This boy owns my heart – all 11 lbs. 10 oz. of him.
STRONG BABY!
Sam at One Month
Sam was one month old yesterday!! Happy Birthday Samster!
The month has been a combination of passing very quickly (as in, where did the time go? It’s 3:00 and all I’ve done is held the baby all day!) and feeling like Sam has always been in our lives. I remember J described it as “not remembering a time when I didn’t love Clare” after she was born. Now it’s the same with Sam. How were we ever a family of three? Obviously we were missing someone.
At one month old, Sam continues to be a sweet, mellow, cuddly baby. He loves almost nothing more than to snuggle close to someone, though he is increasingly showing a preference for me. I think this is because he doesn’t want to be far away from his food source 🙂 I write he loves “almost nothing more” than cuddling because what he loves most of all, and I mean MOST of all, is eating. He’s my little piglet – he snorts when he eats. I think that Clare was calling him “piggy” the other day. I’m not sure if this nickname will stick (or if we really want it to – it might not sound like a nice thing to call a ten-year-old) but for right now Piglet seems to be Sam’s nick name (besides Samster).
Besides eating and snuggling, Sam is growing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a baby grow this quickly. He’s now very comfortably wearing his 3-month size clothes and even some 3-6 month size outfits. It’s such a difference from his sister, who was my skinny little bird for her first six months. Sam is a bruiser, already.
He’s starting to sleep better at night (hallelujah!), and will settle down for the evening between 10 and 11. This is a little late for me, so generally I feed him and then pass him off to J for the final snuggle down. Sam still wakes up for a feeding at about 1, but it’s becoming shorter and shorter and he goes back to sleep right away. Half the time I’m able to get through this feeding half asleep. I’m hoping that in the next week or so he’ll just skip his feeding all together. The 4 am feeding is still a bit of a gamble – sometimes Sam wants to look around, wide awake for about an hour or so after this feeding (super fun, since Clare usually wakes up within an hour after we put Sam down making for some very short nights). All in all, we are sleeping more if not sleeping well. After Sam’s 4 am feeding he generally will not lay back down in his bassinet and will only sleep snuggled up next to me. With Clare I was very concerned about co-sleeping (dangerous! starts bad habits!) but with Sam I enjoy the extra cuddling. He likes it too, and will often scoot towards me if I try to move away.
One of my goals this week is to get some good pictures of him while he’s awake. He does have some awake, alert times during the day and I haven’t gotten good photographs during these times. He’s focusing on our faces and also on distant objects and tracking our movement. I’m dying to see his first smiles! I’ve seen some “sleep smiles” and he’s soooooo cute when he does that. I can’t wait to see them when he’s awake.
Companion
Here are a couple of cute Clare stories from the last couple of days:
- For a few weeks now Clare has been requesting that we sing “the companion song.” I had no idea what she was talking about but when I told her I didn’t know the song she gave me her best two-year-old “Duh Mom” look. I asked Adam and at school if they knew this song, and none of them did. Finally one night before bed J was singing Sweet Baby James to her as part of their bedtime ritual. When he got to the line of “his horse and his cattle are his only companions” Clare got really excited and cried out “Companions!” at the top of her lungs. So we finally solved the mystery of the “Companion Song.” Now it’s been in heavy rotation in the McPherson family sing-a-longs.
- Yesterday I put up Clare’s play tent in her room and we got into it for a little make-believe play. I followed her lead entirely and we “got in the car” to “drive to Old MacDonald’s Farm.” While “driving” we talked about the chickens, goats and horses we were going to see. Once we “got there” Clare led us out of her room to the living room where we sat on the ottoman and “rode the horse!” This game, and all of the various pieces that went into it, were entirely Clare’s ideas and I just went along for the ride. It was so fun to watch her imagination lead us through the different tasks.
- The other day J was trying to motivate Clare to get out the door in a timely manner by singing “Fly like an Eagle – To the Sea” like Steve Miller. Now every time we are leaving the house Clare starts “flying” around “to the sea!!” It’s actually served to be a pretty good motivator to get her ready (which can sometimes be a battle).
Sam at 3 Weeks
Just look at the cheeks on that boy! He’s also sporting a serious double chin and some delightful little rolls on his neck, arms and legs. This kid loves to eat and is growing sometimes before our eyes. I regularly pick him up after a nap and think “he’s bigger!” I’m not exactly sure what his weight is, but I’m guessing he’s approaching 10 pounds. By comparison, I wrote this post about Clare at three weeks where I was proud that she weighed 7 lbs 4 oz. Such a huge difference between these two kids already!
We’ve also discovered that Sam HATES to be swaddled (which we finally learned after a very, very long night… baby boy is stubborn and, apparently, so are we) but somehow loves to be snuggled up in a tight baby carrier. We’ve acquired about 5 baby carriers now, with 3 that are in regular rotation. Sam likes to be held all of the time, so a carrier is essential for getting anything done. Not that I mind spending the whole day rocking my baby boy, but it’s nice to get laundry and dishes done 🙂
Samster is still very sweet, but he’s getting a little bit fussier as he’s getting older. This is to be expected as he’s getting closer to that 6 week fussy time. He’s pretty easy to calm down, but we do spend more time walking/rocking/shushing/wearing him these days. I also think he has a touch of acid reflux so we’ll see if that gets worse as he gets older.
Giving Thanks
We’re having a really low-key Thanksgiving at our house today. I’m still in PJs at 1:30 and dinner is slowly coming together. It’s pretty nice, especially since both J and I are really tired. Someone, who weighs about as much as a small turkey, thinks that he needs to eat every three hours around the clock and then will only go back to sleep if he’s being held by someone (usually me). I’m thankful to have such a sweet and healthy baby, but I would be especially thankful for more than 2.5 consecutive hours of sleep.
J took this picture about a week ago. Every time I look at this picture I giggle because it looks EXACTLY LIKE JEREMY. Seriously, I swear this child is part mine even though it doesn’t look like any of my genetics made it into him. He is pretty cute though…
I’ve captioned this picture “One Sleepy and Two Sillies” – but J reminds me that he’s Sleepy as well. So caption the picture whatever you want 🙂
We spent last weekend with my parents and on Sunday morning Clare convinced Grandpa to get out the Russian stacking dolls for her to play with. They were pretty cute stacking them all up together, and I love this picture because it looks like Buddy is playing with them too. I think he was waiting for them to turn away so that he could chew one of them…
Sleepiness aside, being a second-time Mom means that I know that this phase will pass. In a few short weeks Sam will start sleeping longer (hopefully!), and in a few short months he will be sitting up, rolling over, crawling, and doing everything except snuggling with Mom for hours at a time. When I look at my healthy, active, sassy daughter I remember the days when she was my “doll baby” and how quickly that time has passed. We are a blessed family to be together on this Thanksgiving with two healthy children.
A few blessed moments I want to remember:- Clare leaning over a sleeping Sam and then looking up and saying “Sam is beautiful.” Yes, yes he is – and so are you my Sweet Girl.
- Clare being our “big helper” and assisting me give Sam his first bath in the baby bathtub (no pictures – it was all I could do to wrangle both kids!). Sam loved the bath, so we’ll be doing that more frequently (with J taking pictures).
- Clare’s overall ease and enjoyment of being a big sister. She’s been amazingly patient with us when we need to take care of the baby instead of her, very giving with sharing our attention with the baby, ad generally the best big sister two-year-old we could ask for. She really loves the baby and has welcomed him into the family better than I could have imagined. It’s so heartwarming to watch and makes me really excited to watch their relationship as they get older.
Sam at Two Weeks
These are a few pictures that Adam took of little Sam when he was two days old. Below we have a few pictures from the last few days, so compare how the lil’ guy is growing and changing already.
At two weeks in, Sam is still very into eating and sleeping. I went back to re-read some of the blog posts from Clare’s early weeks and there is a dramatic difference between the two of them already. This makes sense, of course, since they are two different people but it still surprises me. For example, Clare loved a good, tight swaddle in order to relax and sleep. Sam HATES to be swaddled and will spend twenty minutes breaking out of one Incredible Hulk style. This is impressive because J can put together a seriously tight swaddle. Sam likes to have his hands up by his face, but more then that I think that he hates to hold still. He’s a very physical, kinetic little guy who is always moving. Like Clare, however, he loves to be snuggled and cuddled.
Sam is starting to become more alert and aware of his surroundings. Clare was alert from Day One, but I have to remember that she was born at 41 and a half weeks. This means that at birth she was about two and a half weeks more “cooked” than Sam. That said, Sam is bigger now than she was at a month old. On Monday he tipped the scales at 8 lbs. 6 oz. That’s a good five ounces over his birth weight. He’s just about outgrown his newborn clothes and sleepers. This doesn’t surprise me, since he doesn’t go more than 3 hours without a meal. This gets a little old at night, especially since this week he’s gotten his days and nights mixed up so he will only sleep if we are holding him at night (during the day he sleeps anywhere). I’m hoping that we get this figured out soon, since I’m getting seriously exhausted.
Having a baby in the house makes us realize just how “big girl” Clare is these days. She’s so verbal and really understands what’s going on. If J and I are talking she insists on being part of the conversation, asking “what you talking about?” if she doesn’t understand. We’re having interesting conversations about her feelings (“I feel like whining now Mama”), the seasons (“first the leaves grow, then they turn red and fall down”), and imaginary play scenarios (“the animals are riding the train! To Mexico! I put them on the train!”). In the picture below she and J are making twice-baked potatoes. Her ability to follow directions and participate in more complex activities has been fun, and helpful when she ask her to help us clean up, sort laundry, etc.
She’s still very much in love with “Baby Sam” but is getting more relaxed about having him in the house. She doesn’t get worked up when he cries and for the most part ignores him, or talks to him but doesn’t expect him to play with her. She’s shown remarkably little jealousy with the attention he’s getting, but we’ve worked hard to make sure that she gets plenty of attention. This may change as I’m spending more time on my own with the kids, but I’m hoping that her verbal skills will help us over that challenge.
Big Sisters and Little Brothers
Clare would like you to know that she’s a big sister now. She’s getting used to that fact and every now and then it comes up in conversation. Today she asked me if I was a big sister too. I told her that yes, her Uncle JP was my little brother. I’m not sure she believed me.
Meanwhile, Sam continues to be a heartstealer. We’re beginning to get to know him a little bit and he’s quite a bit mellower than we expected giving his first few minutes in the world. At this point, in classic newborn fashion pretty much all he does is sleep (lots of sleeping), eat (LOTS of eating – every two to three hours), and poop (lots of that too). He loves to be held and snuggled and when he does fuss a little cuddle usually puts him right.
So far balancing the two kids has been easier than I expected, but J has been off work the last week so real life begins tomorrow. We’ve been able to keep Clare on her usual nannyshare/preschool schedule so this has meant that J, Sam and I have had lots of time during the day to nap, relax, do house and yard work, and babygaze. Clare has really liked keeping her usual visits to Adam and preschool. I’ve asked her if she would rather stay home and she doesn’t want to. I’ve talked to Adam and her teachers and they’ve reported that she isn’t interested in talking much about Baby Sam, but has been in a good mood. I think she likes to have some places that not affected by the baby. She’s always happy to come home and the first words out of her mouth are “Where’s Baby Sam?”
A few cute Clare stories from the last week:
- She loves to sit on the counter in the mornings, eating her peanut butter and jam sandwich and drinking milk, and chat with me while I’m making coffee and oatmeal for breakfast. It’s become a nice morning ritual for us and gives me some Mom-Clare time to start the day.
- Yesterday morning J made us all blueberry pancakes and Clare declared them “the best of the best!” She’s also started saying “Sa-weet” when she likes things, which I think she got from WordWorld.
- In the picture below, she is “Super Clare” complete with her super hero cape. She doesn’t know it, but she’s getting a real superhero cape and crown for Christmas.
And then there were FOUR!!
We are now the McPherson Foursome – and Clare is now a big sister. So far, three days in, it’s going well, but here are a few pictures to tell the story of how we became a family of four.
Grandma and Grampa brought Clare to the hospital on Friday night after Sam was born. She had been seeing pictures of him all day since Jeremy has been texting and emailing them to Adam to show her. Apparently she was very excited that her baby brother was born and came running into the room wanting to see the baby. She kept calling him “Baby Maddy” but we corrected her that he was “baby Brother” (he wasn’t Sam yet). She was very gentle with him, touching his face and head, pointing out that he had a hat and blanket, leaning in for a closer look, obviously smitten. She was a little bit stressed though and quickly started running around the hospital room looking for trouble. Grandma took her home for some dinner and bedtime cuddles. That night I hear that she woke up quite a bit – obviously related to the changes in the family. 
By Saturday evening it was time to go home! With Clare we voluntarily stayed in the hospital an extra day. With Sam, we were rarin’ to get home to sleep in our own beds. Unfortunately my picture of proud Dad carrying Sam out of the hospital is blurry, but you can see how cute they looked. I was happy to be able to walk out of the hospital myself, instead of being wheeled out in a wheelchair like last time. I was also happy that I could pick up my Clarie when I got home and give her a big hug. Not that she cared much – since the first words out of her mouth were “Where Baby Sam?”
Samster – wearing the same little outfit that Clare came home in. On Clare it was HUGE, but it barely fit him in length and the little feet hardly contained his long monkey toes. What a difference an inch and over a pound make in fitting baby clothes. We joke that Sam’s newborn outfits will fit for about a week.
On Sunday morning Clare was showing some signs of stress (chasing the dog, deliberating doing things that she knew she wasn’t supposed to, shrieking in the house, etc.) so we bundled the family up and went to the park. It seemed a little crazy to take a two-day old baby outside but it was a beautiful fall day and we needed the family time. Sam and I chilled on a park bench and Clare and Daddy ran around the playground. Clare literally ran for an hour straight, chasing after a four-year-old who was also a big sister. Clare announced to all of the other families that she had a new little brother named Sam, and some of the children and parents came by to wish us congratulations. It was a nice way to introduce Sam to the world and give Clare a positive place where she could get out her energy without us constantly telling her no or redirecting her. We’ve made it our mission to get her outside at least once every day since he’s been born. It makes a huge difference in her attitude and ability to handle the changes.
So that’s that! Things are busy (I’ve been writing this post for two days now) but we are in love with our little guy. Up until last night he had been sleeping well, but last night we had our first all-night dance party. So Clare is off at preschool this morning and Jeremy, Sam and I have big plans for a family nap. Besides the snafu last night, Sam is eating and pooping really well. We had our first pediatrician appointment yesterday and he’s only lost about 5% of his birth weight (really good) and is only the teensiest big jaundiced. He’s in the 40% for weight and the 90% for length – which seems to be a trend in our children. Oh, and the pediatrician declared that he looked “exactly like his sister” and was “really cute.” We can’t agree more 🙂
Introducing…
Samuel John McPherson, the newest adventurer in the Family! Born on November 4 at 6:24 am. He weighed in at a perfect 8 lbs. 1 oz and 21 inches long. He is beautiful and so far very healthy.
I started having contractions on Thursday night at about dinner time, but they were light and not very regular. Still, I kind of had a feeling that things were in motion so I told Jeremy to clear his Friday schedule. We had dinner, put Clare to bed, and I texted our doula that things might be happening. I went to bed early, but by then my contractions were light but consistently about ten minutes apart. I was able to sleep between them for a few hours. By midnight they were about eight minutes apart and J was timing them on his contraction app that he downloaded (seriously). They were also getting stronger. For some reason we didn’t really believe that labor had really started and kept putting off calling anyone. Finally at about 1 am I got in the shower to deal with stronger contractions and we called the midwife at the hospital, our doula, and my parents to come stay with Clare. By the time everyone arrived, we were packed and we were ready to go to the hospital it was about 2:30. My contractions were about three minutes apart and strong and my water broke in the garage on the way to the car.
Once we got to the hospital things happened very quickly. I checked in at about 3:00 am and he was born at 6:30 am, so you do the math 🙂 I was thrilled that I was 8 cm when we checked in, and was able to get through transition on the water birth tub. Because this was a VBAC birth (birth after cesarean) I had to get out of the tub when it came time to push him out. Pushing was hard (understatement) but all worth it when they put him on my stomach. He was not so thrilled and promptly YELLED for about twenty minutes straight after birth. I’m not sure we actually saw his eyes for his first hour, but we certainly heard his voice. He was so healthy, pink and vigorous that we could hardly believe it.
So we finally got our all-natural Bradley Method, Husband-Coached waterbirth!! It could not have been done without Jeremy, the world’s best birth coach. We also had a wonderful doula through the labor and delivery who was especially indispensable during the final pushing stage. There were a lot of things that made this birth particularly special, but one of them is that the midwife who was there during Clare’s traumatic C-section was the one who delivered Sam. She remembered us and it was very special to already have a relationship with her. She never left the room (as far as I know) and was very encouraging at all the right moments. All in all, it was a team effort to bring Sam to the world and it was very special. A few pictures are below.
One of the best parts of having such an uncomplicated labor (I will never say “easy” labor) is the recovery. We checked out of the hospital on Saturday night, having only been there about 36 hours. I was walking around within an hour after birth, never took any pain killers stronger than over-the-counter tylenol, and was able to nurse him immediately. It’s made the coming home so much easier since I’m able to lift Clare right away and go about regular life. My next post will be about that, but suffice to say so far things are perfect.
Gestating
38 weeks! And I’m huge. Some lady on the playground yesterday told me “you don’t look like you’re due next week!” I wanted to hit her, but I just smiled sweetly. I’ll go ahead and repeat it – I’m huge. The baby has dropped and for about a week I had a few lovely inches in my diaphragm that didn’t used to be there (and a lovely reprieve from heartburn). Now the lil’ one has filled into that space and those lovely inches have been replaced by a little butt and feet.
We spend a lot of time these days talking about babies, reading books about babies and taking care of Clare’s baby doll, Babes. Tonight J fashioned Clare’s blanky into a sling for Babes and she was bouncing and shushing him. Later on Babes was put to bed in the bouncy seat in the nursery and we were shushed because “he’s sleeping!” Babes is wearing some of the newborn clothes that we’ve been getting ready for Our Baby.
We spent the weekend finally finishing the nursery. Hooray! J mentioned that he felt like we were on a home design TV show – I was the designer giving instructions and he was the carpenter executing my vision. But the vision is 90% executed and I love it. It’s the simple, modern nursery that I wanted. Unfortunately the room is small so getting pictures of the whole thing proved to be a challenge, but you can put them together in your head.
The rocking chair and balloon lanterns! The lanterns turned out great (Thanks Mom and Dad) and I’m debating putting strings under them to make them even more “balloon-esque” or just leaving them as-is. I think the baby will love looking at them though. I also pulled up a bunch of the baby toys from storage and they’re in the blue bin. We’ve stacking the “baby books” on the trunk for our bed time reading to the little guy. The cute elephant blanket is from Grandma T!
This picture’s dark, but you can see the last “balloon” light fixture in the center of the room.
The wall across from the rocking chair has the crib, the dresser and the lamp. I used the balloon lamp for inspiration and hung the balloon mobile over the crib. We still have the fish mobile that Clare loved attached to the crib for now, but it won’t stay up once the kiddo starts pulling himself up on that crib. We don’t have much on the walls, but I’ve identified a balloon decal on etsy that I want to put on one or two of the walls. I might frame up a couple jackets of some of our favorites children’s books to put in the room also. I’ve wanted to do that in Clare’s room but we just don’t have the wall space. I hope to get this lil’ one loving books as much as Clare does so the book jackets will be a nice touch.
