Thursday, June 30, 2011

Samuel & Danielle side-by-side

Some pictures of Samuel

Samuel wearing one of the onesies Aunt Shawna sent (thanks for all the clothes sis!)
Sleeping:
Sleeping on Daddy, with a smile on his face:
Getting a bottle from Daddy with Danielle's help. Samuel's been nursing anywhere from 10 to 14 times a day, so I haven't gotten a chance to pump much. The past few days he's going a bit longer between feedings, so I may get to make more bottles. That would be nice, not just for the flexibility for me, but because feeding him is probably the best way to bond with him right now. Danielle definitely responded better to Ryan during the times we gave her more bottles.

Monday, June 20, 2011

I'm behind on pictures, already. Here are some of Samuel from his first two or three days.





Friday, June 17, 2011

Baby Samuel

Samuel Ryan Ray was born on Wednesday, June 8 at 2:45 am.
He weighed 8lb, 14 oz and was 21" long.

I started having some back pains after my 39 week appointment, and by Monday night they were happening every time I stood up. I found out the next day (the 7th, my due date), that I was actually having contractions. They became regular around dinner time, and Ryan took me to the hospital around 7:30 Tuesday night. My parents watched Danielle, which was awesome.

I got an epidural (yay!) and we dozed off for an hour around midnight. Samuel was delivered at 2:45, after only about a half dozen pushes. The doctor remarked that he had a large head, and one of the nurses called him a "Double Whopper with cheese". He is about a pound and a half bigger than Danielle was, but still seems like a tiny little newborn to me. His toes are incredibly long though!

We are home and doing well. My parents left shortly after we got home (my mom had been here helping for 3 weeks already) and Barbara came by for most of the weekend. It was wonderful to be surrounded by family and to have so much help. I am still adjusting to having a very active 2 year old and a frequently nursing newborn, but it's going better than I expected. Samuel seemed to have his days and nights mixed up for the first 3 days, but has been doing great the past 3 nights. He has been sleeping 2 to 3 hours, eating, and then sleeping another 2 or 3 hours and last night he even slept for 5 hours! Ryan is home on paternity leave and I am getting to catch up on sleep. He is also cooking dinner and doing most of the chores and taking care of Danielle (including potty-training her!) so I can focus on nursing and bonding with the baby. I am so lucky and grateful beyond words that we got to have another son.