Rivers debut

Right after the C-pap came off

After he first bath



Girl came in style



Daddy finally holding his baby girl!



Smiling at Three day old!

  Rivers due date was fathers day and for as active and as early as I had progressed I was for sure we'd have a baby before that day came. Well our little miss had other plans! The day started out as any other day, Wes had been home for a couple days anxiously waiting like me and everyone else. We went to his families for lunch and down to my grandparents for a later lunch. Everyone asked how I was feeling and if I thought she'd come that day. I felt fine nothing was happening just hot and miserable. After the dinner at my grandma's we went over to my parents and joked about how we were all so sure she'd be here. My cousin Jenna came over and insisted on putting doterra oils on me to induce my labor. After weeks of trying everything you could think of to induce labor and having it be my due date I was willing to try everything. after the first 30 of her putting oils on my swollen feet and ankles I began to feel contractions. Not a big deal I have had plenty of Braxton hicks along the way and was so not willing to go to the hospital to be told to go home again. lol Yes I was one of those people. Anyways she would apply the oils every 15 mins and things were starting to happened. I didn't want to tell anyone because everyone was teasing me for trying it anyways, plus I was getting my feet and ankles rubbed. After 45 mins or so they were coming on stronger so I text Wes, who was sitting on the couch next to me that I felt contractions. He laughed and showed my dad and the teasing began. We left my parents a little while later and I kept applying the oil every 15 mins until we reached Wes's parents and things were getting pretty intense. Then panic struck and I decided that I was fine with her being right where she was at and I wasn't ready for this. Well I ended up contracting every 10-15 mins through the night and I can honestly say neither Wes or I slept a wink through the night. He kept telling me lets just go to the hospital cause he didn't want to deliver in the car. I was still in denial and was fine keeping her right where she was at minus the whole contractions. Finally around 9:00 that morning I couldn't handle it anymore and I called the Doc to see if i could change my apt that day from 3:45 to something earlier, 1:30 was the earliest I could get in and still in a panic I wasn't pushing for anything quicker. Wes was scrambling putting bags,car seats, and cameras and all the things her had packed and lined up in her room for weeks in the car! (so cute). 1:30 finally came and the doc checked me and looked up at Wes and said "you guys wanna have a baby tonight," the look in Wes's eyes is something I'll never forget and the feeling I had when she said that will last in my memory forever. We hurried out of the office and rushed up to the hospital. I'm not quite sure but I think everyone on the freeway was driving extra slow and ridiculous that day. Ugh. We finally got parked and I was waddling into the elevator as fast as I could, only to wait for a much slower pregnant lady who clearly wasn't in as much pain as I was and her mother. Not wanting to be behind her I barged my way out of the elevator to the front desk only to be told to please sit on the extra hard couch and wait for just a moment while the lady messed around with papers on her desk.. No ma'am in not in labor and no I'm not in pain, just continue what you are doing! Grrr.. Wes looked extra worried as he was trying to keep me from flying off the handle. After signing and dating 20 plus papers I swear ( i think really only 2) we were finally in our room and in bed. The nurse came in and I had went from a 2-3 in the time it took to get from Payson to Provo. An hour later I was at a 4 and was told the epidural could be administered at anytime. Send him on in!  Lucky for me he was in a C- Section and finally came in 45 mins later and I was now a 5. The Anesthesiologist came in and started the epidural, they had me curl up in a ball and Wes was standing about me holding my hand. I had my chin to my chest and my eyes closed. I heard the nurse say are you ok, and I replied yes. Then she said no are you ok, I then tried to look up confused and then felt Wes lean a little more into me than he was before. I seen the nurse grab him and she was stuttering that he was fine. Never in my years of drawing blood and working at the hospital have I ever seen someone so ghostly pale. The giggles instantly kicked in and I was sure he was going to faint and I was going to be paralyzed. Moments later the epidural was in and the pain was gone. Things started to slow down after the epi was in so they started the pitosin. Around nine I was at a 10 and 100 percent complete and my water had been broke for about an hour and a half I was nervous and excited to get things started only to be told to wait for an hour and birth down.. huh? I patiently waited the hour and not a minute after the clock struck 10:15 the nurse came in and had me push. Couple sets of pushing and Rivers was moving. The nurse panicked and instructed me to stop pushing that she would grab the Doc. 15 mins went by and she peeked her head in to tell up the Doc was not there and would hopefully be there within 20 mins. Sure enough she came running in, in her gym clothes and began to cover her tennis shoes with covers and at 11:15 we started to push, Two pushes later she was out. The proud papa kept saying can you see her, can you see her?? She was absolutely perfect. They took her to get cleaned up and checked over. When I heard the nurse say call upstairs my heart had sank. The NICU came and checked her out and said she was OK. Then for the first time ever I got to hold my baby! For a split second I really think the world stopped. She looked up at me with her little beady eyes and I instantly fell so in love with her. She was gurgling and breathing really fast the nurse looked at me and called the NICU again. They decided they would take her in and do a complete check. Wes only got to hold her from my bed to the incubator 2 steps away and followed her to the NICU. After the Doc and nurse were finished with me they moved me down stairs into our room. An hour had pasted and no word from Wes, my parents, NICU or anyone at that. I started to worry the nurse came in and gave me a number to call and I was reassured that she was fine but would have to spent the night in the NICU. Wes came down and got me and we headed  up to see our sick little girl. 1 day turned into 8 long now foggy days. Rivers was diagnosed with Pneumonia after she aspirated fluid. She was treated with IV antibiotics twice a day. She was hooked up to a C-PAP machine for 4 days, a feeding tube for 6 and IV's and cords of all sorts. Wes and I were finally allowed to hold her after 3 days for only 15 mins periods twice a day. Wes was my rock. He was always positive and there when I broke. The night I was released from the hospital was terrible. We packed up our things, feed her and headed home around 11:30 p.m. , Neither on of us spoke a word the whole way home. Even though out little girl was in awesome hands its a sick empty feeling leaving them there. Our family was awesome, Rivers was never alone. After two days of having to go home with out her the Nurse gave me a room down the hall and I was able to stay with her and feed her through the night. Wes would stay with me when he was able too. It his prime time for rodeos and was back and forth alot.  It was a long 8 days, But on June 26th Rivers passed all of her tests and was finally able to come home with us!


Coming home!!