We thought it might be time to start Hazel out on a bottle.  Suffice it to say she got a little surly.

Ok, I still promise on bringing you all up to date on all the baby and Christmas goings-ons that we missed during the IHJ outage, but we had too good a time today and had to share before it fell out of my head.  It’s been pretty cold around here lately (yes, that happens in Albuquerque), but at most we get intermittent slushing around our neighborhood so I thought it was time to scale the closest mountain in search of some quality white stuff.  After having each of the kids put on socks, then footie pajamas, then a long-sleeve shirt and pants, then shoes, then a jacket, gloves and hat, we were ready to start up the East side of the Sandia Mountains (right after we overshot the turnoff by about 15 miles the first time).  Roads were a little more icy than we had guessed, so we didn’t go all the way up and instead took the first rest area turnoff we found which was just fine with the kids.  After some serious snow digging, snow throwing, and snow climbing/scooting Jonah and Calvin spent the rest of the time sledding.  The fact that we didn’t actually bring sleds didn’t seem to slow them down;  they just used a combination of a discarded three ring binder, a complete stranger’s inner tube, and their pants.  After everyone was sufficiently frozen, we slowly slid the car back down the mountain for some much earned (and much reminded about on the ride there)  hot chocolates.  Next time:  Actual sleds (w/ fewer faceplants), chains for the car, and an arrival time that doesn’t compete with the sunset!

I realize that a larger and larger percentage of this website has been devoted to explanations, excuses and alibis for growing hiatuses, but in this case I really can’t take all the credit for the lengthy outage.  Due to what I can only guess was a consortium of jealous parents, our site was hacked several days after Hazel’s birth and as such was closed down by my hosting company until I updated all software that might have vulnerabilities.  This might have been easy had they not also shut down all FTP access to my site.  So basically I can access the site until I update, I can’t update until I access.  This circular logic required no less than five lengthy tech support phone calls to finally fix – which ended up being spread across almost two months due to the constant flow of houseguests/roadtrips/baby births which took place between November and now.  The upside is that the problems are finally fixed, the software is updated, we’re back online, and as soon as I have some free time this weekend I intend to dump a good load of baby/Christmas/New Year/family pictures, stories and love on you all.  Until then, enjoy the random pictures below to help jog your memory if you’ve completely forgot who I was over the past two months.

November 29^th, 2009 4:47am 7lbs 14oz 20.5”

Another baby update from intrepid labor and delivery reporter Auntsie:

I am so glad that we are through with pregnancies for awhile – especially after witnessing labor pains. I now fully understand what Chris was trying to communicate about Jenn being so unbelievably incredible for enduring natural labor. Rayna began experiencing contractions Friday the 27^th around 4 or 5 pm. They spaced 10-15 minutes apart and continued through the night. Saturday morning she went into the hospital around 11 am. Unfortunately, she was only dilated 1.5cm and so they sent her home. The contractions continued at 10 minutes all day while they finished packing up their old house. Noah had to go to work 3:30pm and I first started monitoring contractions with her at 8:00pm. By now they were getting increasingly painful and were anywhere from 3min – 12mins apart. However, after calling the doctor, he  not to come in until they were consistently 5 mins apart for at least an hour. So, we tried to expedite the process by having her walk around and so forth and after an hour they were 5 minutes apart. Because they began to get more painful she wanted to take a break and sit down. Well, that allowed them to space back to 15 mins apart so Noah thought it might be false labor. However, whenever she did have one it was BEYOND unbearable. It was heart wrenching watching her start one knowing it would only get increasingly more painful. Finally, pain made the decision to go to the hospital ASAP. By the time we made it to the hospital (1:00am), contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and she was able to make it under the wire for getting an epidural. This is when everything takes a lovely turn, as oppose to Jenn’s story, without an epidural, that continues on a path of pain. Originally, Rayna’s doctor was out of town for a week, but luckily someone called him and he just so happened to be back and able to come in to deliver the baby. Thank goodness, because between him and the world’s greatest nurse everything went smoothly from there on out. Noah said it was the most surreal moment of his life to be in a room with 3 people and then magically have 4 people in the room – he said it was the best trick he had ever seen. Rayna was able to have her immediately placed on her chest for snuggles and then Noah cut the umbilical cord. After cleaning and clothing, she latched right on for nursing and is perfectly healthy. Although her hair initially looked black, it now seems to be blonde. Everyone will be curious to see what she looks like (I did notice that she has a precious dimple!). One thing for certain is that she will have gigantic feet and hands – just like her Auntsie!

Always trying to one up me, my brother had to go and take away my limelight by having his own baby girl this morning at around 4 AM!  So far we have no pictures, no news, and according to my mother still no name (hospital cert currently says “Baby #1″).  So congratulations on the little girl little brother, send us some pictures and news ASAP so that everyone can decide who has the cuter baby congratulate you as well!

9:00 AM Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Everybody is healthy and happy. Hazel Joy entered the world at 1:46 am weighing 8lbs 21″, just shy of 21″ long. Now, enough about Hazel, let’s talk about everyone that made this possible. First and foremost we must recognize the hero of the day, Jenn. Although they went into the hospital to induce, at no point did the doctor need to follow through with the induction, Jenn took it from there. Not only did she begin labor naturally, be she endured then ENTIRE labor with NO DRUGS. Chris says that he has never witnessed such an incredible feat. Watching someone face increasingly worse pain without so much as a tylenol makes skydiving look like a walk around the block. Both Jenn and Chris want to take a moment to thank Dani, the unforgettable doula of the day! She stayed at their side, massaging feet, rubbing Jenn’s back and talking them through every step, making sure they had what they needed. She remained on shift through the night to share her birthday (25th) with Hazel. Chris and Jenn left the honors of cutting the umbilical cord to her. Thanks for being there for all of us Dani! With this birth, Jenn finally had the opportunity to experience immediate cuddling. Before nurses rushed Hazel off to clean, cut and swaddle, Hazel layed on Jenn’s chest struggling to open her eyes and stare up at her mama. After enough snuggles and some cleaning up, Chris finally had his moment to hold his baby girl. He said she is beautiful! Hazel gave Chris a death grip right away! Her skin is a healthy color and her full head of hair is quite dark!  Jenn says Chris was the best husband and handled everything perfectly! Everyone is now moved to a recovery room where Jenn and baby will be monitored until tomorrow morning, then they can share a wonderful Thanksgiving all together as a family!

November 25th, 2009

Hazel Joy Richards

Hooray for Healthy Babies!

Thanks for watching…

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No baby yet. Just waiting…

Goodbye November 24th, Hello 25th…

P.S. Jenn - if you want to thank anyone for this, thank David. He said he kicked your butt so bad in fantasy football, that even Hazel felt it.

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Contractions, Contractions, Contractions

Okay, Jenn’s water broke and now she is dealing with painful contractions. Hazel’s head is moving down, which is good, but poor Jenn is dealing with lots of back pain. Meanwhile, Chris is enjoying snacks in a corner.

Jenn and Chris have now been moved to their room. Right now she is using a breast pump to try and expedite the process (supposedly that induces labor) but she is currently having contractions about 5 minutes apart. The picture is of  Dani the ‘doula’ - personel meant to help relax Jenn and make the whole process run smoothly. 4+hrs to make it to Liz’s Birthday…