Jocelyn Julie Richens

My Dear Sweet Joceyln,

Welcome to our family. We adore you.

We moved across town from an apartment to a house only 3 weeks before you were born and although we were excited for you to come the house and hospital bag was not prepared for you when you decided to make your entrance. I had had a doctors appointment just a few days before and although I was starting to dilate I was telling everyone I didn’t think you would be here for a while. All that vacuuming trying to make the new house more livable and smell fresher must have put me in labor. Thank goodness Daddy was home, he had been unreachable on an aircraft carrier trip until just a day and a half earlier.

I woke up very uncomfortable at 2:30 am on October 5, I squirmed around a bit, got up and then treid going back to sleep. It was just like many other nights lately, however this time the pain kept coming back. Finally I concluded I was having contractions and they were happening pretty regularly. Dad woke after a while of me trying to go back to sleep and getting in and out of bed. He tried to comfort me and joked about needing to go to the hospital.  Well after of debating calling and waking someone to come watch Quincy while we went to the hospital we finally did. (I didn’t want to have a friend come in the middle of the night for me to be sent home, I was thinking of all the false alarms I had heard about.) Brady and Jackie Hammond arrived about 4:30 and Dad and I left for the hospital. We soon found out these contractions weren’t a false alarm. The nurse also informed us that it wouldn’t be long until you were born, I was already dilated to an eight and I probably wouldn’t get my epidural. Yikes! The sweet nurse did everything she could to help me get my epidural but when my body was finally prepared for the epidural I was dilated to a 10 and there was no turning back.

After a LONG 40 minutes of pushing and being told to relax because my tensing up just was pushing you back in rather than out, LOTS of really loud screaming, and asking the doctor “WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!” keeping my eyes tightly shut you were born 6:52 weighing 5 lbs 15 oz (born at 37 weeks 1 day gestation), and ….   I hope to never have labor and delivery without an epidural again yet, somehow writing this I want to do it again, I suppose it is the miracle of it all and being blessed with a sweet angel at the end. It was amazing how the intense pain just ended and I knew you were here and finally you were placed in my exhausted arms and I could start to be amazed. It took longer for me to enjoy initially because I was recuperating myself more than when Quincy was born, but it was instant love, well I had been loving you, my baby, for at least the previous 9 months but now it was even more real. Daddy cut the umbilical cord, but since I was in my own world I didn’t know it until a week later.

We had informed both sets of grandparents we were going to the hospital then all your aunts and uncle the next morning were very surprised to wake (EST v MST) to a message of a beautiful new niece.

You had the cutest little cry and the first few days I just had to laugh when you cried. It made me happy.  Plus you didn’t cry much you only slept; I had a hard time waking you even to eat.

 Daddy brought Quincy in to meet you Sunday night- her initial reaction was caught on video and she wasn't’ very happy. After crying and screaming and hiding in dad she warmed up to you and was happy to hold you. Nana was able to get on a stand by flight that night to come help. She met you when you were just a day old at the hospital (we stayed a little over 2 days). Grandma Jill was unable to change her ticket previously purchased for a few days before your due date and met you in person and helped out about 3 weeks later.

You are now three months old and full of big cheesy smiles and sticking your long tongue out as far down your chin as possible. You LOVE to be held and hate to be put down. The first 3 weeks you went to church you managed to throw up your full last meal and more each week, you also had the RS lesson completely stopped once and had everyone around us worried about you the other time.