Cohen's Story

Okay, for those of you who have been wondering...here's the story of Cohen's birth...

I woke up early Saturday morning (probably around 2:00 am) to a contraction. No big deal...just a braxton hicks contraction I thought...so I went back to sleep. A few minutes later, I woke up to another contraction. "Why are these contractions so strong?" I asked myself. Then a few minutes later, another one. I started to get really annoyed. My alarm clock was going to go off at 3:00 am because I had to go to work...I REALLY needed to get a little more sleep. "Why won't these contractions just stop?" I asked myself. Finally, at around 2:30, I decided to start timing them...they were consistently about 3 1/2 to 4 minutes apart. I decided I should wake Mike up. We sat there in bed together, timing contractions. Same thing...3 1/2 to 4 minutes apart. "How in the world could I be in labor?" I asked. "My due date isn't for another 4 weeks?" My other boys were both about a week & a half early...so I was expecting Cohen's arrival around the middle of August. NEVER in a million years would I have expected to go into labor at the end of July. "What do we do?" I asked myself. "His nursery is still a construction zone & all the baby clothes are in a box somewhere in the basement! I CAN NOT be in labor! I'm not ready!!!" Just then, my alarm clock went off. Time to decide if I was really in labor, or if I should just get up and get ready for work." After a few minutes of deliberation, I...thinking that there was NO WAY I was really in labor 4 weeks early...decided to get up & get ready for work. As soon as I stood up, the contractions started getting quite a bit stronger. Being through this war before, I then KNEW that I was in labor...and was probably dilated to a 3 or 4. In between contractions, I called my station & then my parents, while Mike packed a couple bags. Mike then loaded everything (including two very sleepy boys) into the car & we took off. We met my parents at their house & dropped off Connor & Aiden...then it was off to the hospital.

At the hospital, my nurse determined that I really was in labor...as I was now dilated to a 5 or a 6, she said. She told me she would call my doctor. A few minutes later, she came back into the room to tell me that NONE of my doctors were on call. Another doctor (who sometimes helps out my group of doctors) was on call for them. I was absolutely devastated! I am of the opinion that there is nothing worse when you are in labor, than to be delivered by someone you have never met before. The doctor (I think his name was Dr. Whiting...but I'm not sure because I wasn't really paying attention to trivial details such as that at the time) came in to talk to us. He was about a million and a half-years-old. He explained to me that he was a little concerned that I had gone into labor so early. He told us that he could try to stop the labor, although he wasn't sure if he would be successful since I was so far along at that point...plus, he said the drugs could be hard on the baby. The other option would be to just go ahead and have the baby, although that could be dangerous...as his lungs may not have been fully developed yet. He left the room to let us decide what we wanted to do. Both Mike & I felt good about just having the baby, so we told him our decision. At that point, the doctor told me that if I WAS going to go ahead with the labor...he would recommend not having an epidural. "Why in the world would I NOT have an epidural?" I asked him. He explained to me that once an epidural is administered, labor usually slows down...sometimes, it slows down so much that pitocin has to be given to get it going again. If this were to happen to me, the pitocin could be extremely hard on the baby since he was premature. Could he give a girl any worse news?!? He asked me how I felt about that & I said, "I've never gone through labor naturally...so it scares me a lot." He went on to tell me that LOTS of women do it & it's NOT SO BAD. At this point, and in a lot of pain, I said to this doctor, "And how would YOU know that it's 'not so bad'? How many babies have YOU given birth to?" (Yes, I know...I'm going to hell...but I was in SERIOUS pain at this point & this old man was telling me that it "wasn't that bad"! Anyway...) The doctor then left the room again. My nurse came to me at that point and said, "Listen...he's an old guy & he's very old-fashioned. If you want the epidural, you get the epidural. If we have to administer pitocin, we'll deal with that when we get there." A few minutes, & a few EXTREMELY strong contractions later, I called for the anesthesiologist. Once he got there, I was dilated to an 8...continuing my trend of getting epidurals at that magical number (I haven't ever gotten an epidural sooner than that because I go through labor so quickly). The epidural DID slow my labor down quite a bit (I sat at an 8 for the next several hours), but it never completely stopped it...so I never had to be given pitocin. At 7:00 am, one of my regular doctors (Dr. Reese) came in & took over for Dr. Whats-his-name. I was so relieved! He said he would check back in with me about an hour later. At around 8:00 am, he came in and broke my water (it has NEVER broken on it's own). He told me that he was going to go see some patients at the office, but that he would come back as soon as I was ready to start pushing. Once my water was broken, I started having HORRIBLE contractions...and wouldn't you know it, my epidural started wearing off at the same time. I have NEVER felt such pain in all my life!!! I thought the contractions at an 8 were bad...little did I know what contractions at a 10 would actually feel like. I started hitting my epidural button to administer more fluid...but eventually, I maxed it out & the machine wouldn't give me anymore. (Haha! I felt like such a junkie!) My nurse called the anesthesiologist & he came and gave me a good dose that took most, but not all, the pain away. My nurse checked me again & said I was ready to push. She called Dr. Reese & he said he would be over as soon as he could. We waited...and waited...and WAITED (for about 30 minutes) but no Dr. Reese. Eventually, another doctor (Dr. Gamette) came in. He said Dr. Reese was too busy at the office, so he was sent in.

Dr. Gamette got all suited up & the NICU unit was called in just in case Cohen couldn't breathe. I have NEVER given birth with so many people in the room before...it was a little bizarre! Anyway, about two minutes & three pushes later, Cohen was born. I heard this itty bitty cry (that sounded more like a kitten than a baby) and then NICU whisked him away to the other side of the room to be given oxygen. I was so scared, but about three minutes later, the NICU staff started to trickle out of the room, saying that he was breathing on his own now & doing great! I have NEVER felt so much relief in all my life! This little baby & I have been through a lot together...with all the problems I had at the beginning of the pregnancy, and now an early delivery...I was just SO happy to know that he was here & healthy! So, that's the story of Cohen's birth! It was a little scary, but ended up having a happy ending! I mean how much happier can it get? I ended up with a healthy (although very small) baby...plus, I got to skip out on the 9th month of pregnancy (and the stretch marks that come along with it)! --Lindsay

Events that May Have Put Me into Labor

We had some busy days leading up to Cohen's early arrival. Here are some of the events that may have led to my early labor...

Event 1: Pioneer Day

On Pioneer Day, we all headed up to Ashlee's house for a day of swimming & barbeque fun. It was a great day & everyone had a blast!

Aiden on the slip n' slide

Connor trying to get Mike wet during the water fight...with the rest of us boring adults sitting in the background...

The bro-in-laws having a Guitar Hero competition

Eating dessert outside that night

The boys watching the exciting fireworks show put on by Uncle Dan

It was a great day...but very hot. The heat could have been a contributing factor to the early labor.

Event 2: Swimming Lessons

For the past two weeks, Connor & two of the little boys in the neighborhood (Tait & Blake) have been taking swimming lessons. Friday was their last day. Here's some pics...

Connor & Tait's class. They are hanging on to the side of the pool

Connor swimming to his teacher

Connor playing for the last five minutes of class

The boys with their completion certificates

Trying to keep track of three little swimmers, along with all their shoes & towels, while making sure that a crazy two-year-old named Aiden doesn't fall in the pool could be enough to put ANYONE into labor...

Event 3: Cheeseburgers, Shakes & a Round of Bowling

On Friday afternoon, a few friends in the neighborhood decided to throw together an impromptu date night. We ate dinner at JCW's in American Fork where I chowed down on a quarter pound cheeseburger and ginormous oreo shake. Then we headed over to a nearby bowling alley for a few rounds of bowling...

On the 7th frame, you had to bowl through your legs. Pregnant girls were allowed to granny throw the ball backwards instead...not an easy task when you have a huge growth around your midsection.

As you can probably tell, event #3 was the most likely culprit for putting me into premature labor! I'll save the story of Cohen's actual arrival for another day...right now, I have to go be a milk cow for a very hungry little boy. Here are some new pics of the babe! --Lindsay

Aiden...now a big brother

Cohen taking over my hospital bed

Haha! The binky is half the size of his face!

Getting ready to go home. We had to borrow a car seat from my sister, Ashlee. The one we bought was on backorder & should arrive sometime this week.

First car ride

Meeting grandpa...Cohen's namesake

Sleepy boy

Our Little Surprise!!!

Well, our little Cohen decided to surprise all of us and make his debut about 4 weeks early! Despite his early arrival, he is doing great!!! I'll give you all the details a little bit later (but I'll just say that if you're not ready to have a baby in the next 12 hours, don't eat a quarter lb. cheeseburger, a large oreo shake & then go bowling!), but for now...here are some pictures of the cute little guy...along with his stats! --Lindsay

Cohen Richard Storrs

Born: July 26, 2008

Time: 9:48 am

Weight: 5 lbs. 7 oz.

Length: 19 inches

Now THAT'S What I Call a Bachelor Pad!

Well, I haven't written in over a week. And here's the reason why...we've been busy transforming Connor's room (which used to look like this):

Into a bachelor pad built for two (that now looks like this):

And, it's been quite the task! Since Mike has become the master woodworker lately, he insisted we order the bunkbed unfinished. Then, he stained it himself. He was a little nervous since he'd never worked with STAIN before, but he did a great job! (What's new, right?) The bed looks awesome!!!

My task over the past week has been figuring out how to cram two very stuffed bedrooms into just one...and still make it livable & usable. I had NO CLUE how hard it was going to be...but two huge garbage bags, one extremely large garage sale box, & a plethora of storage containers later, I did it! Everything fits & I think the room looks awesome! Here's some other pics of the boys new "pad"!

Here's Aiden's bed. Well, it's TECHNICALLY Aiden's bed, but he & Connor have been trading every other night so they both have a chance to sleep on the top bunk...

Here's Connor's bed on top. (The bedding on the bottom bunk--pictured above--was Connor's original bedding, but when I ordered it 3 1/2 years ago, I decided to buy the coordinating bedding--that you see pictured below--too...for just such an occasion as this. At the time, I think everyone thought I was a nutcase...buying bedding that would sit in my closet for the next several years, but now I'm SO glad I did it! I love how it turned out!)

Here's another vantage point of the room. I love the cute little shelves!

And, here's some very appropriate vinyl lettering for my boys...courtesy of my friend, Tammy.

And, many of you may have seen this before, it's the embroidery that I made a few years back that is on the wall when you first walk into the room. I love it because it just ties the whole room together!

So, that's our latest project! Now it's on to the nursery...coming soon to a blog near you (hopefully BEFORE Cohen makes his debut in less than 5 weeks! Not that I'm counting down or anything!) --Lindsay

It's a Boy Thing

The boys have had some major father-son bonding time the past few days. It all began on Friday night with our annual Ward Campout. Now, I'll admit...I'm not much of a camper--even when I'm not pregnant (I prefer a comfy bed & warm shower personally..oh, and maybe a pedicure or two. But other folks--for reasons unbeknownst to me--love to sleep on the hard ground, smell like campfire & collect dirt under their nails. To each his own, I guess). Anyway, on top of not being much of a camper, I also had to get up at 3:00 the next morning to go work a double shift (both morning & evening shows)...needless to say, I did NOT campout with the ward, but all my men did...and they loved it! This year, the campout was held at Willow Park...a campground right by the Jordan River. It was pretty nice with bathrooms, a playground & a big pavilion...plus, it was pretty close to home, which made it easier for everyone to come & go. The boys had fun throwing rocks into the river, playing on the playground equipment, feeding the horses that were in an adjacent pasture, and (my favorite) making smores...


They were delicious! It was at this point that I headed home (it was already around 8:00), but I guess that's when all the real fun was just getting started. Everyone sat around the campfire & watched different auxiliaries put on funny litte skits. From what I hear, it was hilarious...


After the skits, it was getting pretty late. Aiden went into the tent & apparently put himself to sleep...

Connor quickly followed...

And so, Mike stayed up & sat around the campfire with some other "childless adults" and just talked for hours. Finally, around midnight, they all headed off to bed.

The next morning, everyone ate breakfast, packed up & took off. Mike & the boys were home by 10:00 am. Whatever were they going to do with the rest of their day? Well, what else do you do when you are a Storrs & you have an open Saturday...you head to a car show of course!

This was the Wasatch Vintage Volkswagon show. Mike usually enters his car into it, but unfortunately (or fortunately...it depends on who you talk to), Mike hasn't had any time lately to be able to figure out what's wrong with his engine...something about a honey-do list that is a mile long or something like that. I SURELY wouldn't know ANYTHING about such a list! But, anyway, his car ended up missing out on the fun this year. Darn it!!! But, the boys had a blast anyway. Well, Mike & Connor had a blast...

Aiden, who still hasn't been brainwashed into the fascination with vintage cars yet, wasn't quite as amused. He found the grass to be more entertaining than the heaps of shiny metal around him...

Eventually, on what was probably his 46th picture with a different vintage VW, Connor became a bit bored as well...

And so, the boys found something else with which to entertain themselves...

After another hour of so of playing at the playground, they all headed home...just in time to hug & kiss me goodbye as I was running out the door again to do my evening shift. (I sound like a workaholic, don't I? No worries, my life should return to normal starting this week! Yay!!!) Anyway, the boys had a blast on their father-son bonding weekend...and I enjoyed a little peace & quiet to myself--even if it WAS in a weather center at 5:00 in the morning...instead of the preferred locations...a resort spa, cruise ship or tropical beach. Oh well, maybe next year! Ladies, you with me?!? --Lindsay

Memories...Light the Corners of my Mind

My sister Ashlee had this on her blog, and I thought it looked fun. So here's what you do...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see what memories people have of you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. I would love to hear what you guys remember about me! But, keep it clean people...keep it clean! :) --Lindsay

The Case of the Broken Camera Lens

Ladies & Gentlemen of the jury...you have been brought together as a group of 12 to decipher what happened in the case of the broken camera lens. Let me recap the events of the last few days. Last Wednesday, July 2nd 2008, on a hot & steamy evening, a tragedy struck in the Storrs' household. Mike Storrs picked up his family camera to take a few pictures. He pressed the power button and then, shortly after, heard a blood-chilling sound. It was the sound of gears grinding against one another. The lens on the camera was jammed! **Sound effect heard in the the background...duh, duh, duh** Mike was baffled by the sound. He turned the power off & tried again...but, alas, got the same result...first, gears grinding against one another; then, the camera lens jammed. This made the camera unusable, as the camera could no longer focus. The beloved electronic device was dead! Mike flew down the stairs to check the warranty information for the now broken camera. Much to his dismay, he found that the camera's 1-year warranty had expired a few months earlier. A conversation ensued about his dismay in how electronics, such as this one, were made to survive BARELY beyond their factory warranty expiration date...therefore, allowing the manufacturer to make more money as the customer purchases a brand new camera. Unwilling to go down this route & give in to "the man", Mike moved on to his next step...checking with local camera repair shops to see how much money it would be to replace the jammed lens. He was saddened to learn that most places would charge at least $100 just to diagnose the problem...labor & parts would be in addition to this cost. Mike, at this point, proceeded to take matters into his own hands and fix the camera himself. After pulling the camera apart into multiple unrecognizable pieces, he came to the knowledge that even his talented McGyver-like skills could not bring the camera lens back to life. Sadly, he admitted defeat, gave into "the man", and bought a new camera. But, somehow, he couldn't get past the demise of the digital camera. What had made it jam? Was it a conspiracy contrived by the manufacturer? Was it something he had done?

A few days, several hundred dollars, & a new camera later...all Mike's questions about the failing lens were answered as new evidence came to light. Surprisingly, it was the broken camera itself that gave up this new evidence. The camera had secretly captured on it's memory stick several images of it's last few working moments. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury...I present as evidence the following photographs for your consideration...

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Ladies & Gentlemen of the jury...I think it is clear from the evidence presented that it was not Mike who broke the camera lens & it was not a conspiracy within the Sony corporation to rake more money out of the consumer. It was Aiden that broke the camera lens! Aiden did it! **Again with the background sound effects...duh, duh, duh** Aiden is also known by such aliases as the "Aidenator", the "Walking Bulldozer" & the "Tornado on Wheels". When you are in the process doing your important duty of deliberating this boy's guilt or innocence, please remember the suffering of the poor camera in its last few minutes of life & it's feeble attempts at recording the moment for all of you to witness...as if it were speaking from the grave. Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, it is YOUR responsibility to find Aiden Storrs guilty of 2nd degree homicide of an electronic object. The prosecution rests! --Lindsay