Haven Emily Taylor

We're so excited that Haven is now a part of our family! I'm going to do my best to give lots of details here, so feel free to read it all or just parts. :)

Haven's due date was September 8th, so by the time several days had passed since then I was doing daily jumping jacks, lots of walking, and considering many other "wives tales" to get things rolling. My body knew when things were ready, though, and my water broke on Sunday September 13th at about 1:00 when we were walking to church. We got into the chapel and after several trips to the bathroom I decided that's really what had happened and went home.

After my water broke

My water had broken before labor started with Jozie as well (right at the end of a Sacrament Meeting) and contractions didn't actually begin that time for about another 12 hours. This time I was having pretty regular contractions but didn't feel them much and didn't pay much attention to them. We didn't get around to leaving for the hospital until about a quarter to five. My mom met us there and she and Jozie left at about 6:30. At that time the contractions started getting intense. Chad would push really hard on my lower back (I've got bruises to prove it) and asked me questions about my "special place," which was Cancun. Haven was born just an hour later at 7:33. The labor was awesome--intense but quick. It was so much easier to push this baby out than it had been with Jozie! I couldn't believe it was already over!

A few minutes after Haven's birth

Haven weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 20 inches long. She got great apgar scores but was breathing more rapidly than she should and the nurse said she had a fever. There was a concern that Haven had an infection and she was sent to the NICU for observation. The nurse said I had a fever too and could have a uterine infection (I say "the nurse said" because for both me and Haven, any subsequent checks didn't show a fever at all, so they were either very temporary fevers or she was doing something differently than the other nurses). She started me on new antibiotics, which I had to have every six hours for the next 24 hours. All of the sudden there was no one in the delivery room and I was all alone thinking my new little baby might have an infection. It was scary. They took blood samples and continued to monitor her, and happily the tests never came back positive for any kind of infection and her breathing normalized by the next day. I'm SOOOO glad everything's ok. I was GBS positive so of course I was feeling really guilty about labor having gone so quickly because I didn't get as much antibiotic pre-delivery as I should have. With the next kid I'll be sure to hurry faster to the hospital.

Having Haven in the NICU was hard. I hate that she had to spend the first couple days of her life with an IV (for fluids and antibiotics) and hooked up to monitors. She should have been snuggled up with her mom instead. I came down every few hours to nurse her (the NICU was two floors and several hallways away from my room) and then would go back upstairs to eat or try to get some rest before going down again. The nurses down there were nice, but I think Haven cried a lot because when she came home she was hoarse.

She got discharged Tuesday night and got to come up to my room not long before I was discharged. I'm glad Jozie could come and see her in the hospital before we came home. Isn't this a cute family picture??

Haven's done really well at home. She's a great nurser and so far a great nighttime sleeper. So far Jozie has been an awesome sister and truly wants to help and be Haven's friend. I hope that will continue, at least for the most part. It's strange to transition from putting all my parenting love into one person to having more than one child to love, although I truly love them both. Being a mom is so awesome!!

Chad's been a huge help with all of this--he is a great labor partner, he and Jozie spent lots of time bonding Monday and Tuesday, and he did laundry and cleaned the house, etc., etc. I am married to a really great person who is also my best friend. :)

By the way, a lot of people ask about Haven's name. I believe I liked the name since before I got pregnant. I think its sound and meaning are beautiful. Emily is the middle name of my maternal grandma, Mary Emily Hunt Curtis. What I love about her is that she is always so sure to let her family know two things: that she loves them and that she has a testimony of the Savior. I hope Haven will feel a connection to her 92-year-old great-grandma and to the rest of the amazing heritage she has.

I feel so blessed right now to be a part of this little family and to mother these beautiful little girls.