Mack's Blessing

Mack was blessed today. March 30, 2014. Only 3 weeks old. A bit earlier than we had planned, but we had so much family in town, we figured we'd take the opportunity and just do it!

Mack was blessed by his dad, and had is Grandpa Walton and Jensen, Great Grandpa Walton and Thornock, Uncle Mitch, and Great Great Uncle Don stand in. We are grateful for all of these men and for their willingness to be apart of our children's lives. 

Terry did a great job and Mack was given a beautiful blessing... to always make right decisions, no matter the circumstances, and reach the potential Heavenly Father has for him. We know he will!

We're so grateful for a dad and husband who is worthy to hold the priesthood and continually bless our lives, home, and family!

On a side note, we got a new Bishopric today and Terry has been called as the Executive Secretary. Not what we were expecting, but we're here for the adventure!

C-section Recovery

Now that I've done this whole c-section thing twice, i've figured out what to do, and what not to do. My list goes like this:

To do:

• Buy some Depends. After having a baby, I bleed really really bad. Like uncontrollable amounts, I learned that with Oliver, so with Mack I went to the hospital prepared. Depends. Yep, grown up diapers, but soooo much better than pads and mesh panties they give you in the hospital. I wore them for about two weeks until I felt like I could wear normal underwear on my incision. The Depends come up way high so they don't touch your incision at all. The nurses thought I was a genius!
• Let the nurses help. If they want to take the baby for a few hours in the middle of the night, let them! You can hardly move anyways, so take advantage and get some rest. They will bring the baby back to you when he gets hungry and needs to be fed. Terry couldn't stay all the time, so make sure to ring the nurses if you ever need anything, it's their job! But be nice too. They aren't perfect, but they're doing their best!
• Get sleep. The more sleep you get the quicker you'll recover. I think this has made a huge difference between my recovery with Mack and with Oliver. Oliver woke up every 1.5-2 hours while Mack started sleeping about 4 hours (plus) since we brought him home. If you have someone staying with you, take a nap every chance you get. Your body needs all the rest it can get to heal.
• Get a brace or support of some sort, specifically for c-sections. I have and reccomend this one. This made a huge difference in my recovery this second time around! My body feels better. 
• Get to walking. In the hospital when they wake you up at 3 in the morning and tell you to get out of bed, just do it. Walking will help you recover faster, and you will be able to walk normal, sooner. I walked about twice as much with Mack in the hospital, than what I walked with Oliver, and at one week I was walking almost normal! With Oliver I walked real gingerly, and really slow. HUGE difference! 
• Don't jump into your prepregnancy pants too soon. I tried doing that with Oliver and I completely regretted it. Too much on my incision too soon. 
• Ask for help. With Oliver my mom and mother in law came and helped out a few times, but there were times I couldn't stand up and truly needed someone and had no one! With Mack I had my mom come stay at our house every day for two weeks. She slept at her house but would come out by 8:30 to help me out with the house, picking up Oliver, and the demanding needs of a newborn. When people offered to bring meals, I immediately said yes! Dinner can be so hard to deal with when you can barely move.
• Plan ahead. I made 26 freezer meals for after we had the baby and had a few other easy dinners ready to go. Make your life easy for the first 6 weeks. You didn't just have a baby, you had surgery too. 
• Don't get too active too soon. With Oliver, my doctor cleared me to start exercising at 3 weeks, because I really wanted to get my body back (news flash, you'll never truly get it back!) So I started working out and wish I would have waited. It exhausted me, and I think it prolonged me full recovery. Just relax for that first 6 weeks, enjoy your new baby, and get your game face on at 6 weeks!
• When you are finally ready to start wearing normal pants again, but your insicion is just a little sore, but a thick pad in between your pants and your scar. It will help you jump back into your normal pants sooner. 
• Get outside. If you can, be sure you go for walks, or get outside at least once a day. It will simply make you happy.
• Clean. If you have a planned c-section clean your house the day before. Especially all the dirty work, like the toilets, so you won't have to worry about it when you get home from the hospital.
• Try to do a load of laundry everyday. That way, you won't be so overwhelmed when you all of a sudden have 2 weeks worth of clothes that need washed, folded, and put away.
• Visitors. I preferred my visitors to come within that first 2 weeks after having the baby. Most people waited 2 or 3 weeks after we had Oliver, and it made it hard for us to get into any type of a routine. So with Mack I made sure people knew they were welcome sooner, so that when I could move again, our lives could start to be a little bit more normal without too many unexpected interruptions. Of course, this was just my preference!
• Last but not least. Take your pain medications. Don't "wait and see how you feel." I did that with Oliver, and for the most part I would do fine, but every now and then, I would be in a ton of pain, stuck on the floor because I had attempted to get up and just fell to the ground, with Oliver crying, and Terry in the middle of a field, 20 minutes from being able to help me. If you don't want to take them, at least have them nearby, for in case you realllly need them. 

These were just some things that really made my second recovery, 10 times better. Hopefully they are helpful to others!

Look Alike

They might be related... Brothers even!

The Sienna

After having my first son via emergency c-section, and being completely unprepared for the recovery, I did a little bit of research on what could help the whole recovery process. I read a few blogs and found that most other women had some sort of brace, or support, for their belly. I didn't have one of those. So, I hopped onto good ol' Amazon and bought a cheap brace that women had reviewed and said it helped with their c-section recovery. Lies. It was awful. It was just a tube of elastic with velcro that applied pressure in all the wrong places, killing my incision.

After that painful experience, I did a lot more research, in preparation for the next one. I came across quite a few different braces, some costing over $200, and well out of my price range, and then I found the Sienna: C-cection Recovery Garment from Body After Baby. After, reading more about it, I knew I had to have it. 

To make this simple, here are the pros and cons of this garment.

Pros:

• Applies the right amount of pressure on the incision and gradually eases up on the pressure as the garment moves up your body. Their site explains it and has a picture to show what I mean better!
• Cannot be seen under my shirt! (If your short like me [only 5'3"] the zipper might bunch just slightly, but hardly noticeable).
•  It supports my back. I'm not sure if it's just me, or if all women are like this after c-sections, but I get a hunch back. I don't want to stand up straight because it either hurts my back from the lack of muscles, or I feel like my guts are going to fall out if I stand up straight, and this helps me stand up!
• The fabric is incredibly durable, yet breathable. I don't feel like I'm roasting while wearing it.
• It gives me a tummy tuck! Without the brace I look pregnant still. Great. Put this bad boy on and BAM! I look thin-ish again! I think the brace is actually helping my post-partum belly go back down faster than if I didn't wear anything at all. 
• The price was in my budget! Love that one. I was able to convince the husband quite easily too, when I told him I could use it after every c-section, and he wants 12 kids, and we're only 2 down..... That makes it less than $10 a baby (if he could actually convince me to have 12 children... ha!) Plus, you can like them on Facebook and they have promotions and deals going all the time. I was able to use a discount when I purchased mine!
•  I am able to nurse easily! The garment isn't in the way at all and since I am like a fountain, and spray milk everywhere, the fabric actually seems to repel the milk! It's awesome, really. It doesn't show any signs of spilled milk anywhere, and trust me, there is plenty. 
• It makes me feel pretty. This is a big deal to me. After being pregnant, having a baby, and just feeling kind of unattractive for the last 9 or so months, the last thing I want is to be wearing something that is unattractive. My husband thinks it's hot, so right there my self-esteem just shot up! 
• When I was finally cleared to pick up my almost 2 year old, I felt like this garment helped strengthen my core. Since, pregnancy and the c-section left me with zero abs. 
• The site says the garment is supposed to "enhance your healing." I haven't worn it long enough, to really be able to tell if this is happening, or to be able to compare to my last c-section, but I have a gut feeling it will help!

 Cons:

• It's really hard to go to the bathroom. Most of the time, I just take my shirt off and pull the garment down, but that can get hard, depending on where you're at, and what you're wearing. I'm still trying to figure out the best and fastest way to do this. So, if anyone has used this garment before, and has a pointer on that... feel free to let me know!
• The size of the legs on mine is way too big. I'm still not brave enough to wear any of my normal pants yet, just sweats still, because I don't want to irritate my incision, but I'm hoping it won't be too noticeable in the legs of my pants. I have this garment in my normal size and one size up to compensate for swelling. So far, I'm still wearing the bigger size because my tummy is still fairly big, but I think within the week I will be wearing the one for my normal size and I'm hoping that will solve the "too big in the legs" problem.  

I didn't start wearing the garment until I was 2 week postpartum. That was just when my doctor felt comfortable allowing me to put any pressure on my incision. I wanted to wear it right out of the hospital, but I already had a few complications after the surgery, and I thought I'd better listen...
Overall, I am totally in love with this garment. Worth the money. Glad I did it. The only cons that I have found towards this, is not off putting enough for me to be unsatisfied with the purchase. I would recommend this one to anyone who is having a c-section!


I will be writing a  post on the things that have been most helpful when it comes to recovering from a c-section, since I've learned a lot from my first one. I had a hard time finding any tips and I figure it could be helpful to any friends who might have to go through one.... Stay tuned for that one!

A Bushel and a Peck...

We love these two a bushel and a peck, and a hug around the neck! 

For our Babies...

I saw this shared on Facebook today, and loved it. So, I thought I'd share it here. This boy says quite a lot, and all of it is really good. I know I like corn dogs and dancing. 

For Oliver Lee and Mack T.

Big Brother

Since bringing Mack home, Oliver has adjusted incredibly well. This first day was a bit of a struggle, which we completely understand, but since then we haven't had too much trouble! I mentioned once that Oliver was pretty well potty trained, he just can't get his pants up and down on his a own. We had lots of people tell us it probably wouldn't last, and we honestly didn't know if it would, once we had the baby, but to our great surprise Oliver has continued to go potty on his toilet! He gets diapers for nap and for bed time, but quite frequently he wakes up dry from both of those! We are so proud of him!
He has been such a good big brother, bringing Mack tractors to play with, giving him kisses, and wanting to hold him constantly, but we can tell there are times when he really needs some attention. Terry takes him and plays with him outside for awhile which can normally solve the problem, but he has been wanting mom time the last couple of days. Since I can't pick him up, and my movement is limited, we got Mack to sleep in the swing and we cuddled up on the recliner to play on the tablet. We ended up taking plenty of "selfies" which he thought was great! I know I sure enjoyed our time together, and I sure hope Oliver did too!

"Mom time"

Our first few days home. Oliver is showing uncle Bradden all of the tractors in his magazine in the top left picture.

Mack Attack

We attempted some newborn pictures. This little boy does not like to be unswaddled, so we had a hard time getting too many of him naked! Those are my favorite ones too. So here are a few we did get. 

Big shout out to my mom for helping me take these, especially our family one, I'm surprised she was able to get a good one out of Oliver!

 

My mom also made Mack this cute little hat, Oliver had a tractor one. It needed to match the Mack Truck!

Big yawn!

Love these boys!

Repeat. But I just love this one!

Mack T. Walton

He is here! We finally have our baby! 

Mack T. Walton 

8lbs. 6oz. 18.5in

3/5/14 7:26am

I will quickly give his birth story here.

39.2 weeks. The morning Mack was born.

After 3 weeks of having contraction 2-3 minutes apart, being dialated to a 4, having my c-section date moved back 2 days, and well, being pregnant... we finally went in Wednesday morning at 5:30 to get checked in and ready for a planned c-section. My last one was an emergency cs, so we had no clue what to expect this time around. It was real simple though. We got there, they monitored the baby for 20 minutes and then we got all ready for surgery. With Oliver I had to be put under because my epidural didn't take the way it was supposed to, so this time I was given a spinal block. It was perfect. I was able to be awake for the whole process. I can't believe what I missed out on with Oliver. They rolled me back at about 7 to the operating room and they finished prepping me. The anesthesiologist was awesome, between him and Terry I got a play by play on what was going on. He didn't even strap my arms down. I reeaaalllly liked him. At 7:26am Mack was born. The incubator thing (I don't know exactly what they are called) was right next to me so I was able to see him right away. As soon as he was cleaned up a little bit, they brought him over to me so I could touch him (I wasn't allowed to hold him, obviously). I wish I had that experience with Oliver! I was able to watch the nurses finish cleaning him, and run the various tests. He scored a 9 on his Apgar Test, and after talking to the nurse who gave him the score, he was a 9.9 almost a 10 but she doesn't give 10's out very easily. I was told over and over how perfect he was. Terry was able to hold him while in the O.R. and brought him back over to me so I could get a better look. 

I went back into recovery for about 30 minutes while Mack was taken and given a bath, weighed and measured. I couldn't believe he came out to be so big! I gained 2 pounds less with Mack than Oliver but Mack was the bigger baby. 8.06 is pretty big!

We had to stay two nights in the hospital. While Mack did awesome, I had a few minor complications. The first day I threw up ALL day long. I told them I couldn't handle strong pain medication and they ignored me. But that wasn't even the worst part. The second day we found out that my intestines were "paralyzed," temporarily of course. But because of that, all of the gas that my body produced from what I had eaten, was just stuck in my belly. My stomach bloated, and I was in more pain from that, than from having my stomach cut open. I will forever appreciate the ability to pass gas. Yep, I just said that. I would never wish that on anyone. That same night however, my body finally started to wake up, and we were able to be discharged the next day. Like I said, Mack did great, I was the one having all the problems. 

We are so glad he is finally here. We love him so much. Even Oliver. The first day was hard, but now he is all about having a baby brother. Oliver is also potty trained now, and has continued to do well, even with bringing Mack home. We couldn't be more proud parents. We just love our boys, and are so incredibly blessed!

FYI- the T. Stands for Terry, but we didn't like the sound of Mack Terry Walton, so we just shortened it up a bit. Mack has an aunt whose middle name is also just a T!