Samuel's 2 Month Check Up

The smallest member of our family checked out just fine today.  He weighed in at 13.1 lbs {80th percentile} and was 22 3/4 inches long {45th percentile}.  He had three shots this trip which he was not impressed with.  After getting home and getting his first dose of pain reliever he promptly fell into a restless sleep. 

 

2 Months

Wowzers what a day.  Nothing terribly exciting happened but I feel like I am floundering in the seas.  I feel a bit...directionless, I think is the adjective I'm looking for.  There are so many things on my "not so important list" that I feel like I need to get through before I can focus on the "more important" things and I'm having to let go and freshen my perspective - and that is a work in progress.  I want to be an awesome mom to my kiddos way before I want to be an amazing laundress, so why do I insist on putting my laundry first every day??  Well, for starters, I'd drown in clothing if I didn't put it first sometimes, but there is no reason to put it first every day.  So this is me making a resolution to put my girls before my laundry tomorrow...and the day after that.  By Saturday I'll probably have to put the laundry first temporarily or I'll find Claudine digging through my drawer for socks again.

And yes, I said "girls".  G and Elizabeth definitely need some of their mama {or at least, their mama needs some of them!}.  A certain little blessing gets plenty of his own time in.  Speaking of which, here's and update on our growing 8 week old baby boy!  Eight weeks.  Two months.  No matter how you say it I already feel like I'm losing the war with the grains of sand in my hands.  Time is already slipping away. 

Samuel is not a great sleeper but it's improving.  In this photo I was apparently so desperate to get away unnoticed that I lay him in his pack n' play with the boppy pillow still under him.  Picture me getting out of the rocking chair, walking over to the pack n' play with the pillow still around my waist with him on it and then ever so carefully bending over the side to lay him in there.  Yep.  Desperate.  :)

Hanging out on the changing table while that goofy lady takes more pictures.

 

Samuel with his koala at 2 months old.  He and the bear are still pretty much the same size.

Getting more alert and curious every day.

The kids are really loving that Samuel is starting to interact with them.  His coos and smiles keep them all coming back for more.  I've also been pumping occasionally to let one of them feed him a bottle.  Geralyn got a turn today and made it about 3/4 the way through before she got bored with it.  Still pretty good for her and she was excited to do "her turn".

Smiling for his big sister G.  He seems pretty drawn to her and she gets the biggest reactions from him so far.

It started as a small smile and then it grew!

I LOVE THESE KIDS!  Looking at them I suddenly understand those silly princesses who just burst into song in the cartoons G watches.  These guys make me want to sing my heart out!

Eli had to share his Lego Spiderman with Samuel for the pictures.  I thought it was a sweet gesture!

Does anything say "love" more than this?  Izzy adores her baby brother.  I think the feeling is mutual!

Happy 2 months little guy!

Samuel's Baptism

We had lots of family come in for Samuel's baptism on Sunday.  Mom, Nana, AJ, Sydney, Adam, Grandpa and Grandma Stein all came to town on Saturday.  Sunday morning was a perfect day for a baptism!  Here's Aunt Renee {godmother} holding Samuel after Mass.

Me with AJ {godmother}.

A cool fact:  Boppa was actually there via face time all the way from Togo!!!  Thumbs up to technology for that one!

Oils and Water.

Samuel afterwards with Father Kevin.

The seven of us with Father Kevin.

The seven of us with Samuel's godmothers and Father Kevin.

Eli got to blow out the Easter candle. 

Samuel with his Great-grandma Stein at his reception.

Here are a couple pictures of Samuel in his baptism outfit.

We felt very blessed today surrounded by our loved ones!  Congratulations to our sweet Samuel Leroy!  We love you!!!

Ash Wednesday

It's Ash Wednesday.  My kids don't totally get the gist of it yet but as I tried to simplify if for them I told them, "it's when we begin the count down to Easter, like Advent for Christmas".  That Claudine and Eli seemed to understand anyway. 

We talked once about sacrificing something or "giving something up" for Lent but when Claudine suggested she'd give up school and Eli suggested he'd give up running in the street I decided to let that sit for the time being.  :)  Instead {at Jason's suggestion} we're going to pray a decade of the Rosary each night as a family.  I'm also personally doing a couple extra things.  I'm going to make sure I drink at least four bottles of water a day and I'm not going to check facebook for the next 40 days {this one was also J's suggestion but I think it has merit}.  My hope is one, I'll improve my health by drinking more water and two, I'll spend less time on the computer by passing on facebook.

We started off our Lent by attending Ash Wednesday Mass this morning {also the Mass Claudine and Eli attended with their classes}.  Here's Samuel at five weeks old with his first ashes.  I'm so excited for his upcoming baptism!

 

Home With You

I guess I should maybe start a few days back...Samuel had his first bath by mom who was assisted by Big Sisters G and Elizabeth.  {Fascinated little helpers they were too!  Iz was a little disappointed that Samuel didn't splash more...}  Since I don't trust either of the mentioned parties anywhere near my camera, the pictures present are those from a later bath, taken by dad, who I trust a little more.  ;)
Here he is mad but getting clean.

Then we tried out his first cloth diaper.  We still have some disposables but I figured I'd better get into practice for those late night changes!  We didn't start cloth with Iz until she was about 4 months old, so diapering a newborn has been a little trickier.  {They're smaller with skinny little chicken legs and very squirmy.}  We must be doing something right though because we haven't had any leaks!  So four cloth diapers {the prefold kind} into the day I'd say we're doing pretty good!  UPDATE:  Day number two of playing with our cloth and I broke out our bumGenius stash {these are the ones I'll use at night because I'm faster with them}.  They're suppose to fit 8 lbs and up but I was skeptical about how they'd fit.  Again though we are five or six diapers into the day and haven't had any leaks.  {Seriously, we have more leaks with disposables in this house than I ever have with our cloth!}

The next is a first for Samuel and me.  Iz was about 7 or 8 months old when I bought a Moby Wrap from a friend {but she was big enough by then I never really used it with her}.  We have something coming up and I wanted to get a little practice in before the event.  So today, I pulled up a how-to video and with four kids watching, tried it out.  It wasn't bad.  It certainly feels secure enough and Samuel didn't seem to mind it.  My only question is how can I possibly nurse without taking the entire wrap off???

New for Samuel but certainly not for J.  J has always been in charge of the Tummy Time in our house and picked it up again like yesterday was Iz's last time.  So far Samuel doesn't seem to mind it.

On a more sad note for this mama, is the idea that all of Samuel's firsts are probably our lasts.  A 6th pregnancy is not life threatening to me and another baby at this point - but the surgeries are taking a toll on my body.  Jason and I were already pretty sure we were ready to slow down or stop completely but after hearing Dr. F's report on my insides we are more certain than ever.  I know it's the wise choice but it still makes me sad to leave this chapter of our lives behind.  Cheers to the future and whatever it may bring us {hopefully a trip to Disney for our kids and their mom and dad's return trip to Scotland!!!}.

I am so far behind on blogging.  You'd think as much time as I spend on the computer {due to what feels like constant nursing sessions for a growing baby boy} I'd get more of it done, wouldn't you?  Ha!  Miss G is holding Samuel at the moment so let me see how much of this I can pound out!

Here is Boppa getting in some last snuggles with Samuel. 

Eli had another wrestling tournament on Saturday February 9th.  He was just coming off a week of being sick and I'm sure he wasn't at 100% but he came out with a fighting spirit.  He won one and lost two but he was never pinned and never gave up.  He also had a crowd cheering for him.  Nana, AJ, Sydney, Aunt Shelly, Boppa and Grannie all came to watch him.  Here's AJ snuggling on Samuel.

Izzy loving on her baby brother.  Two and a half weeks in and he is still the first thing she asks for when she wakes up in the morning.

Jason found this amusing the other night.  I was nursing Samuel {left} while Izzy nursed her "Samuel" {right}.  All of her dolls are named "Samuel" now.

Sweet Samuel sleeping.  Everyone asks how he's sleeping.  Good and "bad".  His best sleep times are usually 15:00-19:00 and 03:00-06:00.  By "best" I mean I can lay him down in his pack n' play and crash until he wakes up.  The rest of the time I lay him down and it's a race to get something done or sleep before he stirs - which never feels long.

Eli doesn't ask to hold Samuel as often as the girls but I try to make sure he gets to when he asks.  Last night he was holding him while I was picking up the house and while I was putting something away in our bedroom I heard him talking to his baby brother.  Not the random things the girls say about how cute he is, but really talking.  I only caught part of it so I when I came back in I asked him what he'd been telling Samuel.  "I was just telling him what sports we could play together when he gets big enough," was Eli's response.  I could not be happier that Eli finally has a brother.

Samuel doesn't get quite the free floor time the other kids ever got.  His time has to be squeezed in during naps or rest times - and that's if he's awake to enjoy it at all.  :)  Here's our bright-eyed 2 week old boy!

Izzy spending a little time with Samuel on the floor.  I'm pretty sure Iz has a picture in her scrapbook just like this but with G laying next to her.

Samuel is all "official" now!  He finally made The Wall.  Jason also got his Mother Teresa print hung up in the boys' room too.  May all the angels and saints be watching over our little ones!

While I was in the hospital with Samuel, Claudine made flowers for the both of us.  It was a very sweet gesture from her and I wanted to make sure she knew how much it meant to me.  I hung my flowers up with their other artwork and I hung the flowers she made for Samuel {his were smaller than mine} from his pack n' play's mobile.  She definitely noticed because she went back and hung them differently later, but I think she was pleased. 

Izzy's nursing expertise is growing.  Today she went and retrieved my nursing cover out of the diaper bag and began to "nurse" her baby.  Her baby must have been fussing a little because she started jigging and "shh-ing" the baby shortly after.

I love how big this girl is getting having a new baby to care for.  She's been acting quite grown up.

48 Hours Fresh - Andrea Rodger Photography

Andrea has taken pictures for us before and I always love them so when she asked if we would be willing to let her try something new I was more than happy to say yes.  :)  Here are some pictures from Samuel's "Fresh 48" session {think less than 48 hours old} done at the hospital. 

I saved my favorite picture {and Andrea's too} for last.  Andrea was super and oh. so. patient.  Samuel had just been circumcised less than 30 minutes before she arrived.  So when she got there, she found her subject already less than pleased and not in the most cooperative mood. 

Here's to remembering and appreciating every moment!