JLC:: 1 Month

Sleeping:

Jaylee does great during the day.

She still needs quite a bit of help falling asleep but will take about 5 naps everyday.

The problem comes at night.

She is incredibily difficult to get down for the night. She sleeps 20-40 minutes at a time and then wakes up.

She does this after her "bedtime feeding" until 10pm- midnight.

I pump before I go to bed and then Ryan stays up with her and gives her a bottle before she finally settles down for the night.

She wake 1-2 times after that each night.

Feeding:

No real issues here.

Jaylee is a good eater.

She is eating 8-10 times a day.

She does get gassy during feedings so we usually need to take a couple burp breaks.

Playing:

She is awake 45-50 minutes between each nap.

She loves her bath.

She is usually content to be left alone during awake time.

JLC:: A Birth Story

This was my first labor that wasn't super clear if I was in labor.

The night before she was born I was up for a couple hours with contractions.

However they went away so I just thought it was another false labor.

During the rest of the day I had contractions periodically.

Nothing that was timeable or progressing in intensity.

By dinner time they were coming in more regular periods but then they would stop for a little bit.

They were feeling more painful but I still wasn't sure I was in labor.

When we tucked the kids in at 7pm the intensity kicked up and then started coming 7 minutes apart.

By the time we tucked Jacob in at 7:30pm I figured we should head to the hospital and walk around the parking lot.

I was bound and determined not to have a car baby!

As we were walking they got more intense so we decided to head in since I was group B strep positive.

In triage my midwife had them check me right away.

I was dilated to a 4.

She said I could wait in triage for anything to progress or be admitted and she would come break my water in an hour if nothing was moving along.

I decided to wait in triage.

While the nurse was calling my midwife to let her know my decision my water broke.

They quickly admitted me and my midwife arrived shortly there after.

I was able to walk around and sit on the birthing ball.

When I was at a 10 I moved back to the bed and about 15 minutes later Jaylee was here!

This labor felt like my most painful and intense.

I'm not sure if it is because I wasn't as prepared mentally or if it is because she was my biggest baby.

Jaylee Lynne Calder weight 8lbs 6oz and was 20.5" long and born at 9:00 pm.

She tested positive for Lewis Antibodies and had high bilirubin levels. 

Her second night they put her under blue lights and she had to stay like that the entire following day.

I hated sitting in the hospital and not being able to hold her.

It was so sad to see her laying naked under the lights with an eye mask on.

It got pretty lonely being there for two full days without any visitors (except for Ryan) thanks to COVID.

I was just happy her levels came down enough that they let us go home.

Thankfully she didn't have any issues after leaving the hospital.

JPC:: 7 Years

Stats from Checkup

Height: 49.5" (87th Percentile)

Weight: 49 lbs (33rd Percentile)

I don't know why but 7 feels way older than 6!

I can not believe how grown up Jacob is getting.

We were pretty limited on options this year thanks for COVID but we still managed to have a fun day.

We started the day with presents and muffins.

Jacob got a digital camera, new book, elephant and piggie stuffed animals (from Logan), and a puzzle game.

We went down to the Calders around lunch so he could jump on the tramp and we roasted hot dogs for lunch.

That afternoon he wanted to play Mario Kart and we went on a walk to take pictures.

We had homemade pizzas and Texas sheet cake for dinner.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jacob Update

Jacob is in the Spanish Immersion program at school.

He has learned so much spanish this year.

It appears so easy for him to speak any of the words he knows.

His favorite activity is reading

He will read for hours everyday.

He loves illustrated chapter books.

Currently his favorite series is Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

He is a kind and super helpful big brother.

He is always willing to help carry someone or push a stroller for me.

He has gotten so comfortable on his bike.

He can now ride standing up without any issues.

This year he saved his money and bought his own bigger bike!

This year we let him stay up until 7:30pm each night since he didn't seem to need as much sleep.

He really enjoys getting his one on one time with me or Ryan each night.

He rocked the two months on online school due to COVID.

He would stay on task without any help and plow through his assignments.

We love you Jacob!

Fall Break

I originally had no desire to go anywhere for fall break.

I've been a real home body with the pregnancy.

Not sure if it just because I don't feel good or if it is nesting but either way we were staying home.

Until late morning Thursday.

We'd been talking about going to Logan for a couple months but home body me kept ruling it out.

But I got to thinking if we didn't go now it could be over a year before we go due to winter and cuatro.

So I decided what the heck!

 Lets drive up tonight after work, spend the day Friday and then head home Saturday morning.

I called Ryan, we booked an airbnb, and I packed everything up.

The boys were so excited when I told them our plans!

We got to Logan just in time for bedtime.

Friday morning we went to Angie's for breakfast.

Then hit up Gossner's Cheese Factory and the Pepperidge Farm Outlet.

Those were Logan's favorite parts of  the trip.

Then we took the bus up to campus.

Went through all the engineering building, TSC, ESLC, and climbed up to the top of the tower of Old Main.

Then we head back to our airbnb for Elsie's nap while the rest of us worked on a puzzle.

After naptime we got Aggie Ice cream and played at Ryan's Place park before dinner.

We drove home first thing Saturday morning so we could be on time for a breakfast and pumpkin painting party hosted by our realtor.

After that we stopped in to see my grandparents before going home.

We had a great time as a family and I'm so glad we did this spontaneous trip.

Now excuse me while I sleep for a week to make up for it!

EMC:: 2 Years

Stats from Checkup

Height: 33" (21st Percentile)

Weight: 21 lbs (6th Percentile)

Head: 19" (78th Percentile)

I cannot believe our little spitfire is two!

She is an absolute joy and has so much personality packed in her tiny body.

She brings our whole family together and has a zest for life.

We started her birthday with pancakes and presents.

She was so excited and needed no help opening them.

After breakfast we packed up and headed to the zoo.

She loved it!

Her favorite animal was the Meer Kat.

She could have watched them forever.

Since then she has talked the most about how we had to be quiet because there was a brand new baby sand cat.

We ate lunch at the zoo and then headed home.

My mom had flown in and stopped in the play before heading to St. George.

She took her nap and then we played at home before having Parmesan noodles for dinner.

It was an awesome day spent celebrating Elsie!

Elsie Update

Elsie is sleeping about 12 hours at night with a 2-3 hour nap every day.

She is a pretty picky eater and isn't really a fan on meat unless it is taco meat.

She loves all fruit, yogurt, and rolls.

She insists on having cereal every morning.

Elsie's communication has really taken off and she is saying 3 word sentences.

She loves snuggling with blankets, babies, and stuffed animals.

She loves being outside and bursts into tears if she thinks anyone is going out without her.

She insists on walking everywhere at a snail's pace.

It is a battle to get her in the stroller or a shopping cart.

We just moved her car seat forward facing.

She absolutely loves it and chats the entire drive.

She loves to play with her brothers and they are so cute to include her.

She loves reading books but she has to hold the book and turn the pages while you read it to her.

She doesn't like to play in the bath but always insists on having colors in her water.

We love you Elle May!