Haze David. march 15, 2013.

well it's been 3 months since the birth of our beautiful baby boy. so i figure it's about time i put his birth story up here. i don't blog too often (obviously), and while i was prego i was pretty good at writing in my journal. but since haze was born i haven't written one word, so this is good to be typing it on here! 

on thursday march 14, i was 4 days away from being to my due date. i LOVED being pregnant, but i was getting to the point of being SO ready to have this baby. i was feeling huge, uncomfortable, and so excited to meet our little dude. we were so excited! that week was the first week that i hadn't worked 40 hours, and it was so nice to be able to be home and get everything ready for the baby and make sure we had all we needed. i woke up that day and got showered and ready. my sister and her baby aiden were coming down from salt lake, and they together with my mom and i, made plans to spend the day together. we decided to go to lunch at california pizza kitchen, and then walk around the mall. around 2:30 (while at the mall), i started having some pretty intense and frequent contractions. keep in mind i had been having contractions for days and days, but these were feeling a little more intense, different, and closer together. my sister immediately started keeping track of them for me, and when we got home we started writing them down. they weren't slowing down, so i decided to text my doctor. she told me to keep track for another hour, and if they didn't slow down or become less intense then i should head into the hopsital. this was around 4:00. so i called bryce and told him. he was stoked!! we kept track for another hour and they definitely weren't slowing down! but i wasn't in super bad pain or anything so i wasn't sure if it was really happening! bryce came to my moms after work and ash and aiden headed back up to salt lake. we decided to go to the hospital to check things out. we went home and got our hospital bags (mine and babies) just in case. i changed, got everything together, we were pretty calm and chill which was nice. bryce gave me a blessing and we headed down the street to the hospital! they checked me and i was dialated to a 4 and 90% effaced. this was around 6:00pm. they told me to walk around for about an hour and they would check me again. we walked around outside and watched "friends" and "full house" on tv to pass the time. i text my doctor to give her an update, and she told me she would come break my water. her logic was, either i come break your water now and get this going for real, or we send you home and you come back at 3 in the morning to have the baby. i love love LOVE my doctor. she's awesome! so the nurse checked me and said she would call my doctor. she came back and said she was coming to break my water (which i already knew...tee hee). then it started seeming real!

taking a stroll around the hospital.

clearly this was taken after my epidural had kicked in.

husband and the parents by my side.

ps...i wrote my birth story before i added the pics so some may be out of order. roll with it. :)

at this point i wasn't in intense pain! just uncomfortable. but the contractions were about 4 minutes apart. my sister dropped aiden off with her husband, and headed back down! i wanted her in the room so she wasn't going to miss it! my doctor came around 8:30 and broke my water. before this, the nurse did my IV and all that good stuff. the IV hurt! i was surprised cause i had never had one. when she broke my water it felt very weird, and then the pain set in! my doctor left and told me to ask for my epidural as soon as i was starting to feel like i wanted it, and it didn't take long for me to want it! seriously after three contractions i was done! i'm a wimp i know, i wasn't going to claim to be tough. i'm not. they got the epidural man in and he became my best friend! ask bryce, i was liking him A LOT!! i text my mom and sister and told them to head over, this was really happening. my doctor predicted that i would have haze around 2 or 3 in the morning. so i was trying to rest in the mean time. supposedly my contractions were way big and close together, the nurse kept being like "you're sure you're not feeling those??". so i'm even more grateful for my epidural. i kept moving my legs so they wouldn't go completely numb, i wanted to be able to control my body somewhat. they checked me around 10 and i was a 7. they checked me again at 11 and i was a 10! super fast, which i was grateful for! my doctor wanted me to rest and descend for an hour, which i loved! they laid me on my side with one leg up and i was able to sleep for a bit. they woke me up at 12 and it was time to push! 

i got really nervous but i was so ready to meet our boy! i pushed for 25 minutes and he was here! it was crazy to have everyone (while i was pushing) telling me that he had hair, but it made me even more excited to see him! i loved the pushing part!! i was numb enough to not feel pain, but i could feel pressure when i was having a contraction and i knew when i felt like i needed to push. it was perfect! as soon as he was out he started to cry loud which was music to my ears. i didn't cry, but i felt such an overwhelming feeling of relief and happiness knowing that he was here and healthy! they placed him on me and i was able to look at him and touch him for the first time. he opened his eyes and looked right at me. sweetest moment of my life. we had some skin to skin for a bit, then bryce cut the cord and they took him to weight him. 8 pounds 9 ounces 21 inches long! i was shocked!! i felt big, but i didn't feel like he was going to be that big! he had lots of dark hair which i loved! they wrapped him up and bryce, my mom, sister, bryce's mom, and our dads all got to hold him. meanwhile i was getting all fixed up and stuff. i also liked that i couldn't feel that part. :) then i held him and nursed him for the first time. then it was time for a quick bath and switching rooms.

our amazing doctor!! she definitely will be delivering all my babies.

 i of course needed lots of help getting up and into the other room. by this time it was around 2 and we were exhausted! haze was such a good eater that first night and day! the nurse said he was a natural and i was producing really well. i thought i had this in the bag! then the next morning he got snipped :) and checked out by the pediatrician (which happens to be my doctor...another reason i love her...she's a family doctor!). after that he was soooo sleepy and would not wake up to eat. they kept having to check his blood sugar and it kept dropping. finally it had dropped enough that they needed to do something quick. we gave him a little formula, then my nurse brought in the lactation specialist and they helped me pump and give him some in a syringe. it was really emotional and hard for me, all i wanted to do was nurse. but at that point i  was willing to do whatever it took for him to be healthy and eating. we did the syringe a few times and he did well with that. i was feeling a little better, but wishing that we didn't have to go home in a few hours. then the nurse came in and answered an unspoken prayer. she told us that because haze was born after midnight, we could stay another night and leave the next morning. i was so happy and grateful. my nurse that night was absolutely amazing. she helped me nurse and was so supportive and kind to us. i really feel like i owe my success with nursing to her! 

sweetest moment ever looking into those eyes.

loved sleeping on my chest from day one.

the next day was time to go home!

this picture kills me...he looks so tiny in his seat compared to what he looks like now. :(

 we got all packed up and headed home! this was the first day i actually had an appetite, so we stopped at sonic. i wanted a cheeseburger so bad! then went home. i remember that first day and night like it was yesterday. a whirl wind of visitors, and trying to get adjusted and cleaned up. that first night was an adventure. i can't believe 3 months have passed. he is so different than he was when he was first born! from day one he's been a snuggler, which i hope never changes! :( since we got home he has been an eating machine! at his 2 week appointment he was up to 9 pounds 12 ounces! my doctor assured me not to worry, he clearly was getting enough milk! which was a huge relief to me. and since then he's been growing and chubbing up like crazy! he loves his play mat, and watching tv :) he loves his bum smacked, especially when he's sleepy and wants to go to sleep. he sleeps at night pretty well! he just started sleeping thru the night (most nights). it's crazy because bryce and i can't imagine our lives without him now. we say all the time..."what did we do on wednesday nights before haze?". i am convinced that i'm meant to be a mom. it's the most amazing thing i've ever experienced. especially when he smiles at me, or lights up and kicks his legs when i walk into the room. i am so grateful that my heavenly father has entrusted me with this little life. we love our hazey boy more than anything! he lights up our home and is so sweet! we love you so much 

haze david vanchiere! 

our beautiful boy. xoxo

well, if you read this then you deserve a prize! but that's what birth stories are supposed to be right? :)

love, the vanchiere's