Gratitude & Memories

Over the past couple weeks I have spent many quiet nighttime hours awake feeding Tyler and coaxing him back to sleep. This has given me a lot of time to think. Quite a few of these hours my thoughts turn to my dad. I often think that losing my dad just plain stinks! It isn't fair. Why did I have to lose my dad? Accidents like his happen to other people, they don't happen to us. I still need him. I may be 30, but it doesn't make my reliance on his opinions and advice any less. He was way too young to go. We had plans for the future...and now everything, really everything is different.

Then yesterday I attended the general relief society broadcast. Being able to hear the words of the general authorities is a tremendous blessing. It is when I am in an environment such as this that I can feel the spirit and feel closer to my Heavenly Father than in most other places. The speakers weren't talking about this specifically, but I got the impression that I shouldn't dwell on what I have lost, but rather the blessing and opportunity that I have had to know such a man as my dad and have him as my dad for all these years. I have years and years of wonderful memories. I got to have a dad that loved me more than just about anything and still does. How blessed I am to have all of this and although he is not here with us now, his influence will continue throughout my life.

Dad - thank you for everything! I miss you!

Proud Big Brother

Parker is a proud big brother. He loves to give Tyler kisses....he just has a hard time understanding that we shouldn't smother the baby. We are still working on the meaning of "gentle" and "soft". When Tyler gets a little bit bigger, I'm sure they will have so much fun and get in plenty of trouble together. For now, Parker is a little jealous of all of the attention Tyler gets, especially when it comes to feeding time. We'll keep working on it!

Peaceful Slumber

Wendie was in town for business for a few days so we got to have her take some pictures of Tyler for us. Here he is... 5 days old.

Introducing Tyler Christopher Davidson

The latest addition to our family is Tyler Christopher Davidson. He was born this past Wednesday, September 9th (9/9/09) at 9pm. We didn't plan that - just got lucky. I started having contractions about 2:30 in the afternoon or so that were about 5 minutes apart. The intensity kept growing stronger and finally we went to the hospital at 5:30. We skipped triage and went straight to a delivery room to get started. After what seemed like a quite a while of having painful contractions, the anesthesiologist started the epidural which gave fairly immediate relief. I have to say that the process of actually getting the epidural started and in the right place was less than pleasant this time around, but it was worth it for the sense of relief that came afterwards.

Pretty soon after the epidural, Tyler's heart rate started to deccelerate and was staying low for five or six minutes. The nurse called for help because nothing she could do would make the heart rate go back up. The nurse called the doctor, requested c-section meds, and pretty much told me that I would have to have a c-section in the next few minutes because the baby's heart rate was too low and he wasn't in any position to be delivered. I'm sure my eyes were as wide as could be, but I tried to remain calm....there wasn't too much I could do at that point. The charge nurse came and checked me and said I was fully dialated and we needed to have the doctor come to deliver the baby, not to do a c-section. Apparently the reason for the deccelerated heart rate had more to do with my body changing and preparing for the birth so quickly more than any thing else. What a relief!! Sure enough, the doctor came a couple minutes later and I started pushing and shortly after we had a baby. He had the cord wrapped around his neck (just like Parker), but everything else went smoothly and we had a healthy, crying, 8 lb baby boy.

In terms of the baby's name, I really wanted to honor my dad. However, my dad didn't like his own name at all and would have cringed at the idea of passing it on to another child. I remembered a couple months ago that he told me what I would have been named if I had been a boy...Tyler Christopher. So, Tyler Christopher it is in honor of my dad. At least I know he has a shining seal of approval on that name. Hopefully Tyler can be like in grandpa in many ways!

Rainy Afternoon...

...at least for 10 minutes.

Rainstorms are definitely a novelty around here. Parker is enjoying every minute of it!