4 months old already?

I still can't believe that Marlee is 4 months old! Time is really starting to fly by! Marlee is truly the best baby anyone could ever ask for! She hardly ever cries, LOVES to smile and laugh and sleeps 12-13 hours a night! She is the sweetest thing in the world and I am so in love! She talks so loud sometimes it sounds like she's screaming! She babbles more than any baby I've ever heard! My mom says that the 3 of us never verbalized like she does! I wake her up every morning and feed her and then she will sit and watch The Wiggles and Little Einsteins while mommy is getting ready for work! I can hear her just a talking to the TV and she will sit there and watch it intently for about an hour! She has just started to grasp her toys and is starting to reach some! She still doesn't enjoy tummy time but is starting to adapt! She would much rather be sitting in her bumbo! Here are some new pictures of our sweet girl! We hope that everyone is ready for Christmas! It's almost here! This year will be extra special with our new baby girl! Marlee also has a new baby cousin coming in the next few weeks! How exciting!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know it's been a long time since I've "blogged." Marlee just gets bigger and bigger everyday! She is 3 months old and 13 pounds! She is really filling out and starting to become a little chunk! (which is what Jason always wanted!) We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! Most of all our sweet baby girl and our wonderful family! We are incredibly blessed! We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Now onto Christmas! Wow, I have a lot to do!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!! Love, Katie, Jason and Marlee! : )

My baby is growing up!

Marlee lounging around in her bouncer!

Snoozing!

She was awake before the Fall Festival!

She fell asleep when we got there! :(

Our sweet baby girl is getting so big! We love her so much and enjoy every minute with her! My mom and I actually took Marlee to the doctor Monday and she had gained 14ozs in one week! The doctor actually told us to slow down because he doesn't want her to get chunky! :) She is offically 11 1/2 pounds! yeah!

35/75

We had Miss Marlee's 2 month check-up this week! She weighed in at 10 pounds (35th percentile) and was 23 inches( 75th percentile)! This is wonderful for her considering that at her one month appointment ( right after returning from Charleston), she had just gotten back up to her birth weight ( 7lbs 3oz) and was 20.75 inches! She is growing like a weed and really catching up! We are so proud of the beautiful little girl she is becoming! Marlee loves to smile, play and sleep! She is a great sleeper! Although she is not sleeping through the night yet, she sleeps for 7 hour stretches, gets up to eat and goes right back to sleep until around 7:30! We are praying for the night she sleeps straight through, but are grateful for what we are getting! We also had Marlee's cardiology appointment this week. She had another ecocardigram and EKG and are so happy to report that everything looks WONDERFUL! The doctor keeps telling us what an excellent repair it was and how they are very pleased! We don't have to go back until the middle of January! Praise God! We are loving this little girl more and more everyday are so blessed to have such a wonderful baby!!!! :)

New pictures!

Our friend Jana came and took Marlee's pictures last week! They are amazing and Marlee was so good! Thanks to Mrs Jana for the wonderful pics! We love them!!

I'm a Rockstar!

Or so my Daddy says!............We had to get Marlee some new sunglasses because everytime we would take her outside, she would put her hand over her eyes to block the sun! I thought that she would hate them, but she actually doesn't mind them at all and it doesn't hurt that she looks so cute with them on!

5 weeks old!

Well actually 5 weeks and 2 days! I meant to post on Monday! Life has been very crazy with this little girl! I never knew how much I valued 8 hours of sleep until having a child! Marlee slept in her own crib for the first time last night because I had been keeping her in the bassinet in our room! Needless to say I think that we all got a better nights sleep last night! I put Marlee to bed around 8 and she slept until 2, I fed her and she went right back to sleep until 6:30! yeah! It's getting so much better! I'm exhausted but it's all worth it! I love the way that Marlee looks at me like I am the most amazing person in the world and can do no wrong! Wow! I am so proud to be her mommy and am enjoying everyday with this little girl! She is growing up so fast. She has started sucking her thumb, smiling (intentionally) and even grasping and batting at her toys! Everyday is something new!

We're home!

We finally made our way home on Wednesday! yeah! Miss Marlee has to be the sweetest baby in the world! She rarely ever cries ( knock on wood) and just loves to smile and be held! We are incredibly blessed to be parents to such a beautiful baby girl! She is definitely our little miracle!

Some of Marlee's Journey ( Pictures are in reverse, sorry! )

Marlee is doing soo good and we hope to be home soon to meet all
of Marlee's new friends and her family!!!!
Marlee in her brand new room, in her big girl crib for the first night!
Mommy getting to hold me for the first time after being in ICU!
This is Marlee in PCICU about 2 days after surgery! Our favorite nurse
Laura put her in a big girl bouncy seat! She loved it!

Marlee Claire Hardman

I know that most of you know Miss Marlee's birth story, but for those of you who don't we thought that we would update you. We went in Monday morning August 11th for a scheduled C-section due to my pre-eclampsia and being on bed rest for 4 weeks. Marlee arrived that morning at 9:21AM and was the most beautiful little thing that I have ever seen! I cried and cried when they pulled her out and was truly in love from that second! Well Tuesday night the nurse came by the room and asked if I wanted her to take Marlee for the night to let me get some sleep because I was so sore from the C-section and tired from so many visitors. ( which we appreciated, I'm not complaining:) )
Wednesday morning instead of bringing my baby back to me, the MD came into the room and told us that during the night the nurse had noticed that Marlee's coloring had changed and that she was having trouble breathing. The MD immediately transferred us to Greenville Memorial because St Francis does not have an adequate NICU or equipment. When we arrived at GHS the Cardiologist informed us that Marlee had a heart condition called "Interrupted Aortic Arch" which means that there was a gap in her aorta that needed to be fixed. Her upper half was getting adequate blood flow but her bottom half was not. They informed us that Marlee would have to be transferred to MUSC for heart surgery but before we could go, Marlee had to be stabilized. Her little body had acid build up in her abdomen from lack of blood flow. They started Marlee on a medication to decrease the acid and increase kidney and liver function immediately. I have never been so scared in my entire life. My church, family and friends immediately began praying for her and even calling prayer meetings. We felt God give us such a peace and we found out Thursday afternoon that Marlee was stable and could now be transferred to Charleston. I flew with Marlee to Charleston while my family drove down and met us. Let me tell you that getting in and out of a tiny plane after just having a c-section was a little difficult!
We arrived in Charleston Friday afternoon and met with all the doctors and nurses and discussed Marlee's plan of care. The surgeon, Dr. Bradley, scheduled Marlee's surgery for Monday morning the 18th and assured us that this was a moderate surgery and that he felt that he could fix everything. Well, Marlee had her surgery Monday morning and the doctor came to tell us that the surgery went perfect and as planned and that they had actually just done an Eco cardiogram after surgery and that Marlee's heart was now functioning perfectly! Wow! God is soo good! Marlee was moved out of the ICU on Friday and is now in her own private room! We are currently working on her feeding and she is still on an NG tube due to her aspirating. The doctors feel like this will resolve itself soon and Marlee will be bottle feeding. We have another swallow study on Wednesday and if she still is having trouble, we may be transferred back to GHS just for feeding issues. All of Marlee's vitals have been fantastic and she looks and acts just like a normal newborn!
I never would have imagined that this could happen to us, because this only happens to other people, or so I thought. God took this situation and used it to his glory. He has taught me about patience and incredible peace, he has brought my family even closer together and my marriage is stronger than it has ever been! Continue to pray for Miss Marlee as we try to complete our feeding task so we can come home!! I forgot the cord to my camera so I have not been able to post any pictures of our beautiful girl! Hopefully soon!!

Miss Marlee is almost here!

Well it's official......we are being induced Sunday night the 10th! I've been wanting for this for so long and then after the doctor set up our induction it hit me! I'm going to be a mommy in less than a week! I feel nervous, excited, scared and so many other emotions right now! Am I reallly qualified to be a mommy? Am I ready for this?? I know that God has blessed us with this miracle and that this is his perfect timing and to trust him! It also helps that I will have my in-laws for a week and my mommy as long as I need her! I pray for this little girl everyday and know that it is my responsibility to show this little girl the truth and that all that truly matters in this world is Jesus Christ. We are so excited and will update as soon as she arrives!!

37 weeks!

It's been 2 weeks since I've blogged, but Marlee and I have been having bi-weekly MD appointments with ultrasounds! You would think that I would be excited over having so many ultrasounds, but she's so big that you really can't see anything! Sadly going to the MD is always the highlight of my week because I can get out of the house! We are still on bed rest due to my blood pressure, but all my labs have stayed stable and the doctors are happy with our progress. Jay and I went this afternoon and Marlee was doing great, she passed her biophysical profile with flying colors! The ultrasound tech actually showed us that she has hair and lots of it! I was shocked, considering that I didn't have hair until I was 4!So that means bows for this little girl! When we got back to see the doctor they checked Marlee's heartbeat which was 150 and I was again measuring right at 37 weeks! I was also dilated to 2cm and 60% effaced! She told us that as a long as my labs stayed good that they would not induce me until August 11th, but to go ahead and mark the calendars for that day! How exciting! She also said that I may not make it 13 more days because I have been having very strong contractions (irregular, but strong) and since my cervix had made so much progress! So we'll see! Marlee will definitely be here by August 11th! I'm so excited! I can't wait to hold my baby girl in my arms! We go back Friday for another Non-Stress Test and will have another ultrasound August 5th to see how big she is! We did get one 3D pic but since she's so smooshed in there, its not too good. Also here is a pic of my belly. Hopefully it won't get any bigger, but I am proud to say that I don't have any stretch marks! yeah!

Bed Rest

My mom and I went for my 35 week appointment yesterday ( since Jay was in Columbia) and when they checked my blood pressure it was 140/90, when it is usually 100/60. When we got back to see the doctor she made me lay on my left side to see if my BP came down. When they checked it, it had gone down to 120/70. The doctor told me that I needed to quit work and be on bed rest because of my BP and severe swelling! She checked my cervix and I was only dialated to 1cm and she said that she didn't expect to see Marlee until at least 39 weeks. She took me back for a non-stress test and they discovered that I was actually having mild contractions every 5 minutes. We immediately went for an ultrasound to have a bio physical profile done. There were several things that Miss Marlee had to do within 30 minutes to pass. Of course she had been kicking the tar out of me, 5 minutes before but as soon as the ultrasound tech starting looking at her, she stopped! She is so stubborn just like her mommy and daddy! She eventually showed out and passed her test with flying colors! She was even practicing breathing on her own! The measured her and she weighs 5lbs 11ounces! That's a great size for 35 weeks! After the doctor got the results and saw how well she did, she told me that she would not try and stop labor at this point, but to go home and stay in bed. They want her to at least hold out until 36/37 weeks. Who knows? She may surprise us and stay in there until 40 weeks! Now we're having to go to the OB twice a week for non-stress tests and BP checks! Please pray that I don't die of boredom because I am not a stay in the bed kind of girl!

34 weeks

So I have officially decided that people are getting uncomfortable being around me! Jason and I had several errands to run this morning and everywhere we went somebody had something to say to me! As we were walking into the grocery store, there was another lady beside us who stopped and told me to go ahead of her because I looked like I was struggling! I thought it was funny but didn't think anything else about it. Well as I'm picking up items on our list, 3 different people asked me if I was due any day now! Of course I let them know that I still have at least 3-6 weeks, but they didn't seem to believe me! Finally, Jason and I were checking out and as we are walking out the door, the manager asked if we needed any help to the car. Jason politely said "No, we've got it" and the manager said, "I'm talking about her, Do I need to help her to the car?!?".......Needless to say, I think I might stay indoors until this baby is born!

Hiccup...Hiccup....

As I'm sitting here writing this, Miss Marlee has the hiccups! We've been getting them at least 2-3 times a day! It's soo cute! It feels like little kicks over and over in the same spot. I actually asked my OB at my last appointment if that was normal and he said absolutely yes! It's actually a good sign that her lungs and diaphragm are maturing! We are in our 33rd week now and I've already been having those lovely Braxton Hicks! I know they're not true contractions because they're so irregular! Plus Marlee has to stay in there at least another 4 weeks to be full-term! Mommy is getting excited and Daddy is getting nervous now that her arrival is creeping up on us, but I know that Jason is going to the best Daddy in the world! Marlee will have him wrapped around her finger!

32 weeks!

So I'm finally 8 months pregnant! yeah! Not too much longer now! We had another OB appointment yesterday and Miss Marlee is still doing great. Mommy is measuring right at 32 weeks and Marlee's heartbeat was 152! I actually asked my doctor how late they would let me go, ( just in case Marlee is stubborn like her mommy!) she told me no more than a week. So that means at the absolute latest, Marlee Claire should be here by August 23rd! yeah! I am so ready to have this baby but knowing her, she will probably be late to her own party!.......My feet have been swelling so much lately and I'm just puffy! The doctor says it's because I'm so far along in this hot summer! This pregnancy was poor planning on my part. My next child will be a December/January/February baby because it's not being pregnant in the summer that is bad. It's being this far along! The top picture is of me at 24 weeks ( wearing the same shirt) and the bottom one is from 31 weeks! I was amazed at the difference because I remember thinking that I was huge at that point!

"Baby Marlee"

We introduced Harley to "Baby Marlee" today. We had read that it was important to introduce your dog to a baby doll and also to play sounds of a baby crying to get them ready for the big transition! Well we chose today for Harley to meet "her" after my mom brought me one of my old baby dolls! Everything started out well, we placed the "baby" in her carrier and all Harley really wanted to do was sniff her and chew on her blanket! ( which is better than chewing on the baby.) Even though I knew that we would have to work on him trying to chew on her blanket, I thought we had done pretty good for our first introduction! Well Jason left to get some dinner and we left the "baby" in the bouncer. I had noticed that Harley had been gone for a little while and when I turned around I found that he had not only taken the baby out of the bouncer, but was in the process of stripping her naked! Needless to see Harley got put in time out ( or as we call it, night night time) I have obviously learned to never leave the baby alone for two seconds! We will continue trying to get Harley used to the "baby" for these next 8 weeks! Hopefully we will have more success in the future or else I see Harley's future as living at Gram's house!

Nursery

We've been working really hard getting the nursery ready these past few weeks! There are still a few finishing touches that we need to do, but I just wanted to show it off! It looks even more beautiful in person! Now all we need is Marlee Claire! Thanks to Aunt Kayla for the letters! WE love you!

9 more weeks!

So we've made it to the single digit countdown! Why does it seem soo much longer? We have been soo busy trying to finish up Marlee's nursery and putting all of her equipment together! I have such an amazing husband and he is so patient with me and I know that it's hard because I am very hormonal right now! We actually bought a new car last week! It's exciting and sad because I loved my Jetta so much but it would barely even hold Marlee's stroller! We ended up getting a new 4runner and we absolutly love it! (except when I have to fill it up with gas!) On another note, this heat is starting to really drain me! My mom and I ran errands all afternoon and then when Jay got home, he wanted to go out! I was on my feet all day! We were at the mall and I just had to find a seat and sit. When I looked down at my feet, I was shocked! I no longer had ankles! I was sporting a brand new pair of cankles! So needless to say, we immediately went home so I could prop my legs up! Jason's reward for being so wonderful to me is a round of golf this morning! He's out with his buddies so I'm all alone until this afternoon! What do I do with myself?

30.5 weeks

We had our 30.5 week appointment yesterday and Miss Marlee is still doing great but her mommy on the other hand is getting miserable! Mostly due to this terrible heat! The doctor says that Marlee is about 3.5 lbs now and she chooses to lay that 3.5 lbs right on my pelvis! I swear that I am carrying this child so low and OUT! Like a basketball! We had a wonderful baby shower last Sunday that my mom's best friend's threw us! Marlee got her car seat, pack n play, bouncer, stroller and sooo many clothes! I have never seen so much pink in my entire life! We are truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family! Marlee will truly be loved and spoiled!

Marlee Claire at 29.5 weeks

We had Marlee's 3d pictures done yesterday and it was absolutly amazing! Marlee actually had her hand or foot in her mouth 90% of the time! She is quite the gymnast! Jason was excited to see that she has chubby cheeks but I'm scared that she's going to be a 9lb baby! (and I'm the one who has to give birth to this little girl!) Marlee is doing great! We have our first (well technically 2nd) baby shower this weekend and we are very excited!

27.5 weeks

I had my 27.5 week appointment today and I'm happy to report that Miss Marlee Claire is doing great and measuring perfectly! She's a little over 2 pounds now and her heart beat was 155! I also had to have that nasty glucose test to test for gestational diabetes. Now I have to wait until next week to hear the results but I know that no matter what, God is in control and i have nothing to worry about! I also had my dreaded Rhogam injection which literally stung like 10 bee stings but anything is worth it for out little girl! I will post new photos soon of my belly! ( How much more can I possibly grow??) We are heading to the beach next weekend for some much needed R&R! Yeah!

Virginia

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but Jason and I have been super busy. Last weekend we made a long trip up to Virginia for our niece's 3rd birthday! We all had a lot of fun and Harley had fun playing with Nanny and Pa! It gets harder to leave everytime and I just wish that Jason's family was closer, especially since Marlee will be here in August! Speaking of Marlee, her room is coming right along. Jason finished painting a couple weeks ago and her crib set and bumper set arrived this week! yeah! We plan on putting everything together this weekend but there is still a lot to do before her arrival! Marlee is definitely making her self known. If I didnt know any better I would swear that she was trying to claw her way out! I remember feeling that first real kick around 19 weeks but this is something brand new that she has started. Jason and I love to sit back and watch my belly move while she is squirming! So much fun and yet strange at the same time!

23 weeks already??

Why is it that sometimes I feel like this pregnancy is going so slowly, but then I start to think about all I have to do and that I really don't have much time left! Jason and I are planning on starting Marlee's nursery this weekend and we're still waiting on her crib set to come in! (which should be any day now!) Also my wonderful Mommy's birthday is this weekend! Being pregnant has given me such an even greater appreciation for my mother and all she has done for me! I just pray that God will give me the patience and love that my mom had with all 3 of us! We had Marlee's last ultrasound on Tuesday and mom got to go with me because Jason was out of town! Marlee was acting up as usual and would not sit still for the ultrasound tech! She was also very shy and did not want to show her face, but when she did, it was just beautiful! She looks just like her mommy, or so I think! haha. Here are a couple pictures from the ultrasound and my ever growing belly!