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Jedediah Jay Rawson

FIRST YEAR OF LIFE STORY – Written by Debbie Rawson (his mom)

Glenn & I were married Nov 25, 1983 in the Provo Temple. We lived around 800 South just off of the Provo-BYU campus for a few months. Then we moved to a very small Log Cabin at the end of Center Street in Provo. It was built in 1850 and was the 3rd oldest functioning home in all of Provo. I remember we paid a whopping $35 a month for rent. It was one room downstairs with a wood fireplace and a small kitchen in the corner. The bathroom was under a stairway that went up to a small bedroom upstairs. We were on the bank of Utah Lake and the lake was so close that our back door touched the dike and didn’t open all the way. The city was busy building the dike to hold back all the water as it was a flood year. We could hear the construction machines much of the time day & night, especially when they were backing up. We lived in a grove of cottonwood trees, kind of a mini-forest. There was plenty of dead wood and branches to keep our little cabin warm. Glenn would chop & gather wood on our about 1 acre place. When the rain came our walls became a drippy waterfall on the inside so I placed towels to collect the water along the floor. We would fantasize that we had an exotic waterfall in our frontroom. Some of the chinking between the logs was missing so we could see outside but we plugged the holes as best we could. This is the cabin where I became pregnant with Jed. We felt so blessed and would often take walks along the dike. There were mice and other rodents and sometimes in the middle of the night Glenn would awaken and smack the walls to get the rodents to stop making noise so we could sleep. We enjoyed much happiness. 

When spring came we became flooded out and moved to an old ladys basement up by the Provo Temple. We lived there the spring-summer of 1984. She was kinda cranky and often turned off the water heater claiming we were using too much electricity. We didn’t even own a TV or anything that used power. We had to borrow Bryan & Jills vacuum and return it occasionally. Glenn was going to BYU getting his degree in wildlife management. It was here that he made me a cute Sweet & Sour rice meal. He put in something sweet and something sour. Lemon Juice & sugar & then added a can of peas for nutrition. It was so awful tasting that he left me a sweet note and went to campus to find himself something better. I came home from work and found the note and actually was eating it because he was so sweet to do that for me. He later said we could have used it to patch cracks in the sidewalk or something. 

We then moved to Springville Utah 373 S. 800 E. sometime that fall. We needed a little more space before the baby came and the old lady would never have appreciated a crying baby in her basement. We were so glad to get out of there. We were paying $190 a month for rent in Springville but we had a nice half of a duplex with a carport. The landlord was a very nice man and we lived there 4 years while we had our first 3 children. 

I shall recall from memory some details of Jeds birth as I can’t seem to find my journal from this time. One summer day Glenn and I went for a drive up Hobble Creek Canyon close to our house. We had my brother Dwights truck while he was serving a mission. We supported his mission in exchange for using his truck for two years. We took the truck and Glenn wanted to go fast across the river to the other side where the trail came out there.  We somehow got across the bumpy river as I held my belly. We were on a great adventure but the road was bumpy and a nearly full-term pregnant experience was becoming kinda painful so I finally asked if we could stop and turn around as I wasn’t handling it very well. Bless his heart he felt so bad, and I really was trying to appreciate our time together. We got turned around and he was taking it slow to be thoughtful so he didn’t hurt me. When we got to the river, against his better judgement and trying to think of me, he didn’t go fast enough and we got stuck in the river. The more he tried to get unstuck the deeper we got. He finally helped me to the side and set me on a rock and went for help. He returned with some help that was able to get us out of the river and back on the road. As I watched this amazing husband and his desire to take good care of me I realized no matter what happens, he will always figure a way to fix any problem, overcome any obstacles, and find a way through. I was so proud of him that day, and luckily the bumps didn’t throw me into labor. It was really pretty scenery and a memory I treasure.

    In looking for my journal, luckily we found Glenns sweet account of his birth which I shall include here. Leading up to Jeds birth Glenn would come to my doctor appointments as often as he could. What a sweet and thoughtful man. We attended some classes at the hospital for first-time parents and I remember trying not to be nervous for delivery. We heard stories of emergency procedures, prolapsed cords, emergency C-sections, etc and I remember thinking wow, this is a big act of faith and there is no going backwards. I was so grateful things were going pretty normal for us. My doctor, Dr Judd, told me not to cross any roads because I might cause an accident from people staring at how big my belly was. He thought I might be having twins so he ordered an ultrasound. Nope, no twins but they could not tell the gender back then, even at nearly full-term, but we did hear the heartbeat. We did not know if we were having a girl or boy before he was born. There were no ultrasound photos either. The night before he was born we took some pictures of me in my white nightgown, just for posterity pictures. I gained about 40 lbs during the pregnancy. I remember going about 3 weeks overdue. I was due like end of October, then they said early November. They didn’t know and we didn’t know. When I kept going overdue it was a bit discouraging but someone said to me that the baby was a lot easier to take care of inside that when it comes out and that seemed to calm my nerves a bit. During this time some friends of ours asked us to care for their log cabin summer home that was up Hobble Creek canyon, just not far from our home. We wanted to go check it out so we tried to get up there. The gate was locked so we had permission to walk from the gate to the cabin. It was quite a hike and I was on my due date. I was having contractions 5 minutes apart on the walk back to the gate where we left the car, but they died down once we got home and he didn’t come on the due date.  

     The night before Jed was born we had already been to the hospital and they sent me back home. We were going to bed when I had a really big pain. I knew it was time to go back to the hospital. We lived in Springville so it was a bit of a drive. Shortly after arriving at the hospital my water broke. I remember being in labor about 4 hours during the night. He was born at 4:49am November 18th 1984, that morning and was 21-1/2 inches long and weighed 9lbs 4 oz. I had been able to labor through without any anethesia or painkillers. Just before he was born the nurses said the doctor wasn’t there yet so I needed to hold off the pushing contractions. I was literally crowning and I’m supposed to not push????? After a few of those I finally looked at Glenn and said “I need you to catch this baby because I’m pushing him out on this next contraction please”. He looked quite bewildered as you can imagine. Just then the nurses said, “Oh we see the doctor, he is coming down the hall, hold off a little longer”. I remember not being very happy with the holding off part but the doctor arrived just in time to catch him. After he was born I was very exhausted. Morning came and the nurses had a shift change. They were all alive and wanted to feed me and vacuum my room, and wanted me to get up and go to the bathroom. I was so weak I fainted and they had to break some smelling salts to wake me back up. After that they put in a catheter. I just needed a little rest was all. When they finally turned off the lights and left me alone I was so grateful. Glenn had gone home to rest up and came back. We enjoyed our baby all afternoon. I couldn’t hardly believe I was a mom!  Jed is my little joy!!!! I didn’t even want to share him, but had to remind myself I will get plenty of time with him. My mom, dad, Kyle, and others came up to visit at the hospital. Glenns journal tells the story so well and I am including it here. I came home on Nov 20th from the hospital. Those few days in the hospital I remember I really enjoyed the sitz bath for my stitches. I was grateful I had good insurance through my work. I had to sit on a blow-up donut cushion for the first week. I think I was most sore with Jeds stitches than any other of my baby births. Looking back I think I might have torn or something and the doctor just didn’t want to tell me. We did not go back to that doctor or that hospital. Our next two children, Sherise & Dawni Jo, were both born in Payson by Dr. Flinders. I had a much better experience in Payson and Dr Flinders was so much better.

    Glenns parents came down from Idaho on the 21st and they would help me first for a few days. Orson was so proud but not sure how to hold a baby. You could tell he was not used to that but it was cute. They are staying until after Thanksgiving. I had cooked a turkey ahead and froze the meat so Thanksgiving would be nice. Janice wanted to make soup with the turkey so we ended up having soup for thanksgiving meal. After they left and my mom showed up to help for some more days, I was just so glad to have my mom helping and doing laundry and I could just rest. I remember just 11 days after Jed was born, I fit back into my overalls. They were a bit tight but I was feeling much thinner. I have included some photos here of his first year of life. He filled our home with joy. He was such a very happy baby. I don’t remember him crying much but I do remember he would go to any stranger. He loved people from the time he was born. He giggled at everything. Glenn would put him in the carrier and sit and watch BYU football games with Jed. He would read the scriptures to him and Jed loved it. I sure enjoy him. His smiles would just crack us both up in hysterical laughter. He is the cutest smiley baby ever. Glenn is the best daddy in the world too. I sewed Glenn a bathrobe for Christmas that year.