This was my view while I was writing this post a few days ago:
That’s John and our new grandson, Tyson, snuggling on the couch. I’m telling you—baby snuggles are the best! And I’ve been blessed to get many, many baby snuggles since our little Tyson finally arrived. And since I’m a brand new grandma, this post will be overloaded with cute grandson pictures because…I’m a new grandma! But I will try to control myself a little bit. Maybe.
I’ve been wanting to write this post for several days now, but the feelings have been a bit too raw. And I have been crazy busy—in the best possible ways—helping Kamala and Steven and little Tyson. You see…Tyson’s birth didn’t go at all as planned, and we had some pretty scary moments along the way.
Tyson James was born at 5:51 AM on Thursday, September 1, 2016, and he weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz, and was 20” long. For those of you who know my Kamala, this is a huge baby for her to deliver (this is a big baby for most any woman to deliver!), and after 22 hours of labor with some issues for both her and Tyson during labor, the decision was made to take Tyson by c-section. There was just no way her body would be able to deliver this little guy safely for either of them. I’m so thankful for awesome doctors and nursing staff who helped Kamala all along the way and who were as concerned as we were when her labor was just not progressing. No one wants to have a c-section, but sometimes, that’s THE only way to keep mom and baby safe.
^This is Kamala and me in her labor & delivery room before things got difficult and super scary. I knew my girl was tough, but I have a whole new level of respect and admiration for her toughness. She went through so much to bring her son into the world, and it was beyond difficult seeing her in so much pain and having such a hard time and not being able to do much of anything to help her. I can only imagine how Steven felt during all of this…
I watched as they wheeled her down the hall to the c-section room and then called John to give him an update. As soon as I got off the phone with him, the Code Blue sirens started going off, and I heard, “Pediatric Code Blue, c-section room 1.” My heart fell through the floor. I saw nurses and doctors running to the c-section room, and everything was a blur. I ran to the nurses station and asked if that Code Blue was for my daughter, and the nurse said she couldn’t tell me, but I could see it in her eyes…it was for our baby. My first thoughts were total fear for him, followed quickly by fear for Kamala and Steven and how they must be feeling through all of this. I called John, sobbing, and told him what was happening and said many prayers. Then I went and stood in the hallway, and soon a nurse left the c-section area and saw me and came and talked to me. And she gave me a hug because I was still having a hard time. She said that after Tyson was born they couldn’t get him to start breathing, and at the slightest hint of any problems with a newborn, they automatically call a Code Blue so they can get the appropriate help as quickly as possible. She said they were able to finally get him to start breathing and that he was in the NICU nursery with Steven and that I could go and see him through the windows. When I got to the NICU, all I could see were nurses working on him and his little feet, but I could see him moving around, and that was a huge blessing. And I instantly felt a tremendous amount of love for this little guy…beyond what I thought possible.
I quickly went back upstairs because I didn’t want Kamala to be alone when they returned her to her recovery room, and I was so thankful to see her and that she was doing okay. Thankfully, and this is going to sound very strange, she was throwing up during the whole delivery and through what happened with Tyson so she had no idea what had happened. This was a blessing because she would’ve been totally freaking out, which would not have been good. The nurses filled her in on what had happened as they continued to monitor her stats and make sure she was doing okay. Then about two hours after Tyson was born (she had to stay in recovery for 1 1/2 hours), they arranged for her bed to be pushed into the NICU so she could finally see and hold her little boy. I got to watch this through the windows, and I sobbed again.
Tyson spent 3 days in the NICU because they couldn’t get his oxygen regulated—they’d take him off and have to put him back on again, and he had some issues eating too. Which you’d never guess now, because that little guy eats a lot, and he was back to his birth weight before we left the hospital! We later found out that they were really close to sending little Tyson to Utah Valley Hospital, which has an even more intense NICU. This would’ve been horrible because Kamala would’ve had to be in a different hospital than her baby. #TenderMercy They finally got to come home on Labor Day, and it’s been a bit crazy ever since. I’ve loved being able to be here and help…it’s been nice to be needed in a “mom” kind of way again. And while my hysterectomy 4 years ago wasn’t a fun experience in any sense of the word, what I learned during my recovery has helped me know how to help Kamala in her recovery, and we now have two sets of matching scars! And I’m so thankful I have a job where I can work from anywhere, and because of this, I’m able to stay until the 24th to help Kamala recover and help take care of Tyson. It’s been so fun to watch Kamala and Steven in their new roles as parents, and they are doing awesome! Tyson is one very blessed little boy, and he definitely hit the lottery in the parent department.
John finally got here on Labor Day night. Parker started school at BYU-Idaho this week, so he and Parker drove Parker’s car out here. I felt so badly that he had to experience all of this long distance, and I can only imagine how helpless he felt during all of this—I know this was very difficult for him. I know he was ready to jump on a plane several times! And after Tyson was born, he posted this post on Facebook. Love his sense of humor!
^Uncle Parker holding his first nephew. He has great plans for this little guy when he’s a bit older!
While I was waiting in that hospital hallway to see what was going on with our grandson, all of a sudden a lot of the things that I worry about every day really didn’t matter anymore. What did matter was my daughter and grandson and their well-being. These feelings reminded me of a little over 25 years ago when John and I stood in a similar hospital hallway in Kentucky waiting to see what was going on with our newborn baby girl—Kamala. She had some type of seizure a couple of days after we got her home from the hospital, and we had to run her back to the ER. We had to stand in the hallway for what seemed like years while the doctors and nurses did a spinal tap and other tests on her tiny body, and again…all those things we’d been worrying about just didn’t matter anymore. And those things we were worrying about were pretty significant—John was in the middle of finals at UK (he actually missed walking in graduation because we were still in the hospital with Kamala), and he was also trying to find a “real” job in a sorely recessed economy.
Life-changing experiences like these really are instant perspective changers. The key—for me—is to try and remember these new perspectives when life gets back to “normal” and when I find myself starting to worry about those things that really aren’t that important. Yes, there are important things I need to do every day, but many of the things I worry about? Not that important at all.
When it comes right down to it, my family, my faith, and what I do with this life I’ve been given are THE most important things.
And a few more Tyson pictures…just because. 😉
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