Rose's First Month

Most Definitely the Star of Mommy's Blog!

It has been pretty smooth sailing since bringing home baby Rose a month ago. She is a very mild tempered baby that seems to be developing rapidly! Before even leaving the hospital Rose was holding her head up on her own and her big blue eyes were wide open taking in everything around her. 

She is a wonderful little baby. Enjoy this picture montage highlighting Rose's first month of life.

First car seat ride- home from the hospital

Baby Rose holding daddy's hand- 1 week

daddy soothing baby- 2 weeks

Smiling in her sleep- 3 Weeks

Big Blue Eyes is one month old 

Rose has big blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. She is constantly cooing, squeaking and sometimes even growling if mommy takes too long to take care of business. She usually sleeps about 3-4 hour stretches at night and has since about the first day home. 

Rose and daddy catching up on zzzz's

Rose after her first bath

Sleeping on mommy as she sits on the exercise ball

Rock'n'Roll Baby

Rose's first bath with mommy (she loved it!)

Pretty Girl

Organic Baby!

Rose really enjoys sitting in her swing, listening to mommy and daddy sing to her and looking at the art on the walls. She also likes to look into the mirror. 

Yawn!

Asleep in daddy's arms

Getting ready to go on our first outing

Rose hanging out in her swing

She is a super fun baby and has been smiling and even laughing a bit. Laura and Eric are really looking forward to seeing all of Rose's developmental milestones and we promise to post pictures and stories as she grows. 

Stay tuned for baby news! You can sign up to receive updates to the blog by entering your email on the right. 

A New Year's Eve Celebration to Remember

Baby Rose Victoria Sieckmann- 12/31/11

Laura was due to have baby Rose on December 17, 2011, but as fate would have it, Rose Victoria was not born until 2 weeks past her due date. Right before hitting the 42 week mark, Laura went into labor on December 29 at 10am. After riding the waves for 12 hours at home with Eric, Patty (Laura's mom) and Brooke (the doula) the group packed into the car and drove to the birthing center as per the birth plan.

At the birthing center

 At this point, Laura was having fairly intense contractions with only about 4 minutes in between. At the birthing center, Laura continued to labor for another 24 hours while managing to walk outside through contractions, get a bit of sleep and even eat a bit. It seemed somewhere around hour 32 that the baby would not arrive, ever and Laura's pain was pretty intense with pains coming every minute or so. Laura persevered through labor for another 4 hours at the birthing center with the only change being the growing intensity of the pain, Baby Rose was just not ready to come down! It was at that point, and at the recommendation of the midwives, that Laura, Eric, Patty, Brooke and Pam (the midwife) packed into the car again, this time headed for the hospital. 

Laura and Eric at the hospital (epidural complete)

Upon arriving at the CMC Pineville Maternity ward, Laura was fairly exhausted after laboring for 36 hours straight and she opted to have an epidural. With the instant relief from pain that Laura experienced she relaxed and her water broke within 2 hours. Laura then managed to sleep for a few hours and regained more strength. A few hours later there was mild change, and a pitocin drip was started to encourage the process. Laura labored for a few more hours with contractions that were felt due to the low dose of the epidural. It was not until around 9:40am on December 31 that Laura was getting ready to push. As the nurses and midwives rushed around the room making last minute preparations for the birth Rose began her entrance into the world.

Laura bringing Rose into the world (push it)

Ironically, after going exactly two weeks to the day overdue and laboring for about 48 hours, the pushing only went on for 20 minutes before Rose Victoria Sieckmann was born. She came at officially 10:10am on December 31, 2011. She weighted in at 8lbs. 7oz. and measured 20 inches long. 

Proud new daddy!

xoxox Laura and Rose xoxox

Rose's first nights sleep

Rose was born a healthy pink baby and gave her parents Eric and Laura a reason to celebrate the New Year that night! As the ball dropped and 2012 was ushered in Rose's mommy and daddy were changing her first diaper, oblivious to anything but the miracle the lay in front of them. 

The first diaper change

On New Years Day the Sieckmann family was released from the hospital and went home after their 4 day adventure.

New Years day- We're home!

First picture after arriving home

And that my friends is the story (gory details excluded) of the birth of Rose Victoria Sieckmann. 

The Final Countdown!

Hey Everybody! Happy Holidays!!!

We’re not sure how many of you have been looking at the calendar lately, but it’s getting to be the final countdown for us now!  We have just FIVE days till the due date!!!  Everything around the house is set-up, freshly cleaned and prepared. The stroller and car seat are assembled, and we have stocked up on food, diapers, paper towels and all other essential and non-essential baby goods. A big thank you to all who gave us baby gifts which helped us become so prepared!

As we write this, Laura is even experiencing irregular contractions, so we are truly living the “any day now” mantra.  We are both very excited and our Christmas tree has stacks of presents underneath just waiting for baby Rose!

We wanted to give a sneak peek into the baby’s nursery, so here is a video for your viewing pleasure:

Video of the Nursery

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little bundle of joy and can't wait for each and every one of you to meet her. Make sure to check back, or sign-up to receive email updates because we will be posting pictures and news of baby Rose soon after she arrives. Until that day, bye for now!

Drum roll.... It's a Girl!

Well, it has been a few weeks since we left Chicago and we are all settling into our new place in Charlotte, North Carolina very well. The day before we left the windy city for our drive out to the east coast we decided to pop in once more to visit our doctor and make sure the baby was in good health after our international exploration to Guatemala. All things checked out wonderfully and we were even able to squeeze in another ultrasound, confirming our beliefs that indeed Baby Sieckmann is a GIRL!!!!

We are very excited and are looking forward to welcoming our baby girl whom we have dubbed, Rose Victoria Sieckmann, into our new home in Charlotte around December 17, 2011. Just in time to get that tax write off!

Living in Charlotte the past few weeks, we have come to develop a strong liking for the city. The people we have met are all super kind and the area is bustling with fun things to do. While we have been busy unpacking and setting up our home, we have managed to set some time aside to get out and see the city too. 

Eric has officially been at his job 2 weeks and and he is welcoming the challenge that is the energy industry. His first trip to Washington D.C is next week, so he is looking forward to venturing out and being a catalyst in the evolution of this industry. While waking up to an alarm clock and returning to an office required a bit of an adjustment in the beginning after 2 years at Kellogg, he has found his pace and is overall very happy with his new role at Duke. 

Laura has been enjoying setting up the new home in Charlotte and getting to know what the local community has to offer over the past two weeks. It does take quite a bit to get settled into a place, unpack and organize everything, so she has been super focused and diligent in doing so. Overall, Laura is getting the home ready for Baby Rose, is busy becoming rounder by the day and couldn't be more content. 

Things on the east coast are going great! Stay tuned for more baby news and enjoy this video of our latest ultrasound where all of Baby Rose's vital organs are checked and where it is confirmed that yes in fact, we are having a girl!

Is it a Boy or a Girl?!!

We went in today for our last ultra sound appointment in Evanston before our move to Charlotte in July. While it is a little early in the pregnancy (13 1/2 weeks thus far) we were hopeful that we might learn today if we are buying footballs or barbies, it is still a bit to early to tell. However, our ultrasound tech did say that she would put her money on the baby turning out to be a girl!!!

It was great to see the baby again on the big screen. Baby is growing quickly, measuring in at a little over 3 inches. Baby was moving around a lot today without any prodding.

We took a video of the ultra sound both this visit and during our last visit and we wanted to share them. Also, we got more pictures!!

June 2nd Ultrasound

June 14th Ultrasound

Ultrasound 6-14 @ 13 1/2 weeks

Leave a comment and tell us if you think it is a girl or a boy!

Big News!!!

Eric and Laura Sieckmann found out April 13 that they can expect the first addition to their family, Baby Sieckmann, on December 17, 2011. With all of the changes ahead, Eric graduating from Northwestern University- Kellogg School of Management with a MBA and an MEM, and a move to Charlotte, North Carolina, the happy couple was a bit surprised at the big news, but it is wholeheartedly welcome.

Currently Laura is a little over 13 weeks pregnant, and nearing the end of her first trimester. It has been a semi smooth ride thus far, with Laura only experiencing nausea and other minor discomforts. As the first trimester comes to an end however, her experience is improving and the symptoms decreasing. Her baby bump is obvious and both parents to be are simply giddy with excitement and throughly enjoying making the preparations for Baby Sieckmann to make his, or her, entrance. (We have a doctors appointment tomorrow, so we just might find out if it is a girl or a boy!)

Just because Eric and Laura will be new parents doesn't mean they are slowing down however, as they will be heading down to Guatemala from the end of June to early July to enjoy a relaxing holiday before Eric begins work for Duke Energy in July.

Here are a few pictures of Baby Sieckmann, and more are to come. Thank you all for your congratulations and good wishes. You can see more info about Eric and Laura as well as baby info such as registries, on their website at www.ericandlaurasieckmann.com

Baby Sieckmann Ultra Sound at 7 1/2 weeks

Baby Sieckmann at 12 1/2 weeks

Well that is all for now, check back, as we will update regularly.