Happy Spring!

April was a fast month... I guess that with the warmer weather and new-found ability to go out more, I neglected the blog. We have been busy just with our daily routines around here, which now include the exciting additions of:

Samantha is rolling over =) She got this trick last week. Now changing her diaper is even harder. She wakes up on her belly many mornings. I should set up a camera to see how much time she dedicates to practicing in her sleep.

Samantha is teething, which equals soaking wet shirts, on both of us, and

Samantha has discovered that she can suck just her thumb, and not her whole hand, to help with the teething process.

We took her to Maryland for the first time to stay over night at my sister's house for my nephew's baptism, and she was sooooo good. She slept the best of all of us in her Porta-crib, which I had worried about because it was the first time that we even tried it. She also slept the whole way there, or at least she was quiet in the backseat of the car, again hard to tell what she does when we can't see her. She probably tried to roll out and gave up =)

It's no secret: We should change our post from "weeks" to "months" of our lives

Samantha loves her bumper!!! She starts out in the middle of the crib and always ends up waking up on her side in some new position. Yes. Her face is implanted on the bumper, and she is licking it. She thinks that it's my body. Completely pressed against it, she often awakens parallel to the bumper. Somebody is hungry...

I suck at blogging... BUT just in case you didn't give up on me here is what we have been up to. Now that Samantha is 11 weeks old, we are 1) starting to get out more and to recover from being very stir crazy 2) sleeping better, as Samantha is sleeping 8 hours most nights without needing to be fed 3) getting things back in order, including this blog, as a result of #2.

I never thought that I could spend so much time at home and get so little done in terms of housework. I could not imagine myself in any other position right now, but wow taking care of a baby is so demanding.

What gets me through the day ruled by the needs of a newborn?? Smiles, lots and lots of smiles. That's not to mention her favorite forms of entertainment: the ceiling fan in our room, mirrors, the treadmill, the various bookcases and closets full of patterned clothes in our house.

Welcome Home!

Samantha Elaine Cabot decided to join us on January 8, 2009, at 5:32 p.m. at Paoli Hospital. She was due on the 11th, but I knew based on what my body was doing that week that she would be here a few days before her due date. I was pretty sure that she was coming when I started having regular contractions at about 2:00 in the morning. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, and I kept wondering if what I was feeling was the real deal, until about 2:00 when they started to come every five minutes. I waited to wake up Alex until 3:00- I wanted to let him get some sleep in case it was a false alarm and he would have to go into the office. We called the doctor and they told us to come in.

I was only 1 cm. dilated but 80% effaced with contractions every 2 minutes. Then they made me walk around for an hour and forty minutes to see if my cervix would change. We felt like we were homeless because they were cleaning rooms during that time- it was a busy night at Paoli- and figuring out where they would put us. When they checked me again I had almost no cervix left. My contractions were wicked while I walked but slowed down while I was being checked, due to the relief off my pelvis. I thought if I get sent home I will scream because I know that I will be back before I even make it to the car in the parking deck. They made me walk again for an hour. Those contractions came back and stayed strong when they were checking me again. I was so relieved that my cervix had dilated to a 3. After that, they broke my water, which gave me hard contractions. They told me to hold off for a while on the epidural, as it can cause contractions to slow a bit and lengthen labor. I watched some T.V. until I couldn't take it, and then rang for my drugs. What a marvelous invention! With the epidural and petosin, I relaxed, took a nap, and then just waited while they came to check me very so often. Alex watched the little wave machine that shows contractions and would ask me if I knew that I just had a monster contraction, and of course, I said that I had no idea. Praise the brilliant women from Philadelphia who invented the epidural!

I did get anxious when I realized it would be time to push. Fortunately, she was so low that I only pushed for 20-25 minutes!! I was completely at a loss for words when I met Samantha. I was not at a loss for words, however, about the recovery pain... I will spare you those thoughts. Enjoy some pictures instead!

Proud Daddy with Sam

She loves to smile after I nurse her in the morning.

Here are some nursery shots. One day there will actually be pictures in those frames.

Trying to sleep, I spend a lot of time in this chair. This was a great investment.