Friday, March 27, 2015

Samuel Teddy Bear~ One month

Time continues to fly by and I can't believe Sam is 2 months old already. I'm still trying to get my blog all caught up so here's Samuel at One month old. He's so small still in these pictures and it cracks us up the way he poses like the bear. Oh man I sure do love this little bear of mine.



And who doesn't love a baby dressed as a bear? Thanks to his amazing Aunt Rachel for making the crochet beanie, Sam could look like one of the bears too.



Wednesday, March 18, 2015

A Meet and Greet

Living in Utah, miles and miles away from my family, has been hard. I was made hyper-aware of this after Samuel was born. I wanted all my family to meet and love on him but that's hard when we are a state away. Gratefully, my dad recovered quickly and they made a super quick trip up just to meet Sam. We felt so loved and special that they would be willing to drive up and back down in two days time just to snuggle with their littlest grandbaby. (My parents are probably going to hate me for posting these pictures but it was the first time they got to hold Sam and I'll hold these close to my heart for forever.)



But luckily we managed to make a trip down to Henderson before Sam was a month old. He got to meet my sisters and their families and my brother. Speaking of meeting my brother, I wish I had had my camera at the ready but I captured the picture mentally of my not so little brother holding and rocking Sam much like Ben used to rock him. The moment was made all the more sweeter by my dad coming over and peeking in on Sam in Trevor's arms. I could just feel the love these two amazing men have for my family now including my little Samuel and my heart about burst.

And some how we managed to get a picture of these three cuties all together. Katie's Layla was born in March, Lauren's Cheyenne was born in November and Sam was born in January. So my parents had all three of us girls have a baby in a years time. It would have been pretty cool if I had had a girl as well but my little guy will be the perfect balance to these two drama queens. I hope they are the best of friends.

One of my most favorite moments while we were in Henderson, was having my grandpa hold my Samuel. Sam is his 13th great grandchild and the first to have his name. I knew from the second I knew I was having a boy, that he was going to have either Mac or Teddy as his middle name. My grandpa's name is Teddy Mac. Mac was the early pick but once we settled on Samuel, Teddy was the perfect fit and I couldn't love his name more. I love how all my kids' names have such special family meaning. But seeing my little miracle Samuel Teddy being held by Grandpa Teddy truly was amazing.
Also while we were down south, Sam was loved on by my cousins, several ward members, and my dear friend Liz and her family. It was so special to have so many people who witnessed or were a part of our fertility struggle love on my baby. I can't wait to visit again.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Samuel Teddy Bear~ 1 week old

Once we decided on using Teddy as his middle name, I became obsessed with Teddy bears and using bears for Samuel. I'm tracking his growth every month by taking pictures next to this Teddy bear. He is one week old in these pictures. He still hadn't lost his umbilical cord stub. He's so little! But I'm really ok with him growing and I'm excited to see his growth next to this bear. My precious little Samuel Teddy Bear.



Sunday, March 15, 2015

Meeting the Big Kids

We got home from the hospital while the older kids were still in school. Ben's mom and sister, who were up stairs, came down to visit and then Ben left to grab a few things for me. He got home just before the kids did and did a good job of capturing their emotions when they first met Samuel.

They each took turns holding him and love in the room was thick enough to touch.

This little guy went from being the youngest brother to a big brother and he was so excited.

This fertility journey was not just my journey, it was shared with Ben and the kids. We prayed together for a new baby, we were heartbroken together when I had a chemical pregnancy, we were overjoyed together when we saw the ultrasounds and we cried together when he was finally home. Those big kids of mine sure have experienced a lot with us in those years and I know it made us all so much more grateful for Sam's safe arrival. Soren even bore his testimony recently and cried tears of gratitude over finally having a little brother after so many years. It was such a tender moment.I sure am grateful for the love and help these kids provide me and their little brother.


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

His Birth Story

Sam's birth story is very special to me. He was my second fastest labor but the first one that Ben and I welcomed on our own. My parents had planned on coming up so my mom could be with me but my dad was having some medical issues of his own. He ended up having a stint put in the same morning I was having Sam. We really need to stop having medical procedures together. Gratefully my dad is doing much better but it made it so they couldn't travel quite yet. Ben and I are a really good team and did just fine by ourselves. 
We arrived at American Fork hospital by 7:00AM and got put in a room and the induction process started. I was so grateful for my awesome nurse who made us both feel at ease and helped make me not miss my mom as much. Naturally my blood issues gave them all cause for concern and then to top it off my blood pressure was high throughout as well. I was already dilated to a 4 when I was first checked and then they started the pitocin at 8:00AM. The doctor came in and broke my water and the contractions started coming. I was trying to go without an epidural and breathe through them but it got to the point where they were right on top of each other and I was getting no breaks. After a couple hours of this I decided I couldn't do it any longer and requested the drugs. They checked me again and I was between a 5 and a 6. By the time I laid back down after the epidural was placed I was feeling so much pressure and so the nurse checked me again and I was at an 8. My contractions were so strong and coming so fast that the epidural couldn't get ahead of the pain and it took a while before I got any type of relief. The epidural did help bring my blood pressure down. The doctor was worried that I would need magnesium to help with my blood pressure and it was a serious concern but luckily it went down to a safer number. I finally felt some relief from the epidural but it was short lived. I started feeling a ton of pressure and soon needed to push. I was at a 10 and ready to go. The doctor came in and had me start to push but he became concerned about my clotting issues and how high the baby still was. He decided to let me just hang out and let my body work the baby down with the contractions. I, however, was not on board with that plan. It felt better to push, so the nurse let me do little pushes to help ease the pain and pressure. Through these pushes, I managed to turn Sam from anterior to posterior and bring him down to crowning, all in about 15 mins. The doctor came back in and after a little bit longer pushing, Sam was born at 12 noon exactly. He was immediately placed on my chest and Ben cut the cord. Ben stood my side throughout the whole process and was so supportive of me. He talked me through the pain and encouraged me through the pushing. And managed to keep all of our family updated and take pictures too.


One concern I had about my mom not being with me was who was going to take the picture of my baby on the scale. She has taken that picture for all of my other 3. Well Ben knew my worry and was right on top of it. Sam was a very nice 7lbs 10oz. and 20 inches long.


After he was weighed and measured and wiped down a bit, they put him right back on my chest for some skin to skin time. It felt amazing to have this precious miracle fresh from heaven so very close. He stayed there for a couple hours before they took him to the nursery to get cleaned up. Ben got to go with him and watch him get his first bath and do the footprints. I stayed behind and was cleaned up myself and then moved to my recovery room.


Soon Ben wheeled my little Samuel into the room and I lost it. He was just the cutest thing with a head full of blonde hair and I was so overcome with emotion. Ben and I had a quiet moment to ourselves and said a little prayer of gratitude. It was finally sinking in that we had another baby after all those years of trying and our hearts were full.


Throughout our hospital stay, every single person who came into our room commented on his hair. He was all the talk in the nursery too. No one could get over how much hair he had and what a light color it was.


We stayed 2 days so that I could continue to be monitored because my blood pressure was still a little high. They diagnosed me with gestational hypertension. The only downside was that the hospital was not letting any kids under 14 visit due to the cold and flu season so we couldn't have the kids come see their new little brother in the hospital. It did, however, give Ben and I lots and lots of time to just enjoy and love on our new baby by ourselves.






Like a first time mother, I rode in the back with Samuel on the drive home. He cried some but seemed to enjoy the vibrations of the car. We didn't sleep much those first few nights as we tried to adjust to everything but I can't imagine him not being here and I am thankful beyond words that he arrived safe and sound.