This is my husband, Matt. He is an avid fisherman. I don't mind, as I quite enjoy fishing as well. We do get in the occasional argument regarding fly fishing in a river or fishing in a boat on the lake. In my mind, there should be no argument. It is always preferable to be in a boat on the lake:) I grew up with my grandpa taking me out on Strawberry or Scofield in his boat. Matt grew up mostly fly fishing, but he does still enjoy going out in a boat. I, on the other hand, hate fly fishing the one time I tried it. Possibly because I was completely inept. I'm sure Matt will keep taking me fly fishing until I like it. My sweetheart is the most stubborn man. People who do not know him well may not realize it, because he is so sweet and caring. He always goes out of his way to please. So, basically, if I want it done one way and he another, he never argues. He just does it the way he likes. I generally don't mind. He is so good to me, he usually only does it his way if he has strong feelings about it. I don't know how I was lucky enough to find such an amazing man. Heaven was truly smiling down on me!
Now this is our baby, Josh. He was born March 27, 2009 at 9:42 A.M. He was 6 lbs 1oz, just a little thing! And, believe it or not, that was on his due date!
After 31 hours of labor (12 hours of active labor) he was delivered via emergency c-section. His heart rate dropped down to the 60's, so they broke my water hoping that would bring up his heart rate and ease his distress. It worked for a little while, about an hour. Then, it would drop and come back up. When this began, they put me on oxygen. This lasted another half hour. Then, his heart rate dropped and would not come back up. The nurses turned me side to side, then ended up putting me in trendelenburg. This is when they tilt the bed so the head is down and feet are elevated. At this point I warned Matt that he should be prepared in case I had to have a c-section, and I called my mom to give her a heads up as well. Sure enough, his heart rate dropped again. This time they put me on my hands and knees. It was difficult to do, because I had an epidural and could not feel my legs. This didn't work more than a few minutes, but by this time the doctor was there and explaining risks vs benefits of a c-section. I told him my mom had 6, so I wasn't horribly concerned. It took less than 10 minutes from this time to numb me for the surgery and cut the baby out. While they took me back, Matt got dressed in scrubs and called my mom. He came back in and before I knew it I could hear Josh crying. Matt went to take video of him, while I tried to stay awake and listen to his cry. I don't know what medication I was given, but I snowed me! Matt came over and, with reddened eyes, he said, "Someone wants to meet you." Believe it or not, I had no idea what he was referring to until he held my son out to me. He was so beautiful, just sucking on his pacifier! The doctor was still working on me, but I got to caress my baby's face, marveling at its softness. Just like that, I became a mom. And just like that, Heavenly Father entrusted one of his precious spirits into my care. It was very humbling. Matt went with the nurses to take Joshua to the nursery. I was cleaned up and brought back to my room. My parents arrived in the room just after they wheeled me in, and I was so grateful to have them there. My incision was burning, and the nurses were busy with another emergency, so they didn't have time to get me anything for the pain. It helped knowing that my mother knew what I was feeling. Her being there gave me the support I needed to get me through the pain. My nurse finally came back to give me something for the pain, but also pressed on my stomach. That hurt. It hurt a lot. But, soon after, my sweet baby boy came into the room. He was worth every bit of pain I would go through. Josh's blood sugar was low, so I immediately nursed him, then he was taken away from me again to get a bath. Little did I know that I would not see my baby again for the next 8 hours. His temperature was low, and his blood sugar would not go up. Finally, he was warmed up and his sugar was up, and there were no other problems. His weight when we left was 5 lbs 12 oz, and we had it checked 2 days later at 6 lbs and .5 oz. Ever since this sweet little guy has just grown like a weed! He has been a pure joy to have around. And he has the cutest belly! We tease the granddads that he inherited his gut from them:) He has a good appetite, and an adorable smile. He started getting sick on Friday, just a little cough and a little congestion. Monday his cough got quite a bit worse, and today he has been a lot more congested. Poor little guy has bronchiolitis. I took him to the doctor and he had an x-ray taken. The doctor believes it is just viral, so we have to wait the illness out. Poor little guy. He has been very fussy, and won't sleep unless he is in his swing. I feel so bad for him! But, got to show a picture of how cute he is now, just cute as a button!
Oh, and 11lbs 2oz! The little guy is sure growing fast!
This is baby Joshua now. Actually, it is him a couple of weeks ago. Ironically, the first day he smiled at us was also the day my Grandma Wood passed away, April 30, 2009.
This is me, Amanda. My family has always used the nickname Panda for me. Occasionally people try to call me Mandy, but I've hated that name from the time I was a little girl. I do like Panda, though, and will answer to it. This is me in Hawaii, where I spent my 25th birthday on a cruise with my mom. It was the most heavenly vacation!!! Everything was so beautiful! One of my passions is traveling. I was married late in life for a Utah Mormon girl. I spent all those single years traveling. I consider myself very lucky to have had so many amazing experiences throughout the world! I have learned that almost everywhere you go, there is beauty. Some places have that rugged beauty of mountains, some are tropical paridises, and others a lush green. And one of the best parts of traveling is getting know know the people and the culture. I love it! Now that I'm married and have a son, it will be more difficult to travel. But I look forward to family vacations:) And, when unable to travel, I can always go camping, fishing, and hiking nearby. So this is a little about our growing family. Matt and I hope to have 6 kids, so it will probably grow a lot!
