Thankful...

In the spirit of thanksgiving I'm here posting about things I'm grateful for.

This semester for Garrett has been a tough one. As many of you know, Garrett has a full time job and attends his classes at nights. Most nights he isn't home until late, and when he does get home he has homework, and has even been pulling overtime at work since it is their busy season. He always holds it together so well. Sometimes i ask myself, "why am I not working? I feel lazy. I feel like I'm not helping when I'm fully capable." But other times I think, "wow, I really wish I could just talk to another adult and not do baby talk all day" or "somebody please take my baby so that I can just go pee in peace." I guess what I'm saying is, if you are a working mom or a stay at home mom, either way you are doing good. They each have their downfalls and they each have their bonuses, but all we can do is be grateful for our situation, whatever it may be. So today I am choosing to be grateful for my hard working husband who gives his all, and the opportunity I have to spend my days with my sweet boy.

Another thing I am grateful for is my trials. I heard a talk once that related our trials to a card game, we never know what card we are going to be dealt. What we do know is .. "God did not remove the Red Sea, he opened it: He will help us find a way through our problems as well."  We can't ask the dealer to give us a new card. We are stuck with what we get. But no matter what, just hold on! Keep holding on. Our loving Heavenly Father will never leave us. We will grow from our trials. 

Lastly, I am grateful for my eternal family. I am incomplete without them. If I had to list everything I am grateful for I would be here for days... I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving and enjoy your families!! Love you all!! 

A day in the life...

So I'm wayy behind on my blogging so I'm just gonna wing this and see how it goes.. :) 

Keaton is 8 months old! He's growing like a weed. I feel so lucky to be able to stay home with him and watch him grow. So, what do we do every day you might ask? Well, most mornings Keaton wakes up between 8 and 9.   We always watch good things Utah, followed by the view (I hate the view, Whoopie and Joy Behar are so liberal it drives me crazy but for some reason I still watch it). By that time, it's usually time for morning nap around 11.  When Keaton naps, I usually do laundry, take a shower, or every once in a while take a nap myself.:) After nap time we usually try to get out of the house. Either we go on a walk, go to target, or drop by grandma's. I'm really glad my family is so close, especially on Garrett's long days, it keeps me sane. The night time routine is a bath around 8:30, bottle then bed. He usually sleeps til about 7, has a bottle and then sleeps another hour or two, which I am loving. He used to sleep for only three hours at a time. Every day is a little different, but every day is fun with my boy! 

Every Tuesday and Thursday are Gar's long days. He goes to work til 5 and then school til 8. I don't know how he does it! He makes me so proud to be his wife. Monday afternoons I have been working. It's really nice to get out and make some money while doing it. Plus, I really love who I work with. They are great friends! By the time Friday rolls around, I am singing hallelujah. Saturday mornings are the best, we just lay around in Jammie's most of the time and have a big breakfast (thanks to Garrett and his great cooking skills) 

Keaton is the light of our lives! He makes us laugh and smile all the time. Right now his favorite things are eating carrots, giggling at grandad, playing the piano (thanks to uncle Matt) playing at grandma and grandpa Kundis's with his favorite toy, going on walks, the list could go on and on! 

We've done lots of fun things in the last few months. We had a few family reunions over the summer. My family moved here, Megan graduated high school. We went to St George and had a great time! There is nothing better then laying by a pool with no agenda. We went to a tuachan show which was really fun! We had the opportunity to see my cousin Makalie be sealed to Jordan in the Payson temple. I love being in the temple and seeing loved ones be able to receive those blessings as well. We welcomed Uncle Josh home from his mission. We are so proud of him and we love having him around. His positive attitude makes us all much happier. We were lucky to have aunt meggy live with us for a few months before she moved to provo. Keaton lights up every time he sees her. We spent time with family and welcomed Annie and Kevin back to Utah. We love having little Ari (Keaton's cousin) here to play with Keaton. I love having Annie close by to spend time with too! We welcomed another cousin to the family less then a month ago, baby Oliver. He is a cutie! I've spent some time crafting, although it's much more difficult to do when you have a child haha. Keaton and I love going to see uncle scotty when he gets out of school. We've done so many fun things I can't name them all!

Last weekend we had the chance to listen to our Prophet and apostles speak. My favorite talk was by Russell M Nelson "Joy and Spiritual Survival".  "Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy? Yes! The answer is a resounding yes!" Sometimes I get so caught up in feeling sorry for myself and the trials my Heavenly Father has given me. But we have to remember our "afflictions are but a small moment". I need to focus more on the blessings in life, and that will bring me the greatest joy! I know the only true way to happiness is through living the gospel and living a Christ centered life. I love conference because there always seems to be a talk that speaks to my heart and lifts my spirits.

The last 8 months of my life have been amazing. Hard, but amazing. After Keaton, I experienced postpartum depression that was difficult to overcome. I still struggle. But one thing I've learned, is God will not place any trial in front of you that you cannot handle. He will provide a way! He loves us, He is aware of our every struggle, He will never leave us. Motherhood is the most sacred calling on earth. My Heavenly Father trusted me, ME, to be a mother. How blessed I am! How important I feel to my Savior. All you mom's out there, remember how precious you are in the sight of God. You are so loved! 

Til my next random blog post, love you all!  

Just rambling..

I can’t believe Keaton is 4 ½ months old already! I feel like he was born just yesterday. He has reached so many exciting milestones already. This post might be kind of all over the place, but there is so much I want to write about!

Keaton’s favorite things to do currently are:
blow spit bubbles
roll over
yell
cuddle every once in a while (mom’s favorite)

We tried rice cereal, but he didn’t seem to really like it very much, so we are going to wait another month and try it again. When Keaton was born, he latched on pretty well at first. When we got home from the hospital though, things began to become more difficult. When I breastfed him, he would eat for about 2 minutes and then he would fall off and get really mad, or fall asleep. I tried and tried for a few weeks to get him to eat for longer, but I kept finding myself breastfeeding him for 2 minutes and then having to pump the rest. So, each feeding was taking me an hour, and an hour later it was time to do it again. So finally after a month and a half of doing this, I decided to exclusively pump. I wanted him to get breastmilk, but this was exhausting me. So I pumped for a month and a half longer and fed him with a bottle and froze what was left over. I built up a stockpile of milk to feed him, so now he gets half formula half breastmilk. Honestly, I felt like the worst mom in the world for not breastfeeding him. I felt like I wasn’t giving my child what he needed most. I sobbed every time I even thought about giving him formula. But I just had to keep reminding myself he has still gotten a ton of breastmilk for the first months of his life. I think so many women give formula this horrible reputation, which is why I felt so bad about giving him some here and there. I know breastmilk is the best form of nutrition, but sometimes it’s not what’s best for mom and baby’s emotional health if it is becoming a huge burden to breastfeed. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to exclusively breastfeed. I will definitely be breastfeeding my future babies, and I’m hoping it will be easier the next time around now that I have some experience under my belt. FED IS BEST!

Keaton started to sleep really well around 3 months old. We were getting the hang of a routine. But then we went to the pediatrician for his 4 month well check, and the doctor told us that now that he is able to roll over, we shouldn’t swaddle him when we put him to sleep. Keaton LOVED to be swaddled. Our nightly routine was bath time, jammies, swaddle and feed, then lay him down. It was working really well. When we stopped swaddling him, all hell broke loose. The first week of it, he woke up about every 45 minutes to an hour. I WAS DYING. It was worse then when he was just a brand new baby. Now, he sleeps for about 3 or 4 hours at a time. I wish he would sleep through the night, but I just have to look at the progress we have made.

Being a new mom I have come to appreciate the little things in life. A few things I have learned:
*My daily shower is the best part of the day
*My shirt is basically a burp rag
*I sleep with one eye open
*Going anywhere requires at least 30 minutes longer of prep time
*Remember those mom’s I used to judge at the grocery store because they wouldn’t get their kids to shut up? Yeah I am one of them now. And boy, do I have a whole lot more compassion and understanding for all those mamas out there.

I’m really grateful for all that I have learned so far being a mom. as much as I hate being woken up in the middle of the night by my little guy, I am counting my blessings. My mom told me something that has helped me stay grateful... she said your kids will always keep you awake. One day you will lay awake wondering what they are doing, if they are making good choices, and what path they will choose to take in life. So just enjoy each part of motherhood, and focus on the GOOD THINGS!

I also have to mention my husband is amazing. He works his tail off to provide for us, and he still helps out a ton in the night hours when I am just exhausted. I love him with all my heart and couldn’t ask for anyone better. Love you babe!!

This summer we have a few fun things planned. We are going to a few family reunions, St. George, and at the end of the summer we get to welcome Elder Needles HOME!! We are soo excited. Then in October, we are off to DISNEYWORLD! So excited for that and to get to spend time with Josh. My family just moved to Utah, and I am so happy to have them close by. Here are some pictures, and I will try to post again soon! Love you all!!

Keaton's Birth Story

Sorry it took me so long to post, my life has been turned upside down! I thought I would share baby boy's birth story.

I started having contractions at around 2 am. The days leading up to it I had contractions off and on, but these were consistent and getting stronger. Garrett kind of thought they were just my usual off and on contractions, so he tried to sleep.  But I was like ok these are real, get your butt up! We got to the hospital at about 4. They day before I was dilated to a 2, and when we got there I was a 4 1/2! And the contractions were about 3 minutes apart. Luckily my dr was actually at the hospital doing her rounds, so she came into my room and told the nurse I was good to get my epidural, and she would be back in a few hours to break my water.

The epidural was my biggest fear leading up to birth. I was so scared I would move while he was putting it in and be paralyzed for life. But Garrett was the greatest support system and reassured me it was ok. It turns out, getting the IV was worse then the epidural by far! They had to poke me 4 times before they got a vein. The IV hurt the entire time. I hated it! Sometime between 9 and 11, my dr came and broke my water. By about 12:30, I was fully dilated and it was time to push. I didn't think I would have to push for too terribly long, but boy was I wrong about that. I pushed and pushed and pushed for a total of 2 1/2 hours. My dr told me I would have a very sore tailbone for about 6 weeks, because my tailbone and pelvic bone were pushing together, and the baby was having trouble getting past it. I remember at around 2:15 I asked how much longer I would have to push. She said.. I would say by 3 you will have a baby! I was like....uhhhh what the crap?!!! I can't do this for 45 more minutes!!! But somehow, I did. At about 2:55, my dr finally offered to use a vacuum to help get him further down. He was still stuck behind my pelvic bone. I was desperate and told her to do what she needed to do to get that baby out. She put the vacuum on his little head, I pushed and he came way down! She had me stop pushing for a minute because the cord was wrapped around his neck twice, so she cut it before I pushed again. and ONE PUSH LATER my baby was out! I was like, we should have used that vacuum a long time ago!! I was in complete shock and I was completely exhausted, but they handed me my baby and time froze. I have never been happier then I was in that moment! My bright eyed boy was all mine. They took him over to clean him off and I looked at Garrett and his eyes were filled with tears and he turned to me and said "he is perfect" my family was complete! My Dr was stitching me up and i felt all of it (Miserable) but I was so happy I didn't care. I was so glad I got to have Garrett and my two moms in the room with me. They were my strength. They encouraged me the entire time I was pushing and assured me everything would be ok.

The recovery days were rough.. My tailbone was so sore, getting out of bed was the most painful thing ever. It took about 3 days before I could get up without Garrett's help. I took one pain med the day I delivered and it made me sick so the rest of the time I only took ibuprofen. I'm so grateful that Garrett was there to take care of me and Keaton. He was so strong for us. I love him more now then I ever thought possible, he is he best dad and the best husband. I will be eternally grateful for his strength!

Well, there ya have it.. My birth story. I can't believe he is already 5 weeks old! Someone stop the clock.