Yaaaaah. We're finally homeowners

We signed the papers on Friday and moved a bed over that night. We had an army of help the next day and it was looking more like a home in no time. Henry seems to be adjusting well. Hopefully we can get him sleeping more at night as he's still getting up every 3-4 hours. We had his 2 month shots on Wednesday of last week and he did very well with that as well. Will post pictures of the last few weeks in a bit. As of now, I'm still trying to get boxes unpacked. Our new address is 509 9th St. Springfield, SD 57062 for those of you that are interested.

Big Boy

Marc used our Wii Fit to weigh Henry and we're at 10 1/2 pounds already. He's nursing well so I'm sure he'll keep growing quickly.
My sisters threw us a baby shower this last weekend at my mother's house in Wagner. It was so fun to see people. Being a teacher, I'm used to talking for 8 hours straight during my work day and then continuing to talk socially for a lot of hours after that. It's been interesting having so many quiet (non-talking) days in a row, so the visit with friends and family was greatly appreciated.

A weekend with Bryn

My niece Bryn stayed at our house from Thursday night until Sunday morning. Jill was away for the weekend and Jay was working.



Marc had a great time and got a glimpse of how fun it will be to have a 4 year old. We went to the park on Friday night. Bryn ended up having an "accident". Marc had to take her into the bathroom and try hard not to gag while cleaning her up! It was an enlightening experience I'm sure.
On Saturday Marc got up early and headed over to Tyndall to meet my dad and brother-in-law, Jason and nephew, Trenton. They drove to Elk Point and met Jay and Tayson and Dan, Skyler, and Ben. They then all shoved into the Denali and headed to Kansas City for a Rockies/Royals game. They had great seats, the Rockies won (yay Colorado relatives), and had fun forgetting to pay for their gas on the way out of town! (Have no fear, my very honest dad looked up the gas station and sent a check) Marc, Jay, and Tayson showed up around 1:00 in the morning and fell asleep almost immediately.

Sugar Daddy...or should I say Sweet Daddy

Marc loves his little Henry. He even comes home from work and goes right to him. Sometimes I feel neglected since I used to get the immediate hugs and kisses :( Ha ha, j/k. He's really been helpful with things around the house, feeding, changing pants, and giving baths. He's really a great daddy and Henry loves him much.

Weekend at Grandma Drietz's

These were from a few weeks ago while visiting Great Grandma in Canby.
Uncle Jordan and Marc were jumping a stick while riding scooters. I just missed the shot of Jordan taking a nose dive over the dashboard because his foot accidentally hit the break when coming down. I think if my camera were ready I would've missed the shot because I was laughing so hard!
Of course hugs from Great Grandma Drietz were the best.

Secret Burps

At night after feeding and giving 2-3 good burps and just when I get back into bed and pull the blankets over myself, H begins grunting and squawking. I pick him up and he lets out yet another burp. I get him settled down and put him back into his crib (and by the way, Henry loves, loves, loves to pretend to be sleeping at this time.) I juuuust get my blankets flipped over myself and he squawks and grunts again only to be needing to give another good burp. It's really shocking just how he knows exactly when I get comfortable in the bed. However, I do appreciate the 3 1/2-4 hours just after that when I get some good quality sleep in. It also doesn't hurt that I get to sleep in now that summer vaca has started.

1 Month Old

H~andsome...like his father
E~ating up to 4 oz every 3-4 hours
N~ever gives all burps at once
R~eally noticing light and dark objects in a room
Y~earns to be held (especially by grandmas and grandpas)

Baby Updates

Well since we've last chatted lots has happened. Henry lost his cord right at 2 weeks. He's gone past his birth weight and weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz at 2 1/2 weeks old. He's been sleeping for 4 hour increments at night. Last night he was up at 2:30 and not again until 6:15. For mom and dad, that's do-able and there are no complaints with that. We visited with a lactation specialist from the hospital last week and he's been nursing much better now. Some days he wants to eat every 30 minutes and some days he'll sleep for hours.
This last weekend Henry got to meet his Auntie Kaitlyn and lots of extended family. We headed up to Lennox on Friday night and took family pictures in Canby on Saturday at Marc's Grandma Drietz's house. Right before Henry was born, Marc's Grandma Drietz was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. She's already begun chemo and is attacking this with a wonderful spirit. It was nice to see her and Henry interact on Saturday. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers as they are very much appreciated.
Henry's torticollis seems to be doing well. He moves his head very well and seems to be getting stronger neck muscles every day. That's all...ta ta for now.

So serene

This picture was taken when Henry was 5 days old. He's changed his looks so much already.

Bath Time

Here's Henry's first bath at home. I got to learn how to give a bath in the hospital so I had Marc try out his bath-giving skills first at home. Since then, Henry's learned to like his baths. He especially likes to have his face washed.

Oh Henry!

Oh he's just such a great baby and sleeps most of the time. This is good since mom's still recovering from the surgery. Here's a few pictures and you can also find him on the cradle roll at averasacredheart.com.

You can see just how smooshed he was in my belly. This is approximately how he was positioned. His feet were up by his face and his neck was tilted to the left with his left shoulder smashing into his neck. Doesn't really look to comfortable to me. No wonder he wanted to come out early! Flexible hips really help with diaper changing time as well...bonus

He's here!

Well we weren't expecting him this soon, but we're very proud of our little Henry Alexander. He was born Saturday, April 24, 2010 at 10:47 a.m. On Friday we found out the baby was breeched. Dr. Eichfeld said we had until this Tuesday to decide if we wanted to attempt a version to turn the baby or to just do a c section. Either way, this was going to be done on Friday the 30th.
Around 6:00 Saturday morning I began to feel stronger contractions and thought my water was beginning to leak. We timed the contractions at 11 minutes. Just before 8:00 and after a quick shower we called the hospital. They suggested to come in right away.
By 9:00 the contractions were about 6 minutes apart and becoming stronger. When the doctor checked me for dilation he thought he felt a foot...oh no! We began to get ready for the c section and he was born just a short time later.
He was 8 pounds 3 ounces and measured 19 1/4 inches long. He's a great baby and is very content just hanging out as long as his pants are clean and has a full belly. We've had some visitors and it's interesting to see who they think he looks like. Today he's looking more like Marc, but when he was first born looked like a Swatek. Either way I'm sure he'll grow up to be a handsome fellow! Will update more with pictures when they get downloaded.
Take care,
Marc, Lorie, and Baby Henry

On Saturday Marc and I were cleaning up the yard. Strutter was really interested in one of the calves. She was pretty brave and even got nose to nose with this one. But I'm not so sure she'd be so brave if she were on the other side of the fence!

Easter at the Swatek Farm

The Swatek family is growing every year. Holidays fill the house plenty. It was fun having everyone together. We got the kids outside for an egg toss. It turned up with the kids throwing eggs at their mothers! Egg dying is also a tradition at grandma's house. It's fun to see all the kids get together. Cale ended up taste-testing the water a few times I think.

36 weeks

So here's the baby belly again. As you can see, the babe's still pretty high. I went to the doctor on Friday, but she said I was still at a zero. Not too comfortable for me, but good for the babe. He/she's still moving around regularly so there seems to be plenty of room in there. I beg to differ.

On the homestretch

We're down to the final month. I'm now scheduled to visit the doctor every week. Today the little one's heart rate average was 135. She said it had variance as it was going quickly, slowly, and then would quicken up again, which she said was good. Also, since this was the lowest it's been all along, she said that was ok since the baby's getting bigger.

30 days makes it seem doable

However, thinking of all the work-related items that need to be completed before this baby decides to make it's entrance seems daunting. Ideally I'll only need to be gone from work for the last two weeks of school. However, I've still got to write lesson plans for these last few weeks, get my classroom in a semi-neat order for the sub, and let the new summer school teacher know what to expect. Oh yeah, and put in 8-10 hours of unexpected extra time on a class I decided to pay credit for. Yuck. This weekend looks busy. Hopefully on Friday, the doctor tells me this little one is staying put for awhile.

40 days until the due date

I had an appointment on Friday of last week. The baby's heart rate was 140. My doctor said my belly had taken a big jump in size since I had seen her 3 weeks ago, but that wasn't news to me. The baby's still sitting pretty high and that means that my ribs are aching for room. My feet and hands went through a swelling spree this weekend too. Getting out and taking a walk on Sunday along with more water finally helped. Squeezing my feet into my sneakers this morning was at least a little bearable. My doctor said my swelling was caused by the massive watermelon sitting on my lap!
We got the crib from Marc's Aunt Deb and Uncle Phil this past week. Marc had it set up the next day. He's so anxious to officially begin being a dad. He's built a cabinet for baby clothes, diapers, and other baby items too. It looks good in the baby's room. Things are coming together slowly, but surely. We begin our birthing classes this week so that means we are nearing the end. My ribs can only hope!

not too bad

Marc was home and sitting with me in candle light within 30 minutes. He said the bar was using candles as well and were planning on staying open for the night. I had just jumped out of the shower and was relaxing on the couch so I wasn't in the mood for a dark bar. Luckily the power came back on about an hour after he came home while we were just getting ready for bed. We're such exciting folk!

In the dark

So it's Saturday night in the little town of Spring-patch and the power's been off now for 15 minutes. Marc was uptown virtual golfing this afternoon while I went to Yankton to get a pedicure. I called him when things went black and he said the power's off uptown as well. I dropped a hint about his pregnant wife being home all alone in the dark, I wonder if he got it.

32 weeks and counting...

Look how big! It's interesting to hear the opinions of others. Some people say I don't look very big for 32 weeks. Others think I'm pretty big. I just got asked the other day if I was carrying twins...honestly...am I that big!A??!Q@? Whatever the case, the baby's growing well. The doctor said I'm measuring right on schedule still. The baby's heart rate was 150 last Thursday. It seems to be rising, but my doc said that the heart rate will vary just like ours. It must have been more active that afternoon.

I think Marc and I may name this baby Braxton...or may be Hicks, because that's what's been going on for the last week. Last Wednesday evening, they were pretty consistently 5 minutes apart. Luckily I have a wonderful father-in-law that told me not to worry too much. I also had an appointment scheduled the next day. The doctor prescribed something that got them to calm down. Although they are still coming, they just are not on a regular basis. Hopefully all this practice with contracting will make things go smoother. A girl can dream, can't she?

A little under the weather

Here I'm almost to 30 weeks and I thought I just might make it through this pregnancy without getting sick...how inappropriate of me! I started feeling a bit itchy in the throat and ears on Sunday and Monday morning woke up to my throat starting to get sore. It's kinda hard to sleep since my sinuses seem full and larger for some reason. Each morning seems a bit worse than the one before. My doctor put me on amoxicillin yesterday. Hopefully that takes care of it. Today my throat feels more burning and I don't know if that's from clearing it so many times or coughing throughout the day. I don't know that being pregnant and sick is a good combination. Wish me luck.

145 heart rate and girl time

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and she said the baby's measuring right on schedule. The heart rate was 145 this time. All my friends and family seem to think that means boy...only God and my doctor really know now. One things for sure, we're getting more an more anxious to see this little one. Marc seems to think it's going to come out with plenty of hair and by the looks of his baby photos, he may be right. I'm now at the point where my appointments are sooner than every 4 weeks. I go back in three weeks. That's a sigh of relief.
After my appointment I stopped by my friend, Tracy's house to see her kids, Hunter, Jazlyn, and Madelyn. Jacy and her daughter, Eloise, were also there. We ate take out and really enjoyed ourselves. It was a White River 01-02 reunion. We haven't all been able to get together in one place for awhile so it was great to see how their family's are growing. We've decided to make this a regular get together so when I get back to Yankton in three weeks, we're planning a small potluck. Yum-o! I hope I'll be able to eat plenty of the good food they prepare as my stomach space seems to be getting taken up by baby!

Belly Month 7

Here's my belly shot from month 7. I apologize for the crazy hair and lack of makeup. It was a Saturday morning and let's just say...combing my hair isn't a big priority then. Marc was experimenting and taking odd shots with the camera and happened to catch me looking a little crazy. Hopefully for the month 8 shots I can have a "looking good" day. Enjoy!

81 days to go!

I'm officially at 28 weeks as of Sunday. The baby's been growing well and kicking like crazy. I've been reading books to it at night. We got a few baby books for Christmas. One has a squeaking duck and one has a button that has giggling kids. It seems to like the sounds. Baby should weigh somewhere around 2 1/4 pounds and should measure around 14.8 inches now. Marc's been saying goodnight to it too and it seems to like his voice as it responds with a few kicks.
We have an appointment on Thursday and can't wait to see what the heart rate is now. Our first appointment, month 3, showed a fetal heart rate of 160. Month 4 was 150. Month 5 was 140 and month 6 was 142. We've had people say it must be a girl, while others say those numbers show a boy. It's getting harder to wait, but is still something good to look forward to.
Tonight Marc and I put together the baby's bassinett. We've been slowly setting parts of the house aside as baby areas. Janelle's girls, Whitney and Mariah, were here this last weekend and helped me get some cleaning and organizing done. It was a good weekend.
Once I get my camera disc figured out, I'll get a picture up of my belly at 7 months. Take care everyone and thanks for the emails and calls.

Belly Month 6

Here's my 6 month belly shot. I've had quite a few people tell me I'm carrying the baby pretty high. I think it seems like it's right in the middle. Since we're not finding out the gender until birth, we're hearing lots of ideas on how to tell if it's a boy or a girl. Who's correct? Only 3 more months of waiting can tell!
I had to stop over to my mom's to get this picture as I cannot find my old camera. Marc and I have purchased another camera now and am hoping to get more shots on here from now on. Tomorrow marks week 27 (third trimester, here I come!). I'll try to get a new belly shot in. So crazy. I still find myself looking in the mirror amazed at what I see.

Baby Ultrasound Month 5

Here's the baby making it's first debut to the world. I these pics are from December 22. The baby's head, from temple to temple, was 2 inches at the time. The doctor said everything seemed to be growing right on schedule and things looked just fine. We're still looking at a date of May 9th.
Here's the baby's face.
He/she kept covering it's face. Here's the arms and hands in front of the face after the first shot.
This picture shows the profile.
The spine and ribs showed up very well in this shot.
The leg looks quite long in this picture.
Here's the babe's teeny tiny foot. It's amazing to see each little toe!

two snow days!>!?!>>?

Yup, it's true. I'm on my second snow day of the week. And it's a good thing too. We can't even get out of our driveway today. Marc's not even going to try to venture out because we don't have a way to get out until we get rescued by the farmer when he comes to feed his cows.
Anyway, yesterday I got caught up on my laundry. Our dryer went out on the 17th of December and we just got it fixed on Monday of this week. Marc had ordered a heating element and installed it in the dryer just before the new year. When it still wasn't pushing heat out, he ordered a thermostat and a kill switch. He got things installed on Monday and we've been doing a load or two each night this week, but I finally got everything caught yesterday.
Marc got shooed out of the shop yesterday morning due to the weather and he got home through the wind and snow around 10:30. He worked out in the shop and played with Strutter. He even made some sugar cookies in the afternoon. Yum.
Today, I think I'll be trying to organize my kitchen cupboards, putting away all the newly cleaned clothes, and sorting through mail. These three tasks may be a full day's work, so I had better get started. Enjoy and stay warm.

Daddy can feel the kicks now too!

The baby's been kicking now for about or 6 weeks, but not hard or consistant enough for Marc to feel. Last night the babe was giving hard enough kicks that Marc actually felt it. It's nice now as he seems to be even more excited and anxious than before to see this baby.
We had an ultrasound on Tuesday the 22nd of December. Baby was playing peek-a-boo as it was hiding it's face with it's hands most of the time. The technician said our baby was doing lots of movements and was growing well. Dr. said everything looked fine and we're still on for a May 9th baby. Great!