Saturday, December 8, 2012

Happy Birthday Chris!

It is my dear husband's birthday today! The theme of his birthday presents was swimming.  Here is what he got!

 This is the cake we got from Magelby's Fresh.  This is called an easy birthday, because of the circumstances!

Happy Birthday, Chris!

What I love about my husband:
  • He is a great priesthood holder
  • He is a great daddy
  • He shows a lot of love to Davis and I
  • He works hard to keep his body in shape--he has lost 30 pounds this year!
  • He is working hard to find a new job that will provide for our family
  • He loves the church, me, and Davis.  What more can you ask for?!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Baby announcement!


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Our sweet munchkin

I decided that I wanted to have newborn pictures taken of Davis.  I got into Camera Shy http://www.camerashy.com/ to do it.  My mom came with me, and we had a great time watching Davis have his picture taken!  An hour and a half later, we had a CD full of great shots of him!  For only $90, it was a great purchase!  Here is what we got . . .















Oh, what a cutie!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Introducing Davis Christopher Rusch

Introducing Davis Christopher Rusch
 Born November 20, 2012
at 9:30 am

 Weighing in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces
 19 inches long

 Proud parents are Chris and Tina Rusch
 We are in love!
Here is the entire story, in case you care:

On Tuesday, November 20th, 2012, Davis Christopher Rusch was born into the world.  It was a wonderful experience  Here is the story.
The week before, I had my weekly doctor's appointment with Dr. Grover.  We knew that it was the week before I was due, and I was planning on my last day of work being the following Friday.  I had a permanent sub all lined up to start work on Monday, and everything was figured out.  Dr. Grover said that she wanted to see me on Monday instead of Tuesday, to see where my cervix was and if she wanted to induce me on Tuesday before going out of town.  Of course, I agreed!  :)
The next weekend, I felt like I wasn't feeling as much kicking as I usually did.  I was feeling him kick every now and then, but just not as much.  I told Chris, and he agreed.  I thought it might be because I was busy getting Thanksgiving dinner ready for Sunday, and figured I had a doctor's appointment on Monday, so I wouldn't worry much about it.
On Monday, when I went to see the doctor, I told the nurse about my concerns.  She said to tell the doctor, which I did.  The doctor said that it probably wasn't a problem, but she wanted me to go have a non-stress test that day, just to be sure.  Chris came to the appointment with me, and asked if I wanted him to stay.  I felt like something might happen, so I said yes.  We went to lunch and then went to have the test done.  During lunch, we talked about the things that we wanted to do with the rest of our day, which seems funny to me now.
After lunch, we walked over to the hospital and went to get the non-stress test.  The people in the Maternal Fetal Medicine unit are so nice--we have been there a few times already.  Anyway, they started the test and said that I did not have enough fluid with Davis and probably needed to deliver.  The lady called Dr. Grover, who said that we needed to go to labor and delivery RIGHT THEN!
I asked if we could go home first and the answer was a definite NO!  So we went to labor and delivery.  I called Mom and told her that I was going to have a baby TODAY, and she started packing her bags!
I finally got checked in around 3:00.  We asked the nurse if Chris could go home and get my stuff, and she said that it was an excellent time to do so.  I was Group B Strep positive, so they started me on an IV on penicillin, and watched the baby's heartbeat.  At 7:00ish, Dr. Grover came and put a balloon in my cervix to help it dilate past a 1, which is what it was at my appointment.  I guess that shaved about 12 hours off of the labor portion of the fun.  The nurses were very impressed that she was able to put the balloon in, because my cervix was not all that big.  I was also started on pitocin, and that made my contractions start going every 3-5 minutes. 
After a little while, I tried to sleep, which didn't work that well with contractions going every 3-5 minutes.  Finally, around 5 or 5:30, I asked for the drugs!  I tell you what, an epidural is awesome!!  I could finally sleep for a couple of hours!  Between 7:30 and 8:00, Dr. Grover came back in and broke my water.  She said that there was not much fluid to be had, which of course was the reason that I was there in the first place.  I started to feel like I could feel the contractions through my epidural, and told the nurse at about 8:15.  She was going to put some more fluid in me, because the baby's heart rate was not doing well.  When she looked, she was shocked.  I was already a 10!  She said that it was time to deliver the baby.
Dr. Grover came in at about 8:30 and was fairly impressed too!  We started the pushing, and the whole time, Dr. Grover was watching the baby's heart rate like a hawk.  It was really the greatest experience ever--the only people there were me, Chris, the doctor, and the nurse.  I had pushed for almost an hour, and Dr. Grover said that she was going to use forceps, because she was not happy with his heart rate.  It was not stabilizing as fast as it had at the beginning.  So, she told me that for the next push, she would use the forceps, and, at 9:30, Davis Christopher Rusch was born.  His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice, but Dr. Grover removed it quickly and suctioned out Davis's lungs.  It was a wonderful experience to hear him cry for the first time!
When he first came out, Dr. Grover expressed that she was surprised that he was so small.  When they put him on the scales, he was 6 pounds, 3 ounces and 19 inches long!  That is a lot smaller than we thought he would be too!
Davis seems to be the best baby ever.  On his first night home, we had to wake him up to eat!  He seems to be very easygoing, and overall, a very pleasant baby.  We love him so much and are glad to have him in our family!  After a lot of work with the in vitro, this little miracle has finally joined us!  I feel like Heavenly Father watched us during the entire labor and delivery process, and I felt calm the entire time, because I really felt like he was meant to be here at this time.
We have had a lot of family visit us since then.  Of course, Mom was waiting outside for him to be born and let us know that she was there when we were ready.  Davis's uncles in the area also came to see us as soon as they could.  He is a very blessed baby boy who is so welcomed into this world!  We are excited to have our little Thanksgiving miracle join us just in time for the holidays!

Sunday, October 21, 2012

An essay for my future self

On parenting . . . .

There have been several things that I have learned from my years as an educator on parenting.  I have seen many many good examples of things that parents can do to help their children continue to be successful, and become successful adults and contributing members of society.  I have also seen many examples of things that should NOT be done in order to create successful individuals.  In fact, some of these things would most likely only create criminal-type behaviors in your people.  Here are some of my examples.

As a parent, DON'T:
  • Allow your children to have a TV in their bedroom
  • Allow your children to have a computer with internet access in their bedroom
  • Allow children to go to bed with their cell phone
  • Blame teachers for mistakes that your children make, i.e. leaving their cell phone on and having it ring in class.  That is the children's fault--not the teacher's!
  • Believe everything that teenagers and young adults say.  They don't MEAN to lie.  It is unintentional.  They are just trying to save face.
  • Assume that your child is perfect in every way, and would never DREAM of doing anything bad.
As a parent, DO:
  • Give teachers the benefit of the doubt, until you know the full story.  Usually, the teacher's story is much different from the student's story.
  • Instill in your children a thirst and love of knowledge.  Encourage them to attend school and learn all that they can.
  • Help your children to become good citizens that are appropriate in most circumstances.
  • Teach your children to be polite.
  • Teach your children the value of good friends, and make sure that they choose the right people to hang out with.  The value of friends is so influential on a child's life!

Almost here!

OK, here is the last update before his arrival!
 Me at 8 months.  Yes, I am ready for this baby to get here.
 His bed, with sheets and "friends"
 His dresser, complete with clean clothes
A new car seat and stroller set!

We just have a couple more things to get, but, for the most part, we are ready to get this little man here!







Sunday, September 30, 2012

Baby shower!

Oh, how I love my family and friends.  We got together for a baby shower, and it was sooo much fun!  Here are some pictures to prove it!
 With Angela



Here I am at 32, almost 33 weeks.  At this point:
When I went to the temple, the man at the recommend desk made a comment about how I was "about ready to pop"
I was at the hospital, and decided to pre-register for the delivery of this boy.  The lady at the pre-registration desk asked if I was already in labor.

This baby is definitely getting ready to come!

Happy Birthday, Casey!

For Casey's birthday, Mom and Dad came to town, and we went through the Salt Lake temple.  It was Casey's first experience with the temple, and we had a great time!
 Opening presents at our house in the morning--Chris made us a wonderful breakfast to celebrate!


 With Mom and Dad and Carter and Whitney
 Mom and Dad say that a day like this is parent payback time--5 kids who all went to the temple.  Pretty good!
All of the temple-going folks.  Uncle John made it too--he always makes it for Casey's momentous occasions!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Peeking!

We went home, because a friend at home said that she would do a 3D ultrasound for us.  It felt like we were peeking to see what the Christmas present was!  This is what we saw:



The big news of the day--he has HAIR!  And there is probably more growing, because he hasn't even reached 7 months yet!  I shouldn't be surprised, but how fun to find out.  We think he looks like Chris, with a nose like mine!

Another thing to not be surprised about--his head is larger than normal.  That makes this mommy not happy!

Chris is in Reno right now for a job interview--we will see what happens!  Wish us luck!




Sunday, August 26, 2012

Top of Utah

It is now time for me to do a little bragging for my husband.  He completed the Top of Utah Half Marathon yesterday!  My brother and sister-in-law also completed it, and said that Chris was the rock of the race!  He never stopped and just kept jogging at a constant speed.  He finished in 2 hours, 44 minutes, which was WAY UNDER what he expected.  Way to go, babe!  My parents came to the race to help out with Taylor and Katie's kids, and to cheer them on (along with Chris).  We actually went to the Maverik that was about three miles from the finish, because Katie's mom called my mom and told her that they were there.  We seriously pulled in right as they were getting there, and were there for less than a minute to cheer them on, which was perfect timing!  Even a little too perfect!  Then we went to the finish line, and Dad paid a guy to park in his driveway, and we saw them finish.  Here are some pictures I took from the race . . .
 Here are Taylor and Katie waving hello to their kids.  We saw them about 3 miles before they finished.  It was so fun!

 Taylor finishing
 Chris finishing

 Taylor and Katie after the race
Chris after the race
 Everyone who raced--Taylor Cash, Katie and Taylor Davis, Chris, and Travis and Kellie
Way to go, everyone!