Ralph Robert

I want to write about Ralph's birth story, before I forget the details of the day. Mind you, here I sit, so sleep deprived almost three weeks later, yet desperate enough to just get something written down. Please disregard the poor writing and grammar. I also apologize for the insane amount of pictures and videos, obviously we are new, overly excited parents here :)

Throughout my pregnancy I was convinced I would have this baby early. All of my sisters went early with their kids, and I even had dreams about him coming early (which is unusual for me). Lo and behold- I find my due date has come and gone with no baby. On October 15th, I show up to my OB appointment two days overdue. This is the appointment I had made weeks prior to having Ralph, knowing I wouldn't be there.

The weeks leading up to having him were beyond hard for me. I'm so impatient and was sick of being out of control of the situation. Every night I'd go to bed just hoping contractions would start and every morning I would wake up disappointed. It was hard for me. Dustin was the most patient and kind husband, yet there was nothing he could do either. I was feeling desperate.

As I was saying, I go to my OB appointment two days overdue, and tell my doctor how I feel, how bad my anxiety was getting, and how I was done being pregnant. He took my blood pressure and it turns out it was high. Thanks to the high BP, he called the hospital and sent us in! (It sounds so silly in retrospect, but it was an answer to prayers. I wasn't sure I could make it another day at that point. It was a Thursday and my induction was on Sunday, the days between the two may as well have been a second pregnancy for me at that point. I was at my wits end.)

Dustin and I rushed home to pack a few last minute items, Dustin even managed to shower and cut his nails before we went in (classic Dusty, zero anxiety whatsoever). We headed into Utah Valley around 10 am. Walking in with those hospital bags was pretty surreal, it felt like I was dreaming.

We checked in, and the nurses got me hooked up to the monitors. As soon as they had, we realized I was already in active labor, though we started the pit drip to keep it going. I felt great. I wasn't progressing very fast, so around 1:30 PM the doc came in and broke my water. That got things going really fast. Within 30 minutes I was begging for my epidural was so relieved when it was finally working. I was feeling good once again.

By 6 PM I was dilated to a 10, an the nurse had me "rest and descend" while Ralph slowly lowered. This whole time I was in active labor I felt totally ready and calm, Dustin and I were just hanging out, passing the time, and watching 30 Rock progressing. As soon as they told me I would be pushing in an hour I started to get a little nervous. Not so much for the pain, but for the fact in just a little while our lives would be changing for good, I would be meeting this baby, which made me really nervous. The baby that would be with me for the rest of my life.

After an hour, we started pushing, the nurse and Dustin were the only ones there. It wasn't as hard as I would have thought it would be. I felt good, I could move my feet and feel pressure but no pain. It was a really good experience and I feel so lucky. After 55 minutes and the doctor coming in to deliver, Ralph was born at exactly 8:00 PM weighing in at 8lbs 8.8 oz and 20 inches long.

Dustin cut the cord and the doctor flopped him on me right away. I helped clean him off but couldn't really see him because of the angles we were at. Ralph wasn't crying right away so they had me do skin-to-skin almost immediately to help him out. It was so strange having this baby on me that I couldn't even see because he was too close to my face. I kept asking Dustin to take a picture of him on me so I could see what he looked like. Finally after the nurses were less concerned, I held him away from me and got my first look at him. It was so surprising, when I was pregnant with him I hadn't really thought about what he would look like. I figured he would be this generic average sized baby. But when I saw his fat face and fat body I couldn't believe it. I had this HUGE baby after the doctors told me my baby would be in the mid 7s.  I had measured normally the whole pregnancy and somehow I had a very large baby.

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That first night with Ralph was so special, like most new parents neither Dustin or I could sleep. I couldn't part with Ralph and send him to the nursery that night either. I even found myself crying over the fact the whole experience was all over, and how I wish I could re-live it again. He was worth being pregnant for, which was saying a lot! Half of the night Ralph slept in his little hospital bed, the other half he slept on my chest. I couldn't believe how much I loved that baby after not feeling connected to him at all pregnant. Every squeak he made Dustin had to go check on him because it sounded too cute to ignore. We loved him as soon as he came, with all of our hearts.

                   

The day after my parents (and Jayne) and Dustin's parents came to meet him, along with Courtney and Wyatt. We spent one more night in the hospital, then took our Ralphie home that next day. He wasn't named until the hour before we took him home- we finally felt good about naming him after his great-great grandfather and grandfather: Ralph Lance Peter Robert. He's got some big shoes to fill being named after two great men, both of which are on the paternal side. He's a 4 name man ;)

We left the hospital exhausted and relieved to be taking him home. Everything felt perfect, and right. He's such a sweet and nice baby. Ralph, we love you!

    

    

Martha's Minions (part one)

Last summer I got the chance to intern for Martha Stewart in the arts department (aka the Living Magazine). A few months prior to this, my entire BYU design class went out to NYC together to find internship placements for the summer. While there, I interviewed at MSLO (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) along with a few others in my BYU design group, and ended up landing a spot with one of my girlfriends in the design program. Kirsten and I ended up being placed different departments, but it was good to know we were in it together. We soon became known amongst our professors as "the Martha girls".

(day one on the way to Martha!)

The decision to take the internship was a hard one for Dustin and I, because if I went, I would be going alone. Ultimately, I was convinced I needed to go, even if that meant leaving my lonely supportive husband all summer long (don't feel too bad for him, he went on a two week Europe vacation during my internship ;). I knew it was something I needed to do, and in the end it was absolutely the right decision for us. I couldn't love him more for supporting me in leaving him for a long 11 weeks.

My internship at Martha Stewart was one of my favorite life experiences to date. It was insanely crazy at times, (sometimes I was one of the last people in the office at the end of a long day). While at other times it all felt so glamourous–eating glittery cake in a beautiful white building in Chelsea, or lunching on the gorgeous rooftop deck.

(Morgan the dog would come to work often:)

(on the rooftop)

(one of Martha's lunches for the interns)

I worked under Eric Pike (who is now the Editor and Chief of the Martha Stewart Living Magazine). I basically did whatever he asked me to do day-to-day. I worked the majority of the time with him redesigning the new Martha Stewart logo, we did hours of type research and iterations of the logo and on the last week of my internship, the Halloween magazine came out with my new logo on it. It was the best way ever to leave that internship.

(my logo on the magazine, there was no better feeling)

(Christine worked next to me and we became good friends, there were some days I literally wouldn't make it through without her. Love Ch-choi).

I also did a lot of design for Eric's meetings with Martha. I get asked a lot about Martha-yep, I saw her and got to meet her. She literally was at the office almost every single day. She is really involved in everything at MSLO. She is also way sassier than you'd ever expect, the best way to explain her sass is to watch her on a night show, that seems to be her real personality. She's witty and even prettier in person. Martha is a bonafide babe!

(all of the interns from all of the departments)

That summer in New York was one of the most fun of my life, while I am sad the doc wasn't there to share it with me (though he came to visit twice), it also made me so much closer to all of my friends in the design program. We are all a little family now.

(A few of my class family)

(One time I visited Bomie at work...)

(Dustin and I at the MoMA)

I also was lucky enough to be introduced to new friends (and reunite with old friends Rachel Niu I am looking at you), who took me into their already set New York lives, and included me in their friend groups which helped it feel like home right away (all while being husband-less and married so far from Utah). Looking back through pictures it is only now that I fully realize how many loved ones* I had that came and supported me and visited me, it made the summer that much better.

(Tamran came out to visit, such a good time)

(Anne and John and kids came to visit from DC, me and my niece Lottie)

(Court came out twice)

(My new city-dwelling friends: Mikelle and Naomi. They took me in!)

(Kelsey came to visit twice, such good friends!)

New York, I couldn't love you more!

*Morgan (Boston and Maine and that penthouse couldn't have been more fun), Courtney & Kelsey (thanks for visiting twice guys!), Nicole (we started the trip off right together), Susan (Alt Summit, I showed up uninvited twice ;), John Anne & kids (I needed family towards the end), Mikelle & Naomi (thanks for taking me in), Rachel (our reuniting was the best thing ever), Tamran (funfetti late nights), Bomie & Rachel (you guys were the best roommates of all time). 

Istanbul Part Two

More photos from my istanbul trip this past November.

In front of the Blue Mosque (aka Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

An outside view of Hagia Sophia

inside pretty Hagia Sophia

The courtyard between Hagia and The Blue Mosque (which are right next to each other)

morgan and krystal

Me, Morgan, Krystal outside of The Blue Mosque

Inside the Blue Mosque. I have never seen anything more ornate and beautiful in my life. 

Looking up inside the Blue Mosque

Shoes were taken off, and heads were covered upon entrance to the Blue Mosque. I love an authentic experience when traveling ;)

Later in the trip Morgan and I stayed on the European side of Istanbul (there is a Europe and an Asian side). Morgan found a cool hotel and booked it for us, and it happened to be a stones throw away from a Shake Shack. We were really surprised when we saw shake shack in Turkey, and weren't ashamed to eat there twice.