More Park Pics

Since I can only upload a few pictures per post, here is the continuation of the park pics from the other day. Isn't Kentucky beautiful in the summer?

At the Park

My beautiful sister, Becky is here being our nanny for a month. Thank goodness! Having two little ones is tough but with Bex here to help, it's been a lot easier and a lot more fun!

Yesterday we went to the park for play group and to celebrate our friend Trisha's birthday. We had lots of fun hanging out and watching the kiddos play. Boy, summer sure is nice!

And here's Aunt Becky with both boys. Like I said, she as been an amazing help. Having her around has made this big transition in our family so much easier. Today while she and I were watching a movie during the boys' naptime, I realized that history was repeating itself. I have vague memories of my mom and her sister hanging out together when I was a little kid. They would let us play while they watched movies together, just like Bex and I were doing. My mom always said it was so wonderful to live by her sister and be able to raise their kids together. I remember how happy we were as kids to be able to live close to our cousins and play with them all the time. As I spend time with my sister and we raise kids together (well, she helps me raise my kids anyway) I realize how wonderful it would be to have her close by all the time. Life is more fun with her around. :)

Mr. Benson

Here's our little Benson at 10 days old. He has continued to be very sweet and gentle. He only cries when he's hungry and still loves to snuggle. He seems to be a very content little fellow and we just adore him.

Cuddle time with Nanna.

Kisses!

More Mr. Benson

Not even 2 weeks old and already up and at it!

Nanna with her TWO handsome grandbabies.

A close-up of little Mr.

We're Home

We made it home from the hospital and are now enjoying our family of four! It has been a big adjustment for us all, particularly for Big Brother McKay as he learns the finer points of such things as "gentle", "soft", and "quiet". We'll get there. In the meantime, we are having fun playing with both of our boys and watching them interact.

These are some pics of Benson at six days old. He is a sweet, snuggly, and very mild-mannered baby. He loves to cuddle and sleeps like a champ as long as he has company. We love cuddling with him and feeling his peaceful spirit.

Oh, and by the way, the first pic at the top looks very similar to Rachel's sister, Becky. Wuz up Bex? :)

Benson James Cox

So, to start off, here's the pregnant picture of Rachel (she would never let me take one before the hospital)

He's Here! Benson James Cox was born at 5:00pm on Monday, April 26, 2010. So here's how everything went...

We came to the hospital at 10pm on Sunday night, but apparently there was a miscommunication somewhere in the hospital and they weren't expecting us until Monday night. Fortunately, they called the doctor and confirmed that we were there at the right time and they let us in. They got things started with the induction around 11:30, and we were on our way. When the anesthesiologist gave the epidural, he had a bit of trouble because Rachel is so small. Apparently, he went into the dura (the tough material around the spinal cord) when he was supposed to go around it (epi = near/on top of), so he had to do it twice. Fortunately, the second one took pretty well for a while. Toward the end, the epidural began to wear off and Rachel felt just about everything the last hour or so. The good news is that she only pushed for about 15 minutes before Benson came out, whereas she had to push two and a half hours with McKay.

Now to the part that everyone really cares about...

Benson is a beautiful healthy baby boy. He weighed in at 7lbs 5oz, and measured 20 inches. Here are some pics.

Fast Track to the Hospital

Well, I'd never ridden in an ambulance before, until yesterday that is. And honestly, it's not nearly as glamorous as it might seem. I couldn't open my eyes, so I didn't actually see the inside but I vaguely remember it being a bumpy ride and wishing the attendant would stop asking me so many questions. Funny the things you remember in crisis.

Let me back up and explain what happened. First, no baby yet. He's fine and is scheduled to make his appearance sometime on Monday (induction begins Sunday evening). That is the biggest relief of all.

Here's the story:

Yesterday I was having a lot of pain in my stomach but I had my 39 week check up, so I went and talked with my doc about it. She did the regular exam and said everything looked fine. We both assumed I was just having contractions so we scheduled the induction and I headed home. A couple of hours after I got home I started feeling really sick and strange. I managed to get McKay down for a nap and thought I would take one too. It was when I laid down that everything happened. All of the sudden I felt so sick and had some sort of attack of horrible nausea, faintness, and pain around the baby. Everything went black and I stopped feeling him move (he'd been very active up to that point). I could feel myself about to faint so I blindly searched for my cell phone and managed to reach my friend Trisha down the street. She came running and literally saved me. I was so weak and faint I don't remember much but we ended up getting a ride in the ambulance. By the time we reached the hospital, I couldn't feel my limbs and my face was numb. They kept asking me questions but I couldn't talk, my face was so stiff and felt like it had been anesthetized. I couldn't open my eyes or move my arms or legs, it was all so strange.

BJ, who had been at school, met us at the hospital and was able to field the questions. Finally they gave me an IV and were able to stabilize things. I eventually regained feeling and consciousness and was able to head home, though the doctors couldn't figure out what had happened. The on-call doc basically said that, according to the lab work, everything should be fine. He said his best guess was that this was the way my body goes into labor (oh great!). Really makes me excited for future pregnancies.

Today I feel weak and tired but much better than before. I just want to say thank you to all the people who literally saved me yesterday, both by taking care of me and helping me but also by helping with McKay while I was gone. We have incredible friends and neighbors and church members who are our surrogate family and who were nothing short of angels to me and my family yesterday. In the words of Elder Holland:

When we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods.[...] Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind.

I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.”13

On occasions... we may feel we are alone in dark and dreary places...but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.

“I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, … my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

So, thank you to each of my angels.