Cody My Racecar Driver

Cody found last year's Halloween Costumes. He put on Cooper's racecar outfit and was running around the house acting like he was a Racecar Driver. He was plowing through anything that got in his way!! Including his brother and sister. For being the littlest boy in the house he sure acts like he owns the place. It was really funny!!

Scary Times

On Friday morning Eli woke up with a fever, a nasty cough and a horribly stuffy nose. I took him into the doctor and he said to run a humidifier and treat the fever with some tylenol. They checked his breathing and said that everything looked ok. He told me to call back if he got any worse. Friday night things got progressively worse. He was struggling to breath and refused to eat. I raced him into the doctor Saturday morning. They must have thought he was pretty bad because a nurse was waiting for me out in the waiting room. We took him back to the exam room and his doctor came in to check him out. I could tell on the doctor's face that something was very wrong. Eli had a fever of 101, his oxygen level was only at 75% and his heart rate was up to 230!! He sent a nurse to get the oxygen for him and a bag of ice for his fever. The doctor looked at me in the eyes and said, "Your son is VERY sick and he needs to go to the hospital. I am going to call the hospital so they can get a bed ready for him and then I will call an ambulance to take you guys down there." I immediately broke down into tears. I knew Eli was sick but I had no idea it was that bad. I was so scared and all I wanted was Taylor to be there with me. We finally arranged somewhere for the other kids to go and decided that Taylor would meet me at the hospital. The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and we raced downtown. When we got there a team of nurses were waiting for us. They started asking me all sorts of questions but the only thing on my mind was how bad I wanted to hold Eli and tell him that he would be ok. He looked so sick and so helpless. They gave him an IV for fluids because he was extremely dehydrated and they took some blood to run tests to figure out what was going on. They suctioned his nose really good and tested his mucus for RSV. He was on oxygen and IV fluids all day Saturday and Sunday. They took him off of the oxygen Sunday morning when he was showing signs of improvement and we got released yesterday evening. He is still very sick but does not need oxygen anymore so there was no need to stay in the hospital. The diagosis is bronchiolitis. Which is a form of RSV. He needs to have a humidifier going all the time and sleep in his carseat for a while until his chest clears up. I have to keep him away from large crowds and watch his breathing to make sure he is not struggling. I am just so glad that my baby is ok. I am so grateful to my friends who watched the other kids so that Taylor could be with me. It was a very scary time for us.

Big Sister

Natalie has really enjoyed being a big sister and she is such a help to me!!

THE WORST!!!

I am sitting here in a quiet house reflecting on how I survived this last week. Here is just a glimpse of what went on.
I was awoken Monday morning to Cody sitting over me squeezing my face saying, "Wake up mommy, I want cereal". I rolled over and notice that the clock read 5:30am. There is no way in heck I am getting up at 5:30 to fix this kid cereal, so I tuck him in bed next to me and pray that he falls back asleep. Well, he didn't. I finally peel myself out of bed around 6:00am and jump in the shower. And so my week begins and little did I know it would only get worse from here.
Tuesday I had to take Eli into the doctor because his nose was runny and his eye was oozing green stuff. After waiting 2 long hours in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I found out he had an eye infection and a little head cold. Thanks goodness it was nothing serious!!
Wednesday I took Natalie and Cooper into the dentist for the first time and got some really bad news. They have bad teeth. He said that their baby teeth are not very thick and so they are prone to cavities. Natalie needs 2 fillings and 4 crowns, and Cooper needs 1 filling and 2 crowns. There goes Christmas for us!!
Thursday I had an appt. to get my IUD. I don't think I have to explain this one. It was not very much fun.
Friday morning I woke up in the worst pain of my life. Every time Eli would breastfeed I felt like somebody was taking a knife to my chest. Later that day I got really sick and started running a fever. I called the doctor and he said that I had Mastitis. If any of you have had this you know exactly how I was feeling. Taylor took off that night to go on a police ride-along with one of his friends so I was taking care of the kids by myself.....I don't recommend that if you have a breast infection. Cody came into my room in the middle of the night Friday burning up. I took his temperature and it was 103.2!! He was struggling to breath. Here I was alone with all 4 kids and Taylor was gone, I was so scared!! I said a silent prayer to help me calm down and after that I knew everything would be ok. Taylor got home shortly after that. I was too sick to take Cody to the doctor so Taylor took him and found out that he had Croup (Spelling?). We got some steroids for him and it seems to be helping.
Yesterday Taylor took Cooper and Natalie and our friends up to the mountains to cut down a Christmas tree. They had such a wonderful time it is now a new tradition for us.
Although I have had a HORRIBLE week, I have to say how grateful I am for my life and how grateful I am for doctors!! I have to remember that things could be a lot worse!!

Recent Pics

Sweet baby Eli

Eli ready for church

Eli 6 weeks

Cooper

Natalie

Scary little man!!

Cody being spiderman

Eli Joseph Haught

We were able to do Eli's baby blessing while we were in town for Thanksgiving. It was so neat to see all of Taylor's brothers involved with the blessing. My grandma got to see it too which was awesome because Eli was named after my grandpa. All in all it was a fantastic day and I really appreciate our families for being there to support us!!

Thanksgiving in Arizona

We traveled back to Arizona for Thanksgiving this year. I am still not ready to have to cook the whole meal by myself and I really needed to be around family so they could give my arms a break from holding Eli. It was so nice to have their help for the week. We enjoyed seeing everyone, especially my Grandma from Montana and my brother and his kids from Tennessee. We had such a great time it makes me want to live closer to everyone. I was horrible at taking pictures this trip but here are a couple of what I have.

Cody's Attitude

These pictures tell it all. Cody has been such a stinker lately. He wakes up before sunrise which may be a contributng factor. I think he realizes that when I am nursing the baby I can't stop him from destroying something. The other day I was downstairs, of course feeding Eli, and a few minutes go by where I can't hear Cody talking. I start to walk throughout the house calling his name. After a several minutes I still get no response and I am getting a little worried. Finally I walk upstairs towards the kids bathroom. I can hear water running....I am thinking, "Oh crap"!! I slowly open the door and there is Cody sitting in the bathroom sink. He was covered head to toe in water and hand soap. As I look around I notice EVERYTHING covered in hand soap. He turns to me and smiles and says, "I wash my hair mom". He was so proud of himself. You can imagine the thoughts and words going through my mind at this point. I took a deep breath and calmly cleaned him and the bathroom. Oh, the joys of being a mother!!

Taylor's Monster Buck

This is a picture of the rack that came off of Taylor's "Monster Buck". You should have seen it...it was HUGE!! Ha ha. He had a great time on his hunting trip though. I am just glad that he shot something otherwise it would not have been worth all of my sacrifices to let him go.

Eli Pics

Cody broke our camera about a week ago so that is why I have been behind on pictures. Taylor finally got to the store on Saturday and picked another one out. Things are going well here. I am feeling really sleep deprived!! I can't just nap whenever I get a little tired or cranky. I used to think that one child was busy and hard to take care of....boy was I wrong!! Four is a whole different ball game!! Eli wants to eat every two hours so as soon as I start a project he is awake and ready to eat. I can't get anything done around here, nor do I have to energy to even try. I really have to rely on Taylor to pick up the slack. Thankfully he has been more than willing to help out. He has been amazing!!

Holding it Together

I have to admit that this first week having Eli home has been fairly smooth. Taylor has been out of town hunting since Friday morning, but I think I am holding it together pretty good. He came home on Sunday to see the kids and get a home-cooked meal and then he headed back out. Having my mom here to help with the other kids has made my job easier. My parents had to leave this morning and I don't get my husband back until Wednesday so we will see what the next couple of days hold for me.

Trunk or Treat

Friday night was the annual trunk or treat with our ward. I was debating whether or not I should go and take the baby, but then my guilt got the best of me. I would have felt like a horrible mother if I made my kids miss it. We all had a great time and the kids got lots of candy. Oh, by the way, Cody did have a Sully (the guy from Monsters inc.) costume to wear but he threw a fit and would not wear it so he ended up being a baseball player. Gotta love 2 year olds!!

Pumpkin Carving

Last Wednesday we carved pumpkins with the kids. Natalie was the only one who dug right in pulling out all of the seeds and "guts" as she calls it. Thank you to my mom and Taylor for being brave enought to tackle this task with the children!!

At Home Update

Well, we have been home from the hospital now for 2 days and I already have cabin fever. Taylor has been amazing though. I have just been focusing on me and the baby and Taylor has handled everything else. What a stud!! The kids are bouncing off the walls with energy and of course dad and I are exhausted!! Baby Eli is doing great. All he has to do is eat, sleep, and poop!! What a life!! I can't wait for my mom to get here tomorrow to help keep the kids entertained.

New Baby

We welcomed our sweet baby boy into the world on Thursday morning the 18th. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 2 oz. and was 19 in. long. I woke up Wednesday morning not really feeling well and having contractions but they were very inconsistant and started out not very painful. By early afternoon the contractions were still inconsistant but the pain was increasing. I finally got so uncomfortable that I called my doctor. Well the on-call doctor called me back and told me not to go into the hospital until the contractions were 5 minutes apart. I tried to ignore the pain but by late night I could not handle it anymore. I called the doctor back and told him we were headed to the hospital to at least get checked out and see what was going on. Taylor and I raced out of the house at midnight. We got to the hospital in record timing....plowing through red lights and not stopping for anything. The nurses checked me when I got there and they said I was dilated to 8 centimeters!!! At this point I was in the most pain I had ever felt before. Taylor and I both asked for an epidural but there was no time. Literally 2 seconds later I could feel the baby coming. They rushed me down the hall to the labor and delivery room where 3 other nurses were waiting for me. They did not even have time to put gloves on and the doctor was not in the room and all of a sudden I had the urge to push. And seriously out flew baby Eli. The doctor came in right in time to catch him. From the time I checked in at the front desk to the time Eli was born was exactly 13 minutes. Thank goodness Taylor did not have to deliver him in the truck!!
I never thought I would say this but I am so grateful to not be pregnant anymore. It sure took a toll on my body!! Having a newborn brings on a whole new set of challenges but I am sooo ready.