A Week of Firsts

Today, Andrew took his first bottle! Mary left me at home for a while with Andrew, which left feeding duties to me for the first time. I don't have any pictures for a very good reason -- he hated it!! He cried and screamed and yelled from the very bottom of his lungs. After an hour long fight, Andrew finally gave Daddy his victory and sucked down the bottle in record time.

Of course, almost everything Andrew does at this point is firsts, but some moments are just great to witness, such as his first bath this past Wednesday. He may get angry later for posting pics and video on the internet, but for now, I just had to share!



Andrew didn't see eye to eye on this whole bath thing. Needless to say, his "squeaks" are gone!

Family Picture

Finally, here is a family picture on a nice Michigan spring day



Here are a few funny shots of my boy. I put him in his swing and he looked quite possessed...truth be told, he was letting out a few toots and seemed shocked by this :)

Jaundice

Our poor little baby! At his first doctor's appointment, they said his jaundice is getting worse. When he was released from the hospital after birth, Andrew was an 8, which is borderline jaundice, but now he is a 17.5. That means the lil fella needs to be wrapped in a bili-blanket at all times and needs to have his blood drawn every day until his jaundice is gone. Mary says he's a little trooper, though: didn't even cry when the doctors pricked him for some blood.

The bili-blanket makes him look like a glow-in-the-dark baby!!

First Videos

A video of Andrew just a few hours after birth:



Mary and I like to call Andrew "our little squeaker" because, until he found his lungs, he would just squeak instead of cry!

Hospital Visitors

Grandma and Grandpa Huizinga were already waiting at the hospital. They came in from a flight from Texas, only to be surprised at the early news!

After a few quick phone calls, a very anxious Grandma and Grandpa VanderKamp (who just coincidentally happened to be in the area, yeah right!) rushed to the hospital to hold little Andrew. Soon after, some of the aunts and uncles and cousins and friends came, too.

ANDREW JON HAS ARRIVED!!!

He's here! Our little miracle from God has arrived!!

Andrew Jon was born on April 7, 2010 at 5:54 PM, weighing in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and 20" long.

Mommy was 37-and-a-half weeks pregnant when her water broke at 11:30 Tuesday night. Since this is rare to break your water before contractions start, both mom and dad were confused! But a quick call to the doctor assured us Andrew would be born soon.

This picture to the left is the first picture taken of Andrew, barely 5 minutes old. Mommy delivered Andrew herself (with the help of a staff of doctors and nurses in the hospital room!) and put him right on her chest. Andrew didn't even cry! The bond was immediate and we all fell in love instantly.