Kyler's Newborn Pics

So, my SIL, Jana, is an awesome photographer, and offered to take newborn pics of Kyler for me.  She drove up to Logan when he was just a few days old and spent a few hours with me getting some awesome pictures of the babe.  They are priceless to me, and I'm so grateful that she has the talent to take such awesome pictures.  And that she's willing to share that talent with us.

Grandma Ruth Interview

Just a short clip interviewing my Grandma Ruth about her time as President Thomas S. Monson's Primary and Sunday School teacher.  More coming later . . .

Kyler Jacob Shaffer (birth story)

So, it's only taken me a little over eight months to write this post, but I am writing it because I don't want to forget.  Although, I'm sure I've forgotten some aspects since it has been a while since his birth.  But, anyway, here we go:

So, my due date was May 12, 2013, which landed on Mother's Day.  We thought it would be cool if he was born on Mother's Day, but the day came and went with no baby boy.  I was exhausted, sore, very heavy, and very emotional.  I spent a good chunk of the day on the 13th updating the blog with the various surgeries we'd had throughout the past several months, and went to bed depressed.  The 14th I woke up to a contraction, but nothing else.  By the time Brandon came home from work, I was ready to burst into tears.  (In fact, I think I did.)

His brother, Jason, called and asked if we'd like to meet them over at Bridger Elementary to watch him fly his model airplane, and just let the kids play.  I told Brandon to take the kids and go, but the more I thought about it, the more appealing it sounded to get out of the house.  So, we all went, and had a wonderful, relaxing evening.  I went to bed that night still very sore and tired, but not so depressed.

The morning of Wednesday, May 15th, I woke up at 5:21 with a contraction that lasted over a minute.  Six minutes later, I had another, longer, one.  They kept coming every 3 - 7 minutes, and I knew I was in labor.  Having felt it four times previous, and I knew this was it.  By 8:00 that morning, they had backed off to under a minute each, and were becoming more and more spaced apart.  But, I was expecting that.  All of my labors have started off really strong, and then backed off.  I've always needed some sort of intervention to keep my labors going, whether it was pitocin, or breaking my water.

Around 9:00, we decided it was time to head up to the hospital.  Gavin had already headed off to school, but Scott & Braden had a late start since it was Wednesday.  We had told them I was in labor, and they were ecstatic!  Scott texted his young men's leader, Rialey Hawkes, (whose wife, Kim, was my 2nd counselor in the RS, and due just 6 days after me), only to find out that they were already up at the hospital in labor!  At all of our RS presidency meetings, we had joked that Kim & I would be hospital buddies, and have our kiddos on the same day.  We had no clue it would really happen!

LaRean came to pick up Connor and take the older boys to school.  Scott was beaming and SO excited!  Pretty sure Braden was bouncing up and down, and Bear was just excited to be spending the day with Grandma.

When we got to the hospital, we gave our birth plan to the nurse that was assigned to my room (I think it was Joni).  She let us know that Dr. Blackett was off that day, so Dr. Kirkman would be delivering the baby.  (He also delivered Connor because Dr. Blackett had the day off.)  She checked me and I was dilated to a 4 and 70% effaced (around 11:00 AM), but the baby was still VERY high, and didn't seem to be dropping.  After some more monitoring, Joni found that my contractions were backing off even more.  I was adamant about not wanting pitocin, so she said she'd call the Dr. and have him come in and discuss our options.

Part of my birth plan was that only Brandon, my nurse, and the doctor be in my room during labor and delivery, but the nurse said that there was a resident there who was trying to do all of his requirements, and the only thing he hadn't done yet, was put a fetal monitor on.  We gave our permission to have him do that, and then vacate the room.  He talked with us while placing the monitor, and in the course of the conversation, we slipped Kim & Rialey's names in, and told them that Rialey had just graduated as a nurse.  Of course, he couldn't give any details away about who was at the hospital, but while he was placing the monitor, he got a call on his headset that they needed his help holding the legs of a woman that was ready to push.  Brandon & I looked at each other and just grinned.  We figured it was Kim.

I told the nurse that I wanted to be up and moving as much as possible, that I didn't want to be tied to the bed or a monitor, and she was able to work it out for us.  She got a portable fetal monitor that we could carry around with us, so off we went to wander the halls.  My contractions were still pretty far apart, but when I did have them, they were VERY intense.  I had to work to breathe through them, and lean on Brandon or the wall so that I wouldn't fall down.

We headed back to our room to get some ice chips and to sit down for a bit.  The Dr. came in and asked us how things were going.  I told him that my contractions had backed off, but that all of my labors had been like that.  He told us that he'd read in our birth plan that I didn't want to be started, and that breaking my water would be starting me.  I just rolled my eyes (in my mind) at him because I know my labors.  They've all done this, and they've all needed intervention to keep going.  I told him to go ahead and break my water, but that I still wanted to be up moving around.  I was dilated to about a 5+ at this point.

After breaking my water, the nurse put those lovely mesh underwear on, with a HUGE pad to catch any leaking waters.  It felt very weird to walk around the halls, leaking water every time I had a contraction, but I insisted on moving around.  I deal with pain by moving.  Joni had given us permission to take off the fetal monitor, but asked us to come back every few rounds of the halls to put it back on and check his heart rate.  Since breaking my water, the contractions started to get more intense, and finally picked back up in frequency.  I wanted to do this labor naturally, and was insistent that I was going to do it.

During one of the fetal heart checks, though, I had a HUGE contraction that brought tears to my eyes, and took my breath away.  I started crying, and told Brandon that I was a wimp, and couldn't do it.  (As I told Brandon I was a wimp, I was super embarrassed, and still am.  *sigh*  Oh well.)  I was tired of hurting, and just wanted to have the baby already.  So, around 1:30 or 2:00, we had the anesthesiologist come in and give me an epidural, but I still insisted on no pitocin unless my body quit progressing.

After he gave me the epidural, we were able to relax a bit.  I checked my facebook, and email, and even texted a bit with Scottie at school.  I was very vague with my FB post.  All I put was, "So, yeah . . ."  It was fun to read all of the comments from friends and family asking, "So, yeah, what??  We need an update!!!"  Brandon wandered out to get a sandwich and a drink since he was starving, we watched a little bit of TV, played (I think) Ticket to Ride (electronic), and just chilled.

Checking email and Facebook . . .

. . . the epidural is kicking in.  (Can you tell how exhausted I was, though?)

But, then, the dr. came in to check me around 3:00, and everything started to happen.  I was dilated to a 10, and ready to push, so everyone jumped.  The dr. suited up, the nurse called the nursery team to bring the cart in (there was no meconium in the amniotic fluid - first one of my kiddos that HASN'T had meconium, so we didn't have to have a whole NICU team in there - just one nurse), she dropped the table into position, and then told me to push whenever I felt like it.

However, it was SO hard.  The baby was still very high, and not dropping.  The Dr. told me to keep pushing whenever I wanted.  (It would have been more effective for them to tell me when I was having a contraction so that I could work with my body, but that didn't happen.  Brandon picked up on it, though, and started telling me when I was having one, which helped quite a bit.)

But, I was still really struggling, because while the epidural took effect in my stomach so I couldn't feel the contractions, I could feel everything in my legs and in between my legs, and it HURT!  I think I would rather have felt all of the contractions instead of just feeling the pain between my legs.  I ended up crying quite a bit during the pushing.  I spent the longest time pushing during this birth than any of my other births - over 30 minutes pushing.  Usually, I only have to push for 10 minutes or so.  After crying that I couldn't do it anymore, and asking where the baby was, I was told that he was finally crowning.  I could feel his head emerging, but was still so exhausted.  I had to lay back and rest, but because it hurt so much, I didn't rest long.  After a few more pushes, he was finally born.

I looked up at the clock and it said 3:45, but the nurses took a couple of minutes before they looked at the clock and decided 3:49.  "That okay with you?  Sure, that works for me," they said to each other.  I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run, but I'm still thinking he was born at 3:45.  10 1/2 hour labor - my shortest ever!

So, he was born on May 15, 2013 at 3:45 (or 3:49) pm.  8 lbs. 9 oz (Gavin was the only baby heavier at 8 lbs. 10 oz) and 20" long.  With lots (for my kiddos) of hair on his little head.  The dr. let me tear instead of doing an episiotomy, so he stitched me up (one stitch), my nurse cleaned me up, the nursery nurse cleaned the baby up and did all of the newborn stuff he needed done, while Brandon took pictures.  They finally gave him back to me, and I just teared up.  He was so perfect.

8 lbs. 9 oz.

Measuring his head . . .

"Dad, what are these people doing to me?"

Dad, meeting Kyler . . .

. . . and Mom meeting Kyler.

We were taken up to our recovery room, where I was able to shower, and the nurse came in to give the baby a bath.  We still hadn't decided on a name, so while she bathed him, we talked back and forth about a name.  We were deciding between Kyler, Jaxton, (our two top names), Camren, and Callen.  After a couple of hours, we settled on Kyler, but still didn't have a middle name.

First bath . . .

. . . on Mom's bed.

Pretty good shot of his cute face, and all of his hair

We went to bed tentatively settled on Kyler J. Shaffer, but when Brandon came up the next day, we started talking again.  At one point, we had settled on Kyler Jon.  But, even though Jon is a (Shaffer) family name, we kind of wanted to name him after a grandpa.  So, Brandon started looking at our genealogy, and found a Jacob Shaffer in his line.  He was born in Europe, and was the first Shaffer to immigrate to America.  And, of course, Jacob Hamblin is my great-great-great-great grandpa, who is well known for negotiating with the Indians in Southern Utah.  We wrote it down a couple of times, said it out loud, and both liked it.  So, we named him Kyler Jacob Shaffer.

Grandma brought the boys up to meet their new brother, and they were just in heaven.  Well, most of them.  Connor was a little concerned that I was in the hospital, and he immediately climbed up into the bed with me to cuddle and make sure I was all right.  The rest of the kids just fell in love with Kyler (although, some didn't love his name as much, but they've since come around.)  They stayed for a little bit, and then headed home with Grandma for dinner and bed.  Brandon went home later that night to sleep, and then came back up the next morning.

"Oh look at him!  He's so cute!"

"Awww!"  (And, seriously, check out his hair!"

Scott holding Kyler

Gavin holding Kyler

Braden holding Kyler

Connor making sure Mom's okay!

We had a bit of a scare with him - the nurses said that his oxygen level kept dropping, so they had to put an O2 mask by his face to bring it back up.  He was nursing pretty good, but just wasn't getting enough to eat, so his blood sugar was too low.  They had us stay for an extra day to make sure it came back up.  So, we were there, in labor, on the 15th, then recovery on the 16th, and they let us go the evening of the 17th.  While I was there, I headed back down to the labor and delivery floor to soak in the big hot tub down there.  That felt SO nice to just soak in the hot water and relax!  And eat whenever I wanted.  And, drink as much apple juice as I wanted!  Kim & Rialey came and visited us in our room with their new little guy, Kaleb, so we had to get some pictures.  We still laugh that they were born on the same day!

Kaleb & Kyler - birthday buddies

Kim & Kaleb; Renee & Kyler

Anyway, we were finally able to go home, and start our life at home with this little guy.  We're sure glad to have this little boy in our home.  He's brought smiles, laughter, tears, exhaustion, and is growing up MUCH faster than we want him to, but he completes our family so much.

First picture with Mom & Dad

Ready to go home.  (That binky is HUGE!  And one of the only times he actually took one.)

All five boys finally at home

10 things . . .

Ten things you might not know about me . . .

1 - I hate having things on my feet.  Shoes, socks, slippers . . .  If I have to go out of the house on an errand, I will wear shoes and socks while I'm gone, and then will take them off almost as soon as I walk in the door.

2 - I hate having things on my neck.  Shirt collars, necklaces, kisses from Brandon, etc . . .  Most Sundays I can't even make it through the three hour block of church with a necklace on.

3 - Before I go to bed at night, all of the light switches have to be down.  (Unless it's in a room where we're running a ceiling fan.)  It drives me nuts not to have them all the same direction.  However, sometimes, I'll leave them switched to the last place they were switched to, just to prove that I can.  :)

4 - I have to have the closet doors in my bedroom closed at night, and have it as dark as possible, or I don't sleep well.

5 - When I was 16, I had a REALLY bad ear infection, and as a result, I have some significant hearing loss.  If I'm with a group of people and we're all chatting together, or in a busy place and we're talking, chances are that I can't hear what's being said, and I have to try to read lips, or base my reaction off the reactions of those around me.  :(

6 - Also as a result of that ear infection, I have tinnitus (ringing) in both ears.  All. The. Time.  Literally.  (And, I really do mean literally, literally!)

7 - I sleep with a stuffed football tucked up against my stomach.  If I don't have it, I don't sleep well.  My father-in-law always teases me about it, but it's true.  We once left it at my sister-in-laws house, and she couldn't find it for about a month . . .  That was one of the worst months of my life (as far as sleeping goes.)

8 - My favorite cookies are Keebler Grasshoppers.  Mint, chocolate, crunch.  Divine!!

9 - I'm fascinated with the Titanic.  I've often wondered if I had a relative that went down with the ship, but as far as I know, I don't.  I've even told Brandon that when I die, I would love to go back and experience that night, just to be there first hand.  Weird, I know.

10 - And, along with my love of music, I love to write.  Cute, funny, silly little poems are my favorite.  Our annual Christmas card is always a poem of the months.  Someday, maybe I'll try a book.

Physical Therapy six weeks later

Dr, Hutchinson asked us to come back down on May 8th to see how the physical therapy was going, and to see the progress Scott had made in his movements.  I was a bit nervous since it was so close to my due date (shouldn't have been - I ALWAYS go late), but ended up being nervous for a different reason.  I woke up the morning before with a pretty bad pain in my left shoulder thanks to a pinched nerve.  I was nervous I was still going to be hurting while we drove to SL (9 months pregnant), and unfortunately, I was.  I'm confident that prayers work, though, since I sent out a plea on facebook for my friends to pray that I'd make it through the day.  And between prayer and some Tylenol, I did.

So, anyway, we sent the other kids to school, packed up Scott & a Bear and headed down for our appointment.  I laid back as best I could in my chair, found a *somewhat* comfortable position, and tried not to move for the next hour and a half.  Scott listened to his MP3 player, and Bear just chilled. 

These are some of my old glasses that he has claimed as his own

We got to the dr.'s office, got checked in and then waited.  After about 15 - 20 minutes, they took us back to an exam room where we waited some more.  I spent most of my time sitting on a chair while hunched over the dr.'s rolling stool (stretching my back) having Brandon rub my back.  The finally came and got Scott for x-rays, and then the dr. came in about five minutes later.  When he saw me hunched over the stool, he was a bit worried that I was in labor.  :)

Just a few pictures of how nicely his hand has healed

So, Hutch examined his hand, and had him do his exercises, and was floored with how well his finger had healed, and how well he was able to move it.   He asked us to meet with Andrew again that day to get some more PT exercises, and to start meeting with a therapist once a week up in Logan.  He gave us a buddy band, and told us to come back in 6 months. (A buddy band is basically a small slip of adjustable "tape" that Scott is to wear when he's doing any sort of sports.  He's to tape his middle finger to his ring finger since the ring finger is longer.  That way, if he gets hit by a ball, the ringe finger will break instead of his middle finger.)

So, we headed back to Andrew's office where he said he'd be able to squeeze us into his schedule in about 30 - 45 minutes.  We were to be back to his office at 1:00.  (On a side note, this was right at lunch time.  We probably should have headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat, but we figured that the appointment with Andrew would only be a few minutes and we'd be okay to wait for lunch. But it lasted well over 30 minutes.  We were all VERY hungry by the time we left his office.  Especially the pregnant Mom.)

So, anyway, Andrew, and a new student, Randy, measured (in degrees) how much Scott was able to move his fingers, and then gave us some new exercises to do with Scott.  The evaluated how well the old exercises had been, praised Scottie for all of his work, and then really stressed how important these new ones are.  They don't want the tendon to seize up and get stuck to the bone, and get stuck with the scar tissue, so they emphasized how much we needed to do these.

Andrew helping him with some PT . . .

. . . followed by Randy

After we were done with the appointment, Andrew let Scottie pick out a toy.  They had some stuffed animals in the closet, and that's the first thing Scott went for.  He chose a cute little dog, and decided to name him Chocolate.  Andrew was so sweet, and also let Connor pick out a Hot Wheels car.  He was in HEAVEN, and so excited.

So, now, we have to make an appointment with the therapist up here, and really push Scottie on his exercises.  We're all very pleased with the progress that has been made, and look forward to more progress in the next six months!

Mom, Scott, Chocolate, & Connor

(Graphic pictures) taking the cast off, splint, and x-rays

April 10, 2013, we headed back down to PCMC to get Scottie's cast taken off.  The discharge instructions we were given after his surgery said to soak the cast until it was almost all the way off, then wrap it in a wet rag, that was wrapped in a plastic bag, and then come in.  So, we did that.  Scott was ecstatic to be getting it off and asked if I could take some lotion down with us to help with his itchy skin.

Soaking his hand.  It actually took a lot longer than I was expecting to soak it off. 

On the way up to Hutch's office.  We're excited!! 

The nurse taking the bag off . . . 

 . . . followed by the cast. 

Video of the nurse taking his cast off.  It is pretty graphic . . .

And it's off!

With lots of dead skin surrounding it.

And a cool new scar!

After the cast was off, the nurse and I rubbed a bit of the dead skin off, and then she grabbed a hemostat and took the first pin out - without telling us what she was doing.  We had assumed that Hutch would take the pins out, so this was a huge shock.  Scott started to cry, and pushed her hand away when she went to take out the next pin.  She literally held his hand down, had me hold his other hand out of the way, and just pulled.  It was so unexpected and painful that Scottie was literally in shock for about the next 30 minutes.

Taking the first pin out . . .

. . . and the second one's out

The above picture just breaks my heart.  You can see him crying, and I'm doing my best to hold him tight and just crying right along with him.  As the nurse left, she asked if she could do anything for him, and his only request was a glass of water.

His hand next to the two pins 

In total shock while we wait for the dr. 

The dr. examining the finger and his scar for infection

The x-ray checking placement of the pins before they were trimmed off

The before and after x-rays . . .

His hand before the surgery is on the right hand side . . .

After the surgery is on the left

A close-up of the results after surgery

After he had examined his hand, we went down to a little office and saw the x-rays, while he talked to us about physical therapy.  He called the PT over, Andrew Bracken, and told Andrew what he wanted in a splint, and what type of exercises he wanted Scottie to be doing for the next 6 weeks.

Dr. Hutchinson, and Andrew, the PT

So, we thanked Hutch, and then walked across the hall with Andrew to his office.  He sketched Scottie's hand, and then went to work forming a splint for him.

Tracing his hand on a napkin

Scottie liked the next part because to form the splint, Andrew had to stick the plastic into some very warm water to soften it up.  Once it was softened, he could put it on Scott's hand to mold it exactly how he wanted.  Scott loved that it was warm on his hand.

Forming the splint around Scott's hand

The splint he'd wear for the next 6 weeks

Once the splint was formed, Andrew showed us some exercises that we were to do with Scott to help get his joints moving again.  We were to hold his knuckles (like in the picture below), while Scott pulled his fingers down as far as he could.  Then hold at the middle knuckles while he did the same thing.  Then, he was to pull his middle finger towards his ring finger, and finally curl his hand into a fist as best he could.

Teaching us the PT for Scott's hand

Poor Scott was emotional and just ready to be done

Once we were done with Andrew, we made an appointment to see Dr. Hutchinson in 6 weeks for a PT follow-up.  Scott made some remarkable progress, and we're so proud of him.