Baby Jax and Easter Parties!!

We now have our sweet little Jax at home with us.  He is the sweetest little baby, of course, as all babies are.  I just wanted to make sure I had recorded all about the hospital, birth, etc. for our family history.  So, feel free to skip straight to the pictures.

We went to the hospital on Friday, April 18th to be induced because the doctor said our baby was so big (he wasn't due until the 29th).  We got there, they hooked up the IV and pitocin (which is what makes the labor start), and then we just hung out.

We watched "Avengers", and then Jon took a nap while I played my phone and did Sudoku.  They came and checked me around 1:30, and I was dilated to a 6.  The doctor thought I should get the epidural right away, because the progress is usually pretty fast once you hit a 6.  I was a little reluctant to get it so early, but even more so to have the baby without any medication.  I got my epidural around 2, and then we just did some more waiting.  An hour later I was still at a 6, so the doctor went down the hall to deliver another baby.  The nurse came and checked me around 3:30, and I was still just a 7.  Then about 20 minutes later I started feeling like something was happening other than just the usual contractions (remember, I had an epidural, so it wasn't automatically obvious).  I started to feel slightly panicked that we were going to have the baby with just me and Jon in the room.  I told Jon that something was happening and he needed to go find someone quick.  The doctor came in, saw that the baby was coming, and told me to try and wait until the nurse came in if I could.  6 minutes later, little Jax was born.

I couldn't believe we had been waiting at the hospital for 8 hours, and we still almost had our baby with just me and Jon.  Crazy!!

We named him Jax Nicholas Hansen.  He was 9 lb 13 oz and is 22 inches long.

Those first few days he slept like crazy.  He would go 6 or 7 hours before he would even stir enough to eat anything, and then it was hard to keep him awake long enough to really figure things out.  But, I guess he had plenty of food stored up from being in me.

 

 

We had lots of visitors in the hospital.  The kids, Anita, Steve, and Bree were the first arrivals (thank you Hansen's for taking our kids so Jon could stay in the hospital with me and Jax the whole time).  It was fun to see how excited the kids were to meet Jax.  I think they loved him instantly.  

 

 

 

There were a few tears from sweet Hallie who was concerned about how this new baby would affect the dynamics of our family: would we love him more than her?  Would I still be able to help with homework?  Would aunts, uncles, etc. want to only play with the new baby instead of her? etc...  After having Jax home these few days, I think she's realizing that things will continue on just as they always have.  If anything, she's disappointed because she doesn't get to see Jax as much as she would like since he's almost always sleeping.

When we came home Sunday, the Mumford's and the Snarr's came and celebrated Easter with us.  They were going to have it at the Snarr's, but I really wanted to be a part of the party, so convinced everyone to have it here.  So, thank you my sisters for being willing to cater to my desires.  I would have hated to miss and therefore make my family miss out on the fun they had with their cousins.  You guys are the best!

 

 

The next day, we had a few more visitors, and then we had an Easter egg hunt since we hadn't been home on Saturday to celebrate.  It was a great celebration!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since then, we've just been taking it easy.  Jon has 3 weeks of paternity leave, so he takes care of everyone and makes sure I have what I need too.  

 

 

 

Jon is doing such a great job making all the kids feel like they're helping out with the baby.  He even had them all help give Jax a bath.  I don't know how much Jax loved the drawn out process of 4 kids "helping", but I know the kids were in heaven knowing that they were taking care of Jax.  It has been a great 6 days since Jax was born, and we still have 2 more weeks of being together as a family before Jon has to go back to work.  Wahoo!!

Another general conference has come and gone.  It's crazy how fast time flies sometimes.  The week before conference was Amber's birthday, and she had requested that we get together as a family during conference weekend.  So, Steve thought to have a family sleepover.  His bulb (or something) went out on his TV a few days before, so we moved the party to our house.  Then, 2 days before conference, our bulb went out on our TV -- what are the chances?!  Luckily, ours was an easy fix and Jon overnighted the part we needed, so we were good to go for the Hansen conference party.

 

 Nick's family, Amber and Sterling, and Steve, Anita and Bree came for Priesthood session and then slept over on Saturday.  We were joined by Andy and Danny's family for breakfast, games, and more great words from our church leaders on Sunday.  It was nice to have time to be together and find out what everyone had been up to.  Thanks Amber and Steve for the idea of the Hansen conference party.

  In other news, Becky and Tammy came and cleaned my house yesterday.  They swept and mopped my whole main floor (and those who have been to our house know that the hard surface floor space is considerable), and vacuumed  in addition.  I was so grateful to them for being willing to give of their time to help me with a job that is so hard for me right now.  And, they made it seem like no big deal -- as though neither of them had anything else they would rather be doing.  So... hooray for sisters!

 

Here's my final comparison picture.  Picture on the left is at 30 weeks, and on the right is 37.  I didn't think I could get any bigger, but I was definitely wrong.

And on the baby countdown . . . only 2 more days!!  It seems crazy to think that in just a few short days everyone will be able to meet this little baby who has been consuming my life the last few months.  We are so excited to start learning about this new little Hansen baby.

March Happenings...

Normally I try to separate my posts so they aren't so long, but somehow March just got away from me.  So, here's a little recap of what went on last month.

 The kids had crazy hair day at school.  They were super excited about it.

 Kale, Hallie and Rachel were in their school Musical Revue.  They did such a great job with their performances.  Rachel even had a little solo in her group!  The Hansen's and the Snarr's came out to support them and then we had a little ice cream party at our house afterwards.

 This last weekend was Spring break for the kids, so we decided to take a little mini vacation.  We started off with a trip to the zoo (thanks Steve for coming with us).  It was supposed to be a beautiful 63 degrees.  And, although the weather still claimed it was, it was very windy and not too warm.  But, still a super enjoyable time.

After the zoo, we kept going South until Lehi where we stayed at a hotel for a few nights.  We had fun swimming, going out to eat, watching movies, and hanging with Nick and Heidi and their family (we went to church with them on Sunday, and they graciously accepted our self-invitation to hang out with them for the rest of the day).

 

 On Monday we came home, unpacked, and then went to Farmington for a day at Station Park (a shopping/eating/movie area).  The kids loved watching the fountain and playing at the playground while we waited for our movie to start.

 

 March has been super fun and full of activity.  We're excited that it's April now -- countdown to the baby has begun.  Only 17 more days!!