After two weeks

Look at that Little Face.
Perfect Fit
Staring Contest
Hopefully the animal she picks... I bought it for her.
Sleeping Beauty
Dad and Daughter
Look at those eyes.
She really loves her carseat...

TWO WEEKS!

Happy Two Week Day Rebekah!!!

+  Well folks, our little daughter has officially made it out.

Today is the second week anniversary of her monumental birth on March 21, 2008.

As most of you know, a newborn human child is weighed almost immediately following their birth into the world and soon afterwards they lose a relatively large percentage of their initial weight. Well, supposedly a newborn child should weigh all or more of what they weighed at birth after two weeks of life out-of-womb.

I am pleased to announce that Rebekah should be earning a Baby Medal of Honor for going above and beyond the call of the doctor's duty at her weekly check-up today, weighing in at a staggering 8 pounds, 2 ounces. This clobbered her birth weight by 11 ounces everyone... think about it.

+  Dana is looking more and more like her old and weirdly small self. I say weirdly because I had become accustomed to her rather gargantuan pregnant self... Don't look at me like that. I'm her husband and it is definitely par for the course to call a spade a spade. 

She is really recovering quickly though, and will soon be back to firing on however many cylinders she traditionally fired on. 

We are very thankful for everything running so smoothly thus far.

+  Rebekah Marie will soon be donning her very own birth certificate. Speaking of which, it was not only surprising, but a little depressing to find an item in our snail-mail box yesterday addressed to a two-week-old girl. She can't even crawl yet, let alone read or write, and she's getting more mail than us!?

Anyway, it was mostly a nice surprise. I'm only joking about that depressing part...

+  As far as Rebekah is concerned, big steps in the near future include reaching ten pounds, reaching her quarter year day bash, learning to smile when she recognizes things worth  smiling at (hopefully us) and changing her own diaper when it is needed. That last one is not a joke.

+  Ok. What else? 

...

Well, she's a newborn baby for crying out loud!

For the closest family and friends it is exciting, but if you really think about it from a hollywood perspective, her life would make a weak sitcom. She only eats and sleeps. That's it. 

Naturally, we the parents love holding her, seeing her, talking about her, photographing her, dressing her, etc., etc., etc. (changing her is deliberately omitted), but it's really not all that much to report on a daily basis. 

This is not to say that we are bored or expect her to be our personal entertainment (which she is half the time), only to say that it is remarkable how a little child that does so little can be so literally enthralling. 

+  That's about it for this week's entry. (Speaking of weeks, this will undoubtedly turn into a weekly and then biweekly affair). Enjoy this week's photo's.

+  Happy Two Weeks Baby !

A note on Motherhood

Yes, that's right, this is Dana writing; the Mother of Rebekah Marie. 

The first few days at home have been amazing! What a blessing Rebekah is! I love being at home with her, more than I ever thought I would. Although our small apartment is, shall we say 'cozy', especially when you are cooped up all day and night, the many visitors and helping hands and this new little life in the house have kept me from climbing the walls. The weather should be shaping up as I recover fully and there will be plenty to do outside this summer. 

My Mom has been over for the past few days helping us clean up and get organized so Mitch can focus on his studies as the end of the semester approaches. The next month will be busy for him as he adjusts to Fatherhood and heads into final assignments and exams. So far, he has been doing a fantastic job balancing everything. 

We are very thankful for all the many offers to make us a meal or to drop bye to visit and help out in some way. It will help make my recovery that much faster. 

Included in this entry are some photos of Rebekah's first days around the house. She likes her sleep; 'beauty sleep' as Great Grandpa called it, but she is also starting to become more awake to explore the small world around her. 

We hope to have some first outings this weekend, which I'm sure Mitch will document well. He is definitely the proud Father of this little girl. 

More Pics

DADDY'S LITTLE STRAWBERRY

BABY'S FIRST BATH

 

EXPLORING THE WORLD

POW!

Little angel
The Marie's, having a moment
New parents
Post-feeding nap time
Mom and daughter
Watching over the newborn
Our little strawberry
Great Nanny and Rebekah
Little family, big room.

Homecoming

Good morning, afternoon or evening folks.

The following is a little update and anecdote.

Mother and daughter are now out of the hospital, relishing the comforts of our little home.

As an aside; though the primary mode of an hospital is not the aesthetic, they would do well to make the rooms feel a little more cozy and appealing. It's true that hospitals ,with their outdated and medical scented decor, are no match for the personality and warmth of your own home.

Dana Marie and Rebekah Marie are now home from the hospital, just two days after a cesarean. 

"Already?!" you ask. "Yes, isn't that great," I reply. 

Dr. Chan said that she was recovering fabulously, and since the nurses weren't necessarily doing all that much, he gave us the green light to leave. So, at approximately 5:13 p.m., we bid the hospital as fond a farewell as you can give a hospital, and took our daughter for her maiden voyage in the Venture (fitting name for a minivan in this regard).

So, it hasn't even been two full days since the monumental event and our little family of three seems to be getting along just swell already. Undoubtedly, we will be taking the baby for a visit to the doctor's in the very near future and to the hospital, to have a heart to heart with the lactation consultant, shortly after. 

Other than the seam in Dana's abdomen, it has been quite the seamless series of events, for which we remain very thankful. (I'm also thankful that she passed the hearing exam with flying colors because now I know she will be successfully indocrinated into the wonderful world of music). 

Anyway, the photos above are a collection of photographs taken on Easter Sunday.

What a great birthday: Easter weekend and the first day of spring!

TO LIFE

Alas, this blog entry must be short, for it is past 1:00 in the a.m.

Both mother and daughter are doing very well (as far as I know right now).

Status on both will be coming periodically; so don't fret.

Info:

Rebekah Marie Sikkema was born on March 21 2008 A.D.

She tipped the scales at 7 pounds 7 ounces, while stretching to just a quarter inch shy of 21"

We are both very happy and incredibly thankful for this new gift of life.

...

What else to say? For those of you who have undergone this experience before I hope you can take joy in the beautiful magnitude of the gift given, and for those who haven't had the privilege as of yet, trust me when I say it is a gift like no other. A truly and singularly awesome event, in the traditional sense of the word (giving real inflection to the 'awe' in 'awesome').

Much more to come ladies and gentlemen, but for now this will be all. 

Another busy day tomorrow.