My Baby

No, not that baby.

I'm talking about my baby boy, baby of the family for almost 14 years, the baby from the 20th century.  Yes, that's Evan and he has had some fun experiences lately.

• Evan went to his first multi-stake dance last night.  I can't believe he's really old enough for dances.


• He made a bunch of origami toys for our YM/YW camp fundraiser.  They were a hit with the tween boys in our ward.  He also made an origami hat to wear to the "Hat Dance" at our stake youth conference.


• Evan's favorite part of youth conference was meeting Alex Boye and hearing him speak and sing.  He taught the kids about the power of music and the importance of choosing uplifting music.  It turns out he also has a great sense of humor and is very funny.  Evan loves THIS video and I have to admit it is pretty cool!

• Evan also participated in a scout triathlon this weekend.  It was his first time doing anything like this.  They swam 180 yards in the bay, biked 8 miles and ran 2 miles.  His time was 56:06 and he placed 11th in his age group.  I think he'll be doing this again.

He'll always be my baby, but he sure is growing up.  I am pleased with the fine man he is becoming.

My Girl

No, I'm not talking about Lavender. I'm referring to my daughter 1.0, the original, classic version.

Yes, that would be Marianne.  She has some exciting things happening in her life:

• She recently got her driver's permit and is practicing her driving!


• She offers to care for the baby or make dinner quite often. (Okay, this is mostly exciting for ME!) Here is the yummy Baked Potato Soup she made the other night.




• Her biggest news is that she is going to Ecuador this summer to serve in an orphanage for two weeks.  This has been a dream of Marianne's for several years and she is finally old enough to go!  It has been quite a process for her to apply and be accepted by this organization.  Now she is busy fund raising to pay for her trip.  She is grateful for donations of any amount!  Checks can be made payable to OSSO.  If you prefer to sponsor her by credit card, go HERE. Then scroll down to “Other Donation.” You will need to put her name in the box so that it is applied to her account. 

 My Girls!

Burrito Baby Escapes

Lavender sleeps better when she's all wrapped up.  I have a swaddle pod and several nice swaddle blankets, but I usually use this blanket.

 It stretches just enough to keep her cozy, but still lets her free her hands when she's really determined.

 And that gives us both a better night's sleep!

Twenty Two Years

That's how long I've been a mother.  But until today I had never heard of this amazing laundry secret.

Lavender had major blowout this morning and the stain remover didn't touch it.  So I googled "how to get out newborn poop stains" and a couple of people suggested putting the wet, washed item in the sun for awhile.  I was skeptical, but I tried it.  It really worked.  In just a couple of hours that awful yellow stain was completely gone.

Feel free to thank me for not including a picture.

You Guessed It - Not!

Here are the correct answers:

Lavender

 

Marianne

Aaron                          Ryan

Marianne                     Evan

Guess Who

My girls (and Jenny's daughters) wore this slip my mom made.  Can you tell who is who?

 

Here are my first four babies.  Can you tell who is who?

 

Who do you think looks most like newborn Lavender?

Heirlooms in the Making

Nearly 16 years ago, my little Marianne wore this dress on her blessing day.

It was a gift from my friend Linda Butler.  Linda and her husband lost 10 babies over the years through miscarriage, stillbirth or death a few days after birth.  They had no living children, but Linda was still hopeful and crocheted this lovely dress, bonnet and booties.  She entered it in the county fair and won first prize.  We moved when I was 7 months pregnant and Linda promised me that if I had a girl, she would send me the dress.  I was thrilled when it arrived and Marianne looked adorable in it!

Since then, my nieces Emma, Alyssa and Cammi have worn the same dress for their blessings. (And somewhere I have pictures of all of them, but I can't find them!)  A year or so after Cammi wore it, I received a call from Linda's husband letting me know that she had passed away. The dress has been carefully tucked away until this year, when it was Lavender's turn to wear it.

The white blanket in this photo also has a special history.  For several years I worked with a woman named Sue. She was single and in her late 30s when she learned she was pregnant.  She struggled to change her diet and cut back on her smoking during her pregnancy and things seemed to be going well.  Then a few days before her due date, her baby's heart suddenly stopped beating.  Her little Jacob was stillborn.  About a year later I gave birth to Ryan and Sue gave me a gift.  She told me that a relative of hers had made a special white blanket for baby Jacob.  The blanket was a keepsake, but Sue explained that she had a talk with Jacob and he wanted Ryan to use it.  Ryan and my other babies did use the blanket.  Hopefully many more babies will use it in the future.

Lavender has received two other gifts that I hope will become family heirlooms.  One is this beautiful blanket crocheted by John's Aunt Ruth, his father's sister.  Since both of John's parents are gone, it is extra special for Lavender to receive a handmade gift from her great aunt Ruth.

Another future heirloom is this gorgeous dress crocheted by my talented cousin Kristen.  Maybe someday Lavender's daughter will wear it.

What family heirlooms do you treasure?

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was rather quiet compared to our busy Saturday the day before.  Most of our family headed home on Saturday night and my brothers flew home on Sunday before church.  So things were as quiet as can be except for:

* Lavender's first time at church
* a big Sunday dinner at my sister's house
* a huge Easter egg hunt with lots of friends
and oh, yeah . . .

our futile attempts to get a picture of our three baby girls!

We seem to have forgotten that Lavender can't sit up by herself and Leighton needs a bit of help

Brianne didn't mind though. She entertained us with her dancing

We tried again . . .

Leighton wasn't sure what was happening

And nobody wanted to hold still

Brianne was tired

But we kept trying

 

Finally Lavender got mad

and insisted on a close up 

Eventually John brought her inside

Brianne went looking for a snack, but didn't like the taste of the "cheese" she found

 And I found an easier way to get a picture of those three beautiful dresses!

A huge to thanks to Molly for finding and buying our matching dresses.

She even drove all over town to find a newborn size for Lavender!

Lavender's Blessing Day

April 7th was a perfect Saturday! We had beautiful, warm weather and most of our family gathered together for Lavender's blessing.  I was especially grateful that my brothers traveled long distances to be with us on this special day.

First we got our sweet girl dressed.

 

This slip was made by Grandma Anne nearly 16 years ago for Marianne's blessing.

This quilt was also made by my mom.

 

She was covered in lace and ribbons from head to toe

She looks beautiful, but not too happy!

We had a little mother daughter talk (and a drink of milk) before heading downstairs.

 

 

It must have worked because she didn't make a peep during her blessing.

Afterwards she fell asleep.

 

Her Daddy gave her a lovely blessing, surrounded by all these priesthood holders who love her.

Uncle Brian, home teacher Br. Warren, Bishop Mendenhall, Uncle David, Daddy with Lavender, Uncle Scott, Uncle Jason, Grandpa Bob and big brother Ryan.

After the blessing, we ate a great lunch (Thanks Marianne, Denise and Carolyn!)

and then visited Mom's grave at the cemetery.

That evening we headed to the Stake Center for my niece Cammi's baptism and confirmation.

We are a happy family!

Can I Blog About Anything Other Than My Baby?

Nope!  It's All Lavender, All the time here at Happy Hartz . . .

 

Lavender's Birth Story

Our baby was due on Evan's birthday--his 14^th birthday! Fourteen years is long time between babies and I felt a little out of practice. I decided to use the Hypnobabies program my sister had used with her last baby. To try out the program, I used the “Peaceful Sleep Now” CD to help me fall asleep. After three nights I determined it wasn't working very well. It still took me awhile to fall asleep. Then I realized that I had never heard the end of the CD. It was a 35 minute CD and I had only heard the first 15 minutes! That made a believer out of me and I had Evan put all the Hypnobabies childbirth CDs on my iPhone. I began practicing relaxation and focus techniques for about 30 minutes a day. I really enjoyed my practice sessions. I got to lie down and listen to a calm, soothing voice with my eyes closed; sometimes I even fell asleep! I loved listening to the various tracks because they are so calming and positive. I was preparing for a “peaceful, easy, beautiful birth” and contractions were called “pressure waves” or “surges.” Later in my pregnancy, I had Evan download the “Turn Breech Baby” track from the Hypnobabies website to help our little “flipper” get in position. She turned almost immediately and stayed put until her birth a few days later. (I highly recommend the Breech Baby MP3 from Hypnobabies.  It stands alone and can be used even if you aren't doing the rest of the program.)

About 10 days before our due date, I woke up at 4:00 AM and began making a mental to-do list. I sat up on the edge of the bed and then my water broke with a big gush. I was surprised because I hadn't been having contractions and I definitely hadn't had that unmistakable sign of labor (bloody show/lost mucous plug). I woke up John asking him to get me a towel and he was shocked that the baby was on her way.

Despite our surprise, we managed to leave for the hospital by about 5:30. I would have preferred to stay at home for awhile, but I had tested positive for group B strep and needed to be treated with antibiotics before the birth. On the way to the hospital I listened to my childbirth affirmations and it helped me relax and get in a positive mindset. Thank goodness because the nurse was anything but positive. She questioned my desire to have a heparin lock (instead of an iv) telling me I needed to be prepared for an epidural and cesarean. She also told me that if my baby was breech, I would definitely need a cesarean. I calmly told her that I had already discussed both of these matters with my doctor who had advised the heparin lock and was prepared for a breech birth if necessary. A quick ultrasound confirmed what I already knew—baby girl was head down!

Now it was time to get to work and things were going well. Negative nurse's shift ended. My doctor stopped by before heading over to her office. I was having regular pressure waves and the baby's heartbeat was strong. My new nurse was very supportive of natural, unmedicated birth. She had been a midwife in England and even had one of her babies at home.

I kept one earphone in and listened to Hypnobabies throughout my labor. Once my antibiotics finished, I was able to get up and John and I walked the halls together. John and I love taking walks together –even in the hallway at the hospital. It felt so good to be up and moving. At the end of the hall there was a big window and often I had a contraction as we got there. I put my arm's around John's neck and he held me as I relaxed and breathed.

My labor didn't progress the way I expected. It was gradual and steady rather than picking up speed as we got further along. I had to focus as the the surges got stronger, but I wasn't in pain. Early in my labor, the nurse asked me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10. I explained that I thought of labor as work and pressure, not in terms of pain. She understood and never asked me that question again. Instead she would ask, “Are they getting stronger? Or are they changing?” They did keep getting stronger, but I really wasn't in pain. The harder the surges, the more I needed John. I would call his name and he came over to the bed and held my hand. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but we couldn't see out the window because the blind wouldn't open. The nurse had tried and couldn't get it to work. John rolled it up by hand and I loved looking at the sunshine on the green hills behind the hospital. It was the perfect day for our baby girl to arrive.

In the afternoon my wonderful doctor arrived. She said that some of her appointments had been canceled and she was going to stay there. I was feeling a little impatient and surprised that things weren't moving faster. I was waiting for that feeling that it was time to push. This time was different though and that feeling never came, at least not it the way it always had before. Instead, my body started pushing and I felt kind of out of control. With my other babies, pushing was always such a relief and it felt good to push. I was excited that the baby would be here soon, but I never got that “finally I get to push!” feeling.

My sister Jenny and my daughter Marianne came into the room. I had tears in my eyes and I didn't want them to think I was crying because of pain. I told them that my mom was there. The nurse turned around and asked where my mom was. I explained that she had passed away. Just before Jenny and Marianne arrived, John sat on the side of the bed and reminded me that our mothers were bringing us our baby girl today. I knew he was right and I could really feel their presence. I felt their love and comfort and support. I knew their spirits were close to us.

Finally it was time to push. I was very vocal during the pushing. This surprised me and I felt a bit self-conscious, especially with Marianne there. Pushing was also very hard and somewhat painful. I think there are a couple of reasons it felt this way. First of all, the baby was still up fairly high so I had a long way to push her. Although I didn't realize it at the time, one of the nurses who was getting everything ready had unplugged my earbuds from my phone. I had been listening to my Birth Guide, but without it I wasn't as relaxed.

It felt like I was pushing forever and the baby was never going to come out, but I really only pushed for 15 minutes. Finally the doctor asked John, “Did your other kids have lots of dark hair?” That surprised both of us. Everyone kept telling me, “She's almost here” or “Just one more push,” but I didn't really believe them. At last the nurse told me, “Open your eyes and look down. She's here.” I didn't realize that my eyes had been closed, but when I opened them I saw her little head and they scooped her up onto my chest. It was the most wonderful feeling. I was blessed to nurse and hold my sweet girl for more than 30 minutes after she was born. I looked at her beautiful little body and I knew she was perfect. In the weeks before her birth, I had prepared myself for the possibility of Down Syndrome. But as I looked at her, I could see she didn't have DS and the spirit confirmed that to me as well.

Our doctor told John and I that she wanted us to look at something. She showed us the umbilical cord and it had a big knot in it. She told us it was a “true knot” and that if it had been pulled any tighter we wouldn't have our little girl with us. We knew she was indeed a miracle!

Easter Advice from Lavender

Count your eggs so you know how many are in your basket.

Guard them carefully!

Tell your mom to knock it off if she tries to take any!

Happy Easter!

Lavender's Hobbies

Posing for pictures, making funny faces and growing her eyelashes

Going for a walk every morning with Mom and Aunt Jenny
in her hat made by cousin Emma. 

Opening Gifts
Here are some of the beautiful handmade items she has received!
I can't wait till she fits in the gorgeous dress my cousin Kristen crocheted.

Snoozing in a sling (one borrowed from Aunt Jenny's huge collection)
She is also a good sleeper at night.  She usually has a 5-6 hour stretch when she goes to  bed.

Watching and learning from her big brother and sister.
Here they are teaching her how to play!
They are the best at getting her to smile and calming her down.

Goals:  Get rid of this rotten baby acne!