3 months old.

time is going way too fast. our hazer man is already 3 months old and i just can't believe it! he is the sweetest boy ever. he smiles and puts on the charm perfectly on cue! he's started giggling and has definitely discovered his voice! we're in trouble now i feel, he's going to be a chatter box! but i love it. he has the cutest little voice. haze brings a smile to anyone's face who sees him, he just is such an angel. he's also a giant boy! i wonder who he gets that from....! thanks babe for that :) at his 2 month appt he weighed about 14 pounds, was 25 inches long (which put him in the 99%). yikes! another month has gone by and i think he's easily 16 pounds and growing more every day! i love that he's healthy and growing. people who meet him for the first time are surprised when we tell them he's only 3 months old. he looks older! we definitely don't make peanut babies. i love my little dude!!

so happy.

this was the day we took the babies to see Thomas the Train in Heber where my parents grew up. Haze and his cousin Aiden loooove each other. they're so cute.

cuz love.

love, the vanchiere's

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 

36 weeks and a slight scare.

so on tuesday when i got to work at 2 i started having a few contractions, mostly in my back. nothing super strong or close together, nothing to really worry about. my doctor has been good about telling me what to watch for. but because i wasn't feeling super great, i started being more aware of little dude and his movements. he is usually such a mover! i've never had to focus on that or do kick counts because he is always moving! and lately he's been getting the hiccups too a few times a day. but for about an hour while at work i wasn't noticing him moving at all. i was texting my doctor and she told me to eat something sugary (so i ate some gummy bears and drank a capri sun), nudge him and poke at him (which i did and got no response...when usually he will move instantly when i do that). she told me to wait another hour and let her know. of course at this point i started getting worried. which i'm sure didn't help the situation. all while being at work and dealing with the usual tuesday chaos. another hour passed and nothing. i went and told my boss and of course broke down in tears, she told me i should go to the hospital which is what my doctor had also suggested, just to make sure everything was okay. i called bryce and he left work to come get me. it was about 5:00 at this time. my doctor had called the hospital to let them know we were coming. i had said several prayers by this time and i had calmed down quite a bit. i felt peace that everything was okay, but i just wanted to go and have them check him just in case. bryce was worried of course but he is my rock, he keeps me sane :) we got to the hospital and of course had to fill out a bunch of paper work because i had never been to that hospital. as soon as i was done with that they laid me back and found his heart beat. the sweetest little sound in the world. it was 147, exactly where they want it to be at this point. of course the minute they strap me up for the stress test our little dude starts moving and poking and being crazy. i cried tears of relief, because he was being the baby i've been used to again! they monitored us for about a half hour and they were so impressed with his movements and his heart. nothing to be worried about! they said he is perfect. such a relief and i honestly felt kind of stupid for going, but i would way rather be safe than sorry. they sent us home and told me to rest. they also told me (along with my doctor) that obviously he's running out of room and it's pretty common for him not to be AS active as he has been in the past. he's sleeping lots and also when i have contractions it's common for him not to move as much. so it was good news all around. i went home and wrote in my journal and rested as much as i could that night. the next day he was so active all day and had the hiccups lots! i was grateful, i love feeling him move around. 

i can't believe we're so close to meeting him. i love him so much.

my amazing brother in law took some maternity pictures for us last saturday. i love how they turned out and am so grateful for those memories we'll always have of my pregnancy! thanks j!

love, the vanchiere's

v day.

happy valentines day to all! it doesn't really feel like valentines day so far. i'm at work, super exciting. but luckily i have the night off and so does husby. we are getting fancy and ordering pizza tonight. we decided it will be our new tradish to stay in on valentines night and go out and celebrate on the weekend. which i'm sure is what a lot of people do, but especially once we have baby it will most likely be easier to get out on a weekend anyway. so we are starting now :) i have always been a fan of valentines day. i love that everyone gets to celebrate their love for each other, and not just for significant others, but for just anyone you love. it was fun when we were little kids and it's still fun. i feel grateful that i have someone who tells me they love me multiple times a day. i love my husby, i got so lucky with him! he's going to be the best daddy.

i also have been lucky enough to have amazing family members.

i love love :) happy valentines day!

love, the vanchiere's

35 weeks!

since i'm posting this on wednesday, i'm now technically 34 1/2 weeks which means just a little over a month from having this baby! yikes. i can't even believe it! people keep asking if i'm ready...well...are you ever really ready?? we have everything we need i think for the most part. just a few more last minute things to do like pack for the hospital and all that. i also have a couple of showers coming up and i'm so excited for them! on saturday a few of my friends took me to lunch and gave me gifts for baby. it was so fun and i love getting things for our little dude! we have been very blessed so far with people being so generous and giving us things! these days i am pretty tired and achey most of the day. my back seems to hurt constantly and because he likes to be on my right side, i have like a perma-pinched nerve on the right side of my back. it's lovely :) i can tell he's beginning to run out of room in there. he stretches out and will be pounding on my bladder and then the other half of his body is clear on the far right side of my body. it's a crazy feeling! i've been sleeping ok the past few nights (knock on wood) i think because i'm so exhausted by the end of the day, especially when i work long hours. but all of the aches and pains are worth it because i'm getting a beautiful baby boy at the end of it all.

here are some of the fun things we got on saturday from my friends.

35 week belly!

baby v...this week mommy has been thinking a lot about making sure i'm the best mom i can be for you. it's a lot of pressure thinking that heavenly father is trusting me and daddy with one of his precious sons and that your life and well being is in our hands. there are so many things i want to do and so many things i don't want to do when it comes to raising you. but we just will take it one day at a time. mommy will make mistakes i'm sure of it! but be patient with me and we will learn and grow together ok? i love you more than words can express already and i haven't even seen you in person. but i feel as if i already know you in so many ways. i have loved sharing these past 8 months with you. except when i was sick that wasn't the greatest...but i still loved every minute. i know i will miss being pregnant but i can't wait to meet you and see what you look like! i hope you have your daddy's dark eyelashes! i'm pretty positive you'll have dark hair and dark eyes but daddy and i have both had dreams that you're blonde! maybe we are getting you confused with your cousin/buddy aiden baby. i don't think you two will look alike but you will be best friends for sure :) we can't wait to meet you little dude! keep kicking away and letting mommy know you're alright. i love you forever.

love, the vanchiere's

34...almost 35 weeks.

I can't believe I'm almost done with this pregnancy and we get to meet our little dude so soon! I went to the doctor today and we scheduled the rest of my appointments all the way up to my due date. the weeks are just flying by. it still doesn't seem real to me. i'm not sure when it will. and even though i'm stressed and frazzled trying to get everything done and as ready as possible for him to come, i'm so excited to meet him and have him here. i'm starting to get a little nervous for the actual labor part, even though everyone seems to say the same thing. "oh that's the easiest part!" i'll believe it when i experience it :) i get really tired by like 5:00pm...but then i get restless legs so i get annoyed of laying down. there's no pleasing me i swear. most nights i sleep ok...if i take a unisome and a bath and can have lights out and no noise. which is not how i used to be at all! but still some nights my body and brain will not relax. people say that it's just my bodies way of preparing me for baby, but i honestly would rather be up with a baby then up and restless and so frustrated because i can't get to sleep. but we'll see how i feel once he's here. i'm sure i'll miss sleep but it will be worth it. i'm starting to forget what not having a big belly felt like, but i love how big he's getting and i love my belly.

baby v...you have started getting the hiccups more and more! mimi tells me that means your lungs are getting stronger, and i love that! i was starting to get sad last week because i hadn't ever noticed you having the hiccups. you must have heard me say that because literally 5 minutes later you had them. i had to ask both mimi and aunt ash if that's what it was and when i described it to them they thought for sure that's what it was! so now i notice it all the time! probably 2 times a day at least. it's fun :) you are going to be a big boy i feel! some days you like to be in my ribs on the right side allllll day, making it hard for mommy to breathe and be comfortable. but i'll do it for you buddy. daddy and i got your seat put in the car and are working on getting diapers and wipes and our hospital bag ready to go just in case! but don't come yet ok?? 3 more weeks at least ok? i love you so much and i can't believe that you're ours. i can't wait to see what you look like!! keep growing strong and healthy please. mommy and daddy love you so much!! xoxo

love you forever baby boy.

on another note...can you please just look at my nephew for a minute?? get ready for your heart to melt. i love him so much. we've been so blessed to be able to see him lots! luckily soon my sister won't be working anymore and we can play even more. her and jason are seriously the best parents. i love the way aiden just looks up at ashlee when she's holding him, or how he looks for her when someone else is holding him. he loves his mommy! i hope i can be as good of a mom as her. enjoy :)

love, the vanchiere's

32 weeks peeps :)

I can't believe I've been pregnant for 32 weeks. it has gone by so fast! sometimes i get sad because i feel like it's moving so fast, but i really am so grateful with how smoothly my pregnancy has gone. no major problems or set backs (minus being sick for 16 weeks). but i really can't complain. i'm getting to the point of not being uncomfortable at certain parts of the day, and also not sleeping great. but luckily thanks to warm baths and unisome i have that somewhat under control. it still sometimes seems so unreal that in just a few weeks we will have a baby of our very own. it's kind of scary! a lot of responsibility and sleepless nights are headed our way but i know we can do it. here's my belly in all its glory this week.

little dude...you are such a mover! you like to poke your little bum out at us all the time! and you still love jamming your feet up into mommy's right ribs. thanks for that :) you're running out of room i think! but please stay in for at least 4 or 5 more weeks ok? mommy got her baby bag in the mail this week and i love it!

i splurged a little, but i used my christmas money from your great grandparents so it was a good splurge! and it will be worth it cause it will hopefully last us for a few more babies too! we are getting your room (more like your little corner in our room) ready! we have your dresser and your changing pad and we ordered a little set of drawers to put diapers and stuff in so we can stay organized! we are getting so excited to meet you little dude! for some reason especially this week i have been thinking a lot about this scary world we're bringing you into. there is so much evil here and i worry about bringing you into it. it's so important to mommy and daddy to keep our home centered around Christ and the gospel. we will work so hard to keep you grounded and strong in the church because that is most important. please stay close to your Heavenly Father and to us as your parents and you will be just fine. :) mommy's just a worry wart but i'm sure you already know that! you have such an amazing extended family waiting for you baby boy. they all can't wait to meet you! especially your cousin Aiden, who i know you remember because you guys already like to kick each other when i'm holding him. 

keep growing big ok little dude? but not too big, don't hurt mommy! :)

love you forever. xoxo

this past weekend was a long one because bryce and i had monday off for martin luther king jr. day. i love days i have off from work but i especially love when bryce and i both have the day off! saturday night i had a girls night with some of my best friends. i think it's good to spend a night every once in a while with friends and it's even more fun because we craft! this time we made a valentines wreath. it was so fun because they all turned out so different and cute!

let me just say also that our apartment door is the cutest in our whole hallway, mostly because it literally is the only door with something on it. i love being crafty!

so then on monday bryce and i both had the day off but my mom still had to teach piano. so we thought it would be fun to take ian out for the day to get him out of the house and out of his normal routine. with the weather being so yucky and cold we thought the best idea would be a movie. ian loves going to movies. usually i don't do so hot in movies because of my restless legs! they get so bad when i try to sit through a movie! but during the day they aren't as bad so we decided to give it a go. we saw wreck it ralph. it was way cute and ian laughed several times which i love to see. it's almost more entertaining to watch him watch the movie, than to actually watch the movie. i can't even begin to describe how grateful i am for how sweet bryce is to ian. i wouldn't have married him if that hadn't been the case, because ian is so important to me. but he treats him just like a normal human and that's what ian loves the most about him i think. bryce can make ian smile like no one else can! when we got home that night i got emotion (surprise surprise...these stupid horomones!) and just thanked bryce for being so great with ian. he laughed and was like "babe, you don't need to thank me. ian's my brother, it's just how it should be." which of course made me even more emotional. i love my family so much. i love my husband more than anything in this world and i feel so blessed to have him.

i loved spending the day with my two favorite guys! we were sad ash and j couldn't be with us :( next time for sure! well that about does it for this random blog post..but i'm getting better eh? until next time...

love, the vanchiere's