Is it The Bee?

Here is the Niemeyer crew. Ethan is Spiderman, a favorite super hero for the time being. Lauren is a Power Ranger, thanks to dad's influence. She went as a beautiful princess this morning to preschool, but dad's suggestion after dinner was obviously the winner. I didn't get a picture of the princess because Gavin was up most of the night so dad told me to get some sleep instead of getting up to take the kids to school. The little yellow and black blurb in the background is Gavin as the bee.

Gavin took a little nap while he waited to see the loot that his brother and sister were out collecting.

Gavin's first Sunday at church

Today we were able to get the whole crew to church. It was fun to have everyone meet Gavin. We also did another first and went out for lunch with our friends the Stuewe's. Gavin slept the entire time we were eating...perfect time for everyone to eat and visit together! At lunch I discussed with Tracy that I wanted to start a blog for Gavin. During Ethan and Lauren's first year I wrote milestones and special events on a blank calendar, hoping to get pictures put into the calendar for each month. The pictures still aren't in Lauren's calendar. (I will get that completed too :) I promise) So after getting everyone settled for a little nap I began this blog. Pretty good for me!!! Gavin this is Mommy's gift to you, so that you can look back at this blog and read all about your first years of life and look at the pictures of you and your family. I love you!

Big Helpers

Ethan and Lauren have been great big helpers since Baby Gavin arrived home. They love to hold him, rock him, and watch him so that mommy can sit in the tub or put laundry in the washer. We have also been so blessed to have dinners coming from our great church family. We have been eating well, and mom and dad haven't had to worry about cooking :)

Adjusting to a family of FIVE!

Gavin's jaundice levels were high on Sunday when we returned to the hospital to have them checked. They had almost doubled. The pediatrician on call asked us to come back on Monday and have them checked again. Then on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. Finally on Wednesday Gavin had gained weight and his levels had decreased for the first time since he was born. We were very excited to not have to travel to Mankato on Thursday and to be able to stay in our jammies.

Niemeyer Family Heading Home

Here is a picture of the five of us ready to leave the hospital. It was quite the process getting everyone prepared for the trip. Ethan had to carry the backpack, Lauren was in charge of the diaper bag, Dad would carry Gavin, while Mom carried the flowers as she was pushed out to the car in a wheelchair. The humorous part was getting Gavin in the car seat. He was feeding quite often at that point, so Mommy had to make a trip to the bathroom (which at that point is not a quick task) nurse Gavin, get him in the car seat not crying, have everyone else suited up and head out the door. We made it all the way home to then turn onto Wood Duck Street when Gavin started crying again!

Ethan's Note to Gavin and Mommy

During one of the few visits that Ethan and Lauren made to see their little brother in the hospital, Ethan found the little white board on the wall and created a sweet note to his brother and mommy letting us know how much he loved us! I know that the stick figure on the bottom is Baby Gavin, but not quite sure what the other picture is...

Visitors and Ready to Go HOME!

After spending a night in the not-so-comfy hospital bed, we were ready to go home. We had some fun visitors on Thursday and Friday before we went home. Auntie Jen and Grandma Mary were present at my birth, Grandpa Oscar patiently waited outside "looking like a deer in headlights" as Dr. Gildner stated. Big Brother Ethan, Big Sister Lauren, Grandpa and Grandma Niemeyer, Marcus and Cousin Parker, Aunt Carmen, Cousins Brock and Brogan, Mayos, Stuewes, Jill Hass, and Glovers came to visit and hold me tight.

Gavin's Birthday

This morning Gavin Michael entered the world. After having contractions since Monday (my birthday) we finally decided on Wednesday evening about 10:00 pm that it was time to go to the hospital. I was concerned that I wasn't really in labor because I was technically still 12 days from my due date. But once we arrived at the hospital, the nurses checked me and said that I was staying to have this baby!! Things progressed in a somewhat textbook manner until about 2:00 am when I was at an almost 8 and stayed there until about 6:00 am. The nurses said that the bag of waters was still partially in tact and holding him in. His head wasn't able to descend until that bag of waters completely broke. At about 6:30 am it did indeed break completely, and for the next 15 minutes I was having to breath through contractions instead of what I wanted to do...PUSH. Finally the doctor arrived at 6:45 am and I told him I had to push and sure enough Gavin Michael was born 6 minutes later!! The doctor (not my OB :( - who had just left for a hunting trip that evening) was parked in a handicapped parking stahl, good thing he didn't waste time driving around looking for a legal spot to park!