Benson Edward Wilson

**photo courtesy of Mandy Serafine

December 20, 2012

2:43 PM

7 pounds, 11 ounces

21 inches

On the 19th Riley and I found out that I would be induced on either the 20th or the 21st.  We got a phone call at 5 AM to be to the hospital by 6.  So we quickly got ready and headed to the hospital.  I was hooked up to the pitocin by 7.  The doctor broke my water at 10 and the contractions got about a million times worse.  Thankfully the epidural was in place shortly after.  At noon I was dilated to a 9. The baby's head was turned to the side and we couldn't get him to face down.  We decided to play the waiting game to see if he would turn his head on his own.  At 2:15 I was fully dilated and he still had not turned his head. The doctor had my do a practice push and see if the head would turn. It didn't and his heart rate dropped and didn't return to normal.  Because of this the doctor gave us two options, use a vacuum or a c-section.  I was only given two contractions to get the baby out with the vacuum and if that didn't work we would be rushed off to a c-section.  The room filled up quickly with a team from the NICU and another team to hurry us to an emergency c-section.  Luckily, thanks to our awesome doctor and a lot of answered prayers, Benson was born at 2:43 PM.  It was a miracle.  

We are delighted to have Benson with us.  It is a treat to see Riley hold and take care of him.  We couldn't be happier! The hospital stay was nice, but it was even better to come home.  Below are a few pictures of our stay and the lovely visitors we had! 

Life pre-baby

After finals were over Riley and I had an unknown amount of time before the arrival of the baby.  We rented many redbox movies, took lots of walks, cleaned, spent time with family and walked down memory lane.  I just finished my last semester at BYU so, one warm winter evening we walked up to campus and went to some of our favorite spots.  We were sure the long walk and endless laughter would put me into labor... not so.  Regardless, we had a great time.  Here are some of our favorite places on campus:

 The Maeser building.  I've only been in there a handful of times but I think it is a beautiful old building.

 Had one class here... But how could we not take a picture in front of the building named after our son?

 This is the spiral staircase inside the JFSB.  I spent the majority of my college career in this building.

 This is Riley imitating one of my favorite teachers.

 The museum of art has some strange statues outside...

 This was in Maps, our favorite section of the library.

 The economics building, otherwise known as the FOB. This is where Riley spends a LOT of time.

Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday Riley and I met for lunch in the JKB.  

Finishing school at BYU is a weird feeling.  It is both exciting and sad.  I really enjoyed my classes there and the many things I learned.  It certainly was not easy and I could not have graduated without the support of Riley, parents, siblings and friends.  On to bigger and better things!

Pregnancy advice

I've noticed that people are very willing to give advice to you when pregnant... Mostly this advice comes from people I don't know very well.  Which means it is unsolicited and oftentimes strange... strange advice.

-Coming from a middle-aged woman who has never had children:  "If you eat pineapple and mango's you'll go into labor right away"- True or not, I will avoid pineapples and mangos until after finals.

-"Make sure you have the car seat installed before you go to the hospital because they WILL NOT let you leave without one" - While the hospital won't let drive away without one, they certainly won't keep you captive if you try to walk away...

-"If you are grocery shopping when you water breaks, just grab a jar of pickles and drop it on the floor so no one knows the mess was from you" - I doubt the last thing I do if my water breaks, while conveniently at the grocery store, is run to a different isle while trailing a bunch of fluid and throw a jar of pickles on the ground. I have a feeling that would make me look more insane than simply telling someone my water broke and apologize for the mess...

-People often ask me if I've been having contractions, to which I answer, Yes (because I do have them often).  They usually respond by saying something like, "Well, don't get your hopes up, you could be in labor for weeks!" -Thank you. That is exactly what I want to hear as my stomach contracts and hips burn in pain.

-The last week or so I've noticed that even my maternity clothes just don't fit as well anymore.  I have one skirt that has a zipper and I started not to zip it all the way up out of comfort.  One day at work I walked past a lady and she noticed that my shirt hadn't been pulled down in the back and it revealed the top portion of my unzipped zipper *gasp*! She rushed over and started pulling my shirt down for me and telling me how funny I was.  She advised me to "always make sure my shirt is pulled down because it would just be humiliating if someone else saw!" Heaven forbid.

-"For the next few weeks make sure you have gas in your car so you have a way to get to the hospital"

-"Just get the epidural the moment you get to the hospital because you do not want to know what real pain feels like"

-After telling the doctor about some very uncomfortable and sudden pain I've felt in the past day or two, he responded with a sympathetic look and "I hate to tell you that it will probably just get worse- but you can always take a warm bath or shower, warm compresses, or tylenol to help it feel better".  I bet there is nothing worse than telling a very pregnant person that the only real relief is the actual birth of their baby, which won't be happening for another few weeks.

Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

33 weeks down, 7 more to go!

33 weeks, can you believe it? Neither can Riley and I.  It has been a long 33 weeks, but worth every minute.  I can say that now after 5 months of morning sickness and two kidney stones :) I may not have admitted it then. But, we are moving past those things and looking forward to December when our baby will finally be here!  We are hoping and praying he doesn't decide to come until AFTER finals, but we'll take him anytime.

So, here is a picture of me at 33 weeks...Ignore the bathroom in the background.  I figure long lost family may appreciate seeing it. If not, then ignore.

The baby is doing great! I had an appointment last week and he is head down and ready to go.  He doesn't kick as much these days, but moves around a lot.  I've heard people complain about getting kicked in the ribs, but that hasn't happened to me, instead he enjoys punching my hip bone.  My back and hips can get pretty sore.  I still walk to work and school which has most likely prevented a lot of aching and weight gain.  I hope I can walk through the end of the semester (here's hoping it doesn't get icy!)

For purposes of having some documentation of the last few weeks (mainly for myself) here goes:

Oct. 11- Katelyn came home!  I have no photo proof.  But she's back and we love having her around.
Oct. 15- Wake up in the middle of the night with intense back pain, start throwing up and having contractions.  Around 2 AM Riley (who has recently won the award for the best husband in the world) drove me to labor and delivery per nurse's orders.  We didn't know where it was in the hospital but after trying several locked doors we finally found it.  Once up there they had me change and started monitoring the baby.  He was doing great!  The contractions were there but inconsistent, thank goodness.  They hooked me up with an IV, which failed the first time because my hand swelled up, so they put it in my other arm.  They drew some blood for some tests and then finally. FINALLY. started the pain medication.  It worked within minutes. Beautiful relief.  It made me very very drowsy, and only lasted about half an hour.  An hour later they gave me some more.  During this time they took us down for an ultrasound of my kidneys.  The tech gave us a sneak peak at the baby too! Although I don't remember it well.  We went back up to the room and they let us sleep for the next few hours before our Doctor came in for the day.  He came and said that it was a kidney stone, though it didn't show on the ultrasound (I guess that is normal?) and sent us home with some prescriptions and wished us luck.
Poor Riley had been up all night and had a long day of classes that he couldn't miss so my mom and Kate were kind enough to come spend the day with me.  I'm really not sure what they did all day while I slept...
Oct 16-17 were spent on percocet and then just tylenol, waiting and waiting for the stone to pass. One did on the morning of the 17th and we thought we had made it through.  I even went to a class and study group in the afternoon.
Oct 18- Felt crumby and stayed home the whole day. LouJean came for the afternoon. She came another day too but I can't remember which one. She was a lifesaver!
Oct 19 - Woke up and thought I was feeling ok but then around 8 am, right before Riley school and right after I promised him I would be fine alone for the day, another back attack thing happened.  We called the nurse and she said to come in to the clinic.  Riley had work, and since it wasn't an emergency Kelli (who took the whole day off for me-thanks Kell!) came and took me.  They were incredibly unhelpful, but did order another ultrasound of my kidneys.  We went back home to wait and I had to drink 32 oz of water and hour before the ultrasound and NOT got to the bathroom.  Ya right. That was killer.  Riley was able to come back home and the three of us set of for the ultrasound.  They found another one.Yippee.  But we had suspected so all along.  We also got a little more in depth view of the baby.  He's pretty cute, just wait till you get to see him!
Oct 20 - Woke up and didn't feel much pain. Weird. Riley was at scouts all morning so I started cleaning the apartment. Bad idea, I was sick of laying down and drinking water all day.
Oct 21 - Made it through church.
Oct 22 - Went to work and school, started feeling normal again.

Fun, right? I can't express enough how grateful I am for Riley and other family members (Mom, Kate, Kelli, LouJean and Andres) who were so generous with their time to help us.  The nurse on call all week was amazing.  I'd like to meet her one day... We are also incredibly grateful that it wasn't preterm labor and that baby boy is still healthy and growing inside.

Oct 27 - Mom throws a wicked Halloween party every year.  It is so fun! I took lots of pictures with her camera.. so one day I'll put them up.
Oct 28 - Kate's homecoming talk in church and my ward's primary program.  Kate did a GREAT job! She was such a great missionary. Like I said before, we love having her home!  The primary program went really well.  Those kids are amazing!
TODAY- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  I hope you all enjoy whatever festivities you participate in.  I do not, however, appreciate college students dressing up on campus.  I just don't get it!

The Wilson's cabin has made it on my list of favorite places to go.  It is unbelievably gorgeous up American Fork canyon.  The cabin is rustic enough to feel far away from "the world" but has all the conveniences of a home, minus a shower.  Which is why we don't go for too long.

One of my very best friends, Kayla Beus got married on Friday!  I was lucky enough to go to the temple and it was awesome!  After the reception Riley and I headed up to the cabin for the night.  It had been a long week and we needed a break! The colors were just starting to change so we captured a few of the really cool looking trees.

26 Weeks

I can't believe how quickly the weeks are flying by!  Life is so much better. SO. SO. SO much better without constant nausea and exhaustion.  I wish I could explain just how much better it is.  In the last couple of weeks my stomach has grown a lot!  Just for example, this picture is from backpacking like three or four weeks ago, and the one below is from Saturday up at the cabin!

A few weeks before school started I had a small mental breakdown concerning the very little energy that I had and my ability to survive work and school and homework and church calling and maintaining a livable apartment AND any sort of enjoyable activity.  I know our apartment is small- which actually means it can get dirty really fast.  I hate living in clutter and dirt.
I think it is safe to say that I have been extremely blessed thus far.  I have walked to work and school every day (about 3 miles total), stayed caught up on homework, got a new calling, kept the apartment relatively clean and even enjoyed a few activities!  I know I have some major help from Riley, parents and a caring Father in Heaven.   I think it is safe to say that I have reached a point where I am enjoying being pregnant!  (Seriously, the first 6 months were rough)  Baby boy moves around a lot, kicks often (especially during class when I drink too much water...) and is showing signs of being extremely athletic.  His heartbeat is "perfect"- Dr. Rees D.O. (Matt, you better appreciate that!)

We are very much looking forward to December and meeting this kid.  Let's hear it for being less than 100 days away!  (I just heard someone say there are exactly 100 days till Christmas, which means there are only ninety-something days till baby boy comes!

First day of school

Today is my last first day of school. Ever.  I can't decide if I'm excited or sad about it.  Last night I realized that I have never not been a student....since I was 5.  It has been a large part of my identity.  After this semester I will be done with that and then moving on with an entirely different chapter of my life.  One that I am very excited about.  Still, there is a small part of me that has no idea what life will be like without school or work.  I am hoping it is as enjoyable and fulfilling as I always thought it would be.

Riley did the honors of taking my last first day of school picture.

Lovely, right? I didn't even wear new clothes. Or put on make-up.  I think that says a lot about how I feel about this semester.  Riley and I noted the hoards of people making their way to campus in their newly purchased clothes to impress their classmates.  It kind of made me sad that I didn't even decide what I was going to wear until this morning!  Riley (serafine) and I used to make clothes people and pack our backpacks the night before.  I used to love the first day of school!  Don't worry, I did make a lunch for this handsome man last night!  He has a full day of classes from 9-4:30 and then has a meeting for work.  This morning he told me he had the same feeling he gets when he has a test that day.  It's going to be a challenging semester, but I am fairly confident that he will do great!  

In other news, Riley has officially stopped working at the MTC.  I think he will miss it more than he will admit.  But now he has plenty of time to research and TA! (for the sweetest professor at BYU- seriously, he called me this morning to tell me how great Riley is and wish me luck with my studies this semester)

Wednesday will mark the 24th week of this pregnancy!  I've been feeling a lot better lately.  Every night I dread taking my prenatal vitamin because they make me feel so sick. And they smell like dog food.  On wednesday I have a doctor appointment and will be addressing the vitamin issue.  I would love some that are a little easier on my sensitive stomach.  I've still been pretty tired...and I am sure our three day backpacking trip didn't help that! 

Riley packed his backpack for the trip on Wednesday.  We weren't supposed to leave until Friday... I could tell he was SO excited.  We woke up on Thursday and Riley made me breakfast in bed (for copsicus!) and then asked, "Are you excited to go backpacking today?"  I gently reminded him that we weren't leaving until the next day... Then I suggested we cancel work and go a day early.  You would think he had just won the lottery!  He jumped up and started getting everything ready.  So off we went.  

We headed to the unitah's.   I never realized how pretty it is up there.  Very different from the wasatch mountains that I am very used to, but very pretty.  The hike wasn't long or hard (thank goodness) and we found Merrill/LouJean/Andrea without any problem.  

The only thing I don't like about backpacking is that you have to sit on rocks.  My poor bottom hurt so bad after two days of that.  Oh and sleeping really isn't that much fun.  Other than that the trip was very pleasant! 

Here are some pictures to prove it.

 My backpack was very light. Riley's was not.  He was nice and carried my sleeping bag and mat, and most of the food. All I had was clothes and my pillow. That's what you get when you go backpacking at almost 6 months pregnant! 

 See those rocks? Those were our chairs. Ouch. 

 Ok, is that not the cutest picture?

The Big Trip... Wilson style Part II

Day 3:  We finally got to see Erin, Bennett and Elsie on the first morning there!  It was so good to see them, and meet the new baby.  We took the morning easy (thank goodness) and then headed into downtown Baltimore to see inner harbor.  

 The 9/11 memorial in baltimore

 This elephant head had two trunks.  It was at Ripley's believe it or not.  I chose not to believe it.  

That evening we relaxed, watched the olympics, and chatted with J&E.

Day 4: Washington D.C.  We got off the Metro and suddenly we were there.  

 The Capitol

 Washington monument

 World War II memorial

 Lincoln. My personal favorite.

Justin and Bennett were kind enough to show us around for the day! They were troopers in the heat.  At one point Bennett (who was probably so tired) just started singing as we walked down the street, just belting it out. 

 we thought the police on horses was pretty sweet.

Korean war memorial

 Cute, Bennett. 

 MLK memorial.  We couldn't figure out why it is carved out of white stone...

 Jefferson.  We didn't make it to that one.  

 The White House

 The first garden.  

 The National Archives.  This was really cool! We got to see all that old stuff that they talk a lot about in school.  Much better to actually see them.  I guess they wouldn't mean as much if we didn't know anything about them.

At the Air & Space museum.  Kalen offered to take us here and then back to J&E's.  We couldn't pass up the opportunity to stand on our feet for another hour or so.  This is Riley and Kalen in front of one of Amelia Earhart airplanes.

 This is one of the only things I remember about DC from when I was 6.  I'm not sure why it stuck with me.  I think we have a family picture in front of it.  

 Did you know that there isn't a single picture of Neil Armstrong on the moon?  He was the one with the camera so the only proof that he was actually there is the reflection of him in his picture.  He is one of the white thing on this guys face.  Crazy, right? 

 We made a quick stop at the DC temple!  It was gorgeous. The view from the freeway is just incredible.  The church did a fine job on location.  Kalen drove us by the University of Maryland (very pretty, by the way) and then a stop for dinner at Potbelly's.  It was SO good.  If we end up in Maryland next year, I will eat there often.  We went back to J&E's for the night and enjoyed some more.... olympics! 

Day 5:

 Just before church on sunday.  Sunday was so pleasant! Church was neat, Justin taught a great lesson,  I got to hold Elsie,  we played Dominion, had a delicious dinner and hung out.  It was really a great day!

Day 6:  Science Center

 Erin, Bennett and Elsie took us to the science center in downtown baltimore.  It was a lot of fun! We could have spent hours.  There was a lot to do.  It was fun to see Bennett run from place to place doing all of the activities.  This is Riley on a bed of needles.  It looked painless but really it was quite uncomfortable. 

 We went outside after and there was a Seinfeld truck there. They were handing out soup, black&white cookies, candy bard, t-shirts, key chains, water bottles, etc.  It was so random, but made our day! 

That night we went to a really delicious BBQ place.  Andy Nelson's, I believe.  I could go for one of those sandwiches right about now! We also stopped at Wegmans.  Best grocery store. ever. 

 We had to grab a few pictures of all of us before we left! We are so grateful J&E let us crash their dining room for a few days.  They were so nice to show us around and let us play with their children.  We really had such a great time, thanks guys! 

Day 6:  Started at midnight.  Justin drove us to the bus station (thanks again!!) We took a bus back up to NY.  We didn't get to sit by each other for the first half of the ride.  I sat next to a fella who was half on my seat.  He was watching anime on his laptop.  It was very awkward and I didn't sleep a wink! The bus arrived at 5:30 am... then we got on a subway to get the the next bus to get to the airport.  I know. It was about as exhausting as it sounds.  We caught our plane and had to relive two hours (thanks to the time change).  I didn't sleep much on the plane because I was busy talking to a 91 year old man who was on his way to visit his son in Denver who was dying.  He was incredibly kind and we had a nice, but long, chat.  THEN we had a 7 hour layover in Denver.  We had a really fun time!  I finally got to take a nap, and then we talked and wandered around.  Finally we got on our plane home.  They barely had time to serve drinks before we landed.  Kelli picked us up at the airport and suddenly we were home!  It was really nice to be home.

Special shout-out to Riley who never complained about me buying lemonade, or having to sit down every so often.  He is easily the best person to travel with! We had a lot of  fun :)