, April 28th. I thought it'd make his birthday a happy day and not a sad one. I told dad to say goodbye and send him down. I do talk randomly to my dad at times because I truly believe he is often with me, especially when I need him. I had also felt sad that he wasn't going to be there at the hospital to ooh and aah over him like he had in the past. I really miss dad. He was my biggest cheerleader. Well guess what? That afternoon the contractions started again and they started getting hard and close together pretty quickly. I thanked my papa and went to the hospital. We got there about 4:30pm where they said I wasn't going home this time and they quickly prepped me for surgery. My doctor was there by 5:30pm and I had a new baby at 5:55pm on dad's birthday. I couldn't see him but I'm sure dad was celebrating with us.

The c-section went smoothly. I just stared at Mark to watch his reaction through it all since I couldn't see anything. I heard that first cry and my heart melted. I wanted to jump off that table and just be with my baby. But I had to lay there while they rearranged my guts inside my body :) When Mark brought him over for me to see I just bawled. I'll never forget the pouting lip on his little face and the intense feeling of love that consumed me. I tearfully said to Mark, "I love him already."

After I was all sewn up I had to hang out in recovery for an hour. Since my surgery happened so fast they had me filling out a bunch of forms. I begged for my baby since they had taken him to be cleaned up and I felt like I was the last one to see him. My mom was there and all smiles telling me how he was just like me. I was thrilled and pushed away the paperwork when they finally brought him to me. There's something so heavenly and spiritual about holding a brand new baby. Mom told me how she had had a talk with dad that day too. She told him he could send the baby on his way but to not even think about taking me or the baby back with him. Chris and Susan brought Carter and Garrett to see us. They were more interested in the hospital than the baby. But I felt so proud to be the mom of all these sweet little boys, four to be exact.

We named him Braden Bert. Bert Hall was my grandfather and a really neat man. He was a very hard working farmer in Canada. Grandpa didn't waste time, he was always working on something and I have some great memories of him. Grandpa was a man of service he was a bishop, very active in the church, he volunteered work on the church farms, and was known for helping out the widows in their little home town of Raymond. Many wonderful stories were shared of him at his funeral and I would love my son to grow up to be a great man like him.

I stayed in the hospital for four days and three nights. Recovery from a c-section isn't very much fun especially the first two days. I think it was a little better this third time. I could move better and couldn't even feel the incision. The worst part of my recovery was the raging hormones. I am a hormonal mess after a baby. I'm very emotional, happy one minute and then feeling like my life is over the next. I had crazy hot flashes, cold sweats in the night, and few anxiety attacks. I felt much better after about two weeks.

Braden was an angel baby in the hospital. He never cried. I wondered if he even knew how because his attempts were pitiful. He seemed very content, a little too good to be true and I told Mark, "I wonder when the monster will emerge." None of my babies had been real easy as newborns. He was pretty ticked after his circumcision but who could blame him. It made me want to cry too. I loved that he knew my voice and I could calm him in an instant. The nurse would bring him in from the nursery and he'd be fussing around and when I started talking to him he'd stop, hold still, and just listen to me. He didn't like to open his eyes for a couple days. He'd just peek out of one at a time. But I knew he was listening to me as I talked to him. We had some nice, peaceful days just me and him there in the hospital. I just held him in my arms all day loving on him as he slept. There was a couple things that did upset me though. He had bad reflux right from the beginning. In fact the nurse who handed him to me in the recovery room said, "this is definitely a reflux baby." My other boys had had reflux problems and it upset me that he was starting off with it so soon. He covered everything with spit up and made sounds like he was always gasping for air. They assured me he was breathing just fine and that the reflux wasn't really even bothering him at this point. He probably just had some fluid in his belly from birth. I just worried he'd be like Garrett and it'd make him fussy. Braden also didn't poop in the first 24hrs which concerned the nurses. They ended up taking him to have an x-ray done. During that time I was a wreck worrying that he'd have bowel problems. Luckily it was just taking its time and he had gas bubbles blocking him from going. Motherhood is a big worry.

It was nice to come home from the hospital but reality quickly settled in. I had forgotten just how hard newborns are. They require a lot of attention and work. Feedings every 3 hrs and many sleepless nights. I think it seems much harder when my body is healing and hormones are raging. Too bad I just didn't feel good so I could enjoy him more. At least with this being my third pregnancy I know it gets better and easier. So I'm trying to just take it all in and enjoy my new little one, because I know he won't stay little for long.

Easter

Carter and Garrett were really excited for Easter this year and kept watching the calendar and counting down the days. We had an Easter egg hunt and BBQ at Grandpa/ma Westergard's on Saturday. The weather was so nice and we even got sunburns. Then on Easter Sunday the boys were so excited that the Easter Bunny had come to our house and hid their baskets full of goodies. We colored eggs and had another BBQ that afternoon with the Slater family.

Egg hunt at Grandmas.

They found lots of eggs.

 Checking out their loot and eating way too much candy.

Easter morning Garrett found his basket in a bathroom cabinet.

Carter found his basket hidden in a closet.

It was sick how fast they downed their candy. Their favorite thing was a Mario DVD tucked away in the basket. 

Dying eggs is so exciting.

Another egg hunt with the Slater family.

Grandma and the boys.

My family minus Jeremy's family. They have a newborn baby boy named Mason who I'm sure they didn't want outside with the mosquitos.

Grandma Slater bought Carter and Garrett these handsome Easter suits for church. These two little men are so adorable :)