Thursday, April 7, 2011

How did half a year fly by?

It's hard to imagine, but I have a 6 month old!

Yes, half of an entire year has flown by since Savannah made her entrance into this world!


Let me tell you a little about this munchkin... first of all, she is hilarious!


She finds it quite comical to sit and blow raspberries with her tongue for ten minutes at a time. She most enjoys doing this when she has a mouth filled with peas or some sort of green vegetable.( We have great video of this that I will post later, but here is the aftermath. I let her have some fun and play with some spilled peas too!)



She loves it when mommy or dad says "I'm gonna getcha..." ( and then tickling occurs, of course.) I have also started doing what I call the "claw"- which is just my hand up high and it lowers ever-so slowly and gets her belly... big laughs from that!

Our little 15 pounder is also dead set on mastering as many of those milestones as possible.

She rolls, she pushes up onto her arms when on her belly, but she really loves to sit up and it seems she wants to just take off from there and crawl.


She starting sitting up around 4 months. We took our second family trip, this time to Telluride, Colorado. I just propped her up and she didn't fall! Yea!!!!

Here are some more pictures from that trip. We drove there and back and stopped at the four corners to snap a few pictures as well!




We have also introduced some solid foods into her diet.

We started out with rice cereal, which as you can tell from this little face, was not a tasty success. Since then, we have introduced peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, yams, green beans, bananas and avocados, pears, apples, and mangoes into her little diet. She likes the fruit a lot, but the veggies are obviously less desired. We tried butternut squash in this video below.


Since she learned to sit up, one of her favorite activities is just to sit and play with toys. She has learned how to use her hands very well and seems to be drawn to the toys that sit across the blanket from her. So, now, we wait for her to take flight. She sits perched on her blanket and play mats with a mission. We watch her as she tries to figure out how to get that toy that is lying farthest from her. So, its only a matter of time before our house needs to be full on child proofed!
Savannah, the curious little creature, loves to grab at everything!


We are starting a new child care adventure as well. She has been at either our sweet sitter's house or my mom's house since she was 8 weeks old, but every one's situation has changed over the last 4 months.

So, on Monday, we begin day care at a day care center. I was really nervous about this until I took the sweet babes into the center yesterday and let her play with the other kiddos in her classroom. She did great! She loved the baby interaction. Imagine that, I have a social child.

I am sure that Monday will be more difficult for me than her. Savannah adapts to her surroundings so well, we parents, not so much!

Wish me luck!

Sunday, October 31, 2010


I sit here typing this blog reflecting back on the last 13 weeks... (Yes, Savannah is now three months old and I have yet to update this blog since she was born.)
Our lives changed forever the moment I gave birth to the most amazing little baby in the world.
In the last three months I have watched this perfect angel grow and smile and laugh and coo. I have been so fascinated with her progress that I have not had the time and desire to write, all I do is talk to Savannah and stare at her. I thought I did owe it to myself and those of you who read this her birth story, even if just a 'Readers Digest' version, and an update of how life has been since.
Welcome to the world Savannah Noel Hage.



Savannah was born October 4th, 2010 at exactly 1:15 pm.
I watched the video of her arrival in the world this evening for the first time. I have to admit that I did tear up when I re-experienced her birth.

She was 6 pounds 15 ounces and 19 inches long. From the moment that she left my belly and entered our lives, we have felt such a joy that we cannot describe. In fact, we had never truly understood what love is until we met her.

Our labor and delivery wasn't simple. It took days and a long two hours of pushing.

My body wasn't progressing or cooperating to allow for a vaginal delivery, so, my doctor suggested induction at 40 weeks.

Our first attempt at induction was a bust... a heart crushing bust. I was so ready to meet our little girl. We were scheduled to be induced on September 30th, but as we met with that doctor on the Thursday morning, he gave us the news... we weren't ready. Even the baby wasn't quite in position for a swift delivery.

So, we rescheduled.

On Sunday evening, October 3, 2010 we arrived at our hospital, more optimistic that our little angel would arrive the following day. I was going to be given a cervix ripening agent. This was the second time I had to undergo a ripening treatment and this time it had to work.

The medicine did its job and I, almost immediately, started having contractions. These contractions, oddly, were not painful. My tummy would tighten every 70 seconds. This went on for several hours. then, at 1:15 am, my water broke! I was officially in labor!
According to the video I saw tonight, that's when the contractions actually started to hurt, but I don't remember them being too painful.

Of course, I am sparing you all a lot of the bloody details and yes, pardon the pun.

Rick and I were so excited. We were finally going to meet our love bug... one way or another.

Our doctor, was not as enthusiastic about a vaginal delivery. He informed us that a c-section was likely if I didn't fully dilate in a few hours. When my water broke and I officially started dilating, Savannah moved into the birth canal. The doctor was a little worried that she was tucked in the canal too long and that my bone structure may not permit a vaginal birth as well. Knowing he had to treat two patients, we took the cards we would be given. But almost two hours on the dot went by, and I was fully dilated!

We had the most amazing experience at our hospital. Our nurses were so wonderful and attentive. We fell in love with Nurse Rita, who made sure to take the pain out of labor. She tucked pillows under all of my appendages and then did the same for Rick. It was called the Rita "fluff and buff" and it made the experience a lot more comfy for us! She held my hands and head during my epidural and encouraged us as we prepared to be new parents. Sadly, Rita's shift was over before we delivered our munchkin.

Let me tell you, I married the best man on the planet. Rick never left my side. My epidural didn't exactly work the whole time. In fact, the pain was so terrible while I was dilating that last couple of centimeters that I was certain that some how, someone messed up! Rick helped me through that like a pro. He whisked me out of the hospital and to our honeymoon in Maui. Instead of feeling the pain of labor, I was visualizing...feeling the sun and the sand. We were swimming with sea turtles and watching the beautiful Hawaiian sunsets. It helped me so much!

Before we knew it, it was time to push!

We were at the point where I was sure that my husband would be sitting in a chair right next to my shoulders. Boy was I wrong. Rick was right there holding my legs and counting down contractions! He was a true coach and just as excited to meet our daughter!

Two hours later and a lot of pushing too, little Savannah Hage was here!



Parenthood begins with love

Rick holds his little girl constantly. I have never seen him more proud of anything. She is a gorgeous baby- complete with thick blond hair and possible blue eyes and we feel she is so in tune with us. She came out of the womb alert and aware of who her parents are.

Over the last several weeks, Savannah has grown in so many ways. She looks like she has doubled in size, she has filled out.Her hair remains blond, but instead of platinum, she is golden. She also has some of the bluest eyes I have ever seen.



Her eyes are always open. She is one of the most alert babies I have ever seen. She loves to look around and she fights going to sleep. Late at night, she defiantly tries to keep her eyes open as if she is afraid to miss anything!




With each passing Monday, she grows a week older. During week 6 we started seeing lots of smiles! ( Although, her first smile came to us around four weeks old). She is cheerful and happy in the mornings, after she is done sleeping in of course.This morning, she was cooing and smiling! She is happiest when we talk to her and smile at her, things I certainly miss experiencing all day now that I am back at work.

Parenthood means a lot of worrying

When Savannah was born, she had some bruising on her little head, which caused her to be a little jaundice. Our pediatrician wanted her to sleep on a Ultra Violet Ray blanket, called a Billi-Blanket. This was the first health related matter that had Rick and I worrying. Never get on WebMD and search out your particular ailment... it is so scary.

So, the worry began early and it wasn't long before we had another big scare. The beautiful thing that many states are doing to better treat congenital defects is newborn screening. The ugly fact of that is... sometimes... something pops up. In our case, it was the gene for Cystic Fibrosis. We were so scared that our little beautiful baby was not going to live a full, healthy life filled with sports, outdoor activities and the possibility of children of her own. The mere thought of all of the struggles she could endure broke our hearts. We were required to undergo some testing. It was called a sweat test, that basically examines the salt in her sweat to determine if she has the disease. When we received that call, the newborn ether that we had been on suddenly faded and the concern and fear of the fragility of our perfect blond baby.

We woke up long before the sun was up to make our 5:45 am appointment at Phoenix Children's Hospital to learn our fate. The test required Savannah to have her arms wrapped in cellophane, so, that she could sweat onto a round ph paper. Savannah did great during the test, she took it all in with little fuss. We patiently waited for the results of her test for 24 long hours. In those hours we came to peace with the idea that she "could" be sick. We prayed very loudly as we went through all of the emotions and started planning for the worse case scenario. When the phone rang the next morning, we were on pins and needles. Happily, we took the news that our golden nugget did not have cystic fibrosis. We were so relieved, our baby is healthy.

Savannah Banana

Savannah continues to amaze us. Just today she was sitting in her little chair by herself and began squealing and laughing. She is happy and that's something that Rick and I feel extremely blessed about. We have heard horror stories about early parenthood, but I guess we dodge a bullet on that. She has only four cries... Hungry, tired, wet/poopy, and if she has gas. She only melts down when she is way past tired. We are also blessed to get between 5 and 7 hours straight of sleep a night. It seems Savannah enjoys her sleep as much as we do. I am sure she will make up for this later on in life as a teenager trying to sneak in after missing her curfew. Until that time though, we will continue to kiss her little cheeks as she sleeps soundly and appreciate our little blessing who gives these new parents more sleep than we expected... I am going to go ahead and knock on wood now.


















Tuesday, August 31, 2010

35 Weeks- the count down is on!

Yesterday, we were delighted with another ultrasound! It is truly amazing to see how our little one has grown! She weighs around 5 pounds 3 ounces.

Savannah is also a huge fan of eavesdropping and sucking her thumb/fingers! When we were viewing the ultrasound yesterday, the tech could see her little eyebrows moving and her facial expressions changing as we all were talking! It is hard to make out, but none-the-less, she is my daughter, so, she will have to be "in the know" at all times!! ( Sorry baby girl- its genetics!)

Take a look at the ultrasound! It is three minutes long and makes both Rick and I bored with technology and long to meet our gorgeous baby girl!

Approaching D-DAY

It has been a really long time since my last entry and for that I apologize!
Rick and I have been extremely busy trying to ready our house for the baby!
Our nursery is nearly finished and the rest of the Hage house remodeling project is on its way as well!
After going back and looking at my last post, I realize there has been nearly 20 weeks between then and now... So, here's a quick update!
We have a name:
Savannah Noel Hage
It's hard to describe how Rick and I finally agreed on a name, but for some reason Savannah just took and we both LOVE IT!
Noel is from Ricky's dad's middle name- which was Noel ( like Cole), and I loved that Rick wanted to pay tribute to his dad in our daughter's name!
At 28 weeks, we were able to see our little peanute in a 3D-4D ultrasound. The technology is so amazing! It blew our minds that we created a mini version of ourselves!
She already smiles! ( I am sure she inherits that trait from me :)
She had her thumbs and her toes in her mouth the day of the ultrasound, so, our pictures were a little distorted. I liked that we truly couldn't see all of her features. I felt like we were looking "behind the curtain" a bit too much!


We think she has my nose and lips! In the top picture she looks very Hage/Franken though... So, I am not sure what to expect... Just that she is going to be the most gorgeous baby alive !!
I also stepped in front of the camera again to have some maternity pictures taken. I did them at about 31-32 weeks. I wish that Ricky was in some of them, but they turned out very nice!
Kortni, my gorgeous sister-in-law took them! She did a great job!





Today, marks 35 weeks and two days.
We have just a few more weeks to go and boy are we excited!









Friday, May 7, 2010

Baby Girl Hage

IT'S A GIRL!!!

We don't have a final answer on names yet, but we do know we are having a precious baby girl come October!

Above is a youtube video of our ultrasound from today! Enjoy!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Tickle Fight Anyone?

The description of your baby's early movements are a little off... I haven't felt any flutters or butterfly wings ( or at least I haven't noticed any).
What I have noticed is a full on tickle fight.
Our baby first began tickling me on May 1st. It was late at night and a political debate was brewing after dinner.The noise level was starting to increase, and all of a sudden....blllliiiiiipppppp! Right across my lower abdomen. I was totally surprised by it too!

In the meantime, our bouncing little baby has enjoyed tickling me often.

Monday, little baby Hage decided that it truly liked cake. I figure this child will follow in the tradition of my family of cake lovers. After eating the cake, the little blip-blip-blips started.
It was great! A wonderful feeling, and unfortunately it made me want another piece of cake!

I felt it last night- to the point it made me giggle! I am not a ticklish person at all. In fact, it drives Rick nuts that I don't laugh out of control when someone takes a feather to my feet. This little blip-blip-blip... it tickles and its glorious!