Puffs...still a no-go

I have offered Sam a puff several times now and he is still not putting it all together.  He can pick it up off of his tray, it takes him a little while but he can do it.   But he doesn't know what to do with it after he has it in his hand.  He doesn't even put it up to his mouth he just holds his hand out and eventually drops it. 

If you can get him to let you help him get it into his mouth he will eat it, but most of the time he fights you helping him. 

What's crazy is that he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth so I am shocked that he doesn't even attempt to eat it.  I guess it will happen when he is ready, until then we will keep trying every couple of days.

Christmas and more

Sam enjoyed his Christmas gifts once he was "forced" to open them.  He just wanted to get away from Will and go play with the toys he could already see.  He got a basketball goal that cheers and sings for you when you pull down on the rim.  When it cheers he gets so excited, lights up and throws his arms in the air. 

He also got a Weeble tree house and he likes to yank it down on top of himself and turn the music on. 

His favorite toy was a lego teether.  He sat in the floor and chewed on it while just looking at all of his other new toys. 

We have a doorway jumper that used to be Megan's favorite toy.  She loved to jump and spin and jump/spin.  We started putting Sam in the toy a few weeks ago and he liked it but it wasn't a big deal until about 2 weeks ago.  He now loves the jump-jump.  He jumps and spins and jumps/spins and laughs the whole time. 

Sam has graduated from taking baths in the sink because he won't stay seated - he just wants to stand up.  Today he will be getting his first bath in the inflatable tub that goes in the regular bath tub. 

One of the games we play with Sam is to put his burp cloth on his head and say "where's Sam" and he will pull it off and smile/laugh.  Yesterday while playing this game he decided to take off with the burp cloth on his head.  He laid down and started crawling around like a crazy person in every direction - he couldn't see but that didn't stop him.  Will and I were laughing hysterically and when he finally took the cloth off of his head so was he. 

2 new teeth & all about Megan

The two teeth beside (surrounding) the 2 bottom teeth came in today.  I noticed them yesterday and told Will he would be getting them soon and then this afternoon there they were.  It is awesome how fast he cuts teeth and how little they bother him. 

Sam has now decided that he wants whatever toy Megan is playing with.  It doesn't matter if he is playing with his favorite toy, if she grabs something he will go over to her and try to take it away. 

It's my present and I am taking it with me

Our Christmas gifts from Will's parents arrived a couple of days ago.  I put them under the front of the tree, instead of in the back with the rest of the gifts. 

Yesterday Sam made his way over to the tree and grabbed one of the gifts.  I picked him up to move him to another part of the room and he grabbed on to the gift and brought it with him.  When I took the gift away from him it was actually his gift. 

Everywhere

Sam is no longer staying on the carpet in the living room.  A few days ago he decided to explore the edge of the kitchen area and after 1-2 days of that he decided he could go wherever and now he does.  He goes all over the place, looking for toys, chasing me or Megan or daddy or just exploring. 

That barn is too big for me!

Sam was playing with Megan's little people barn, actually they were both playing with it.  Megan was in front of it and Sam was behind it.  Sam decided it would be a good idea to pick up the barn, the only problem with that decision is that the barn is bigger than he is and he proceeded to topple over.  The funniest part was that he never let go of the barn, he just took it down with him. 

He just laid there looking at me, I took the barn from him and he sat right back up and tried to pick it up again. 

Christmas with granny and standing with Megan

Sam visited Santa today and did great.  I didn't think he would have any issues with him, but I guess you never know. 

This afternoon he opened his first presents and had a blast.  He did great opening the paper because he would just grab it and try to eat it.  He got very excited opening his Laugh and Learn puppy but then he just wanted to eat it too. 

After his dinner I was playing with Megan at the coffee table and he wanted in the floor with us so I stood him up at the table beside her.  He stood there for a couple of minutes and then even stood and played with a toy for a couple of minutes.  It was cute seeing them stand beside each other. 

I doubt it but it is possible that Sam said "ba ba" today correctly referring to his bottle.  He was eating but then was just chewing on the nipple so I took it out of his mouth and he reached for it and said "ba ba".  I was shocked and held it there and he said it again.  He did it again with his next bottle with Will but isn't doing it right now with my mom who is feeding him.  So I am still not going to believe it unless he does it again tomorrow. 

I forgot to blog about Sam reaching out for us to pick him up.  He started doing this a couple of weeks ago. 

High knees and trying to get Mandy's toys

This morning Megan had her therapy session with Mandy.  Mandy bring a bag of toys with her for Megan to play with and Sam saw the bag and took off across the room to get them.  I put him back by his basket twice and finally had to put him in the exersaucer to contain him. 

This afternoon while Sam was playing with his basket of toys he really wanted to get his book out of the opposite corner so he pulled himself into high knees to reach it and then just hung out like that and played. 

Tunafish and puffs

After I fed Sam yesterday I sat him the floor and had my lunch which happened to be a bowl of tuna fish.  He sat there and reached toward me and grunted/moaned for my food.  I couldn't believe it.  This didn't start with Megan until much later and Sam isn't even getting "real" food yet. 

I tried giving him some puffs again today. He wouldn't reach onto his tray to pick one up so I put one in his mouth.  He ate it, though he wasn't very sure about it.  He didn't want another one so I guess they go back in the pantry for now. 

Yikes and go Sam!

This morning prior to getting Sam out of bed I checked his monitor to make sure he hadn't gone back to sleep, and this is what I saw....

Sam was sitting in his crib (nothing new) facing the side and then he reached up high and pulled and tried to stand up.  I couldn't tell from the angle if he was on his knees or trying to get there from just on his rear end.  He managed to pick his hiney up off of the bed and got more than halfway up before he fell over.  I couldn't believe it - the kid is trying to pull up into standing. 

I stood him up at one of Megan's play tables in the living room and he had a blast just standing there and was EXTREMELY unhappy when he sat down and couldn't get back up by himself. 

Doing great

Sam is doing great - he was fine 30 minutes after the teeth incident.  The doctor said that the only reason they would need to see him is if his eating was affected - not a problem.

He is now going across the room to get a toy he wants - he is still pretty much dragging his legs but he is very quick.  He is getting into sitting all the time and now doing it in front of me instead of just being sneaky about it. 

He is doing really well playing with Megan - if she starts to get a little too aggressive he just goes somewhere else. 

He is reaching up for things now - not getting up on his knees but reaching with his hands/arms.  If we stand him up in his crib or at the couch he can stand there for a few minutes without help; until he decides to "go" for something. 

Oops...his 2 top teeth are in

I was going to blog today about how well Sam is getting around.  He isn't crawling, but he is pulling himself pretty much anywhere he wants to go.  He is a little reckless though...which is why he now has his two top teeth.

After feeding Sam his dinner bottle I sat him in the floor.  He REALLY wanted to play with Megan's toy that was just out of his reach so he dove at it, head first, mouth open (as he does everything, because he wants to eat it).  Needless to say he missed and hit the toy with his top gums.  His top teeth were going to arrive in the next couple of days - we could see them, they just hadn't broken through yet.  Well....they have now. 

There was crying and bleeding on his part and lots and lots of holding and bouncing on my part.  He was fine as long as I was holding him upright and bouncing.  I put some teething gel on them to try to numb them for him and after a few minutes he was fine and playing happily again. 

He had some blood when his bottom teeth broke through which I thought was strange but evidently happens with some kids.  So he had a little more with the top.  I will call the doctor in the morning to make sure they don't need to see him, but he seems just fine. 

Getting around

Sam is really starting to get around.  He isn't crawling, but he is very close.  He is using his arms to pull himself a few inches to reach toys.  He is also going round and round in circles to get to things. 

Today he got up onto his knees and reached his hands out to pull himself which would basically have been a crawl but he got distracted in the middle and laid back down. 

Sneaky Sitter

This morning I put Sam down on his tummy in the living room floor and went out of the room.  When I came back in the room about 30 seconds later he was sitting up.  It took me a minute to process that he had been laying down.  I put him back on his tummy and watched him for 10 minutes but he didn't get into sitting again.  He seems to only want to do it when I am not around. 

Not to be outdone.....

Today Megan had surgery to correct her eyes.  Sam went with us to the hospital and did great.  He was very happy and pleasant even though he was tired and hungry. 

This afternoon while in bed Sam got himself into sitting.  Will watched him do it on his monitor 2 times.  He has been close before, but it didn't appear that he want to sit up - he was just playing around.  We will see if he does this in the living room later today. 

Up on knees and elbows/hands rocking

This morning Sam got up onto his knees and elbows and rocked back and forth. This is the first time he has done this. He got a good reaction out of me and proceeded to do it non-stop every few minutes for the next 2 hours. Sometimes he is on his elbows and sometimes he makes it to his hands.

He travels backwards while doing this motion until he eventually runs into a piece of furniture and then he just bangs into it with his rear end.

Doing better sitting

Sam is doing so much better sitting up. He can sit for several minutes and even play with a toy while sitting there.

He is "ruining" our carpet because he leaves a trail of slobber everywhere he goes. It is really gross to walk where he has been - I keep a burp cloth with him but it doesn't really help.

Tooth #2

Sam's second tooth came in today. It has been coming up and going back down over the past few days and broke through this morning. So he now has his bottom 2 front teeth.

Crawdadding

Sam has become pretty proficient at "crawling" backwards. He doesn't want to go backwards, it is just what happens. He gets very upset about it because he can no longer reach what he was playing with or going for so I am looking forward to him learning to go forward.

6 month checkup

Weight: 15 pounds 5.8 ounces (gained 1 lb, 4.1 ounces)
Height: 27.5 inches (grew 1.5 inches)

Sam had a great checkup today. He is tall and lean.

Sitting...sort of

Sam can now sit up by himself, but only if I put his hands down on the floor in front of him. So he is holding himself up/stablizing himself with his arms. He can sit that way for a few minutes - he usually falls over because he twists around to look at someone.

Eating and playing more

Yesterday I fed Sam roasted butternut squash and he literally attacked the spoon. He loved it so much he finished the container. He also enjoyed his roasted bananas today - he is finally starting to "eat" more instead of just taking 3-4 bites.

Sam wents nuts with a teether shaped like a foot today. He loved chewing on it and was jumping all around trying to get it into his mouth. He would flip out when he dropped it - we are still working on this.

I pulled out his container of toys today - I have just been giving him one toy at a time, but with the basket of toys we would give him something and then something new and he was so excited. His eyes would get so big and he would start kicking and trying to grab the toy.

First Tooth

We have been watching Sam's bottom gums the past few days. There has been evidence that the 2 front teeth would be showing up soon. This morning you can see a little white line and feel the tooth.

Loving Megan's crinkle block

This morning we gave Sam one of Megan's soft blocks - the one that makes the crinkle noise when you squish it. He LOVES it. He was going crazy squishing it and then threw the biggest fit when he dropped it and couldn't reach it.

On the ride home today Megan threw the block over at the foot of his seat and when he woke up he had the best time kicking it.

Peas!

Sam graduated from just rice cereal to some peas this afternoon. You would never have known that I changed what was on the spoon. We are off to a good start.

Our little fish

We took Sam to the pool for the first time yesterday. He did okay in the cooler water in the outdoor pool, but he had a BLAST in the warm indoor pool. He was kicking and kicking and kicking. I laid him on his tummy coming toward me and he would kick and smile and then get his arms going. One time he got so excited he put his head down in the water and then pulled it back up and looked around like "what was that", but he didn't cry.

We left the pool when his feet started pruning - he would have stayed forever I think.

New way to get a bath

We are on vacation this week, we arrived yesterday. Due to everything that I had to bring with us I couldn't fit Sam's bathtub. I figured I would just use the sink. Well, the sink is so shallow that it wasn't going to work so I had to come up with something else.

I decided to run about an inch of water in the tub and put a towel down. I then layed him down on the towel and just washed him that way. He had the best time. He was so very happy about everything to do with his bath.

After bath time he was still so happy that he just laughed and laughed at everything. It is always fun when he is in the mood to laugh.

Free eye exam

Yesterday we took Megan for her eye appointment. When the doctor came in the room and saw Sam he asked us how old he was and then checked his eyes. Everything looks great!

5 months old and more

Sam was 5 months old yesterday. :-)

Sam has really started going after toys. He is trying so hard to crawl to get to them. He gets his little legs going, but he picks his arms up off the floor so he doesn't go anywhere. He does get very excited when someone helps him to get the toy. Though, he does have a little temper. He gets upset when he can't get to something or when a toy he is playing with doesn't do what he wants. If you tell him "you are okay" he will calm down immediately and even smile at you, but if you don't say something he just escalates.

This morning we tried cereal again and he did awesome. He opened his mouth for the bites and he swallowed what I fed him. Way to go Sam! We are on our way to fun with eating. I will feed him cereal for 2 weeks before we transition to veggies and then fruit.

Trying to escape and trying to use a spoon again

Yesterday I put our "safe" bumper in Sam's crib. This is a breathable/collapsible bumper so that if his face gets smushed against it he won't sufficate and so that he can't use it to climb out of the crib.

We originally bought this bumper when Megan started getting her legs stuck in the rungs of her crib several times a day and the bumper did its job, she never got stuck again. Sam has decided to use the bumper to get stuck. He sticks his legs out of the crib on top of the bumper and then bends his knee. He was doing this already, but I thought the bumper would fix it for us.

I will be working with Sam again this week trying to get him to eat some cereal from a spoon. I am hoping that he will get the hang of it so he can start eating "food" every day.

Missing Megan

Megan came down with a cold on Tuesday night so we have been keeping Sam away from her since then to keep him from getting sick. Thankfully it is working, he is just fine; though he is sleeping more than usual so he may be trying to fight off getting it.

Today Sam was in his exersaucer and Megan was sitting in her music chair 4 or 5 feet away. He would reach toward her and fuss. I think he misses playing with her and getting her kisses. It was very sweet.

I told him that he could get her as soon as she was better.

Bouncing Baby Boy, Laughing & Finding his feet

Sam truly is a bouncy baby boy. He LOVES to bounce when you let him stand in your lap. He just bounces up and down and smiles. We need to get the Johnny Jump Up out and let him go at it.

He is really laughing now. Not just a giggle here and there but seriously laughing and laughing and laughing when he thinks you are funny. Usually he laughs himself right into the hiccups, but that doesn't stop him from laughing more.

A couple of days ago Sam found his feet. He is grabbing them and putting them in his mouth.

Oops - posted in wrong Blog

This was accidentally posted in Megan's blog:

Sunday, September 4, 2011
In the corner and on his head

Sam has been inching/scooting his way into the corner of his crib for a couple of weeks now. The problem is that when he gets there he doesn't understand that there is nowhere else to go. He keeps pushing and pushing with his little legs, cramming his head into the corner. As you can imagine this is not something he enjoys and he screams while doing it. I can go in and turn him onto his back and move him to the other end of his crib and 5 minutes later he will be right back where he was.

This has been an "annoying" problem, in that he is upset and I have to keep going in and moving him back down, but today it became a HUGE problem. Why? Because now when he is in the corner and moving his little legs he is getting his feet under him and standing in an upside down V on his head in the corner. Oh dear! So, not only is this even more upsetting to him, but I wouldn't put it past him to push hard enough to somehow flip out of his crib. This isn't really a danger - it would be an amazing feat, but we are lowering the crib anyway just to be safe. He is so strong, you just can't be too safe.

Cereal - Take Two

So yesterday I tried feeding Sam cereal again and it went so much better. He opened his mouth for the spoon and eventually ate most of what I fed him. At first he was just "collecting" all of the cereal in his mouth. He wouldn't swallow it and he wouldn't spit it out. I think that it will only be 2-3 more days of teaching him and then we will move to him getting cereal with every meal for a couple of weeks and then start introducing veggies.

Cereal and Inchworming

Sam just isn't ready for cereal yet. He is still not opening his mouth for the spoon and I am having to push his mouth open and then work to get the spoon on top of his tongue. It should only take 3-4 days for babies to figure this out and since he hasn't yet it means he is not quite ready. I will try again in a week or two.

Yesterday afternoon Sam started inching along the floor. He was on his tummy and instead of trying to roll over he really wanted to get to a toy. He started kicking his legs and he would move about 1/2 inch forward. He was on his elbows and would put his head down and inch forward. He moved about 3 feet by the time he was done. He looked like a little inchworm scooting along.

Houdini strikes again

Will just went to get Sam up for his last bottle and he was laying on his tummy and his jeans were up by his face. So not only did he get them off but him moved them up by his head.

First cereal

Sam did not enjoy his first cereal. He made horrible faces and spit it out. I know it takes 3-4 days for a baby to learn to stop pushing the food out, but I think it was more than that with him. We will try again tomorrow and see how it goes.

4 month checkup

Weight: 14 pounds 1.7 ounces
Height: 26 inches

Sam got a glowing checkup again today. He is growing well and is a very healthy, happy boy. He had to get 2 shots today and did really well - he cried for about 15 seconds and then he was good.

We got the green light today to start feeding him food. We will be starting with cereal and will build up from there.

On his tummy

When I went in to get Sam out of bed this morning he was on his tummy. He was laying there happily kicking his leg, rocking back and forth.

Kicking, playing and "bonking" himself

Sam is a little kicker. He gets one leg going and just kicks and kicks when he is happy and usually he does it with the opposite leg when he is upset. We have started putting him on a play mat that is motion activated and when the music stops he kicks it to make it start up again.

He loves the new play mat - it is much more basic than his other one, but he prefers the way this one lights up and plays music. It is so cute to watch his little face light up. If the room is a little dark so that the lights really stand out he will start talking and squealing like crazy.

We started putting him in the exersaucer a couple of days ago and he is trying to play with the toys. He can turn on the music and animal sounds, roll the one toy and he is trying to move the balls.

A few weeks ago Sam started bonking himself in the face while he is sleeping. He wakes up and starts screaming - I am sure I wouldn't like getting woken up by being hit in the nose or eye either. It usually takes him a couple of minutes and then he calms down and goes back to sleep. A few days ago he had a really "bad" nap where he woke himself up doing this about 5 times during the same nap. I felt bad for him but there isn't much I can do about it.

Self Burping

Sam has been burping by himself for a couple of weeks now. He does still need assistance with some burps, but for the most part if you sit him up straight he will burp in about a minute.

Moving, playing and making noises

Sam is an active little boy. He is constantly moving his arms and legs and scooting around. He pushes off with his feet to change positions. When I am holding him in an upright position sometimes he throws his head to the side to "roll over" into my arms.

Sam has graduated from his bouncy seat into his bigger bouncy seat. The first one we were using is oval and kindof short. He has gotten so big his feet are hanging out the end of the seat and when the seats bounces it really throws him around (Megan loves to make him smile by bouncing his seat). The seat we are using now has a much better shape and is much longer and much more gentle when it bounces. He loves it. He likes the toys on this one much more than the other one too.

Sam is such a "talker". He is constantly cooing, growling, chirping, squealing and a couple of indescribable noises. He is the noisest when he is playing in the floor and we are talking to him from above.

While I was typing this Will is feeding Sam. He had him sitting on his chest to burp himself (he just burps when you sit him like that) and Will was blinking his eyes at Sam. He was doing it really animated and Sam laughed. It was so cute. Will would blink his eyes and make a face and Sam would laugh, he did it 3 or 4 times.

Cooing and "Arghhhhing"

Sam is such a little talker. He is making so many noises. Tonight Will was saying "arghhh" to Sam and Sam was doing it back. It is so stinking cute. I was able to get it on video and if I can get the video small enough I will post it.

Smiling & Rolling Again

For the past 3 days I have been having a difficult time feeding Sam because after the first couple of ounces he just looks at me and smiles. He can't suck on the bottle and smile at the same time so instead of eating he just smiles at me. It is adorable, but it is making his feedings take a long time. :-)

Sam figured out how to roll over again today - he did it several times in a row and was very pleased with himself. I am happy he has figured it out again instead of laying there and fussing about being on his tummy.

Happy, Happy Baby Boy

Sam is such a happy little boy. He smiles and laughs all the time. He gets so excited when I talk to him that he "throws" his arms around and smiles and laughs. He is intoxicating.

Early morning party

Sam woke up this morning around 4:30 am and started playing in his crib. Yesterday afternoon he learned how to squeal and he thought he would work on his skills for an hour an a half. He was very cute, just kicking his little legs and squealing and laughing. BUT, I would prefer he wait until at least 6:30 am for his next shindig.

Moving around

Sam is really moving around in his crib. He will be laid down in one direction and be going the other direction when we go to get him up.

I think Sam has forgotten how to roll over; instead he just fusses. His pediatrician said that larger babies have a difficult time because they are heavier/large and so maybe that is now the case.

Pouting

Sam is such a little pouter. He will be completly happy and playing and then suddenly he will stick his bottom lip out and pout; which will quickly lead to crying. I managed to capture a pout in a photo today and uploaded it.

Sleeping and sucking on his hands

Sam is loving being in his crib. He is sleeping so great, he barely stirs during the night. I think he enjoys having all of the extra room.

A few days ago he really started trying to suck on his fingers/hands. Of course he doesn't have any teeth yet, but he started getting little dents on his hands. Today he has a few little sores from sucking on them. I had an idea to try the little mittens used to keep babies from scratching themselves (he doesn't have this problem) to see if that will help. I am going to put them on him after his next bottle; hopefully they will stay on.

Moving to his crib

Sam started napping in his crib yesterday because he is too long for his bassinet. Tonight we put him in his crib instead of in our room.

We didn't move Megan out of our room until she was 4 months and planned on doing the same with Sam but he had other plans. So tonight we will have 2 monitors in our room - one for each of our nightstands.

Lots of loving from Megan

Sam has been getting lots of kisses from Megan lately. He is doing so great with her. She will pat him on the leg or hold his hand and he just smiles. She will get his face and he is pretty good with it too until she gets too excited and gets a little rough, but even then he does pretty good with it.

Family pictures, smiling and laughing

Yesterday we had our family pictures taken for the first time. Sam did great. He had such a serious look on his face for several of the photos so we were trying to make him smile. A couple of days ago he had started smiling and laughing when granny talked to him in her high-pitched voice so we sent her in to talk to him. Sam started smiling like crazy and even did a little laugh. It was so adoreable, and thankfully the photographer caught him "in the act" for some good photos.

2 months old & checkup

Sam is 2 months old today. He had his doctor's appointment today and man has he grown. He is now 11 lbs 9.6 ounces and 23.5 inches long. He has gained almost 5 lbs and grown 3 inches since he was 2 weeks old.

He had a perfect checkup and even did very well getting his shots. He is very strong and the doctor said he is at about a 4 month level with his head control and beyond that with his rolling over abilities, especially since he can go both directions when rolling over. He is definitely making progress like he is in a hurry.

He is such a sweet little boy and we love him so much.

Catching up

It has been a few days since I blogged about things so I need to get caught up. Sam is smiling all the time now. He will smile at my voice, or at seeing his daddy or when you play with him.

My mom, his granny (one of them) is visiting us for 2 weeks and she is loving every minute with him. He likes to hang out with her and will follow her with his eyes when she walks around.

He is doing a great job playing on his tummy and keeping track of people as they walk by him. Megan's therapist said he was a very organized baby - meaning he is getting control of his arms/legs, etc.

I have lots of new photos that I will get posted soon.

Intentional playing

Sam is now to the point where is he intentionally playing with toys. He was playing on his mat and reaching for and hitting the toys to make the move and make noise.

Rolling Over...again and again and again

So, rolling over was not an accident. Sam can do it over and over again. We put him on his tummy and he lifts his head way up and then using his leg to get him going he rolls over onto his back. He just did it 3 times in a row.

Rolling over

Early this morning, after the 4 am feeding, Will laid Sam on his tummy on the couch. We lay him down toward the back of the couch just to keep him safe. Our couch leans slightly toward the back. Will went into the kitchen to rinse out the bottle and when he got back Sam was on his back. He had rolled over "up hill" toward the front of the couch.

No more leaving him on the couch.

Officially skipping one nighttime feeding

Sam has been moving toward skipping his 1 am feeding and lastnight slept through it. He is doing so great.

Grunting champion

Sam is a grunter. He grunts at everything all day long. He grunts when he is stirring in his sleep. He grunts when he is waking up and he doesn't want to. He grunts when he is stretching. He grunts when he is eating, burping, trying to avoid burping, getting his diaper changed, taking a bath or playing.

We are not sure why he grunts at everything, but it is his only communication at this point, other than crying.

No longer a newborn

Sam has changed from a newborn into an infant. He is noticing lights, sounds and us. He is moving around a ton.

He is developing his personality, his likes and dislikes. He likes to be held snug against your chest, and patted on the rear end; he doesn't like to be cold and he doesn't like his feet messed with when he is asleep.

He really loves the noises I make with my mouth - clicking, buzzing sounds and especially the one when I put my lips together and make the "car" noise. It is difficult to describe. When I do it his eyes get really big, he raises his eyebrows and turns his head to the side. It is really cute.

He is no longer bothered by his diaper changes. Though he still doesn't like cold wipes.

He is eating 4 ounces a feeding and once a day up to 5 ounces.

Very animated

Sam has so many expressions that he makes. I was finally able to capture some in photographs this afternoon.

4 weeks old

Wow. It doesn't seem like it has only been 4 weeks since he was born. He feels like he has always been part of our family. Time really does fly by and we are enjoying every minute with him.

Doing very well

Sam is doing really well. He doesn't seem more than just mildly bothered by his circumcision.

We had to change his formula a few days ago and also added drops because he had been getting a lot of gas. He is doing great on the new formula/drops combination. I hope we can discontinue the drops before too long - I don't like having to give him meds and he doesn't really like the way it tastes.

Circumcision

Sam was circumcised this morning. Will took him to the doctor for the surgery and he said that the doctor said Sam did great.

I will be happy when he is all healed.

More photos posted

Just a reminder to check the flicker site, new photos are posted.

First real bath

Sam had his first real bath today. We had to wait because part of his umbilical cord didn't come off completely.

He was not happy when we first put him in the bath but then he started to like it.

We were happy that we made it through the entire bath without getting peed on.

Doing better with diaper changes and playing on his mat

Sam is doing so much better with his diaper changes. He is no longer crying when it is time to change his diaper, he grunts a little bit during the diaper change, but calms down as soon as it is over.

I put Sam on a play mat for the first time today. I have been putting him in his bouncy seat or swing for wake time, but decided to give the mat a try today. He did so good on it. He would accidentially hit one of the toys with his arm and he liked the noise it made.

Tummy time

Just a few minutes ago I put Sam on his tummy on a blanket in the floor beside where I was playing with Megan. Unintentionally I put his head facing away from us. He started moving his little legs and struggling to pick up his head. After 3 or 4 minutes he managed to get his head up high enough to turn his head toward us and once he could see both of us he just laid there content.

It was so cute. He laid there watching us for a few minutes before he decided he didn't want to be on his tummy anymore.

Growing....

For the most part Sam no longer fits into newborn size clothes if they have feet in them. He is just too long for them. He can still wear newborn outfits that are 2-piece and some of the bottoms are a little big on him.

He is now wearing 0-3 month footed outfits. We have tons of them so I am glad he can start using them.

Strong little guy

Sam is such a strong little guy. He can "keep" us from moving his arms and legs when he wants to. Obviously we are stronger and could force it, but he locks it down and refuses to move sometimes.

Sam prefers to be on his side - he will turn onto his side anytime we lay him on his back. When we get him up to eat we lay him on his back so he can stretch and he will immediately roll onto his side.

2 week checkup

Sam had an exceptional checkup today.

He weighs 6 lbs 14.9 ounces (that is 11.6 ounces more than when he was born). He is 20.5 inches long.

Dr. Fennell was impressed with him and said he didn't need to see him back until he is 2 months old.

More gifts, umbilical cord, etc

Our elderly neighbor across the street stopped by today with a gift for Sam. It was a very sweet gown - we love gowns, they make it so easy to take care of him in the middle of the night.

Flowers arrived today from my mom congratulating me on our new son, her new grandson.

Sam's cord came off this morning. I was seriously grossed out - I know I am supposed to have some superhero mom powers that make that impossible with my kids; but this umbilical cord thing is beyond my powers. I was grossed out by it in the first place and then today - ugh!

This entry is for dad - he wanted a record: From the time we brought Sam home from the hospital he has pooped with each feeding. Starting on Saturday he stopped doing that and went a whole day without a dirty diaper. Now he has about 1 a day or maybe every other day. Today when Sam had a dirty diaper I waited several minutes to make sure he finished before changing him. I changed him and he waited until I moved the dirty diaper out of the way and it was just the clean one there and then he decided to poop some more - not very much, but still have to change it. About 3 minutes later he did it again. He went through 3 diapers in 3 minutes.

First present has arrived

Yesterday Sam got his first present in the mail. He received 4 outfits from Will's parents. They are very cute and one of them will fit him right now. I washed them today and he will wear one tomorrow - pics to follow.

Kisses from Megan

Megan gave Sam a kiss on the forehead tonight. It was a quick kiss, but she did it. It was very sweet. Of course, no picture of it because I was holding Megan and Will was holding Sam.

Hungry little guy

Sam is such a good eater and he is so, very hungry. The hospital had him eating up to 2 ounces a feeding when he was discharged. It didn't take long, 2-3 days before he was eating 2.5 ounces a few times a day.

Now, he is eating up to 3 ounces at some feedings. Just now he ate 2.75 ounces and was mad that there wasn't anymore milk.

He knows that once he burps he gets more milk so as soon as he burps he starts "rooting around" with his mouth open looking for the bottle; and when you get the nipple close he grabs it with his mouth. He is very agressive about it. It is so cute.

New pictures are posted again

Click on this link to get to more photos of Sam.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62277435@N03/

All things Sam

I thought I would catch up on everything about Sam.

Eating
Sam is a great eater. He is eating between 2 & 2.5 ounces each feeding and doing a great job. Sometimes he is a little difficult to burp, but for the most part it is easy.

Sleeping
Sam is also a great sleeper. He loves to be snuggled up and really warm. Sometimes he falls asleep when daddy is holding him just because he is so warm.

Diapering
He is not fond of having his diaper changed. He knows when it is coming and starts getting a little fussy. If you talk to him before and during sometimes you can keep him from crying, but for the most part he cries when you change his diaper. I don't blame him.

Pediatrician Appointment

Sam just got back from his first dr appointment. He got a clean bill of health. He does not need to go back until he is 2 weeks old - yay!

He did such a good job at the dr - he doesn't like being cold and he really doesn't like having his diaper changed so the fact that he was mostly naked the entire visit was a big deal. He cried but he did calm down when I started talking to him.

Day 2 at "home"

Sam is an awesome baby. He is doing so great. We are purposefully not being the slightest bit quiet around him so he will be used to noise and he is great with it. We ran the dishwasher yesterday and I think it is the loudest one I have ever heard, he didn't even flinch.

He is starting to be awake for longer periods of time.

He has his follow-up appointment with a local pediatrician tomorrow to get weighed and checked over to make everything is good. He was 6.3 lbs at birth, 6.17 at discharge so we will see where he is tomorrow.

He's "Home"

Sam was discharged to us at 11:00 am this morning. We love having him with us all the time. He has eaten twice and done great both times.

We gave him his Easter basket which of course he didn't care about. Next year will be a different story.

Another visit

I went back to the hospital by myself this evening so that Will could stay at the hotel and feed Megan dinner and put her down for the night.

I really enjoyed just getting to hold Sam and snuggle him. He held onto my fingers most of the time. Such a sweet, sweet baby.

Can't wait to bring him "home" tomorrow.

2 days old

Sam is 2 days old today. He is sleeping most of the time.

Nichole "messed with him" to get him to wake up and open his eyes. I managed to get a decent photo of him with with his eyes open.

We introduced him to his big sister Megan today. She wasn't impressed, she just wanted to take his blanket. We plan on introducing them further once he comes home from the hospital and we can do it in a safe environment.

Sleepy little guy

We finally made it to the hospital around noon yesterday. Megan wasn't allowed in the maternity room so Will and I took turns going back.

I went first and was able to hold him for about 10-15 minutes. He was sleeping and just snuggled in my arms. By the time I let Will back he only got to hold him for a few seconds before the nurse took him away.

We are excited to get back to the hospital later this morning to spend more time with him and for Megan to get to meet him. Nichole got permission for Megan to be in the room today so that they can spend some time together.

He's Here

Sam was born around 6:30 or so this morning. I will input the correct time once I know it. He weighed 6 lbs, 3 oz and is 20 inches long. We both got to hold him for a little bit - he is very sweet.

First Easter Basket

I went to Walmart last night and bought Sam his first Easter basket. I was going to wait to make sure that he would be here for Easter, but then I didn't want everything to be gone.

I got him the cutest brown bunny basket with some blue grass and a giraffe rattle, a blue puppy teether thing, some keys, a cute bib and of course a Reese's peanut butter egg (for daddy). Megan got candy in her first basket too for daddy to eat.

Sam's first picture

This is the ultrasound photo from one week ago. There was one taken prior to that, but we don't have a copy of it yet.