Lexi Anne: Pre-School- Year One

09/01/20 

My sweet Lexi girl, today is your very first day of Pre-School! When I first considered putting you in school this year I wasn't sure how you would respond, but since telling you that you would be going to school you have been so EXCITED! Your dad and I took you do to a little back to school shopping mainly because you needed new pants haha. The night before your first day we started a new tradition as a family, each year before you girls start a new school year we as a family will come up with a theme to work on throughout the year. This year I picked "Kindness Begins with Me" from the primary song. I figured that the world we live in now is getting harder and harder and less nice so I wanted to make sure to instill that in my kids. That night we did a little lesson on speaking kindly to people and enjoyed some of grandmas yummy  chocolate chip cookies. I got you some cute ABC pajamas that you were excited about and got your outfit and backpack laid out for the next day! 

On the morning of your first day we had mini muffins and milk for breakfast, you were so excited about your first day that you barely ate anything. You kept asking me every 5 minutes or so if it was time to go. :) You wore a cute pink jumper dress that our friend Ashely got for you, and I curled your hair all cute for pictures. I went a little all out and bought a fun Back to School box from a small business in Utah that had fun decorations and a tiny school bus that you loved! When we drove you to school I asked you what you were most excited for about Pre-school and you said "My teacher, Mrs. Karissa!" I am so glad you have such a great teacher! We took you inside and you were a little shy at first but you warmed right up! After school was over your dad and I picked you up and I asked you what your favorite thing about school was and you said "the roller coaster." I was so confused but luckily my friend is a teacher  there and she told me they had a fun car with a track in their backyard for kids to play on.  Haha that is so you, you really like cars! 

I can't wait to see how much you learn and grow this year baby girl! We love you so much, knowledge is power and I can't wait to watch you learn each year! 

      

      

Hailey Jane: 1 Month

 8.25.20

Hailey I can't believe you are already a month old, this month has brought on some crazy times and some fun times! We started off with you loosing way to much weight for my liking, you were born 5 lbs. 9 oz and when we left the hospital you were 4 lbs. 13 oz. at your first Dr appointment you hadn't gained much so we decided to put you on a supplement schedule to help you gain. It was a rough start, because you are considered a preemie baby it was hard to get you to wake up to eat and get you to eat the whole time. But with lots of persistence and trail and error we have figured that out. 

I am happy to report that by the time you went in for your 2 week check up you had gained weight you were 5 lbs. 7 oz and were almost back to your birth weight! The doctor told us to keep up our supplement routine and to continue bringing you in to get your weight checked. I took you in last Thursday (8.20.20) and I am thrilled to report you are now 6 lbs. 5 oz!! Hooray! 

Lexi absolutely adores you, she has to be right by your or in your face constantly. :) You have been practicing some tummy time, its never a favorite for you kids at the beginning but you are getting better each time. You have been more alert lately and love to watch your surroundings. We have had fun watching you observe things and can't wait for more fun milestones! You are currently wearing preemie and newborn clothes and have just moved out of preemie diapers to newborn. You are my first baby to fit into preemie things and its cute but also a little scary. 

This month has brought on lots of visitors, aunt Hillary and her family, the young women's presidency in our ward that I serve with, and lots of cherished friends! Because I got postpartum depression with your sister I have really made an effort to get us out of the house at least twice a week so that we can enjoy the sunshine and friends.

 Hailey you are such a joy to our family, we're so happy you are here with us and we can't wait to watch you continue to grow and learn in the coming months!  

36 Weeks: Hailey Jane Almond

 July 24th 2020 

Around 3 am I woke up with a lot of pain in my back that kept coming. I woke up your dad and told him that I thought I was having contractions but that my water hadn't broken so I wasn't sure what to do. He told me to call Labor and Delivery to see what they thought, when I talked with the nurse she  told me we could come in to be safe or wait to see if they got closer together. I decided to just try and go back to bed and see if they got worse. 

By 8 am I was in a lot of pain so we called aunt Dorothy and asked her to come sit with your sister Lexi while we went in to get checked. When we got to the hospital we went straight to labor and delivery and they hooked me up to the machines to hear your heart beat and the nurse checked to see if I was dilated. I was already to a 3 but she said I could be there for weeks before progressing. The resident Doctor had them give me a shot to try to slow the contractions and prescribed me some pills to help slow them as well. Because you were only at 36 weeks they also had to give me shot to help your lunges develop just in case you came early. We were there for a little over an hour and a half before they released me. 

I spent the rest of the day at home laboring while your grandma Almond watched Lexi for me. By that night I was so ready for this to all be over but they weren't close enough together for me to warrant going back into the hospital.

July 25th 2020

12 am I was in a lot of pain, I would have to sit up during each contraction and grab onto the side of the bed to keep from screaming really loud. I remember just praying that this would all go away soon because I don't remember this pain with your sister.

Again by 3 am I was done, I had been up off and on for 24 hours and was in so much pain I just wanted it to end. I woke up your dad again and told him what was happening and he wanted to go back to the hospital. I wasn't thrilled with the idea because I knew they wouldn't do anything to help because I was only 36 weeks and 2 days and that was too early to break my water. I tried to wait it out another half hour but by 15 minutes I was ready to drive up to labor and delivery. We called cousin Mariah to have her come stay with Lexi and headed back up to the hospital.

When we got there and they hooked me back up to the monitors the nurse came back in to check me. To my surprise I was dilated to a 6 and low and behold my water had broke but because my contractions were so intense I wasn't 100% sure if it was my water or if I had peed my pants. (this go around it wasn't a gush like with Lexi) The nurse looked at us and said "you're having a baby this morning." At this point I was just relieved that the pain was going to stop and also praying that you would be okay. 

Dr. Shelley was the on call OB that morning, sadly we weren't able to get our favorite Dr. Jones but she was very friendly and open and told me how she does her c sections. by 4 am we were set and ready to head down to the OR room and have a baby! When we got to the room the anesthesiologist came in and got started on my spinal tap, by the time he was done I sighed with relief. One because the pain was starting go away and two because I hate needles and it freaks me out but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The rest of what happened was all a blur of techs and nurses and doctor lingo that I didn't understand but I just knew that you would be here soon. 

4:30 am 

We heard Dr. Shelley say "oh, she has red hair." and I looked at your dad and we both started to cry. We have both always wanted a red head and we were so excited! Next thing I know the doctor is holding you up over the curtain and I heard your sweet cry and it reassured me that you would be okay. With you coming at 36 weeks there was a chance your lunges wouldn't be developed all the way but thankfully because of one of the shots I got the morning before you were doing better than I anticipated. They told me you were 5 lbs. 9 oz. which is smaller than your sister Lexi but not by much, they also said you looked healthy and you were doing great! Your dad got to go with you to the nursery to hold you while the doctors finished sewing up my stomach. It felt like hours and in reality it was because I didn't get done and back to my room to see you and your dad until 6:30 am. (That happens when you have a resident doctor working with the OB haha) 

When I finally got back to our room I was in awe of how tiny you were, and the fact that you came 3 weeks early was so crazy to me. I told your dad that we needed to pick a name for you, I think we both always knew we wanted your first name to be Hailey but we couldn't agree on a middle name. I liked a couple and your dad was leaning more towards no middle name. But I felt like you were a Hailey Jane so that was the name we agreed on. We took a little nap and let our families know you were born, took lots of pictures and even did a few facetime calls to show you off to your sister and our families. 

Tuesday July 28th 2020

We were finally able to go home, we only had to stay in the hospital an extra day because you had dropped more than 10% of your birth weight. (It's always so scary to me but you were able to get back up to 5 lbs. 7 oz by the end of your first week home, it took a lot of nursing and pumping and supplementing but I was happy!) We packed up our bags and loaded the car and were headed home by 1 pm. I was so anxious to see your sister I hadn't really gotten to see her much before you were born, I also couldn't wait for her to meet you! When she got to our apartment with your grandparents and I saw her big smile when she saw you with your dad I started to cry. I always knew you two would have a special bond I just wasn't sure if it would happen right away and I was so happy it did! 

Lexi loves everything about you, she is always so excited to hold you, and give you hugs and kisses and it just makes my mamma heart so happy! Hailey I hope you know how loved you are by all of us! We are so happy to have another sweet little girl in our home! 

35 Weeks Baby Girl #2

Hello sweet baby! Here we are one month away from your arrival and I can't believe we're already here. I know you're probably thinking, "mom you say that a lot" but seriously! This weekend we went to your grandparents to get some of our baby things for you. I was in heaven as I went through the bins of 0-3 month clothing, it brought back so many fun memories of your sister and I can't wait to make memories with you soon! So the next few weeks will be full of us getting ready for your arrival, but we're excited!

This week we also went to see the progress of our home, it's been a bit since I've talked about the house on here. We are moving right along, I am so excited! We now have a mostly framed basement there are a couple walls to finish, and when we went over Wednesday they were putting up walls for our main floor. I really hope this moves quick because I can't wait to move out of our tiny apartment!

 As for you my sweet girl you are still thriving and rolling around more than you kick but it still helps me to know you're doing well. We went to the doctor Monday and will continue to go each week until you are born. You're the size of a honeydew melon 18 1/4 inches 5 1/4 lbs.

34 Weeks Baby Girl #2

Hello little one, this week was filled with more cousin fun! Aunt Melissa has been visiting from Indiana with her three kids and we've had a lot of fun! We also got to celebrate Grandma Almond's birthday this weekend, she is so loved she got to celebrate on Saturday and Sunday with family. We had a little family dinner with her and Melissa's family, aunt Dorothy and great grandma Ruth came too. Then Sunday night we all went over to uncle Matt's house for dinner and homemade ice cream so good! We are so lucky to live near family!

This week you are the size of a spaghetti squash 18 inches and about 5 lbs. I really don't know how accurate this is because I just go off what my pregnancy app tells me, so we'll see. :) Love you baby!

33 Weeks Baby Girl #2

Happy 4th of July little one! What a crazy week we had, aunt Melissa and her kids came back to grandmas to visit for a few weeks. We had a family BBQ for the fourth at Dad's uncle Dan's house, it was fun to keep our tradition alive even during this crazy pandemic. Sadly though we didn't have the normal turn out we usually do because aunts and uncles and cousins who usually come decided to go camping instead, but we still had a good time. We had great food, and your dad and uncle Artie bought fireworks to light for the kids that evening and they loved it!

On Monday we joined dads family for a day trip to a place called Steadman's Ranch. They have 2 big water slides, fun kids toys, a trampoline and places to camp. Lexi and I just came for the day but the rest of the family spent the night. You sister had a blast going down the water slide on tubes with aunt Kristin and uncle Artie since mommy wasn't able to ride this year.

This week you are the size of a pineapple 17 1/4 inches 4 1/3 pounds. I had a doctors appointment this week and your doing great, heart beat a strong 150 and still rolling and kicking like crazy. We're still looking at moving the c-section date so dad can work a little more before you come so instead of August 13th we're thinking August 17th, we'll know for sure once we get a little closer to August. Love you little one!

32 Weeks Baby Girl #2

Hello sweet girl, we have had such a fun busy week. Aunt Melissa and uncle Chase came to visit with their kids Cohen, Claire and Cate. We had a fun filled weekend with all of our Almond cousins and I can't wait for you to join them next summer! We had family pictures taken by moms friend Ashely, family BBQ's one at Grandmas and one at uncle Matt's house. Played out in the sun with some water toys and just enjoyed each others company all around.

On Sunday we were supposed to attend our ward sacrament meeting but because we had been so busy and up late all weekend we over slept. Luckily grandpa and grandma Almond's ward still allows them to do the Sacrament from their home so we were able to have that and a quick lesson as a big family. Cohen was baptized in Boise on Sunday, so we got to watch and participate over zoom. It was very special and I am so glad we have modern technology during these crazy times.

This week you are the size of cantaloupe about 16 3/4 inches and 3 3/4 pounds, you are sitting pretty low compared to your sister Lexi so I feel a lot more of your stretches each day. I love feeling you move but sometimes you're on my bladder haha. :)