I'm so grateful for days when I actually strive to listen to the Spirit and then follow through. One such day came in late October 1997. We were driving home from picking up Meg from the social services office in Kansas City, MO. I was in the middle of a fertility treatment and needed to have two more shots given at a particular time. I thought that we would miss this "window" of opportunity because we were out of town and the paperwork in getting Meg should have taken longer. While we were driving I realized that if we drove a little faster, and didn't stop for lunch I could make the next time frame for the shot. At our next bathroom break, I took the wheel and made it to Louisville and in the doctor's office within minutes of them closing. I got the needed shot.
Skip ahead three months. The day I found out I was pregnant with Ben I was with my good friends Judy Rose and Holly Smith. I was serving in Young Women with them and we were having a presidency meeting. I told them I had been sick for a few days and felt very tired. Judy gave Holly and me some money (I was a poor law school wife) and told me to go buy a pregnancy test. Rusty was out of town, and I thought "I've taken so many of these, there is no way it's going to be positive." Sure enough, at Judy Rose's house, I found out I was pregnant. To be perfectly honest, my first emotion was not joy. I had a three month old new-born and hadn't slept an entire night since the day we brought her home. Plus, I'm here to tell you pregnancy DOES prepare you to be a mother of a new-born. Getting Meg without this preparation had been a very hard transition for me, and feeling the way I did being pregnant, I thought, "What have I gotten myself into? I am going to have two kids within one year?" Luckily the sickness went away, and the excitement soon followed.
When I was six months pregnant, and Meg was 9 months old, I fell down the stairs while holding her and landed on her leg. Her femur was broken, and after hearing this news I went into premature labor. I ended up being in the hospital for two days. Before I delivered Ben, I had at least three or four other hospital stays spending 6-12 hours laying on a bed hooked up to monitors to make sure Ben was alive. His personality of "the strong, silent type" began in the womb. I didn't feel him move, and would get worried.
Ben was due on September 29, and finally on October 11, my doctor agreed to induce me (I know, doctors NEVER make women go that long--she was a quack and I didn't return to her after I left the hospital). After 8 hours of labor, at three in the morning, my doctor was there delivering another baby and checked me and "figured out" that Ben was breech. She gave me two choices: I could go in for a C-section right then, or a team of doctors could try to turn him in the morning, and I could possibly deliver normally. I chose to wait. WHY? (I obviously didn't listen to the Spirit this time, and was consumed with the thought that I had to deliver the "regular" way). I labored for another 5 hours and when they tried to turn him, it didn't work, and in fact made his heart rate drop and I was rushed into an emergency C-section. But as Rusty always says, "You're alright now, Vicki."
Ben's name was not chosen right away. I wanted to name him Benjamin Russell, but Rusty wanted to name him Jack. He was known as "Baby Boy O'Brien" for the first three day's of life. Finally, day three in the hospital, Rusty was at work, and I filled out the birth certificate and prepared myself to tell Rusty that Ben was his name. He took it better than I thought.
The best word to describe Ben as a new-born was "intense." The boy cried more than any of my other babies when he was first born. He didn't sleep through the night until he was 5 months old, and it's only because I let him cry for a week straight. It is so interesting that his cantankerous personality changed so dramatically in just a few months.
Some interesting facts about Ben as a baby. Ben always threw up the day before he would get a tooth. He didn't get his first tooth until he was 11 months old. Ben didn't walk until he was 16 months old, and always was in the 90th to 100th percentile of weight, but 10th to 15th percentile of height. Ben followed Meg EVERYWHERE. They were (and still are if home) ALWAYS together. When he was asked as sunbeam (three year old) to draw a picture of himself he drew one of him and Meg together.
As a toddler Ben was obsessed with the movie "Toy Story." His fascination started a year or so after the first Toy Story movie came out, and a year or two before the second one, which made finding character figures very difficult. Ben got a Buzz and Woody for his 2nd birthday. Later that month, I was running in the stroller with them and Ben lost the Buzz. It was a family crisis. After hours of calling around, I found another one at a Target in Indiana and we drove to get it. Crisis averted.
Ben loves to read, and I give credit to Rusty. He read to Ben and Meg every night, not only from children books but he would give them a Spanish lesson and read from the Scripture Readers. This also I think helped begin Ben's love of the scriptures.
Some other favorite things about Ben:
- He likens his and Sam's relationship to that of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.
- When he has choice of whom to play with he usually chooses to play with Meg and Sam over friends.
- Ben only likes to wear "gym" shorts and pants. Never jeans, khakis or any other kind of pants. He only will wear short black socks.
- Ben loves to write music (He won the State Reflections Competition when he was in Second grade), and write stories.
- Ben has learned to play Billy Joel's songs on the piano to please Rusty, and hymns to please me.
- He loves to run and asks Rusty at least once a week to run with him (he use to ask me, but I can't keep up with him anymore).
- He has seen (and loves) all the Harry Potter and Star Wars Movies (that aren't rated PG 13).
Ben 2 weeks old.
Ben at nine months old. He was by far my "chubbiest" baby. Didn't crawl until 11 months and didn't walk until 16 months. He could sure put down the food. Now he's so skinny, it's funny to look back at him as a baby.
Ben at 1 year old. We took some family pictures at Locust Groves in Louisville.
Ben at one year old. These are some of my FAVORITE pictures of Meg and Ben.
Ben's OBSESSION with Toy Story. He ALWAYS had at least one of his Toy Story "Guys" with him at all times. Ben at 2 years old.
Ben loves to fish (although we don't do it very often). This is at a family reunion in Wisconsin where Ben caught his first fish. He was 3 and half years old.
Ben at four years old. Even at that early age he hated wearing long sleeve sweaters and still does today.
Ben at 6 year's old. He looks a lot like Rusty, but in this picture I can really see my dad's and my chin and jaw line.
Ben at age 10. He looks so grown up. Happy Birthday, Buster. We love you!
2 comments:
I am so glad you shared that story--I remember that time. We were so excited to hear you were getting Meg...I think I cried. You were so strong through all that. And I miss Judy.
I remember how much Buster loved Toy Story, and when he got that super huge Woody from your parents. I'll never forget that face. I don't think I've seen that kid anymore animated. Miss you guys!
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