Being Thankful

They say, "The first 6 weeks are the hardest". I say, "False!". Once Jaxon was 6 weeks + 1 day everything that was and has been going so well has gone down the drain. The first 6 weeks were great! I felt good (after about week 3), Jaxon was a great eater, he slept well, was a happy baby when he was awake, etc. etc. Then, something changed about our sweet little boy. For some reason he wouldn't eat, he would lay down on his back he'd just cry unless asleep or held upright over our shoulder. I know what you're thinking, acid reflux right? That's what we thought, too. After a few days of irregular feedings and an extra sad baby we headed to insta-care on Sunday to find a solution. After some Mylanta, trying to feed unsuccessfully, tylenol and an abdominal x-ray and two and half hours later, we came to the conclusion that he was full of it... air that is. The physician recommended picking up some peppermint herbal tea and a probiotic. Once Jax zonked out from a trying couple of days we made our way to Walgreens and hoped for a solution. The problem was he refuses a bottle suddenly as well so guess how we get to give him this 1 ounce of "medicine"? That's right, syringe. It takes about 4 syringes to get all of it in, with him spitting half of it out and choking on the rest. The good thing is that within an hour he was pooping, farting, burping and EATING!! He was an angel through that night and into Monday and showed some of the same signs again Monday afternoon. So we shoved some more tea down his throat and it seemed to help some. Today, I didn't even wait until I saw signs. I just gave it to him at 11:30. This time he was farting and pooping again like the good little Jaxon man I know. Why do I tell you these things? Because I can. And as a first time (worried) mom, it feels good to get things like this off of your chest. Thanks for listening.

Here's to better days! And at least tonight for Jaxon because mom and dad are headed to the Michael Buble concert!! :) So excited!!


(Since I'm really good at not finishing posts you get another two-in-one special today)

Michael Buble was so much fun! It was great to just spend some time alone with Danny. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Jaxon but you know what I mean. He does a great concert and puts on quite the performance. It was fun!

Good news! Jaxon has not really had an "episode" like before since we've been giving him a probiotic. I called his Pediatrician on Tuesday and she said to stop the tea and just do the probiotic which makes life much easier because I don't have to shove 4 syringe-fulls of nasty stuff into his mouth. Just one, and he takes it so much easier because it doesn't taste so nasty. He is his happy self! So good to have my happy Jaxon-man back!

Today we put our Christmas tree up. I love it. I now just need to sew Jaxon's stocking and our tree skirt and we will be complete... minus all the Christmas shopping I have yet to do. But before I get to ahead of myself and just skip over Thanksgiving I do want to make a quick list of some things I am most certainly grateful for:

- My amazing husband who is my best teammate!
- Our sweet little Jaxon who makes us smile everyday
- Loving parents and in-laws who know just what we need & when we need it. Thank you.
- A loving Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ who love me.
- The opportunity I have to be an at-home mother
- A college education and degree
- A roof over my head
- Food on the table
- Weekends I get to spend with my boys

This is not everything but I could go on for days, so we will stop there. Or at least pause there for now.
Sorry this post is scattered and random. But I'm trying really hard to get routine about this blogging thing. We'll keep working on it.

Us and Michael

If you don't know the story behind this quote, I am sorry. 

If you really want to know it you can call/text me. It's funny.

I have given up on trying to take cute pics of me and DT post-baby...

We went on a walk and he fell asleep. He didn't move a muscle

when I laid him down. I didn't want to wake him up... He woke up 5 minutes later.

Merry Christmas!

He has discovered his hands this past week. He can fit his entire fist 

into his mouth. Definitely didn't get my little mouth...

Jaxon N. Toney

I wanted to share some of our birth story and experience of parenthood thus far...

My due date was Monday, September 23rd. It came and went with out any progress. I had an appointment that morning with my doctor and we set an induction date for Sunday night, September 29th. The entire week I felt so uneasy about it. I called friends and talked to family to get their opinions and ask for advice on being induced. I have always viewed induction as a medical intervention for health reasons and what not. I had had a seamless pregnancy, no problems, not even bad morning sickness. There was no reason, in my head, for an induction. Other than me being selfish and wanting to be done with the whole pregnant thing. So, after tears, worry, prayer and what have you, I called the doctor and hospital and pushed the induction back to Thursday, Oct. 3rd. I just wanted to give the little guy more time if he needed it and I thought if he hadn't come by then, it would turn into a medical intervention for my own sanity. After the date was switched I felt so much better. We went to Danny's parent's house for the BYU football game Friday night and got home around 10:30 pm. We just got ready for bed and fell asleep around 11:30...
     I woke up to a strange sensation in my lower extremities; a feeling of warm wetness, much like peeing yourself. I sat up and the feeling continued... my water broke. I looked at the clock, it was 12:30 am. I tapped Danny, who was sound asleep, "Babe, my water just broke". He rolled over as if to say, "Yeah, okay, great hun." I headed to the bathroom to clean up and he came in shortly after.
"You weren't kidding!" He had finally woke up and saw the large puddle in the bed. He began to shake with adrenaline and nervousness and I just reassured him we were fine, we had our bags packed we'll just clean up and head to the hospital. And so we did.
    We got all checked into the hospital. It was kind of nice, because they couldn't turn us away because my water had broken-- it's an automatic admittance, no waiting until contractions are whatever apart and so intense, yadda yadda yadda. However, that was the problem, I wasn't having any contractions. I was started on Pitocin around 2 am and then I was fully aware of what a contraction felt like. I had tightening toward the end of my pregnancy but never felt any contractions. Danny fell asleep while I labored until 6 am not getting any sleep just watching that clock and waiting every 2-3 minutes for the next bloody contraction to come. The anesthesiologist had a scheduled c-section at 7 am so the nurse said if you want the epi, now would be the time or you'll have to wait until he's out of the c-section. I opted for the epi. I was only dilated to a two at this point.
     Once I got the epi was finally able to sleep and Danny said my demeanor took a complete 180. I was cracking jokes with my nurse, laughing at Danny and everything. I was feeling much better. By 9 am I was a 3, 11 am I was a 5 and 12:30 I jumped to a 10. Danny was in the restroom and said he was going to go grab some lunch once he finished. As he was in there, the nurse come to check me again and said I was a 10. Danny came out of the bathroom and I said, "you're not getting lunch yet-- we're having a baby". His face was priceless. I wish I had a picture. The quick jump to a 10 sent Jaxon into a bit of shock and his heart rate dropped, so I was put on oxygen for awhile before we were able to push. I had a bulging sac as well so that had to be broken. Finally, at 3 pm we were ready to push. I had two or three practice pushes and the nurse said we better get Dr. Woods in here, you're pushing great. Pushing was hard but a very unique and cool experience. Nothing can beat motherhood-- in any aspect. It is the most challenging, most rewarding, most unpredictable, most anything and everything!
Jaxon had some meconium during the end of pushing and inhaled it on his way out. Because of that, he had to be taken immediately for respiratory intervention. They had tubes and suction things all up in his face. He did not like that. They had taped a tube into his mouth and then taped an oxygen thing to his hat he had on. He was fighting the nurse so badly that his face was covered in tape and he still was ripping all of it off! He was our little fighter. Danny was with him during this hour or so while I was getting stitched back together. The nurse called someone higher up than her and asked what she should do because she had never had a baby fight her this much. The higher nurse said that if he's fighting that much, he's fine, and to just leave the tubes out. Good news for us! He recovered quicker than they had anticipated and was in a normal nursery within 12 hours. 1/2 the time they thought he would be. AND no NICU! :) We stayed until Monday the 30th and made our way home as a new family!!

It was interesting to experience all the nurses at the hospital. They would work 12 hour shifts so every time 5 o'clock hit, I'd get a new set of nurses attending to my room. But the one nurse I will never forget is the one that was with me Saturday from 5 am to 5 pm. Basically through the thick and thin of my delivery. I absolutely loved her! Charlotte was her name and she was amazing! I could tell you some horror stories of the others... but I'll spare you. Just think of shots without warning... no emotion or empathy... etc. etc.

Jaxon is now 6.5 weeks. He'll be 7 weeks old on Saturday. I cannot believe it. He is growing so much! He's definitely coming out of his newborn stage and it tugs at my heart strings a little but makes me happy at the same time to see him grow and develop so well. Here is a list of some of his milestones, if you will:

- Holds his head up
- Sleeps at least one 4-5 hour stretch a night (so thankful for this)
- Gives smiles everyday
- Hates the hiccups
- Loves when daddy comes home from school/work
- Hates hates hates his car seat ( not fun)
- His hair is finally starting to grow back
- Has the most beautiful eyelashes (just like his daddy)
- Had his first official diaper blowout yesterday up the back... (sorry tmi)
- No longer fits into his newborn clothes

Well that was quite the post. Here are some pictures to make it even longer :)

First family pic

5 days old

My tall boys

a whole new world

Love this picture of DT and JT

Delayed Reaction

This is a post I had written way back in April but never published. I thought it was a good description of my thoughts at that time. Here's a glimpse into Stacie's brain ---



Things are moving right along!

I can't believe that I'm done with student teaching. 10 weeks in the same classroom was a long time. Was it worth it? Most definitely. Was it easy? No way. Would I do it again? If I had to. Graduation is next week and I still have so many mixed feelings about it. My entire life has been school and softball. I've weened myself from softball for the past year (not easy). And now I'm going to be done with school. I have an interview on Monday for a substitute teaching job for the rest of the school year around Provo. I'm excited to still be in the classroom and around children teaching (and to finally earn some dang money).

Danny has been studying so hard the past few days and continues to do so. He's so smart and works so hard to be successful. I love that about him. He never settles for less and is always aiming so high! I love him and am so proud of all the success he's been able to find in his academics! He is such an example to me. Without getting mushy, he is always serving and putting the Lord first. He's constantly serving me to the point I don't think I'll ever catch up to him now and he never gives up. He's such a great goal setter and goal achiever. Something I have never exactly been. I'm so happy I married him, he's by best friend and don't know how I ever survived without him in my life!

Last night, while lying in bed I felt some pretty good kicks for Baby Toney. I feel like I've felt them before but am never fast enough to put my hand or Danny's on my stomach to feel it on the outside. Last night, Baby was just telling us, "Good night!" I grabbed Danny's hand and put in on my belly, he was able to feel a couple good kicks, too! It was incredible. It was the first time we have really felt a definite kick, the others may or may not have been flukes... it's debatable. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow-- I hope they do an ultrasound, but I doubt that will happen... cross your fingers. Monday I'll be 18 weeks! Almost half way there!

Lately, I've also been feeling a lot of anxiety and worry about bringing a child into this world. After watching the news coverage of the Boston bombings and then the Texas plant and the letters with toxins and the list goes on and on, I am so worried about raising a child in the world with so many signs of the times. I know that I will be able to and have faith that it will be fine. However, my humanly self continues to plant doubts in my mind. I pray that I will be able to raise a righteous family in this Gospel and return to live with our Heavenly Father and Savior one day. 

Turning Over a New Leaf

I have decided that I need to blog more. I love reading other family members' and friend's blogs and decided they'd probably love ours too (especially those who live across the country... or world for that matter).

Obviously, I haven't posted since the beginning of 2013... It's almost 2014. Never-the-less, I am determined to make a post at least once a month on updates of our little family. Let's hope I post more than that.
Here is a list of things that have happened this past year:

- I walked in the graduation ceremonies at BYU (I can't say graduated because I just barely did that by passing the blasted Social Studies SubTest for the Praxis Exam.)
- Danny was accepted into the Marriot School of Business at BYU.
- I was pregnant at the time of the last post but had to keep it secret.
- We moved from Provo to Centerville
- I got a coaching job at Viewmont High School helping with the softball team
- Danny started the Entrepreneurship program this fall.
- We were called as Sunday School teachers in our church for the 15 year olds.
- Had a summer full of fun-filled family vacations. (Yes, I was tempted to spell vacations with a "f" instead of a "v")
- We celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at the golf course. I drove the cart (8 months preggo) while Danny just golfed away. I did attempt to play some of the holes.... I was very unsuccessful due to 20 years of a softball swing and my large 'n charge belly sticking out.
- We welcomed the newest member of our family into the world. Jaxon Newel Toney was born on Saturday, September 28, 2013. He weighed 8 lb. 5 oz. and was 22 1/2 inches long. (This will get it's own post soon)

These are the things that are sticking out in my head the most from this year. It has been a whirlwind of an adventure but it has been a great one! Expect more posts to come!!