The Babies

Here are some pictures of the boys. I will warn you that Joseph will look much different from Hyrum as he had been dead for 3 weeks before I delivered him. His features were all still very apparent, and he looks like a baby. When Samuel saw him, he said (with a smile on his face) BABY! It was a very sweet, tender moment holding Joseph with our other children. They were not at all scared. I talked to them about what he would look like. I also showed them pictures of some other babies that had died around the same age so they would know what to expect. I told them they could decide if they wanted to see him.
Sydney told me "Why wouldn't I want to hold him? This is my only chance to hold him". They all love their little brothers very much.

Here is Hyrum minutes after he was born.

This is my dad, Grandpa Steven (we call him Grandpa Dewey; long story) whom Joseph was named after, holding Joseph.


The girls put on gloves and moved Joseph's legs and arms.


They also kissed his head. They were so sweet with him. With how they were treating him, you would almost think he was alive.

Joseph's head and abdomen were filled with fluid, and you can see in this picture how large they were in relation to his arms and legs. You can also see Eli's wedding band by Joesph's arm.

Claire and Joseph

The only picture of me with my boys. Samuel looks grumpy, but he was just really tired. It was about 10 pm; much, much later than his bedtime. My awesome siblings got me these flowers, picture frame and a new robe. Three of my sisters came to see me the day I delivered the babies. They actually got to see Hyrum before I did. My mom was also a trooper that day. We had called her at 4:30 am to see if she could meet us in Price (she was in Lehi, about 1 1/2 hours away) and take our children back down to Ferron. Later on Eli called her and asked her to bring the children up to the hospital in Salt Lake where they had life flighted me (almost 3 hours from Ferron), so she packed for all of them and brought them up. They didn't leave the hospital until around 10 pm. It was a super long day for her too.

Here are the beautiful flowers from Eli's parent's. I love the color combination.
Joseph's feet in relation to my pinky finger.

Joseph and I with the blanket I made for him.

Eli's hand and Joseph

Eli with his boys, minus Hyrum.

Our only family picture with all of us. One of the NICU nurses made me a scrapbook page with a picture of Hyrum and that's what Sydney is holding.When it was time to put Joseph back in his box to take him to the mortuary, Sydney had a really hard time. She told me "I just love babies so much. I don't want to let him go". This has been hard for her because she can't see Hyrum, and Joseph died. She is such a mother hen, and it's hard that she doesn't have any babies to take care of. She had prayed for twins, and a few weeks before I found out what I was having, she told me I was going to have a boy. You can't really tell in this picture, but she is sobbing and not wanting to let go of Joseph. Here is Sydney at the mortuary with Joseph's box (she and Claire had borrowed some dress-ups from Auntie Ewa). She also had a hard time at the mortuary. She has such a tender heart.

And to end on a happy note, here is my first time touching Hyrum. It was such an interesting/emotional experience touching him for the first time, 5 days I after I delivered him. I feel empty, not being pregnant and not having a baby to take care of. I'm pumping milk and freezing it for him, but it's not the same as having a baby around. Hopfully the next 3 months go by quickly.