1 month

Oh what a wonderful month it has been. Marlee is an incredibly sweet little spirit and such a great addition to our family. I can't believe we have had her for a month now. And what a great month it has been. We sent the big brother and sister to Idaho for a week and got to enjoy lots of quiet one-on-one time with Marlee. The kids had a great time visiting too, so everybody was happy. Lots of family and friends have come to meet Marlee, and we even took a short little trip to visit everybody on the west side of the state last weekend. Although she has chosen to sleep through most of her first month, we have taken plenty of photos to show her later.

During this first month, Marlee has been slow to find a schedule. She is seeming to fall into an eating schedule about every three hours just over the last week or so. She had her days and nights mixed up. Hoping that month 2 brings us longer stretches of sleep during the night, or perhaps all night! She has fussy time in the evenings. Over the past week, we have had whole days that are fussy. There seems to be no pattern for sleep at this point. Heath and I are working together to make sure we each get some sleep at night.

Hayden and Sage love Marlee. Hayden cries if he is told he can't hold her. He likes long turns too. Breastfeeding is very intriguing to him, but Marlee is a natural nurser and doesn't seem to mind his strange glances. He is a huge help with her. She doesn't get to nervous when he holds her. Sage however, is quite rough, and even a bit jealous. She tells people not to poke her, or sit on her. Marlee is less than happy to have Sage hold her, but Sage really only has a 2 minute tolerance for sitting still (if that) so its usually over with quick for Marlee. They both refuse to go to bed at night without giving her a kiss and hug and ask about her first thing anytime they have been away from her for any length of time. Its cute to watch them interact with the baby. Hayden mimics me and so sometimes he tries to calm her with a song or gently rubbing her head or feet. It is very sweet.

Marlee is sleeping in her cradle at the foot of our bed, however, Heath and I are frantically trying to get her room all ready so she can move in. She makes the cutest loud grunts all night long. I think having her own space will help her to sleep longer too. Love the baby monitor!

She is firmly in size 0-3 clothes now. She has lots of cute things, and we are getting to change her several times a day. We are finding that Huggies are not our favorite anymore. Cousin Avery's favorite Swaddlers seem to work much better for containing the huge mess that I find a little shocking to have come from someone so small and sweet. She is wearing size 1 now, however was in newborn sizes until a week ago.

She loves to be held, especially when its dad or mom, likes her carseat, having her hair washed, and being outside; is indifferent to toys, noise from the siblings, cameras, pacifiers and headbands. She does not like being layed down in the evenings, bouncy seat, swing, or baths.

This month has been a really special time for us as we adjust to three kids. We can't wait to see what fun the future holds for us, but we are sure that Marlee with be just as much fun as her brother and sister. What an incredible thing it is to have her as part of our family and watch her grow.

Marlee at one month old

Adjusting

What a week. My two older kids have come to realize that if I am nursing Marlee, they can cause all kinds of trouble and Mom can’t do anything about it. Its been fun! Not only that, but Miss Marlee has had a few days where she has decided not to do anything but fuss. No naps, no being set down, just scream at mom while she bounces around the house. Poor Hayden and Sage have not got much attention from me.
I have guilt over this, but not sure how to change it. The older two get cheated because I am always caring for Marlee; they don’t get the attention they want and deserve. Marlee sort of gets cheated too, because once she is fed, clothed, bathed and diapered, I feel obligated to set her down and move on to other things. Not sure she is getting all the attention she deserves either. I won’t even go into how neglected the house work is! I guess I can’t win, but I am sure trying. The first few weeks of a new baby are pretty much just about survival.

Well, we finished off T-ball. Hayden had his Green Wolves pizza party and got his trophy before Wednesday night’s game. He thought it was pretty cool. No rest for the weary though, summer is about here and we are registered for soccer (he can’t wait!), and about to register for swim lessons. He is really looking forward to fall for flag football. He is very into sports right now; his dad is tickled. They have been doing some serious catch in the back yard. Hayden has gotten to be really good. Its sort of impressive to watch.

Sage has gotten a bad case of the jealous bug. She does not particularly appreciate me spending so much time with the baby, sometimes flat out tells me not to hold the baby, hold her instead. The other day I was rocking Marlee and Sage wanted to climb up on my lap too. Not sure I could hold both I told her to hang on, but she didn’t and before I knew it, I had both my girls. Sage was happy for a minute, then ordered me to get rid of the baby and just hold her. She gets very mad if Marlee has one of her blankets. I wrapped the baby in a blanket of Sage’s and the girl tried to yank her sister out of it. She was not pleased with me. Sage is excited to have lots of new things around to play with: baby swing, bouncy seat, baby bath, baby gym. All those things are not really made to hold a big 2 ½ year old, so we try to gently tell her no, but she is not so much into listening. Well, she does hear us. She told a lady the other day, “this is my baby sister, we don’t poke her in the eye, we can’t stand on her tummy, and we can’t sit on her head.” It was very matter-of-fact and absolutely hilarious. Today, I told her not to do something and she defiantly looked at me and stated boldly, "I am a princess!"

Marlee continues to fill out. She is so long and lean. I am convinced that she smiles appropriately. My aunt would not dispute this. Very often I get a big grin out of her when she is calm and just looking around by leaning in closely and talking real soft to her. Its adorable. She has branched out from simple sleepers; since its been quite warm, we have been wearing lots of cute little outfits. I was very worried for awhile, all her hand-me-down clothes were from her November-born sister and December-born cousin. Translation: fleece sleepers, warm stuff. Not so great for the 80 degree plus weather we have been having and soon we will head into the 90s and above. But we have managed to put together an awesome wardrobe of warm weather appropriate stuff with the help of our wonderful friends and family. Thanks to all!

Heath got the boat up and running today. Weather is right for boating, now just need some passengers…He had lots of help mowing the lawn too.

Bubbles

The boys were gone for the weekend at the church Father/Son campout. Since Marlee is pretty content to nap most of the time, it meant that me and Sage got to spend lots of quality time together. Two-year olds don't need a lot to keep them entertained and happy. We spent a good hour just blowing bubbles. She loved the fan, however the wind was blowing so hard that there was no need for any additional help. She was so cute and sweet. What a fun time we had together. We also put together puzzles, read books and the night before went shopping (Marlee tagged along with us) and got us both purple pajamas. Sage was heartbroken that she didn't get to camp with her daddy and brother, but I think we ended up having a really nice time together. I certainly treasured the special alone time I got with my little girl.

FIVE!

Five years ago today my life was dramatically changed for the better. I became a mom :) Today is my Hayden's 5th birthday. 5. I find that hard to grasp. 5. I can't remember life without him. He is such a cool kid. I couldn't be prouder of the boy that he has become.

To celebrate his birthday, we had a party for him at Chuck E. Cheese last night. He had never been, but all his friends had. Now, this kid gets very excited about the game room at WalMart, so needless to say, Chuck E. Cheese was big fun. This will shock some, but he was quite scared of the mechanical singing chucky and friends, but the games were far away from those frightening things so it was OK. At the end of the night he had 44 tickets which he traded in for some tootsie rolls and a few other trinkets that promptly got lost or broken. It was a great success. Sage thought it was pretty great too. Marlee slept through most of the party, she didn't seem to notice the chaos around her.

Hayden said goodbye to his classmates today. He took cupcakes to his friends and spent a few hours with them on a field trip. It was sad to say goodbye, some of the kids he has known for years. He has a few really good buddies. His teacher is really wonderful too; it was hard to tell her goodbye.

Tonight we continued Hayden's celebration at Red Robin, just the 5 of us. :) He loved that he got balloons and a sundae and that they sang to him. Sage was miffed that she didn't get any presents or sundae of her own. 2 1/2 is tough. He had a tee ball game and did awesome. A week in Idaho with his grandpa and cousins and a few days of practice with dad has done amazing things for this boy. He is pretty good, and I'm not just saying that because I am his mom!

5. That is a big number. I don't know where the time went. Its been an amazing journey so far, I can't wait to see what the next few years hold for us. He is so fun, I am sure it will be even better.

A Happy Mother's day

We had a quiet mother's day. The day started with one of my favorite traditions, the chocolate breakfast. Fresh off my GDM diet, I am still a little nervous to go so high carb, however tradition is tradition and can't fight that. We had our chocolate fondue with fresh berries and instead of chocolate chip pancakes, we went with German Pancakes. Very tasty.

Me and Marlee took a nap while Heath took the kids to church. After a long week of playing and traveling, we all took a good nap during the afternoon and just hung out and relaxed. It was a peaceful day. Dinner was Baby back ribs, baked sweet potatoe, spinach salad and sparkling cider. I loved sparkling cider as a kid, it always made special occasions seem even more important. Its fun to watch the kids when I pull out the cider and fancy glasses. They get really excited and know that it must be a special meal.

Also tradition, we took photos to mark the occasion. The best gift this mother's day? Having everyone home. I missed my kids! I swear Sage is a foot taller and about 20# heavier. I don't know how I lugged her around all through being pregnant. A week with just tiny little Marlee and Sage seems like a giant. She is conversing even more than before her trip, how is that possible, I don't even know.

Hayden is so excited to get to see his baby sister again. All he wants to do is hold her. He cries if I tell him no (He always wants to hold her when i am feeding her). He has played a lot of baseball over the past week, because his catching and throwing skills have improved dramatically. Keeping up with the big kids has been good for him.

Both are covered in scrapes and bruises, sure signs of hard play outside with the cousins. They had a great time and I am so glad. I feel a little guilt because we will probably be really bored for the next few weeks while we adjust to three and try to figure out feeding schedules and naps and such. Luckily the kids are pretty patient with me (wish I could say the same for me!)

first bath

Amidst all the excitement of yesterday, Marlee's cord stump fell off! That means time for a good soak. We have been doing sponge baths and washing her hair, which she loves. She holds very still and almost grins as we scrub her little head.

But as she slid into the water, she definately was not impressed. She protested for a few seconds but then just sorta seemed quietly unsure about the whole process. She calmed for the hair washing portion. She was a good sport and let us take a few pictures. Its amazing how slippery a newborn can be.

Marlee's skin is peeling-all of it, from head to toe. Our pediatritian assures us that this is normal for a new baby, however I don't recall the other two doing this. I was sorta grossed out by all the sloughed skin floating around her bath water when we finished. Hopefully we did a godo job scrubbing all the dead stuff off her. Daddy lubed her up with Johnsons baby lotion, and now she is as sweet smelling as can be.

Big sister Sage might be horrified when she sees the pictures of Marlee in her beloved "Foo-foo" towel, she doesn't share very well, and the whole hand me down idea is lost on her. But, she isn't here to protest. Is there anything cuter than a squeaky clean bunny baby?

Sorry Sage!

911

Last night was rough. My baby was up several times, eating every 2 hours. We have been going 3, sometimes 4 hour stretches. I missed those last night. So this morning, I was exhausted. My grandma was staying with us, and my aunt and uncle were here as well.

We had big plans to go to my favorite craft store, (yes, craften wherenhousen, for those of you familiar with the world famous landmark). I was pretty excited to have someone to watch the baby while I showered, meaning I was going to take a long, hot, relaxing shower instead of my typical race to get clean before the kids tear the place apart while I leave them unattended for more than 30 seconds.
While I was getting ready to hop in, I heard some commotion downstairs and then Marlee let out a sad little distressed scream. It didn’t sound right. I could hear my aunt and grandma talking, they seemed concerned about the situation so I went to check it out. My grandma was cleaning vomit off her blouse and my aunt was trying to calm the baby who was very upset. The next few minutes are sort of a blur, but my baby was gasping and choking between labored screams. She was very distressed and kept throwing her head around and arching her back. It was very frightening. She hadn’t eaten in over an hour and had been resting very peacefully before she threw up all over grandma. I tried to calm her, but nothing worked.
I called 911 and the operator told me that she needed to be on her side or tummy, although she was still screaming and gagging. I was a basket case. The operator told me that the screaming was good though, that meant she was breathing.
It seemed to take forever for the ambulance to arrive. I know I was on the phone with 911 for quite awhile before they got there. In fact about a minute before they pulled up, Marlee just laid her head down and fell asleep. My aunt later told me that she had spit up some slimy thing right before she calmed down, but I hadn’t noticed.
The paramedics checked her out and said that she had good color, was breathing fine and didn’t seem to be in any distress or anything. They were willing to take her to the hospital, but didn’t think it was necessary. They advised me to call my pediatrician and follow up with him if needed. Since she was calm, sleeping and peaceful, I decided that sitting in the ER all day with all the germs that are floating about may not be the best for my 1 week old baby.
The pediatrician seemed to think that would be fine as well, we are already scheduled to see him in the morning. So, then I spent the rest of the day just holding her and keeping a very close eye on her breathing. She has been perfectly normal since.
I am very grateful that my aunt was here, and just as grateful that the kids are not. It was a wild morning, not one I want to ever repeat. I did eventually get a shower, however it was the hurry-up-before-the-baby-starts-screaming,-or-gagging-or-throwing-up variety, but we never made it to the craft store. Last night was rough, today was even rougher.

Marlee sleeping peacefully after all the paramedics cleared out.

Baby Love

Sweet little Marlee is 1 week old today. Wow, what a week. She has had a huge impact on our family in just this very short time.

She is so tiny still, sometimes I am afraid I might break her. She is quiet mostly, makes a few grunts and squeaks, but only cries when she feels like I have ignored her for too long.

We have ventured out a little, took her to ice cream, she was content to just watch me enjoy the sugary delight. Took her to lunch which again, nothing there for her, she just slept the whole time. Last night we strolled around the block, but she got a little mad when we stopped to chat with our neighbors. We will need to make sure she gets used to the stroller though, I am thinking she will log some serious time in it this summer.

It’s very quiet here today, as brother and sister are at their grandparents house for the week. We miss them terribly, but I am sure that they are having much more fun than they would here.

Bless this sweet baby

For the past few months I have got to enjoy the rhythmic thumps of baby hiccups. What a joy to see them now that she is in my arms. And a sneeze or two of bonus footage, does it get any sweeter?

Marlee Ann

Our newest addition, Marlee Ann arrived a few days ago. She was born on Monday, April 30-barely- at 11:20 pm. Our little angel was 6# 12 oz, and was 21 inches long. Pretty dainty considering my GDM. She is just beautiful!

After begging my doctor to get her out, he scheduled me to be induced for May 3rd, today. Monday morning, I reported in for work much to my unhappiness. I agreed to be scheduled only because I was so confident that she would have been born by then. On the way to work, Hayden kept asking me various questions, and I was struggling to answer them because I felt very winded. When I got to the office, the girls and I caught each other up on our weekends, I was angry that I didn't have anything to report other than getting sick at church, totally out of the blue Sunday morning. I continued to feel short of breath as I chatted with my boss. My chest felt very tight and I felt as if I had jogged a few miles (not a real familiar feeling). Finally, I thought maybe one of the nurses on birth center might be able to tell me if I needed to do anything about this, and I figured it would be much easier to pop my head in there than try to get ahold of my doctor, whom I was a little angry at for making me keep going with this pregnancy.
Anyhow, up at birthcenter, the on call OB overheard me chatting with the nurses and said he would really recommend monitoring me for a bit because this sounded a little worrisome. So I was gowned and hooked up to all kinds of stuff. Still winded and having chest tightness, they gave me a nasal cannula, which I strongly detested. My O2 sats were good, my blood pressure was fine, and the baby seemed to be doing great. The monitors did show lots of contractions too.
With no real answers for the way I was feeling, the doctor decided to run a few tests: an EKG, a chest X-ray, and leg ultrasound to rule out DVTs. I was completely freaked out when he said that, however he was very quick to say he fully expected them to all be normal, but better safe than sorry at this point. He also "checked me." I was crushed to find out I was still only dialated to a 2 1/2- same as the last two weeks.

Well, at this point, I decided to let Heath know what was going on. He left work and accompanied me to my oh-so fun tests. Leg ultrasounds are really long for anyone who has not had the pleasure. Well, somewhere along the way, it occured to me that the contractions seemed to be getting more noticeable. Heath, for lack of anything else to do, began timing them. While not terribly uncomfortable, they were happening every 4-7 minutes. When the tests were all done, they took me back to birthcenter and put me in the exam room where the nurse was also noticing that the contractions were quite regular and strong as well. She was starting to speculate that the doctor would probably want to keep me around awhile to monitor the contractions. The breathing had gotten better by this point, still some tightness, but not terrible like in the morning. Around 3 o'clock, we were getting antsy, the contractions were regular, however no one had been in for hours to tell us anything. We hadn't told anyone where i was or what was happening. Heath had gotten many work phone calls taken care of however.

Finally the doctor came in. He said that all the tests were negative, not really sure what was causing the breathing problems. However, somewhere along my journeys of the day, it seems that i had started to labor. He checked me and I was a "good 4." He said that the baby had come down considerably and that things were definately progressing. He was going to admit me and we were going to have this baby. Whooo hoo! Finally.

Well, an epidural, a little pitocin, and in one push, she was out. It was a wonderful labor, quick, easy, painless.

She is amazing-definately love at first sight. Seeing Marlee made the nine miserable months totally worth it.