Conners 2 Month Update

 2 months with our Conner James. I didn't predict having his casts off for his 2 month picture but I also didn't predict we'd be in the hospital today recovering from his surgery where he initially had to take his casts off for. So cheers to double Tennessee socks LOL! This month Conner's personality has really started to shine through and his preferences are starting to be known. His eyes are wider and more awake and alert and he loves learning about his surroundings. He knows who sister Lucy is now and he knows to pull his hands away from being licked when she comes around. Conner's sleeping longer stretches now and is going longer stretches without needing to eat. His wake hours are growing as well. Also strangely enough, Conner has already rolled over twice. We think his casts help propel him over which is pretty scary. He continues to be a happy baby despite the odds and his legs always being poked prodded and manipulated. He's such the trooper. We love him so much. -Conner weighs 12 pounds even and is 23 1/4 inches long!

 

 

Doesn't he look like a little coach in these jeans :). 

My day in the life! I put little Conner in the bouncer and work on my blogs and daily devotionals. I've been trying to journal too to have a positive start of my day. For breakfast I've been enjoying these frozen Welches protein smoothies found at Publix! So delicious!! 

 

How he felt about having 2 days casts free before surgery. Cool dude.

These are the days :):):).

His little bandaid on his head from surgery.

His little smile :).

 

Doesn't he look so big!!!

We are ready for Fall time around here!

Like an angel!

Our daily reading!!!

Our sweet little Lucy just loves Conners sweet little pacifier. 

 

Look at that strong little neck during tummy time. Luckily he loves tummy time. 

I'm so grateful for these sweet 2 months with our sweet Conner James.

Love,

Kayla Raborn

8-10-22

How to Clean a House/Budgeting

When I quit my job, Cody and I had been planning on how to live off of one salary, with that being a teachers salary with a masters degree and coaching supplement. The first step would be to declutter the house and throw away a lot of junk, give away a lot of items, and sell a lot of items. But also Cody and I had to reevaluate our budget and spending. 

Now we are currently living the same way as before when we had two salaries (mine being an engineer), but we aren't saving nearly what we used to. We are able to save about 20% of Cody's salary right now but once we have 2-3 kids, that will drop down to 12% and that is ok and planned. We saved up 6 years of our salaries to put a large down payment on our house, save up for a dog and kids, and a previously owned dream Truck for Cody, and preparing for me to stay home with our kids for 5-10 years. One of the ways we save is to eat out less and to also keep grocery trips to every other week and aim to spend $100 a week on average on groceries. No coffee's or gas station snacks either or online shopping unless for a special occasion. For birthdays and Christmas we ask for necessities only, we buy things we know we will need in the future little by little like baby clothes and items. And the other item we have cut out is paying a maid once a month to clean our house. I now clean our house and enjoy doing so! From someone who has never cleaned a house in her life, it was SO daunting. So let me give you a few tips on how to make that easier for you:

 

My cleaning items and a close up.

1. At first it may be daunting so maybe split the upstairs and downstairs into two separate days back to back. Plan for 6.5 hours to clean the house or 9.5 hours for a deep clean.

2. Start the laundry asap. Strip the sheets and pillow cases and put all of the towels in the laundry machine and get that started. While that is washing place the back up/second sets on the beds and make them up and place the back up/second set of towels out.

3. Start from top to bottom so you aren't cleaning twice. Dust surfaces, fan blades, stain spindles, then blinds, dust the baseboards, (all with swifters), and wipe kitchen counters down before cleaning the floors. And taking any trash out of any room is always the last step of the day, if you do this any earlier, you will always have more trash but don't want to put any in the fresh trash cans.

4. I then focus room to room, I usually move to the kitchen and clean appliances and inside appliances next with wet or soapy paper towels or rags. Then I move to counter tops, kitchen table (with pledge wipes), cleaning granite, stove tops, and hand prints on cabinets or appliances with the wet rags. I organize anything that has become cluttered in drawers as well.

5. Next is the living room, I wipe down the couches with a wet rag and then once dry, I vacuum all remaining dog hair or dirt off with a handheld vacuum. 

6. I then windex all of the windows around the house and Mr. Clean all handprints on the walls.

7. I also wipe down all doors Lucy has made dirty from jumping.

8. I then move to the bathrooms and start with the mirrors, and windexing the shower doors. Then I wipe down the counter tops and clean the sinks out with a wet rag. I spray the shower and tub with scrubbin bubbles and let that sit for 5 minutes then wipe or wash down. Then I move to the toilets and clean all around the toilets with clorox wipes and use scrubbin bubbles toilet bowl cleaner on the inside of the bowls and scrub that down. Then I move to the bathroom floor using a mop, soap and water to clean and dry with my dollar store rags.

9. Then I set the roomba loose downstairs for an hour to vacuum then upstairs for an hour. While the roomba is vacuuming, I take a very wet rag and spot clean dirty areas on the carpet from our dog. If the area is very bad like after a rainy and muddy spring, I would use my carpet cleaner vacuum cleaner in that area.

10. While the roomba is vacuuming, I sweep the hardwood and then use my Shaw hard surface cleaner and a dry mop to "polish" and clean the floor.

11. And that is it! Keep it spotless for a day and let it unravel itself slowly over the next 2-4 weeks.

Bathroom cleaning items above.

Kitchen cleaning items above.

Hard surface cleaning items above (plus carpet cleaner for spot cleaning).

Kayla Raborn

9/6/22

I Quit my Job!

So I quit my job a little while back and it is a decision I have known I would make since the day I got married. I always knew my heart and knew being a stay at home mom is who I was meant to be (in addition to being an engineer). After getting married I knew I wanted to build my career in my dream job as an engineer and use my Materials Science Engineering degree that I worked so hard for. Engineering is my passion but being a mama is who I am if that makes sense. So Cody so graciously agreed and supports me with our decision that I will stay home and have the most important job in the world, raising our babies (in my opinion). 

So after we got married I knew I wanted to build my career to have something to go back to too, and we needed to significantly build our finances to prepare for kids, a house, dog, vehicles, savings, investing, etc. so I went on the hunt and found my DREAM job with Shaw industries and stayed there for over 4 years. I don't regret a second of it and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. It helped shape who I am now. The plan was for me to work 4-5 years until we were ready for me to quit and try to get pregnant and that's just what we did. Right on schedule, we hit every big milestone in our lives and marriage, and it came time for me to quit my job. It was the easiest and hardest decision I had ever made. I knew what God had placed on my heart and where I was meant to be but I LOVED my job and the people I worked with. They threw me a going away party and I left knowing I had put in the 4+ years I had been yearning to reach. I felt free to finally be and do what I was meant to do but it was a bittersweet departure. I look back and smile to myself because I knew the day I accepted the job after my interview that this was the first step to the rest of my life and I was focused on this goal. I spent those 4+ years diving into my job and work and didn't give an ounce less of myself even knowing my plan and my path. 

While everyone else my age in engineering in my company was going back to get their masters degree, career planning, job hopping, interviewing, traveling, creating professional groups and teams, going to bars, and events, thriving for the best apartment in downtown Chattanooga, not looking to date so they could focus more on their career, not settling down, or even laboring over the decision to get a dog, all I could do was get through my day, week, month, and year, to be one second closer to MY dream, and my future. Being home with the babies I finally get to make, praise the Lord! Every work day I thrived to rush home to my quiet apartment in Ooltewah with my husband, furiously plan our next steps and how to achieve them quicker to reach our goals faster, and to spend time with family. That was where I belonged. In my career I always wanted to better myself and strived to do so to be the best employee I could possibly be. I wasn't looking to be a 'boss woman', or move up the rankings, or to even jump salaries, it was not where I would be for my future. I worked on building my real future, building our house, finances, and family! And all of that should be ok and should be an option. It is usually looked down upon and unheard of but it is the reality of many people! I should have been born in the 40's where you get married at 18, and have all of your kids by 21 lol, I would have thrived haha. But if you are the one on the flip side, that's 100% ok. If that is your goal and what makes you happy, you do you and thrive too! :)

Now that I have been home for a while, I am SO content. I clean our house, sell items that we no longer use to earn a little money, I do all of the house chores, and am helping learn to do the cooking. I have launched a Youtube channel for mommy and me content, and I've been loving blogging keeping the virtual scrapbook of my life alive. I spend all of my days with Lucy with my sweet baby boy and all of the fun and learning we will do in his first 5 years of life and when his little sister comes;). I have spent a lot of time at doctors for Conner's feet but now I can do that with ease. Every day feels like a vacation and my body has never been more relaxed and at peace. I wake up with such joy and have a spring in my step as I even do the laundry for the 1,000th time. I have big mom plans for Conner. We will do sensory bins, learn to count, read, and write, I will make my own baby food, we will do baby gymnastics starting at 6 months (and go until he is 4) and will do baby-and-me workouts at 6 months old. We will sign up for local play dates, walk the neighborhood with Lucy daily, I will go to the park just me and him at 10am and swing in the swings and stop for a picnic lunch in the grass. I have envisioned that forever. We will hike new areas together with him on my back! I will take him to toddler time jump park dates, and I will teach him to ride his bike without training wheels at 4 years old, how to ride a unicycle and rip stick at 6 years old and how to do cool flips on our trampoline at home! We will do the baby reading plan as soon as he can make a few words, and I will let him experience so many new things in his little life like early morning zoo dates which are enriching to his brain, and the creative discovery museum. I have big plans for my kids and plan on doing fitness as well on the side of all of this along with nourishing my family with healthy meals. So when people ask why I quit my job. This is my why. This is what fills my soul with such everlasting joy and I could not ask for more!

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn 

9/6/22

Club Feet Update, Phase 1 & 2

 Here's the rundown:

So the three pictures below were the 'before's the day before we went into his first casting appointment. 

 

So at his first appointment, the doctor analyzed his left foot and took measurements and notes and then stopped and looked at his right foot for a long time. This worried me significantly because his right foot has looked "normal" in all of his ultrasounds and in person. But it turns out the top half of his foot is clubbed but the back part of his foot is normal with something called a skewed foot. This was hard to hear because both feet would need to be casted and braced now. Luckily his left foot was not significantly clubbed and the doctor was hopeful with his the casting process!

 

His first 3 casts started with his left foot only and he screamed bloody murder each time with them forcing his bones to bend and turn each time and it was torture to watch the 15 minute process as parents. Absolute torture. He would look into my eyes in an asking way of why would you let them do this to me. He is a gentle soul and so sweet. Why does he have to endure this? It makes him stronger mentally and physically. His first cast was put on at almost 4 weeks old. We needed to have started his casting process at week 2 but it was the holiday weekend and such. I was grateful to have extra time with him not in casts though!

So 1-3 weeks he got a new cast a week which the clubfoot clinic is only operable on Wednesdays then on week 4 they casted both feet because his left foot was progressing so well and was basically already fixed. So they casted both feet for 1 week and both were completely fixed and he put him in maintenance casts for half of a week before his tenotomy surgery on his left ankle where they clipped his Achilles. 

The scariest part about his casts up front were the repercussions of something going wrong. The casts are made so high up that they start inside of his diaper at his hip and if pee or poop were to get inside we have to immediately take his casts off to save his skin for issues and we would have to start the entire process over. We of course also can't get it wet and he can't go outside because if he sweats or gets too hot his legs will swell and it could cut off his circulation. Also at each appointment they draw a line where his toes are so we can tell if his casts slip where if they do, we have to take them off immediately and start all over because his feet will move back before that next Wednesday. If we didn't do that when the casts slipped, his bones could seriously distort then we have bigger problems than clubbed feet. 

Each week he gets a new cast he is distraught for the day of, that night, and the next day. He is in a lot of pain and Tylenol doesn't even help. Seriously the doctor even said that. 

With his casts it is difficult to hold him, maneuver him, nurse him, and he can't wear most of the clothes he got at my baby showers because nothing fits over those casts and it won't be any different when he has the braces. He also can't fit in baby carriers etc, so that makes solo grocery trips and walking around difficult. it will be the same for braces with that as well.

Each cast removal (yes crazily by us) was supposed to take 2 hours a leg. How are you to keep an infant warm for 4 hours total in a bath? Luckily we did our research and came prepared and the first time we took his cast off it only took us 30 minutes! 

We are to unwrap the colored part of the casts then soak the plaster part in vinegar until we can cut through it with surgical scissors. We use a turkey baster to get the liquid down in his cast to help us remove it easier. The whole time he is screaming because his leg/legs are sore and we have to keep the vinegar out of his eyes. Then we give him an actual bath because he goes all week not being able to be bathed. 

 

He's so patient with us!

 

I set the cast removal station up the night before always because it really saves us time.

After vinegar station.

Bathing station.

After the actual bath, station.

The 1 hour a week he is without his casts. He is so small and light and easy to hold, nurse, maneuver. I would wake up with him an extra hour early just to hold him after we took off his casts. I cherish those moments every week so so much. 

Sweet little guy!

The one short time a week he can wear all of his cute clothes when his casts are off. I take advantage of every moment.

4 weeks is all it took to fully fix Conner's feet!

So for his surgery at the 5 week mark, they had us take off his casts 2 days early to help the swelling in his legs go down (because his legs swell each time we take his casts off) and those 2 days were magical. He didn't cry once and was so happy. (He always has such a good attitude about everything and ignores the discomfort of the casts mostly).

So he had his left Achilles tendon completely cut in surgery and was immediately put into two casts again to heal for 4 weeks. It was supposed to be an in office procedure where he wasn't put to sleep but they couldn't find the correct blade for the procedure. So he had surgery in the hospital with an overnight stay and surgery went well but it took hours for him to breathe on his own or wake up from the anesthesia which scared us to death. Then once he woke up he screamed bloody murder for 6 hours straight. He wouldn't eat (even after fasting for 12 hours (which is really hard for a breastfeeding mama who doesn't pump too)) and was completely inconsolable. They had to use a spinal block in his surgery too so they wouldn't have to give him as many pain meds. That was scary. In every way he was in so much discomfort and had so many wires on him. He even had an IV in his head.

Cody finally got him to sleep.

Conner had the most room, they only had a couch and it didn't even pull out into a bed. Cody and I had to take turns sleeping, literally.

He left the hospital in good spirits!

Right now we are in the 4 week wait to get his casts off after surgery and he has grown basically out of them so he is so ready for a new set. 

At this next appointment he will be fiberglass casted for a mold for the boots and bar brace and they will immediately cut it back off then he will be re-casted like normal for 1-3 weeks to basically hold his feet in place until the braces are made. He will wear the boots and bar brace for 23/7 for 4 months then he will wear it only at night for the next 6 years. 

This is definitely a process and it has brought the three of us closer together. We are almost to the other side and I can't believe we have made it! Conner is such the trooper! We love him so much! He can face anything now that should ever come his way!

Love,

Kayla Raborn

6 Weeks Postpartum Update!

I made it to 6 weeks postpartum and I feel 95% back to normal!! Postpartum recovery is so important and should be recognized, it's the time the mom needs the most help as her body has been through so much. I think postpartum bodies should be recognized as well and snapping back to your pre pregnancy state the second you give birth is not realistic. The day I gave birth I looked 6 months pregnant, the next day 5 months pregnant, and the following day 4 months pregnant and it took me about the next 6 weeks to now look 3 months pregnant and that's where I stand now. 

 

The greatest transformation there ever was! A different kind of bumpdate this time!!

Just in case you were curious what to expect if you ever give birth, you lose 12-15 pounds immediately after birth, losing blood volume, amniotic fluid, placenta, swelling, and actual baby's weight. Then at my 6 week postpartum appointment I was down 22-23 pounds and that wasn't even from trying, it was truly from breastfeeding, not having time to really eat unfortunately, and the rest of my swelling and water weight going down. Now as I'm typing this at almost 12 weeks postpartum (the end of the 4th trimester) I have literally 2 more pounds to lose. I gained a total of 32 pounds this pregnancy. I was aiming for 25-30 pounds gained but I just let my body decide what it needed to support my baby and a healthy pregnancy. Even being back to my pre-pregnancy weight, my body still looks so different. pre-pregnancy clothes fit but fit differently and that's ok. It took 9-10 months to make Conner, and it will take 9-10 months after birth to be where I was. Giving yourself grace is the biggest thing. Your body just created a miracle! They say after 6 weeks postpartum that's when you have to dig your heels in and actually have to put effort into losing the rest of the weight and that seems to be true. The first 6 weeks of pregnancy I lost about 2-3 pounds a week and after that, through watching what I eat I have lost 0.6-1 pound of weight a week. You don't want to lose too fast or it will effect your milk supply!

Postpartum treated me kindly and I was SO grateful for that! After leaving the hospital I had no more bleeding, my stitches healed extremely quick, and I don't have any ab separation or back pain or anything. I literally have felt normal since the moment I gave birth. I don't take a moment of that for granted. I pray my next pregnancy and birth have the same experience! I felt so great after birth, it was extremely difficult for me to not go back to working out and my normal activity because I felt no different but I really made a point to force myself to relax. Now at 12 weeks postpartum, I am just now starting to go back to the normal intensity my workouts used to be. That is good to wait that long to help heal your pelvic floor too, you don't want to run or jump before then so you can heal properly. I didn't run or jump during pregnancy either! And I'm here to report, I don't pee while I sneeze or jump on a trampoline or anything! I didn't during pregnancy either and I think a large part of that is protecting myself from running/jumping during those times.

As far as mental health goes, I have been very blessed so far to have dodged postpartum depression, anxiety, or psychosis. Mental health is incredibly important and should be taken seriously by your doctor and be treated as thoroughly as a physical issue would be. We need to be talking more about this so those suffering don't feel as alone. 

Breastfeeding was pretty hard for me the first 5 days after birth, I was pretty raw and bled a little bit. But once we reached that 5 day hump, it was smooth sailing and thankfully we are champs at it now! The first 6 weeks I delt wit an oversupply of milk which was incredibly painful and defeating but around week 7 it stabilized out! I am eternally grateful I can breastfeed and cherish that bond together multiple times a day!

I have loved this entire process so much and I can't wait to go through it again in about a year (Lord willing)!

With so much love,

Kayla Raborn

8/27/22