Our Hospital Stay

My hospital stay with both of my boys have been filled with such special memories. Every time I drive past the hospital where they were born, I can't help but smiling and thinking of the sweet moments we shared in that building.

Samuel was born early Thursday afternoon and we had a steady stream of visitors that afternoon and evening. My parents and Nathan came of course and my grandparents and aunt drove up to meet Samuel on the day he was born.

Matt and Erica came up that afternoon too.

And Erica brought Samuel's first birthday cake. She did the same thing for Nathan. She is the sweetest friend, and that cake was out of this world, it was so good.

Later that evening we finally moved from the labor and delivery room to a postpartum room and welcomed a few more friends. We had a crowd in our room at one time (nine of us including Samuel), and Matt missed taking pictures of a few of them. It was so fun introducing Samuel to our friends.

Samuel did really great his first night with us. Matt and I both managed to get a couple hours of sleep. 

Mom and Barry and Nathan came back Friday morning to spend some time with us and bring us breakfast.

Matt's parents came to visit and spent Friday afternoon with us.

Nathan came back that evening to show Samuel what a cool big brother he is!

We had another great night in the hospital Friday night. Our second night in the hospital with Nathan included no sleep for anyone, so we were prepared for a rough night, but Samuel did really well giving us a chance to catch up on a little sleep.

We hung out on Saturday waiting for the doctors to discharge us. It seemed like a constant flow of doctors and nurses coming in and out with discharge papers and information. It was a little hectic. We finally were ready to go about 1:00 that afternoon.

We packed the car, changed Samuel into his going home outfit, snapped a few photos, and headed out on our new adventure of parenting TWO kids.

Such special memories with our newest little guy!

Brothers

I was really looking forward to seeing how Nathan would react to meeting his baby brother. We had been talking about Samuel for months, but I wasn't sure how much Nathan really was understanding. He came up to the hospital Thursday afternoon to see his brother for the first time, and it was such a special moment for this momma.

He ran in and as soon as he saw Samuel, he exclaimed "baby, baby" and ran over to him smiling and laughing. It was so sweet. He brought the little giraffe he picked out for Samuel during his big brother day and laid it right on top of Samuel and then kept saying "baby, baby" over and over.

I don't think he stopped smiling the whole time he was in the hospital room. I'm sure it helped that the room was full of visitors and he got to share the spotlight with his baby brother. Matt and I had gotten him a big brother present that he got to open at the hospital, so he played with that and showed off for all our visitors.

He never forgot about Samuel though and kept going back to him to love on him. He has continued to be super sweet with Samuel and is still crazy about him. He hasn't shown any jealousy issues or anything yet. I know that it helps that Daddy has been home to help, so he's still getting a lot of attention, and my parents have been good about entertaining him too.

It's really apparent how much he loves his little brother. It's a joy to watch him interact with Samuel. He's been really good with him and has done several sweet things for his brother since we've been home from the hospital.

If he hears Samuel crying, he'll say, "Uh oh, cry" over and over. He has to make sure I know that Samuel's crying.

He wants to hold Samuel all the time. He'll come up to me while I'm holding Samuel, reach out his arms and say, "Hold you, hold you." Then he'll smile and laugh while I put Samuel in his lap. He'll just look at him and smile, pat his head, and give him kisses.

He likes to share his toys with Samuel. I've caught him putting his balls and stuffed animals in Samuel's bed with him. Samuel was covered in toys. He also always has to know where Samuel is. If he can't see him, he ask over and over for Samuel until we show him where Samuel is.

The other day, Matt had gotten up with Nathan and Samuel and I were still sleeping, when I heard Nathan running down the hall yelling, "Samuel, Samuel." He came in our room carrying Samuel's blanket and giraffe and laid it in his bassinet.

  

 When we gave Samuel a bath, I pulled up a chair for Nathan so he could watch. When I started washing him, Nathan acted concerned, hopped down from his chair and ran off to the bathroom. He came running back holding his wash cloth, because he wanted to help wash Samuel too.

I put Samuel in his crib for a nap for the first time, and Nathan grabbed his stool and carried it over to his crib so he could watch him. I stepped out of the room for a few seconds, and when I came back, Nathan had put one of Samuel's blankets in his crib, along with a Bible, and wet wipes. He's always watching out for him, just like a big brother should.

I'm praying these two brothers will be close friends as they grow up and will always be there for each other. I've heard that one of the best things about having two kids is watching them interact and play together. It's already been so special to watch Nathan love his brother, and I can't wait to watch them interact as they get older.

Samuel's Birth Story

My due date was Sunday, March 10, so Matt and I were getting pretty anxious to meet our little guy. Nathan was a few days late, so we weren't too surprised when my due date came and went, and we had no baby in our arms, but each day just felt like a long waiting game. On Wednesday afternoon I started noticing some contractions. They weren't painful, but were happening pretty consistently about every 4-7 minutes. I had been having a few earlier in the week, but they usually went away after an hour or so. These were sticking around, but were not getting any more intense or frequent, so I wasn't sure whether I was really in labor or not. We continued our evening as usual. We took Nathan and Rhapsody to the neighborhood playground, ate dinner and did Nathan's normal nighttime routine. I had a suspicion we might be heading to the hospital later that night, so I took extra time savoring my sweet Nathan as I rocked and read him stories. After he was asleep, I cleaned my bathroom. Matt helped too, so it didn't take long. That sounds silly now. I had planned to do it during Nathan's nap earlier that day, but I hit a wall of exhaustion when I put him down and took a nap instead. Looking back, that was probably a good decision to get a little added rest for what was to come. I was feeling good that evening, so I decided to go ahead and get it done so that in case we did need to go, it would be clean when we got home.

I was still having contractions at 9:00 Wednesday night, and Matt and I talked about whether we should go to the hospital. I think our decision was complicated by the fact that I had tested positive for Strep B bacteria and would need antibiotics during labor to ensure Samuel didn't contract it when he was born. My doctor had encouraged us not to wait around at home when I went into labor since I needed the antibiotics and my labor and delivery went so quickly with Nathan. If I hadn't tested positive, I'm sure we would have stayed at home and waited for the contractions to intensify, but we decided it would be better to be safe than sorry and finished packing our bags to go to the hospital. My parents came over to get Nathan and Rhapsody, while Matt loaded the car.

 We got to the hospital about 10:30 that night. We settled into our room. At that point I was dilated to a 4. I was a 2 on Tuesday at my doctor's appointment, so it was nice to know I was making some progress, but we still weren't sure I was in active labor. We hung around the hospital that night. We walked around for about an hour, hoping the walking would help me progress. About 1:00 that morning, I noticed that my contractions were slowing down. I was disappointed, but it did enable both of us to get some rest. We dozed for a couple of hours. At about 2:30 that morning I hadn't made any further progress, and the nurse called my doctor. Dr. Sanders wanted to go ahead and admit me because of the positive strep test, and told me if I still wasn't progressing in a few hours, they could start some Pitocin to help me along. I was more than willing to stay. I had been really worried that we would get sent home from the hospital because nothing was happening, and although Matt reassured me that it would have been fine even I wasn't admitted, I really didn't want that to happen.

 We filled out paperwork, and the nurse started my IV, and Matt and I were able to rest for a couple more hours. At around 8:00 the next morning, I still hadn't dilated any further, and they added some Pitocin to my IV. I noticed my contractions becoming a little more painful, but they were still not bad at all. My parents and Nathan stopped by for a few minutes. It was good to see my little boy for the last time before he became a big brother.

The doctor came in around 9:00 and broke my water, and then things picked up a lot. Breaking my water really helped me progress. The contractions quickly intensified. I was dilated to a 5 and asked for an epidural. The hospital was really busy, so the wait for the epidural took longer than I had hoped. My contractions were pretty painful, but thankfully they were also short, with enough of a break in between that they weren't too unbearable. Matt and I were both ready for the epidural when it came. I got my epidural a little before 11:00, and life was good again :). Matt and I have both said over and over how wonderful we think epidurals are. In the process of getting the epidural I had progressed to a 7, and less than an hour later I was ready to push.

The nurse told me that I got a good epidural because I was still able to move my legs pretty well and feel some pressure which helped with pushing. My doctor came in around noon, and I pushed for about four contractions before Samuel made his debut at 12:16pm. One reason I wasn't too disappointed that Samuel didn't come early was because my doctor was out of town until the day before his due date, and I really wanted her to deliver me. She told us we won the prize because we waited for her to be back in town, delivered during daylight and not during her office hours :).

I forgot how special that moment is when I got to see my baby for the first time. It's surreal and so emotional. We were instantly in love with our boy.

 Samuel's birth story is another testimony of God's goodness to our family. Any experience that ended with a healthy baby in our arms would be a wonderful story, but after concern for several weeks during my pregnancy that I might need to have a C-section, we were especially grateful for another great labor and delivery experience with our second baby.

 Although my labor started out slowly and we probably spent more time in the hospital than we needed to, it was obvious my body was ready to have a baby. It was a little shocking at how quickly things progressed that morning. I don't think any of us thought after the slow start that we would be welcoming a baby so early in the day. Matt and I are so grateful for another great labor and delivery experience. God has been oh so good to our family.

One interesting thing about Samuel's birthday is that both Nathan and Samuel were due on a Sunday and they both arrived the following Thursday (4 days past due). If we have more babies, I think Matt and I have learned our lesson to not expect them to come on time :). They are certainly worth the wait though!

Welcome Samuel!

For this child I have prayed,

 

 and the Lord has granted me

 

 the desire of my heart

 

 1 Samuel 1:27

Samuel Jacob Baugher 

3-14-2013 12:16pm

8lbs 13oz, 21in

22 Months Old

Nathan,
You are 22 months old. I was thinking the other day that it's time to start thinking about your 2nd birthday party! You have the best personality, and your Daddy and I just think you are the best little boy in the whole world.

You say "Hold you, hold you" when you want to be held. We are trying to correct you and say, "Hold me." You also say it whenever you are holding something and don't want to put it down. You say "mine" all the time too when you have something you don't want to give up.

When we ask you to point to something, you'll point to it and say "right there"

Anytime we leave the house, you like to take toys with you. You'll grab a book or a stuffed animal or a car or train, sometimes all of the above and carry them all to the car. It's the same when I put you to bed. You like to take a book or toy with you, and when I go to get you up, you fill your arms with everything you can hold in your crib- several paci's, blankets, stuffed animals, books. It takes awhile for you to grab everything you need without dropping things.

The other day, you found a belt in your closet and you thought it was a dog collar. You ran to find me, yelling "puppy" and I got your stuffed dog out of your crib. Then you grabbed my hand and led me to the laundry room to get Rhapsy's leash. I put the collar around the dog and attached the leash, and you drug it all over the house, saying "Walk, walk." It was so cute, I love your imagination.

You can count to five when prompted, or at least you will repeat the numbers as I say them. You try to hold your fingers up too as you count, but you're not quite coordinated enough.

You are also working on learning your colors. You usually say anything is blue if we ask you what color it is, and we have to correct you, but when you feel like cooperating you can identify your colors.

We've made some major progress in potty training this month. I'm sill not pushing you or putting too much effort into training you, since I know there will be a few weeks after Samuel's born when I won't have the time or energy to work with you consistently, but I really think you are close to being ready. You pee pee on the potty several times a day. Unless you have just gone in your diaper, you almost always will pee pee when you sit on the potty. You have mastered the skill of "going on cue." Stickers are a huge motivation for you. You love your "choo choo" and Cars stickers and get one of each, each time you go on the potty. Now we just have to get you to figure out how to hold it until you are sitting on the potty. Somehow I think that will be harder, but I do think you'll be potty trained in the next few months. Your daddy and I are certainly excited about that!

When I ask you to say Nathan, you point to yourself and say, "Me, me." You won't ever say Nathan though. If I ask you what your name is, you say, "Papa." You are a silly little boy. I also ask you want to do sometimes and you will almost always say "papa." Sometimes you'll say "slide" when I ask you what you want to do.

We have started singing Jesus Loves Me every night before bed. Hearing you sing is the sweetest thing in the whole world. Most of the time you're just humming along with me, but I can make out you saying, "Yes," "me," and "Bible" when we get to the chorus. Seriously, it's the sweetest thing.

Whenever you want to do something that we tell you not to do, like getting a paci out of your bed or getting into a drawer you're not allowed to open, you will point to us and say, "Go, go." You want us to leave the room so we won't stop you from disobeying. The funny thing is if we do leave, you'll get what you wanted and then run out and show us laughing the whole time. You're not as sneaky as you think you are!

I'm wondering if you are starting to sense that change is coming to our family, because you have been more clingy and cuddly lately. You have asked to be rocked before naps for the last couple weeks, and it's been months since I've rocked you when I put you down for a nap. You are also wanting to be rocked longer at bedtime, and I can never say no, when I hear your sweet voice say, "rock, rock, rock." Your cuddles are the best thing. Now I'm getting to the point to wondering each night if it will be my last bedtime with you as an only child, and I just want to hold you and cuddle you all night.

You are wearing 2T clothes, a size 5 diaper, and size 6-7 shoes. You still love your Thomas the Train shirts and Cars jammies. You ask to wear them everyday. Papa Joe found you some Cars shoes the other day, and you love to wear those too. They're not really my style for what I'd like you to wear, but they make you so happy, that it doesn't matter.

Your obsession with trains continues. There are a couple of Thomas the Train books in the church nursery, and the workers tell me you carry them around and read them all the time. You are also really into cars and trucks and "vroom" them all over the house. You like to play with your big blocks, but I think you like the tub more than the blocks. You'll take all the blocks out and climb in the tub. I'll put the lid on top of you and you'll kick it off and squeal with laughter. You ask to do it over and over.

I can't believe that the next time I write a monthly post about you, you will be a big brother. I know you'll be a great big brother. Samuel is blessed to have you as his older brother.