6weeks check up

Well I got the clean bill of health from the doctor today, and also a warning about making sure we use birth control unless we are ready to give Samuel a sibling already. I can't believe six weeks has passed already. These have been some of the best weeks of my life. Being a mom is such a wonderful blessing, and I love it more and more each day. Sam is now 6lb 11oz!!! He is getting so big

My actual due date

Today is the day that Sam was supposed to be born. I am so happy that he is already here and home with us though. Hard to believe he is already 5 weeks old. He is now 5lb 6oz, and getting cuter every day.

Wash me mommy

We gave Sam a bath in the kitchen sink today, he wasn't overly impressed although he didn' t cry. He did pee though:) He doesn't seem to mind the water but he hates to be cold, hard to keep this skinny little guy warm.

My first playdate

My friend Maria came over today with her twins. They were born in April at 31 weeks and were small too. They are growing so quick. It was Sam's first official playdate. He wasn't overly impressed though. It was just a good photo opportunity for us mom's.

Tea Party

We went to our first tea party today. Sam's cousin Allayna has an annual tea party before school get's restarted. So today after our doctor's appointment we went to T+T's for the party. Sam weighs 5lb 4oz. He is so alert now and slept very well last night. It is hard to believe how big he is getting.

Finally Home!!!

We are home!!! I am so absolutely thrilled. It has been a crazy ride through this pregnancy and now to bring Samuel home is a dream come true. Thank you God for this miraculous little boy. He is 4lb 6oz today. Eating every 1 and 1/2 hours around the clock, which is quite draining but it is wonderful to be up with him and know that I am the provider of his nourishment. I am what he needs. We are also adding the breast milk fortifier to my milk for the extra calories which will hopefully fatten him up quickly.

We finally transferred

Hanging out with my dad

It is so nice to be closer to home. It is wonderful to be able to keep Sam in the room with me all the time and to know everyone that is caring for him. It is great because family and friends can come see us easier too. And he has the best doctor in the world caring for him here. And now there is less time wasted for Matt traveling to see us.

Auntie Tracy in the NICU

Auntie Tracy came to see us today. It was so nice to have another smiling face. She couldn't believe how small Sammy is as her kids were both over 8 lbs and Jacob was 11lb 2oz. She is super woman, I can't even imagine having an eight pounder never mind an 11 pounder. Sam is doing well. We are now breastfeeding, he isn't quite strong enough to get all the nourishment he needs right from me but then I am able to pump and give him that as well. The IV should be out of his head tomorrow, which I can't wait for. And then hopefully we can transfer closer to home.

Jaundice

Well we are getting closer to being able to go closer to home. I can't wait. We haven't had an episode of bradycardia or apnea in two days, so we may get to go to the H. Hospital on thursday. Sam is now jaundiced so we are now sunbathing. He seems to love it. It is sad to not be able to hold him though. And his poor little feet are so black and blue from all the blood draws that they have to keep doing. He is starting to eat well, finally. They think he was doing so poorly because I was on magnesium and that just makes everyone feel crappy.

NICU

It feels like we might be here forever. The MD says that every time Samuel has an episode of bradycardia or apnea then he will have to stay for 5 more days. I am hoping that we can get transferred closer to home. We are starting to feed him and it is going okay, but sure is slow. He is down to 4lb2oz. They are giving him IV fluids to keep him hydrated. He is so cute and I am so in love with him.

He's Here

Our boy has arrived. Unfortunately he was 5wks early and has had some difficulty figuring out how to suck, swallow, and breath when he needs to. His heart rate has gone down a couple of times, so they are also concerned about that. Everything was so scary. I went to the doctor and found that my bloodwork was really bad, and my blood pressure went through the roof. Hard to believe that there was no blood pressure issues the entire pregnancy and then the day that my blood pressure goes up it is severe enough to have to induce. They said that I had severe pre-eclampsia and HELLP syndrome. They rushed me from our local hospital to a larger hospital where there were all kinds of specialists. I was told by a couple of people that work there that I was the sickest patient that they have had in years. Leave it to me:)

So this little guy is officially Samuel Lee and was 4lb 5oz and 18inches long. They also said that there was probably a small issue with my placenta because he should have been at least 5 and a half pounds. The NICU is wonderful and we are so blessed to have them caring for him, but I sure do want to take him home.

Bedrest is almost done

I saw the doctor today and can come off bedrest in 4 days, when I hit 35wks. I can't wait. Six weeks of bedrest is absolutely maddening. But thank God I am almost done. We celebrated the 4th of July with me reclining but at least outside. I am so ready to be done with bedrest. The nursery is finally done. The crib looks great, my grandmother got us a beautiful crib. I can't wait to put Samuel in it.

Visitors

Thank God for visitors. If it weren't for friends and family I think I would go nuts with all of this bedrest. My friend Maria came over today with her twins. They were born at 31wks and are doing so well. I will be 32 wks tomorrow, so it is nice to see that even if the baby came over he would do well like Maria's two babies. I have been seeing the doctor and being monitored for ctx just about every other day which at least is a change of pace. Only a few more weeks....

More bedrest!!!

Well it has been a few days since I have written. Last week on tuesday (the day I hit 29wks) I was at work holding someone's leg while she was pushing. I am not quite sure how it happened but I was kicking in the stomach, and needless to say went into labor. I guess I was kind of in denial as I kept working for the rest of the night and thought I was just sore. I told my boss in the morning and she told me to go down to the ER. The ER then sent me back up to OB and they put me on a monitor and found that I was contracting every two to three minutes. Well after constant monitoring and meds I am home and on strict bedrest. I had another ultrasound to make sure the placenta was still okay and it is. So the next few weeks are not looking too promising, but whatever it takes to make this little guy okay is worht it

Ron and Denise Reception

Yesterday we had a reception in order to honor their wedding as well as the birth of their beautiful daughter Dasanee Shari. Dennis is home, which is such a wonderful blessing. It is so nice to have our whole family together. It was bittersweet as he left yesterday afternoon and now who knows when we will see him again. We are hoping to see him before he goes back to Iraq in the fall.