Happy Birthday Austin!!!

It's my Christmas baby's birthday today. I can't believe he is 7 years old. Wow, does that time go fast. I am so happy to be celebrating his birthday with him.
I previously shared the story of his birth on my blog, it was pretty traumatic. Last night as Jared and I were getting ready for bed about 11 pm, he said to me, "Should we relive what we went through 7 years ago on this night?"

On the eve of Christmas Eve we were all spending the night at my parent's place. Because I had found out that Austin's twin brother had died, in the womb, about a week before, the doctors had me counting Austin's movements three times a day. So at midnight, as we settled down to sleep on the pullout sofa, I started counting. About two hours later I still had not counted 10 movements, which was not a good sign. I woke Jared and we called American Fork Hospital, which was the closest one. They told us to come in.


AUSTIN'S 3RD BIRTHDAY

We arrived there about 3:30 am. I was put on monitors and hooked up to machines. The relief I felt when I heard Austin's heartbeat was indescribeable. Unfortunately, I could tell from the nurses' faces that all was not well. They said his heart rate was dropping with each contraction. He was in distress. Finally, about 7 am, my doctor arrived (they had to call him out of bishopric meeting as it was a Sunday morning). He did a special ultrasound called a "biophysical profile" where they look for certain large muscle movements. Austin failed the test. The next thing I knew, they were prepping me for surgery. I was having a C-section. I was in shock. I guess I had hoped that Austin would be able to stay in there longer, to develop more, but in retrospect I am sure the doctors knew it was only a matter of time before we either lost him or he was delivered.


AUSTIN'S 4TH BIRTHDAY, NINJA TURTLES

So at 29 weeks gestation, our little Austin was born. He weighed 2.2 lbs. Thomas Jared was delivered at the same time, but of course we knew that he had already passed away. He weighed 1 lb 11 oz. We were able to hold him, and then Jared and my dad gave him a special blessing. It was very emotional but I am so glad that we did it- it was comforting to have that experience. Austin was promptly whisked away via ambulence to Utah Valley's NICU, a state of the art facility. He was there for 7 weeks before he came home, still on oxygen and weighing a hefty 4 lbs 4 oz.


AUSTIN'S 5TH BIRTHDAY PARTY AT BACKYARD ADVENTURES

What a miracle! Austin has always been such a strong, healthy child. He can run, jump, see, shout, hear, sing, play, hug and kiss. He is perfect. We feel so blessed to have him in our lives. He is a happy, easy going kid. He gets along with everybody. He always has lots of friends and his teachers always tell me what a bright, obedient child he is. He loves to laugh- and he has a GREAT laugh. He has a wonderful sense of humor. He loves to wrestle. He is a great reader and very gifted at school. He likes to bake with me in the kitchen and play sports with dad. We feel thankful every day that the Lord saw fit to preserve his precious little life and allow us to be his parents.

WE LOVE YOU AUSTIN! HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY!


AUSTIN EATS HIS SPECIAL BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST THIS MORNING- WAFFLES AND BACON