My Beautiful Boy

Isaac in his blankie basket.
Asleep in Daddy's guitar case.

Listening to a lullably.

Getting mad.

Peaceful.

Wide eyed.

Under his name in the nursery.

Bentley can't be left out.

Sleepy face.

Look alikes.

His favorite snuggle spot.

Our happy family.

Talking to momma.

How blessed we are.

I cannot believe it has almost been three weeks since I first held my sweet Isaac. I was told that time would fly as soon as he got here and that is so right. He is getting big so fast, eating well, sleeping decently well. I have never wanted to freeze time so badly before. I live in fear of March 25 and going back to work. I left Isaac with Ryland for 2 hours the other day and thought my heart was going to break. I love him so much. My Aunt Glenda described it as watching a piece of your heart parade around outside of your body. I am trying to savor every sweet moment that I can while he is little. We had our wonderful Ashley Ofosu come and take Isaac's pictures last Friday. Enjoy them and continue to keep us in your prayers.

Mindy

Also Congratulations to two other new mommies of sweet boys - September Wade with her son Jonas and Jessica Marshall with Jason.

The Birth and All the Fun After

Yay! I finally feel coherent enough to update you all on what my life has been like for the last week and a half. If you are a mother, you can totally relate when I say that having a baby is like a break in a timeline of your life. From the moment that you are handed a wet little crying baby there is the life that you had before, and the life you have now. Kind of like when you find your "one true love", for me there was life before Ryland and life that came after. But the funny thing is, it seems like life has always been this way, somehow even though it is new and scary, it all fits, just like a perfect puzzle piece.

The Birth Experience
On February 3rd we checked into our room at approximately 7:41AM. At 7:42 Linda, the best nurse ever, came in and made me change into my lovely hospital gown. She hooked me up to an IV, took my vitals and did all the stuff they do. Dr. K came in shortly after 8 and tried unsuccessfully to break my water. I was dilated to a 2 and 50% effaced at this point. This was one of the most painful parts of the day. They started me on a pitocin drip and I started having a lot of little, non-painful contractions. The nurse kept asking me if I wanted to have my epidural but my goal was to dilate to a 5 before I got one.

Family started to trickle in during the late morning and early afternoon. My brother, Lane was the first to get there, followed by my parents, Ryland's parents with his siblings and nieces, Ryland's grandparents Kenneth and Rosalie Bush, his uncle Kenyon, my cousins Chris and Debbie. (Please forgive me if I forgot anyone, I was on drugs at this point.)

Dr. K came back about 1:45 and was able to successfully break my water and I quickly dilated to a 5. I asked for an epidural around 2:00. :) The epidural was the scariest part of the process but Ryland stayed with me and looked right in my eyes throughout the whole ordeal. I immediately felt better.

I started feeling really intense pressure around 3:45 and told my nurse that I felt like I wanted to push. The nurse told me that I was 9 and three quarters dilated and it made perfect sense that I would feel the need to push. (Sidenote: It is amazing that your body knows exactly what to do. My body is never going to look like my pre-pregnancy self, but I will never take for granted how amazing it is.) The pressure became so intense that I needed more of the good stuff in my epidural. The anesthesiologist gave me some really good stuff and I was completely numb from my waist down. I even fell asleep for a few minutes before I started pushing. At one point I was so loopy that I told my dog, Sadie, to "lay down".

The nurse had me try and push to move the baby down. I pushed unsuccessfully through several contractions and they called my doctor to come in. At one point Isaac's heart rate dropped because the umbilical cord was around his neck. The team moved me to my side and he quickly recovered.

Dr. K showed up around 5:00 and began having me push. Isaac was stuck on my pelvic bone and wasn't moving down like he should. Dr. K made the decision to use forceps to grab him and then I pushed him the rest of the way out. Ryland and my Mom were both there to witness Isaac's entrance into the world.

At 5:32 I laid my eyes on the most beautiful, slimy little creature that I have ever seen. They laid him on my chest and my whole world shifted. I saw all the tears and heartaches and bad days wash away and I saw God's mercy and goodness wash over me. God gave me my perfect, complete, nothing that I could have done on my own, Isaac.

Next to sealing my wedding vows with a kiss, it was one of the most perfect moments of my entire life.

The Aftermath

Our anxious clan of family members waited to meet Isaac but the doctors left him with us for about 45 minutes so that I could feed him and we could bond. It was a precious time to reflect on what had just happened.

Our families flooded in shortly there after and passed him around to get a good look. The nurses whisked him off to give him a bath and check him over.

On Wednesday were had tons of visitors and we appreciated all the love that has already been poured upon our sweet boy.

The Recovery

Having a forceps delivery has presented some interesting facets of getting better. I had to have an episiotomy and on top of that I had third degree tearing up into my muscle tissue. I was unaware of just how painful and long the recovery part would be. Today Isaac is 9 days old and it is the first day that I have not taken any prescription pain medication. Simple things such as going to the bathroom or sitting flat were intensely painful. Much more so than actually giving birth. Fortunately my wonderful Momma came home with us and stayed for 4 days taking care of cleaning and laundry so that Ryland and I could focus on Isaac. These four days were the worst pain wise and I don't know how we would have done it without her.

At Home

Isaac met our furry kids and they have all gotten along great. Sadie takes every opportunity to lick Isaac on the head. Lexus treats him like a puppy and lifts his bottom up with her nose if he has a dirty diaper, she also gets very upset if we don't get to him immediately if he is crying. Bentley ignores him for the most part which is fine since Bentley is the most spoiled of all my dogs. I think they are all going to get a along great.

Ryland and I are learning the finer points of sleep deprivation and caring for a helpless little person, but more than anything I think we are are constantly in awe of what God has done through us. Everytime Isaac smiles or cries or eats we are reminded of where we came from and that even at 4AM we need to be thankful for the opportunity to change a poopy diaper or rock a crying baby. There was a time we prayed for that. And God answered our prayers with Isaac.


Please keep us in your prayers as we learn and love our precious gift from God. Pray that time moves slowly and that we can enjoy every minute that we have with our sweet baby. Thank you for the prayers along the journey, we couldn't have made it without them. And sleep well tonight, most likely we will be awake taking care of the best thing God ever gave us. We love you all.

Mindy, Ryland, and Isaac

Pics of Isaac

Here are a few snapshots from his first few hours....
Isaac and Joia, his 7 week old cousin. They are almost the same size.

Dr. K

Isaac Getting Weighed.

Ryland and his Mom and Dad with their first grandson.

Isaac Wade Russell is here!

Mindy holding our prescious Isaac. 7 lbs 15 oz, 21 inches long. Born at 5:32 pm. Pictures to come soon!

Ryland

Ps. Thanks for all your prayers, he is perfect!

All My Dreams Come True Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day. My son will be here tomorrow.

As I think back about the things that have lead to tomorrow I can't help but be amazed at all that God laid the foundation for when I didn't even know He was doing it. In short:

10 1/2 years ago I laid eyes on a scrawny little singing baseball player that was too young and immature for me to waste my time on. I was too old and cool for him. But God laughed, and before I knew it I was head over heels in love with the little boy who is going to be the best father in the world come tomorrow.

7 years ago I went to college with dreams of becoming a print journalist. But God laughed, and guided me toward my life calling of becoming a teacher and loving kids who don't have parents at home who fill their little love tanks. These needy ones taught me more about the importance of being a parent than any book ever could.

3 1/2 years ago I got married to my sweetheart and I thought that life would be easy and perfect. But God laughed, and cried I think. He lovingly took us through 2 very hard years of praying for and trying to have a baby. My body failed, my faith wore thin and I lost hope many times over. But in the end, God gave us the desire of our heart to show us mercy and help us to have more for others.

4 hours ago I heard my son's heartbeat and I cry now because tomorrow I will see his face and see in the flesh how God has tied so many loose ends and given me the third greatest gift in my life. And tomorrow when the doctor hands Isaac to me for the first time, God will laugh. He'll see once more that my silly plans could never have amounted to the joy and gratitude that will stare me in the face at that moment, when I meet my Isaac, whose name is laughter.

In the weeks and months and years ahead, God will laugh as he watches Ryland and I transition from a duet to a trio and hopefully more someday as we wait for Gurt or whoever else God has planned for us.

Please Pray for the following:
1) A safe and easy delivery for Isaac above all else. We will check into Baptist tomorrow morning at 7:30AM to begin the festivities.
2) For my anxiety. I am scared of the delivery, but I also know that I am not the first person to have a baby, and that women seldom die anymore. :)
3) For Ryland and I as a team. We have a life adjustment coming, help us to stick together and hold each other up as we learn what it is going to take in the next few weeks and months.
4) For safe travel for both sets of our parents.
5) This one is frivolous - My dog Sadie has started chewing a big, yucky spot on her leg. I thought it was a hot spot but the vet said that she is reacting to stress in her environment and that it is a nervous habit. I wonder what he could be talking about???? I don't know where she could be encountering stress?????? Maybe a psycho cleaning nazi mom who cries a lot???? Pray that she calms down and that I don't make it worse for her. My furry babies are being boarded by the wonderful Miss Connie for a few days and I hope that doesn't make things worse.
6) For our attending doctors and nurses, that they will be able to troubleshoot and care for any complications that may arise.

So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom Psalm 90:12

My son's days begin tomorrow - may his life bring us closer to knowing God in all of his greatness as He continues to laugh at our plans.

Mindy