Introducing Rigdon Lee Powell

We arrived at Proctor Hospital on Sept 9th at 7:00 am and they starting getting me admitted and hooked up to monitors. A little over an hour later I was on the oxytocin and starting to contract. The monitors were having a hard time picking up the baby's heartbeat because of the massive amounts of fluid around him. So we had to move the monitors around every few minutes. Look at that belly!! I don't miss it one bit!!
Kendall brought me a gift after a few hours. Aren't they gorgeous?
And he found a new Willow Tree Statue that I didn't have. It is so perfect. I, of course, cried.
After a few hours of contractions the baby's head was down low enough that they decided to put a tiny little hole in the sac to see if we could drain off a little bit of the fluid. They also put an internal monitor on the baby's head so that we could keep him monitored better. The very small hole was just enough to release a much bigger hole and we had some major flooding! The nurse was guessing that I lost about 10 pounds of fluid - over a gallon! My stomach was so much smaller already!

The labor was about 12 hours total, which was a lot longer than I thought it would be. I was getting a bit discouraged. But he was a very big boy and he delivered "sunny side up" which makes for an even more difficult delivery. I had to have an episiotomy because of his size. But he was nice and pink and got great APGAR scores, 8 and 9. He was also WIDE awake for quite a few hours just taking everything in.
Rigdon Lee Powell was born at 8:14 pm on Sept 9th. He weighed in at 9 lbs 13 oz and he was 20 1/2 inches long! Looks like the nickname "Big Rig" is a keeper. He was almost 2 pounds bigger than Mercedes, who was my biggest baby up to now. Look at that big guy! He doesn't even look like a newborn! He is completely solid. :)
I must say that this was an extremely difficult labor and delivery for me. My epidural was not being very cooperative since I was completely numb in my back and legs, but I could feel the contractions absolutely killing me! Not a very pleasant combination. But as soon as this beautiful baby boy was handed to me I was all smiles. It never ceases to amaze me what a mother will go through for these amazing little spirits who come straight from Heavenly Father into our arms and our hearts.
It was love at first sight.
Our first "family" photo (without the other kids). All I can say is that I am extremely exhausted and super swollen from hours of labor and fluids being pumped into me, but I was one proud mommy.
The proud Daddy can't seem to get enough of his little man!
So sweet. And chunky cheeks already. :)
Kendall's favorite part about newborns...cuddle time!
Rigdon is so comfortable with Daddy, no matter what the position.
So far Rigdon has been a very fat and happy little baby. He nurses like a champion and thinks he is always hungry. He sleeps wonderfully (so far!) and he is just content. He is 24 hours old and we don't have a single complaint about our perfect little boy.
And look at all that hair! He is somewhere between blond and brown right now, but he has tons of downy soft hair. They had to wash it 3 times after he was born!
Giving an almost smile for Daddy.
He's been quite alert at times. He loves to just look around and see what he can and take it all in.
This morning my mom brought Talmage and Sadie to meet Rigdon for the first time. Avri was at school. Sadie was nervous just for a couple of minutes. But once she got to hold him, she was hooked! Here is Talmage telling me that he was right, Rigdon has blond hair "just like me!"
I didn't think Talmage would care much about having a new baby around. But he is SOOO excited. He wants to start sharing his toys immediately.
Sadie has been practicing how to hold a baby. See?
And now she finally gets to put her skills to good use.
Avri got to come tonight, after school was out and Grandma and Grandpa had taken the kids to a movie. She is a professional with babies by now.
Grandma and Grandpa didn't take long to warm up to him. (That's an understatement!)

My Dad was also thoughtful and brought me some beautiful flowers, so the room looks so nice and cheery!
This morning after I got a shower Rigdon was so alert and interactive. I just can't get enough of him!

Welcome to our family Rigdon. We are finally complete and we love you more than you could ever know. We are so glad that you are here, safe and sound, and that we get to start our lives together.