2.25.2008

In Her Stars

Name: Hazel
February 19 2008
6:50 PM Time Zone is EST
Beverly, MA

Rising Sign is in 19 Degrees Virgo You tend to be very shy and not very self-assertive. You are supercritical about how you appear to others. Even though you may think you are uninteresting and dull, you are actually quite soft- spoken, orderly, neat and very likable. You are a perfectionist with high standards, and at times you can be quite tactless in pointing out the faults of others. Very practical, efficient and purposeful, your appearance and bearing reflect your need to appear graceful, sensible and reserved. You have a crisp, no-nonsense approach to dealing with others. Never lazy or self-indulgent, you tend to be dedicated to the work ethic.

Sun is in 00 Degrees Pisces. Extremely sensitive and emotional, you absorb the emotions of others (whether positive or negative) like a sponge. Emotionally vulnerable, you are easily upset and tend to cry readily. You are at your best when you can structure your environment in such a way that you are surrounded by positive, upbeat people. You are very helpful and understanding of the needs of others. Indeed, at times this can be a disadvantage, because you can be a sucker for anyone who needs help. Shy, dreamy, romantic in nature, you delight in retreating into your private fantasy world. Just be careful that you do not get lost in it! Trust your intuitions -- you may be quite psychic.
Moon is in 16 Degrees Leo. You always want to be proud of yourself and will never do anything that will make yourself look bad. You need the respect and admiration of others and enjoy attracting attention to yourself. Everything you do tends to be self-emphasized and self-exaggerated. Very stubborn, willful and independent yourself, be sure to allow others who are close to you the similar right to "be themselves." Your need for love, affection and reassurance, and your tendency toward vanity, allow you to have your head easily turned by flattery. The more insecure you are, the more you tend to be a showoff. You love games and sports as a matter of fact, you would usually rather play than work. Be careful of a tendency to be snobbish and uppity -- it does not become you.

Mercury is in 08 Degrees Aquarius. You tend to be very opinionated -- you have strongly felt notions about things and are quite vocal about expressing and defending them. Yet you are also an original thinker -- you enjoy shocking others with your offbeat, original thoughts. You appreciate and need mental and intellectual stimulation. Your judgment is usually fair and impartial -- you can be a good critic because you can remain objective and unemotional about most things.

Venus is in 02 Degrees Aquarius. You are a friendly and outgoing individual, but close relationships are difficult for you to maintain due to your fear that they will cause you to lose your freedom. You attract friends and associates who are exciting, different and sometimes a bit odd. You are popular with others and enjoy working within a group toward group goals.
Mars is in 26 Degrees Gemini. Your energies get turned on quickly whenever anything interests you. But you have a very short attention span and it is difficult for you to complete tasks because something else more interesting always seems to be beckoning. You love to debate and argue, usually in a spirit of friendly disagreement. But watch out that you do not get too overly aggressive or antagonistic or others will be quick to take offense where none may have really been intended. You need to be in constant physical motion -- sports or daily exercise is a must for you if you are to feel fit and healthy.

Jupiter is in 13 Degrees Capricorn. You tend to feel that the only results that are worthwhile are the results that are concrete and demonstrable. You distrust abstract solutions and appreciate measurable achievements. An excellent organizer and planner, you are optimistic as well as practical and realistic about what can and what cannot happen. Very responsible, you consider it a personal weakness to be wrong about anything. This makes you appropriately cautious. You are very efficient but you tend to be cool and detached.

Saturn is in 05 Degrees Virgo. Your life must be orderly and practical and full of known and familiar routines in order for you to feel comfortable with yourself. Be careful, however, not to let "order" become the be-all and end-all of your life, or you may become cold, crass and unfeeling. Doing useful, practical things boosts your self- esteem. Abstract concepts and reasoning seem frivolous and a waste of time to you. You are very critical of yourself (and others), indeed at times quite self-deprecating. Try to relax a bit and allow yourself the freedom to fail once in a while. However, you probably won't fail very often because you are such a perfectionist.

Uranus is in 17 Degrees Pisces. You, and most of your peers, are extremely idealistic and want to change society by completely reorienting its highest religious goals and aspirations. Just be careful to make sure that your new goal structures are properly grounded in reality so that they have a chance of being accepted by the majority.

Neptune is in 22 Degrees Aquarius. You, and your entire generation, will idealize and even venerate the ability to remain detached as well as the ability to objectively analyze any given situation. There will be a concerted effort on your part to cure the ills of society as a whole. But be very careful to continue to maintain and protect the rights of individuals in the midst of these potentially far-reaching changes.

Pluto is in 00 Degrees Capricorn. For your entire generation, this is a period of intense changes in the very fabric of society. Many accepted institutions may pass away or be born anew. The good of the community as a whole will be stressed and individual rights may come under attack. This will possibly be a period of decay that will lead to a new order.

N. Node is in 27 Degrees Aquarius. As long as someone else (or a group or organization) appeals to your intellectual sensibilities, you'll try to ally yourself with them in some way. You may find that you always seem to get involved with many wide-ranging groups -- so much so that you find it difficult to fit them all into your busy schedule. Your many friends and acquaintances provide you with needed stimulation. You're loyal and fair-minded -- you try to spend time equally with all your friends, never concentrating on just one or two for any length of time. Although probably quite conservative yourself, you're attracted to those who are a bit offbeat or eccentric -- you enjoy watching their minds work.

One Week Old

Things we have learned about Hazel:

* Her witching hour is sometime between midnight and 3am
* She loves to have her head stroked
* She is a snuggler, and is happiest when she is curled up like a frog on our chest
* There isn't much she hates more than having her clothes fussed with
* The best part of her bath is having water poured over her head
* She has the most expressive repertoire of grunts, beeps, peeps, clicks, whistles and chirps
* She wins burping contests with her dad
* She hates being kissed on her face
* She honks in her sleep
* She has changed so much in one short week. Already she is more alert and can focus her eyes pretty well. No more drunken, cross-eyed stare! She loves to gaze intensely at us, and we love to gaze right back.
* She makes piggie grunting sounds when she eats and we have to slow her down or she makes herself sick.
* She has a very strong urge to suck, and always goes for the back of her right hand

Things Hazel has learned about us:

* We are much better co-parents than co-kayakers, co-ballroom dancers, or co-chefs
* We laugh so much more than we thought we would since she came
* We are having much more fun than we ever expected to have
* We are better parents than we thought we could be
* We are a perfect team
* We communicate pretty damn well
* We are more in love with one another and with her than we thought possible

Hazel's First Kiss

ma belle famille

2.24.2008

More Pictures

twenty six hours old.
before leaving the hospital....stuned by her car seat experience.

her first morning on earth

our first moments with our superhero doula, lorryn.

one hour old...


momma and daughter.
my last pregnant moments.

2.22.2008

The First Days

7 Pounds 10.4 Ounces 20 Inches Long

The Stats and The Feets

Funny Face

Uncle Nate and Aunt Amy

Aunt Jen and Cousin Owen
Droopy Paws

She's Here!

After 34 hours of labor, at 6:50pm on Tuesday February 19th 2008, Hazel Ana Donovan was born! She weighed in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 inches long. We came home from the hospital on Thursday afternoon and have been moving nonstop ever since, just trying to keep each other alive. My body still has a lot of recovering to do.

Hazel is the prettiest and sweetest little baby I've ever seen, and Jamie and I are completely in love, of course. Hector and Flossie have been amazingly gentle and protective, too. We have just been trying to get through each day and night with minimal screaming and crying from all of us. I have been having a difficult time recovering from the two day marathon my body had to run, but Hazel has been delightful! She loves to snuggle and be carried around in her sling. She falls asleep the second you lay her belly to your chest and has the funniest little facial expressions and drunken eyes! She hates being kissed on her face and loves her hair being stroked. She hardly ever cries except when she is put down.

We are going to have a lot to write here as we all get to know each other, so I hope that you keep checking in. Thank you to all of our family and friends who have been so supportive of our family over the past fourteen months. We are sorry that it has taken us so long to call everyone individually; it's all we can do to manage a shower for each of us during the day. Thank you to everyone who has called and left messages and emails. I'm going to try and get back to you all as we get into a routine, but it might take us a little while. We definitely would love visitors and can't wait to show off Hazel and her little face, so please let us know. We are pretty much around all the time in the next couple of weeks, and would love to see you all. If you bring us a casserole, you can come anytime.

2.11.2008

Evict my Wombmate

Ten more days until Hazel's due date and time for a quick update! Thank you to everyone who has called and visited, as anxious for her arrival as we are! I am beyond uncomfortable and miserable at this point, and Jamie and I are so excited to get this pregnancy thing behind us. We have been racing around trying to tie up all of our loose ends around the house while we still (sort of) have time. Hazel's room is just about ready for her. We have been trying to spend some time alone together, going to movies and dinner, cooking together and generally trying to just enjoy each others company before things change quite a bit for some time.

The dogs are gearing up for their new pack member, too. My wonderful girlfriends Jillian and Missy came to visit me yesterday and get me out of the house. Jillian brought her absolutely beautiful, happy nine month old son Nathan along for the ride. Hector was so excited to see the baby, and instantly lay down with his massive head in Nathan's lap and rolled over on his back. He doesn't cuddle with us that much. Flossie took a minute to warm up to the idea of a kiddo, but was happy and excited about her visitor within the hour and spent the afternoon marching around with Nathan's hat in her mouth. I think they will really enjoy having a kid to play with and look out for. Let's just hope they don't feel too neglected.

I had my last day of work on Thursday, and it was very sad and surreal to leave. I'm going to miss seeing my coworkers every day, and I'm going to miss some of my clients. I'm trying to get myself to relax and enjoy the downtime before the baby comes, but it's pretty hard.

On Thursday, we also had our last ultrasound. Hazel is in a great position and packed in there pretty tight. They estimated her weight at 7 lbs 13 oz. and she is looking chubby with a full head of hair! Unfortunately for me, my cervix has shown no change, and she is still very high up. Looks like I'm stuck with this pregnancy thing for a while longer, but you never know.

I'm trying everything I can to induce myself; drinking red raspberry leaf tea by the gallon, trying to walk around as much as I can stand it, going to the chiropractor and massage therapist every week, getting acupuncture for labor induction and working my own acupressure points until they are raw. We even went out for a giant Indian food feast the other night but still no luck. Jamie and I made the mistake of measuring my girth the other day, too. I'm coming in at 48 inches around, which strikes me as gross, but also explains why my spine feels fused together and why I have not slept in months. Hazel is being very stubborn already.