The Rhodehouse Family

Jett turned 6 months old almost 2 weeks ago. (I know, I'm a little behind). He is growing up way too fast. It seems like it was just a few weeks ago that I was in the hospital holding my little newborn baby. But now, Jett has transformed to the older baby stage and is becoming a toddler right before my eyes.

6 months stats:
Height: 14%
Weight: 4%
Head: 25%

He is still a little guy, but he has been eating really well lately so we are hoping he starts to climb the charts soon.

Likes:
His brother!!
Green Beans, Squash, Peas, Applesauce
Attention
Chewing on Brock's toys
Being tickled
Going on walks
Being held facing out
Crawling

Dislikes:
His bottle (most of the time)
Being left in a room alone for more than a minute
When Brock trips over him
His carseat

Jett is actually a very good baby most of the time. He has been sick a lot (almost as much as he has been healthy) so that has made things difficult, but when he is healthy, he is very happy! He is developing really well too! He has been army crawling and sitting since about 5 months. He loves to crawl all around the living room and play with Brock's toys. He is a great sleeper when he isn't sick too. He goes to bed around 7:30-8, wakes around 5:30 to eat, then sleeps again until 8:30, so I really can't complain.

I love my little guy so much. He is a sweet boy and loves to give me lots of smiles and wet kisses. I really can't believe it has already been 6 months. I feel like the time has speed along and I just can't keep up with how fast he is growing. But I love watching him explore new things each day! I love you Jett!

Today is one of those days that I can't believe I have TWO little boys! But I am so lucky to have them and have the chance to stay home with them. They are a lot of work but I couldn't imagine life without them now.
I am so grateful for their sweet spirits! And WOW! are they the cutest things! I love them so much!

The boy whispered
"God, speak to me."
And a bird sang.
The boy yelled,
"God, I can't hear you."
And thunder roared.
Still, the boy did not hear.
So, the boy said,
"God, let me see you."
And a star shone.
But the boy did not see.
He cried out,
"God, perform a miracle."
And a child was born.
But the boy did not know.
The boy became angry and screamed,
"God, let me know you are near!"
God bent down and touched the boy's shoulder,
And the boy brushed the butterfly from his shoulder
And walked away
Unknowingly.

Author Unknown

Wow! What a powerful poem!
I read this poem a few weeks ago and since then it has served as a great reminder that God is all around me, if I would just take the time to look and listen. It has helped me to remember to be grateful for even the smallest things around me and the simple moments I share with my husband and children.

Our little Jett has his own personal logo. Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, he even has a shirt with his name and logo. Jett has so many cute clothes, but I must say, this shirt is my favorite! It was the perfect Christmas present for him!

My dad passed away just over 5 years ago. Sometimes I can't believe it has been that long, other times, it has felt like an eternity since I've seen him. He has missed so much in those 5 years: 2 new son in-laws, 6 new grandchildren, 3 BYU graduations, moves for Mom, Kelsey, and me, and lots of other things.

There are countless things about him that I miss. His infectious smile, his twinkling eyes, how he would stick out his tongue when he was concentrating, his generosity, the smell of his cologne, and most of all, my talks with him. During my first semester at BYU I would talk to him at least 3 times a day, just to chat mostly. After he passed away, I still found myself reaching for my phone between classes to call him and chat. It took me more than 2 years to redo my speed dials and take off his number.

I wish so often that I could talk to him and ask his thoughts about different things. I wonder if he is proud of me and the choices I've made in my life. I wish he could have met Blair. I wish he could come visit and spend time with Brock and Jett.



I still remember that December so clearly. I remember leaving my statistics final to see a missed call from each of my sisters and my mom and a voice mail telling me Dad was in the hospital. I remember Kelsey, Shaun, and me trying to rush to Oregon as soon as our finals were over (Emily was already there) because the doctors weren't sure how long he would still be around.

I remember seeing him in his hospital bed, bringing back hard memories from  four years earlier. I remember the miracle it was that he was able to come home Christmas morning and spend the whole day with us.

I also remember my mom calling 9-1-1 and the horrible feeling I had that Dad wasn't going to be coming back home. Emily and Kelsey followed the ambulance while Christina and I made some phone calls. We headed to the hospital a few hours later. I remember hearing the doctors calling "code" for his room number before I was even able to see him. I remember sitting in the special family waiting room while they were working really hard to save him. I remember the doctors coming in and telling us that he didn't make it. I remember seeing him and realizing I could never talk to him again and seek his wise counsel.

There are several more things I remember about that night and the next several days. It's amazing how clear those memories are even though they are 5 years old. There are still many times that I want to call him up and tell him about a big achievement, exciting news, or another milestone.

But when I see the dimples in Brock's and Jett's chin, I can't help but smile and be happy they get that from their Papa. Brock loves to blow kisses and it makes me so happy every day to see him point to a picture and say "Papa" and blow him kisses. (He also points to a picture of Jesus and will say "Jesus" and blow Him kisses.

I truly believe that both my sons were able to spend time with their Papa before they were born and that brings me so much comfort. The thought that he was able to teach them and maybe even warn them about our crazy family makes me smile.Even though he can't be here with them throughout their life, I love knowing that he was still a great grandpa to them before they were born.

Even though I miss him so much and wish he could have been around for so many things, I am grateful the time I did have with him. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful dad who I always knew loved me. I'm grateful for the great memories I have of him and for his constant support.

Thanks for being the best dad I could have ever had! I miss you so much. I love you Dad!

Last week we experienced our first Iowa storm. We woke up to this Thursday morning:


We got about a foot of snow, but with the drifts, there was about 3 1/2 to 4 feet of snow outside our door. The roads were all so slick and there were multiple serious car accidents on the freeway. I'm so glad we didn't have anywhere to go the last few days!
School was cancelled for Blair on Thursday and his last final was cancelled on Friday. He will have to take it when school starts again in January.
Welcome to Iowa's winters...

Now that the boys are starting to feel better, our house is a much happier place!

The last two weeks have been rough at the Rhodehouse residence! Brock started getting sick on Thursday, Dec. 6 and by Sunday he was doing really bad, and Jett was starting to get sick. They both got much worse over the next few days and would cough so hard they would throw up. (I can't tell you how many times I have cleaned up someone elses throw up in just the last month. The three of us only got dressed on Monday and Thursday for our trips to the doctors office, the rest of the week we stayed in our jammies.

Both boys had to be on a nebulizer, which they both hated and screamed through the entire thing. Having to hold them tightly and keep the mask on their face, regardless of them crying gave me a new perspective on trials in life. As Brock was crying in my arms, I was tearing up at the same time and I asked myself, why am I torturing my children by doing this to them? The answer came to me immediately...because I know it will help them in the long run. That thought led me to remember why we are given trials. I'm sure Heavenly Father hates seeing his children struggling through hard times, but He knows things that we don't. He knows that the trials we face now will somehow be good for us in the future. These thoughts helped me to continue to put my trust in the Lord and remember that He knows things that I don't. Why did I have to experience both my boys being really sick at the same time? While they were sick I didn't think it was ever going to end. But now that they are better, I am enjoying them more and grateful for how simple and almost easy it is to be home with them during the day...the beauty of hindsight.

Back to my boys...
By Thursday last week, Jett had gotten much worse so I took him back to the doctor. His lungs sounded terrible and every breath he took was more of a wheeze. The doctor said if he gets any worse we would have to take him into the emergency room. Scary! A mom never wants to hear that, especially about a little 6 week old baby.

Luckily the boys are both doing better now. Brock is 100% over it and Jett is almost there, still coughing a little but not much.Of course, when both boys gets really sick, I get a cold, and Blair was in the middle of finals and has to study as much as possible. I am just relieved that they are feeling better and those weeks are over!

Here are some pictures of my sick babies:

It's been a quiet and uneventful day at the hospital today. Jett is sleeping in his bassinet next to my bed right now and Blair is home with Brock, so I thought I'd take the time to record Jett's story before he is ready to eat again and I'm ready for bed.

He didn't want to come out on his own, so I scheduled an induction with my doctor. He was due on Thursday, October 25th, and we schedule the induction for Monday, October 29th. The hospital called me at 9pm and told me they were ready for me. By the time we got there and got checked in, it was almost 10pm.

I was already dilated 2cm, but had been for the last month so they gave me a dose of cytotec in hopes of effacing my cervix the rest of the way. It worked and I started having contractions on my own. The contractions weren't very strong and doing too much though, so they started me on pitocin at 5am on Tuesday, October 30th.

That seemed to work very quick because by 6am I was feeling a lot of strong contractions that were hurting really bad! My nurse came in at 6:30 and I asked for my epidural. She checked me and said I was only at a "loose 3" so she was a little reluctant to give me my epidural then. She said the shift change was at 7am though, so she would put in my epidural order and the next anesthesiologist would be in around 7:30-8 to give it to me. Well, the anesthesiologist that was about to get off shift saw my order and decided to run up at 6:50 and give it to me before he left. Thank goodness!

He finished inserting my epidural and once it kicked in, my new nurse came to check me. It was about 7:30am by this time and she said I was already dilated to a 7! I am so glad the anesthesiologist came before he finished his shift because even the nurse admitted, that would have been a very rough 40 minutes for me to dilate that fast! After she checked me she got figured it wouldn't me more than a couple hours before the baby came, so she started getting everything ready. She called my doctor and said my doctor would break my water when she came in to check on me and I would probably go really fast after that.

My doctor came in right at 8am and when she went to check me, saw that my water had already broken (I just didn't feel it because of my epidural) and I was at a plus 2 (aka 12 cm)! The baby was already crowning so it was time to get the show on the road. The had me wait for just a few minutes while they finished getting everything ready for the baby.

My doctor asked how long I pushed with Brock and when I told her 18 minutes, she said we would definitely beat that this time! I started pushing and 7 minutes later, at 8:16am, Jett was born (although, he was just referred to as Baby for most of the day because we couldn't decide on his name). My doctor said that with my next baby, 7 minutes of pushing will be almost impossible to beat!

I am so glad I didn't have to wait until 7:30-8 to get my epidural like my first nurse wanted because I would have been completely miserable! I only had it in for about an hour before Jett was born, but that was enough for it to do its job perfectly!

Jett didn't come out crying so the nurse took him to give him some oxygen. His apgar score was 7 out of 9, one point off for his breathing, and another point off because he was pretty purple. The doctor said it was probably just because he came out so fast that he was a little shocked. But he recovered quickly and I got to hold him soon after.

He weighed 7lbs. 6 oz. (just 1 oz. heavier than Brock) and was 19 1/2 inches long (same length as Brock). He looks a lot like Brock, except with a lot of dark hair. Although he looks so similar to Brock, Blair and I agree, he looks like himself too. We can't figure out which features are different yet, but something is.
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About 30 minutes after Jett was born I nursed him for the first time, and he did awesome! He latched on perfectly and has a very good, strong suck! The only problem feeding him that I have run into is keeping him awake after he switches sides. He is a good sleeper and once he eats on one side, he just wants to go back to sleep. I keep a wet wash cloth next to me when I nurse now and have to stroke his neck and back with it in order to keep him nursing long enough. If that is my only problem though, I really have nothing to complain about! Nursing didn't go very well with Brock so that was one thing I was most nervous about for Jett, but thankfully he is already doing so well!

Around 10am, Blair went with Jett to the nursery while they got me ready to move to my recovery room. When they were all done, my boys came in and we just all hung out together for several hours. By 2:30pm I was ready to shower. When I finished, Blair went home to spend some time with Brock, then bring him and Blair's mom to the hospital for a visit. Brock was so excited to see me, but seemed a little confused about why I was laying in bed. He gave Jett lots of kisses and loves, which made me grin from ear to ear. It will definitely take Brock some adjusting once he realizes the baby is staying home with us, but I think he will be a great big brother!

We finally decided on a name yesterday evening around 5. Ever since we found out we were having another boy, we knew the middle name would be Rick, after my Dad, but until yesterday we couldn't decide on a first name. Blair and I knew it would be one of two names, but we both kept going back and forth all day. We finally made a decision though!

I was hoping we could go home earlier today, but they wouldn't let us. Earlier in the pregnancy I tested positive for Group B Strep, and with that, they need to give me an antibiotic at least 4 hours before delivery. Well, they didn't give me the antibiotic until I got my epidural because at the time, I was only dilated to a 3 and that should have been plenty of time. I only had the antibiotic in me for about 30 minutes before Jett was born, so there is a chance he could become infected with the bacteria. It isn't very common for babies to get the bacteria, but if they do, it can be really really bad, so they said they had to keep him in the hospital for at least 48 hours. But everything has looked good so far, so hopefully we can go home tomorrow afternoon.

When Brock was born, I kept him in my room with me all the time. I felt like if I sent him to the nursery, I wasn't a good mom. But this time around, I got over that false thought and knew it would be best for me, mentally and emotionally, if I got a decent night sleep, especially after not sleeping well at all the night before. I sent Jett to the nursery and they brought him in when it was time to eat and I felt very good today, thanks to a good night sleep.

Jett is a great sleeper though, so even if I had kept him in my room, I'm sure I still could have slept most of the night. When it is time for him to eat, I have to get him completely undressed, otherwise he is to comfortable and won't stay awake long enough to eat! He slept almost all day today, and even though he was in my room, I got a good 2 hour nap in!

Blair hasn't gotten much sleep since Jett was born though, because he has a big test tomorrow morning that he has been trying to study for. He slept at the hospital with me last night, but I sent him home tonight so he could get a good night sleep before his test. Hopefully he can do well on it, considering he hasn't had much time to study!

Blair's mom came into town Saturday night so she could help with Brock and Jett. She has already been super helpful with Brock! It's been nice to not have to worry about Brock. He can just stay home on his normal schedule and enjoy playing with Grandma! She gets to stay until this Sunday, but then has to head back to Idaho. I can already tell we are going to miss having her here!

Overall, everything has gone great! I'm feeling really good and Jett is such a good baby (at least he has been in his 1.5 days so far).

Now for some pictures: