Monday, February 22, 2010

My Birth

My story begins before I was born. My mom and dad always planned to have me, they just weren't sure when was the right time. Both were always working and both loved to travel the world. My mom battled endometriosis for a long time and after a few years of agonizing pain she was confronted by her doctor. She came home and told my dad "We have 6 months to get pregnant or I have surgery".

After months and months of no luck the doctor called my mom, it was two days before surgery, "You're pregnant, we're canceling surgery"! YEAH. Mom was told my due date would be January 26.


About 6 weeks in to the pregnancy my mom began having issues. One day walking to the mailbox she started bleeding a lot. It just wouldn't stop. After an hour of constant bleeding dad was home, he rushed mom to the hospital. They didn't say what was wrong but that she was most likely going to miscarry and to go to her doctor ASAP. They didn't see anything. So mom went home and was ordered to take it easy.



After two more trips to the ER mom finally finds out what's going on. I (my egg) had implanted itself in to the endometriosis side (left side) of mommy and it had caused a 2 inch tear. Everytime mom would walk or exercise it would tear more.

They again said she would miscarry and to go home. Mom was put on bed rest but still ended up in the ER another two times in the first trimester.





At five months pregnant mom was finally off bedrest and went to visit family in Ohio and she and dad took a vacation to St. George and Moab, Utah. Both being huge fans of mountain biking felt that Moab was the 'haven' for the sport. This was the birth of my name and the first time mom ever felt me kick.


At six months mom was back in the hospital and I wanted out. Mom went in to labor and had to stay there while they tried to keep me in the oven a bit longer. Mom went back on bedrest.

January 25th mom went in to labor around 6am. Finally heading to the hospital around 6pm with intense contractions. By 10pm they sent her home and gave her Ambien to help sleep. Mom sleeps for two days on Tylenol PM and she was worried about the Ambien but they said she'd wake up if there were contractions. At 2am mom woke up in extreme pain and couldn't even walk or talk. Dad sent out a few emails and mom had some raisin bran (warning do not eat raisin bran before delivering).

We made it to the hospital and the doctor told my mom and dad that I would be born by noon on the 26th. She happily took the epidural and went to sleep. The doctor came in around 8:30 am and told mom she was ready and it was time to push. Now this is where it gets tricky and long....

Mom was working hard to push me but nothing was happening. The doctor came in and told mom that I was a little sideways and upside down. The nurse screwed a heart monitor in to my head as the bands wouldn't stay on mom. But the monitor didn't stay on and the nurse screwed it in again. Mom continued to push but we were having complications. My heart rate would drop to dangerous levels every time mom pushed.

The doctor came back in and told mom she would have to deliver on her side and switch sides every 10 minutes. She also was only allowed to push on every fourth contraction. After 2 1/2 hours the doctor came back in to tell mom she only had 30 minutes left before we went to C-section. The doctor flipped me around on to my back and mom pushed. Before I decided to come out the doctor warned my mom that I was not going to be allowed to cry. I would get merconium in my lungs if I cried.

As soon as I arrived the doctors quickly took me to suction out my lungs and mom heard the doctor yell at the nurse. She had missed my head with the heart monitor and screwed it in to my neck. Even though all that was going on mom could hear me crying. I was cleaned up and brought to my mom and dad. Finally I was here.

Born: January 26, 2004

Time: 12:02 PM

Weight: 7 lbs 7 oz

Height: 21 inches

Age Birth - 1


Haven was born very healthy with a slight case of jaundice at birth that went away after about a week. She never cried at night and she slept through the night since birth. Her first year she pretty much stayed at 75-80% on height and 25-30% on weight. At 6 months her pediatrician warned us that we had a very strong willed child and that she would be very independent. He noted to us a few times that she was ahead on her development.

At around 8 months we began to notice that she didn't feel any pain. She never cried when she would fall or get hurt. When it was told to the doctor he didn't think anything of it and just said she may have a slightly higher tolerance or she may not ever get hurt bad enough to cry. Another note is that she never cried for food or to go to bed. She just never cried.

A few hours old...I was a bit tired from all the work I had to do the day I was born.


Grandma Sing and Grandpa-Beard Off (my dad's dad) were the first on the scene. The arrived from Arizona on Saturday, January 25th, as mom was sitting in the room waiting to be told she would be having me. They soon sent her home only to come back a few hours later. Here I am with my grandma and grandpa a few minutes after meeting my mom and dad.

My uncle Kevin (my dad's brother) was also on the scene waiting for me to join the Fowler Family. He looks pretty happy to see me.

GUB - Great Uncle Brian and Aunt Lisa (not pictured) (my dad's aunt and uncle) also came out to the hospital to meet me. He kinda looks like my dad so it's possible I could be trying to figure that one out!

Mom, Dad, and I arrived home and Grandma and Grandpa had everything there waiting for me. I had huge bouquets of flowers and blankets and everything waiting for me! I think everyone was excited to see me come home!

About 2 weeks after I was born Grandpa Simon came out with Grandma Virginia. They hung out with me for a couple of days. Look how little I am. All I did was sleep then.....

Here I am with Grandma Virginia (my dad's mom) - this must've been the start of Haven Pink. Grandma is wearing my soon to be favorite color.

Grandma B-Honey (my mom's mom) came out for a visit right about the time Grandma and Grandpa Virginia came to visit. We had lots of fun....but really I just slept A LOT!

Here I am with Grandpa B-Honey (my mom's dad)....just hanging out...wondering who is this guy? Little did I know that in a few years I'd be living near him.

I was a good baby. I never cried and I slept all night from the start. Mom would have to wake me to feed me. I just really liked to sleep. At the time mom thought it was awesome.

I started day-care at 6 weeks old. Mom had to go back to work and it was very hard for her but she found a great place for me to go to. I met my first friend - Maya - there. We spent the next year and a half hanging out and playing.

I was a long baby....mom always said I'd be tall like dad. He's 6'2" and she's 5'2". Dad always massaged my legs when he would change my diaper. It helped to soothe me.

For my mom's birthday in April we went to Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa. The Arizona desert did wonders for my skin. The dry air completely made me turn red and look like a little clown. It was my first vacation ever.This is my Aunt Wendy (mom's sister). She came out to visit me one of the times my Uncle Mike came home from Iraq. She lives in Hawaii with my 3 cousins.

My cousins Philip and Luke came out to visit me around my Christmas and my birthday. It was great. They were living in Alaska at the time and their mommy brought them down.

This is my Aunt Martha - she is married to my Uncle James. We always have a lot of fun together. She knew how to make me giggle and giggle.At exactly 4 months old I began teething. I popped two teeth out at the same time. I never cried and mom didn't know I had even gotten my teeth. But then another tooth came in and mom decided I needed some Orajel!


My modeling career started early....I think mom had a camera stuck to her 24 hours a day. I was constantly being followed around by the camera.

Mom and I hanging out. Usually mom is behind the camera so there aren't too many photos of her and I together.

Learning to sit. I was about 4 months old when I started sitting.

My first attempt at eating. This was around June 2004. I think I did pretty well.Me at daycare with my friend Maya. We had lots of fun playing all the time.

My uncle Kevin came over to hang out with me for the 4th of July. We had lots of fun watching the fireworks.

One day my mom brought home some zucchini bread. She didn't know it was made with ground hazelnuts. I had a small piece and within an hour I was covered in hives.

We spent the day at the ER and mom got an Epipen for future reactions. Since this day I have never been given nuts of any kind and peanut butter doesn't exist in my house.

I used to love bath time. I would sit in there and play an throw water on everyone. Look at my cute little toe!

One of our family vacations was to Vegas. My sister Kendall came with us and we met Grandma and Grandpa B Honey and Aunt Candy there. We had so much fun. This was my first trip to Vegas.

During our trip to Vegas my mom wanted to take everyone to Death Valley for the day. We drove a long time to get there and during one of the breaks I decided to take a good nap. Everyone hung out in the desert and chased desert animals while I slept.

This is me with my Great Aunt Candy (my mom's aunt). She came out to see us in Vegas.

Me with Daddy, Kendall, Grandpa and Grandma B-Honey.

Another side vacation while in Vegas was a trip to The Valley Of Fire. We had a lot of fun here - this is one of my mom's favorite places.

My first and only trip to see Santa. I tried to smile and in the few seconds I was on his lap I went potty all the way through my diaper. I was surprised that Santa brought me present since I didn't give him a nice present!


GAL (Aunt Lisa) and GUB (Uncle Brian) came out to party with me at my first birthday.

This is Miss Aileen. She watched me from 6 weeks old until almost 2 years old.

Mmmmm.....my first birthday cake. I got a small one all to myself to destroy!

My one year photos. I did such a good job getting these photos taken. Mom was so happy with me. We'd never done professional photos before so this was a good time.

CLICK HERE FOR AGES 1 - 2

Age 1 - 2 years old

Haven's second year was a normal year - she was like all the other kids. We had no indications of things to come. She was constantly playing and running around. She loved to be active and goofy. We had so much fun!


This is about me from Age 1 - Age 2. We had a great year growing up. We took a lot of vacations and played a lot. I grew in to my personality.

I loved to sit in boxes. I always wanted to eat in a box. So anytime there was a box around the house you'd find me in it.

Not to mention I was extra curious. I always dug in anything sitting around the house. I have no idea what I was trying to find. Mom's purse, baskets, and my diaper bag. Nothing was safe!

Easter - this was a great Easter. I got to run all by myself and find lots of candy and eggs.

Mountain Dew.....what can you do? You just gotta do the dew! PS: I didn't really get to drink any of it....but I tried!

I love oranges...I would just sink my teeth in to the skin and make the juices go everywhere!

I am Miss Independent! I can put my own shoes on....step back!

A huge fan of high heels - already we could see that I was going to be girly! I loved my high heels!

Mom has always been crazy about my blue eyes.

In June of that year I went to my Great Grandma's house in Ohio to visit everyone. It was my first plane ride and my first time meeting the rest of my family.

Grandpa B-Honey showed me how to feed and dress my dolls

I spent a lot of time in the summer with my dad in the garage. We were always working on bikes. I got to learn a lot about bikes at an early age!

My first trip to the beach. Mom and Dad took me to Laguna Beach for the day. I wasn't much of a fan of the water - it was a bit cold!

YEA! Potty trained! July was a great month for me - I was doing super awesome on my pottying! We'd dance when I would potty! I was only 1 1/2......

In September G&G B-Honey met us in Las Vegas for a vacation. We stayed in a large condo and I got to go swimming in the hot tub!


October photo shoot....mom has followed me for years with the camera. It's best to just let her do her thing and then we can get to playing!


At home I always had my high heels on. I was always ready to hit the town.

I remember this well. I got this bear from Grandma Virginia for Christmas. If you touched it then it would play music. I was terrified of it for a long time!

Christmas with my sister Kendall. We went to Grandpa Beard-offs and Grandma Sings house in Arizona. We had a lot of fun playing with Brown Dog.

CLICK HERE FOR AGES 2 - 3

Love is...
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