My dear sweet baby Russell,
I have the privilege of being your mother. You have given me one of the best days of my life. For whatever reason I'll probably not know in this life, you have been chosen to come to our family, or our family has been chosen to be yours. I know this is no coincidence and I'm in complete awe that you are ours and we are yours. Your pregnancy was hard on this Mom of yours and its hard to believe that its over. I wanted to share with you your birth story in how you arrived in this world.
Your due date was given based off of your size in an ultrasound I got when you were about 8 weeks old. January 5, 2017. In my mind I thought, I just need to get through the summer, the fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and then you'll be here! We found out we were pregnant with you on May 1, 2016. Jeni was 37 weeks pregnant with your cousin Jack and was tending Meriden, Jeffrey and Ephraim so Dad and I could go on a little getaway. While there I realized my period still hadnt started. I thought that was unusual and sent dad to get a pregnancy test. The next morning I took it and sure enough, it was positive. I was very surprised and so was Dad. We were very excited!! The pregnancy was long and I felt sick until about the middle of August. I felt you move at about 18 weeks. I developed gestational diabetes at 33 weeks. At 37 weeks they checked and I was dilated to a 1 1/2, 38 weeks almost a 2 and 39 weeks I was still at a 2. The day after they checked me at the 39 week check, I started feeling braxton hicks about midnight. They woke me up. They weren't really painful but they were consistent. They were about 12 minutes apart. They continued like this until 5am. I was so tempted to call someone over at 3am so we could go to the hospital, but they just weren't very painful. Dad and I decided we'd wait until 5 and see what happened. Before 5 I finally fell asleep because they went away. I was so disappointed but relieved because I didn't have hardly anything ready for Dallin and Elizabeth coming to take care of your siblings. This got the ball rolling and in one week I had the fridge stocked, laundry done and Christmas put away. We enjoyed New Years and through the week I felt at least one contraction every hour, but not while sleeping. Well, Sunday, New Years Day we went to church and a friend of mine in the Relief Society Presidency offered to come and rub my feet and ankles and push different pressure points to get labor going. I thought, that's sweet of her, but its not going to work. Well she painted my toenails and rubbed my feel emphasizing this pressure point and I didn't feel anything. I thanked her for trying and we went to bed about 10pm. At 4am I felt like I had to go to the bathroom. I felt a lot of pressure and thought that was weird. It took me about an hour to fall back asleep. I woke up feeling that same pressure at about 7:30am and went to the bathroom and attempted to pray and read my scriptures but the pressure wasn't stopping. I tried to start a load of laundry but was in too much pain. I called Grandma Cooper at about 8am and explained it. She offered to let me come take a bath in her huge tub and suggested I call my doctor. It was just after that phone call I realized that this "pressure" was letting up and it was contractions. Dad was making me breakfast. After this very painful contraction I told Dad, I'm in labor. We're going to the hospital now. Dad started moving fast! Dad gave me a blessing promising me comfort and that my Mom would be near me during this time. The blessing gave me peace. He called Elizabeth and Dallin and had them come over. He called Amy Blake (our babysitter down the street) and her Dad brought her over. We grabbed a few last minute things and left at about 8:45am. Amy's Dad let us use his truck because the roads were so bad. We were so grateful because it had snowed almost all night and they roads were not well plowed. In the car I felt a couple contractions that I really tried to relax thorough and breathe through them. It was somewhere between Santaquin and Payson that I felt the beauty of what was happening. My body was prepping itself to bring you into this world. I was about to meet you! I felt my Mom's loving peaceful presence as I looked out into the beautiful white clean snow. I felt peace. We finally arrived at the hospital and went up to labor and delivery. Just as were approaching the desk I felt a difficult contraction. I held onto the railing on the wall and just breathed through it and let it pass. The nurse could tell thing were really painful and after asking what number of child this is and how close the contractions were apart, she got me in a room in a gown and checked fast. I was at an 8. It was about 9:40am. I was relieved because I wasn't fully dilated, I could have an epidural. I let her know that with Jeffrey I didn't get one and I really really want one and things are going to go really fast. She tried to get an IV in my hand and I told her they're awful hand veins and probably just do my arm. After the one attempt she called the anesthesiologist up and he put it in my arm. He then started the process of the epidural. He was a jokester and kept saying stuff like, is she always this quiet and calm? He'd been on call since Saturday and running off little sleep and that made me a little worried but he was competent and really talked me through everything. He told me my back was off center and concerned about getting the epidural in just right. He decided to give me a spinal black first because of how fast things were going. He talked me through it all if I could feel it on the left or the right and I told him and then like a warm blanket I felt the medicine kick in down my legs to my toes. It all went warm and it was beautiful! I breathed deeply now knowing that I could be aware of the room and you and eveything because I wasn't so focused on keeping my body relaxed! Dad still kept rubbing my shoulders and arms and telling me everything was okay and helping me feel calm, especially because I was starting to shake. The nurse came and asked me tons of questions. Dr. Nance came in and checked on me. I was now a 9 and he broke my waters. During the questions I got dizzy because of the high dosage of epidural and they gave me something to help me not be dizzy. That helped. By now it was about 11am. My contractions went down to just 8 minutes apart because of the epidural. Doctor delivered another baby and then came in. Nurse Krista had prepped the room and got me to the right part of the table, and had my feet up in the stirrups. I explained I wanted the delayed cord cut, I wanted to see the placenta and I wanted a mirror to see the whole thing. He was good with all of that. Well, I wasn't feeling much because I was more numb than I've ever been with an epidural but in the mirror the doctor started stretching my perineal area and I could see everything completely open. On the monitor they could see I was having a contraction so they told me to push, so I did. We waited a few minutes and did the same thing and this time we could see your hair. Lots of dark hair. Dr told me not to wait for the next contraction but to just push push, push! And so I did! Out your little head came, out came a shoulder, another shoulder and your body! You were here. I cried tears of joy and they put your perfect body on me and I held you and stroked your perfect face. They suctioned out your little lungs and you started crying like a champ. Doctor Nance sewed up my one little first degree tear and pulled out the umbilical cord, placenta and some blood. They gave me a bag of pitocin to help me clamp down and they rubbed my belly. Thankful to still have the epidural I couldn't feel anything. It was awesome. Dad was with you as they sucked mucus out of your lungs with a little suction thing and wiped you down with a towel and measured you- 20 inches and weighed 8lbs 8oz. I was surprised how big you were! When I saw you I thought you were going to be 7lbs but Dad thought you were big! They put you on my skin and we snuggled. You were fussy until you found some colostrum. Things started to really settle down as they put my bed back together and I just stared at one you. I cannot remember every being so happy in my whole life. Unlike other births I wasn't shaking and it just felt like it was You me and Dad in the whole world. It was so beautiful. My smile seemed to be permanently on my face and you were just perfect. We're so glad you're here Russell! You're safe and everything went so perfect. Later we moved to our recovery room and we just started and snuggled you for hours. Later Meriden, Jeffrey and Ephriam came to meet you with Dallin and Elizabeth and then later after that Grandpa and Grandma Cooper and Wade and MaraLyn came to meet you and we visited with them. We talked to Grandpa Burk on the phone and Aunt Jeni. We sent lots of pictures to the family. That evening you had your first bath and full assessment and they said you were as healthy as can be. We love you sweet baby.
I have the privilege of being your mother. You have given me one of the best days of my life. For whatever reason I'll probably not know in this life, you have been chosen to come to our family, or our family has been chosen to be yours. I know this is no coincidence and I'm in complete awe that you are ours and we are yours. Your pregnancy was hard on this Mom of yours and its hard to believe that its over. I wanted to share with you your birth story in how you arrived in this world.
Your due date was given based off of your size in an ultrasound I got when you were about 8 weeks old. January 5, 2017. In my mind I thought, I just need to get through the summer, the fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and then you'll be here! We found out we were pregnant with you on May 1, 2016. Jeni was 37 weeks pregnant with your cousin Jack and was tending Meriden, Jeffrey and Ephraim so Dad and I could go on a little getaway. While there I realized my period still hadnt started. I thought that was unusual and sent dad to get a pregnancy test. The next morning I took it and sure enough, it was positive. I was very surprised and so was Dad. We were very excited!! The pregnancy was long and I felt sick until about the middle of August. I felt you move at about 18 weeks. I developed gestational diabetes at 33 weeks. At 37 weeks they checked and I was dilated to a 1 1/2, 38 weeks almost a 2 and 39 weeks I was still at a 2. The day after they checked me at the 39 week check, I started feeling braxton hicks about midnight. They woke me up. They weren't really painful but they were consistent. They were about 12 minutes apart. They continued like this until 5am. I was so tempted to call someone over at 3am so we could go to the hospital, but they just weren't very painful. Dad and I decided we'd wait until 5 and see what happened. Before 5 I finally fell asleep because they went away. I was so disappointed but relieved because I didn't have hardly anything ready for Dallin and Elizabeth coming to take care of your siblings. This got the ball rolling and in one week I had the fridge stocked, laundry done and Christmas put away. We enjoyed New Years and through the week I felt at least one contraction every hour, but not while sleeping. Well, Sunday, New Years Day we went to church and a friend of mine in the Relief Society Presidency offered to come and rub my feet and ankles and push different pressure points to get labor going. I thought, that's sweet of her, but its not going to work. Well she painted my toenails and rubbed my feel emphasizing this pressure point and I didn't feel anything. I thanked her for trying and we went to bed about 10pm. At 4am I felt like I had to go to the bathroom. I felt a lot of pressure and thought that was weird. It took me about an hour to fall back asleep. I woke up feeling that same pressure at about 7:30am and went to the bathroom and attempted to pray and read my scriptures but the pressure wasn't stopping. I tried to start a load of laundry but was in too much pain. I called Grandma Cooper at about 8am and explained it. She offered to let me come take a bath in her huge tub and suggested I call my doctor. It was just after that phone call I realized that this "pressure" was letting up and it was contractions. Dad was making me breakfast. After this very painful contraction I told Dad, I'm in labor. We're going to the hospital now. Dad started moving fast! Dad gave me a blessing promising me comfort and that my Mom would be near me during this time. The blessing gave me peace. He called Elizabeth and Dallin and had them come over. He called Amy Blake (our babysitter down the street) and her Dad brought her over. We grabbed a few last minute things and left at about 8:45am. Amy's Dad let us use his truck because the roads were so bad. We were so grateful because it had snowed almost all night and they roads were not well plowed. In the car I felt a couple contractions that I really tried to relax thorough and breathe through them. It was somewhere between Santaquin and Payson that I felt the beauty of what was happening. My body was prepping itself to bring you into this world. I was about to meet you! I felt my Mom's loving peaceful presence as I looked out into the beautiful white clean snow. I felt peace. We finally arrived at the hospital and went up to labor and delivery. Just as were approaching the desk I felt a difficult contraction. I held onto the railing on the wall and just breathed through it and let it pass. The nurse could tell thing were really painful and after asking what number of child this is and how close the contractions were apart, she got me in a room in a gown and checked fast. I was at an 8. It was about 9:40am. I was relieved because I wasn't fully dilated, I could have an epidural. I let her know that with Jeffrey I didn't get one and I really really want one and things are going to go really fast. She tried to get an IV in my hand and I told her they're awful hand veins and probably just do my arm. After the one attempt she called the anesthesiologist up and he put it in my arm. He then started the process of the epidural. He was a jokester and kept saying stuff like, is she always this quiet and calm? He'd been on call since Saturday and running off little sleep and that made me a little worried but he was competent and really talked me through everything. He told me my back was off center and concerned about getting the epidural in just right. He decided to give me a spinal black first because of how fast things were going. He talked me through it all if I could feel it on the left or the right and I told him and then like a warm blanket I felt the medicine kick in down my legs to my toes. It all went warm and it was beautiful! I breathed deeply now knowing that I could be aware of the room and you and eveything because I wasn't so focused on keeping my body relaxed! Dad still kept rubbing my shoulders and arms and telling me everything was okay and helping me feel calm, especially because I was starting to shake. The nurse came and asked me tons of questions. Dr. Nance came in and checked on me. I was now a 9 and he broke my waters. During the questions I got dizzy because of the high dosage of epidural and they gave me something to help me not be dizzy. That helped. By now it was about 11am. My contractions went down to just 8 minutes apart because of the epidural. Doctor delivered another baby and then came in. Nurse Krista had prepped the room and got me to the right part of the table, and had my feet up in the stirrups. I explained I wanted the delayed cord cut, I wanted to see the placenta and I wanted a mirror to see the whole thing. He was good with all of that. Well, I wasn't feeling much because I was more numb than I've ever been with an epidural but in the mirror the doctor started stretching my perineal area and I could see everything completely open. On the monitor they could see I was having a contraction so they told me to push, so I did. We waited a few minutes and did the same thing and this time we could see your hair. Lots of dark hair. Dr told me not to wait for the next contraction but to just push push, push! And so I did! Out your little head came, out came a shoulder, another shoulder and your body! You were here. I cried tears of joy and they put your perfect body on me and I held you and stroked your perfect face. They suctioned out your little lungs and you started crying like a champ. Doctor Nance sewed up my one little first degree tear and pulled out the umbilical cord, placenta and some blood. They gave me a bag of pitocin to help me clamp down and they rubbed my belly. Thankful to still have the epidural I couldn't feel anything. It was awesome. Dad was with you as they sucked mucus out of your lungs with a little suction thing and wiped you down with a towel and measured you- 20 inches and weighed 8lbs 8oz. I was surprised how big you were! When I saw you I thought you were going to be 7lbs but Dad thought you were big! They put you on my skin and we snuggled. You were fussy until you found some colostrum. Things started to really settle down as they put my bed back together and I just stared at one you. I cannot remember every being so happy in my whole life. Unlike other births I wasn't shaking and it just felt like it was You me and Dad in the whole world. It was so beautiful. My smile seemed to be permanently on my face and you were just perfect. We're so glad you're here Russell! You're safe and everything went so perfect. Later we moved to our recovery room and we just started and snuggled you for hours. Later Meriden, Jeffrey and Ephriam came to meet you with Dallin and Elizabeth and then later after that Grandpa and Grandma Cooper and Wade and MaraLyn came to meet you and we visited with them. We talked to Grandpa Burk on the phone and Aunt Jeni. We sent lots of pictures to the family. That evening you had your first bath and full assessment and they said you were as healthy as can be. We love you sweet baby.
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