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3 weeks old

Samuel turns three weeks tomorrow! He went for his two week old check-up last week and his doctor said that he is doing great. He weighed 5 lbs. 14 oz., so he is really getting up there! We were glad to hear it, but not surprised because all he does is eat and sleep. However, he is starting to wake up more and more each day. When he is awake, he looks around, really checking things out. His cute little faces are my absolute favorite thing to watch...when he rounds his tiny mouth into an "O", I can hardly stand it! He also does a half smile quite often, which is also adorable.

Samuel has had an exciting couple of weeks, other than getting his heel pricked at the doctor's office. I think any new mom can attest to the sheer torture of watching that! Samuel had his first visitor from someone his own age- Anna Claire Carpri. She is an older woman by six days, but they do not seem to mind. Anna Claire is our dear friends, Carrie and Tony's little girl. No pressure for future dating, of course. The next day, Samuel got to have his first outing and go to his Nana and Pop Pop's (Jeff's parents) for dinner, where he met his Mimi (Jeff's grandmother) for the first time. This was a very exciting day for all! He watched us all very intently through dinner and did not like it when he was put down. There were too many people to justify his not being held! Then he was held once again, mostly for an entire weekend when my parents, Bibi and Poppy, came for a visit and then Maw Maw, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Barbara, Aunt Tina, Nikki and Landon the next day. He was quite the hit being so adorable and cuddly. It is wonderful to watch how much he is loved! He loves getting to meet all of his new friends and family.

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Baby Samuel!

Baby Samuel arrived! He was born on October 8, 2008 at 6:36 p.m. He weighed 5 lbs. and 9 oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long. He is the most amazing thing! We were all surprised when he arrived 4 weeks early, but I guess he was ready to enter the world. I woke up that Wednesday morning with bleeding, but honestly thought nothing about it. I knew the doctors would want to check it out, but I figured I would be going home in a couple of hours. When I got checked, I found out I was 3 cm dilated! Dr. Brown said that I would be having a baby that day. I felt very overwhelmed, worried and afraid he was too early. She was concerned because the bleeding had not slowed down, so at 1:30, labor was induced. I had a really difficult time laboring with Pitocin and at 8 cm opted for the epidural, which was heavenly relief! Around 4:30, I was fully dilated and ready to push. Dr. Brown could see Samuel's head, but he was not budging. I had been pushing for 2 hours when she decided to try the vacuum. When he still did not budge, she used forceps and pulled him through the spot he was stuck on. All of a sudden, he was there! I cried instantaneously and was so ecstatic he was there. Jeff and I could not believe how quickly we fell in love with him.

That was a week ago today and he is doing great. He eats well and sleeps most of the day. Jeff was off until yesterday and was so sad to return to work. I cannot imagine having to leave him. We can just sit and stare at him all day!