HAZEL ANN SJOGREN – BIRTH STORY

19 July |

Now that Hazel is almost 6 weeks old, I feel like I should probably write out her birth story. Mostly so I don’t forget all of the sweet little details.

A little back story: My pregnancy with Hazel was a complete surprise. We did IVF with Collins and thought we would be going down that road again for future children once the time came. We had friends who did IVF then got pregnant “on their own” but we never thought that would be us. Well, when Collins was 7 months old, Chris suggested I take a pregnancy test after an oddly emotional day and BAM, two pink lines! WE WERE SHOCKED. But incredibly thankful. I honesty think we didn’t know how to feel. I remember saying to him that this must be what it feels like to get pregnant without the help of science as we stared at the at-home test.

So much happened between October 2019 and June 2020. Aside from everything going on in the world around us, we decided in January that we wanted to move to Athens, GA to be closer to family. We had always toyed with this idea but once we found out we were pregnant, we decided to start looking. After a few months of searching, we found a house we loved. We put our house on the market then about 10 days later, COVID19 swept the nation. Not an ideal time to sell your house. Plus, we needed and wanted to be uber careful because I was pregnant and didn’t know what would happen if I got COVID. We had a few showings before the shelter in place orders came about but then things went quiet for several weeks.

At the end of April, the stars aligned and we had an offer! We closed on both of our houses at the end of May 2020. This meant we had about 4 weeks to move and start unpacking before Hazel was born. Chris and I always joke that when we do something big, we usually add a few other things to the mix. I’m not sure why that is but that’s our track record. The whole point of our move was to be closer to family. With that, they helped out so so much in those first few days and weeks so we could unpack. Collins loves spending time with my parents and I really don’t think it ever phased her.

I started seeing a doctor in Athens at around 32 weeks. We made the decision to transfer to a new practice and hospital just to be safe. Thank goodness we did because when she started coming, she came FAST.

I walked around at 3cm dilated for 3 weeks. I carried Hazel really low and thought for sure she would come a few weeks early. On the day before my 39th week, I went to the doctor and they stripped my membranes. This process was very uncomfortable but not unbearable. The midwife who did the procedure said she could feel the head and the sack of water and knew I would probably not make it to my next appointment. I went home and my contractions started. They weren’t terrible at first. Some stopped me in my tracks but I was able to hang with Collins, feed her dinner and help with her bath but knew that at the rate my contractions were coming, we would be meeting Hazel soon.

We got into bed around 10pm. My contractions came closer and were more intense and for the next hour I laid in bed counting them five minutes apart. I knew at 11pm that this baby was coming soon so we called my parents to come over and headed to the hospital. Thankfully we are only a few miles down the street because once we arrived, things got intense. We arrived to the hospital at 12:10am and Hazel was born at 1:45am.

I got settled in a room, changed and they checked me within the first 20 minutes. I was 8cm dilated at the first check and already had a strong sense to push. I had planned to not have an epidural. Thankfully that was my mindset beforehand because regardless if I wanted it or not, I was too late. I pushed for right under 45 minutes before Hazel made her sweet debut. Goodness those first few minutes with her fresh were perfect. Her cry was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.

We spent the next few hours skin to skin getting to know each other. My sweet little Hazel Bear. She weighed 7lbs 3oz and was 19.5 inches long. She was born on her 39th week to the day, same with Collins. One of the nurses in our delivery offered to take Chris’ phone and take pictures for us. She got a few graphic ones that I wasn’t expecting when I looked back through them but so many sweet first moments that we are so thankful for.

Because of COVID, this delivery was much different than with Collins’. My friend Jessica was in the delivery room with us when Collins was born. She created the most beautiful birth video and took pictures for us. I was sad that we couldn’t have the same for Hazel. Regardless, I was thankful that Chris was able to be in the room with me, honestly couldn’t have done it without him. Several people have asked if I had to wear a mask during my delivery and I did not. I know every hospital is different though.

We spent about 36 hours in the hospital before we came home to start life as a family of four. It was bizarre to leave our house knowing that it would never be just Collins and us again. Hazel has been the best addition to our family and I’m forever grateful for that surprise back in October 2019.

SWADDLE BLANKET

BOW \\ ONESIE \\ PACI

HEART PRINT ONESIE (SIMILAR)

HAZEL’S SWADDLE

OATMEAL OUTFIT

I will share more information on my postpartum journey soon. I didn’t tear and had such a fast delivery that I think that helped my body heal. I’m nowhere back to normal (which I’m absolutely fine with – there shouldn’t be a timeline for this recovery) but things have been going well. More on this to come!

leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


    comments

  1. Thank you so much for writing this. I have been following you for some time and remember feeling the sense of hope when published that you were pregnant through IVF, because we were having a lot of trouble and it was looking that way for us. Well, that’s what happened to us – IVF, a TON of prayers, and God helped us be able to get pregnant with our little girl that could come any week now. And, I really hope I’m like you and get pregnant on my own after. We’ve been given 6 months to try on our own after our daughter is born, and then it’s back for another round of IVF because only 1 of our 14 eggs made it to frozen stage :(. Anyway, this is a beautiful story and thank you so much for being a REAL MOM who shows that it’s not a bed or roses everyday, but so worth it in the end.

  2. Such a beautiful story! Gods timing is perfect! He knew just what you guys needed when you least expected it!

      • This is so crazy! I was just checking out your post about her nursery. I saved the pin and of course screenshot everything. Then I get to this post about her birth and I see that we have picked the same name for our baby girl, Hazel! I’m naming her after my grandmother. Now I definitely know this theme is meant to be. I love your style! Great blog! ❤️