Sunday, August 29, 2004 - Oh goodness, it has been a long time since I have written. I'm so sorry to those that have been checking for the latest information. I'll see if I can try to catch you up to speed. In July, we celebrated Judit and Evan birthdays. Happy Birthday! Natalie attended her first birthday party to celebrate Evan's 2nd year. On July 24th at 9:10 p.m., Natalie rolled over for the first time and hasn't stopped since she learned. She at first could only roll from her back to her tummy, but recently has learned the tummy to back roll as well. Danielle celebrated a birthday on August 5th. Happy Birthday! We had a doctor's appointment on August 9th where we found out Natalie is 15 pounds, 5 ounces and 26 inches long. That puts her in the 80% for weight and 93% for height. She had more shots but did a great job and recovered quickly. We also started feeding her cereal in addition to milk. She had rice cereal in the morning and at night for 2 weeks. Just this weekend, we started oatmeal cereal, which I think she likes even better. Her school seems to be going great. I think they love her. August 12th was Amy V.'s birthday and August 13th was Roger's birthday. Happy Birthday to you both. I think that just about catches you up. Best wishes to all of you that are going back to school or have kids going back to school.
Saturday, July 17, 2004 - All is going well here in Baltimore. Each week just flies by. Last weekend, we had 3-month pictures taken of Natalie that you can check out in week 14. Natalie, Andreas & I want to send a Happy Birthday wish to Zarah this week. We hope everyone is enjoying their summer. Best wishes
Monday, July 5, 2004 - We hope all the Americans had a fun 4th of July Celebration yesterday. Mom and Dad made a great BBQ lunch for us, and Natalie was all decked out in her red, white and blue. I had to work in the afternoon, which was a little disappointing because both the Hot Air Balloon rides and the skydivers were nixed due to the weather. We had some good news this week. Natalie got in to our first choice of day care. She will attend the Little People Day School beginning July 26th. Her school colors are blue and white & Sammy Squirrel and Ralph Rabbit are the mascots. Isn't that cute. We are sure she is going to love it because she is fascinated when looking at other children. Her second swim lesson went well, and she went under water 7 times. So cute!
Sunday, June 27, 2004 - Another week of happiness at the Lennartsson home. Mom took great care of our little princess. I know how hard it is to keep her by oneself so I really appreciate all she has been doing. It sounds like Dad has just about finished packing up the house in Texas. Gaga (my grandmother) loves him & the cat Precious staying over. She is pretty anxious for Mom to get back home though. I had big news this week. I received a promotion at work. You are now reading the words typed by the Director of Banquet Sales and Special Events. I am very happy and am looking forward to all the new challenges. Natalie had a big weekend. We started Mommy and Me swim class yesterday. She did an awesome job. She never once fussed, and we dipped her under water about 6 times. She was so cute. Unfortunately, we couldn't get any pictures at the pool, but we did get one of her in her pink bikini. Check it out in Week 11. We think she may have begun her 3-month growth spurt. The last 2 nights, she has woken up every 1-2 hours to feed. She had been sleeping for 4-6 hours each night prior. No matter, we are just happy to have such an angel. All she has to do is give us that gummy smile and our hearts melt. Ain't love grand!
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - Happy Father's Day to all Dads! We had a wonderful time celebrating Andreas' first Father's Day. For his gift, he chose his & her bicycles. For his meal, he chose several casseroles & homemade strawberry shortcake. We were able to accomplish all. I must say, it was as if Natalie knew it was a special day for Daddy. Every time he looked at her, she would smile back at him. Unfortunately, I was unable to spend this special day with my dad who is back in Texas packing up their sold house. We thought about him all day & it was as if he was there. Mom bought his gift of choice - a Total Gym 1700 Club. We are anxiously awaiting his return on July 1st. Mom misses him very much. I hope to get pictures up of this awesome day soon. Have a great week everyone!
Friday, June 11, 2004 - Whew! We have had some great days. First of all, I must report that Natalie had her 2-month Dr. appointment & now weighs 12 lbs. 3 oz. & is 23 1/2 in. long. Everything looks great. We don't like shots, but I won't go into detail. The Dr. kept saying how pretty she was & questioned whether she is really only 2 months old given her talking & head/neck control. Of course we were so proud. The Swedes are back in Sweden now. We so enjoyed their visit & will miss them terribly. It was wonderful having all our immediate family here for the Baptism. Now Mom & Dad are the new babysitters. They are amazed at how much she has changed in the 4 weeks they were gone. As I write, everyone is trying to get her to smile for a picture. It is so funny. Hopefully we will have a picture to share soon. They are hilarious - she may not be laughing, but I am.
Monday, May 31, 2004 - Obviously, I had good intentions to write a long time ago, but as usual, the new mom did not have time. There is so much to catch you all up on. Let's start back from the last entry. Happy belated birthday to my mom, May 18th & my dad, May 25th. Our thoughts are also with my Grandfather who had a stroke & is in the hospital. He is such a tough man & is showing improvement every day. May 21st was an exciting day for us because Andreas' family (Sven-Erik, Zarah, Judit & Lennart) came into town. (You can see pictures of them all on Week 6& Week 7). It was such a beautiful thing to see them look at Natalie for the first time. We are thoroughly enjoying their visit. Natalie loves them. They brought with them so many gifts for Natalie. We must thank everyone who sent their best wishes with them including Elizabeth, Zarah's friend who made a lovely gift for Natalie. Sadly, the Swedes' arrival meant my going back to work. It has been very hard, but I find comfort knowing Natalie is in the wonderful hands of family. I would like to send my warm wishes to Nancy who will be starting a new job. We miss her dearly, but are so happy for her. Sunday, May 30th was a special day for two reasons. We celebrated the Swedish Mother's Day as well as Andreas' & my 6-year Wedding Anniversary. We had a delightful day together as a family. This week we are looking forward to the arrival of my parents for the summer. On Sunday, we will celebrate the Baptism of Natalie. Thank you so much to Gail for giving us a beautiful gown for her to wear. Well, everyone here is working hard around the house so I guess I should stop playing on the computer. Take care all!
Wednesday, May 19, 2004 -
Friday, May 7, 2004 - Just back from Natalie's 1-month doctor appointment. She weighed 9 lbs. 15 1/4 oz. & was 22 1/4 in. long. Pretty good! She had to have part 2 of her Hepatitis shot. She was not very happy about that, but she has been sleeping pretty sound for the past 3 hours since. It was funny this morning because she actually laughed & smiled - but it was while she was sleeping so I don't know if that counts as a first. I certainly enjoyed it. I am looking forward to my first Mother's Day this weekend. We are going to get a tree as my gift & dedicate it to Natalie. We hope the cicadas don't ruin our plan. We want to wish all you mothers out there a happy day, especially Zarah & Janice!
Monday, April 26, 2004 - We had a great ending to last week. Natalie finally surpassed her birth weight. She tipped the scale at 8 lbs. 13 1/2 oz. The only downside was that since she had exceeded birth weight, they did another PKU test. This is when they scrape a little skin off the foot to get blood for testing. I don't know if she or I cried more. It was awful to hear her cry at the nurse's hand when you spend all your days & nights trying to make sure she doesn't cry. We had a busy day yesterday. First, we took her for another long walk (again, she slept through it). Then she was visited by Cindy, Juanita, Juanita's daughter Katie & Juanita's mother-in-law Garnetta. Natalie was alert for most of the visit, but showed signs of exhaustion toward the end. Mom & Dad left on Wednesday. We certainly are grateful for all their help. We now know why they say, "it takes a village". Natalie & I are looking forward to another week of bonding. Have a good one everybody.
Monday, April 19, 2004 - I think we are starting to get the hang of this. It was a crazy week, but we made it. Natalie has picked up quite an appetite so we are supplementing with formula now. Today we have another doctor's appt. so hopefully now they will say she has gained some weight (she had been stuck at 7 lbs. 15 oz.). The weather has been like summer this past weekend so we took her for her 1st walk. It must have been very special for her, she slept through the whole thing. You can check out more pictures in week 2 now, including some from the 1st walk.
Saturday, April 10, 2004 - Wow! We made it! Natalie Elaine Lennartsson was born on Tuesday, April 6, 2004 at 4:58 p.m. She weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces & was 21 3/4 inches long. We brought her home Thursday morning & are trying to learn how to be parents. All I can say is that she is the cutest, most perfect baby I have ever seen. We love her immensely.
Monday, April 5, 2004 - I guess I'm still lagging behind & can't make my Sunday deadline anymore. We had a good week last week. The doctor's appointment was on Friday. Andreas went with me because they did another sonogram to try & guesstimate size. I was 2 cm. dilated & 70% effaced so progress was still being made, & the doctor still thinks I will have the baby earlier than the 9th. I, on the other hand, feel like I will never go into labor at this point. Based on the sonogram, the doctor thinks she will be just over 8 pounds. Ouch! My mom & dad made it into town on Sunday so they are happy to have made it here before Natalie did. Thursday was my last day of work so I am home at least till the end of May. I was pretty bored today so I think we need a baby around here to liven things up a bit. We are ready & waiting.
Monday, March 29, 2004 - Sorry for the delay, but Sunday just got away from me. Last week I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday, & we saw some more progress. I was 1-2 cm. dilated & 30-40% effaced while her head is still very low. Yesterday, I lost my mucus plug, which, according to our birthing class papers, happens about one week before delivery. If that is true, we are looking to have her one week early. Isn't this exciting? This could very well be my final journal entry before I become a mother. Andreas began work on our patio yesterday. He still has quite a bit to do, but he didn't think it was too bad. The weather was absolutely beautiful this weekend. The temperature was in the high 60's and the sun was out all weekend. We are seeing our daffodils and hyacinths starting to bloom, & the grass is turning green. It's just a wonderful time of year.
Sunday, March 21, 2004 - Well, my friends did it again. This time my Bunko group surprised me with a baby shower. It was the fanciest baby shower I have ever seen. They had amazing food, great decorations & fabulous guests. We had a lot of fun & once again, everyone was too generous with all the gifts. Natalie will be spoiled rotten. I took a few days off from work this week to get some much needed rest. I did have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, but there had been no change so I doubt if we are still looking at an early delivery. Andreas took off work on Friday with me, & we had a great day together. Other than that, I have been pretty lazy this weekend. Juanita made a test run to the hospital so she can find it on the big day. I thank her for that. Hello Zarah - thanks for reading this journal on a regular basis.
Sunday, March 14, 2004 - Exciting News... I had a doctor appointment this Thursday, & Natalie has "dropped". The doctor says this means she should be arriving in the next 2-3 weeks. That is perhaps 1-2 weeks earlier than expected. Early sounds great to me. I can hardly roll over in bed anymore because I am so big. Project get ready for Natalie has gone into overdrive. I took part in a breastfeeding class this week (part 2 is this coming week). I found it to be very helpful. As I write, Andreas is busy installing new door locks so we will be able to keep Natalie safe & sound. I have been concentrating on cleaning house (that is about all Andreas will let me do) since we may be expecting my parents earlier than we originally thought in light of the news. Andreas cleaned out the garage this week so we will be able to get Natalie in and out of the cars. This place is really shaping up. Of course, I doubt we will ever be completely ready, but it feels good to accomplish so many things.
Sunday, March 7, 2004 - Whew, time sure is flying. We now only have 5 weeks left to go. We have been busy the last couple of weeks, which explains why I have been neglecting my journal entries. Sorry. We completed our couples birthing class at Carroll Hospital Center. The classes were great, but I must admit that they made me more nervous than I had been. I am now back in my ignorant bliss - having pushed all the gory details out of my memory. Last week, I was completely surprised with a Baby Shower thrown by my friends at work. I was so shocked, that I still don't believe it happened. We received so many thoughtful gifts and are ever so grateful for everyone's generosity. Natalie will definitely be a stylish baby. We finally hung some pictures in Natalie's room so be sure to check out the new photos under "Natalie". Last weekend we also had our car seats installed by the Carroll County Health Department. They say 85% of parents install car seats incorrectly so we are very happy to have had this service done. I did have a Dr. appointment last week. He said everything still looks great - except, my stomach is measuring a little big. He said that we expect that since I am tall, I will more than likely have a big baby. Ugh! I am choosing to think that my stomach is large because of fluid, not because of the baby's size. Yep, that sounds better. That is about all for now.
Sunday, February 15, 2004 - Happy belated St. Valentine's Day to all! We had a fabulous evening out at our favorite restaurant, The Helmand. Also, we need to send a Happy Birthday wish to Andreas' grandfather whose birthday was the 14th. What a busy week this was. We started off the week with Infant/Child CPR classes. Then I had a doctor's appointment, where everything still looks good. Andreas had Friday off so he ran tons of errands & picked up a rocking chair for Natalie's room. We ended the week with a trip to Virginia to buy the last piece of furniture for Natalie's room, a dresser that Andreas is putting together this very moment. I am pretty run down from all the activity of the week so I better get some rest. Ciao!
Sunday, February 8, 2004 - Okay, we are now at 9 weeks till due date. We have been busy little bees getting ready for Natalie's arrival. We have purchased carbon monoxide detectors, a crib, a changing table & a first aid kit among other things. It is starting to look like a baby is coming soon. I want to give a shout out to Gaga whose birthday was on the 5th. From what I hear, she had yet another great birthday party along with Lena's baptism. We missed everyone in Texas this weekend & wish we could have been there. Tonight is the Grammy's so I have to go watch & make sure everyone keeps their clothes on, unlike the Superbowl.
Sunday, February 1, 2004 - Today is Super Bowl Sunday! We are planning on watching the game, relaxing & eating a Texas favorite, Frito Pie. Last night Natalie didn't let me get too much sleep. She is quite active for being -10 weeks old. Hopefully, this just means she is moving around in her sleep, or she is getting a lot of exercise now & once she is born, she'll sleep all the time. Yesterday, I had to have a glucose testing where I drank some sugary orange soda then had my blood taken an hour later. Luckily, I did not get sick or faint or even cry. I must be getting better at the shot thing. Must now go get ready for some Football!