Birthdays, Adventures and Life

One of these days I'll be better about blogging. I love being able to look back and read about life. It's been way too long....I say that every time! Life is so crazy and busy right now that sometimes I feel like I'm standing in the middle of chaos watching everything fly by just like in the movies. I wouldn't trade the activities and busy days for anything though, I am blessed, that's for sure!

I'll just jump right in, starting with Cameron! Cameron finished his first grade year and boy, did he have a great year. Each report card and conference was filled with nothing but praise for our sweet boy. He ended the school year with amazing test scores...way above grade level! He is a smart boy for sure. He is the best big brother and is such a great help with both Joshua and Dade. He's finding some independence which is both shocking and nice. I wasn't ready for him to grow and change so much but he is a joy to be around most of the time and as he's getting older and understanding more and more I feel as though I'm talking to a friend sometimes and not a child. Cole and I were climbing into bed the other night when Cameron came in to tell us he was having a hard time falling asleep. We invited him to come snuggle for a few minutes....he hopped right into bed and began chatting with us. He is so special. My baby is growing up though!

Joshua has embraced the role of a middle child. You'll never forget he's in a room with you but you might forget he's only 3! This kid is wise beyond his years, I think that comes from having an older brother that's so intellectual. He's very social but still a little shy at times. He still hasn't quite settled into primary....he loves his sunbeam class but doesn't care for sharing time and singing time, that's changing though! He's made friends with some of the kids at church and at Zumba (mommy's exercise class) and even says he has a girlfriend. We were hoping to branch out into preschool this next year but working with him at home fits better into the budget. He is a good big brother and loves on Dade more than he should sometimes. He got his very first bike a week ago and loves riding it....he may be ready for the training wheels to come off before summer is over. This kid has a special place in my heart and will always crave our attention.

We have a one year old in the house! Dade turned one last month which just seems crazy. I still can't believe I have three kids sometimes! He is a total joy to be around. His little personality shines through and he makes his presence known. He doesn't have any teeth yet....doesn't walk yet either. He crawls or cruises along furniture faster than any baby I've ever met. He tries his hardest to be sneaky and sly and loves to watch his brothers wrestle...they seem to be the only funny ones in the house these days. He sleeps through the night (has for months) and takes two 1.5-3 hour long naps each day! He wakes between 7 and 7:30 am and goes to bed at about 7:30 pm each night. We are weaning from formula, but he does take one bottle in the morning with about 2 oz of formula and 4-6 oz whole milk. He'll eat almost anything you put in front of him except for tortillas! If he was walking, I wouldn't be able to keep up!

Cole has been with Century Link for 11 months now. He still loves it as much as he did his first week. He's making friends! This Man is such a great Man! I am so blessed to have a husband who works hard all week long, comes home each night and helps care for the kids and doesn't blink an eye when he has to take care of the kids on Sundays too! Seriously, Cole is an amazing father and husband. 

As for me, I'm busy being a mom, a housewife and serving at church. I am serving as the second counselor in our Relief Society Presidency and just finished up as our ward Camp director. The two callings overlapped for about a month there and I was most definitely overwhelmed at times. I loved serving the young women though and helping them get ready for camp. I've meet some amazing people here in Jerome and It's been fun serving in new and different capacities. Relief Society will definitely push me out of my comfort zone but I'm serving with so many amazing women who help guide me. Jerome has been a great fit for our family and I could see us staying here for quite awhile. 

The last 11 months have flown by...I think it's been about 7 months since the last update. We are blessed and have nobody to thank but our Father in Heaven, without his guidance, strength and spirit we wouldn't be where we are!

Babywise, our experience!

I have a friend that blogged about Baby Wise. I've been meaning to blog about our experience and thought now was the perfect time! Ari blogs at The Patient Mama Diaries and has a basic understanding of how the "program" works. Here's how we implemented it, our how's, why's and when's, as well as how it's worked for us.

For the record, Cameron was 18 months before he slept through the night and Joshua was a couple weeks shy of his first birthday when he slept through the night. Cameron would wake every 3-4 hrs and Joshua woke every 2 hrs. A baby is considered to be sleeping through the night when they are sleeping at least one six hour stretch. Neither, Joshua or Cameron liked napping, in fact, I felt like I was pulling teeth to get Cameron to nap and Joshua only napped in my arms.

I first heard about Babywise when I was pregnant with Joshua. I read the book and then re-read the book and then kept the book at arms length and would refer back to it for several weeks. I came to the conclusion that it was too structured for me and that I wanted my baby to be able to sleep anywhere, not just at home in his crib.

Fast forward to June when Dade was born. I was still bound and determined to do it my way and we were NOT doing Babywise. I brought the kid home from the hospital sleeping 5 hour stretches at night. At one week old, he slept one 8 hr stretch and then one 4 hr stretch. He did that every night from then on. He's just been a better sleeper since the beginning, period! He's always slept in his own bed unlike his older brothers who would only sleep with me. By the time Dade was three months old, I was exhausted mentally....we had been through so much with all of the moves and I was fighting depression. I felt like I didn't have control over anything and my hands were tied up with breastfeeding on demand. I was always trying to figure out how I was going to feed if we were picking Cameron up from school or needed to pick Cole up from work. I weaned Dade to formula over a two week time frame. I just couldn't breastfeed and have control over my life. This was a game changer for us. By the end of the two weeks he was sleeping 12 hrs a night....literally going to bed at 7 pm and waking at 7am. He was still sleeping in his own bed but was in our room. At our four month well-baby check his doctor recommended moving him to his own room because he was no longer waking at night and would sleep more soundly. He said it would be easier now than it would be at 6 months. That next weekend we set up Dade's crib.

The transition from our room to his room was a breeze. So easy! I had never had any of my babies in their own room, ever, so this felt like a dream! A week or so in, Mr. D started waking up in the night. And by started I mean he went from sleeping 12 hrs straight to waking 8 times! This went on two nights, I was dead tired. I phoned my sister-in-law, my resident Babywise expert, and asked for help! I was ready. This had to change!

Side note: His naps were great but I HAD to rock him to sleep and that last week or so by rock I mean violently throw my body around while holding my swaddled baby until he was asleep.

She walked me through Babywise. Step-by-step. At 4 months old I let my baby cry-it-out, something I had always fought and had only ever tried and failed at. We started that first day at 7 am. He ate upon waking that morning. He played or had his wake time and then went down for his nap. And he Cried. And I went in after 5 minutes and gave him his pacifier and shsh'ed him and left. And he cried. And I went back in after 10 minutes and repeated the whole processes. He was asleep 35 minutes after we started his nap. He slept whatever his normal nap was and I was hooked. His next nap he cried for 15 minutes (I went in and pacifired and shsh'ed after 5 minutes but didn't need to go in again). His third nap of the day he went right to sleep. Same with his quick fourth nap. And he went to sleep on his own at bedtime and woke a handful of times. Thing got better quickly!

I just knew for sure I would hate being scheduled. I knew he wouldn't nap in his car seat. I knew this was going to be torture. I was WRONG! We were SUPER scheduled for about 6 weeks. I wanted to make sure we both had our schedule down pat before trying to deviate from it. Dade would still nap in his car seat if we were out doing errands and it was time to nap. This was the best thing I could have done for me and for him.

Present Day: Our day looks like this:
Wake between 6:30 and 7 am and eat.
Play while brother and Dad get ready.
We take them to school/work.
Home for more play or church to play while mommy worksout
9 or 9:15: Nap
10:45/11: Wake and eat
Play
1pm: Nap
2:30: Wake and pick brother up from school
3:30: eat (I break and babywise cardinal rule here by not feeding when he wakes and waiting but it works for us!)
Play
4:30 : pick daddy up
5: solids, play, bath, bedtime bottle
6:30: Bedtime

He's sleeping through the night 90% of the time. Now that he's mobile he can find his own pacifier and 5 or 6 nights a week I don't hear from him till morning. Once or twice a week he'll wake between 2 and 4 and I quickly and quietly give him his pacifier, re-swaddle and shut the door and he doesn't make another peep till morning.

I'm a Babywise believer but I don't think it's for everyone or every baby! I would never have stuck with it if I had started from birth....we were too busy during summer to try to be that scheduled!

I have traveled since starting Babywise and because we are scheduled it always throws us off just a bit but it's been very easy to re-train and fall right back into our schedule.

Each new milestone or stage throws a baby off as well. Babywise gives helpful advice and solutions when those things happen...sometimes you need to extend your schedule and such.

Here's the thing, with Dade, I needed to be scheduled. I have a preschooler and a first grader that demand my time and attention as well as a home to care for. I didn't have the luxury of holding and snuggling this little guy all day because my attention was need elsewhere always! Babywise hasn't taken the snuggles away but it's helped restructure my day so that I know when I can get my daily chores done or schedule appointments. Each day looks the same for us schedule wise and it makes this mom of three happy to know how my day will go. I get early morning snuggles from my sweet boy, sleepy hugs and kisses when he goes down for each nap and bed, sleepy-just-awake snuggles while he eats and then I have a happy baby that will play, talk, and explore during wake time. He is my happy, easy-going, baby. Is that because of babywise? Probably not, I think he would have had this demeanor no matter what. I believe babywise was more for me....it helps me work through the sleep problems and gives me structure.

Would I use it again, say on our next baby? Maybe. If I did, I think it would just come naturally. Now having done the eat, wake sleep routine I think we'd probably just fall into it. As for being super strict and implementing all of the other guidelines, I'd probably do like I did with Dade and as long as that baby is sleeping okay I'd wait until we had a problem. Letting my babies cry just doesn't come natural to me, especially when they are so little. Four months was the perfect starting point for us and I'd probably shoot for that again.

Babywise is controversial, and isn't for everybody. I feel as if I've been able to adapt it enough that it fits for us. I'm not going to cancel an appointment because my baby is sleeping or rush home because wake time is over. We've made it work, I'm truly grateful for the insight and guidance and am overall happy with how it's worked for us. I think I just got lucky in the baby department though!

  

New Years Eve happenings

We spent our New Years Eve with some new family...or new to us family!

When we moved to Idaho we met Cole's 2nd cousin. He and his family live about 15 miles north of Jerome. They were nice enough to open their home to Cole for a couple of nights during our transition at the start of his job. They showed up, without being asked, to help unload the trailer when we moved into our house. When they found out we were in need a a refrigerator (our rental didn't come with one), they GAVE us their extra fridge and would only accept a thank you in return. They had us over for dinner our second weekend in town and have been more than gracious to us.

We had plans with them for Christmas Eve, but decided to spend Christmas with Cole's sister so we cancelled with them. We felt terrible but we couldn't be in two places at once and because there was travel time involved in getting to Mandi's we couldn't do Christmas Eve with the Henderson's (I know, it's kinda weird to spend time with another family with the same last name!). Any how when we cancelled with them we were invited out for New Years Eve, but we had tentative plans with our friends the Doshier's in Utah....that fell through Monday night and within minutes we had a text from the Henderson's asking if our friends were coming or if we'd like to come out there....So we went!

We had a blast! They have 8 kids....their two youngest are about Joshua's age. Cameron and Joshua were in heaven having kids to play with. Cole and I spent the evening visiting and laughing. So much fun. Games were played, food eaten and tears from laughter shed. When we left just after 10 pm Cole and I both looked at each other and said at the same time "we needed that!"

We came home and put the two youngest to bed. Cameron claimed he wasn't tired and snuggles up on the couch with me and watched part of A Walk To Remember. At about 11:47 Cole and I found a video of the ball dropping, showed Cameron and than tucked him into bed...He got my last kiss of 2013. 3 minutes later, at midnight, Cole got my first kiss of 2014. I haven't stayed up till midnight on New Years Eve in years!

We had a great night ringing in the new year. So excited to see what this year has in store for us.

Good Bye, 2013!

As 2013 comes to a close, we've spent some time reflecting on this last year. It was a year full of ups and downs and tons of changes. When we welcomed 2013, we had no idea we'd be where we are and we are genuinely thankful and humbled by the changes, blessing and love we've felt this year.

Here's a short recap:

In March, Cole accepted a transfer with the company he was employed by for a little over two years. Once back in the lower 48, he realized he was ready for a career instead of a job and took matters into his own hands. While waiting for answers to prayers, he spent a quarter of the year living in a separate state waiting anxiously for changes. Being so far from his family was hard and lead to him missing the birth of Dade. We were able to see him often throughout the summer though, which was in and of it's self a huge blessing! Our prayers were answered when Cole received a job offer from Century Link (we owe tons of thanks to Cole's Dad, Bruce, for continuously putting in a good word for him!). Rather than relocating to Yakima, Washington, we ended up in Jerome, Idaho! He loves his new job and all that it entails. Once again he was given the task of finding a home for us in our new town and did a great job! He definitely settled in the fastest, but has been a great support to Amber during all of the changes.

Amber started the year 3 months pregnant hoping for some pink to add to the family. We soon found out that our new bundle of joy wouldn’t be dressed in pink, nope, we were adding a third boy to our family. We were surprised but definitely thankful to be trusted with another Child of God. Moving 3,000 miles at 29 weeks pregnant was no easy feat....she packed, sold and got rid of all of our belongings. Thanks to some great friends, we managed to clean and avoid preterm labor before leaving Alaska. Once in Oregon, Amber sought out care with her previous obstetrician and was glad she had a familiar face taking care of her and the baby. There were a couple of minor complications in-utero, but once born, Baby Dade was thriving even though he arrived three weeks early! Amber enjoyed spending the summer with family even though she missed Cole while he continued working in Washington. She was a nervous wreck when they loaded the horse trailer with all of their belonging and moved to Idaho. Now, four months later, she's made a home for her family and couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Cameron is thriving! He's such a smart, good-natured boy. He is reading, loves spelling and is a math whiz. His claim of fame at 7 years old is being a “video game genius”. He's made several great friends a school and is the BEST big brother his little brothers could ask for. He's such a goofball and has his dad's sense of humor.

Joshua is a typical 3 year old. Some days we have to remind ourselves that “he's only 3!”. He's constantly thinking and always has some of the funniest things to say. He has grown into the middle child spot in our family...he doesn't let you forget about him though! He is just as smart as Cameron but definitely has his own personality. His brother is his hero and he is our very favorite, strong-minded, loving three year old!

Dade is 6 months old. He is our best baby by far, sleeping through the night like a champ. He's in love with his big brothers, seems to think his mom is the best and loves morning and evening snuggles with his daddy. He is always smiling, rarely cries and loves the attention from his brothers. We are anxiously waiting for him to become mobile so that he can chase his brothers and join in on the crazy fun.

We are definitely looking forward to 2014 and all that it has in store for us.

We are so grateful for the love and support of our family and for our Father in Heaven. We pray that this next year will bring joy and happiness to all those we love and cherish. May the Lord fill your hearts with peace and comfort in this coming year.

With Love,

Cole, Amber, Cameron, Joshua and Dade

First Grade

I can't believe Cameron is in first grade! We were spoiled last year at Machetanz in Palmer. I really wish we were still there. So far, we like Camerons teacher. Cameron says she's funny. I am disappointed in a couple of things, namely the lack of homework, three recesses and the pick up/drop off process. I'm excited to watch Cam grow this year, to see where the year takes us and to follow along as he continues to improve his reading and spelling.

Our summer in pictures

Cousins sharing cupcakes 

Cameron tried his hardest to rescue a chick...
the poor little thing didn't make it though and Cameron was devastated

While in Oregon, Cameron helped Grandma Pat take care of the chickens

Joshua did too!

There was a lamb born in early May and the boys loved holding it!

Joshua got a tick!

We spent lots of time at the splash pads...this time we were with Cousins

Joshua sent pictures to daddy!

He also napped with his Great Grandma Pat

And enjoyed peeing outside! All the time!

Dade was born

Brothers!

The boys spent as much time in the pool as they could

And they loved it!

Joshua developed his own sense of style

Cameron grew up!

Cole blessed Dade

We spent a week in a hotel due to flooding at the Farm

We enjoyed smoky sunsets

We moved into the motorhome on the farm after a week in a hotel room
while the house was being repaired after the flood

We made a huge career change and rather than moving from
Alaska to Washington we moved from Alaska to Idaho

We celebrated Joshuas third birthday three weeks early!

We enjoyed time with family!

And became obsessed with the new baby!

3 kids and 3 adults in a truck for 11 hours!
Our trip to Idaho!

The horse trailer held all of our belongings!

Again, obsessed!

Idaho sunsets are so beautiful

Cole picked a nice three bedroom one bath house for us!
It has a great fenced backyard and garage!

Mr Dade started smiling! 

Dade is here!

I feel as if I fell off the face of the earth. I have so much to update our friends and family on.. I *ALMOST* don't know where to start.....

*Excuse the typos and this is a warning...a labor and birth story follow...the may be too much information shared!*

I will start with: We have a baby!

Dade Olin was born Friday June 21st weighing 6lbs 3 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. I could go on and on about what a great newborn he is--he eats and sleeps like a champ and I feel spoiled because of how much sleep I am getting! Since I'm starting with this I will share the story---

The last several weeks of pregnancy were great. We finished packing, moving and got settled fairly easy. I started seeing my OB here in Medford the second week of May and was so happy with the choice we made for me to finish out my pregnancy here. Because of my blood pressure I was having weekly ultrasounds to watch babies growth and the fluid levels. During a few of these ultrasounds it was noted that Dades right kidney was enlarged. We were assured that it would most likely work it's self out and that it is actually fairly common with boys in-utero. It was something they would keep their eye on and that the pediatrician would need to know but that there was nothing to be done until he was born. Also, around week 35 my fluid levels started to significantly drop. I was now being seen twice a week to keep an eye on my fluid but managed to keep it at a decent level with lots of rest and tons and tons of water! On Monday June 17th I went in for my 37 week check up (technically I was only 36 weeks and 5 days). Dr checked to see if I was making any progress or showing any signs of labor...I was only dilated to 1.5 and to say I was disappointed would be an understatement. He went ahead and stretched my cervix and sent my on my way with instructions to give the little guy his eviction notice. With my blood pressure issues, low fluid levels and the babies enlarged kidney it was time for him to make his way into the world. I left the office cramping and having mild contractions....this lasted for four days!!!!

Thursday June 20th we hosted a carnival for the kids and some friends. The boys had a blast but I was so tired. I hadn't slept the two nights before and woke with a terrible headache. I was definitely still cramping a losing tiny bits of my mucus plug but definitely nothing notable. That evening the boys and rode with Lorie out to Lake Selmac to drop the motor-home off for my sister-in-law. I was definitely having mild contractions but they weren't much different than what I had been having all week long. When we got home I tucked my munchkins into bed and got ready for bed myself. I noticed that I had lost my whole mucus plug and did a small little dance. I was glad that the contractions I was having were actually making headway. I knew that you could lose your plug weeks before baby comes so going into full blown labor wasn't something I was expecting.

Friday June 21st I woke at 1 am with contractions about 5-7 minutes apart. I timed them for just over and hour. At about 2:30 I called Cole to let him know that I thought this was it and that he might want to think about getting ready and heading our way if he wanted to come home to be with us. Cameron woke around 3 to pee and when standing up to help him to the bathroom I felt a tiny drizzle and thought that I could possibly be leaking fluid. I didn't think to much of it and went ahead and went back to bed. Cole and I talked a few more times and around 5 am I started timing my contractions again. Now they were coming about every 4 minutes. I knew at that point that this was it and that I would be spending my day at the hospital. After feeding the kids breakfast and gathering the last minute hospital bag things I made my way to the hospital per doctors orders! I checked in right at 10 am and was hooked to the monitors immediately. Upon checking, I was still only 1.5 cm but I was leaking fluid so they had to keep me. At 2 the nurse checked me again and I was dilated to 3 cm.

I sat back and relaxed as much as possible while contracting every two minutes...the nurse had told me that before being discharged with baby in the next 24-48 hrs I would have to have watched two different videos. So I went ahead and watched those two videos to get a head start on discharge (being a third-time mom I knew that I wanted out of there as fast as I could once baby arrived). At about 3




pm the nurse came back in to start my IV per doctors orders....by this time the contractions had moved down my legs and I was becoming VERY uncomfortable. I asked if I could go ahead and take advantage of the jetted tub for a while and was told that we'd wait on the IV and take care of that after I was done in the tub. I was in the tub for about 40 minutes when my water broke all the way! *Side note: I've never experienced my water breaking....the doctor has had to break my water during labor with both Cameron and Joshua! So this was a very new experience for me!* Once my water broke I felt as if I wasn't getting any relief during contractions...before they were every two minutes and painful but after they were every two minutes lasting about 1.5 minutes and terribly painful...I knew to expect this and it was with-in about 20 minutes of my water breaking that I asked to be checked again so that I could go ahead and get my epidural. I had discussed with the nurse previously that I wanted to TRY to do with out the epidural but that if the time came and I wanted it then I wanted it! Upon checking I was dilated to 6 cm. I had the most amazing nurse...she gave me the option of getting out of the tub, getting my IV and then getting the epidural....but she KNEW that I could do this and just had a feeling that I was going to fly through the last 4 cm. The thought of getting out of the tub was terrifying so I decided to keep going and see what happens. Within 20 minutes I felt the pressure to push! She checked me again and I was 8-9 cm.

Because I had gone through those last few cm so fast the room wasn't ready to have a baby delivered in :) After checking me the nurse told me I had could wait through two more contractions in the tub but after those two I had to get out. It was then that the on call doctor came in to meet me. He'd be the one delivering the babe and wanted to introduce himself. It was perfect timing, although he didn't know that, as he was able to help get the room set up. I believe I had four more contractions in the tub, stood up and had another, walked to the bed as fast as I could because I was pretty sure the baby was going to fall out on the bathroom floor if I didn't get in bed fast enough....once in bed I dialed Cole's cellphone number (he was stuck in traffic outside of Tacoma) and put it on speakerphone...and then informed the Doctor that if I didn't push I wasn't going to be able to stop the baby from coming on his own...Two minutes later and a total of 1.5 pushes and I was holding my little guy! Cole was on the phone the whole time and his mom was giving him the play by play! Dade came so fast that his skull compacted onto it's self...the different plates overlapped. I was able to hold him for quite a while before they took him to weigh him. He was covered in vernix being only 37 weeks gestation.

Dade Olin 6lbs 3oz 19.5 in long

Once things were cleaned up, I was up moving around pretty quickly! I felt great and was so glad I didn't have to recover from an epidural! The nurse never had a chance to put in the IV before I delivered which posed a problem when it came time to control the bleeding. Being my third baby, I was at higher risk of hemorrhaging. After delivery the doctor order cytotek to help keep the bleeding under control and the nurse was under strict advisement to keep on eye on me. I was blessed with a couple of great nurses....at about 7:30 pm my nurse noticed that my uterus wasn't contracting like it should and was actually filling with blood. She asked me to get up so that I could empty my bladder as that would allow the uterus to release as well. Upon standing I was very dizzy, had to take a minute to catch my breath. I sat in the bathroom and proceeded to pass out. I had passed a clot the size of a football and was most definitely hemorrhaging. I was wheeled back to bed in a wheel chair and given a shot of pitocin to help control the bleeding. At this point, my IV was still not in but the nurse took care of that right away in case the bleeding didn't slow! Slowly it did slow and the IV wasn't needed!

Cole arrived right around 11:30 pm and was able to meet our little guy! Dade is the most laid back easy going baby I've ever met. He eats, sleeps and poops and rarely cries. We had a few minor issues that have all been resolved and he's as healthy as can be! I feel blessed to be getting several hours of sleep each night and to have a baby who actually sleeps during the day too! Breastfeeding came naturally to him which was also a blessing!

Sweet boy loves to sleep

Cameron loves being a big brother and is a natural!

Being that I'm 4 weeks late posting this I can tell you that he now weighs 7lbs 5oz and his sweet little cheeks have started to fill out! He's still a great eater and sleeper and still rarely cries. The big boys LOVE him and can't get enough of him. He's so laid back that I haven't even pulled out the swing and bouncer for him yet because he's content with out being held. The longest stretch we've gone at night was 8 hrs. He's averaging about 5 hrs a stretch at night and takes a solid 3 hr nap in the middle of the day with a 2 hr morning nap and a 2 hr evening nap. He spend quite a bit of time awake in the mornings and evenings. I love my moby wrap and so does he!

Mr Dade in a milk comma...4 weeks old!

Cole blessed Dade on July 14, 2013