"Dear God Please Help Me" - morrissey

It looks like Paisley's prayers have been answered as today marks the one week anniversary since she came home from the hospital. That means that we have somehow managed to keep her alive outside of the watchful eyes of the nursing staff. Forgive us for patting ourselves on the back for a moment.

Since we haven't been able to keep up on the blog for the last 2 weeks or so, we thought we'd hit some of the highlights. We ended up going to the hospital at about 2 am on the morning of the 11th. They got us settled into a delivery room and by about 4 am, we were finally able to try and get some sleep. They had hooked Brandi up to a pitocin drip to try and initiate contractions but we really weren't able to make much progress until they decided to break her water at about 9am. It was at about this time that Brandi was able to answer a long nagging question: How do labor contractions differ from Braxton Hicks contractions? It wasn't long after that where we were introduced to the modern miracle of epidurals. For the next several hours everything seemed to progress smoothly and before we knew it, they were telling us that Brandi was dilated to the magic number of ten. It seemed that the only issue was that Paisley was face up and so in attempting to turn her face down, they kept Brandi rotating from laying on her left and right side. Which was pretty tricky since the anesthesiologist gave her so much extra juice to compensate for her extra height (5'10" isn't really that tall, but Brandi wasn't objecting) that she was a virtual paraplegic. Not so good for lower limb management, pretty great for labor. The rest was just like the movies. A little "push, push, push" followed by the supportive "You're doing great, Breathe!" There was a little concern when they had Brandi start pushing before the doctor showed up and Paisley's heart rate would drop to half its normal rate but would recover fairly quickly after the contraction. The doctor finally showed up and thought it was an issue of the cord being around Paisley's neck but didn't seem too concerned and so we pushed on.
















As previously reported Paisley made her world debut at 2:49pm weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and stretching out to 19 inches. In a follow up visit, they've shrunk that to 18 1/4 inches which was surprising but she's got arms, hands, and feet that give us faith that she will soon enough grow into her full potential. For those who don't know, Tim is 6'6" tall. But for now, she's so cute and little that even her smallest outfits drown her. We stopped into Baby Gap the other day to pick her up a few preemie onesies. As also suspected, she came out with a full head of hair.

Mom and baby were released from the hospital last Friday morning and we've been hanging out at the house reading, making progress and a few mistakes but really enjoying the time that we've had to get to know each other. We've had some family visit from both sides which was nice and helpful while Tim has been able to take time off work to help a little as well.

Paisley has been such a good baby. She sleeps quite a bit and very seldomly cries. The feeding sessions have been the cause of a little frustration but not nearly as bad as the ones in the hospital with the nursery staff and their very hands-on, over-the-shoulder approach. Even though she's been working us over with her diaper situation, we're just so in love with this bundle and are excited for all the time that we'll be able to spend together while she grows up.

Green Means Go

The last week can only be described as physically and emotionally exhausting but there are a few pieces that are worth mentioning here.

The first story is just the absolute irony of life. Last Tuesday we were racing from Las Vegas to Salt Lake to catch Tim's ailing father in time but only made it half way before the dreaded phone call. As we pulled off at the next exit to have a cry and collect ourselves, Brandi noticed where we were. Cedar City. The exact exit of the fateful event that started this whole blog. Practically under the shadow of Applebee's and Walmart. This place must be our Bermuda Triangle where life appears and disappears.

Had we not been so close to the beginning of one life, we would have easily made the end of the other. Tim's mom had informed us Sunday afternoon that his dad had been admitted to the hospital early that morning because of some shoulder discomfort. This development wasn't too unusual and he was scheduled for several tests the next few days to get a better idea of his recent lack of energy. By Monday morning the situation had deteriorated greatly and a tearful call from Tim's aunt signalled the decision to head to Salt Lake as soon as possible. Being so close to Brandi's due date on top of an already high risk pregnancy, neither of us felt comfortable making the trip without an okay from the doctor first. The doctor's office wasn't able to fit us in on Monday so we were forced to wait out for Brandi's previously scheduled appointment Tuesday morning.

After the appointment Tuesday morning, we received two exciting pieces of news. The first was, after giving us a copy of Brandi's chart, we got clearance to make the drive to Salt Lake. The second piece of news was that the doctor wanted to schedule a date to induce Brandi. I hope everyone is ready for this, because it appears that Paisley Sage will be joining our little family on July 11. So yeah, in like a week. As described previously, we have a history of performing well with deadlines, but this might be a little too tight. With all of the excitement we lost 2 weeks of our growing "To Do" list. Tick tock. Tick tock.

"It's not goodbye; it's goodnight."

Wayne Ricks
1943 ~ 2007
Ernest Wayne Ricks died June 26, 2007, after a courageous 16 year battle with cancer. He was born in Ammon, Idaho, September 10, 1943, to Lawrence and Zola Ricks who taught him on the family farm a work ethic that served him throughout his life. Wayne graduated from Bonneville High School and then served an LDS mission in North Germany. His marriage to Sue Ann Yospe on June 14, 1968, in the Salt Lake Temple was the beginning of a wonderful, eternal life together. He later earned an MA in Architecture from the U of U and became an accomplished architect and partner in the firm NJRA Architects. He belonged to the Sugarhouse Kiwanis Club where he had served as president and Division Lieutenant Governor. Wayne loved the Savior and faithfully served in many church callings including Bishop of the Stratford Ward, President of the SL Highland Stake singles branch, scout leader, teacher, and nursery leader, but his favorite callings were Dad and Grandpa. He attended Woodbadge and was recognized with the Silver Beaver Scouting Award and District Award of Merit. He enjoyed cheering for the Utes, golfing, fishing, and being with his family. He was a kind, compassionate man with a quiet sense of humor who was loved by all those who were privileged to be associated with him. Survived by his sweetheart Sue Ann, children Christine, Rebekah (Gabe) Turcsanski, Tim (Brandi), Deborah, Rachelle (Nate) Jeppson, grandchildren Ashlin, Jonah, Natalie, Taylor, and Kennedy, all who love and will miss him dearly. Two more sweet spirits will soon join his posterity. We thank all those who served his medical needs over the years and helped lengthen his time with us. Services will be held Saturday, June 30, at ll:00 a.m. at the Stratford Ward 2605 S 1500 E. Viewings will be held Friday, June 29, from 6-8 p.m. at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary 3401 S Highland Dr, and Saturday from 9:45 to l0:45 a.m. prior to services at the church.