The Birth Story

Warning- this is a pretty long post.

For the past week my body had been contracting on and off and from my doctor's appointments it was clear birth was nearing. At my appointment on Monday I was dialated to a 4.5 and 60% effaced. This was exciting news, but each day felt like a marathon with a lot of anxiety and anticipation wondering just when this little one would decide to come. My doctor offered to induce me on the 9th or 10th, but I declined. I was really hoping things would start on their own and thought that would make me more nervous having a set date.

 I had two meetings this week that I had hoped to make it to. Baby was cooperative, and I did!

Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning I was up and down all night, going to the bathroom and just overall discomfort. At one time I woke up with sharp pain in my back. It was so bad that I had to wake Justin up to give me counter pressure. This continued for about 20 minutes and finally my body relaxed again. Justin thought for sure that was it, but we both fell asleep and awoke tired the next morning. 

We all went about our day as we had planned. Natalie and I headed to playgroup at the park.

My friends were joking with me about having a baby that night. 

Other than being tired, I felt pretty good the whole day and didn't notice many contractions.

That night I had a meeting and Justin and Natalie had a really good time at the Splash Pad. 

We fell asleep at about 10:20 only for me to awake at 10:50 with sharp, long contractions. I woke Justin up immediately because I needed counter pressure stat. Each contraction was at least a minute long and was coming every 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. 

At first I told Justin we should wait for an hour before heading to the hospital.

I did not want to make the 20 minute drive to only be sent home with false labor.

After he watched me go through about 3 more contractions he said that we were going in right away. I had a strong feeling I just needed to let him take the lead on this.

He called the hospital and then our friends who live across the street to come over to stay with Natalie We left our house by 11:30 ish and arrived at the hospital just before midnight. 

The nurses were taking it slow with a little bit of paperwork when we got there and I was slightly irritated. My contractions had not slowed down at all and I just wanted to get into a private room and not chat. (Obviously later stages of labor) 

I think the nurses thought they were going to send me home, because Justin had told them we had only been laboring for less than an hour. 

They then saw I was in pain and took me to a room. The nurses comment on the way was, "Well let's go check to see if you are going to stay the night." 

We got to the room and she was fiddling around with computers and I don't know what else while I continued contracting. 

Finally she checked me and said, "Oh, well you are at an 8, we are going to need to go call the doctor."

I was not surprised at all and glad she finally realized I really was going to have a baby, soon.

The staff got into gear and the room was being prepped for a baby.

I was having strong contractions, consistently, but they were not nearly as painful as they had been with Natalie's birth, and I wonder if that is because my water had not yet broke?

The nurse wanted me on the bed to be attached to the fetal monitoring system, yet I did not want to lie down. The only other position not on my back was on my hands and knees. 

Justin was great about applying counter pressure with each contraction and that helped take the edge off of each contraction.

I also had the nurse give me a narcotic through the IV. That didn't really change any of the pain, just made me really loopy and relaxed. It was nice to be so calm between contractions. 

Not long after they got the IV in and had give me the medication, the doctor arrived. She walked in and asked if my water had broke yet. Right as she said that it broke and then I started feeling like I could push.That was about 12:53 a.m. 

This was the hardest part of my labor experience by far. Feeling my baby descend down and crown was very painful. Thankfully it was a relatively short amount of time. I think it took about 6 contractions of pushing and our baby Jenna was born at 1:11 a.m. on July 9th.She was born at exactly 39 weeks gestation.

She cried first thing.Everyone remarked on how much dark hair she had. I smiled to myself, I knew she was going to have dark hair. Once I got turned around on my back Justin brought her up and placed her on my  chest. Once again a rush of love and joy. She went to nursing right away. 

I had a small tear that had to be stitched up, but other than that was just fine.

We love our dark haired girl and are so grateful she is healthy, happy and here. We were also both thankful it was a short labor, as we were both exhausted from the previous night's excitement.

I am grateful that I was able to once again deliver a baby naturally. It is very difficult to go through the pain of giving birth, but always worth it once that little baby is placed on your chest. I was very anxious leading up to Jenna's birth and I know that Heavenly Father blessed me to get through it once again.  

One thing that I felt like helped my body a lot with getting my body ready to labor and the actual labor process was drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea. I started at about 28 weeks and tried to drink a cup twice a day. This is suppose to help strengthen the muscles in the uterus. In turn this should help with having deep effective contractions along with really helping prevent hemorrhaging after labor. I feel like it did it's job wonderfully and even helped my body prepare well.

 There were many tender mercies along this journey that I recorded in my personal journal.

I am so grateful for the gift to be a mother!

First bath by my awesome nurse Shannon. She was called in right when I started pushing, then stayed to help me after she was born. She said her two favorite smells in the world were new babies and a horse's mane. That isn't really important, just something fun about her I want to remember.

Justin had a bet with his boss that our baby girl would come before July 9th and his boss said July 9th or later. Well, Jenna arrived barely on the 9th. Daddy lost a dollar. Pretty funny it worked out that way.

Blessing Day

A lot has happened in the last couple month and by a lot, I mean ONE huge thing has happened, that is we had a baby girl! Jenna Ruth was born July 9th at 1:11 a.m. I have many posts planned, but due to some asking from aunts for pictures. I am going to start with a current event and then catch up on the others.

Last weekend our amazing families came to support us as we blessed our second beautiful daughter. Justin's parents and maternal grandparents drove 12 hours, my parents, sister, two nieces, brother and his girlfriend also made the long jaunt across the state. We also had several dear friends we have made since moving here join us for this sacred event. It was a fun, beautiful, spiritual and very few hours of sleep weekend.

I once heard a LDS General Auxillary Leader describe the beauty of Priesthood Holders encircling a little baby in that Priesthood Power that is given to protect them and help them return to their Heavenly Father. It truly was a special experience to once again witness this. Justin is an amazing father and strives to honor his Priesthood. He gave Jenna a beautiful blessing and I could feel the spirit very strong testify to me of Heavenly Father's love for our daughter.

Our Dark Haired Beauty,  Jenna Ruth Blazzard

My oldest sister was so kind to lend us this dress. Her sister in-law has made several dresses for her girls blessing days. This is one of them. I loved the pop of color with the purple flowers. I made the head band and the bracelet was made by a dear friend of mine in the last ward we were in. This girl was dressed in love.

 Do I look a little frazzled? We were trying to get out the door for church, which isn't until 12:30, but some how we always barely make it these days.

 Family of 4!

 Natalie is obsessed with picking flowers these days. We used these as decor for the dinner the night before. She insisted on having one in her hair today, however it only made it as far as the van.

 Kevin and Elizabeth. This was my first time meeting Elizabeth. It was a pleasure!

 My cousin Katie was so kind to drive over from Vancouver for the blessing. It was a long day for them as they had already gone to their church block before coming.

 The Blazzard side of the family.

The night before we had a dinner with family and friends to celebrate the occasion. Our friend Garrett Thornton smoked the pulled pork for the dinner and it was DELICIOUS! I don't know that I have had BBQ that good, ever. The rest of the meal was yummy as well and we had an enjoyable evening visiting. We had planned for more, but had a quaint crowd. I even did table decorations, which is pretty fancy for me. Mason jars tied with purple ribbon and white daisies in them along with pictures of Jenna and our family on the tables.

 Justin was trying to "capture" a picture of me- haha, not quite sure what I am doing here.

 Good friends Savannah and Linnea. These two joined the church in our old ward. We have loved getting to know them and so appreciate their friendship.

 We feel so blessed to have our newest babe. 

 We forgot to take pictures with the Corn side of the family on Sunday, due to the busyness of everything. We hurried and snapped some before they headed back down the freeway. 

Good thing we did the blessing last weekend. This weekend roads are closed all over Oregon due to wildland fires. It is so dry!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Summer Happenings

 I found these ribbons in a dresser we got from my parents for our babies room.

They reminded me of a meme I saw on facebook the other day that made me laugh.

"I used to do cool things, 

but now days I find myself arguing 

with a miniature version of myself over using the toilet."

Isn't it true. :) The arguing has intensified as the she continues to age, but man I love her and getting to spend each day with her. Here are some of the little things we do each week during this summer so far.

 Eat lots of ice cream. This particular day we went to Baskin Robbins and as soon as I had paid I dropped my whole ice cream cone on the floor. Thankfully they were kind and replaced it for free. Clumsy me!

 Our library has an Ipad station kids can play on. Natalie loves this! She is a good sport about leaving when it is time, but man she savors her 25 minutes.

 This little girl is on a late night late morning schedule with how hot it has been during the summer. This particular day was a Monday after a long busy weekend and I think she slept until 9:45. Truly not a schedule I love, but the girls got to sleep sometime.

 She wasn't quite sure what to think about these billy bob teeth I had lying around. She tried them out as a hair clip.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Grocery Store Kindness

This Frozen arrangement has a very nice story behind it. A few weeks ago I was standing in the checkout line at Winco. An older man on the next row over came over toward Natalie and I. He commented on how beautiful she is and that he too used to have red hair.

Then he lifted his hat to reveal a bald head and said, "Though you wouldn't believe it, would you." 

With a chuckle and a thank you we both took our attention back to waiting anxiously to check out.

Well after about 30 seconds he came back over and held out his hand to mine and 

said, "Here, I want you to have this."

He gave me a folded up $20 bill. I tried to refuse, and say I can't take that. 

He just looked at me and said, I want you to take and buy her something special.

Then he quickly turned around and walked away.

My eyes teared up and my heart swelled with gratitude for that moment of kindness.

I took Natalie to Target one day and let her pick out a toy she wanted. I tried to talk her into a princess dress, but she had no desire for that. Instead she loved these little Anna, Elsa, and Olaf figurines. I find them around the house frequently posed in some random places. Anna and Elsa are nearly always staring at each other. She really loves carrying them around and talking about them. 

People's kindness is what makes this world a better place. Thank you dear old man, we think of you often and hope we can pay the favor forward to others.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day this year, we went on our last road trip for the summer to visit my family. We have always done a picnic after decorating relatives graves on Monday, and this tradition expanded to include a larger group of family four years ago. With my Dad's cousin coming into town from Tennessee and my Grandma's fragile health, we decided this would be a great opportunity to spend some time with family.

As always, Natalie enjoyed a lot of time with cousins. From baby Henley who thought Natalie was pretty cool to the oldest cousin Anna (13 yrs.) She spent mostly every day all day out in the sun soaking in the fresh air of the country. Her sun tan was a testament to this and her tiredness on the trip home.

It was a nice treat to see not only my family, but Justin's parents came as well since that is a good half way point between us and them. Jamie brought us a huge box of baby and little girl clothes that have stocked our dressers well for the summer and coming Fall.

This particular afternoon we were at my sister's home in Middleton and Natalie loved running around in her swim suit all afternoon. She also loved getting dried off in the big beach towels.We had a wonderful time and are excited to see them all again when our baby comes.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Pregnancy Update

30 Weeks this week.

It is surreal that we are this far along, but my body assures me that we are. 

I often get the question as any pregnant woman does, "How are you feeling?"

I never know the right answer for this.

There are so many emotions, thoughts and experiences that go into pregnancy. 

Being the honest person I am, I want people to know really how I am feeling,

 but then again I don't want to complain. 

I could easily spout off a list of the discomforts that my stretching and growing body goes through each day.

However, if I am looking for truth, that is truthfully only a part of how I am feeling.

I can also easily say pregnancy is an incredible mortal experience. 

 Creating a baby, feeling her moving inside of me, and dreaming of meeting her soon is a tender time that I do not want to soon forget.

 It is a blessing that I am trying to savor even in the moments I don't feel the best. 

I know this will be such a short chapter in my life, but I would guess it is one of the most special times as well. 

So today, I am feeling grateful and tired because it is time for bed and I am growing human being inside of me. 

10 more weeks little girl and we are excited to meet you!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

April Random Memories

 I am trying my hand at some container gardening this year since our back yard is still in construction mode. I am excited to see how it goes. So far I have planted a tomato plant, lemon thyme, radishes, and lettuce. I found several more pots at a yard sale for a couple of dollars and need to get them filled up. I am having a hard time deciding what else to plant. Definitely going to try some more herbs, maybe some more lettuce, and carrots?

 This is a really cute book about a duck who rides a bike on a farm. It is only blog worthy because Natalie has become obsessed with it. So much so that we returned it and had to recheck it out. I do love her saying "Duck on Bike," short and quick. We read it over and over again while potty training. I am getting pretty good at memorizing children's books these days. It is so great to have a library system that we can check these books out from. 

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Good Morning Monday

Sunday's can be a long day for Natalie. 

Yesterday was especially so as she woke up at 6:30 a.m. and didn't go to bed until 9:30 p.m. 

She slept until 9:30 this morning.

 Justin made pancakes for us, but had to leave before she woke up.

 This was her saying good morning for a picture we sent him. 

I love that she mostly wakes up with a big smile on her face.

 
Justin and Ruth Blazzard

This Week

-  My husband has been home the past two nights! It has been amazing and almost as good as vacation.

- I hit the third trimester and am feeling pretty good with the pregnancy. I have to do my glucose test on Thursday and am looking forward to getting it over with.

- Natalie is talking up a storm. She loves to copy cat and is a very agreeable child. We ran errands all morning and she was very content to sit in her stroller or cart and wait patiently for me. We will see if that lasts.

- Got the fourth book in "The Walk" series by Richard Paul Evans from the library today. My goal is to finish this series before the baby gets here. I need some good reading time.

- Have been working diligently on a wheat order for our Stake and doing lots of food storage research. I forgot how much time and effort it takes to learn, but it is always worth it.

-  I planted seeds in some pots on my porch last Thursday. They are beginning to sprout through. Last week at a Relief Society Activity the speaker described her seeds sprouting as "magical." I agree, it is amazing what something so tiny can do with proper care.

- Spring is here with warm weather.

- Natalie goes to her first dentist visit Thursday, it will be interesting to see how it goes.

- Looking forward to an impromptu Stake Conference this Sunday with a visiting General Authority.

- Made a delicious BBQ Chicken Salad for dinner tonight. It had black beans, corn, avocado, tomato, lime juice, cilantro and ranch mixed together, on lettuce with chicken as a topping. Justin had his in a tortilla as he never eats lettuce.

-My bathrooms got cleaned today and the floor mopped, which means I can check this off my to do list and rest peacefully tonight. Hope you are having a great week!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

81 Years

It was this amazing ladies birthday today. She is 81 years old and still has a radiating smile.
A couple of weeks ago I got news that she was in the hospital with pneumonia. Things were not looking very good for her. I packed mine and Natalie's suitcases and was out the door a couple of hours later. We made the 6.5 hour drive to Ontario and got there at about 8:30 that night. Grandma was doing a bit better than she had been that morning.

Over the period of her week long hospital stay she improved a lot. However, it had become apparent that she could no longer live at home by herself. The hard decision was made and I helped move her into an assisted living facility. It is a nice new facility, with a large room and she seems to be doing well.

 It is so hard to go through changes in life. Our brains so easily get to a point where we feel that things will stay the same forever, people will always be there for us and never age. However, the opposite is quite true. A lot of life changes come in such tiny increments that we don't recognize what is happening until it brings about a reality that is totally different than what you have always thought it would be.

I love my Grandma very much and look up to her. I am glad things are going as well as they can be in her new place. I am especially grateful I was able to spend a week helping her and my parents with the transitions life has brought.

Happy Birthday Grandma Corn! You have been such an example to me of positive thinking, living life with a smile, creating strong family traditions, and always learning. We miss you and wish we could have been there to sing Happy Birthday and to eat an ice cream bar with you!


Justin and Ruth Blazzard