The Huss Family

28 August 2008

26 August 2008

WILLIAM MATTHEW HUSS!!!

i am finally getting around to writing about William's birth b/c it's been kinda a lot to learn in the last few days as first time parents ... ;)

here's the short and low about the memorable day of August 21st:

around 0030 contractions began every 15 min and i thought that it might be time but i wasn't sure so i kept waiting. about 0230 i called Dori Ross, our fabulous doula, and let her know that it was time!!! there was no stopping the contractions and they were getting a couple minutes closer and closer together. in the mean time before the rush to the hospital, i was busy making a fruit smoothie, playing the piano, watching law & order: SVU, double and triple checking my hospital bag, etc. 0600 came around and i said emphatically and assertively "it's time to go to the hospital!" so matt put all the stuff in his mustang and i walk down, get in the front seat, and IMMEDIATELY yell "we have to switch cars! we can't take the mustang!" i needed to move around and not sit ... later he thanked me for changing cars b/c it was easier w/the carseat and better for me.

0630 we arrived at the hospital and i was hugging the walls with each contraction while we were registering at the ER entrance. i pushed the wheelchair that was brought for me b/c it hurt to sit ... i needed gravity to help me out and bring me this baby! i was 7-8cm dilated and 100% effaced and they had to make sure i was in labor before they put me in a room and let me have at it.



i used every position known to mothers to get comfie and make contractions effective from using a body ball, getting in the birth tub, leaning on matt or the wall, kneeling, cat-cow pose from yoga, and side-lying relaxation pose from the bradley method. the best was kneeling and leaning for me :) 5 hours later i felt little williams head pushing hard on my pelvis and yelled to the nurse and my doula that it was time and that i wasn't gonna wait any longer! now or never! a couple big pushes and out came little will all at once in a huge flash!!! the midwife had barely walked in to put on her scrubs and catch the baby. but then something odd happened: as i was reaching for william the umbilical cord just BURST!!! poor matt didnt get to cut it :( [he was looking forward to doing that]. crazy stuff! but atleast our baby boy was healthy, had all his parts, and was crying! he cried for a couple minutes and then was calm as a bug! such a quiet, accommodating, good baby :) we're so blessed!





i tore a little bit and needed some stiches but nothing else eventful happened - thank goodness! i just can't help but look at this little guy and thank my Father in Heaven for this wonderful blessing!!! there is nothing to describe how i feel about this little person that has suddenly appeared. i've been imagining this day and seeing my belly get bigger and bigger over the past 9 months, but to actually have him here and see what he looks like, to hold him in my arms ... it's almost unreal!!! surreal almost! it's just like faith! you do things to help it grow, see side effects in your life, and when there is a real struggle and challenge to that faith it is in that moment of triumph that you realize and see your faith clearly for the first time as something tangible. God has created a plan and revealed principles that will lift us, refine us, and bring us closer to Him. There is nothing like hearing and learning these things from the mouth of living prophets and apostles today! Nothing like knowing and being blessed to have a family that will be together past the limits of mortality into eternity! i couldnt imagine living w/o my son, husband, parents, sisters, and extended family members. Thank God for His love and the restoration of His gospel in these days.




William Matthew Huss official stats:


8lb 21in - healthy


born at Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville, IN


time of birth 1121 on 8-21-08


parents Rachel Diane and Matthew Joseph Huss


12 August 2008

memorial for snoopy

today has been such a sad day! i left the house early to meet a pediatrician and when i arrived home i saw snoopy lying in an uncomfie position in his dog house and it seemed a little strange to me that he didn't get up and greet me. so i walked in and asked my dad if he noticed anything wrong w/snoopy - he went outside to see him.

snoopy wouldn't get up ... COULDN'T. he was only thirsty, wouldn't eat his favorite dog bones. he hobbled for a second just so he could use the restroom but then quickly fell over. he had been yelping all night long - i wondered why he was awake at night, he usually isn't - and now it all came together. he was stuck there unable to move all night and just crying for help!

so dad and i took him down to a pretty corner of the yard, said our good-byes, thanked him for being such a good friend, and let him go of his earthly duties. it was the saddest thing to see him go! i never want to see that again in my life, but it was so harder looking into his eyes and seeing the pain that i'd do it again in an instant! now we need to find a good size rock so he can have a headstone.

we love that dog! he is such a loyal, loving, and mischevious little dog! he had a spark about him and always wanted to love and be loved by you. he was the last of his litter ... the runt and the oldest living. he lived to be 14 years old. i wish animals could have longer lives, but i guess this way we get to have many wonderful friendships and relationships.

what a sad day it is. dad and i have cried tears of loss and tears of joy for snoopy. knowing that he's not gone forever, that i'll see him again, and that the gospel touches every part and aspect of our lives gives me great peace. religion isn't just something i do on sundays for a couple hours ... it is my life! it is what guides my every decision and makes me who i am.

thanx snoopy for all your love!!! we miss you so much!

05 August 2008

the up and coming move!

MJH and i have decided that by FRIDAY we're going to be living in dad's house ... so that means a lot of packing this week! we told our landlord that we'd be out of the apt by the end of this month, so mostly what we'll be moving are personal items. we'll get to the other things later. so most important are the clothes, toiletries, books, printer and computers, movies, etc. we'll be giving away the couches and bed and letting MJH's bros take the dinner table and old dishes.

i'm so excited to move our 500+ books to the house ... not! i'm gonna need to get another bookshelf for them all and move a couple things around before we decide where to put them. as i've found out, bookshelves are impossible to move once they're full of books. so location is key! plus we'll have dad's trailor and navigator to help move things. so i'm so excited!!!