November 2011

CAUTION: VERY DETAILED INFO OF THE BIRTH OF KALEB

ONLY READ IF YOU CAN HANDLE THE DETAILS

On November 1, the day after Halloween in 2011, all of my worries of the night before of going into labor, were quieted because I felt like a million bucks.  Seriously, I was very energized, had no allergies, and wasn't sore at all from my meanderings the night before.  So what did I do? I cleaned, like a maniac.  Seriously I did everything that I could to prepare for what was going to happen in the next week or so.  Well, little did I know, that the next morning, at around 2:30 am, I would begin to have contractions.  The contractions weren't bad enough that I couldn't sleep, but they were bad enough that I didn't sleep well.  I spent most of the next morning worrying about what was going to happen.  I had never had a baby all natural, so I was very nervous to say the least.  Kory and I spent the morning together talking and enjoying ourselves, as much as we could.  The contractions kept getting harder and longer until I finally called my midwife.  She said that we should meet at the birthing center.  We got there around 4-4:15 pm.  Isaac had fallen asleep in the car, so Kory stayed in the car with him while I went in and talked to the midwife.  Upon checking me, she discovered I was only a 3.  Not very dilated considering I had already had contractions for an hour.  I went outside and walked around in the nice cool weather to try and speed the process up.  When Isaac woke up, Kory came in the house and we ate some snacks in the kitchen with Isaac. At that point, it was around 6:30, 7, Kory and Isaac were quite hungry.  So since there was nothing really happening, I sent them off to the Purple Turtle.  A hamburger joint just blocks from the birthing center.  In the picture below are the fries that came with Isaac's kids meal....yes, there were more fries in his meal than in Kory's.  

Moving on....at about this time my midwife discovered that the contractions weren't causing the baby's head to push on my cervix, which is why I wasn't dilating.  The cervix was towards the back of my body, so she decided that the best method would be to physically move my cervix during the contractions so that it would begin to dilate.  So when my contractions started that is what they did.  Honestly that was probably the most painful thing, maybe even more painful than actually pushing the baby out.  I was lying on the bed, unable to be in a comfortable position, while my cervix was kept in place with someone's fingers.....ouch.  They did this around 7:30.  Diane (the midwife), decided to give me a break, so I had a half hour of normal contractions, and then they had to move my cervix into place during another round of contractions.  This time I opted for sitting on the birthing stool, since that was more comfortable to me.  Well in the process of holding my cervix in place, my water broker.  I'm not sure that it broke because her fingers were there, or whether it just broke on its on.  At any rate, that is when the contractions started getting a lot harder, 8:30.  At 9 I was allowed to get in a water bath, which was so lovely.  I labored in there until around 11:15, when I had to get out.  During this time Kory was in the front room with Isaac, Susan, Chad, Allison, and Samantha.  They were watching a movie.  At about 11:30 Kory came in to see about the progress and see if he could help.  Diane had kept saying that she thought I was going to have the baby that night, but he stayed in, until 12:08.  At that time I was told it was time to push.  I sat down on the birthing stool, Kory sat behind me, and the pushing commenced.  At 12:58, on November 3 (my dad's birthday), I pushed one last time, and our baby boy came sliding out.  Honestly it was kind of crazy how quickly he came out, the midwife almost dropped him because he slid out so quickly.  Kaleb Benjamin Calmes was such a slippery little guy!

At this point the midwife's assistant voiced her concern that I was losing a lot of blood and that I had ripped all the way down.  Upon hearing the word blood, Kory, who was holding the baby, said take the baby I'm going to pass out.  Which he did as soon as the baby was out of his arms.  He was sitting in his chair leaned up against the wall.  One of the assistants started cleaning off the baby, while the other two lifted me onto the bed and started stitching me up.  I was not medicated in any way, so I felt every stitch.  In the meantime we had called for Susan to come in, which she did happily, and discovered that it was her task to wake up her son.  After I was stitched up, I got to see my sweet little boy.  Kory was instructed to go to the store to get me gatorade and some food that would sustain me.  I hadn't had a proper meal since lunch the day before.  Kory came back with orange gatorade, oatmeal and nutrigrain bars.  I remember I felt so exhausted, just laying there, it was a chore to stay awake.  Alli, Chad, Sam, and Isaac all got to come in to see the baby.  Isaac was going nuts.  It was crazy that it was 2 am and Isaac was running around like a nut.  He should've been exhausted, but instead he was looking at his brother and jumping off the furniture and every other crazy thing.  Finally around 3 we sent Alli, Chad, and Isaac home to sleep.  Diane had me take ibuprofen, and drink this horrible tasting drink because of all the blood I had lost.  She had me drink chlorophyll....yum yum.  At about 4 am we all finally got to go to sleep.  Susan held Kaleb in the rocking chair and Kory slept on the bed next to me.  I slept so deeply and around 7 am Susan brought Kaleb over to nurse.  Susan told me about my noisy little baby.  He grunted and groaned all night.  

He was so precious as a little baby!

This is the birthing center where I labored all night.  The next morning at 10 am we all had to wake up and get ready to leave.  I had to get up to go to the bathroom.  Diane and Kory helped me in to the bathroom, where I passed out onto Kory's arms...he had to carry me back to the bed and lay me down.  He packed up all the stuff with Susan and Sam's help and then they carried me out to the car....yes, carried me, because they didn't want me passing out on the way to the car. 

Me laying on the bed with Kaleb.

My energetic boy with his dazed little brother!

Proud Daddy!

We got home and I sat on the recliner with my boy.  Kory had to go take a test, as exhausted as he was I'm surprised he was able to stay awake during his exam.  Susan took Isaac to the store so I could get some rest without worrying about my newborn getting jumped on.  Having Kaleb naturally was a difficult adventure, but I am so glad that I did.  

Over the next few days I recovered slowly.  I had to finish the chlorophyll, and take lots of iron pills.  Kaleb was a very good baby those first few days.  When my mom came a few days later, it was so nice to have help.  I got mastitis, so painful! And my mom was able to help me through it all.  I am so grateful for all the help I received those first weeks I had Kaleb.  

September/October 2011

One of these days I will actually get caught up.  Hopefully I can do some damage tonight, seeing as it is almost the end of the year.  

Isaac stayed the night at Susan's and is seen here making cookies with Allison.

 Allison turned 19 last October.  Isaac loves birthdays and blowing and candles....you better believe he was right next to her and even blew out the candles himself, for her.

Brady and Kory played on a flag football team together and this is them acting all tough. 

I don't know where my other Halloween pictures are, I just remember we carved this pumpkin with Trey and Kate.  Isaac was going to be Dash from The Incredibles, but at this point last year I was coming on 40 weeks of being pregnant and was not in the mood to try and put something together for him.  So last year, at this time, I found a Buzz Light Year onesie pajama and decided to just put him in it.  October last year was a fun month.  I had finished babysitting and got to spend the month with Isaac.  We went to the park a lot, to the library, and I had him help me prepare for the birth of his little brother.  Halloween of 2011 was a lot of fun.  We went up to Sandy and went trick or treating in Great Grandma's neighborhood.  I was feeling very pregnant and the time we spent walking made me feel like I was having contractions and that perhaps we would have a baby in the next day.  

August 2011

August wasn't as busy as July, but it was hot and fun.  The kids I watched...and Isaac, would play in the hose outside.  Isaac loved (loves still), his swimming suit.  

 In the beginning of August my parents came up for the outdoor show at the Salt Palace.  They came and my mom brought up this sweet bed.  A friend from home was giving this bed away and I asked if we could have it for Isaac.  He loved it from the start!  Slept on it the first night, and hasn't skipped a beat since...okay that's a fib, when Kaleb was born he reverted to  putting himself in the crib to sleep, but now he's right back to sleeping on the bed.  A shout out to the Holmes' family for giving us the bed!  It has been a huge blessing.  

I came out one evening and found Isaac asleep on the couch. 

Isaac looking at my phone...

I don't remember what this picture was or why it was taken, but I figured I should post a pic of my pregnant self....

July Part 2

So sometime in July I went to a presidency meeting and left Isaac home with Kory.  I came home and went to the bathroom and flushed the toilet.  All seemed fine, but later Kory went in to use the bathroom and he noticed something was wrong.  Well we have a plunger, thanks to our experience when we first moved in :)  So I started to plunge the toilet and one blue lego came out...then another, then another, then two yellows came out.  Five legos, all the smaller size.  So Kory and I had a good laugh about how Isaac had flushed all those legos down the toilet.  We went on with our week.  Later in the week we noticed again that the toilet wasn't flushing right, so I go after it again with no luck.  So I called the manager of the property and he came and had to take apart the whole toilet....and he found the green one.  The biggest of them all!  It was stuck somewhere in the curve of the toilet and I couldn't get it by just plunging.  We had a really long and good laugh about it.  

 I took a picture of my hand next to the green lego so you can see how big it is.  

 Look at that blond hair! 

 The 24th of July!  I never really knew that the 24th of July was a holiday, or a reason to celebrate....but living here in Utah has shown me that the 24th is a lot like the 4th.  Just a different reason to celebrate.  It is the day that the saints entered the valley after a long and arduous journey across the midwest.  After being in the valley 10 years the early saints went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to camp and commemorate this special day.  The 24th of 2011 happened to fall on a Sunday.  We decided to go up Big Cottonwood Canyon  and attend church there and then make campfire dinners.  Church up the canyon was very special that day.  We sang "High on a Mountain Top" and we could look out the window to the tops of the mountains.  A member of the 5th quorum of the 70 was there and he and his wife spoke.  The chapel is beautiful up there and the ward was small but nice.  Afterwards we went and found a site with a fire pit and a picnic table.  We made s'mores early and often:) and we put chocolate and marshmallows in bananas and cooked them in a fire, oh they are so good!!

 We went on a hike, about a mile long, to St. Mary's lake.  It was hard, mostly because it was hot and I was pregnant, and Isaac walked a good portion of the way by himself!!

 On the hike down Isaac fell asleep.  

 Helping with the fire.

 Playing next to a small creek.  He had so much fun.

And that ends July, it was a busy and fun month, I'm tired just thinking about it.  

July Part 1

I love to barbecue.  Seriously I don't know what it is, ever since I was younger I love to stand at the grill and grill up the food.  I kind of had that responsibility at home with my parents, I guess I didn't always do it in California, but I did it often.  Oh I love summer, grilling, sunshine, gardens, lots of fresh foods....This is me at grandma Helen's on the fourth of July.  I took care of the hamburgers while everyone else got the spread laid out.

 Fireworks!!!  Isaac started the night on Aunt Jane's lap.  The fireworks were bright, Isaac is trying to shield his eyes here. 

 Isaac also didn't like the loud noises made by some of the fireworks.  He would cover his ears, then grab my hands and put them over his hands to make it even more muffled.  

 The boys, Chad and Kory, in charge of the fireworks.  

 The line up of viewers.

 The day after, or a couple days after, I can't remember exactly, we went up to Lagoon.  Lagoon is an amusement park that has a water park inside it, that you don't have to pay extra for!!!  When we first got to Lagoon I was sitting in front of the ticket office with Isaac, while Kory went to help his mom unload some stuff from the car.  We were already going to pay half for each ticket because it was "stake day", so we were pretty excited, but what made it even more exciting was that this guy randomly comes up to me and asks me if I want a kids' ticket for Isaac.  Apparently he had an extra because one of his children couldn't end up going, so he gave it to us.  I offered some money but he said it was no problem and just gave it to us, saving us money!!  

 The lazy river....

 Isaac going down on one of the kiddie slides....

 Playing in the sand.

 A ride in the amusement park  that Isaac rode, he loved it, "steering" the boat.

 The only ride I could go on, seeing as I was pretty pregnant at this point.  Isaac is sitting next to me, and freaking out!  The coaster went kind of fast, and just up and down, but it still caused Isaac to be very nervous.

 The carousel, which Isaac was also terrified of.   

This is the first part of July....

June 2011

In June I started watching more kids than I was previously.  I was already watching Kylee, and then I started watching Addison and Lauren, my friend Jenna's two little girls.  It was quite crazy watching so many kids, at nap time I had a kid in every room in the apartment, including the bathroom.  Haha, for a while I just laid a bunch of blankets down and made a bed next to the tub, and then after that I just started putting the pack and play in the bathroom instead of making a bed out of blankets.  It was nuts!  I didn't do much during nap time, mostly just rocked Lauren to sleep and then would fall asleep myself.  In early June Kory's good friend Taylor got married in the Salt Lake Temple.  We went to the sealing and after, while we were waiting outside, we caught a glimpse of Elder Ballard.  He stood in front of us, in the shade, while he was waiting for someone to come out.  Also in June my sister in law Allison graduated from high school  We went to her graduation at the Maverick center.  Afterwards we had a great party at Grandma Helen's.  Ronnie cooked up some good old Louisiana food, gumbo and jambalaya.  Samantha decorated some yummy cupcakes and we had a great party. Of course I forgot the camera for the graduation.....A couple of weeks after Allison's graduation, our cousin Bailee got married in the Salt Lake Temple, and I remembered the camera then...

 These are the pictures of us waiting outside.  It was a hot day, so we stood in the shade and I enjoyed watching Isaac look at the temple and play around.

 This picture is of all the girls cousins, except Heidi, who was a little too pregnant to travel up for the wedding.

Isaac playing while the pictures were being taken.

Isaac's Birthday 2011

Well I can't believe it, I am finally sitting down to begin the LONG process of updating my blog.  I have to start with last Summer, seeing as my last post was in June.  And although in June, I never posted pictures from Isaac's birthday....or much else for that matter. Here it is, Isaac turned two last May.  Ha, I'll have to post for his 3rd birthday here before long!  My mom was able to come up for the weekend of Isaac's birthday.  I love it when my mom comes to visit!  She and I made chocolate cake for Isaac.

 He's acting a little shy, we had some friends over and he didn't want to blow out the candles.  He did get a little more excited once he realized it was cake, but he is silly like that.

 At this point I can't remember well what Isaac got for his birthday.  I know he got a coloring book, a big ball, and a cool cars seat.

While my mom was in town, we went for a bike ride.  I love riding bikes!  And so does Isaac.  He sat in the seat and smiled the whole time.  I didn't think to get a picture, but I'm sure you can imagine it.  We rode our bikes over to the garden I grew last Summer.  I have really enjoyed having a garden, although I'm not much of a green thumb, but I was able to grow tomatoes, carrots, onions, radishes, strawberries and peas.