Benson's Birth Story (Part 2)

The following day, Wednesday January 4th, I woke up so sick! I was actually GLAD the induction had been moved to Friday at that point.  Also, I had talked to my mom and she had been thinking of driving to Vegas with my sister in law, but when she found out they wouldn't induce Sierra until Friday she decided to wait and drive with my dad that day.  I talked to her on the phone that morning and she said "just watch, now that I decided not to come she will go into labor."  Well, at about noon that day Ben came to find me in Kimmie's house where I was taking a hot bath trying to help myself feel better.  He was calling for me and I could tell something was up by the tone of his voice.  It was...they were on the way to the hospital, Sierra's water was "leaking".  Seriously? There was no way I was going anywhere being so sick! Ben got ready and took himself to the hospital.  I was SO worried that our little man was going to be born that day and I was not going to be able to meet him.  Ugh, talk about frustrating.  My mom was pretty upset about the timing too.  But, even with all that going on, there was sheer excitement of the fact that this little guy was finally on his way!
The day went on, Ben stayed at the hospital and then ended up in a different location than me.  (Long story, details to be shared someday, but not now)  That day was probably one of the longest and most stressful of my entire life.  I can't really give all the details of what made it stressful (in addition to being deathly ill and our sons birth mother being in labor), but let's just say that I have NEVER felt more anxiety than I did that day. We were about 99.9% positive that Sierra was sure of her decision, so it wasn't that.  Our concerns came from other places and comments that were made by people involved.  I wish I could give the details and maybe someday I can, but let's just say I felt the whole thing being ripped out from under me and could do nothing about it.  It was the worst feeling ever! I am grateful for Byron Williams who gave me the best advice that night and literally saved my sanity that weekend.  He pretty much told me to just suck it up.  We were SO close to the end, so close to finally having this baby, just suck it all up and smile through it and keep my mouth shut.  Anyone who knows me knows that is extremely difficult for me.  Talk about a learning experience!
I finally started feeling better (physically) and therefore went to go be with Ben.  It was SO nice to be back together and talk through everything that was going on and just be together while our little guy was being born.  Sierra's birth plan did not include us being at the hospital while she was in labor, so we spent the night receiving and waiting on texts from the caseworker letting us know what was going on.  It was probably the worst night of sleep ever (probably didn't help that Ben and I were sleeping on a couch together, one of us lying down while the other sat upright).  I couldn't complain though, because no matter how uncomfortable or anxious we were, this amazing girl was in the most amount of pain she has ever experienced, suffering in order to give us the most amazing gift possible.  Obviously, my discomfort was NOTHING compared to what she was experiencing.  For journaling purposes I will give you some of the details though.  These are the details I received through text messages from the caseworker who was at the hospital with Sierra and her mom.

2 PM Everyone arrives at the hospital and the doctor says they will induce labor today.
8 PM Start pitocin and contractions really start around 8:45
10:25 PM she was dilated to a 6 and we were told she would get the epidural then
11:03 AM water actually broke, experiencing very heavy contractions, dilated to an 8
12:30 AM finally gave her the epidural
3:53 AM dilated to a 10
5:47 AM Sierra has a fever and they have to give her antibiotics.  There is concern she may have to have a c-section.
6:48 Start pushing
9:03 AM BENSON IS BORN!!!!

These are the texts I received and the moment that my life changed forever!!

The second picture (first picture exposes too much) that we received of our son!  He doesn't look too happy to be here, but we were ecstatic!!

Benson with his amazing birth mom right after his birth.  

I know a lot of people are sad for us that we missed out on actually being there for when our son was born.  Don't feel sad for us.  We had our own amazing, overwhelming and spiritual experience when he entered this world and will remember those moments forever.  We immediately began texting our family and friends and sharing the joy!!  

More to come.  

Benson's Birth Story (Part 1)

So, I realize that a lot of people would love to hear the story of Benson's birth and it is so very important to have written down for him and for our family history.  The problem is, that takes time and time is something I do not have right now.  I know newborns sleep most of the time and Benson is no exception to that rule, but somehow the days and nights are flying by and I feel like I am getting nothing done.  But I continue to remind myself that spending time with him and taking care of myself are more important than making sure I update my blog regularly or clean up his nursery.  I do apologize for the delay in blogging though.  I have written down about his birth and placement in an actual journal, so at least it is written somewhere.  I am planning to tell the story in parts, because people.....it is long!



Part 1

When Benson hadn't made his arrival by December 27th (due date was December 30th) we made the decision we would make our way down to Las Vegas for Sierras (the birth mom) "final" doctors appointment and just stay in Vegas until the baby was born.  It was the holidays so Ben was out of school and I had a few days off of work and it seemed to be a good plan.  We had the chance to spend the holidays with all of our family and spend time with those that were visiting out of town before leaving, so it really was great timing.  We packed up the car with two weeks worth of stuff for ourselves as well as a newborn.  Let me tell you, trying to prepare for a baby when you have never had one is hard enough, but trying to know what you will need for the first two weeks of a babies life and pack that is nearly impossible.  We pretty much packed the car with anything we thought we might possibly need.  We also had to bring the breast milk that a very thoughtful friend had been freezing for us, so getting that ready and taken care of was an additional task.  We were finally ready and on our way first thing in the morning on December 29th.  We went straight o Kim and Byron's (probably the BIGGEST blessing in the baby being born in Vegas is that my very best friend lives there and we had a great place to stay for free.  HUGE), dropped off all of our stuff and drove right to the doctors appointment.  Everyone was excited and Sierra was looking like she was pretty ready.  Well, the doctor had a different idea.  Sierra wasn't at all dilated and the doctor just said to keep doing what she had been doing and come back the following Tuesday if the baby hadn't arrived yet. We did get to hear his heartbeat again and the doctor confirmed he looked big and healthy, so that was a relief.  We were anxious for him to get here, but doing our best to be patient.  We spent the next couple of days hanging out with Kimmie and Byron as well as spending more time with Sierra.  On Friday, Sierra's due date, we went to lunch with just her and the case worker.  It was a lot of fun to just spend more time with her, chatting and getting to know her better.  She truly is an amazing girl, wise beyond her years!  We also got to go to Chuck E Cheese for the 2nd time that following Monday with she and her family, so that was a lot of fun.  We got to spend a fun New Years Eve with Kim and Byron as well as Matt and Krissy (Kimmie's brother and soon to be sister in law).  We definitely didn't hurt for fun while we were waiting.

Kimmie and I on New Years Eve.  She is such a good hostess!

We went back for Sierra's doctors appointment on Tuesday, SO anxious to have the doctor say she would induce her.  It was already 4 days after the due date:).  I think I have a hard time being patient....well, Ben was SO impatient.  He had the hardest time waiting and just having no idea when it was going to happen.  I am sure all first time parents feel some of that, but it's a completely different experience when you are not the one that is pregnant or feeling any of the pains or the signs that come with pregnancy.  It is also really hard when you aren't the one who can ask the doctor to induce.  I understand why induction isn't the best idea,but it is also hard when someone else is carrying your baby and their mom is saying that no matter how late she is they won't be inducing.  That is a crazy feeling because there is nothing you can say or do.  That is true about most of the adoption process.  We are SO blessed to be in the adoption world and to have this beautiful baby boy, but it is such a hard thing to experience the feeling of being completely out of control in something that is SO important and life-changing for us.  Anyway, moving on.  The doctor weighed Sierra and checked the baby.  Sierra had gained 6 lbs in the previous 4 days.  She was also dilated to a 1 (lol, I know that's nothing, but we were SO excited that something was happening.  Ben was starting to make jokes about how the baby was just going to stay in there forever).  The doctor did say that because of the weight gain and the size of the baby she would like to schedule an induction for the following Day, Wednesday January 4th.  We were ecstatic!  We went back to the house, cleaned, took a long nap......and then got a text from the caseworker that there were no beds available and therefore the induction had been moved to FRIDAY.  Ugh, 3 more days of waiting.

(I will stop there for now but if you need a Benson fix in the meantime, check out the pictures on facebook here or here

Totally Worth the Wait!

Benson Kekoa Crisanto

Born January 5th, 2012 at 9:06 AM

9lbs  19.5 inches

Our First Family Picture

Completely in love

I want to sit down and write a novel about the last couple of days of our lives.  It has been the most amazing time for us.  Right now though, I will just tell you that our little man has finally arrived.  After 5 years, 9 months and 26 days of waiting....he is here!  We are in heaven!  Thank you for all of your love and support.  I will post more pictures and details soon.  If you would like to see more pictures of this gorgeous baby I have posted a bunch on facebook.

Baby Showers

I have amazing family and friends who have been so supportive and extra excited that baby boy is on his way.  We wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to join with us in celebrating and we did that through four baby showers.  This was another one of those things that I always wondered if I would get a chance to have.  Although I don't love being the center of attention, I do love that we finally had the chance to have baby showers for OUR baby!  It was awesome and just so much fun.

1.  Ben's family and friends in Oregon while we were there for Thanksgiving thrown by Ben's mom and sisters  

Ben's "white mom" (Kevin's mom).

One of Ben's best buddies, Jared, and his awesome wife Amy.

Ben and Jared

Carissa (Nelson), baby girl and me.

I made Ben open the gifts, it was awesome~

The Alcorn Family

Gotta love the crazy faces:).  Cindy and Nanay (soon to be Lola)

Ben, me and Nanay (Mom)

2. My parents ward (currently our ward) as well as our extended family thrown by my mom and sisters 

The invitation (designed by Tiffany)

yummy cupcakes

Everything looked so cute!

 3. My co-workers, friends from California, friends from high school, etc thrown by Jennica Thompson and Amy Pulsipher.

Cute Decor and treats

Tia, Carmen and Emily playing a game

Opening gifts, got lots of adorable items from everyone!

Kelly, Amy and me

The Johnson girls that were there, Tiffany, Rachelle, Carmen, Mom and Jessica.

 4. Our Lehi ward and neighborhood friends thrown by Jenn Ross, Jenny Lynes and Marisa Seitzinger

More adorable treats and a very yummy cake by Marisa.

So cute!  This is where I got the name banner that is now hanging over Benson's crib.

I love shower games, measuring how much water a newborn diaper holds.

More cute gifts

Jenn and her cute carseat cover!  I love having talented friends (and I have lots)

Jenn is going to kill me for posting this, but seriously, the best picture ever!

Jenny, Jenn, Marisa and me.  Love these girls!

Thank you to everyone who came to one of the showers, bought us gifts and amazing items for the baby and just for all of your love and support.  We are SO blessed!