Hannah Aaliyah Balanzategui

Hannah joined our family on January 27, at 5:21 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 19.5 inches long.

Compared to Malachi's labor, she was easier. Here's the story.

On Wednesday, I had my Obgyn appointment. Dr. Cosgrove, informed me I was 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. In his words, "I'd be surprised if you lasted another week." I was only 38 weeks along. Malachi came early but only 3 days.

That evening Jacob and I decided to eat out. We usually eat out Friday nights but we had a feeling we might be spending Friday night at the hospital. We also stopped at Target to get last minute things for the baby and some groceries. On top of that, there was a huge snow storm going on while we were out and about. Of course, that didn't stop us. We were use to Utah snow storms. But it was interesting because we were the only ones out. I believe at Target we were one of their two customers in the store.

We went home and watched Robin Hood. I started getting lower back pain. And then...contractions started around midnight. I don't know what it is with my two children that both started at midnight. My contractions were sparatic and not consistent so I decided to stay in bed and not scare Jacob. At 1 a.m. my contractions started 10 minutes apart. That is when I decided to get out of bed and get ready to head to the hospital. In my mind I thought, by the time I get things in the car, drop Malachi off at Kristin's house, and drive to the hospital in this snow I'll be close to 2-3 minute contractions. I was close. I had 2-3 min contractions by the time we were dropping Malachi off at Kristin's house and even then, we still had another 15 minute (or more with this crazy snow in the road) to get to the hospital.

By the time I was at the hospital, around 2:30 a.m., I was already 5-6 cm dilated and in MUCH pain. I asked for an epidural right away but didn't get it until an hour and a half later, which seemed like forever!!! By the time the anesthesiologist came in the room I was 8 cm dilated and sitting on the edge of the bed and being asked to stay still, while getting 1 minute apart contractions was the worst moment of the labor.

After the epidural everything else went smoothly. Hannah was an easy baby to deliver. With only six pushes she was born at 5:21 a.m.! She was a bigger baby compared to Malachi. The nurse, when she saw her said, "She looks like a full term baby." She was a pink baby with full dark hair.

So far, everything has gone smoother, again, compared to Malachi's labor/birth/post-labor experience.  Luckily, Jacob works from home and is able to work around his schedule. During this whole experience I've learned and been reminded of several things. 1) We have wonderful ward friends! We were blessed to have dinners brought to us from our ward friends and they kept checking up on us.

I mentioned Kristin earlier in this post but she was definitely our biggest life-saver in aiding us with Malachi while we went to the hospital Wednesday night. Kristin has 4 children, the youngest two, Hannah (4) and Johnny (2) enjoy playing with Malachi. My biggest fear was how Malachi would react when we dropped him off at Kristin's home if it was in the middle of the night. According to Kristin he was the easiest kid ever! He didn't cry at all when Jacob dropped him off and actually waved 'Goodbye.' 2) It made me realize once again, how much children understand what we tell them though we might doubt it sometimes. I'll explain. That evening while we sat at Texas Roadhouse eating dinner, we were explaining to Malachi that at some point mom and dad would have to go to the hospital and he would have to stay at Johnny and Hannah's house. He didn't mind the idea until I explained to him that it could be during the night and he'd have to sleep at their house. I explained to him that it would be okay because then in the morning he'd wake up and have all day to play with them. He'd smile again. I think I explained that to him 3 or 4 times that night. He got it!

Something else I was reminded of with Hannah's labor experience was that 3) the Lord knows us individually. This time around my mom was unable to make it out to aid. Her sister had passed away at the beginning of January and had spent a week in Mexico. Her days off work were limited and therefore could not make it out. Tammy was in school and Norma could not get days off work. It was all up to us! I was worried about not having help because with my previous pregnancy, post labor recuperation was the worst part. I had complications recuperating and it was hard for me to move, sit, or get around for about a month and a half. Especially having a two year old around. But the Lord blessed our family. Post labor has been a piece of cake compared to Malachi's experience. It hasn't been easy with the lack of sleep, adjusting to a new little baby depending on me, and trying to accomplish daily routines with two children, but it is not impossible. I know for a fact that the Lord's hand was in my easy post-labor recuperation. I know He knows us and hears our prayers. He is aware of His children and loves us. I know that without a doubt.

This is a long post, sorry! Here are more pictures for you to enjoy the sweet and beautiful Hannah. 

 {Malachi loves giving her kisses}