How Hazel Kate got her name.

I've been meaning to post how Hazel got her name. So now is as good a time as any...right when I should be getting dinner ready.  Well it all started Thanksgiving weekend, a couple short days after we found out we were having a girl.  Out of the three children we have, we had the hardest time deciding on her name.  Mitchell came from a very short list we had compiled, and we liked his name best.  Obviously.  Luke was the only name we ever talked about...and it went something like this...(1) ultrasound appointment finding out the gender (2) Todd calls me up a couple hours later and says, "I like the name Lucas, what do you think? (3) I respond, "ohhh, I LOVE the name Luke.  That's it!" (4) Todd says, "great!"

So, we're sitting on the couch at my sister-in-law's house, and Todd and I are coming up with several names for the list.  Keep in mind, this is not the first time we had talked about names, but it was the first major "pow-wow" regarding names. There were a few that rose to the top of the list- names like Lydia, or Claire, or Katherine.  As we're going to bed that night, Todd says, "what about Hazel?" Now, you may think this is simply another name to add to the list, per my approval. It was that, but this name was like no other on the list.  This name had some significant meaning. Now it's time in the story for some background information:

Everyone in my family gets a nickname from my Grandpa Hunter. Some of them are pretty ridiculous.  Some are pretty tame.  Jon is Gustav Adolf. Kenna is Bubba. Clark is Per Olaf, or C-lark. My nickname didn't actually come from my Grandpa.  My dad came up with it, and that's what stuck for everyone.  My nickname is Hazel May. Or as Jon likes to call me, Mazel Hay. I've had this nickname for as long as I remember.  People in my family still call me Hazel more than Haley.  I respond to Hazel like it's my name...well, cuz it is.

When Todd brought that name to the list, I wasn't quite on board with it to begin with.  I had to let it "soak in" for a little while before I really started to like it.  I hope it's not too arrogant to name your own child after yourself, but that's not really what our motivation was.  We love that her name has a special meaning behind it, but we also love the name Hazel.  It is old-fashioned, but many old-fashioned names are making a big comeback.  I hope that she grows up liking her name, and thinking it's neat to be named after her mom's affectionate nickname.

Now, for her middle name, Kate. We are completely in love with the name Kate.  We think it pairs well with Hazel. Doesn't Hazel Kate sound great? We think it does.  Up until her birth, both Todd and I had debated if her first name should be Kate, and her middle name Hazel.  We really love both names so much, it was quite difficult for us to really pinpoint which should be which. Additionally, I have a good friend named Kate whom I know from our time in California.  She is an amazing person, an amazing mother, a loyal friend, and I miss her all the time, wishing we lived close once again.  Since we love the name Kate, and I love the person Kate, it was pretty easy to go with Kate as Hazel's middle name. 

So, there ya have it.  Hazel Kate it is. 

Hazel Kate

It's Todd's turn to blog again which means....yep, you guessed it, we had another baby! Our first baby girl, Hazel Kate Reeder, was born April 11 at 8:02am. She weighs 8 lb 6 oz and is 19 inches long. I'm not sure what the circumference of her head is, but honestly, who even considers that stat anymore? Her head, beautiful as it is, appears to be normal size to me. As I am writing this blog post, Haley just told me that someone wrote that she is 20.5 inches long on a card that is in her "crib". So, all we know for sure is that she is 8 lb 6 oz. I even have photographic evidence of that....see?

The (beat up) scale used to weigh Hazel. At least one stat is known for sure!

Alright, enough pictures of equipment, what you really want to see are pictures of Hazel. Well, you're just gonna have to wait because this post of mine, aside from the teaser picture above, goes in chronological order!

So, we arrived at Ogden Regional Hospital around 5:30am. After a couple hours of check-in, spousal abuse questioning, etc., we were in the operating room. By the way, the hospital staff were all awesome. For anyone unfamiliar with a Caesarian section (hereafter called C-section for simplicity), they placed a partition below Haley's head that makes it so she can't see (and, perhaps, protects against bodily fluids splashing on her as well). Well, I was sitting next to Haley and I couldn't see either. When I asked the anesthesiologist (whose name was Rock...) if I could stand and watch, he was like "absolutely! Yeah, stand up and watch the show!" I was actually very surprised because the anesthesiologist at Luke's birth was very adamant that I remain seated; if I stood up and watched, they were afraid I would fall over and faint right there in the operating room. So, I got to watch Hazel get pulled out of Haley by way of C-section and it was awesome! I saw them cut all the layers, all the way to the uterus and then I saw this beautiful angel get pulled out.

They wouldn't let me film or take pictures until she was born, or else I would have posted them here for you. I did take some video within a couple minutes of her being born, but I don't have the cord to transfer the video to the computer so I'll have to post an addendum later. After she had been weighed, measured, and cleaned up, I took her back to Haley.

After Haley was all sewed back together, we headed to her main room where she is staying for a few days. Haley had some nausea and threw up quite a bit, but not nearly as much as she did when Luke was born. Hazel isn't eating as much as she probably should yet, but she's catching on. Here are some more pictures of our beautiful new girl:

Hazel wrapped up and sleeping soon after arriving from the C-section. Her eyes are shiny because of some anti-bacterial ointment they put on them.

Haley holding Hazel after Hazel's first bath. The two most beautiful ladies I've ever seen.

Later in the afternoon, Haley's mom Debbie came by with the boys. Since Luke is still a baby, he didn't get to hold Hazel, but Mitchell did. He kept saying things like, "she's so cute," and "ohhh, such a cut baby." It was fun to see his reactions.

Our first family picture with Hazel! None of the kids, of course, are looking at the camera....

First picture with Grandma A!

Both Haley and Hazel are doing wonderful. The nurses here have all been very helpful, and we've been happy with the whole experience here. As a parent, the only thing I hope and pray for before a child is born is that they will be healthy in every way. Mitchell, Luke, and Hazel all have been very healthy, and beautiful too (which, considering the paternal half of their genes, is a miracle in its own right). It's always amazing how much love I have for a child that is my own. Despite being the third child, there is an equal amount of love in my heart for Hazel as there is for Mitchell and Luke. I am so happy she is here, so grateful she is part of our family, and so excited to see her grow up.