Hazel's First Plane Ride

When baby girl was 3 weeks old, she and I flew to California for a long weekend.  Chris had planned a camping trip with his friends (Neal and Garrett) so I took advantage of the opportunity to go visit family in California while he was away.  I didn't get too many pictures while I was home, but it was so nice to be around family... everyone (especially my mom) was super helpful with Hazel.  Plus baby girl got to meet almost all her aunties, uncles and cousins on the Foster side. 

This is Hazel on the plane.  She slept the whole flight.

Hazel and Grandma Harrison

So sleepy...

 

My dad came up to Utah on Easter weekend to surprise my mom for their anniversary.  I was also due that weekend, so we were hoping she would come while my dad was still in town.  Unfortunately, she was a bit stubborn and took her time, so this trip was the first time my dad got to meet his 20th grand-baby.

Hazel Rue and Grandma K.  My mom was so nice and stayed up with baby girl while I caught up on some much needed sleep.  She's the best. 

 Meanwhile...

Chris and his buddies went to Goblin Valley and hiked some slot canyons.  I his pictures so I could document the trip. 

Neal, Chris, and Garrett

 The day after he got back from this trip (while I was still in California) he left for North Dakota for a week to help his friend build some fences.   He drove all day and most of the night... then worked 15 hour days in the hot hot sun, in the middle of nowhere... and five days later, drove all day and most of the night back home to see his girls.  I am so grateful for such a hardworking husband.  Hazel and I were super excited to have him home with us again.

Hazel's First Month

This is Hazel at 1 month old.  The first month with this little one was pretty dreamy... a little foggy, but pretty dreamy.  Its kind of crazy that you wait 9 months for your baby to arrive and then all of the sudden she is here and you are a mom, responsible for a tiny little human.  And you have no idea what you are doing, but somehow you figure it out... sort of... at least enough to keep them alive, and to love them more than you knew was possible.

 

 The first month mostly consisted of me staring at this beautiful babe while she slept... like a creepy stalker mom.  Also, changing a LOT of dirty diapers.  And us trying to figure out how to feed and take care of this little one, all the while trying to function like normal humans.

 It can be pretty exhausting but then she pulls out the most ADORABLE little smile and your heart melts and you forget that you had to get up 3 times the night before to feed and change her.

 This is the first of many cuter-than-ever smiles.

 Hazel at one week old.  Its crazy to think she used to be this tiny once.  At her 2 week appointment, she weighed 7 pounds 15 oz (not quite her birth weight, so we had to do a 2nd weight check a week later, and she was 8 pounds 8 oz)

Another adorable smile.

 Hazel's first bath

And this right here, has got to be one of the best parts of being a mama.  Love this girl with all my heart.

Hazel's Newborn Pictures

I am fortunate enough to be friends with one of the cutest girls around, Megan Burns, who also happens to have an awesome photography business.  Megan knocked on my door in Hawaii almost 9 years ago, and we have been friends ever since.  We don't get to see each other much anymore since life has a way of filling up our schedules... she's got three of the most beautiful children in the world that keep her extra busy, but she will always be dear to my heart because she pretty much saved me when I moved from Hawaii to Utah.  It was one of the more depressing times in my life... but Megan and I were roommates and she made a dark time in my life a lot brighter with crazy adventures and lots of laughs.  I'll forever be grateful to her for that.... and I'm SO glad she was able schedule Hazel and I in, last minute, to capture these images.  Hazel was screaming the whole time, so the fact that she somehow got these shots of baby girl looking calm and collected is pretty darn amazing.  You can see more of her work over at Branching Out Photography.

And Then There Were Three: Hazel's Birth Story

Our baby girl was due on April 19th, 2014... but like most things in my life, she did not come as planned...  and made us wait for her arrival.  I was far enough along that my doctor said he would induce me on 4.23.2014 if she didn't come on her own before then... 

Me on Easter... 40 weeks and 1 day

 So, April 23 came along and I arrived at the hospital at 9:15 to get induced and bring this little girl into the world. I was a little apprehensive about the whole baby delivery, so I tried to delay getting to the hospital as much as possible... I kept telling Chris, "I think I want a smoothie" or, "maybe we should stop and get breakfast before we go"...  Chris was super anxious to get there, but I managed to convince him to stop at a gas station where I took my sweet sweet time getting a Diet Mountain Dew for the long day ahead of me.

Walking into labor and delivery... 

 

 Despite my attempt at stalling, we got to the hospital on time and were taken to our hospital room.  Chris was the sweetest and wrote me a cute note on the white board that helped calm my worries...  I have the best husband in the world.  I couldn't imagine this day without him by my side.  I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

 They nurses examined me and said I was already dilated to a 4.5 (which was awesome, considering I hadn't really felt any contractions my whole pregnancy).  They gave me the epidural around 10 am (which also didn't hurt... I was stoked) and then started the Pitocin at 10:20.  My doctor got there about 20 minutes later and broke my water... and at 11:45 I was dilated to a 7.  The nurse checked me again just after 1 pm and I was fully dilated!  I was shocked.  It all happened WAY faster than I was expecting, and I hadn't had any pain.  Epidurals are a DREAM.  I have a lot of friends that do it natural... and I say more power to ya if that is the way you want to go... but having a baby without feeling a thing is heaven on earth in my book :)

I don't think Chris knew I took this picture... I can only imagine what he is thinking right now... He'd been waiting for this day for YEARS.  Baby girl is so lucky to have him as her dad.

This is how I felt waiting for everything to happen...

 I started pushing at 1:15 and our little Hazel Rue was born at 2:10 pm.  She was absolutely perfect.

 8 lbs 5 oz, 19 inches long.

She wrecked me pretty bad coming out, so Chris hung out with her while they fixed me up...

I got to hold her for a minute or two, but I felt myself fading fast so they handed her off to Chris while they took care of me.  I had lost a lot of blood and was not feeling my best.  Chris followed Hazel to the nursery while the nurses checked her out, and I stayed and got fixed up by my doctor and the nurses.  After about an hour or two of stitching me up they took me down to the mother and baby floor...   I was still kind of out of it from the combination of medication and blood loss, so I'm not really sure how I was feeling during all of this, but looking back on that special day there are a few vivid memories in my mind.

I remember seeing her little legs when the doctor delivered her... I remember holding her in my arms for the first time, in awe that she was finally here and she was mine!  I remember seeing my sweet husband holding our little girl and feeling so lucky to have the both of them in my life.  I remember seeing my mom witness her baby having a baby of her own... and I remember thinking how our lives would never be the same again.

Me and my baby girl

 Recovery was probably the hardest part of this whole experience.  I should have been more worried about the "after" part than about the actual labor and delivery...  (To think of all that wasted time worrying and stressing about having the baby when I didn't even feel anything!)  Passing out in the bathroom was not something I had ever expected.  I hadn't really thought about how sore and exhausted I would be after pushing out a baby (seems like common sense, but sometimes I don't think about those kinds of things).  I had no idea what to expect to be quite honest... But the nurses and everyone were great and I loved my experience there (sometimes when its 3 am and she is still awake and fussy, I wish I was back at the hospital with all those nice nurses to help me with this immense responsibility of being a mom).  I've got a lot to learn, but I'm so honored to be Hazel's mom and I pray every day that I can be the kind of mom she deserves.

Hazel and Grandma.  It was SO nice having my mom in town for all of this.  Its kind of ironic how when you are about to become a mom, all you want is for your own mom to be there to help you through it...and my mom is one of the best moms out there.

  We love our Rue Bear

 Its been three weeks now since Hazel came into this world and changed our lives forever... but it still hasn't really sunk in that this perfect little baby is OURS.  Being a parent is one of the most rewarding/challenging/exhausting/amazing things I have ever experienced (And I haven't even gotten to the hard part yet...) but I'm so grateful and feel so blessed that she is ours.  My heart melts every time I look at her and I could kiss those squishy little cheeks of hers ALL DAY LONG.  She is so awesome and I can't believe how much love I have for this tiny little person (even when she keeps me up all night).

 

Baby Shower

My sweet sister in law, Mikelle, threw me a baby shower back in March and it was so fun to have my friends and family come together to celebrate our baby girl.  My mom and sister came up from California...  and my some of girlfriends from Utah, Arizona, and California were there too.  For some of us it was the first time we had all been together since my wedding, so it was pretty fun to have everyone there.  Hazel got lots of awesome gifts and we couldn't be more grateful for all the love and support we've gotten from everyone for our precious little girl. 

My niece Malia made this amazing blanket!  She is oh so talented!  Hazel is lucky to have such an awesome cousin. 

Holly came from Arizona and it was so fun to have her and her mom and sister come... They are like my 2nd family up here. 

Jess whispering secrets to baby girl... 

MB, Tia and Lindsay... some awesome friends that I met at my last job...

Love these girls.

I didn't get a picture with my cousin Tenille, but it was so fun to see her... and she brought her baby boy Harrison, just 4 weeks old, and the cutest little man I've ever laid eyes on.... Although, having him there did make it seem a little more real and I might of had a mini freak out knowing that a tiny human like Harrison would be joining my family so soon...

Texas for Christmas

 We were able to go to Texas for Christmas this year and spend a week with Chris' family.  My cute sister in-law was due with baby number 3 just a couple weeks after Christmas, but they were nice enough to let all of us come down and stay with them.  It was the first time that Chris and all his siblings had been together in a LONG time.  The boys played a lot of disc golf while we were there (and when I say a lot, I mean like 36 holes a day) and we were lucky to have warm weather almost every day we were there. Our nephews Austin and Blake kept us very entertained, and we ate like kings with Chris' mom's cooking.  I think I grew about 2 or 3 sizes while we were there.  I also got to meet up with my good friend Jane, who I hadn't seen since my wedding... so that was an extra bonus to an awesome trip.  Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures while we were there, but here are a few from our trip.

 

The most exciting part of our trip for me was Christmas Eve.  Chris and I are expecting a new addition to our family in April, and we couldn't be more excited.  We had to push our gender ultrasound date back due to work issues, so our appointment was just the day before we left for Texas.  Somehow I convinced Chris to wait until Christmas morning to find out what we were having.  The ultrasound tech wrote the gender down and slipped it into an envelope...  and I think Chris and I could feel the presence of that envelope for all 30 hours that it sat unopened... The suspense finally got to me though and we opened it Christmas Eve.  I was hoping so badly that it would be a girl... but in every dream I had our baby was a boy... so I was mentally preparing myself for an adorable little boy to join our family.  Honestly, I would have been happy either way.  We had all of Chris' family with us, and I face-timed my family back in California and while we opened the envelope.  And it said...

Its a GIRL!

I was ecstatic, to say the least... and Chris was beaming.  We are so excited for this baby girl to join our family.  She is due April 19, and we can't wait to meet her.