Category: David

Benjamin D Berky

January 2004 – Benjamin D Berky


Mommy to be for the third time struttin’ her stuff.


First picture of Benjamin D Berky.


Mom & Me


My first bath.


David & LaReita Berky Family v.4


I am the star of the show.

Benjamin D Berky was born at 9:17am, January 21st, 2004 after a thankfully short labor of love by his mother. David & LaReita raced to the hospital at 4:30am when LaReita’s contractions began to come regularly and were increasing in strength. On the way (and between contractions) LaReita chided the ever-cautious David for only driving 75 mph on the freeway. (LaReita says: After all, the contractions were 2 minutes apart and lasting 90 seconds!)

Upon arriving they found their way to the Labor & Delivery area of the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah, a 15 minute drive from home. They wandered the halls for awhile until finding a nurse on duty who could direct them to a room. LaReita was quickly prepped and was given an epidural by 6am.

Both LaReita and David were able to get some more sleep from 6 to 8:30am; LaReita in comfort from the epidural and David from exhaustion (he needs his 8 hours of sleep). Around 8:30am the nurse came in and LaReita asked for a catheter. Before the catheter LaReita was at 6cm; after the catheter she went to a 10cm. Dr. Nance was called and arrived about 10 minutes later (LaReita swears it was more like 30).

Once Dr. Nance arrived at 9:10, it only took 5 pushes for Benjamin to take his first breath. As Dr. Nance began to examine him a portion of his umbilical cord ruptured and a gush of bright red blood squirted all over the delivery room. (“Just like in ER” David was heard to comment later.) The incident posed no threat to mother or baby, but Dr. Nance was going to need some new clothes.

Dr. Nance allowed David to cut the umbilical cord and Benjamin was cleaned, checked, weighed, measured, poked, prodded, given a shot and wrapped up to be placed in the arms of his mother for the first time. Later David went with Benjamin into the nursery so he could be checked more thoroughly, given another shot (he only cried for a minute to the pleasure and pride of his dad) and then given his first bath.

Later several family members arrived to meet their new relative. LaReita’s mom, Grace Leavitt, came with Aunt Julie (David’s sister) and brought Benjamin’s brothers, James and Anthony. James couldn’t wait to hold his new brother. Anthony couldn’t wait to play with the buttons on mom’s bed.

Benjamin weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces, was 21 inches long and scored a 9 and 9 on his APGAR baby exam scores (1-10 scale).

James and Anthony are excited for their new brother to come home and play.

LaReita, David & Julles’ Cruise

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January 2003 -LaReita, David & Julie’s Cruise




Cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada Mexico

January 13-16, 2003





January 13, 2003

Dave and LaReita in Los Angeles Port





January 14, 2003
On our way to Catalina! (Meika Boogert and Julie Berky) Hoped we could snorkle, but ended up being too cold (water was 56 degrees)




We took a boat tour instead along the coast line. It got REALLY cold.





A pair of bald eagles live on Catalina.





Our boat tour took us out in deeper waters and we found a pod of dolphins that were playing with the boat. BEAUTIFUL!





Dave Relaxing. The one thing he really wanted to do on this trip. In the background you can see the “Holly House”.





Catalina Island January 14, 2003





On this tiny island (only 1 acre developed) everyone gets around in golf carts! I loved it! Hence my mania in taking so many pictures of golf carts!





Ensenada, Mexico

January 15, 2003





Ensenada is famous for having the world’s largest blowhole. (a cave at the coast that fills with water and pressure, then blows to release.) It wasn’t particularly powerful today.





Beautiful people in front of the beautiful ocean.

David Berky, LaReita Berky, Meika Boogert, Julles Berky





Walking through the open-air market we got a cute $10 kid’s guitar, a Superman cape, some silver jewelry. But we were not tempted with buying a “Velvet Joseph Smith”!


Birth of Anthony David Berky

(If viewing extract, click on the “Read more about…” link below to see the pictures.)

Welcome to the world!


Anthony David Berky


Anthony David was born at 1:29am on October 25th 2001 in Provo, Utah.

He weighed in at 8 lbs. and 5 ounces and is 21.5 inches long.

Mommy, LaReita, labored about 5 hours. After a tiresome first day and a restful second night mommy and baby came home. LaReita is feeling good (relatively speaking) and was anxious to leave the hospital where they kept waking her up to ask her if she was doing well. (“I’d be doing a lot better if you would quit waking me up every two hours!”)

Pictures of the new arrival:










(James only smiles after the picture is taken.)




Madeline Sage Berky – October 4th, 2001




The Birth Of Anthony David Beky

The baby was due on October 24th. At the doctor’s appointment one-week prior, Dr. Nance told LaReita and David that it was unlikely that the baby would come that week.

At the appointment the week of the due date, Dr. Nance gave LaReita and David their options. He said that they could wait it out or start the induction process. They decided to go with the induction. Dr. Nance instructed them to report to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo the next day (Wednesday) to begin the medicine that would help with the birth process.

At 3:00 the next day David & LaReita went to the hospital for the first treatment in the induction process. While they were there, another nurse came to get medical information and blood samples for a new life insurance policy. It worked out well to have the additional medical procedures right there in the hospital.

LaReita and David left the hospital and stopped at TacoTime in Spanish Fork to pick up some dinner. They ate around 7:00. They were due to return to the hospital at 10:00 for the second treatment. LaReita was scheduled to be admitted the next day when they expected the birth to occur.

But about 8:00, LaReita started feeling strong contractions. At 8:30 she looked over at David and announced that they were going “right now!”

Her contractions were coming at about a minute apart and they were strong. So they raced to the hospital hoping the cover of their old highway patrol car would keep the real highway troopers from giving them a ticket. They parked in front of the hospital, grabbed a wheelchair and raced to the elevators.

Once on the fifth floor they informed the nurse on duty that LaReita had been in earlier for the induction medicine and she was having strong, frequent contractions. They took LaReita into the assessment room where she dressed in the drafty hospital gown and laid down to wait for the nurse.

They were in the room for about a half an hour with LaReita suffering from the frequent contractions when the nurse came in for the assessment. LaReita was dilated to 3cm. They hooked her up to the monitors and kept them in the room for another half-hour when they checked here again. This time she had progressed to 6cm.

Things were really moving. That set off a panic and they quickly bundled her up in the bed and rushed here to a delivery room. It was just like a scene out of the TV show ER (which they had been watching religiously over the past year).

Once in the delivery room, LaReita was transferred to a new bed and the anesthesiologist came in and quickly became LaReita’s new best friend. Once LaReita was properly drugged up. David left to move the car from the front of the hospital to the parking lot.

When he returned, LaReita was resting. After all that rushing around, LaReita took a 2-hour nap. Here nap was timely as it allowed her to rest for the big event which began around 11:30.

The nurse came in to check her and insert the catheter but as she started to check LaReita, she excitedly announced that there was no need for the catheter, it was time to have the baby.

The nurse reconfigured the bed for delivery and LaReita got ready to push. Additional nurses came in and brought the baby-warmer and necessary supplies. LaReita began to push as they called Dr. Nance who, fortunately, was already in the hospital for another delivery.

LaReita pushed for about an hour and a half when Dr. Nance arrived. The baby’s head was already visible and it was just a matter of a few more strong pushes. This was nothing like the 18-hour ordeal with James, her first.

After a few more strong pushes a little baby boy emerged. He had lots of laconium (baby’s first poop) so the nurses had to take extra time and care to get him all cleaned up. He had some fluid in his lungs that took some time to get cleared. It was a nervous time as five or six nurses worked on the new baby, cleaning him and caring for him.

LaReita was getting a bit nervous about all the busy activity around her new baby but David stood where he could see both LaReita and the baby and gave her updates on what they were doing.

After about 15 minutes of frenzied activity, the nurses wrapped the new baby in his first blanket and laid him in his mom’s arms. Tears flowed down LaReita’s face and even David wiped away a tear or two as they welcomed their new son into the world.

“It’s nice to meet you Anthony,” were LaReita’s first words to her newborn son.

LaReita and David took turns holding Anthony for about 10 minutes and then David carried him down to the fourth floor nursery where he was weighed, 8 lbs. 5 oz, measured, 21.5 inches, and given his first bath and a blood test.

After about 2 hours of poking and prodding David was allowed to hold Anthony in a rocking chair as Anthony took his first nap. After about an our of holding Anthony, a nurse came in and they placed Anthony into the mobile crib and took him to LaReita’s new recovery room on the fourth floor.

LaReita immediately took Anthony and started to teach him how to eat. It took a little time for him to catch on, but when he did, he ate hungrily.

David spent rest of the night with LaReita and Anthony in the room sleeping on a fold out chair/bed. Nurses came in ever two hours to check on LaReita and Anthony.

Around 8:00 they brought LaReita some breakfast and she got up to stretch her legs and go to the bathroom. She was surprisingly mobile and feeling well for having just gone through the ordeal of birth.

Family started arriving around 10:00 as Julie brought James to meet his new brother. James was a bit timid at first but soon warmed up to his brother and asked repeatedly if he could hold him.

LaMont and Kris arrived with Holly to drop off a few things and see their new nephew. Lynette, Karalyn and Brynn also paid a visit.

LaReita was ready to leave at 6:00pm but the nurses recommend that she stay another night so they could monitor and she could rest. Some rest, they still woke her up every two hours to check on her and Anthony.

The next morning David and LaReita brought Anthony David Berky to his new home in Spanish Fork, Utah and his new big brother James.