I first want to start with a huge THANK YOU for everyone who has checked in + sent up prayers! It means so much to me and I am grateful for each and every one of you. I wanted to share my experience from the past week and give a little update. Plus I wanted to write something down that people could refer back to if they are every struggling with kidney stones or debating on surgery.

MY KIDNEY STONE EXPERIENCE

: MY HISTORY WITH KIDNEY STONES

The first time I had kidney stones was 7 years ago when I was pregnant with Harper. I woke up early that morning with back/side pain. I had no idea what was going on. I knew I wasn’t going into labor, but my body immediately started vomiting due to the severe pain. I was worried about the baby so we went to the emergency room. At the hospital and they put me on morphine to control the pain (honestly, my pain tolerance is pretty good) and told me it was a kidney stone and I’d pass it in a few days. But I didn’t pass it until 14 DAYS LATER!! I don’t remember why we never got the stone tested, but I regret it now. Not knowing the cause of them. So there’s a little backstory.

: MY RECENT EXPERIENCE

Flash forward to now… I had a hysterectomy 5 years ago, so I haven’t had cramps since then. But the past 6 weeks I’ve been cramping. I still have my ovaries, but not my uterus which is what usually causes cramps. I’ve also been having bad back pains too and just thought I pulled something. I felt like garbage and honestly just accepted the pain, thinking it was normal. Well, last Sunday I started getting really bad cramps at church so I decided to walk home (we live right across the street) and my back pain immediately set in and I couldn’t walk. I literally crawled to my phone and called Joe. He took me to the emergency room, they did an CT scan and found 3 kidney stones…. a 6mm, 4mm, and a 1mm. Because we were leaving the country in five days and the stone I was trying to pass was 6mm, the urologist was highly recommending surgery. They typically do surgery for any kidney stone over 5mm because it’s too big for your body to pass.

They gave me medication to help my body pass the stone on my own (which was only an 40% chance) but I wanted to try this route so they sent me home. I waited a few days and hadn’t passed it yet. We were preparing to leave for Mexico Friday night, so I was hoping to pass it on my own without surgery. I really didn’t want to do surgery; I even called the doctor a hour before and told him I wasn’t doing it. Right after Joe called some doctor buddies up North and they just told us to do it. They said it wasn’t worth the risk to possibly pass the stone in Mexico, be in pain, or even be life flighted home. They all recommended that I do it so I did.

After the surgery Wednesday, I felt worse than I ever had!!! It was the most pain I’d been in. Because they were able to go up into my kidney and retrieve all three stones + leave a stent. If you don’t know what a stent is, it’s a tube like object that connects to your kidney and comes out your urethra. They say that 3 out of 5 people are fine pain-wise with the stent, but 2 out of 5 aren’t. So I was paranoid about how it would affect me. When I got home, my body went crazy. I was shaking uncontrollably from the anesthesia (which is a common side effect) and none of my pain meds were kicking in. I could tell Joe was getting a little worried so that’s when I knew something was wrong. About an hour later, everything kicked in and I felt better.

: OUR DECISION TO GO TO MEXICO

Joe and I were still debating whether or not we should go to Mexico. My parents had offered to take the kids and Joe meet up later but that wasn’t sitting well with us. This was a trip we had planned with my whole family over a year ago and family time is the absolute most important thing to us.

I asked Joe to give me a healing blessing Friday morning. Him and his dad gave me a beautiful blessing and ever since then, my pain has been bearable. Which I have been so grateful for. We literally waited till the last minute to make a decision and ultimately decided to come to Mexico since we had enough meds to get me through the week if things continued as they did. The meds definitely have help, but they do have big side effects on my body. Hence why I avoid taking them at all costs. I’m 6 days out of surgery and I FINALLY feel like I’m not dying. Joe was actually going to pull my stent out this morning –  because I just can’t handle it anymore, but he couldn’t find the string! So when we get back, I have to have surgery to get it taken out.

Honestly, I would recommend waiting as LONG as you can before doing surgery and try to have you body pass the stone naturally. I have been in constant pain and my body hasn’t reacting well to the stent. I feel okay when I’m staying up on meds, but again the side effects (for me personally) are awful. I’ve had one girlfriend say that her kidney stone surgery went totally fine and another girlfriend who said her stent pain was unbearable!! Everyone’s experience totally different, and this is just mine.

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I wish I would’ve been able to read + learn about other people’s experiences before getting the surgery, so I hope this blog post helps somebody!

Can you believe it’s May already? This is such a fun, yet busy, time of year and I’m just enjoying every second of it! Last month’s Amazon orders were random (as always). I ordered some new cleats for Hudson, a dress for our Mexico trip, my favorite hair cream, and more! Keep scrolling for details on all these items!

APRIL AMAZON BUYS

cleats + sunglasses + clock + dress + hair cream + girl’s dress + grandma book + tank top + lip mask + sweater set + hair ties + labels + book

: CLEATS

Ordered these Under Armour cleats for Hudson for football! He really likes them, they’ve been holding up well. He didn’t want anything that was too bright or would stand out, so he found these and he loves the all white.

: SUNGLASSES

Houston wanted some sunglasses for his baseball games so he picked these ones out! Under $15 and really fun if you have a little one playing baseball!

: ALARM CLOCK

I bought this clock for clock for Hunter to help her wake up in the morning! I loved the modern look of it. Only $11.99 too!

dress + hat

: DRESS

I got this dress for our Mexico trip and I’m obsessed! I love that it doesn’t have a slit or anything. It’s the perfect length and runs true to size (wearing a small)! Only $33.99 and comes in a ton of other fun patterns!

: HAIR CREAM

I had to order another bottle of this hair cream because I ran out! BOTH Hudson + I use it and love it. It doesn’t leave your hair crispy or gel-like, it really just enhances your natural curls. You don’t even have to blow-dry or diffuse your hair – just put it in your hair and go!

dress + shoes

: GIRL’S DRESS

Ordered this blue dress for Harper! It’s darling and fits true to size! Comes in other colors and is under $20!

: GRANDMA GIFT BOOK

This “What I Love About Grandma” book is SO cute! We ordered it for the kids to fill out. It’s such a simple + easy mother’s day gift idea that is so fun to personalize and have as a keepsake. Your kids get to go through it + fill it out! Only $10 too!

: WORKOUT TANK

I bought this workout tank to try because I saw my friend share about it! The back is so fun and I really like how it fits. Fits true to size and is under $25!

: LIP MASK

Hunter + I love this lip mask! We put it on before bed and wake up with hydrated lips!!

: SWEATER SET

I finally ordered the Freya set DUPE!! The Free People one is $128, but the Amazon dupe is only $44.99! The dupe top is very similar to the Free People set in fabric + weight. The color is more of a true black as opposed to the Free People one. The Free People pants are more of a cotton fabric and the amazon ones are more of a dress pant. The pants are a lot shorter and tighter too. I personally like the Free People set better. The dupe is good, but it’s a completely different pant material.

: GIMME HAIR TIES

These Gimme hair ties are AMAZING! They hold Hayden’s horsehair really well. She usually has to use 4 normal hair ties, but she only has to use one Gimme hair tie so we love how durable these Gimme ones are.

: LABELS

I have these labels ALL over my house! They are just like the Crate and Barrel ones but half the price. I ordered the silver metal clips, they come with 8 black and 8 white inserts and a black and white pen! Totally helps me with my organization. Under $!5 too!

: NEVER NEVER BOOK

Hunter ordered this book! Sounds like she’s enjoying it so far.

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What was your favorite Amazon purchase from last month? Comment below!

It’s that time again where I share last month’s Amazon orders! Last month I ordered more swimsuits for Mexico, my favorite self tanning lotion, a family favorite game, and more! Keep scrolling to see details!

MARCH AMAZON BUYS

cheetah leotard + hat clip + orange swimsuit + tanning lotion + tan swimsuit + brown swimsuit + telestrations game + micro stitch tool + crochet cover up + gel nail kit + purple swimsuit + cuticule tools

: CHEETAH LEOTARD

Harper picked out this cheetah leotard for gymnastics! It’s definitely not my favorite haha, but it was fun to have her pick it out. If you have girls who love sparkly things, this leotard would be so fun for them! Comes in other fun patterns too and is only $9.99!

: HAT CLIP

I ordered this hat clip/magnet for our Mexico trip coming up! You can attach it to your bag or suitcase and then clip your hats onto it. It holds both of my straw hats! I don’t like packing my hats in my suitcase so I always just carry them onto my flights, so this hat magnet will be a game changer!

hat + swimsuit + bracelets [code KAILEEWRIGHT15]

: SWIMSUITS + COVER UP

We’re going to Mexico in May so I’ve been ordering a ton of swimsuits to try out! I ordered a size small in the orange ruffle swimsuit, the tan swimsuit, and the purple swimsuit. Those ones are all true to size and have full bum coverage! I ordered this brown swimsuit in a size small, but it was too tight and too cheeky for me, so I ordered the medium. I would definitely size up on that one! I ordered that same swimsuit in this pink color too. Absolutely obsessed with this cover up too, I ordered the small. It’s perfect for going from the pool to dinner!

: SELF TANNING LOTION

This lotion is a gradual tanning lotion and I absolutely love it! It gives such a natural gorgeous look. And better yet, it doesn’t have a smell or stain your sheets!! Hands down amazing. This is my fourth bottle I’ve ordered… I love it that much.

: TELESTRATIONS GAME

This Telestrations game is phenomenal!!! It is THE funniest game. We played it at our friend’s cabin when we went to Brian Head and everyone was dying of laughter! Harper could play it, so it’s good for all ages – even adults! Best $40 we’ve spent in my opinion!!

hat + swimsuit + bracelets [code KAILEEWRIGHT15]

: MICRO STITCH TOOL

This micro stitch tool is for blouses that are too low, or anything that you need to add one stitch in. It’s been so nice to have! My friend Merrick recommended this and I absolutely love it! Easy to use too.

: GEL NAIL POLISH SET

My friend Betsy recommended this gel nail polish set that comes with 36 colors!!!! For only $34.99! It has been so fun for me and my girls. We do nails every Sunday night and it’s way cheaper than taking them to go get their nails done. They love every color that comes in the kit too. We also ordered these cuticle cleaners, you just run them over your cuticles and it cleans them up!

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Thanks for reading! What was your favorite Amazon purchase last month?