Rex Kanoa Birth Story

I wanted to make sure I wrote down Rex's birth story while it is still fresh in my mind. Every time I think about the day he was born it makes me so happy. I was pretty nervous about the whole labor and delivery, but honestly it was one of the most amazing, exciting, and spiritual experiences of my life. This is how it went down:

Friday August 1st was Rex's due date. Once this day officially arrived something clicked and I was really ready to have my baby boy. I went to lunch with my mom and grandma to celebrate the day. My grandma had a baby born on August 1st (my Uncle Dave) and my mom had a baby born on August 1st (my brother Court) so I thought it would be really cool to have my baby that day too. All day I hoped for hints of labor but no such luck. I decided Rod and I needed to go on one more date before the baby came. If I didn't go into labor on my own I was going to be induced the following Wednesday so this was for sure our last weekend. We decided to go to the Parade of Homes. I was hoping walking around all night up and down stairs would put me into labor - and it did! (eventually). We had dinner, looked at some amazing houses, and then went home. Whilst watching Friday Night Lights later that night around 10:00 I started getting cramps. I noticed that they were kinda sharp and would come and go. I wasn't sure if this was labor but I started timing them anyway. They were about 20 minutes apart. This went on all night long which meant I really couldn't sleep. Every time I fell asleep another contraction would wake me up. By the next morning I was exhausted but hopeful that we would be going to the hospital soon. We decided to clean the house a little and get ready. My contractions didn't stop. They would get close together (6 or 7 minutes) and then spread back out again to 15 minutes. I was frustrated and tired. I really didn't want to go to the hospital too early and get sent home so I labored at home all day. That evening I was starving and for some reason the ONLY thing that sounded good was the pesto pasta from Noodles and Co. Weird I know. While we were there my contractions jumped up a notch. I am sure I looked ridiculous gripping the table in between bites of my pasta. Just to be sure my labor really was in full force, after dinner we went to Rod's work and walked up and down 5 flights of stairs for at least a half hour. Once we got home the contractions got really intense and I decided it was time to go to the hospital.

We arrived at Lone Peak around 10:00 that night. We got checked in and for some reason I still had this feeling I was going to get sent home. They took me into the room and checked me . . . I was a 6! If I had waited much longer I wouldn't have been able to have an epidural! Everything after that went pretty fast. I had a few really bad contractions before the anesthesiologist got there and I was sooo grateful to get that epidural. I probably would have kissed her if I had the ability to move. At that point all I needed to do was wait. I loved watching the contractions on my monitor and not feeling them at all. I took a little nap, Rod went to McDonalds (waiting for a baby makes you hungry!), and then it was time to try and push.

Rod held one of my legs and the nurse held the other. Rod watched the whole thing,  but when his head almost came out he got a little woozy and the nurse and I thought for sure he was going to pass out. He laid down for a minute while we waited for the doctor to arrive (I almost pushed him out before Dr. Smith got there!) Once he came in I pushed 1 more time and at 4:27 AM and he was here - 6 pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches long. We named him Rex Kanoa Rasmussen. Rex is a name we loved from the beginning of my pregnancy. I really wanted an R name and something simple to spell and pronounce. Not to mention Rodney's love for dinosaurs. Kanoa is Hawaiian. We always talked about using a Hawaiian name since that's where we met, fell in love, and got married. It's a huge part of our love story. It means "the free one" in Hawaiian which is the closest thing to Rod's middle name - Freeman.

I can't even describe the feeling when they put him on my chest right after he was born. It was unreal and I think I understand now why women do this. It's the hardest and best thing I've ever done in my entire life.

They took him and cleaned him off and I was in such shock. I had a baby. I was a mom! Luckily he was healthy and perfect. Rod took a zillion pictures and we tried to soak it all in.

We were in heaven.

Beautiful photos by Alli Miles
©2012AllSmilesPhotographyLLC


The next day we were happy to have lots of visitors. I was exhausted after two nights of no sleep but I think I was on such a high it was really hard to rest. We had to stay at the hospital for at least 48 hours because I was GBS positive. Being in the hospital was really fun though! Lone Peak is so nice and our room was huge. Oh and the food . . . so good. Tuesday morning we woke up excited about going home but we were told little Rex was jaundice and needed to stay an extra day so he could be under the lights. It was a rough 24 hours. He hated being naked and we weren't allowed to hold him! I could only take him out to feed him. Luckily after 24 hours in the tanning bed his jaundice went away and on Wednesday morning we were able to take him home. Putting him in our car was surreal! We had a baby. He was ours. He was coming home with us. We were in charge of him.

It's now been two weeks and a half weeks. The hardest and best two and a half weeks of my whole life. He's doing really well and is already weighing in at 7 pounds 13 ounces (as of last Friday). We love him so much and can't wait to watch him grow. I love the spirit he brought to our home. He is perfect.

We love you Rex Kanoa! Your dad made you this video to remember your birthday.

Rex Kanoa Birth Story from Rodney Rasmussen on Vimeo.