Eilee's Post Birth Update: Three Weeks

I just realized that I didn't post the update on my blog so I've copied most of this update from my social media to share on here because a lot of my readers aren't on my social media. 

Eilee is seriously the cutest thing ever and she just gets prettier every day. Her personality is starting to show more and more. She's very curious and studies everything. She's so alert. She is generally a chill kid but she has a Brian Lane temper when it comes to her food. She wants it when she wants it and a second too late is completely unacceptable. She nurses every 2-3 hours and definitely wouldn't sleep through feedings even if I'd let her. That's new for me because her siblings slept hard from the day that they were born. I had to wake them up to feed them. I did that until they were 4-5 months old because blood sugar issues scared me. Better safe than well rested in my opinion. 

No wonder Eilee is almost 8 lbs already ha. She loves to eat and I love the bond that nursing gives us. It can't be fully replicated and I cherish it. She still has bodily gas functions like a man. It's quite impressive. Today at one point she was gassing out of both ends at the same time and it was so loud that Hudson (who was in the next room about to take a nap) heard it. She also still a mama's girl in every way. Brian lays my clothes on his chest when he holds her to try and get in more struggle time. It makes my heart so happy and I hope that it stays that way. Daddy seems to win them over as they grow but he has a competitor this time around. She adores her big siblings. She stares them down and gets overly excited when they talk to her. She starts kicking her legs and swinging her arms. It's precious. As far as development in the last week two big things are new. One, she has held her head up since birth but now she can hold it up and turn it both ways. Two, my favorite update of all, she laughed super loud last night. Brian and I about died. Whether it was a "real" giggle or not, it was the sweetest noise ever. Despite being a 4th time mom, my babies milestones never get any less exciting. Happy 3 weeks old to Eilee Lou 💜

 

 

 

School Supply Shopping

Last year we had 2 kids in school so I got an idea then of how quickly costs for clothes, supplies, back packs, lunch boxes, school trips, snacks, parties, ect would be. There are a lot of costs that you don't think of going into it but I'll give you a heads up now, be prepared for the extras throughout the term. I imagine having kids in extra curricular stuff will add even more costs to things. The girls are cheerleading this year and it cost $165 per girl to put them in it. My parents and us ended up sponsoring 6 kids total for cheer and football. It broke my heart to think of how many kids couldn't participate because of the costs and I wish we could of helped more of them. We also were going to sponsor some kids school supplies but there are several programs that cover the supplies for those kids so we will be finding more ways to help. Last year we covered snacks several times on days that weren't our snack day just to help the teachers out when other kids didn't bring snacks. We also paid the girls classes field trip fees once and periodically sent money to the lunch lady to cover meals for kids who couldn't afford them. We adopt a few children at Christmas time to buy gifts for. We've done that since before we had our own children. We can't afford to spend a ton of money to help but we really do try the best that we can. 

 This year to save me from having to go into Walmart with a newborn I ordered everything online. I bought that stuff about a week before we left for vacation and finally went through it yesterday to make sure I didn't miss anything. Of course, my mom brain forgot to order a kinder mat but thankfully my mom is going to pick one up for me. Everything was purchased at Walmart (aside from the girls pencil boxes, they are from Justice) and was only $150 for all three kids.  For any mothers out there who have multiple children, young babies, or simply want to avoid the chaos of shopping for supplies I highly recommend doing it all online. I didn't have to leave my house for any of these items or for the kids school clothes (which I'll share a detailed post on as soon as I have the time to write it all up.) The kids first day of school outfits I ordered in early June due to the Etsy shops long turn around and the back backs were ordered around 4 weeks ago. I will link both shop names below. When purchasing from Etsy be sure to contact the seller and ask for an up to date turn around. On the listing it usually says how long it is but sometimes those aren't current time frames so you always want to check on that if you need an item by a certain day. I also mention that I'll be purchasing more than one item just to see if there's discounts for buying more than one. Normally I'm not given a discount but it does happen I occasionally so it's always worth asking about. 

This is the kids school supplies minus Hudson's kinder mat and the girls lunch boxes. I realized after I took the picture and put everything away that the lunch boxes weren't included. I got Hudson's shark one for $6 at Walmart. The girls floral lunch boxes I got at The Children's Place for $8 each. 

Kozy Kidz Boutique is where I bought the kids back packs. They are cute and very well made. For the back packs and shipping I paid $103. 

My mom also bought the kids each an adorable back pack. The girls are from Justice (I actually love these way more than any of the ones I saw on Etsy) and Hudson's is a Spider-Man back pack that she got him at Disney World. It's at her house so I didn't get a picture of it but I'll update this post when I do. 

 
Sew Cute Creations is where I purchased their first day of school shirts. It was $83 total. The girls first day of school dresses last year were also ordered from this lady. I love her stuff and as long as she's still taking orders I plan to use her every year for the kids first day outfits. 

 This is the girls in their Sew Cute dresses and with the chalkboard sign I bought last year. The sign was $25 on Etsy and worth the money to me because it can be used every year for all 4 of my kids. 

 

I hope these tips help some of you and I hope that your littles have a wonderful time learning new things and meeting new friends at school. 

Eilee Lou is ONE MONTH OLD!

Yesterday our baby girl turned ONE month old and I'm not taking it too well. I can't fathom how it's possible that she's already a month old. It makes me so sad but I feel so honored to be able to watch her grow and spend every single minute of my days with her. She weighs 8.2 lbs and is just over 21 inches long. She's such a sweet baby. Like seriously the cutest baby ever along with our bigs of course. She's completely rotten and has us all wrapped tight around her finger. Our family will tell you that she's not your typical baby who sleeps all day and let's anyone hold her. She's a mama's girl to the core and I'm literally the only one that can calm her down when she fusses. She's awake a lot and very curious. As I've said before, I am a straight up Mombie from lack of sleep but after having 3 babies who slept like rocks from birth I can't complain. It doesn't help that SIDS terrifies me so I'm up checking on her a million times a night. She has hated being swaddled since birth. She prefers to be stretched out with her arms above her head. She's still nursing like a champ. She's never once had a bottle or supplements. For some that's no big deal but for me I've always pumped and introduced a bottle by now so it's an awesome accomplishment in itself not to mention me having 3 other young kids to care for. I am proud for sure. Our goal is to breastfeed for at least a year and I won't be introducing a bottle anytime soon. Eilee smiles in response to us talking to her so I'm completely confident in saying that she's officially real deal smiling. She giggles loud in her sleep although I'm sure that's gas laughs. She coos loudly and it melts me deeply. She also makes a million adorable faces and this hilarious noise when she stretches. We call her a Pterodactyl because it sounds like some kind of dinosaur noise. She is such a joy to our lives and I'm completely obsessed with her in every way. Happy one month birthday to our perfect Little Leighton Lane ❤️

 

 

 

 

Our Colorado Vacation

A week ago today Brian randomly said, "Let's go to Colorado or the beach for our anniversary and leave tomorrow!". At first I thought he was joking but right away I realized that he was serious. The beach is my favorite place so of course it was tempting for a second but the kids and I have never been to the mountains which made the choice easy. Plus the mild weather sounded amaze balls so to the mountains we'd go. We went to Cave of the Winds, God's Garden, The North Pole, Pikes Peak welcome center (We did not the summit due to Eilee's age, babies tend to stop breathing at top because of the high altitude/thin air. Their lungs aren't developed enough. Super scary stuff.), Royal Gorge, The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Seven Falls, several state parks to hike, and Cripple Creek. It was such a neat experience. The weather ranged from low 50s to mid 70s and it was perfect! The zoo was incredible. We loved it and high recommend it. The North Pole was ideal for young children. All the rides were for our kids ages. The views were impeccable. I was mesmerized. Hiking miles and miles up through the Rocky Mountains 3 weeks post partum wasn't the best idea though. I was definitely feeling it. Eilee did amazing. Like seriously world's most perfect newborn on an 22 plus hour road trip total. The big kids fought a lot but what's new ha. All in all they did good with the ride. We had such an amazing time and will definitely be going back next summer expect we will be going with my parents and road tripping to Colorado, Washington, California, and Vegas. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are about 6 hours from home now and I'm dreading the 100 degree Oklahoma heat as well as unpacking/catching up on a week of laundry as a family of 6 but I am looking forward to some of the things coming up in the next few weeks. Tomorrow is cheer camp for the girls and I. Sunday is the meet and greet with my squad's parents. August 1st is not only my first cheer practice as a coach but it's also Brian and I's anniversary. I have a sweet night at home planned and a huge surprise gift to Brian that he's gonna shit over. I'll give you a big hint, Elk hunting for a week with his best friends in Colorado this October ha. As far as cheerleading goes will be practicing twice a week with games on Saturday so I'm officially that cheer mom/coach that I've looked forward to being since Brian and I started trying to have babies like 9 years ago. After the 1st it's time to focus on getting the kids stuff all ready for school to start on August 17th. We have already done a huge school clothes shopping haul. I mean between my mom, my mother in law, and I it was a GIANT haul. My kids basically have 3 moms when it comes to that stuff. Their grandmas always clothes shop for them which let's face it is a God send when you have 4 kids and love to dress them cute ha. I'll have 3 children in school this year and have some great ideas to share. I started using most of them mid year last year with the girls that simplified our mornings SO much. The next few days are super busy but my school prep post will be up early next week. Stay tuned. 

Crying it Out!

Crying it out is something that is a typical topic in the land of motherhood. Most people are either big believer in it or you are strongly against it. I am one of those that is deeply against it when it comes to babies too young to verbally communicate. Crying is a baby's ONLY source of communication. Whether it's a belly ache, being hungry, or simply wanting held, they have a reason! Letting a baby cry without attempting to solve the issue or comfort the baby is straight up neglect. Babies are going to cry. My newest child is 3 weeks old and she has a awful temper. When she gets hungry sometimes she gets mad and will not nurse until she's done throwing a little fit. She's very stubborn and nothing that I do for those 60-90 seconds during her fuss soothes her or gets her to stop but you bet your sweet ass that I try to make it better. I don't just let her cry without trying to help her. Aside from having my personal opinion on it there's also research to support that it's not what's best. You can find a ton of studies online but this one is the one that puts the nail in the coffin for me on the subject. If you can read this and still believe in letting a baby cry it out then you should be slapped. 

"Recent research conducted at the University of North Texas clearly reveals that the cortisol levels of babies left alone to CIO remain at unnaturally high levels even days after they learn to stop crying/cuing for help. However, the cortisol levels of mothers -- which register as abnormally high when their babies cry -- return to normal levels in the silence. At this point, mothers and babies are no longer biologically in sync. The mothers assume all is well; they interpret their babies’ silence as proof that their little ones have learned to self-soothe. Yet, physiologically babies can’t self-soothe. Rather, CIO teaches them to panic silently and detach from those whom nature intends for them to trust."

http://www.phillyvoice.com/screaming-sleep/

With that all being said, when my kids were old enough to talk and tell me what was wrong with them I let them throw fits over dumb stuff like me not letting them have ice cream for breakfast. I'm not that mom who never let's her kids cry. I'm just that mom that believes babies shouldn't ever be left neglected and alone to cry their problems out. Babies don't self soothe!!!! They just learn that no one is coming when they cry. 

Floor Cleaner Review: Bona

With our home being a new construction our floors were left with this cloudy coating to them from all of the saw and sheet rock dust. I seriously mopped it 20 times and nothing completely got that cloudy look up. My grandma recommended the brand Bona to clean and polish our floors so we tried it yesterday. Holy cow the difference is absolutely incredible. Our floors look better than they did brand new out of the box. No lie! If anyone is looking to polish their hard wood, tile, laminate, or vinyl flooring I highly recommend this brand. For the mop, cleaner, and polish it's around $100. You can get it at Lowe's or Home Depo. 

 

 Here is what we did:

1) I swept all of the floors twice just to make sure they were extra clean

2) Grandma mopped using the Bona floor cleaner

3) We squirted a generous amount of Bona polish on the floors. 

4) We mopped the polish into the floors evenly coating the entire floor. 

5) I left it try for an hour before I walked on it per the instructions demand. 

I swept the whole floor at once but we mopped and polished in sections. I'm 110% thrilled with how they look. I didn't tell Brian that I did it because I wanted to know if there was as big of a difference as I thought there was. He literally said something about it within 5 seconds of walking in. He's a dude so I feel like that says a lot ha. It really was a dramatic difference. 

You can see the line in picture #1 where I had polished a little section vs where I had only swept and mopped. In picture #2 is a close up of the dining area where I had polished vs where I had not polished yet. Picture #3 and #4 is the floors this morning 24 hours later. 

 

 

 

 

 

Andlee's Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Andlee's 5th birthday. It was a Beauty and the Beast themed pool party. Belle and Cinderella were both there. Belle painted faces and Cinderella painted nails. They also sang songs and played games with the kids. It was sweet and everything turned out great. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. The cake turned out perfect. Andlee was so excited and such a happy girl. Everyone had a huge water balloon fight. Like at one point my mother in law was filling up regular sized balloons and throwing them at people ha. We ended the party with a firework show. Thank you all so much to everyone that came. You made her party very special. 

 

 

 

 

Eilee & I's Post Birth Update: Two Weeks

Today we had Eilee's 2 week well visit. She's 20 inches long and 7 lbs 10 ozs. Mama's milk is doing her good ha. Today I had a few concerns about her that I brought up to the doctor. She throws up a lot, her hands and feet are always purple/cold, and her cord is still bleeding a bit. I was happy to know that all are common and not a big deal. She will out grow the disorder that causes poor blood circulation to her limbs and since she's gaining weight there's no need to put her through reflux testing at this point. All in all it was a good appointment. Our baby girl is thriving. 

She smiles constantly and I don't even care if it's real or not. It's still freaking adorable. She's going longer between feedings, thank God. We are down to waking up 3 times a night rather than 7-8 times. She's able to hold her head up and look both ways. She's still a major mama's girl although my dad is on her happy list too. He's the only other person that she will let hold her for long periods. Breastfeeding is going amazing. I haven't once used a bottle. Yay! She's an extremely noisy eater. I mean, people have actually commented on it multiple time. She gulps loud and makes all kinds of puppy dog noises. She is such a joy to us already and I'm so thankful to be her mom. Now if time would just chill the hell out and slow down I'd be a happy gal. 

 

As of today I've lost 19 lbs since Eilee was born. I feel amazing and incredibly don't miss being pregnant for the most part. It's so nice to not have any restrictions. I can be a one women show like I naturally love to be and do whatever I need to do. I'm happy with my body and that's a wonderful feeling. I still have some weight to lose and I will get there but even if I don't I'm thankful for where I am. Brian and I had some 'us' time last night if you catch my drift. I forgot how much sex after a baby hurts at first but I also forgot how much nicer sex is when your not big pregnant. Of course I've freaked out a little today because I have gotten pregnant 2-3 weeks post partum twice now and like reckless teens we didn't use protection but I'll try to do better next time and be the responsible one. No more summer babes for us ha. Atleast I hope not 😅

 

 

 

 

Jealousy: The Stealer of Joy

Today I had a close friend tell me that she stalked my social media because she was jealous of my life. Some people would have taken it as a compliment but I did not. It made me sad and just want to hug her. Because she's a good friend and I'm brutally honest this is the basic summary of my response to her...

Jealousy is self sabotage. It'll steal your happiness if you let it. I see it everyday whether it's on social media, a friend in your life, or something you yourself has issues with. It's everywhere and it's something that everyone has struggled with to some degree including myself but it's the people who let it consume them that break my heart. The people who throw away their time worried about the things that they don't have or the people who throw away friendships over it. 

Here's the thing, you can't be a genuinely happy person if jealousy drives you. If you're never content with the life or the things that you have because you want what someone else has that's awful. We all strive for better at some point. We all have the same wants as someone else in the world. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about losing friends because they are jealous of you or you are jealous of them. I'm talking about obsessing over what someone else has whether it's a guy or a car or even maybe their whole life. You can't live that way. You have to be happy with the life and the things that you have. Don't let bitterness destroy you. It's okay to want things. It's okay to strive for those wants. It's okay to be like someone else. Being alike is what makes the best of friendships. But don't let jealousy ruin you. Be a good person. Be a good friend. Be a good mom and wife. Those are the things that can't be boughten. Those are the things to focus on. Those are the things totally in your control. Be happy for people who have things that you want. Be encouraging. Be the light in someone's bad day. That's what matters. That's what makes you truly happy. That's what makes you special.  

Dear friends of mine;

If you get the new car that I wanted, I'm happy for you.

If you have twins like I've lost twice now, I'm happy for you. 

If you got to have a water birth at the birth center unlike me, I'm happy for you. 

If you have a perfect body, I'm happy for you. 

If you're thrilled in your less than perfect mom bod, I'm happy for you.

If you get to have as many kids as you want like I'd love to get to do, I'm happy for you.

If you get to build your dream home or remodel your current home to make it your dream home, I'm happy for you. 

If you get to travel the world like I'd love to do, I'm happy for you. 

If you win the lottery, I'm happy for you (and hope that you'll share with me ha) 

I'm kind of kidding about the sharing thing. Kinda. 

My point is that although you have things that I want, I AM HAPPY FOR YOU! My day might come to have those things but even if it doesn't my life is full of more blessings than I ever deserved. I wouldn't be bitter about what I don't have when I am unexplainably grateful for all that I do have. You should be too. 

We are MOVED IN!

 

With all of the excitement of having our rainbow baby I haven't updated y'all on the fact that we moved in to our new home. We moved in TWO DAYS before the baby came. How awesome is that?! God constantly reminds me that his timing is always perfect. 

We moved in prior to everything being 100% finished so it's still a work in progress but the down stairs is completely done aside from hanging sheer curtains in the kids rooms and getting wall decor for my dining area. The curtains are here I just haven't hung them and the dining room wall decor should be here any day. The sign that was my must have back ordered so I've had to wait for it to come back in stock which finally happened on Friday. The upstairs is not finished because Brian, my dad, and Brian's papa decided that they wanted to build the railing together. It's taken them longer than it would have taken the builders but you can't beat how special it'll be to have that in our home. Between my dad doing the electric so his hand writing is all over our electric panel to Brian, dad, and Claud building the staircase railing to my mom painting some of the kids rooms with me and decorating the nursery as a surprise to my uncle and aunt having done the flooring in our main living area, we have our families touches all over our entire home. It's what makes the fact that this house is our forever home so amazing and so sentimental to us. It's stuff that we will look back on and always have an emotional connection with. It's why Brian and I never felt like this house wasn't our home. The first night here I didn't sleep good because it was a new atmosphere plus I was 9 months pregnant in prolonged labor but as far as it being 'home', it's always just felt right. Our hearts and souls as well as our families handy work is everywhere here. When we moved out of our old house and into the cabin it was awful. For a few weeks we didn't sleep because we felt so uncomfortable. In the 5 months that we lived in that cabin it never once felt like home. I hated it. We've never regretted our choice to sell our old farm despite that home being our first house together because selling relieved us of chicken house stress and gave us the opportunity to be debt free but of course it was a sentimental place that I never thought anywhere else would be as special as. However, with time I realized that it was just buildings. The memories made there and the people who lived there were what made it so special. It wasn't the property itself. Everything is truly a million times better now that Brian can actually live life and not be constantly worried about the chicken farm or his livelihood. Selling gave him his life back. The freedom, relaxation, and dramatically increased time with us that Brian gained are things that are priceless and why we didn't regret the sell but living in that cabin never felt good. I was so ready to get into the new house and now that we are in I'm on cloud 9. This is home and when I look around I'm so thrilled that this is where we are raising our babies. It feels like every inch was made just for us because well, it was ha. It's a home and a farm that we've created from the ground up together as a family. Not just the house but a farm too. This week we dozed timber to give us better views and started building fence, building an entry way, and building a barn for all of our animals and future animals. Part of it will be stalls and part of it will be for training our show cattle. We have cattle, horses, donkies, a pony, chickens, ducks, and dogs. As soon as the barn is built we will raise goats and pigs. We also have a company coming next Thursday to chain link in the back yard for the kids. I'm doing 5' tall black chain link for extra safety and because one day I want to get a Great Dane ha. He will need a taller than average fence. It's amazing to watch our visions come to life and to be working on the things that we day dreamed about for a long time now. 

Anyways back to the upstairs, once the railing is done the carpet will go down and furniture can be moved in. I've already decorated the walls up there and the only furniture that's going up there is a white crib, a purple dresser, a rustic TV stand, and a white kids table with 4 chairs that I painted the top of with chalkboard paint. It'll be an hour tops deal to move stuff in up there and Brian and I can do ourselves. I will do a detailed home tour post as soon as it's all finished. I'm so glad that y'all have followed this journey with us and I hope that you continue to follow it as we expand our homestead. 

Eilee & I's Post Birth Update: One Week

(I wrote this on Thursday but am a few days behind posting it.)

I can't believe that our baby girl is a week old. I feel like she's changed and grown so much already even though she's still smaller than her birth weight. I look at her and just start bawling because I don't want these moments to pass. I want to keep her a baby forever. I want to keep all of my babies little forever. Ugh, all of the sappy mom feels are full force. Anyways on to the update:

Our first week at home has been a change for sure. The bigs are so obsessed with their sister. They hover her and constantly want to hold her. They are very helpful and always asking what they can do for me. It's the sweetest and most unexpected thing. I truly thought that we'd have jealousy issues. I thought that the baby would be irrelevant to Charlee and Hudson but I was so wrong. Hudson is the one who is the most crazy about his sister. Charlee is such a big girl. She's mature and thoughtful of Eilee. She says 50 times a day, "I just love Eils so much!". Andlee is well, Andlee ha. She's wild and loud. She wants to be a little momma but is rough. She's definitely my child. I'm a loud, rough kind of person. My mom style is tough love for the most part. That's Andlee, God bless her. She means well and has the biggest heart. She's just not a gentle kind of gal. We make it work though. 

 
As for my part of this update, I'm doing great. I've stopped bleeding and no long have after birth contractions. My hips and lower back are still a little sore/stiff but not bad at all. I've lost 14 lbs since the day before Eilee was born. I have 20 more pounds to lose to reach my goal. Such an exciting number for me to hit seeing as I started this journey a year ago with 100 lbs to lose to reach that goal. Emotionally I'm doing well. I do find myself sad that my pregnancy is over and that time is going so fast. I'll randomly cry over that. But other than those topics which I knew would be hard for me my hormones are mellowing out. I'm not a bawl bag over everything under the sun like I was. Brian tells me, "There's my bad ass Callee. I've missed her." ha. 

Five days post partum:

Seven days post partum (far from perfect but keeping it real is important to me):

 
Eilee is the sweetest little thing. She grins constantly so we call her Smiley Eilee. She weighs 6 lbs 13 oz. She is extremely alert and awake more than any other newborn that I've ever met. The first few days she wanted to nurse 24/7 but once my milk came in it made a huge difference. She wakes up on her own to eat. That's new for me. My other 3 slept like rocks and had to be woken up to be fed. They were amazing sleepers who I had to check on constantly because they slept so long and hard. Eilee, not so much ha. She wants to be held or close to me. She's a major mama's girl and I adore it. She LOVES to eat. She is seriously the best nurser in the world. She latched the first try right after birth and has never once fought it since then. I'm so blessed in that area. I specifically prayed my whole pregnancy that I'd have a long term, amazing breastfeeding experience with this baby and I can tell already that I have that with Eils. All in all we are doing amazing. I'm so thrilled to be a family of six and to be enjoying the rest of our summer without added stress of preterm birth and building a house.