Family

Good morning!

                I just wanted to get a quick update up for all of those who are asking!

Please read my previous post “Sick Baby” if you haven’t already to understand what is going on.

                Oaklee went in on Monday morning for her follow up appointment. She seems to be back to normal to me and the doctor was pleased with how much she is moving and how much her attitude has changed! She requested more blood work to be done to make sure her inflammation levels were going down and to continue taking Naproxen for another four weeks and see her again.

            She called back later that day to give us the blood results and said that the inflammation levels were going down but now it showed her liver enzymes were high… Her doctor said it could be a few things like the medication she was taking or it could be another clue to whatever she has (the doctors still don’t know). She asked us to stop the medication and come in the following day (Tuesday) and get an ultrasound of her liver to make sure everything was okay and to follow up with more blood work on Thursday.

                We received the ultrasound results and everything is normal. So right now we are waiting until Thursday to see if her levels have changed since stopping the medication. I will be sure to do another update once we know more. She seems to be moving normal (I was a little nervous she would slow down after we stopped the medicine but she seems to be doing fine).

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Love Always,

The Crazy Collards 

                Hello everyone! I thought I would give an update on the blog because I know a lot of you are wondering what’s been going on with Oaklee. The answer that I have at this moment is I don’t know. I don’t know. The doctors don’t know… It’s pretty much a waiting game at this point. If you want to know what happened/happening then please keep reading.

                Early Saturday morning (May 6th) Oaklee woke up in the middle of the night (not like her) crying. Zack gave her a bottle and she went right back to sleep. He came back into our room and said she felt really hot. I took her temp and she had a temp of 101. I thought “Oh great, she has a nasty virus.”

                She had a temperature all of Saturday, even when I gave her Tylenol. She was EXTREMLY fussy. I’ve never seen her act the way she did. She was kicking and screaming in a way a two year old would throw a tantrum at the store for not getting a treat they wanted. It just wasn’t like her at all.

                I decided to just stick it out for a day and see if she woke up Sunday feeling better. Sunday morning came and she still wasn’t feeling well. At this point she had a temp of 102.4. She was screaming constantly and didn’t want anything to eat or drink so I decided it was time to take her the Instacare.

           
               We brought her to the instacare and he noticed one of her ears were red. Bam! He instantly diagnosed her with an ear infection, gave us a prescription and sent us on our way. I thought, “Great! We will give her antibiotics and she’ll be better in no time!”

                She continued to have a constant fever on Monday and Tuesday. She was starting to eat and drink better but that’s the only thing that changed. On Monday evening I pointed out to Zack that I noticed she wasn’t crawling. She would only army crawl and it was slow and she would cry like she was in pain. We called her doctor’s office and they asked us to come in so they could have a look. The doctor looked her over and requested to have some x rays done the following day to see if she had an injury we didn’t know about. We went in for X rays of her arms and the doctor called back later that day saying it showed inflammation in her elbows and requested to have some blood tests done.

                Wednesday afternoon we finally got the call saying that the blood test showed markers for inflammation and that they spoke to an ortho specialist who requested we go to the ER immediately because it could be something serious. By Wednesday Oaklee’s fevers had gone but she was still extremely cranky and would not crawl or stand up.

                We arrived at the ER and the doctor did more x rays on her legs. It came back showing inflammation in one of her knees. They decided to admit us, do more blood work and we would stay until they figured out what was wrong. The doctor went over things from Lupus, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, some sort of autoimmune disease to cancer… As a parent the word cancer takes your breath away.

                We spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the hospital running test after test. They took her blood again on Wednesday and we got the results back on Thursday showing that it still showed markers of inflammation but that it had gone down a little. The nursing staff and doctors came in the room wearing full on hazmat suits because they weren’t sure what she could have. They also did a test for viruses and the staff had to wear all that stuff until that test came back. (It came back negative) The doctors asked us questions about our history and Zack had mentioned he had Kawasaki disease when he was younger. The doctors decided to test for that, just in case. That meant that Oaklee needed to be put under to have an echocardiogram to make sure her heart was okay. We had that test done and everything came back normal.

                They sent us home on Friday with no real answer. They said if she continues to get better and the inflammation goes down they suspect she got some sort of virus and her body reacted in a weird way towards it. If the inflammation continues and she isn’t moving much then they suspect she has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis… We go back in for more blood work on the 22^nd and the doctors will go from there…

                I just wanted to update everyone who wanted more answers or had any questions. We also wanted to thank everyone for your sweet messages and prayers. It gives us so much comfort knowing we have so many people who love and adore Oaklee. At this time we ask for your continued prayers and I will update as soon as I know more answers myself. As of right now Oaklee is crawling in her normal position. She doesn’t crawl as fast or as often as she used to but seems to be improving everyday so we are very hopeful.

Talk to you all soon.

Love Always,

The Crazy Collards

Hey everyone! So today's post has been HIGHLY requested and I am so excited to finally share it all with you!

I get so many questions on how I got Oaklee started as a "Brand Rep" on Instagram! I guess for those of you who don’t know or are wanting more information about what exactly that is/means, I will break it down for you.

Smalls shops are looking for people who are willing to take high quality photos of their products to use for a wide range of purposes. (ex. Instagram, facebook, website ect.) In exchange you either receive free product or you get product at discounted price.  

I actually started shopping small when I saw all these cute clothes on pinterest and wanted to know where they came from. That is when I found the greatest shopping site on planet earth… Etsy (say goodbye to all your money). I’d heard about Etsy before but never really took the time to check it out but once I ordered my first item I was hooked! I love the wide range of items available and that it wasn’t something that EVERY baby around  was going to have!

Then one day I was searching online about how to get your baby started in modeling (typical mom move am I right?) and I accidentally stumbled upon a blog post about “Brand Repping”. I thought, “hmm.. I think I could do that since I already shop small.” So I posted pictures of O in her stuff on my instagram and started tagging the shops and then entered her into a few “brand rep searches”. At first she wasn’t winning any but then one shop (Baby skye birds nest) believed in us and we were picked as a brand enthusiast! (That was one of the greatest feelings in the world to be honest! )

 After that I started looking at other brand reps Instagrams and noticed I needed to change a few things to really make this work. Those things I have listed below:

What to do if I want to get my child started in Brand Repping:

·         Create an Instagram specifically for Brand Rep work. Shops want you to help promote their items to other people who might be interested in the same things. Your friends might not be the best audience for that. Create a new instagram and follow other brand rep members and shops! Get to know the brand repping community (they’re amazing btw).

·        Make sure you have the equipment to take high quality looking photos. I’m not saying you HAVE to have a nice camera, back drops & lighting but it does make a difference when you have clear, crisp looking photos. I will give an example below: This was one of Oaklee’s first brand rep pictures.

      Now this is what her photos look like now. 

      Which would be more appealing to you as a shop owner?

·        Enter Brand Rep searches. Search the hashtag #brandrepsearch or #babybrandrepsearch you will find shops that are currently holding “brand rep searches”. Looking over the terms and if you think it would be a good fit then enter! (The rules on how to enter are written below the picture). At the beginning this can seem like a waiting game. Shops are looking for a specific look and sometimes you just don’t fit that “look.” Just keep on trying!  

·        Create a following. Like I said before, get to know the brand rep comminuty. Follow and support other brand rep members. Follow and support other small shops. They will begin to do the same and more and more people will follow.

·        Post regularly. I think this one is HUGE! With so many reps out there you can get lost in the feed. Make sure you are posting at least ONCE a day in my opinion. That makes it so shops/reps can keep seeing your work. Instagram is set up in a way that the more you post, like, and comment the more relevant you become on someone else’s feed. This process will also help you to gain followers!

·        Be truly interested in wanting to help the brand grow. Don’t enter a search if you don’t truly love the items the shop has to offer. Simple as that. The shop is trusting you to help promote sales, giveaways and new products and who wants to do that for a product they don’t like? Not me.

·        You will need to spend some $. Most shops require a monthly purchase (with a discount) and if you don’t make that monthly purchase you may be terminated as a rep. This isn’t about getting “free stuff”.

I’d also like to note that this does require a lot of time and attention. I usually spend about an hour a day taking pictures, editing them and posting. This doesn’t include the time I spend commenting, replying, and liking. It’s not for someone who just wants “free stuff”.

I truly adore each and every shop we rep for and I am so extremely grateful and blessed for the amazingly generous shop owners. This community and shopping small in general, will really give you a since of appreciation for how much time, effort and love goes into each piece. You are helping to support someones dream and that itself is so rewarding.

And that’s pretty much it! If you are interested at all please feel free to contact me. I’d LOVE to help you get started, give tips, whatever you need! Once you get involved you will be hooked, I promise! It’s so rewarding! We rarely have to go to the store and buy Oaklee clothes, bows and shoes anymore. You will find some amazing shops with even more amazing owners!

Thanks for taking the time to read this very long post and please be sure to follow Oaklee!

Love Always,

The Crazy Collards 

This has been such an exciting month for us! Full of so many opportunities for this little gal of mine!

 Loves:

• ·         Growling & screaming. She is such a loud little talker!
• ·         Being tickled by Daddy
• ·         The dogs. She LOVES dogs but seems to have a fascination with Harlee. She gets the biggest smile whenever Harlee enters the room
• ·         Taking pictures. I take pictures of her daily & I think she just knows when the cameras out its time to shine!
• ·         Holding her fingers in her mouth with her other hand. See example below. It’s so stinkin cute!
• ·         Her bottle. Her eyes get so big as soon as she sees that thing!

 Dislikes:

• ·         When you don’t give her your full attention
• ·         When you don’t feed her right away when she’s hungry

  Growth:

• ·         Currently size 2 diapers but once this pack is finished we will be moving up      to size 3.
• ·         Wears 6 month onsies and pants
• ·         Wears 9 month footie jammies

 Eating:

• ·         Takes about 5 oz. every 2-3 hours during the day still
• ·         30-32 oz. a day

Sleeping:

• ·         Still sleeping like a champ!

Development:

• ·         Still being a rolly polly
• ·         Getting really good with her hands while playing with toys
• ·         We’ve been practicing sitting up more
• ·         When laying on her belly she is starting to get her butt up and pushing with      her legs
• ·         If she isn’t sleeping she is talking away

Health:

• ·         She’s starting to teeth so lots of drool everywhere

Parenting:

Being a parent can be so hard sometimes. I have serious “mom guilt” about a lot of things in my life right now. For example, I work full time and feel like I don’t get to play and enjoy a lot of alone time with O. And then when I get home I need to make sure my family is fed and the house is clean and by that time it's Oaklee’s bed time. Does anyone else feel this way? I really want to spend my time wisely this next month.

I started having Oaklee be a Brand Rep & Brand Enthusiast on Instagram recently and it’s been a blast for me! I really enjoy doing it and the opportunities it has given Oaklee and I! I enjoy working with all these amazing small businesses and helping them grow! I’m debating on doing a post on how I got started but I’m not sure yet, let me know if you’d be interested!

Looking forward to:

• ·         Sitting up
• ·         Crawling (a little afraid that she can get around on her own)
• ·         Eating solids (again a little afraid)
• ·         Spending more quality time with O

Mom would like it if you’d stop growing up, ok? She is so fun right now and I just don’t want it to ever end!

 Loves:

·            Still loves sucking on her fingers (this is how she puts herself to sleep)

·            Mom (yes, that’s right. She’s a mommas girl)

·            Rolling around

·            Loves when people talk to her. 99% of the time she will flash you a big smile!

·            Her Baba (bottle)

 Dislikes:

I seriously can’t think of much for this. She is such a happy baby.

·            Doesn’t like to be put in her car seat.

  Growth:

     ·     Size 2 diapers

·            6 month onesies and pants

·            9 month footsie pajamas

·            Weighs 13lbs 4oz (30^th percentile)

·            Height 25.2 in. (60^th percentile)    

 Eating:

·            Takes 6 oz. every 2-3hrs (nothing after 7pm until 6:30am)

·            Likes to drink around 30 oz. a day

Sleeping:

·            Sleeping through the night like a champ

·            All we need to do to put her to sleep is lay her down (anywhere flat), give her a blankie and she will suck her fingers until she is asleep. We literally don’t have to do anything. She is so amazing!

Development:

·            Really good at holding her head up during tummy time

·            Getting pretty good at sitting up with our help

·            Wants to stand more then sit

·            Getting better every day at reaching for toys

·            She loves to have her feet in the air

·            Grabs her feet

·            Coos and screams when happy

·            Rolls back to front & front to back. She prefers to roll back to front more.

Health:

·            She did get a little cold this month, but it didn’t seem to bother her at all!

·            I think she is starting to teeth. She is drooling like crazy!

Parenting:

Oakers (what Zack and I call her) you are seriously such an easy baby! We love how happy you are! Oaklee is so smart and amazes us every day! I think it’s so crazy how babies just wake up one day and just do something they’ve never done before. It makes me so proud to watch her grow and transform. When we went in for our last appointment the doctor said her development is like a six month old and that just makes Daddy and I beam! You make our job so easy!

Looking forward to: 

·            Sitting up

·            Hard core laughs

·            Crawling

·            Eating solids

Oh my goodness! I can’t believe how fast they grow up! I cry a little every time I look at her because I feel like she is growing up in the blink of an eye!

 Loves:

·         Sucking on her fingers

·         Talking with you

·         Smiling

·         Being held (she’s getting a little spoiled with this one)

·         Super Y & Little einstiens

·         Getting any attention she can get

·         Sitting up

Dislikes:

·         Being ignored

·         Being put down

·         Binky

·         Tummy time

Growth:

·         Size 1 diapers

·         6 month onesies and pants

·         Still in 6 month footsie pjs but this will likely being going up soon

·         Weighs 12lbs 4oz 

·        

Eating:

·         Takes about 5-7 oz. every 2-3 hours

Sleeping:

·         She sleeps through the night! We are so lucky!

·         Is getting on a pretty good schedule. Takes a nap at 9:30 am and another at 1:00 pm

Development:

·         Holds her head up

·         Getting pretty good at sitting up with our help

·         Wants to try and stand but isn’t very good at it

·         Reaches for toys

·         Anything she gets her hands on goes straight to her mouth!

·         Grabbing her feet and tries to get them into her mouth

·         Still talking away

Health:

· Her laryngomalacia seems to have gone away! Yay!

· Her acid reflux has also improved

Parenting:

O amazes her Daddy and I every day. She is so smart and has the sweetest personality! She loves to smile and talk! She’s starting to laugh more and it melts my heart to a trillion pieces! She is such a happy baby and it makes our job so easy!

She is starting to realize that being held is the best thing ever and will let you know she does not like when you put her down! Sometimes at work she will whine and cry and then as soon as I bend down to pick her up she gushes a HUGE smile (little butt).

The best part of my day is the mornings with her. As soon as we pop our faces over her crib she gets the biggest smile! It’s the best feeling to know this little human has so much love for you!

I am loving this parenting thing! (O does make is so easy for us) She teaches me so much and it’s really helping me grow as a person. I am still working on getting a schedule down. I still feel like some days just don’t have enough time and I can NEVER accomplish everything on my to do list. Sadly it’s the gym that gets pushed out most of the time, I really want to work on that. L But all and all Oaklee makes my heart so full and my days would not be the same without her!

Parenting goal for next month: Go an entire week being able to accomplish everything on my daily to do list. Let’s see how this goes! (: 

       

Looking forward to:  

·                Rolling over

·                Sitting up

·                Hard core laughs

Baby girl is 2 months old! Loving every second of it!

 Loves:

·         Talking

·         Swimming

·         Smiling at anyone that talks to her

·         Bath time

·         Sleeping in her car seat

·         Bed time

·         Her blankie

Dislikes:

·         Her baby carrier (the one that straps to you)

·         Sleeping at work

·         Waiting for her bottle when she is hungry

Growth:

·         Size 1 diapers

·         3 month onesies and pants

·         6 month footsie pjs because she is so long

·         Weighs 11lbs 4oz (50^th percentile)

·         23.5 inches (90^th percentile)

Eating:

·         Takes about 5 oz. every 2-3 hours

Sleeping:

·         She is starting to sleep through the night! Yay!

·         Usually only takes 1 nap per day now. She likes to stay awake during the day!

Development:

·         Getting pretty dang good at holding her head up

·         Loves tummy time. I think she will be an early roller

·         Sucking on her hands now

·         Starting to put everything in her mouth

·         She’s starting to giggle thanks to Grandma M

·         Babbles more and more every day!

Health:

·         Got her first set of shots. It was so sad and I never want to do it again!

·         She is growing great and healthy!

Parenting:

          Zack and I love to talk to her! Since she copies anything you do, we’ve gotten her to say Hi a few times! She makes us laugh daily with her facial expressions and smiles!

Zack and I switch off nights so if Oaklee wakes up during the night we can take turns! Oaklee has been amazing and sleeps so good for us. We are really lucky! Zack has been so amazing with helping when I ask, I am so grateful for him being such a great Dad!  

Looking forward to:

·         More laughs!

·         Rolling over

·         Holding her head up

·         Grabbing toys 

How is my baby 1 month old already?? When they say it goes by fast they ain't kidding! Being a mom is so amazing and every day is filled with something new and exciting! I love to watch O grow and learn new things! She is such a happy baby and loves to flirt and smile at any and every one! We love our baby girl!

Loves:

·         Smiling

·         Copying anything her Daddy does

·         Talking

·         Kicking her feet

·         Dreaming (always laughing and smiling in her sleep, it melts my heart!)

·         Eating

Dislikes:

·         When people ignore her or don’t give her attention

·         Not liking the binky lately

·         Staying up past her bedtime

Growth:

·         Size 1 diapers

·         3 month onesies and pants

·         3 month pjs

·         Weighs 10lbs 12oz

·         22.5 inches

Eating:

·         Takes about 4 oz every 2-3 hours

·         She LOVES to eat and could eat all day if I let her

·         I exclusively pump (post about this coming soon) so she is bottle fed

Sleeping:

·         This girl sleeps like a champ! Usually goes to bed around 8 and wakes up at 3am and then 7am.

·         I am able to take her to work with me and she will NOT sleep at work. Too much going on and she doesn’t want to miss a thing! This makes work a little difficult but I manage.

·         If it’s the weekend and we aren’t at work she takes two naps a day. One around 9am until 12pm. And another around 4pm until 6pm.

Development:

·         Smiling like crazy! She’s a little flirt!

·         Loves to babble and you can tell she wants to talk so bad!

·         She copies anything Zack does! He cues, she cues. It’s so cute!

Health:

·         Bath time twice a week. (LOVES it)

·         Found out she has laryngomalacia, that’s why she is a loud eater and makes gasping noises (nothing to worry about, goes away on its own)

·         Doing amazing since being off her oxygen after birth!

·         Slight case of Acid Reflux. It doesn’t seem to bother her at all but you can tell food comes up and she swallows it. Almost never spits it up. Doc prescribed medicine to see if it would also help with the laryngomalacia.

Parenting:

I love being Oaklee’s mom! She is such a great and happy baby and really makes my job easy! She is such a sweetheart and knows just how to make you smile! She is always ready to show off her little personality by giving us the biggest smiles and babbles away!

          I love when she falls asleep in my arms and just wants to cuddle with her momma. I could just stare at her precious face forever.

          She is so in love with her Daddy and the way he is always willing to play with her. He likes to push mommy out of her comfort zone when it comes to O, and she loves every second of it. To be honest I’m terrified she’s going to be like her daddy and love to live on the edge! Zack can’t wait to teach her how to ride dirt bikes! She is so amazing and life is filled with so much happiness with her in it!

Looking forward to:

·         Her laughs (she laughs in her sleep all the time but we have yet to hear it while she is awake)

·         Talking more

·         Playing with toys

·         Holding her head up