On the Farm

We went to this farm out in Oxford last saturday and it was so much fun! It was a youth even so technically we (dan and I) were leaders but we brought Jesse and made it a family outing also. There were all kinds of animals and you could milk a cow...I did not because I am well versed in how lactation works. Anyway I can't wait till Jesse is older and he will remember being there. There is so much for young kids. The best part...feeding the ducks! They all come running up to you and honking it is so funny. Also I am loving Jurassic Park...the book. It is so good. I am staying up too late to read it!


Me and Jesse...isn't his hat cute!


Me, Jesse, and a Cow...you can milk her if you want...I chose not to.

October 21, 1980 4:34am

My mother informed me yesterday that,"the day I was born there was frost on the ground!" It was very warm yesterday here for October in Michigan. My dad told me how he broke like 400 ice cream dishes for a banquet they were suposed to go to because my mom called and told him she was in labor! I love to hear about the day I was born. It is fun to think what it was like for my parents all those 27 years ago...I wonder what I will tell Jesse about the day he was born. It will probaly start...well actually it took a week to have you!

Anyway I had a very nice birhtday. We went for chinese food...my favorite and Dan got me a mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from baskin robins...also my favorite. The coolest gift I got you ask...ICE SKATES!!! I can't wait to use them. Dan said he wanted to get them for me last year but considering the giant belly I was sporting all winter I would not have been able to use them. My mom got me a gift cercificate for a massage which is awesome. My brother go me a movie gift card...now we can afford to go to the movies one of my favorite things to do but since when do I want to spend $10 for one ticket? It's times like these I miss the M-89 theater in Plainwell...ahh Plainwell. When we lived in Wayland (the most boring place on earth unless you are a dairy farmer) we used to go see a movie friday and saturday night cause it was so cheap. The downside...the only restaurant in Plainwell is Applebee's...I don't eat there anymore because we went so much back then. (that was a tangent if I ever heard one) Ok, Ok, what else gift cards for clothes a Josh Groban Christmas CD...I LOVE JOSH GROBAN! Oh ,Oh, a super awesome Gryffindor track Jacket I will have to put it on and post a picture...it rocks and when the next HP movie comes out I am totally going to be a big nerd and wear it to the movies:) I think thats it anyway it was a nice time but I didn't take any pictures...so I just posted a cute picture of jesse for you to enjoy!

p.s. sorry for any spelling mistakes my spell check won't work!

Not about the Baby

I wanted to write about something besides Jesse. So I thought what do I do that is not baby related...let me tell you it was hard to come up with something. I do work 3 days a week but only for like 3 hours and it is basically what I did last year...latchkey program. I do work with the older kids so that is awesome....I am just not gifted with kindergartners. But my boss who was also my friend just quit and today will be my first day without her and that is sad. She was a great boss and fun to work with. We still go to church together so I will see her all the time but not at work. So there is work um Star Trek...that is all I do watch Star Trek...I have officially seen every episode of Star Trek Voyager and I am only missing about 4 or 5 episodes of TNG (the next generation for those of you who aren't as dorky as me) I am still working through Deep Space Nine and I refuse to watch the original with Kirk and Spock because it is too lame. 1960's sci-fi is not so cool. We have DVR and I just tape them whenever they are on and watch them when I have time...usually while nursing:) Um what else I did start reading The Magicians Nephew the other day for like the 10th time. I love those books. I can read them over and over again and never get sick of them. I have been reading at night when my boys are sleeping. It is nice...I haven't read in bed since like before I was pregnant! I was always too sleepy or uncomfortable when I was pregnant and since Jesse was born I didn't have time because of exhaustion. So that has been nice. Not every night but when I get to it. I really should read something new but I am not sure what to read. I was thinking about Jurassic Park because I saw the movie the other day and Dan said the book was really good...better than the movie...but what book isn't right? So if anyone has book suggestions that would be cool. I love fantasy and sci-fi...maybe a good biography. Oh and one last thing not baby related...I love the move Stardust. It was seriously the best movie ever! Dan and I saw it a while ago when it was in the theater on our date night. (Date night is awesome I recommend it to all new and old parents...get a babysitter and get out with your spouse!) My favorite movie is The Princess Bride but this movie may have won as my new favorite movie. It's just fantastic and Dan liked it too so you know it is not too girly. Ok I can't think of anything else that isn't about the baby but three things is pretty good I think:) Oh I thought of one more...I have rediscovered my i-pod! I forgot how fun it is to listen to music. I have been trying to walk since it has been unseasonably warm for October so I just put Jesse in the stroller and listen to my i-pod and we're off! Last week we walked to Kroger and bought bread and diapers! Ok well in case you wanted a baby update here is a photo from Jesse's baptism. It was wonderful but we all missed Paul:) Jesse looks a little limp in this picture because he is very tired and about 2 seconds after this picture was taken he started screaming uncontrollably. Oh well.

Friends

This past weekend the Marlow family went to Pennsylvania to visit the Roselius family. Jesse had some fun play time with his very first friend Caleb. Caleb was born before Jesse and he was the first baby to meet my baby so that is why he is his first friend:) Some grown up high lights of the weekend....great food Beth cooked up a storm, including zucchini which I normally hate but may have a new taste for...Long walks in the cool weather....shopping...just being with and laughing with Beth:) The baby high lights I photo graphed:)



Getting ready for our walk....Jesse wearing his first HOODIE!

Chilling on the couch...just a couple of hommies

Jesse telling Caleb how much fun he is having and Caleb being a very intent listener:)

Anyway it was a super fun trip that I wish could have lasted longer and taken less time to make. I now know why my Dad always left for family trips at night when we were all sleeping...less crying, less stopping and lots of quiet.

Holding his head up

I am now able to face Jesse forward in my sling. It is very exciting becasue that means he has better neck control. He also love this position because he can see everything. And let me tell you this kids likes to look at everything! He is so alert! He has trouble doing anything like eat or get his diaper changed because he is too busy looking around. Anyway don't have time now to write more than this but isn't he cute!

Fat Fat Fat

I'm fat. No no don't try to make me feel better cause it won't work...I am definitely fat. There is no cute bump where my baby was there is just this flabby saggy stretch marked skin that doesn't fit into any of my clothes. My maternity pants go up to my boobs and the tops make me look pregnant. Not to mention I would rather wear a sack than put them on again. My old clothes (prepregnancy), I should probably give them to good will cause my butt ain't getting in them...yes I said ain't. What the heck. I can't afford a whole new wardrobe. What am I supposed to do??? I bought some draw string skirts thinking I could mix an match but they have this elastic in them that pushes in to my flabby saggy tummy and it makes em look like I have extra rolls. But when there is no elastic it just looks like I am still 6 months pregnant. My shirts are too tight because I already had the worlds largest breasts but then I got milk...woohoo milk...and now they are a 40F...if you didn't know that is basically the biggest bra size ever on the shortest person ever...no it is not good no matter what Dan may think it is uncomfortable and annoying. AND not like they would ever make a nursing bra that actually supports the 3 tons it is holding. UH! Not to mention the super attractive back fat and bigger hips I have accumulated. So basically I wear my western t-shirt and my maternity denim capri's (that are too big) every day. Sometimes I wash them sometimes I don't . I knew my body would be different but when does it get not so freaking ugly??? Needless to say I am miserable in my skin...or fat if you will.

OK now that I have adequately ranted..here's my beautiful son. At least he's cute. He can lift his head up now and prop himself up on his arms. He won't do it all the time but he can do it. And yesterday he went from this position to his back! He can roll over. But he has only done it in his crib not on the floor. I think he uses the bounciness of the mattress to get himself going. I tried putting him on the floor today to roll over but he just started to cry. I can't believe how fast they grow! He can also keep his head upright when I am holding him up right. He coos and smiles at us when we smile at him. But he still has this clogged tear duct that is grossing me out. He gets this gross build up especially after he has been crying or after he wakes up from a nap. The doc said to massage it but it doesn't seem to be working. I am just sick of wiping his eye. That's all for now.

Storing PIctures

So I am wondering how you all out there backup your digital pictures? I now have about a million of Jesse saved on our hard drive but I am afraid if our computer crashes or something else happens I will loose all my pictures. And that is just unacceptable. I was wondering what other people with a million digital pictures do. I would appreciate some help on the subject. We have talked about putting them on a CD or DVD but then I have to keep making new ones every time I take new pictures...I want something more long lasting that will allow me to add pictures as I take them. Anyway here is a picture of Jesse with his "king of the jungle" outfit on....aren't the shorts too cute! They are too big...most of his stuff is still cause he is so long but not very chubby.

Shoes and Pants

Well it is official I have nothing to write about except my baby. He consumes my life and thus consumes my blog. Jesse is 7 weeks old now and is starting to smile and coo. It is the cutest thing ever! He like talks to us when we are changing his diaper. His neck is getting pretty sturdy and he is sleeping better through the night. Which is nice for us cause it means more sleep. I am feeling great. It still hard to go out with him by myself...always easier with an extra set of hand around. Breastfeeding is going much better, but still not the easiest thing in the world to do. I'm still not totally confident in my nursing skills. Frustrations....he has a clogged tear duct or something....it's super gross and goopy. Anyone have suggestions besides wiping with a warm cloth? It is really grossing me out and I am afraid it will get infected. But it seems just goopy for now. No redness in the whites of his eye...so that is good. All in all he is becoming a little person with his own personality and it is so cool to watch. I can finally tell he is getting bigger cause he hardly fits laying on my chest anymore! I am already getting sad that he is getting bigger. Now for what you really want...The pictures!


This is Jesse wearing his first pair of shoes! They are cute little blue sandals with embroidered bugs on the bottom. They have no function except to look cute on babies. They were a gift and they are so adorable.


Jesse wearing his first pair of pants...yeah his clothes are finally starting to fit! By the way, baby clothes sizing methods are very inaccurate. These pants are still a bit big and they are 0-3 months! I think part of it is because he is so long and lean. I swear most of his weight is in his head and belly!

Jiminy Jesse

My mom thought this picture of Jesse looked like Jiminy Cricket so I found a picture of him and turns out...yup my son looks like Jiminy Cricket. Weird. It made me laugh. Maybe we can dress him up like that for Halloween:) Jesse doesn't smile quite yet (some glimmers) so it is not a perfect match but put a top hat on him and the resemblance is uncanny. Yesterday I took Jesse for his first mall trip. It was very fun. We walked around, ate in the food court and bought him some cute onsies (the essential baby apparel). It was a much better day than the day before. Screaming day, as I like to call it. Although picking up my stroller is equivalent to lifting a small elephant...that thing is monstrous. On the bright side it is really easy to fold down. That's all for now!

Venting

(big sigh) I am so tired. I feel like Jesse will not stop crying! He's driving me crazy. I am home all day by myself and calling Dan does not help because he can't come rushing home to hold the baby, which is all I really need so I can go into another room and have silence. It is silent now...he finally fell asleep. Praise the Lord. I just have this awful headache and the screaming baby is not helping it. That sound is becoming my least favorite in the world. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just figure out what he want but he just seems to want to scream! A LOT. It just started really... I feed him, he screams, I change him, he screams, I hold him, he screams, I "insert any activity", he screams...what is going on! I can't take much more of this. It is better when Dan is home cause I don't feel so alone. It is very scary being the mom and knowing that I am the one who this baby needs most. (For food and comfort and stuff) I am feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility and he is only 4 1/2 weeks old! UH! I just need to vent and writing sometimes helps. I just wish there was someone here like poof whenever I needed them, and they would know exactly what I needed and how to help me and I would be able to sleep and eat. Seriously how am I supposed to eat when the baby won't stop screaming. I suppose I should eat now when he is sleeping but then when do I sleep??? I am going crazy.

On a happier note....Beth and her beautiful son Caleb came to Michigan this past weekend. So we met for Breakfast and our babies had their first play date:) They mostly slept through it but Beth and I had fun holding each others child. Caleb has a little cold and his little baby cough just breaks your heart. I wish they lived closer...it was so fun to have a new mom around...plus I love Beth:) Here are some pics (this was also the first time we took Jesse out to a restaurant...he did well) The first one is Me & Jesse and Beth & Caleb. The second one is just the boys hanging out:)

I know everyone says "it gets easier". (taking care of your baby that is) I thought it was getting easier and then suddenly it got really hard all over again. This parent stuff is so difficult. That's not even the right word...I am not sure what the word is. Pray for my sanity...

I love this thing!

This is the coolest baby product I have ever received! Serina recommended it but my sweet friend Katie bought it for me. So thanks to you both! It's called an adjustable fleece Kangaroo Pouch...and I am in love with it. Jesse loves to be in it! In fact he is in it right now as I am writing this, sleeping soundly. We had to go to Children's Hospital yesterday to follow up on his kidney problem and I carried him around in this thing all over it was great! It is soooooooooo comfortable and I have the use of BOTH of my hands...for you mom's you know how wonderful that can be! Anyway I have nothing but great things to say about this thing. I want to buy like 4 more! Although I haven't quite figured out how to get the baby in and out of the pouch without some help from another person. Suggestions welcome. I tried making the pouch bigger but then it feels too loose when the baby is inside. I don't know if you know how to do this. I am all for help. Today it is my goal to find out how many things I can do while wearing my baby...so far...I can brush my teeth, eat, blog, and sort of put my hair in a pony tail (that one was a bit harder than the others). Oh yeah I can go get the mail from the mailbox too! Did I mention how awesome this thing is!!!!!!!! Forget registering at Babies R Us all you need is a Kangaroo Pouch! Thank you Katie and Serina!!!!!

Cutiest Baby Ever

First bath (sponge)

Sleeping with Daddy


Super Cute

Just some pics to enjoy. Do the nights ever get easier??? So far they are miserable. Good thing this babe is so cute or I might pull my hair out. As it is I just cry...all the time. They never told me the hormones are worse after you have the baby! Also I feel like all I do is feed this kid. Advice needed...do I wake him up to feed him or wait till he wakes on his own and is hungry? Can't figure out a schedule that works for us both. Pleas say this gets easier...HELP!

MY SON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I am finally home from the hospital. I have bascially been there for over a week. We went in last Monday to be induced and came home with our bouncing baby boy today. We did sleep at home Tuesday night but other than that we have been at the hospital. What a long and draing labor that inevitably ended up in a c-section! Seriously 23-24 hours of labor and then the doc was like well this baby is posterior so we will have to c-section him out! By that time I didn't even care I just wanted the pain to be over and the baby to be out. Oh yeah and whoever said epidurals are great didn't tell me about the part where it doesn't work for some people...like me. It did not even effect my pain. Well they ended up giving me a spinal tap for my c-section and I was a very happy camper. Anyway here are some pictures of the little guy.

Picture one: right out of the womb being weighed and measured

Picture two: sleeping on Daddy

Picture three: with Aunt Amanda (also his godmother)

Picture four: all swaddled up and no where to go:)


I can't believe how much I love him. Mom's say it but you can't understand till you have one of your own. I am unable to sleep right now because he keeps crying and fussing. The nights are the worst. Not sure what to do. He likes to be held but I can't do that or I won't sleep. I already fed him and he can't keep that darn pacifier in his mouth and when he looses it he is very mad. I am holding him right now while I type. He likes the movement o my arms....weird...I should get a picture of this:) Anyway pray that I get some sleep!

P.S. Babies smell soooooooooooooooooo good! And I love his feet!

Home Again Home Agian Jiggity Jig

No I do not have my baby yet. Here is an email that Dan wrote last night to exlplain what happened. For those of you who didn't get it....it was an awful day and a half and I am still pregnant!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrea just came in and said, "I feel like we just got home from the worst vacation ever and we have to go back tomorrow."

The induction today did not work. After 18 hours of contractions, Andrea is still only 1cm dilated. We are exhausted (had only 4 hours of sleep) and we just fed Andrea properly (wasn't allowed to eat anything after midnight until 7 tonight). We return tomorrow night to try it all again. If the baby won't come one way, then we go the other way.

Pray for us.
Dan

Happy Due Date Day!

So today is my offical due date...but as you can see there is no baby! Just thought you would all like a last look at giant pregnant Andrea. The next photo of baby should be of him out of the womb! Unless for some reason God decides to bring him before Tuesday...that will be the big day. I am a bit nervous but also very excited. I had contractions last night but turns out they were due to the fact that I was dehidrated! Don't walk around the mall all day and not drink anyting...bad idea. Dan and I were both upset it wasn't real labor but oh well on the plus side I got to see my baby brother graduate today! Congrats to Max! Class of 2007. We are going to his little grad party later today, so that should be fun. Also my Dad is in town and I got to hug him for the first time in like a year so that was pretty cool. So thanks to all of you who are praying for us Marlow's. Keep em coming! Only a few days left as "just the two of us". Scary!

Waiting Sucks

First sorry to all of you who I have yet to call back. I am posting this so everyone gets an update and I don't have to tell the same story 5 million times. I will call everyone, it's just taking me some time:)

Went to the doctors yesterday...not much progress. I am now 40% effaced but she didn't say if I was more dilated or not. It looks like I am just going to have to be induced. I go in Monday the 11 the at 6:00pm to the hospital. They are going to put that gel stuff on my cervix and hopefully it will thin out faster, like it is supposed to. Then I spend the night at the hospital waiting for it to work. The next day (June 12) they will check me and if I am all ready they give me the drug, petocin I think, that makes you go into labor...or start contractions. So if the baby doesn't come before June 12 that will be when he is born, I guess. They said it takes a while to work so he may not come right away on the 12th. They also said that sometimes the gel is enough to put you into labor but knowing my stubborn body probably not:) I am just sick of waiting and really wanted my body to do this on it's own. Plus I am scared of a c-section because of the baby's size. Apparently he is going to be like 9-91/2 lbs. Which I know is not 100% accurate and many a women have delivered such gargantuan babies but I am just scared. It doesn't feel like this is happening the way it is supposed to. Also, because of all the grief the doctors gave me about how there "may" be something wrong with him, I am so worried he is going to come out with some weird disease or birth defect. I having a rough time putting faith and trust in God. Which makes me feel awful! I worry all the time anyway and this is even worse. I know don't be anxious. It's just hard. I have control issues people, if you didn't already know...and I have NO control over any of this. Anyway like the title says...waiting sucks.

39 Weeks

What the heck this baby needs to come out! Do you see this gigantic picture of me??? My ankles are swelling to size of small tree trunks and my shins have so much fluid collected in them that you can press on them and leave your finger imprint. Dan calls this phenomenon memory foam legs. I find it to be super gross and am afraid to touch my legs. I had them crossed the other day so one of my heels was resting on my shin and I had a baseball size welt in my leg that took 15 minutes to go away. Ah pregnancy. Anyway I went to the doctor on Thursday and she said I am only 1 centimeter dilated and 20% effaced. She said she doesn't want me to go too far past my due date because of the baby's kidney issues so she scheduled me for induction on June 12 if that is this stubborn little boy doesn't come out before then. I wish he would just show himself already. I have been trying to relax and do things for my self like all you mom's say but it is hard when I am so uncomfortable and am sick of being cooped up at home! I would go out but it has been so hot I would rather be bored and the right temperature at home then out in the heat. Sorry to those of you who have to face the whole summer pregnant! Well now that I have thoroughly ranted (I'm entitled when I am this big) the up side is that there is an end in sight. It's just hard to wait and wait and wait. I am not a very patient person. I did start crocheting a new baby blanket for a friend. I actually am reading a pattern to do it. Amanda has inspired me she made the cutest little green and white sweater with turtle buttons for the baby. I am not up to a sweater yet considering I can't fully read the pattern without a little help but I did start this lovely double shell stitch blanket. I have to think about what I am doing while counting and reading the pattern so it keeps my mind off the baby. I love crocheting! Bye for now!

All Spruced Up

Hello out there. Hope you all like the aesthetic changes I made to my blog. This new template thingy on blogger really lets you personalize your format. I highly recommend it. The picture at the top I took while on a Marlow family vacation in Canada last year. Why you may ask am I changing my blog now....well when you have been home from work for almost 3 weeks and have done everything else you could possibly think of for the arrival of your new baby (that hasn't come yet) you "spruce up"....everything. Some things I have done:

• made curtains for the living room
• finished my wedding scrapbook (that I started 4 years ago)
• updated my blog
• made jewelry for a friends bridal party
• actually have been caught up on my laundry
• almost finished crocheting a baby blanket
• cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned some more

So to those of you mothers out there who know what it's like to wait for the baby to come...have any suggestions of what else I could do to keep my mind off of being sooooooooo pregnant?

Baby Caleb

Here are the baby Caleb pics. The top one of the whole Roselius family, but I like the bottom one better cause you can see more baby face and his dark head of hair! I think he's gonna look like dad! CONGRATS Beth and Jesse!

38 weeks and 31 weeks

So here are Rebecca and I posing in all our pregnant glory. We had breakfast this morning and I couldn' t pass on a picture opt. We are in the very blue nursery. She doesn't know what the sex of her baby is but I found it quite funny when she rubbed her belly on mine like the babies were able to feel each other:) I am so excited for her. Although it seems that everyone is pregnant these days! I added Baby Block's blog to my tool bar. Check it out if you already haven't. I don't have any pregnanty pics of Lisa yet. Oh yes and my friend Beth Roselius just had her baby (due June 10 born May 23) and he is adorable. Will post picture of baby Caleb ASAP. When is my baby coming!!!!