Two Weeks +

Hard to believe our little man is already two weeks old. It has gone by quickly and I finally feel like I am starting to get the hang of it! When he is wide awake (love those big eyes) he looks so grown up and I see what people mean when the say it goes by so fast! Today the two of us went to see Daddy at the church and he was such a good boy, he slept the entire time that we were gone. At this rate, I am going to want to take him out a lot since he is so pleasant, if the weather would just cooperate...I am ready for spring! We had more visitors last night...Anne and Susan (friends from work) but I realized after they left that I didn't take any pictures. Oops! Sorry guys. Samuel is starting to sleep better at night, but we are having the worst time between 10pm and 1am. He is so wide awake during that time and does not want to be put down. That makes for an unhappy Mommy and Daddy. Any advice on how to get him down for the night during that time?

Luke bought this hat a few months ago...it is too big for him, but kept him warm!

Today we went back to the doctor to get his weight checked since he lost some weight at the hospital and we needed to be sure that he was nursing okay. Well our little man really bulked up and now weighs 6lbs. 7oz. That may not seem like much but here are the numbers:

Weight at birth: 6lbs. 3oz.
Weight at discharge from hospital: 5lbs. 11oz.
Weight at first doctor appt. (1 week ago): 5lbs. 13oz.
Having a healthy, growing boy: Priceless!

So as you can see in the past week our little Samuel has gained enough weight to put him past his birth weight! We are so proud of our little man and as a nursing Mom it was a relief to see that he is really getting enough to eat. God is so good! Now we don't have to worry about him being on such a strict eating schedule and most importantly we can let him sleep as long as he wants during the night and only feed him when he wakes! Hoorah!

Visitors

We had a busy weekend! My mom stayed through Sunday continuing to help us out by cleaning, cooking and doing laundry. We are not sure what we will do without her! Thanks Mom for taking such good care of us. (I don't have any new pics of her and Samuel because she was sick and only got to hold him when she was wearing a mask, not a great photo opportunity!)

Samuel got to meet his other Grandma this weekend for the first time as Luke's mom returned from Alaska this week. Grandpa Good and Aunt Rachel also visited.

He also got to meet his Auntie Becky as she was in town for Jubilee (and see Auntie Beth again). How I love my McKee girls, it does my soul well to visit with them (Jen, Kelly and Kate were there in spirit). We love having visitors and showing off our beautiful little man.


Today we went to church and then to Grandma and Pap Pap's to celebrate Grandma's birthday. Both of my boys were tuckered out and fell asleep shortly after we got home. I am happy to report that Samuel loves riding in the car and sleeps the whole time. This made me happy because I fretted the whole time that I was driving that he would scream and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it!

1 Week Old

Today Samuel is one week old. The week has just flown by with our little man and we feel incredibly blessed to be his parents. He has been eating and sleeping really good...we actually got a 4 hour stretch of sleep last night and boy does that make all of the difference in the world! Luke went back to work today (light duty for a week) and I have been home alone with Samuel for over 6 hours...we had a relaxing afternoon and it went quickly. Tonight my Mom comes back to stay a few more days and we look forward to eating well again. Thanks again for all of your prayers, well wishes and support this past week. We are so lucky to have great family and friends who care so much about us.

First Doctor Visit

Samuel had his first doctor visit today. We had to brave the frigid temps this morning and bundled our little guy up as best as we could. He did well in the car and we got past another new obstacle "leaving the house with a newborn". It was a good visit, his weight is up a bit and she expects him to be at his birth weight again in a few days. Everything else looks good and it was good to be reassured that everything is working on the nursing front. We go back in a week for a recheck of his weight but are so thankful that he is a happy and healthy baby! Luke and I are adjusting well to our new routine and are enjoying all of this time spent together getting to know Samuel.

Welcome Home Samuel

We had a very busy day on Friday being discharged from the hospital. First of all they moved us out of the luxurious suite at 8am to another smaller room in another section of the hospital because they needed those birthing rooms. Luke frantically packed as I quickly nursed Samuel, then we were off as the nurse was practically running as she pushed me down the hall. It was quite a scene. It took forever for the pediatrician to clear Samuel (he passed with flying colors) and then we finally got discharged at 12. I felt like a celebrity holding my little boy as we were wheeled out of the hospital (at a much more respectable speed), everyone stopping to comment on how cute he was in his HUGE fleece snowsuit. I think he kinda looked like the little brother in The Christmas Story!
My Mom got to the house early to cook, clean and do laundry...and it was so nice to come home to that. Pap Galand and Aunt Amanda were here helping too, then Aunt Tammy and Cousins Aly, Alex and Nik stopped by to meet him. It was a busy, but nice day. We were so relieved to have our little one home finally. Grandma Galand is staying the weekend to help us out, and let me tell you we feel very spoiled by her good cooking. We will not be going hungry anytime soon. Check out the Flickr link for more pictures.

they just keep coming!

Our friend Andrew took some pictures last night while he and his wife were visiting. Here is the link to those pics. They're much nicer than most of the ones we've taken so far!

http://picasaweb.google.com/arushphoto/SamuelJamesGood?authkey=wTDmBh-sy5Y

That should work. I can't be sure though, because the hospital has a filter and I can't visit the picasa webpage!

Anyway, enjoy...

Samuel-in-arms

Some visitor pics from yesterday evening. I'm still awaiting the professional ones!

the never-ending night

We had a grand time last afternoon and evening entertaining friends and family and introducing them to our newest addition. Thanks all for stopping by and being excited for us! We're happy to have more folks visit between 11am and 8pm today (Thursday), as we're stuck at the hospital until Friday morning.

It has been quite interesting getting through our first night with Samuel. He's been eating very well, despite the fact that he needs to do it every 2-3 hours. It's really beautiful to watch it all happen, but man am I tired! It would be one thing if I were starting out this night on a full night's sleep the from previous night, but in actuality I got even less sleep last night that I've gotten tonight! But it's 6am now, so the night is nearing its end.

I know, I know...you all don't really care how I feel, you just want more pictures! I promise I'll post some soon. We've only taken a few, but our friend Andrew, who is a real, bonafide photographer, took some as well, so I'd like to post a few of those when I get them. So keep checking! And pass along the blog address to anyone you think might be interested!

-Luke

by the way, Trisha reminds me that as of 6:22am, Samuel is one day old! She's feeling really good, considering (Trisha, that is!).

More pics

Just a few pictures to keep you all happy until you come to visit! Visiting hours are 11am-8pm and we are more than happy to accommodate any and all who want to come! Please call one of us first and we can tell you where we are! We may be switching rooms this afternoon.

It's a boy!! Yeehaw!

Samuel James Good was born at 6:22 this morning after a grueling 2+ hours of amazing labor by my wife Trisha! He is 6lbs 3oz, and 20 inches...a smallish size which makes Trish happy. He's got a funny cone head but they assure us that will go away. More later...this is great!!

10cm!

holy cow this is sooner than we thought! It's only 2:45 and Trish is fully dilated! They are saying she'll be ready to push within the next half hour, and things could take from 30 minutes to 2 hours...the parents are on their way, except Luke's Mom, who's in Alaska (miss you Mom!). We are looking forward to having a new baby soon and starting our new life as a family!

Sleep at last

Trisha is finally getting some sleep since she can't feel the contractions at this point. This is good.

Probably won't update until the morning, when it's time to push this little one out!

epidural=IN!

After the contractions got more severe, it didn't take long for Trish to decide she wanted the epidural. She had been "leaving the option open" and now is glad she did! Her mood changed very quickly (in a good way!). Now she's just sort of hanging out, waiting out the contractions. Will still likely be a long night for us, but she should be able to sleep some now.

Anyway, is anyone really reading this after midnight? I guess I'm just trying to keep busy more than anything else!

-Luke

"I WILL throw this duck at you!"

Well, the time has arrived. Trish's water broke at about 5:15 this evening. Luckily I had left work early because she hadn't been feeling well most of the day. After her water broke, she started feeling better, but the Dr. said she ought to go in to the ER anyway. When we got here, they confirmed that it was in fact her water (she was "trickling" as opposed to having a "gush" like you see on tv), so she was admitted and now we're just hanging out in this great birthing suite with a tv and wi-fi and all the ice chips you could want!

Ok, so it's not quite that pretty. Trish's contractions started shortly after we got into the room, without the introduction of pitocin (that's a good thing), and since then they have gotten a lot more severe. This is all good stuff, even though pain is bad. She's doing a great job, getting through the contractions ok, but of course who knows how long this will all last!

Oh, and the duck she wanted to throw at me is like a stress ball in the shape of a duck that she uses for contractions. So far I haven't had to dodge it :)

-Luke

Oh Baby, Where Art Thou?

So a week later and the baby is still in the belly! I am sure it is partly my fault as I feel like I have been sending mixed signals to my little one. I have loved being pregnant and really enjoy having him/her all to myself. Everytime I feel a kick or a squirm I am reminded of the miracle going on inside me and praise God for such a blessing! I know that once this baby arrives they will be overwhelmed with love from our friends and family and then I have to be patient and share! On the other hand, I have been day-dreaming about this baby for 9 months and can't wait to see it's little face, hold it in my arms and finally know if I have a son or daughter. So you can see how confused Mommy is...I am sure the baby doesn't know what to do either! Thankfully God has been faithful in giving me patience as we wait and I am thankful that the baby has had another week to grow in my belly and that we have had another week to prepare for the new addition to our family. We are anxious though and I can't help but hope that we will be watching the Super Bowl Sunday with a little one sleeping in my arms! Keep us in your prayers and we will keep you updated.