Newest Caskey

He's here! Isaac Nevin Caskey joined the family on April 25th and we're so happy to have him here. He is so sweet, and he reminds us a lot of Kaelyn. So far, he hasn't really cried, just whimpers when he's hungry. Kaelyn did the same thing, but of course now she's making up for that lost time with high-pitched squealing. Luckily it doesn't even phase Isaac! Also, he rolled over for his first time when he was 3 days old, and has continued to roll over since then. Kaelyn first rolled over at 10 days, so he has her beat.

7 lbs 4 oz - 20 inches

Isaac has been an angel, which definitely makes up for the labor experience! Here's how the story goes... (I tried to shorten it, but it's still really long!)

Because I had Kaelyn so fast, I was worried about how fast Isaac would come, and so was my doctor. With Kaelyn, I didn't head to the hospital until my contractions were unbearable and about 2 minutes apart, so I had her about 40 minutes after getting to the hospital. Just enough time to get an epidural and start pushing. Perfect! Anyway, my doctor had been warning me all along that I would go fast when the time came, and I did not want to have a baby in the car. Also, I did not want to have a baby without an epidural! I'm a wimp like that. So, the doctor advised to me head straight to the hospital as soon as my contractions got painful. At 4:30 on Monday morning, they started getting painful and were regular. I did the warm bath/Tylenol thing to see if the would slow or the pain would lessen, but they didn't. At this point they were about 6 minutes apart and not getting any closer together, so I waited until 6:30 to head to the hospital. An awesome ward member and friend came over to stay with Kaelyn while we were gone. At 6:45 I checked into the Billing Birthing Center. I felt little silly because I wasn't in a lot of pain, but I'd rather be there early than late! I got all checked in and found out I was dilated to a 5, which I had been for several days. While lying in the hospital bed with the contraction trackers, I checked out my nifty hospital wristband. This is what it read:

So they were a little off! Little did I know, though, that this minor error was going to be pretty telling of the rest of my day! The nurse, Jerry, (please request to not have Jerry if you are in Billings) quickly traded my bracelet for the correct one. After I had been there for a couple of hours, she checked me again only to discover I had not dilated any more even though the contraction had become more painful and had remained consistent. The doctor had told me the Friday before that I was dilated to a 5, as did the nurse I had before Jerry. Jerry told me that even though my physician and the previous nurse had said I was a five, I was only a 4 (Her fingers were quite large. I think that explains this.) The hospital kept me a little longer because they were concerned about my blood pressure being high. I was convinced they would keep me with the history of my last labor, but around 10:30 my nurse came back in the triage room and told me I would have to go home because there was no progression. I was devastated and so scared. The nurse was telling me to leave now that my contractions were 3 minutes apart and even more painful than before. If I was feeling this way now, at what point was I supposed to come back? The contractions were already very painful and scaring me! I told the nurse about my concerns, but that didn't change her mind. I told her there was a lot of pain, so she sent me home with some Percocet. Before we left, Brock tried to let her know how worried we were, that it would take 15 minutes to get back to the hospital and we didn't know if that would be enough time. The nurse acted offended and just repeated herself. So, we left as directed.

I puked the whole way home. I don't know if it was nerves, the Percocet, or the labor. By the time we got home I couldn't walk very well because the Percocet was doing it's job! Brock took me upstairs. I was told to lay down on my left side (because the baby was on my right. I'm not sure why I couldn't do that in the hospital though!). After about 30 minutes of laying down, the really painful contractions started. I only had 2 contractions before I asked Brock for a blessing. Right after, I called the nurse back to tell her that although my contractions were 10 minutes apart, they really were unbearable, even with the Percocet. She said to do whatever I felt comfortable with, even though they would probably send me back again. I knew that this pain was too much to be nothing, though.

By the time we got to the car and on the road (about 3 minutes after the phone call), my contractions were 1 minute part and I could feel that baby trying to get out! When we got to the hospital, I was cursing the nurses name, shaking uncontrollably and just trying to hold the baby in until I was on a hospital bed. We reached the hospital at 2:00, and I delivered Isaac after 1 push at 2:09. I asked after the delivery if I could still have an epidural, but they said no! Haha! See, I am a wimp! I endured the birth and still thought it hurt to be stitched up!

Part of me was very grateful for the way things went because I ended up having an excellent doctor, who I trusted more than my actual doc, deliver Isaac who just happened to be available. She came in handy later that day also.

The rest of the evening went well. Brock was there with me, so that was very nice. That night was a different story though! At about 10 p.m. I had finished feeding Isaac and stood up to change his diaper. After standing for few minutes, I felt huge amount of blood rushing down my legs. Immediately there were pools of blood around both of my feet that were growing very fast. I pushed the button to call my nurse and figured I better leave Isaac on the bed in case I got dizzy. I won't go in to all the details, but basically there were such large clots still in my uterus that the nurse pushed as many as she could out by pushing on my lower abdomen. I was so bruised after that! Then they called the doctor back in who delivered Isaac to get the rest of the clots out by hand. I was so grateful that they put me on Fentanyl for that because I still felt like I was going to pass out from pain while in a euphoric state!! I can definitely see how someone would get addicted to that drug! The worst part of the whole experience was that I was at the hospital alone. I was scared and there were so many people in my room rushing around I got a little worried. I wasn't allowed to get back up for the rest of the night. It was a long, lonely night but I'm so glad that is over with! I should also add that the reason I had such large clots was because I didn't get to the hospital in time to have and IV with Pitocin. I did get an injection of Pit later, but apparently it didn't work as well!

Now, things are great and I'm so happy to be done with that hospital. One last thing, though, the next day a nurse came in and asked if I would switch rooms. I was quite surprised they were asking me this after what they'd put me through! Of course I couldn't say no, though, and I hated the room and bed they moved me to! They did make up for it somewhat, though, with a $50 gift card to Walmart for moving rooms. Brock thought it should be a gift card toward the next child, but we didn't end up so lucky!

We're so grateful for the little family that we have. We are SO blessed. I have several friends who are trying to get pregnant, and who are awesome parents. I always pray that they will soon be able to experience the joy of a newborn again. I sometimes hesitate to share the joy for that reason, but I'll just shout it out this once! Thanks to everyone for the support you've given us. We are happy and healthy and grateful. :-)

Kaelyn loves being a big sister. She is so sweet with Isaac and is always kissing him or putting her cheek softly against his or rubbing is soft head. So far they are the best of friends. We'll see how long that lasts ;)

Updates!

So I figure updating about three times a year is good right? I'll try to get better. Well let's try to sum up the last 6 months of what's gone on at the Caskey's.

First, and most important, we're expecting a little boy due May 1st! We're so excited. Kaelyn is obsessed with babies too, so she's excited as well. I decided I'd break the news to my Mom by putting the announcement in Kaelyn's diaper. Grandma Lesli is such a quick diaper changer she didn't even notice the note!

Exhibit A

Kaelyn at the park. She loves the swings although she's fallen out on numerous occasions.

She has gotten to be quite the little rascal. Here she is watching The Grinch while I did the dishes. I knew something was wrong when things got a little too quiet. I'm pretty sure she got through this entire tube of lipstick in under 30 seconds. Not fun to clean out of the carpet, but I'm glad it came out!

Kaelyn and baby Jack! Kaelyn loves this little guy! Probably because he always has a smile plastered to his face and he's such a happy boy. We're going to miss him and his family while they are in Dominica.

Grandpa and baby Jack the night before heading out to the island.

Jack and Crew got Pillow Pets for the airplane ride. Lucky ducks!

Hugs goodbye :(

I'm going to miss this cuddly creature!

Christmas eve in the new jammies...

Christmas day. Kaelyn already acting like a grown up and rolling her eyes at the hard work she has to do.

Shopping cart!

Cute Crew. He is such a funny kid. I'm sure his singing will be missed by everyone!

Broc, Crystal, Crew and Jack headed out to Dominica at the end of December and Broc has since started medical school. He is attending Ross. It was sad to see them go, but the have so much to look forward to down there, and so many new things to try out! I'm a little (a lot) jealous, aside from the extra bugs! Good luck guys!

In other news, Brock got a promotion with Walmart and we are now living in Billings, MT. So far we really like it here. The people are very friendly and the weather is a bit warmer than Idaho Falls. Brock is liking his new position and the new store, but he's still getting know everyone there. The ward is awesome and everyone has been really welcoming. We miss our place in Idaho Falls but we're so happy that we like it here. I need to put up some pics of the new house but there are still a few boxes that need to be unpacked! We are renting a 6 bedroom home here, which means you are required to come visit. We live about a block from a nice lake and park, so I'm excited for the summer!

Kaelyn is 18 months old now, but I swear she's two. She's got the tantrums down to an art. I'm doing my best to combat them like I should (ignoring them), but any advice would be welcome!

New (homemade) Furniture

Although Brock doesn't like me to put it this way, he's crafty. This last month he crafted a new bed for us! He did such a great job. He found some measurements for a pottery barn bed he liked and decided to build it. Sadly the measurements were wrong but he was able to figure it out. Anyway, it looks excellent and he's since made two nightstands. Next on his list, building a new closet to replace our chester drawers. Here's Brock at work:

Thanks for all your hard work Brock! You've done an awesome job :)

1

Kaelyn's first birthday was a month ago, so I guess I've been a little slow, but I just wanted to post some of her one year pictures and say how much we love this little girl! (Forgive me, I had a hard time narrowing down pictures so there are MANY!!) Kaelyn has been such a fun girl and way too easy on us. I'm nervous to have another baby because I don't think I know the half of it! She's been such a good baby and she is always cracking us up. One thing she's been doing since she was about four months is dancing. She dances to any beat! Whether it's your tapping foot or some rock and roll, she really gets into it. Lately she's been pulling out some new moves that keep us laughing. Maybe I'll get a video on here someday :). Anyway, Kaelyn's still just cruising around and a little weary of walking without someone helping. She LOVES kitties (or didees) and pulling there tails. Luckily they're patient with her! Also, we've put up an inflatable pool in the back yard and if she see's it she's not backing down 'til she gets in! We love her so much and we're looking forward very much to this next year with her.

Thanks to David McClellan for taking such wonderful pictures!

June-July Happenings

ONE YEAR!!

We can't believe it!

This is her party invitation Brock made:

The weekend of June 26^th was a pretty big one! It was Kaelyn’s first birthday and my best friend Amber’s wedding. We went down a little bit early so we could get Kaelyn’s one year pictures taken. I’ll post them when we get them! We celebrated Kaelyn’s birthday one day early, on Friday. We all went to Toy Story 3 at the Drive In. Great movie! Kaelyn (actually everyone BUT Kaelyn) opened her presents and we had some crumbly cake. It was hot, there was a bad experience with the rude owners of the drive in, and my cake didn’t turn out but we still had so much fun! Kaelyn pooped out about 10 minutes into the movie, which was probably a good thing!

Saturday was Amber’s wedding. I’m so glad we were able to be there. It was an awesome experience. I love going back to sealings because, let’s face it, most of us don’t remember much from our big day! Anyway, there were some great messages given and it was just so neat. Congratulations Amber! You looked beautiful.

Poor Kaelyn has some troubles with her BM’s, so Brock thought we should try putting her on the toilet while she’s at work. He thought maybe it would make it easier on her and potty train her at the same time. I just had to laugh at that! We gave it a try anyway. I think she was too distracted with her surroundings to try much. Especially that roll of toilet paper. I think babies are attracted to those! She’s unraveled one too many!

Idaho Falls puts on a really great show for the 4^th of July. Also, because it is funded by a Mormon (Frank Vandersloot, owner of Melaleuca) he requested the show be on the 3^rd this year. I think the majority of the state was okay with that! This show brings some pretty big crowds, so we decided to watch it from a dirt road out of the city. It actually ended up being a great spot. The music that goes with the show is broadcast over a local radio station, so it was just like we were there, except that we were in the warmth of our car and without the nuisance of mosquitoes! We were sad that we couldn’t be in Morgan for the big 4^th party, but we actually had a good little party of our own!

watching the fireworks

This is a typical day for Kaelyn and I. Especially since we don’t have AC, we need to get in the water to cool down (actually I just get my toes wet, but it helps!). Kaelyn usually plays in the water for approximately 30 seconds before she’s done. And that’s only her hands and toes getting wet. We’re working on that though! And look at Kaelyn! She is totally in her element when she’s dressed up all girly. You can just tell she loves it. So funny!