Hello, Niki!!

NIKI JAMES RUSSELL

HAS ARRIVED!

Birthday:  August 16, 2014; 1:19 a.m.

 

Here he is at about 20 minutes old, I think.

 

Weight:  7 Lbs. 15 Oz.   Length:  21"

 

 

It took a while to get him here, but even Tosha (who did all of the hard work) said it was worth it when she got to see and hold this sweet little baby for the first time. We think he is adorable and perfect in everyway.

 

Tosha did awesome in labor.  She was in labor all through the night so Austen and I took turns being up with her and sleeping when we could.  Poor Tosha didn't get any sleep that night (nor much the few nights before either when she was having contractions.)  Their car was in the shop so I drove the two of them over to the hospital Friday morning.  When they checked her out, they said that she was in labor but hadn't made much progress.  She could either go home (if she wanted no medical intervention to speed up labor) or stay in the hospital if they would consider using the Pit or having her water broken.  At that point, staying in the hospital seemed important so they agreed if she didn't make progress that they would discuss options later in the day.

 

That decision made I went back to their apartment and got Jessica and Jena who were going to be part of Tosha's "pit crew".  We gathered together and settle in in Birth Suite One at the end of a very quiet hallway.

 

Labor and Delivery is Tosha's story to tell, but here are some pictures that Jessica, Jena and I took along the way.

 

Jena spent some of her time drawing a picture
for Niki.

Teamwork

Almost here--
this was not their regular doctor who was still
on vacation but the person on call.
They turned out to really like him and
if they have another baby in Oklahoma City will probably go
to see him.  I thought he was great as well.

He will love this picture in the family history!
What a cute face even when getting his mouth suctioned.

Jena headed over to get a closer look at her new nephew.

 Tosha had indicated that she was great with Jessica and Jena both being there when the baby was born but I wasn't sure what I thought about Jena being there.  It is a personal and intense experience and I didn't know if she was ready for that.  We had made a plan for her to sit in some chairs outside of her room if she got too distressed and decided it would be a "game time decision".  At one point she and I were out of the room together and I asked Jena if she remembered how babies are born (having two babies on the way had provided some opportunities to have these discussions with her).  She paused, gave me a look, then replied, "From Tosha" then started laughing.  I thought that was funny too.  Then she added: "From her tummy where the baby is."  With that and a few other pieces of information, we headed back.

It turns out that Jena takes life in stride.  She was calm and peaceful and very proud of herself and the help that she gave Tosha during labor.  For a couple of hours, Jena sat on a stool next to Tosha's bed holding her hand while she slept.  Occasionally, Tosha would open her eyes and  tell her thanks and Jena would be so happy.  Did I say that sisters are the best!

More early moments with Niki:

Niki's pit crew and fan club

 Seriously. I think that Tosha and Chantel are two of the prettiest women for just giving birth.  Their coloring was both good and they looked so great.  I remember feeling like I had just gotten run over by a truck.

This is Tosha at 1:30 a.m.  Niki was wide eyed for most of the first few hours of life.  His eyes seemed brown that morning but they are a little lighter now and more in that grey range.

Aunt Jessica



Aunt Jena

We stayed until around 3:30 or so.  Tosha and Austen stayed up until about 5:30 when Niki finally closed his eyes and slept for a long period of time.

The next day, I read him his first book: "I Loved You Before You Were Born".  I started crying before I even started.  In fact, I couldn't even start reading for a minute or so.  The feelings I felt were so strong for him and for Scarlett that the tears just flowed.  I was so grateful to my great friend, Robynn, who had sent me this book after finding out I was going to be a grandma.  Mostly I was grateful to my Heavenly Father for Scarlett and Niki.

And I hope that I will be able to read this book to each of my grandchildren as they arrive in this world--hopefully in person on that first day of life.  If not, I will read it to you the first time I see you.  Truly, I loved you before you were born!!!

So it really happened, I have a "Okie" for a grandchild.  He was actually born in the University of Oklahoma Edmond Hospital--can't get more Okie than that.  It turns out that I have a lot of relatives who were born in Oklahoma on my dad's side so he will fit right in.  (However I do hope to train him to cheer for BYU over Oklahoma!)

As a side note:  the hospital is located on Route 66.  For non-history buffs, this is the famous route people traveled during the depression to look for jobs in California.  Several movies and books made it even more famous.  My mom taught us to appreciate that when we lived in Amarillo which is another stop along Route 66.  I liked that.  It made my mom seem closer.  I know that she loves Niki too.

Speaking for myself,  I was really happy to head to bed on Saturday night and get a real night's sleep!  We left Tosha and Austen to enjoy their interrupted night of sleep with Mr. Niki at the hospital.