Christmas wishes

Both Kate and I wish you all a very merry Christmas! especially a big hug and kiss going out to Caleb/Dad we love you very much and we will see you soon.

Christmas and check ups

In the last week both Kate and I have had our checkups.
Kate is doing really well, she has grown about 3cm - just over an inch and put on a whole kilo, so she is now 4.845 over 10 pounds. The doctor also checked her reactions and things like that and everything looks great.
I also went to the gynecologist and he is happy with how things are going. There was no reason why the whole birth went that bad and there is no reason why the next birth should not be a normal birth. I can even start running again - though with it being as cold as it is at the moment it will take a lot of convincing.
So that is how it stands with us at the moment - now some photos.

Kate is getting into the Christmas spirit - whatever that is...


this morning everything was frozen solid - it did not snow but that is what it looked like. I think that this is the closest that we will get to a white Christmas... apparently in the last century there has been 4 white Christmases - so who says that there is global warming?


Just for Christmas we have a few extra videos, you can see how well Kate is doing, being able to hold her head up and also I got a little bit of one smile on camera. so enjoy the clips below and have a great Christmas!

A day in the life of Kate

This is Kate's bed, It was the bed that I slept in when I was her age. It also has been lined and covered from the material from my wedding dress, I admit it was scary cutting into the material, but it was all worth it.
She has been learning to sleep in bed really well and at night can sleep around 6-8 hours straight which has been nice for me too. Though getting her to sleep to start off with can be a bit of a mission.


Kate spends a lot of time in the arms of both me and Oma, she loves it when we walk around more then when we sit, as seen below with Oma she loves also to be held upside down by her belly - I think it helps if she has gas.



This is Kate in her 'box' so that she can safely play and not have to lie on the ground, she can also keep herself entertnained - well at least for a little bit before she sleeps or wants to be picked up.



the traditional dutch "beschuit met muisjes" for any visitors, pink for Kate of course...



Both of us all dressed up to take passport photos - and yes uncle Erik she once again has a bad hair day!



All packed in to go for a walk sometime during the day - She does not like sitting in the seat but once we start moving then she falls asleep instantly.



A big thumbs up from Kate for sleeping on Opa during the evening - what can be more comfortable, no wonder she does not want to go to bed...



So as you can see, most of her day revolves around all the different places that she sleeps and the rest of the day being cuddled by the rest of us.

1 Month today

Kate is now one month old, And is doing really well.
She is now 4.6 kilo which is just over 10 pounds, so that is great, She has put on about 100 grams a week. I have another video to celebrate, she is really close to smiling as you can see on the video.

- enjoy

Bath time

I finally worked out how to use the video So here is a video of Kate in the bath, there will be more to come...


Kate is also more alert, it will not be long before we see her first real smile, she already responds to your voice and also can focus her eyes and really look at you.

Here is also a photo of how the video was taken, big thanks to Opa (notice the glasses being pulled down - does that mean that you are getting old dad?)



Kate asleep on Opa

Photos

Chilling with Oma - Thank you Oma for all that you do for both Kate and I, we love you dearly and could not imagine having to do all this without you.


Here are some close ups of Kate






And finally asleep on the bed...



Love Marlies

Sinterklaas

I had a Sinterklaas party with my work. For those who do not know what Sinterklaas is, he is the dutch version of Santa. He comes from Spain on a boat with his white horse and black 'Piets'(his helpers)He was a real man - Saint Nicklas and did give presents to the poor about 400AD. The tradtion lives on since about 1500 and that is where Santa comes from. Here everyone receives presents on the 6th of December and not on the 25th. So Kate just had her first Sinterklaas. Though she did sleep through it all...

Caleb to the US

Yesterday Caleb left and went back to the States. he will start work next week after spending some time with his family in NY. Here are some family shots with the 3 of us before he left.

Dedication

Last Sunday we had a mini dedication for Kate. It was so that we could be prayed over as a family before Caleb left. The theme was about another generation going strong for God, that is why it was such an honor for Opa to be there and pray for Kate as well.
We will probably do something more full in a few months or so.

Some Kate expressions

The sleep look - considering she is asleep and all...




The Ok I'm awake and content look




The why did you wake me look?




The smilie




The leave me alone look.

Kate

Kate is doing really well, She is slowly getting used to sleepling at night - which is a great realief to mum and dad. She is putting on weight and all her vital organs are working like they should (in other words lots of nice full nappies)

I have to say she is soooo cute!!!!!!!! ;) - just look at her.




Posing for a passport photo




Mum and dad giving Kate's first bath at home



Kate at one week old

Photos

We are doing well - Kate still has to get used to night as sleep time - as you might see below we are tired. Here are some photos for now

The family of 3



Kate in Dad's clothes



Kate is now back to her birth weight 3.850 - with cousin Chloe's cloths on



Chilling with mum - with cousin June's sweater on.

Home again

Hey everyone, we are now safe and sound at home. I got to go home earlier then I thought(this is Marlies typing) so that was a really nice surprise.
I have to be really careful that I do not do too much - which means that getting up to go to the loo is enough at a time but it is great to be home.

Kate is doing really well - she is feeding really well and has put on 55 grams - not a lot but it is a great sign. So is feeding so well that she has to learn to slow down a bit cause sometimes it is too much too fast so it all comes back out. But otherwise it is all really great.
Oh and we finally found out that she was 54cm in length (about 22.3 inches) Yes she is nice and long.

Caleb has been awesome this last week and no matter what he says he is amazing with Kate and will be a great father. (as you can tell below)



I also wanted to add some comments about the birth - while it is still in my memory and before I forget enough of it to go through it again later.

It was much harder then I thought but then the reward is much greater then I thought as well. I was going to talk about the pain - man was that bad - I dont know what I would have done if I did not get those 2 epiderals - I had the contractions in my back which were bad and then before the c-section. But that is not what this is all about, It is all about the moment that you become a parent. It is so amazing realizing that it is no longer all about me but all about us as a family. That this miracle that God has given us is just too amazing to understand. God has been there every step of the way even when I felt helpless when I could not pick her up as I had to recover a little more first I knew that God was there and it will be ok.

I love the picture that Caleb made it really touches my heart the way that we are just as precious in Gods eyes as Kate is in ours.

Well those are my thoughts for now, I will add some photos later when I know where Caleb put them.

Love you guys
Marlies

Here She Is!!!

Born on the 7th of November 2007. At 1155pm(2355 military time)
Weighing in at 3.30 kg around 18" in length(sorry they didn't measure her yet).
Her name, Kate Antoinet Clemens, a beautiful and healthy girl.

It all started at around 800pm November 6th and was all was going well(outside of some serious contraction pain) until 1030am the 7th, when the midwife broke the water and noticed fecal matter in it. This is not a crazy emergency thing but it then required more active monitoring, so we went to the hospital. With Kate's heart being monitored along with Marlies' contractions we awaited full dialation. During the last hour or so, Marlies pushed and pushed to no avail and the Doctor was called in to give an opinion about an irregularity in the heartbeat. He came in very quickly, and due to no real progress from that time on it was decided to have a c-section done.
Marlies was prepped, so was I!
The surgery went well, and was extremely fast and Kate made her first little sound.

The pediatric physician allowed me to help clean and comfort Kate.

After a quick clean up mother child bonding ensued, this is the firm belief that a child knows its mother and needs her touch as soon as possible, which I believe in also.

Stay with me people, I know its a long post and everyone only likes photos, and I hate typing so just hang on a bit more to go!
I had the honor of staying with Kate the whole time pretty much, And as the midwife and I dressed and did some more minor cleaning I then got to hold her. As soon as I picked her up she made this amazing sound(for before this it was kind of like a cat).
Best described as a sigh of relief but with a little hum to it.
For those who do not know, nor understand the meaning of joy, having a child explains it beyond any words capacity.
The next day I arrived at the hospital around 10-11 am, after probably the worst night sleep ever and got to hold Kate and be with Marlies some more.
My two favorite women!

Then some more cuddle time with me, Daddy :D

That was Yesterday, but today was bath day!
Kate very anxious and cold squealed for all she had even a couple seconds into the water, then enter nirvana. I can tell bath time is going to be a good calming technique. Those are not my arms by the way. I still feel a strange clumbsiness and me ug and me crush baby feeling around Kate. So I let the assistant take the reigns and I sat back with the camera and one hand holding Kate now and then.

And just one last image that I took to show you how small and precious she really is.
And again remind me(and hopefully you) of what the joy and the perfect Love of the Father is when tangible to our eyes. This is my revelation of how He sees us, and until I had my own child I did not understand this, but now I do.

Still nothing

The baby is still not here yet, It must be too comfortable in there - though with how uncomfortable I am getting - my ribs, back and sides it is hard to imagine that the baby is comfortable.
We have an appointment with the guynocologist this afternoon to talk about when we can induce - so hopefully today or at least in the next few days.
So the next update should be with a few real baby pictures.
Laters
Marlies

counting down

Hey guys

I am finally able to update the blog with the latest news with our family.
We are all doing well, the baby just does not want to come out yet - I know it is still a little to go but the earlier the better so that Caleb can have more time with the baby before he goes back to America.
We also finally know what will be happening in the near future with us. Caleb has gotten a job with Hobart again, though this time in Maryland instead of NY. The possibilities in this job are great for the future so that is a real answer to prayer. We are also looking at buying a house - so things are looking up in that area.
The sad part is that I will not be able to join him in the States until next year so the seperation will be very hard on both of us so all your prayers are welcome in that area.
Otherwise everything else is going really well, we are ready for the baby and are enjoying spending the time together now - it is nice not to have work and we can just relax for the time being.
With the baby everything is going well, my blood pressure in the last few weeks has stayed an even 120/70 and 120/80 which is very good.
That is about all the important information at the moment.
As soon as the baby arrives the blog will be updated = ok maybe a day or 2 later...

Here is also a picture of the 3 of us.



Oh and by the way the picture below of the ultrasound is of the babys foot going up in the air (apparently it was not as obvious as I thought) , that was the only picture we could use that you could see what it was.

- Marlies

check up

Hi everyone,
As I said before I had to go for an extra Ultrasound. Everything looks great and the baby is where it should be so it is all good.
Also I had another check up this morning and the baby is also growing nicely - so nicely that the midwife said to expect a baby closer to 8 pounds rather then the average 6... Here is hoping that the baby comes earlier rather then later.
My blood pressure has also gone up a little - 130/80 which for me is high but there is nothing to worry about.
And I only have one day of work left - tomorrow yeah! So I can finally start making sure everything is ready for the new arrival to the family.

I have added a photo of the baby below - if you can't tell what it is then ask somone else to help you understand...



love
- Marlies

update

Hey guys,
Just to let you know how things are going, I had another checkup yesterday and everything looks good. The babys heart sounds good, strong and regular so that is great. The baby is a little bigger then the midwife thought should be for 34 weeks - felt more like 35 weeks (so who knows I might be a week early) Also because of the way that the baby was lying for last few checkups I need to go for an extra ultrasound. So that is on monday. It is just precautionary so nothing to worry about,
Opa is coming for the ride so that should be fun.

With Caleb, he has been working the last week at a restartant so that is really great that he has work. And also it has a lot of potential to make some decent money.
Everything else is also going well, only 2 weeks of work left which will be a relief.

Here are some pictures of my growing belly...




Thats about it, I should have some more baby photos next week with this next ultrasound.
Have a great weekend
-Marlies

Latest update

Everything is going really well with the baby. I can feel the baby kicking all the time, though now because of lack of room in there it is not as much.
With every check up everything is going well. my blood pressure is a little low though that is nothing new for me and also nothing to worry about, and the baby is also devolping well. So that is all great.

With Marlies - I am a pretty tired from a mixture of things. Like my legs are giving me trouble and keeping me awake at night, and with work they can be some long days. (Just 4 1/2 weeks and then I am on maternity leave) but otherwise I am healthy and very much excited about the baby.

With Caleb - for those that did not know, he is just back in the US to earn some money, babies are not cheap and my wage is not enough to get through. Also at some point choices have to be made and staying in Holland with no visa to be able to do anything is not an option any longer. So he will be back in time for when the baby is due. We will both miss him very much as the baby really responds to his voice.

That is about it, Please pray for us as a family. That Caleb is safe and that he can find a job fast that earns the money that we need. Also for me that the weeks left will not be too hard, and also that the baby keeps devolping well with no complications. Also that choices that have to be made about the future are the right choices and that everything goes well.

Thanks for all your support and prayers.

- Marlies

Photos of Caleb and Marlies (with belly) at 7 months