What a Wonderful Weekend!!!

This weekend has been high up on my anticipation list for a long time! The whole family (minus Heidi, who had been here the weekend before), came into town, and we had a PARTY! We ate so much, that I have literally been eating baby food today to try to detox.

Friday, we all congregated and picked everyone up, and then went straight to Hire's for Hamburgers!




After our "wild ride" through Murray, we finally arrived at Hire's and ate their hamburgers. I enjoyed it, but I prefer the Downtown Salt Lake location. Probably due to the nostalgia I enjoy whenever I'm there. Rob, Heather, and everyone and their dog enjoyed making fun of the stroller mark on my boob. I guess since Heidi wasn't here to tease, they had to make tease someone. Anything for you guys.


Friday night, we had dinner, and just hung out. I think it was safe to say that everyone was really exhausted!!

Saturday morning, I went to Kneader's with Rob, Rachel, their family, and Heather's family. Jason took a test for the Salt Lake Fire Department. There were around 1500-2000 people there, so....we'll see. It was a great experience for him though. I was really proud, because he was one of TWO guys who was wearing a tie. SERIOUSLY?? Saturday afternoon, we went to J-Dawg's. It really redeemed itself. What was the best was the cute boys. I hope no one kidnaps them because of their cuteness.


Saturday night, we ate dinner, and then all walked down to Heather's house. It's only a mile and half, but it took over an hour. We fed horses and enjoyed one another. I stinking love my family.

One of the highlights of the weekend? Heather and I actually got a picture together. We really DO love each other!!

Mother's Day will be featured in the next post. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

He's FAMOUS!!

This past Friday was "David Archuletta Day" in the state of Utah. Due to some faulty directions to Hire's from my brother, we wound up driving through the middle of Murray via State Street...the same street that Murray High School is on, which was where he was giving a pep rally only minutes after we were driving there. While I've only actually voted a few times, I felt myself getting caught up in the "Team David Spirit!!" Here are some fun signs that we saw:

Musings on a Somewhat Momentous Occasion

Today, I fed Hazen a bottle with the last of the Breast Milk that I had pumped. While he was in the hospital, I pumped 8 times a day, religiously, probably only missing 5 or 6 pumps total. I was adamant that doing this for my baby was the best thing I could possibly do for him, and I was really intent on nursing him once he was stable enough to have something other than IV fluids, or my milk via a feeding tube.

I didn't get to actually NURSE him until he was about 40-45 days old. I don't remember exactly, but it was somewhere in that range. I remember how NERVOUS I was. It was almost like a first date. I know, it's odd, and a mom should be intuitively ready for something like that, but it was such an awkward/exciting experience. I think it was the 40+ days of build up that made it into a bigger deal than it was. Hazen would only nurse with a Nipple Shield (sorry if this is TMI), but he actually took to it alright.

However, my body had another thing in mind. The countless hours spent pumping, labeling, and freezing my milk was a Catch 22. It was a good thing because it allowed me to keep up my supply, but it was a bad thing, because it had taught my body to only let down for a machine. If I had realized what would happen, I would have continued to only pump, and not even attempt to nurse, because by the time that I realized that as he was growing, my body wouldn't let down ENOUGH for him, the milk had sufficiently decreased that pumping again couldn't even save it.

I was devastated. For a few days, I tried to keep with it, hating myself because I couldn't "do it" right, and being frustrated with Hazen because "didn't he get it? I had tried for so long to do this....FOR HIM!" We would try to feed for 30-45 minutes, and then he would scream about 10 minutes later...because he was STILL HUNGRY. I had such horrible feelings of being a failure as a mother. What could I do for my baby that ANY other person couldn't do as well?

Once I came to term with this, we decided to introduce formula. I had the option of only feeding him the bottled milk, which, at the rate he was going through, wouldn't last as long as I wanted it to. So, I made the hard decision to give him formula, and supplement Breast Milk one day a week.

We estimated that there were between 740-760 of the bottles. This is roughly the equivalent of 2080 ounces of milk.

Oddly enough, giving him that last bottle, the day before he turns 9 months old was a kind of emotional experience for me. It signified so many things. So many hours spent pumping. So many prayers uttered while I did it, praying that one day, the milk I was working so hard for would actually be fed to a baby. A baby that would hopefully come home to us. There were so many tears that were shed while I pumped. Tears of confusion- why was my sweet baby so sick? Tears of anger- What did WE do to deserve this? And tears of joy, as I looked at the pictures of my beautiful baby. Now, the tears that I shed are tears of gratitude. So grateful that while he was fed through A BOTTLE, we have shared so many wonderful bonding moments. Glances filled with love, a milky smile, and a tender snuggle after he's fallen into a milk-induced coma. No, I didn't do it "how I expected" to do it, but I did it. My son loves me, and we have a special bond I challenge anyone to question.

Able to Function again

Jason's Chemistry class is OVER! This means that I have him at home again on Monday and Wednesday nights. That being said, I feel like I'm back to the place where life is manageable. It was just so hard trying to do it all by myself for 5 straight days. YAY!

I'm pleased to announce that now that Hazen is sitting up by himself, he's getting bathed a lot more frequently. We're closer to 3 times a week now.... :o) If he had runny poops going up his butt all day long, I would probably be more prone to wash him more often, but he doesn't so I'm not. But, when he does take baths, he is so stinking cute!


We're going to have a fantastic weekend coming up, so in preparation, and to distract myself from the fact that IT'S ONLY WEDNESDAY, I've been cleaning the crap out of my house. Don't believe me, look at this pantry. LOOK AT IT!

Hazen has begun to get into EVERYTHING! It's so funny- I'm sure it will get old at one point, but for now, I'm enjoying having a little "helper" around. The other day, I brought some of his hangers into the living room to hang up his clothes. I left for a few minutes, and when I returned, this is what I saw:


I realize that one of the "cardinal rules" of blogging is not only blogging about your kids, but since Hazen is really the center of my life, this is all I've got. These are just all memories that I don't want to forget, and with the beauty that is www.blurb.com, I'm set. Hey, if any of you want blurb books, but don't have time to do them, I will gladly do it for you. Just pay me. The end.

I am so lucky

How many Dads are this crazy about their babies? How many babies are this crazy about their Daddy? Maybe a lot, but I think I really got something special when I married my Jason.

A New Experience

Being a first-time mom, I have this FEAR that Hazen will choke to death. This, perhaps, is compounded by the fact that instead of listening intently at the required CPR class we had to take before they would let Hazen home from the NICU, I was so excited about the fact that I wouldn't have to live at Utah Valley anymore, I didn't really pay attention.

So, when Hazen is wanting a snack, I won't oblige unless I'm inches away from him. I won't give him snacks in the car, because I'm too far away, and until recently, I wouldn't give him crackers.

Jason and I LOVE Ritz crackers. We go through them pretty quickly, and they are hands-down one of our favorite snacks. Last week, I was eating lunch (Cottage Cheese, Peaches, and some Crackers), and Hazen was sitting on my lap. He would watch me take the cracker out of the package, hold it, open his mouth, and then watch sadly as I popped it into my mouth. Once I finally caught on, I would take a bite, then he would open his mouth, and he would take a bite. It's really too cute. I think he really likes the way the cracker feels as his two little teeth bite into it. So, now, when I have some chores to do, I just pop him in his high chair, and let him enjoy a snack of crackers with me!

Ode to Giraffe

Mr. Giraffe, Mr. Giraffe, you are so fun
You have yet to be out in the sun
While you might be just a little toy
You bring Hazen so much joy

Where were we, before your tenure?
Hanging out, in a lot of....manure.
Please don't be sad when Hazen eats your head
"I love him so much", is what he said

Thank you for bringing my boy lots of smiles
We'll keep you around for quite a while