Time for me to say something real about my life...

This is my last weekend with my little Sammy before needing to go back to work. I can't seem to stop crying. We decided going back was the best thing for our little family, but I am so upset about it. I waited 5 years for my little baby, and suffered through a loss of a baby which was beyond horrible, and now I need to hand him over to someone else to get to enjoy all his sweet little moments with and to give all his cuddles to. I feel like I am going to miss out on so much. It doesn't help that I hate my job and am dreading the time there. It makes it that much harder to be having to spend so much time away from my Sam and to be giving up being his mom.

Two month old Sammy

 

WEIGHT: 12 lbs. 15 oz. (54%ile)

LENGTH: 25 inches (100%ile)
HEAD CIR: 16.9 inches (100%ile)

He wears size one diapers. He is in-between sizes on his clothes... newborn are getting a little tight, but 0-3 month still are pretty big on him.

After his mama got mastitis, Sam decided that nursing was just not for him, so we are exclusively pumping and bottle feeding. He eats anywhere from 3 to 6 oz. about every 3 hours.

Sam went on his first airplane trip this month, and did great! Mama and Sam flew to Albany, New York so Sam could meet his Grandpa Jeff. Sam slept the whole way there and the whole way back, and played in the airports. Couldn't have asked for a better traveler.

Sam LOVED meeting his Grandpa Jeff. He took quite a few amazing naps on his chest.

He loves to smile and talk to us. He is pretty playful in the mornings right after he eats and gets his diaper changes. We will get a good couple of hours of Sam just talking and smiling and kicking his cute  legs.

He got blessed this month!!!

Sam has the most amazing smile and loves to show it off as often as possible.

He has started spitting up more.

He is still really gassy, but is doing a much better job getting it all out :).

Sam chocks a lot while eating. Wish we could find a way to fix that.

He loves car rides, as long as the car is moving. Anytime we stop he starts to complain. He definitely lets us know what he likes and doesn't like.

We took Sam grocery shopping for the first time this month.

He loves to hold his arms in the cutest little pose. He looks like he is boxing or superman, or an archer.

Sam hates tummy time. We only make him do it for a few minutes each time, and he gets so mad!!!

He is sleeping really well. We usually only have to get up once in the night to feed and diaper change.

Sam is very finicky. He likes things a certain way and gets mad is we do it any different. We are starting to learn his likes and dislikes.

He is chunking up. We are loving having a baby with cute little baby rolls. We couldn't ask for a cuter baby. Our neighbor, Katie, is so cute with Sam. Last night she said he is so cute he should be a baby model. Haha! Sam is pretty adorable!!!

We adore our little Sam. Can't believe we get to be his parents.

One month check-up...

Today Sam had his one month check up. He weighs 9 lbs. 8 oz, which is in the 38th percentile. He should be gaining at least 3/4 of an ounce each day, and Sammy is gaining about one ounce per day, so we are doing great! Sam was significantly tongue-tied, so Dr. Esser clipped his tongue. It was pretty stressful for Lyle and me to watch, but I think Sam will be so much happier. He seems to be doing okay, though a little fussy and sleeping a lot. Hoping he'll be feeling better tomorrow.

Sam at his appointment

 Sam eating right after his tongue was clipped, for comfort. Love his hand next to his face. So glad I pumped and brought a bottle.

Sam is ONE MONTH!!!

Can't believe my baby is one month old already. Time is flying by way too fast. I am loving being this sweet little guy's mama. He is everything I could have hoped for. Love him so much.

WEIGHT: 9 lbs. 8 oz. (38%)

He just switched yesterday from newborn diapers to size one. The size one are HUGE on him, but he was having too many leak outs with the newborn size.

He is in newborn size clothes. They are still pretty big on him.

He nurses about every 4 hours, sometimes 5 in the middle of the night after a good feeding. It takes him about an hour to nurse. He has a bottle of breast  milk about every 3rd feeding.

He was pretty significantly tongue tied. He got it clipped in the pediatrician's office at his one month appointment, and was a champ while they were doing it. He also got his stitched removed from his head at that same appointment.

So far, he has been visited by Grandma Cindra, Aunt Amy, Aunt Natalie, and Grandma Sandy... along with numerous friends.

He has been out of the house so far for a couple of walks, trips to the doctors, the Wisconsin State Fair, and a trip to the Zoo for Lyle's birthday.

From almost week one, he has made good eye contact, and gives great genuine smiles. We love when we get really big giggly smiles. He has a great dimple to show off with those fabulous smiles.

Sam is full of fun facial expressions all the time.

He is REALLY gassy. The first few weeks he was really fussy because of it, but it is getting better.

He loves to have his arms free. He is a major wiggler. We only swaddle his arms down when he is having a really hard time sleeping. Otherwise, we swaddle him with his arms out since he loves it so much.

He hated his first traditional bassinet, but loves the new one we got him, which is a Fisher Price Rock 'n Sleep. He kicks off the end of it to rock himself and then giggles. It is pretty awesome.

He is super strong!!! Holds his head up like a champ and stands up when we are trying to burp him.

He gets the hiccups almost every time he eats.

He is not a spitter-upper. He only has spit up a few times, but has thrown up twice.

He is a Frank Sinatra fan. It always calms him down when he is over-tired and needs to go to sleep.

He LOVES staring at the posters on our wall and the ceiling fan in the kitchen.

We call him Sammy, Bud, Boo, Bear, and Boy.

We love his so much and are so excited to have him in our little family.

Lyle loves the zoo...

Today is Lyle's 31st birthday!!! Every year we go to the zoo for his birthday. This year is special because it is also Sam's first trip to the zoo, at 3 weeks old. Lyle's mom is in town visiting Sam, and so we got to have her with us, also. The weather was perfect and we had so much fun.

Finding the perfect bed...

Sammy has had a hard time sleeping at night. He gets horrible gas pains... makes me so sad. The bassinet has been particularly difficult. He hates it!!! We've been having him sleep in his bouncer, and he seems to do better in that, though not great. We decided to ask our neighbors, the Brunson's, if we could borrow their bassinet to test it out. Sam loved it, so we bought him his own. He was giggling when we put him in his for the first time. He learned quickly how to rock himself in it by kicking off the end of it. He is a very clever little baby. Love him!

Bouncer

 New Bassinet

A log of my labor adventure...

Due Date: Saturday, July 6th. No baby.

Tuesday, July 9th

6:30am: Woke up thinking my water had just broke. Yay!

8:10am: Went to my doctors appointment... water not broken :(. Just leaking cervical fluid. I am dilated to 1cm and 30% effaced. I am scheduled to be induced on Sunday... hopefully Sammy will make an appearance before then.

Thursday, July 11th

10:10am: Went in for an ultrasound to check on the baby. Everything looks good except there is a little fluid around the heart. Doctors think he is probably okay, but decided to go ahead and induce to be safe. Got wheeled over to labor and delivery.... I always feel to awkward in wheel chairs.

During the ultrasound they estimated baby to be 8 lbs 11 oz. we'll see if they are right.

1:00pm: I am all hooked up, and they placed a tablet to try and thin my cervix. 1 cm, 30% effacted, -3. It will be a long labor, I am guessing.

5:30pm: Dr. Lund came in and checked me. I am now dilated to a 1.5, 60% effaced, -1. I got a second cervix tablet. Another 4 hours before I get checked again.

10:00pm: I got checked again. Now I've dilated to a 3.5, 70% effaced, -2. They are now starting me on Pitocin.

Friday, July 12th

2:00am: The contractions are getting bad. :(

4:00am: The epidural is in. Pain is mostly gone. Yeah!! I can still move my feet.

5:00am: I got checked. They said that I was at a 3, and at 70%. They decided to break my water because the babies heart beat was dropping. The fluid was thick due to meconium.

6:00am: They reported that the heart rate was doing great now.

8:00am: The epidural wore off and so they came in and up the dose and gave me more. Feeling good now.

8:30am: His heart is doing things the nurse doesn't like, so they put me on oxygen and are giving me some more fluids.

9:00am: His heart rate keeps dropping dangerously low, so they have started having me flip from side to side on the bed, to try and move the baby away from the umbilical chord and increase his heart rate. My legs are dead from the epidural, so they keep flopping around.

10:30am: Flipping isn't working, so they have started preparing me for a possible c-section. Dr. Lund is holding off as long as possible, hoping things will kick in. There are twins being born c-section right now, and he is planning on calling c-section if things don't improve by time the other c-section is finished. The anesthetists have been doing ice tests to see if the epidural is ready for a c-section. It is not, so they are coming up with a plan. It is only in my legs, and they need it up to my waist. I am surprised it is killing the pain, since it is so low.

11:00am: Things have gotten really bad. Baby's heart rate is really low and not coming back up. They have put me on my hands and knees on the bed, and have a monitor hooded up to the baby's head. I am still at a 3 and 60% and the baby has not come down into the birthing canal.

Dr. Lund called an emergency c-section. We couldn't wait any longer. While wheeling me back to the O.R., the anesthetist, Dr. Rock, tried to up my epidural so it would move up to my waist. I felt it moving up to my waist, but then it didn't stop. It kept going, and by time a was in the O.R., I couldn't move my arms and it was getting hard to breath. When they rolled me over onto the operating table, I couldn't breath at all anymore. I mouthed to the anesthetist that I couldn't breath, and thankfully she saw me. She started breathing for me, and then called for them to put me to sleep. Next thing I know I am waking up in my room with my mom, and told baby Sam was here! Yay!

11:31am: Sam Austin Christiansen was born. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz, and 20.25 inches long. Dr. Lund came and talked to me and told me that Sam was in the NICU, and would probably need to be there at least a week, because he aspirated some meconium. He also was being rolled into surgery because his head was cut while doing the c-section. Surprisingly this didn't stress me. I was sure everything would be okay.

8 hours after Sam's birth, I was able to go down to the NICU to see and hold him for the first time. To be able to go down, I had to be able to walk from my bed to my wheel chair, and not get dizzy doing so. I got sooo dizzy and nauseous, but I didn't say a thing because I had to see my baby. I couldn't believe my baby was so cute. I held him for 15 minutes until I got too dizzy and tired and needed to go back to bed. I am so in love with my little guy and so excited to be his mama.

Monday, July 15th

Today I got to take my sweet little guy home earlier than expected. So excited to be home with him where I can spend all my time with him, and don't have to travel the walk back and forth from the NICU and my hospital room. We are so happy to have Sammy in our lives!!!

I love being pregnant....

I am officially full-term today. 37 weeks! Here are some highlights of my pregnancy with our little baby boy:

LOVE LOVE LOVE being pregnant.

Got pregnant on our second round of IUI and 6th month of Clomid. Lyle and I tried for about 4.5 years to get pregnant. We were successful once before, but it ended in an ectopic. I am so happy this pregnancy has made it!!!

Doctors: Dr. Michael Lund (OB), Dr. Paul Robb (Infertility), and Dr. Estil Strawn (Infertility), Lyle has been making jokes the whole pregnancy that Dr. Strawn was going to turn out to be the real father, since he inseminated me.  He always puts his fist in the air and says "Stttrrawwwnnn!!!!"

Day I found out I was pregnant: Morning of October 27, 2012… right before I went over to a friend's house to prep for the ward halloween party. I dressed up that night for the party as a pregnant girl, since I was so excited, but couldn't tell anyone yet. 

I was 100% sure we were having a girl, so I was pretty shocked when they said it was a boy. We have decided to name him Sam Austin. Sam because we like it, and Austin after my sweet nephew.

Some of my cravings: Martinelli's, Whatchamacallit Candy bars, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Grapes, McDonald's hamburgers and french fries, Whoppers candy, Nesquick Chocolate Milk and Pirate's Booty.

Lyle's favorite craving story is that I HAD to have some Martinelli's, so he drove all around looking for it, and bought me 4 bottles. I took one little sip, and said I couldn't drink anymore because it made me sick. He ended up having to drink all 4 bottles. Haha! Pregnancy cravings are weird!

Favorite part: Feeling the baby wiggling around, and having a cute round prego belly

Least favorite part: Pelvic pain, acid reflux, sneezing a lot and clogged ears. 

Other Facts:

I had plecenta previa and was put on pelvic rest for about 6 weeks. Fortunately, it corrected itself.

Dr. Lund could always find the heart beat super easy early on, so he would say our baby should be an Obstetrician when he grows up.

Names we call Sam: Sammy, Sailor Sam, Samurai Sam, Sammy Bear, Little Boo

The baby moves around ALOT. He is very wiggly!!! He likes to stick his little bum out and so my whole belly will go lop-sided. Whenever Lyle tried to feel him move, he stops. Lyle must have a calming effect. I hope that keeps up after the baby is born.

So excited to meet our little Sammy Bear in just a few weeks!!!