On Sunday, November 11, Tom and Spencer got up early to attend a Stake Priesthood Meeting at 7 a.m. I couldn't sleep that well so I got up with them and began to put dinner in the crockpot. Tom went out to the car then came back with a surprise! He told me to look outside and to our surprise, there was a blanket of pure, white snow on the ground! We didn't know it was going to snow this morning and it was SO beautiful! Well, off the boys went to their meeting, then around 7:30 a.m. Kelsey called me. She was in labor! This time those contractions were not stopping and she was really hurting. She and Aaron were going to head to the hospital. She asked if Tom could come and assist Aaron in giving her a blessing. When Tom came home from the meeting, I told him to stay in his suit and head over to the hospital. Kelsey was going to have her baby today! Tom arrived and was able to help Aaron give her a blessing. He said that Aaron spoke such beautiful things in the blessing about how this child would be a strong disciple of Christ and how special his name was. While they were in triage, waiting through the contractions until she could be admitted to the hospital, Aaron read Kelsey scriptures about the prophet, Elijah. It was a tender time for them.
I was on "food duty." Aaron was super hungry and so was Kelsey, but I knew that if she were to be admitted, the nurses wouldn't want Kelsey eating anything before she had the epidural. Aaron asked me if I could grab him a McGriddle from McDonalds, ha ha! So, I stopped by McD's and grabbed a few McGriddles, hashbrowns, and orange juice. When we got there, Kelsey was really hurting. She was super brave and handled it gracefully. Well, she progressed to 4 cm dilation and they admitted her. She asked for an epidural and had to wait only about 20-30 min for the doctor to come. While waiting, a student nurse tried getting the IV needle in her arm and failed about 3 times. Finally, a RN came in and got the needle in---Kelsey said that actually hurt more than the epidural did! After the epidural, it only took her about 3 hours to progress quickly to a 9. Aaron was downstairs getting a hamburger with his mom but when he got my text that she was at a 9, he began running back! The doctor came in and checked her. I told him that all 4 of my babies came posterior and he told me that all of his babies came the same way. He made it a priority to learn how to help mothers with this difficult delivery, so he TURNED the baby around inside her! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. He asked Kelsey to breathe, then hold her breath for 10 seconds while he maneuvered the baby around. After about 3 breaths, he was in position and ready to come out. I was SO glad that she didn't have to deliver a baby face up. That is SO rough on the mom. Soon, she was at a 10 and the nurse began helping her push to get the baby to descend. It was amazing timing to have this baby come on a Sunday because Tom wasn't at work, I wasn't teaching at BYU, Spencer and Hailey weren't at school, and Aaron wasn't at work. We were ALL able to be there. Cindi, Aaron's mother, was also in the delivery room with us. (Spencer and Hailey waited in the hall) Tom stood to the side of Kelsey and I stood where I could see the baby's head crowning. He had SO much dark hair we all couldn't believe it! As his little head began to appear, I could see his sweet little face. The most amazing feeling came over me---I suddenly felt my ancestors and their presence. I didn't see anything or anyone, but I felt heaven close by. I then looked at my daughter, giving birth to this sweet son and saw the generations that will come after me and I felt myself in between the old and the new. I knew right then and there that I didn't want to be the weak link in the chain of my family. I wanted to remain strong for all of them. It was a heavenly experience for me and as that sweet little soul took his first breath, the tears just flowed! We were all crying! As Aaron cut the cord and they laid little Elijah on Kelsey's chest, they just sobbed and sobbed. It was such a miraculous experience that there aren't quite words descriptive enough for it. Afterwards, Kelsey said, "All I've ever wanted is to be a mother and now it happened to me!" She and Aaron are going to be the best parents and this little grandson of ours is going to be VERY loved!!!
Elijah Aaron weighed in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He is perfectly healthy and so beautiful! A little while later, after all the nurses had left and Aaron walked his mom out, it was just our family (minus Kohler and Suzy who wished they could have been there!). I asked everyone if we could pause and say a family prayer because for months now we have been praying and asking that this little boy would be born healthy and strong. Now that he was here and our desires came to pass, we needed to thank Heavenly Father.
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