Hazel 6/12/2016
As I sit here with everyone asleep, I can’t help but think about our sweet baby Hazel and the joy she brings to our Family. She was born 2 months ago and is the sweetest baby. Even the moment she came into this world, she was so quiet and calm.
The moment I found out I was pregnant with Hazel, I was so nervous something was wrong. I was so absent minded and forgetful. I forgot about 3 major (church) things I was in charge of, and didn’t realize it for several days. I made my first appointment with my midwife for a couple weeks later, thinking I would be 8 weeks along. When I went to my appointment, Karen said her heart rate was really low, and didn’t act too positive that the baby would survive (69 beats per minute). I made my appointment for the following week, and Karen came in the room expecting to find no heart beat, but to her surprise, the heart rate doubled! I went back the following week to find a healthy strong heartbeat and a baby that was growing as it should. Karen said she had NEVER had a baby survive with a heart rate so low. Thats when I knew she was our miracle baby. A few months later, at 22 weeks, I went to my targeted ultrasound appointment and the tech said everything looked great, and confirmed we were having a baby girl,I was kind of hoping for a boy at the time, but I was thrilled to have a healthy baby. A couple days later, Karens nurse called me and said I need to come back in 4 weeks for another targeted ultrasound, because the tech couldn’t find parts of the baby’s heart and brain. Although this made me really nervous, it had happened with Faith, so I tried to push the negative thoughts to the back of my mind. I went back 4 weeks later to find everything was where it was supposed to be and all was well. Time flew by and stood still at the same time. I was really busy with real estate, and getting our yard ready for spring. At around 35 weeks in my pregnancy, Karen told me that my baby was measuring really big and she suspected gestational diabetes. She wanted me to come back the next week to see how much baby had grown. I went back the next week and she decided to move my due date from April 22nd to the 19th, and said I could deliver a week early. I was relived, so I scheduled my delivery for April 12th. The day quickly came! I was supposed to be at Mckay Dee hospital at 8am, but the nurse called me and said to not come in until they called me back, because they had several unscheduled births that morning. I went back to sleep and called again at 10, they told me to come in at 11. We loaded up the kids and took them down to Ogden to meet grandma, who was going to bring them home. I checked in, and waited an hour for the nurse to come in (they were so busy). Her name was Carolee, she was great! She started my antibiotic, because I was Strep B positive, and some pitocin to get my contractions going. A couple hours later, I got my epidural and things were good… Except for I wouldn’t progress more than a 4. One time she tried to check my cervix, and couldn’t find it, so she thought the baby might have turned head up. The ultrasound tech came in and confirmed that her head was still down… THANK GOODNESS! Carolee’s shift ended at 5 and I got a new nurse named Kristy. She was great also! My mom was able to come be with us at that time also. Karen came in to break my water at 5:45 and told me that she wanted me to deliver by 10:00. I said I would do my best. I still wasn’t progressing past a 4, so I was getting pretty nervous. Luckily, the baby had a strong heart beat and didn’t seem to be struggling at all. The epidural was working well, except for it made me REALLY itchy! At around 9:20, I started feeling strong contractions, and I noticed my epidural medicine was running out, so when the nurse came in, I told her I was in pain. She refilled my epidural medicine, and checked me, I went from a 4 to a 10 in 30 minutes! It was time to have a baby! She called Karen and told her it was time. Karen came at 9:45, and got ready to deliver. Baby Hazel was born at exactly 10:00 after 2 pushes. She didn’t cry at all. Brain thought something was wrong because she was so quiet. There was the most reverent, calm feeling in the room. I could feel Heavenly Father so close. She cried a little bit when they gave her a shot, but was just wide awake and quiet. Karen and Kristy agreed that they could deliver baby’s like her all night. There was a full knot in Hazels cord, which is pretty rare (and dangerous) according to Karen and Kristy. She weighed 8lbs 12 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She had a lot of dark brown hair, and the cutest little eyebrows. Because she was so big, they recommended blood sugar tests, which she barely cried through, and came back normal. We new we wanted to name her Hazel and couldn’t decide on a middle name. When she was 5 days old, the hospital called us at home and asked us what we decided for a middle name. Brian wanted to name her Hazel Valene Westover, so thats what we did. It fits her well, and I thank Heavenly Father every day for her and the sweet spirit she brings into our home. 
