Brielle's Birth Story

Up until I went in labor I worked full time at a security company called Vivint. I worked in the Order Processing department where we placed orders for the technicians so they could have the proper equipment to install the systems in customers houses. The day of September 8th my stomach was feeling super tight and I was having mild contractions. I had my appointment earlier in the week and my doctor had told me that I was dilated to a 2 or 3. I had tried just about everything to help stop the contractions because my due date wasn't until October 3rd. Throughout the day the contractions were stop and go, so I wasn't too worried about them at that point. I hardly got any sleep that night because I was so uncomfortable but I was exhausted! The next day I got up and got ready for work. My shift was 7 am til 3 pm. I remember telling my manager that I wouldn't be able to take any calls because I was in a lot of pain. Work that day felt like the longest day ever. I was not enjoying it to say the least. Three o clock finally came and I was able to go home and elevate my feet.

We were supposed to have some friends come over that night but I was not feeling good so I told Cory to reschedule with them. The contractions kept getting stronger throughout the day and once 7 o clock hit it was time to go to the hospital. We get checked in at the front desk and the nurse wheels me into a delivery room. The labor and delivery nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 5! She told us were staying to have a baby! I was really nervous this was happening so fast and so early. I was 37 weeks and 4 days so with babies that are not full term they call preterm babies. The doctor that I really loved was on call thank goodness. I was in a lot of pain, with every contraction I had to really focus on my breathing and breathe through the pain. By this time it was around 11 or 12 at night and I was not a happy camper. I ended up getting an epidural because I do not do well with pain at all. My friend Sariah and my mother in law were both there. Sariah held my hand while they did the epidural so Cory could watch, that kind of thing for some reason fascinates him. I have a big fear of needles, they make me uneasy and I just don't like them.

After the epidural was in it took about 15 minutes for the medicine to kick in and then I could finally relax a bit. A couple hours had gone by and the nurse would come in every hour to check if I had dilated any more, I didn't. So to get things going they gave me some pitocin to encourage the labor along and to get some progress. A couple more hours flew by and I had dilated to an 8. Another hour had come and gone and I was now at a 9...time to push! The doctor came in and was surprised at how big the baby's head was. She was saying she was going to be a 7lb baby going off of her head measurements. That kind of surprised me because she was coming 3 weeks early. I pushed for 15 minutes and then Brielle Nicole was born at 4:24 am weighing 5lbs 13 oz and she was 18.5 inches long. She was so perfect in every way! The nurses put her on my chest and they helped me to clean her up and get all the gunk out of her mouth and face. They took her to weigh and measure her while they did that the doctor cleaned me up. The nurses gave her back to me and I was able to do some skin to skin with her. I was loving every second of it.

I finally had a second chance at being able to raise my child.

I was really scared to have this chance a second time, because of everything that had happened with Brody. Just a recap Brody is my first born and is Brielle's older brother who passed away due to SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) three years ago. Needless to say I was terrified and excited and feeling really vulnerable. Don't get me wrong I was elated to have a daughter that I can raise and love as my own but having a child that dies in their sleep, a situation that you have no control over is really scary.

Brielle was the sweetest little girl. She would just lay on me and be staring at the world. We both got cleaned up and sent were sent to the recovery room. It was time to get a routine down and to sleep. We got Brielle to breastfeed right away and she latched on right away. It was almost like she knew what she was doing, which was such a blessing for me because with Brody I had no idea what I was doing and the lactation consultant that helped me in the hospital wasn't really helpful. I also made sure to pump to get my supply in before I went home.

Brielle's pediatrician is awesome! He happened to be the on-call pediatrician and I am so grateful for him and his sweet manner to me and to Brielle. We told him our history and about Brody and our concerns with Brielle, so he got a doctors prescription to get an apnea monitor! We had to stay in the hospital for an extra day to wait for the monitor to get there, there was a mix up of patients to monitors, long story short the delivery guy gave our monitor to another patient and thought he had given it to us. Brielle's pediatrician also wanted to make sure we knew how to use it and read it if and when it went off. Originally he wanted to monitor it for 24 hours but since we were supposed to be gone withing 48 hours of delivery he only made us stay for 4 hours after the 48 hour mark. It was a long three days in the hospital so we were more than ready to go home.

We sure love our little Brielle!

The Piersons

I can do hard things.

OK...so I have been kind of dreading writing on here again, because I know what I need to write but I haven't wanted to do it for 8 months now. I will just jump into it.

December 30, 2012 Cory and I drove up to Salt Lake to get our twin bed back from my sister who was borrowing it. We were getting the bed so my mom would have somewhere to sleep when she got here for the baby being born. As we were pulling up to her apartment I started getting really bad stomach pain. I told Cory that we needed to go to the hospital when we got back home. On the drive home I was feeling overwhelmed and terrified of this little guy coming so quickly. There was a song that came on the radio and I instantly felt like it was Heavenly Father's way of telling me everything will be alright. The song was "home" by Philip Philips. So we drove back to Provo and went to the hospital. We got to the hospital and they checked me to see what my status was. I was 3 cm dilated and 95% effaced. We sat there for a couple of hour and after a while the nurse told me that if nothing changed in the next hour then I would have to go home and come back when either I was hurting worse or my water broke. Well something happened because when the nurse came back in an hour I was 4 cm dilated so they admitted me and told me I was going to have  baby before we left the hospital. I really wanted to have a natural birth and to do it on my own but he was being difficult and didn't want to move his head in the right position. So after 9 hours of labor I decided to get an epidural and 6 hours later it was time to push.

I gave birth to our first son Brody Steven Pierson. He was 6 pounds 12 ounces and 19 inches long. He was born at 5:15 am in the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. He was two weeks early from his due date but was a healthy baby boy. As soon as he was born he cried for a little bit then was just alert as ever and looking around. The nurses put him on my chest and I was able to help clean him up and to be able to finally hold my baby boy. I was overcome with so much joy and emotion for this little human.

The nurses cleaned us both up and wheeled us to a recovery room where we would be spending the next couple of days. Once we got to the room the nurses took Brody and gave him a bath and his shots and did some tests to make sure he was healthy. They took his footprints and hand prints. When the nurses gave him back to me he had a little Mohawk in his hair, it made me smile.

People came to visit us and to see Brody. We were getting cabin fever being in that hospital room.

The next day Dec 31st was my birthday and we got to go home. It was a cold winter afternoon so we were all bundled up. We took Brody home and celebrated my birthday and had a small family party.

The next 9 days were absolute bliss and it was like heaven on earth. I loved my Brody so very much.

January 8th 2013 I can say was the worst day of my life. Brody had skipped a feeding during the early morning and I woke up at 7 am to find that he was purple in the face. There was blood pooling out of his mouth and nose. I panicked and screamed at Cory to tell him that Brody was all bloody. Cory grabbed him while I called 911. Cory did CPR and tried clearing his airways until the ambulance and policemen got there.

Cory, my mom, and I had to stay at the house for a while because the policemen wanted to ask us a couple of questions about what happened and what we did in response to finding him. I'm not going to lie but I was pretty ticked that they were keeping me from my son, but because there was blood they questioned if we had done anything to hurt our boy. We live in a sad world where infants do get abused everyday and I do appreciate the law enforcement for looking out for my baby but I am definitely not a mother who would kill her baby, and I wanted so badly to be there at the hospital.

There was a detective there and an officer that were asking us all kinds of questions. If we smoked or drank, if we had any arguments that got physical, if we ever smelt drugs outside or if we ever did any in our house, how my pregnancy was and if I or the baby had any complications etc.

The detective had told us in our living room that our baby boy hadn't made it, that he had died. I was really hoping to have a different outcome and was being really optimistic thinking this doesn't happen to me, to other people yes, but not me.

My heart was broken and I immediately started thinking that I had done something wrong. Evil thoughts kept running through my mind, I didn't exercise enough while I was pregnant, I didn't eat as healthy as I should have, and the worst; maybe I had rolled over on him and had squished him in my sleep....

You never know how good you have it til you hit rock bottom and the one thing that you anticipated and hoped for is gone.

I kept thinking why God? What have I done to deserve this misery and heartache?

Cory called his dad and had told him before we got the news that Brody was at the hospital. He came to pick the three of us up and we gave the news to him in our driveway. I will never forget the look on his face and the shattered hopes and dreams of the first heir to his family name. When we had told my father in law that we we pregnant he wanted our firstborn to be a boy so much just to carry on the Pierson name. And when we found out it was a boy he was so overjoyed and it was the happiest I had ever seen him. To have to watch while that all got thrown out the window was heartbreaking all over again.

We drove to the hospital in tears and silence. I felt like a lot of the hospital was waiting and crying and more waiting and even more tears. The detectives first told us that we could go in to see Brody but not hold him or touch him. But after a while of waiting they gave us the ok to go in and we were able to hold him until the medical examiner got there. Lisa (mother in law) and Jenny(sister in law) both met us at the hospital. There was a lady there that took pictures of us saying goodbye to Brody. She also gave us molds of his hands and feet and a big mold of Cory's hand, my hand, and Brody's hand. I was holding Brody's, and Cory was holding my hand and we all three dipped in a big bucket of wet mold . I treasure those molds probably more than anything I own. We spent as much time as we could holding our boy and crying and being together as a family. The medical examiner got there and I was able to hand my little baby boy to the examiner. 

The police officers wanted to meet us back at our apartment for us to show them what had happened. They had me lay in bed and reenact everything that I had done and everything that Cory had done. They even had a life size doll to pretend with...I did not enjoy it to say the least. As soon as we were done I did not want to be there anymore. So Cory and I packed our bags and went to his parents house to the next town over. On the drive to my in laws "Home" by Philip Philips had came on again and I burst into tears. 

"Hold on, to me as we go As we roll down this unfamiliar road And although this wave (wave) is stringing us along Just know you're not alone Cause I'm gonna make this place your home Settle down, it'll all be clear Don't pay no mind to the demons They fill you with fear The trouble it might drag you down If you get lost, you can always be found Just know you're not alone Cause I'm gonna make this place your home" 

I knew Brody was talking to me through this song telling me "hey mom it's ok, everything will be alright!" I still to this day tear up every time this song comes on my ipod, or phone, or pandora. We got to my in laws to be greeted by Cory's grandma and aunt who had made us all lunch. My mind couldn't comprehend that he was really gone, just like that. Over the next couple of days we were busy with planning the funeral and where he was gong to be buried. All of the love and support from family and friends was so overwhelming and thoughtful. I just couldn't believe how many people had been touched by my little Brody and how many people had reached out to us with their love and kindness. We had a beautiful service on January 12th at our church building. My in laws were gracious enough to give us one of their burial slots in a local cemetery. 

I was so surprised how many people had come to his funeral. People that I hadn't talked to in ages were there, aunts and uncles that lived a couple of states were there, friends that had traveled miles to be there for us, all of it was so heart warming. 

The one thing that is getting me through this whole experience is knowing that my Brody is really mine and that I will get to hold and embrace him in the afterlife. I know that my Heavenly Father truly hears my prayers and sends me my angels when I need them. It is truly a blessing to know that I will be with my family again and that death is not the end. After Brody died there was something really amazing that I realized, Brody's due date was January 15th. He was born December 30th, he died January 8th. If he had gone full term he could have been born a still born. Heavenly Father knew that if that had happened it would have been so very hard and difficult for me to handle. He was gracious enough to give me those 9 days with my baby, to hold and love him and capture memories with pictures. 

A couple of months later I get a call from the police department saying that hey have closed Brody's case and that they are ruling his death as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). There is literally nothing that I could have done to save him and I had done nothing wrong with raising him for that short time. It was such a blessing to hear it and also really hard to hear. I had been eating away at myself thinking I had done something wrong as a new mother. But now I know, I know that through Heavenly Father and with His help, I can do hard things. 

Big News!

I am a terrible blogger! I don't have any excuses for why I'm not posting blogs, just laziness I guess ha. Oh well. A lot has happened since the last time I've posted a new blog. I am now working for the state taking care of Cory's handicapped brother; Cory is still in school and loving it, and WE ARE PREGNANT!!! :) We are having a baby boy and I'm due January 15th, 2013. We couldn't be happier with this little joy coming into our lives. We are nervous and excited to be parents but know that it'll be rough and trying. Cory has decided that he isn't going to coach this next year. He'll be able to work more hours and thus get more money. Also he wants to be able to spend a lot of time with this new baby when he comes. I know it was a hard decision for him to make because i know how much he loves to coach but i appreciate him so much for being able to step up to the plate to help out with the baby.

Ever since we found out about us being pregnant we both feel like our relationship has taken a turn in the best way. We both feel like we have grown stronger toward each other. The Lord has given us this opportunity and we feel so blessed that he trusts us to raise one of His children. I pray that as this child comes into our lives we can raise him with His help and strength. I love this little guy so much already and can’t wait for him to make his appearance! Seeing Cory interact with my belly and seeing him talk to the baby and kidding my belly every night before bed makes me fall in love with him so much more than I already was. :)

To find out the gender of the baby we did a balloon release. We went to the ultrasound and had the ultrasound tech write down the gender instead of telling us. I had decorated a box that i found, i covered it with paper and wrote "It's A..." We went to a balloon store and had them fill up the color of balloon with whatever the gender was written on the paper. One of my friends was nice enough to be able to take pictures while we opened the box and found out the gender. Cory says he knew it was a boy and was so sure of himself. I had a feeling that it was a boy but didn't really want to say anything if it was a girl. Silly I know but I didn't want to be wrong haha.

Beautiful Sunday Morning.

So last you heard I had been looking for a job right? Well instead of just getting one job I have three now!! and man it is hard work.
We figure the more money we save up the less in debt we'll be in when Cory goes to grad school. I love my jobs and what I do.
The first job that I got is with a company called Maxim healthcare services and I go to patient's houses and take care of them and do whatever I can to make their life and their familie's lifes easier.
The second job I got is with the same company but my professional title for this job is a Flu Admin. you know the people that sit there at the retail stores like costco or target or walgreens to give out the flu vaccine? well that is me...well I dont give the shot the RNs do I sit there and fill out the paperwork for it. I like it though its pretty chill and can get pretty busy sometimes.
The third job that I have is working for a company called Beehive Homes Assisted Living. Which is like a nursing home but the residents are more indepent and can do more by themselves. Ever since my first day working there all the residents have been so welcoming and awesome. The home currently has 14 residents living there which can get busy when it comes to meals and bedtime and in the morning when everyone wants to get up but other than that we just hang out and watch movies or read books or whatever the residents want to do.
Cory's classes are going well and he is having fun learning spanish and doing his chemistry labs.
We have a new goal to start working out to get in shape again. Cory started about two weeks ago and I started last night and I am sore today haha since its cold outside we've been going to the smith field house to run because it is an indoor track.
We have also started a challenge with Cory's family of reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover in 100 days. Cory's dad is a bishop for a singles ward and they are doing it so we thought it was a good idea and so they whole family got in on it. Although I did this challenge when I was in seminary I love reading the Book of Mormon as a book and reading the stories that are in it.

Love,
The Piersons

Back to school we go!

OK so its the start of a new school year and Cory is only taking three classes this semester. He works in the morning at the hospital and goes to school in the afternoon...man i love him! The three classes that hes taking is Spanish and Chemistry and a Chemistry lab thing. I have also gone back to school haha but not what your thinking, i took a two week course to get my Certified Nursing Assistant license. It was really fun getting to know new people and learning new material. Now i am looking for a CNA related job....fun stuff! no not really, its been kinda difficult not having a job and living off of Cory's income when we are used to both of us working so we had to cut back on a couple of things but I'm sure everything will go back as it was once i get a job.

For Labor day weekend Cory and i drove up to Washington to visit my family. It was really needed and i missed them a lot! My older sister Alicia, my cousin Alex and her boyfriend all came along with us and surprised both my mom and my aunt it was pretty hilarious to see both moms surprised. We left Utah Friday night and got into Washington around 4 in the morning and went straight to bed, we were pooped! Didn't really do anything too excited, just hung out with the fam and enjoyed their company til we left on Monday night about 5 ish and got back home to Utah around 4 am poor Cory had work at 7 Tuesday morning =[

Life is good! Til we meet again :)

Four-Wheeling with ma boys :)

Cory's brother in law Dave's family has a cabin up in Spanish Fork Canyon way up in the mountain. About an hours drive from Provo. After the big Springville City Arts Parade Cory, Dave, the two little boys and I took the truck and two four-wheelers up for the day. This was our adventure :)


The boys with their huge helmets heehee :)

                                              

all nice and clean still. before heading out to the trail.





haha oh Ethan :)





Georgeous views! at the top of the trail.



=]]

dirty faces on the trail haha



that's right...sniper baby ;)





haha devil child...he can be sometimes but mostly loving :)







Before :)



After :)





Oh and Dave hit a momma badger on the way back down the mountain ON PURPOSE!!! It stunk so bad!!

update time!

So every year Springville has the Art City Days which is kinda a big thing around here they had a carnival and a parade and lots of things to do for the entire week. Of coarse with our busy schedules we didn't get to do everything...but we did go to the fair! :) We went Monday night when it was only one ticket per ride to ride on when its usually like three or four tickets depending on the ride. Thank goodness for family night!

These are some of the rides that Cory and I rode before the lines got super long!

The Ring Of Fire!!

one of the kids that were on the ride with us looked like he was going to cry but he was like 16 or 17 looking haha it was way funny

The Alli-Babba(baby one)

and of coarse the ferris wheel! we stood in line for an hour and a half to ride it. Riley and Ethan were geting pretty antsy when we started gettting towards the front.

But we made it on just in time before the rides started closing down and before it started to get really cold. Dave bought the boys a snow cone to keep them happy for the time being while waiting in line-hence the red on his face haha

overall it was a good day! :)

Yay for surgeries!...NOT!!!

The past couple of weeks have been a little hectic. Cory finished school on April 27th. He got amazing grades and I am very proud of him! The track team that Cory coaches for in Springville won the state title (well the girls) after being cursed with 2nd place for 4 years! The boys came in 2nd over all and beat the school record which was awesome to watch! We were outside pretty much all day and I got a pretty good burn. After the girls won the state title one of the girl's dad is a fireman and offered to drive us through town on top of the fire truck!! It was awesome! We had a police escort and an ambulance following us and the girls rode on one fire truck while the boys rode on another fire truck. Needless to say, it was an awesome experience. Cory started a new job working as a physical therapy aid in the Payson hospital. It’s quite a drive but it'll be well worth it and a great experience for grad school. Cory's parents went out of town for Cory's dad's work and went to Washington D.C. for a week, we house-sat/watched, my brother in law, when they were gone. It was fun to hang out with Jared and relax (somewhat). When Jared was two years old he had meningitis, which is an inflammation of the lining around the brain and spinal cord, so he's pretty much a 14 year old kid stuck in a 29 year old body. Whenever we ask him how old he is he says that he is 14 so we will go with that. He is high functioning and can take care of himself for a lot of things but just needs assistance with others like cooking and bathing, so that’s why we stayed with him for the week. While the parents were away Jared and I went to South Jordan to visit Jenny my sister in law and her two adorable puppies. We made homemade hamburgers for dinner and watched tangled and just hung out and enjoyed each others company. Thursday the 26th Cory had another surgery on his nose. On April 1st he had the first surgery on his nose and just had another one. He had a deviated septum in his nose which was making it difficult for him to breathe correctly. Well after that surgery he started forming a large bump on the inside of his nose which was making it hard for him to breathe again. So hopefully this last surgery fixed that mess and we won't have to have surgeries for a while.

My mom came and visited us this last weekend. :) It was nice seeing her and spending time with her. She got here thursday night and left this morning. It was kinda crazy because I had to work a lot while she was here but thank goodness they were in the mornings only. Thursday night when she got here we just hung out and sorted through all the scrapbook stuff she gave me (three big boxes full!!!!) since she got here kinda late. Friday I worked early in the morning then when i got off we went shopping and had girl time without Cory, he doesnt like shopping anyway haha. We went to cafe rio for dinner and hung out at Cory's parent's house. Saturday I worked a grave so i slept most of the day but when I woke up my mom Cory and I went out to lunch at icebergs then my mom and I went and got pedicures. Sunday I worked another grave but was up in time to go to church. After church we all went over to Cory's parent's house for popcorn and ice cream and a movie. This weekend was pretty exhausting for my body and so I'm hoping this next week is a lot more calm. Hopefully I'll get to see my mom again in a month when my older sister Alicia moves to Salt Lake. My mom hasn't decided if she's tagging along or not yet, so we will see.

I will be posting pictures soon of the track meet and of other things

The Proposal ;)

Wow I need to catch up on this thing haha. So Cory and I have been married for six weeks today! woohoo!!! Man times does fly...anyways Cory proposed on December 10, 2010. I kind of had a feeling that he was going to propose but didn’t really think too much about it to not get my hopes up in case he didn’t. He told me that morning that his sister Jenny was coming over from South Jordan (45 minutes away) because she wanted to decorate the Christmas tree in his parent’s front living room. Ok I thought thinking it was going to be really fun. We had also planned to go to Salt Lake City to see the temple square lights. He told me to dress up warm but cute because we were going to be taking a lot of pictures. So my thinking was that he was going to propose in Salt Lake around all the Christmas lights (and people...YIKES!!!). But when I got to his parent’s house all the family was there and were waiting for me to get there to start decorating. Cory took me into the front room to the living room to show me the tree and our two nephews followed along with everyone else. We started putting some ornaments on and my mother in law, Lisa, says that dinner was ready and to come eat. So we all go back into the dining room to start eating. Well at this time Cory disappeared somewhere but I didn’t think anything about it. He then comes back with a box of ornaments and asks me if I want to go put more ornaments on, without even thinking twice about it I say yes and follow him back into the living room. We start to put ornaments back on the tree here and there. He points at one ornament and says that he likes this one the best. I kind of look at it and agree that it’s really pretty. Cory then says I think it’s my favorite out of all of the ornaments. I again shrug it off and agree with him that it’s pretty. (I was really concentrated on getting the ornaments on the tree I guess). Getting frustrated Cory tells "LaBretta, look at the ornament!" I then look closely at the ornament that he was talking about. It was a star ornament with a little gem-diamond-like thing hanging in the middle of it.

The ring was sitting on the top of the point of the star. Once I saw the ring I started freaking out! Cory took the star off of the tree and took the ring off the star and got down on one knee and asked "LaBretta Ranae Anderson, will you marry me for time and all eternity?" Of coarse I said yes. We then went out to the dining room where all of his family was waiting and everyone started crying and laughing. His parents made us this delicious dinner that we ate in the living room by the christmas tree, candlelight dinner and everything :) it was really romantic!

When it all began....

So Cory and I got married a little over a month ago and its amazing! Not a lot of people have heard "our story" so here it is...We met at our singles ward family home evening activity. We were playing a get to know you game and he came up to me and was asking me a bunch of random questions. Later that night we went outside to play a couple of games, our favorite one is the wink game where you get a bunch of chairs and put them in a circle. Then either the guys or the girls stand behind the chairs while the opposite sex sits in the chairs. Well the girls were standing behind in the first round and Cory came and sat in my chair. You have to leave one chair empty and the girl that is stading behind the empty chair winks at one of the guys that are sitting, while the girls that are standing behind them are looking down. When the girl with the empy chair winks at a guy, the guy tries to escape from his chair to the empty one. Well the girl with the empty chair in our game winked at Cory he completly failed to get out of my chair haha. People like to say that i "man handled" him when they explain this story to other people. Later in the game he ended up getting away from me and the game went on. Then i decided that i wanted him back in my chair so i winked at him and he got away! He jokingly asked me for my number after that and i just shrugged it off thinking nothing of it. So family home evening went on and just as I was about to leave Cory calls me over and tells me that he never got my number while pulling his phone out. I seriously thought he was just tring to be funny and asked him if he was being for real. He said yes so i ended up giving him my number and then ended up leaving shortly. Well he ended up texting me a couple hours later and so i invited him over to watch a movie. Of coarse he did come over and we watched Taken. Good Movie!!! Well the next night he ended up asking me out and kissing me :) and then the next day he met my parents, sister, and sister-in-law. So we dated and everything was amazing and this is our story. Hope ya liked it!