Happy New Year!

Today is New Year's Eve and the ball in Times Square isn't the only one to drop today!
Yes, that's right Simon's testicles have descended just in time for the new year. We won't post that picture but here is one of Simon looking quite dapper in his tie onesie (from Aunt Dana) and wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Simon's First Christmas

Simon had a great Christmas! We spent a week with Grandma Barbara and Grandpa Marvin in Harrisburg and Simon received lots of presents, including a swing (which mommy and daddy love too - because it keeps Simon quiet sometimes when he isn't so happy).
Then we went to Oma Angie and Grandpa Mike's house for more presents and fun.
Here are pictures of the holidays. Enjoy!

Click here for some pictures of Simon's Christmas

Simon Rolls Over (Tummy to Back)

On December 22nd, Simon surprised us all - he rolled over from his tummy to his back. Actually, he rolled over three times! Here is a video of this feat. He continues to amaze us everyday.

Merry Christma-kkah

What better way to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah than to have mommy dress you up in something completely ridiculous. In case you couldn't tell, that's daddy's yarmulke on Simon's head. It's a little big right now.
Happy Holidays, everyone!

4 Weeks!

Simon has been with us for 4 weeks today! I can't believe that it has been that long. It all seems like a blur of late nights, early mornings and everything in between.
Simon had another doctor appointment yesterday and he gained 17 ounces and grew 2 inches in 3 weeks! He's now 9 pounds 3 ounces and 23 inches long.
So now that I know I'm not starving him, I am feeling a bit more confident.
This first month was a bit challenging but wonderful too. We got to see him lift his head, give him his first bath, and see his first smile (though that might be have gas). Just recently, Simon has been laughing in his sleep and noticing his toys and us more.
We can't wait to see what the next 4 weeks will bring us!
Here's is his 4 week picture, enjoy!

A Walk in the Park

Today we took Simon to Prospect Park for a nice walk. It was great to get out of the house for a bit and stretch our legs. The weather was nice too! I'm hoping for a late winter so we can do some more walking (global climate change, can you help us out?).

Simon's First Bath

It's been sponge baths up til now but today, Simon graduated to a real bath.
Susan and Mark carefully watched a video on how to do this properly and chuckled when they said it would be a relaxing experience for the baby (maybe that happens later).
Mark cleaned the tub and set it up on the counter and carefully checked the water temperature with a froggy bath gauge. The water was 95 degrees so everyone in the pool!
Here is Simon enjoying his "relaxing" first bath experience.

Here is Simon after the bath. He's all clean now and (best of all) sleeping.

Just Hangin' Out with Mom

After a busy night, Simon was calm today. Here he is just hangin' out looking sweet and innocent as he ponders the world's problems

Simon Practicing Yoga

OK, is it too early for me to start gushing over my baby? I hope not. Here is Simon lifting his head at 2 weeks and 1 day. And not just a little lift, it looks like he was practicing the cobra yoga position !

Simon Roth, Week 2

It's been a crazy week 2 for little Simon. Among other things, it was Thanksgiving and he lost his umbilical cord!

We've tried to capture some of our favorite moments in pictures at the link below.

Click here for some pictures of Simon, Week 2

Enjoy!

Simon just got a little bit cuter

...because the grossest part of him just fell off! That's right - today Simon lost his umbilical cord!

Now, nobody in their right mind would want to see a picture of a dried up, nasty, shriveled umbilical cord, so I've hidden it below. If you dare, go ahead and click to reveal the cord in all its ugliness. But be warned - it's very gross.

I'm beginning to think this kid has it in for us...

Today we were changing Simon. He started crying so I got down nice and low towards his face to console him. "It's okay, little guy... It will all be over soon." Simon waited until my mouth was open and then proceeded to pee directly into it! What incredible aim! What warm pee...

Susan started cracking up. She laughed so hard, she nearly peed herself. Simon apparently thought it was funny too and so he took advantage of the situation and proceeded to expel seedy liquid poo all over the changing pad.

At that point, we both lost control, bursting out laughing, in tears. It took us 10 minutes to regain our composure and complete the diaper-changing operation.

We may not be very good at it yet, but we're certainly having a blast at this parenting thing.

Simon's First Doctor's Appointment

Simon had a big outing today to the doctor's office. His pediatrician weighed and measured him. He is in the 60th percentile for length and 29th percentile for weight. Our little lean fighting machine seems to take after daddy because mommy was much chubbier as a baby.
This was also a big outing for mommy who after 6 days finally got some fresh air and a nice long walk
Here are some pictures of Simon at the doctor's office. Enjoy!

Simon's First Few Days

It has been a very exciting first few days in the Roth household now that baby Simon has come to join us! There have been a few sleepless nights for sure but countless smiles!

Grandpa Marvin and Grandma Barbara have been a great help to us whether it's been getting groceries, or cooking, or singing Simon show tunes (that's Grandma Barbara and it's a big hit)!

Click here for some pictures of our past few days with Simon:



Enjoy!

Introducing Simon Thomas Roth!

After 18.5 grueling hours of labor, Simon Thomas Roth was born on 11-19-2008 at 1:45 PM. Simon weighs in at 8 lbs, 7 oz. and is 21 inches long!

Susan and the baby are both doing well.

More soon, but for now, here are some pictures!

The Nursery is Ready!

Hooray! It's the end of the nursery saga.
Our nursery furniture arrived earlier this week and yesterday Mark and I put the finishing touches on getting everything ready. Everything looks super-cute and most importantly, now the baby can arrive!
Of course you are welcome to see the nursery in person (especially when the baby arrives) but in the meantime, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

1 Down and 9 to Go

With just 1 more day until my due date, things are getting anxious. I had my weekly doctor appointment this morning and Dr. V was encouraged that I had made some progress - I am dilated 1 cm! Just 9 more centimeters to go .

She is practical though and also made an appointment for induction on Monday, November 24th but everyone's fingers are crossed that the baby will come before then. The induction procedure sounds like it can make for a long day as apparently it can take hours before they see you and then 4 - 12 hours to get the contractions going.

We will see but I'm betting he'll be here before then .

One Week Until My Due Date

Just one more week until my due date!

I had a doctor appointment yesterday and I haven't progressed very much. The baby has yet to "drop" so it may be a few extra days until the baby arrives. We asked the doctor if there were ways to get things moving along and she suggested walking was a good way. So tomorrow when the weather is nice I'll be in the park walking and walking .

I've been reading all sorts of posts on the Internet about other women that dropped the day they delivered so I'm not going to get too discouraged, especially because I've been feeling so good.

In other news, Mark and I have been eating out a lot and resting up so we'll be all set when the baby does decide to make his appearance. We can't wait!

New Baby Gear

We finally decided on our stroller and car seat!
After many months of long deliberation and discussion, we finally went with the Baby Jogger City Mini and the Graco Snugride. Hopefully our little guy will enjoy everything as much as we do. We are pretty jealous of how comfortable these items seem to be (just ask Bear - he loves them) .

Susan's Last Day at Work

Today was my last day at work for a while! I will be working from home until the baby arrives. I'm so looking forward to some extra sleep and avoiding the subway although I will say that most New Yorkers have donated their seats when they see me .

My co-workers were great and threw me a surprise baby shower with delicious food, beautiful flowers and a generous gift card to BuyBuyBaby (our new favorite store).

Here is a picture of me at home with my beautiful flowers which I will get to enjoy.

Final Sonogram

Today, we had our final sonogram to help determine the baby's weight! Unfortunately, the images that we received from it weren't very flattering. There is hardly any room in there and we mostly saw the baby's smooshed face .
We did see and learn some very important things though:

1. The baby is a boy for sure.
2. The baby has hair on his head. We don't know the color yet but he will not need a baby toupee.
3. The baby was opening and closing his eyes
4. The baby now weighs 6 pounds 7 ounces (give or take a pound). I am hoping his growth slows to less than 1/2 pound per week otherwise it will be like delivering a turkey for Thanksgiving.

We can't wait to meet our little butterball - just over 3 weeks until my due date!

One More Month

What a difference a month makes!

Today, I am now one month away from my due date! As you can see, the baby has grown quite a bit in the past month since my "two more months picture."

I am now in the "Home Stretch" as they call it. I believe this means that I'm being stretched into the size of a house . I am staying active by walking a lot with our visitors from Holland. But eating, breathing, and sleeping are becoming a bit more difficult.

The fun part has been really feeling the baby move and wiggle around and trying to imagine what he's doing in there. And wondering what he'll be like when he emerges. We can't wait to meet him!

Baby Shower

On Saturday, Oma Angie and Auntie Dana threw Mark and me a wonderful baby shower! It was a "Jack and Jill" shower so instead of it just being women, we got the guys involved too. It was a blast with great food, fun games, and a wonderful group of people!

As you can see, Mark really got into it . To see more pictures, click here.

Thank you to everyone that could join us for this special occasion! And a special thanks to Oma Angie, Auntie Dana, Sheri and Monica who were fantastic hosts and helpers! Thank you so much. It was a truly memorable evening!

Graduation Day

Tonight we graduated from our prepared childbirth class! Our instructor was great and we learned all sorts of interesting things in the class, such as:

• When to go to the hospital,
• What floor we should go to when we get to the hospital,
• Breathing Techniques,
• Basic childcare (ie. diapering, swaddling, breast feeding techniques),
• and most importantly, when to ask for the epidural

While I wouldn't say were feel completely ready for what is to come, we feel a bit more prepared as some of our basic questions were answered.

Two More Months

Today is September 15th and that means just 2 more months until my due date! These last few weeks have really flown by. I'm feeling pretty good but it is definitely getting more difficult to do things like walking and sleeping :) All in all though, I'm having fun and Mark and I are enjoying this time. Here is my 7 months picture, enjoy!

Painting the Nursery

Yesterday, Mark and I chose a color for the nursery. We went with Benjamin Moore's JetStream color because it matched the nursery decor we picked (Lambs and Ivy Goodnight Star). I helped washing and taping the walls but then Aunt Dana came to do the painting.

Mark and Dana did a fantastic job! The color looks great! Here they are, hard at work:



Mark will do a second coat today and will work on the trim this week. Then we will install the wallpaper boarder. Pictures to follow...

The Crib Saga

On Sunday, Mark and I spent a few hours at BuyBuyBaby (BBB) selecting a crib and a dresser/changer. The crib proved somewhat easier. We thought that the Sorelle Isabella in espresso looked great. The dresser/changer proved to be difficult because we needed to find something that would fit into the 48" nook that we have in the nursery. The Sorelle was too long at 51" as were a number of other options. Then there were the changers that were too small. We finally decided upon the Stanley Young America 4 Seasons in espresso that was just right at 45". We hoped that it would be close enough to the Sorelle's espresso color. We decided to sleep on it and on Monday morning, I placed the order - 6 weeks for the crib and 8 weeks for the dresser/changer - not bad. We were happy to be done or so we thought. On Tuesday night I received a voicemail asking me to call BBB and on Wednesday morning I called back. Apparently the Sorelle would be an extra 6 weeks. UH OH! Not good. That would mean we wouldn't get the crib until Mid December. I ended up cancelling the entire order as we decided we should start from square one.

On Wednesday and Thursday, I did some more research and went to a few other stores. Apparently 8 weeks seems to be the earliest you can get your furniture since most items are made in China or out of the US and those that are made in the US have long lead-times anyway. I also found out that the crib should be made of a hardwood rather than pine which can be consumed by the baby when they are teething.

So to make a long story short, I spent another 2 hours at BBB today re-placing our order. Mark and I decided to go with the 4 Seasons Contentment crib and dresser/changer from Stanley Young America in espresso. The quality seems good and while the lead time might be after the baby comes, a travel crib can provide help until it arrives. We also went with a glider and ottoman from Dutailier. DONE! Finally :) Here are pictures of the items we chose:

Crib and dresser:


Glider: