6 Months

Axel is half a year old! It has went by so fast and he is growing so much and learning new things all the time. He can reach for objects, he likes to look at himself in the mirror, he can roll both ways, he loves to play with and eat on his toes and fingers, gets excited when he sees mommy and daddy, is starting to babble and has the cutest little laugh. He doesn't love to be tickled and is pretty hard to get laughs out of. He is starting to like peek a boo and he puts everything in his mouth. We started him on cereal and baby food which he wasn't too sure about at first. His favorites are carrots, bananas, pears and raspberries. He is starting to sleep better at night and is starting to enjoy bath time a little more. He likes to babble, has figured out how to make other noises and likes to feel and pull my hair. I love this little boy with all my heart!!

Christmas/ 5 Mo

5 Months old Axel is starting to do better with tummy time, he gets excited when he sees his bottle, he is very jumpy to loud sounds and is a smiley baby boy. He is starting to not have his hands in fists so much and likes to watch peoples face and his mobile. Axel has always been an active little boy, he likes to kick his legs and move his arms like he is trying to run. He is in his own room in his crib now and has adjusted well. He is no longer sleeping in the car seat, his reflux is getting better and his colic is gone. He is a good and happy baby. He is in 6 month clothes and still size 2 diaper.

Axel had his first Christmas at my parents house with my side of the family. We stayed Christmas Eve there and played games, frosted cookies and had good food. We woke up Christmas morning about 9:00 and waited for everyone else to wake up. We started the day with opening presents, which was a blast even though he had no idea what was going on. We spent the rest of the day visiting and playing games and eating. We had a great Christmas.

Thanksgiving/ 4 Mo

4 months old Axel is still struggling with reflux and colic which breaks my heart; I hate to see my baby in pain and cry for long periods of time. Thankfully the omeprazole and gripe water help him. At his 4 mo checkup he was 12 lbs, 6 oz and 23 in long. He is in 3-6 and  6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. He is starting to love one of his blankies from grandma Call and enjoys being cuddled and rocked. He enjoys being in his swing and sleeps in it throughout the day. We have him sleeping in a carseat due to his reflux and that seems to help at night. He is still sleeping in our room next to our bed; daddy would like him in his own room, but I'm not ready for him to move yet. It's comforting to me to be able to reach over and pat him back to sleep or give him his binkie and know he is breathing and doing ok. He is starting to show his little personality as well and will open his mouth to give me kisses. 

2 Days after his checkup we watched Dez and Mikes girls for 10 days while they went on vacation with my parents. I soon realized it was A LOT of work having 3 kids to take care of and Axel was the easy one. It's a good thing I love those girls so much! It was a little crazy and chaotic and sometimes stressful, but it was also fun. The girls loved helping with Axel and Brie loved to hold him. Rae struggled a little bit not being the baby and kept wanting me to hold her.

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Utah to spend it with Shane's side. We had fun being with family and we ate a lot! Axel on the other hand was not having too much fun. I don't know if he wasn't feeling well or if there were too many people and he was having some anxiety, but he was super fussy and just wanted to be held by mom and dad. That night Shane and his dad gave him a blessing to try and help him feel better and soon after that he calmed down a little. On black Friday I went out shopping with Jen and that was fun to get away for a little while.

Blessing/3 mo/ Halloween

3 Months old! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Axel enjoys being held, rocked, being talked to, his binky and eating. He is growing great and looks healthy. He is in 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.  

On October 12, 2014, Axel was blessed by his amazing daddy! The blessing outfit we had bought was way too big on him so we decided to get him blessed in his uncle Derek's blessing outfit that he was blessed in 27 years previous. It was such a special day for us. In the circle we had Shane, my dad (Kelly), Shane's dad (Bruce), Axel's uncles: Caleb, Morgan, Jake, Mike, my uncle Craig and Bishop Morris. It was also special having Axel in Derek's outfit because we felt like that was part of Derek in the circle with Axel. Shane gave such a beautiful blessing and I felt the spirit so strong.

After the blessing we had a luncheon at the McCammon city hall building. We had lots of family there to share Axel's special day with us. We had sloppy joes, salad and dessert.

On Halloween Axel and I went to Pocatello with my parents to meet Dez and her family at her house. Before the church trunk or treat we got to see Derek and his family for a little while. I had Axel dressed in a little skeleton outfit that aunt Dez had bought him. Axel slept the whole time during the trunk or treat so that was nice that I didn't have to take him out in the cold weather. Brie and Rae had a good time getting candy and were excited about how much they got.

After trunk or treat we meet up with Shane at Perkins to have dinner. There was us, my parents, Dez and Mike and the girls. Axel did pretty good at the restaurant and we had a good Halloween.

2 Months

At Axel’s 2 month appointment he weighed 8 lbs 7 oz and was 21 in long. He is growing so fast. Right now he loves to be held and rocked, his binky and eating. He is getting more control of his head and is not a huge fan of tummy time. He has acid reflux and just got put on omeprazole to help him with it. He doesn’t give much of a warning of when he is getting hungry, but he is very good at letting you know when he wants food as soon as he realizes he is hungry (as in asleep one minute to screaming the next saying I want food now!) He is in between newborn and size 1 diapers, newborn are getting a little too small and size 1 is huge. It is the same with clothes; we just started putting him in 0-3 month clothes and most of them are a little too big. He is starting to fill out and getting some chubby cheeks. We love him more than anything in the world and we love to watch him grow and develop. He is such a good baby; we are so extremely blessed to have him. I love being a mommy; it is the best job in the world!

NICU

Axel had to spend 24 days in the NICU. We got to bring him home on August 3^rd  weighing 5 lbs 1 oz. What an amazing day that was! It was so hard watching him in his little incubator and not being able to hold him whenever I wanted. The NICU staff was wonderful and as hard as it was for those 24 days we learned so much while we were there. I am so grateful for modern technology.

Most of the time I was by myself at the hospital while Shane had to go to work, it was really hard not having him with me all the time. There were numerous times when I would hold Axel and I could feel how close he was still to Heavenly Father.  I could feel the spirit so strong when I would hold him and several times I got tears in my eyes when I thought about all we had to go through to get him here. When I got to hold him during his feeding times I got to ponder so many things. Whenever I was having a hard time I could just look at my baby and feel so much better. He is such a miracle and blessing. I remember holding him one day and thinking about how hard it must have been for Heavenly Father to watch his Son go through so much pain and suffering. He could have taken it away from Jesus, but didn’t because of Jesus’ purpose in coming to the earth.  I am so grateful that Jesus suffered so much for me so I can be forgiven over and over for my mistakes and sins. What love He has for all of us to be willing to go through so much. If I knew that Axel is who I would be getting as a son my trial may not have been so hard, but going through that trial taught me so much. I am so much more thankful for the opportunity I have of being a mother and I get to really appreciate my baby.  I love him more than words can express. The gift of life is so amazing! 

Axel received 2 blessings from Shane and my dad and was told that he had angels in heaven and on earth watching over him. It was so comforting to hear. I also received blessings from my wonderful husband and father that helped me greatly. One day I was having a hard time because Axel had a week where he wasn’t really progressing with drinking his bottle and I wanted my baby to come home and this made him have to stay in the NICU longer. I was sitting there holding him and was sad and getting tears in my eyes and all of the sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked around and couldn’t see anybody. I started to cry a little because I knew it was a special hand meant just for me. I knew then that everything would be okay and that Heavenly Father knew what I was going through and was there to comfort me. He knew how much I needed that reassurance that He loves me and that He hears my prayers. 

D&C

On July 12^th I woke up and couldn’t stop bleeding. Thankfully we had stayed in our trailer the night before so I was close to the emergency room. Shane was at work and I called him freaking out. I was going through a pad in 10 mins. I got myself to the ER and had to have a D&C done. I had retained placenta still inside my uterus that was bleeding. I had passed a few clots within a week and kept getting told it was normal and that I shouldn’t worry about it unless I started to bleed really heavy.  Sure enough, something was wrong and 6 hours later I left the ER. Shane and I went to see Axel for a few before going home. I had been away from my baby all day and it was really hard to not see him.