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Yesterday marked 5 weeks since we brought our son home from the birth center. It feels as though we’ve been together longer than just that—I can’t imagine our lives without him now. It’s been so wonderful to watch his personality emerge as he becomes more and more aware of the world around him. In particular, I love that he now recognizes his mommy and his daddy. Each day we wake up he’s different than the day before. Everything is happening so quickly. As we blog about the goings on in the Hill household, we hope that others will be able to enjoy seeing him grow from afar.
So what have the past 5 weeks been like? Well…
Week 1
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| Just Born |
On Wednesday, June 8th we took him to the pediatrician. By her measurements, he had lost 6 oz from his birth weight; on Thursday, Samuel discovered that he loves milk! Since we are paranoid first-time parents, we went back to the pediatrician on Friday and found that he had already regained his birth weight (gaining 6 oz in two days!). The week culminated in Sean going to church, leaving me alone with Samuel for the first time. It turned out just fine since we both napped.
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| Ballin' |
During his second week, we were more confident in our parenting, so we ventured out on a walk to a park close by where Sean exercised by playing basketball while I sat and watched with Samuel. I remember telling Sean how proud I was of our son. He asked me why, and I couldn’t really say. I was just very proud of everything about him (of course, Sean said he was too).
Week 3
On Monday, June 20th, we went to the pediatrician for his two-week check-up. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 8 oz, so he had gained over a pound and a half in just 10 days! Our doc commented on how strong he was, saying, “This is the strongest 3-week-old I’ve seen in at least a month.” Of course, we both beamed as we informed her that he was only 2 weeks old, and she was even more impressed, especially with his weight gain. Sean and both agreed we had something more concrete than Samuel just being our son to be proud of.
Week 4
Since, Sean is taking the GRE on July 13th, he started laying down the law about me leaving him alone during the day to give him adequate working hours. So I was forced into a more independent care of Samuel than I had known for the past three weeks. I had just read a book Meme (Sean’s mom) had given us called Happiest Baby on the Block with soothing techniques for newborn babies. Let me tell you: they work! During week 4, the key to Samuel’s happiness was a tight swaddle. When we combined swaddling with nursing him in a rocking chair, he would fall asleep almost instantaneously—amazing! I finally felt ready to care for Samuel during a church service, so off to Redemption OPC we went on Sunday. He couldn’t have behaved any better; he slept all during the service, and was quietly aware during the fellowship meal following. Everybody got to enjoy his sweet personality and big, beautiful baby eyes.
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| Interpretive Dance |
July 4th was the day Samuel turned 4 weeks old. We were able to weigh him using the baby scale our friend Loren lent to us; he weighed 9 lbs 6 oz (another two pounds in two weeks!). Meme and Papa (Sean’s parents) came up from Orlando with a handful of baby-friendly fireworks (i.e. non-screeching) and Sean grilled a very American steak dinner for the four of us. Grandpa Shack (Megan’s father) told us a fun idea would be to record Samuel’s first year in one frame, holding 12 photos, each of Samuel at a different month of age. So, come July 6th, I snapped about 30 photos of Samuel doing what Sean called an “interpretive dance.” Finally, on Sunday, July 10th, Samuel was baptized at Redemption OPC. Both our families came to Gainesville to witness the occasion.
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| Living in the Moby |
Week 6…to be continued…
5 Comments
Great Job Megster and Sean
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this, Megan. But I'm wondering if the interpretive dance pose isn't a hook shot instead.
ReplyDeletePapa
I am so glad that you've recorded Sammy's birth story - well done, Megan and Sean!
ReplyDeleteHi sweet Megan - You and Sean are doing such a wonderful job with Sammy. Thank you for sharing all of these perfect details with us. LOVED the picasa album photos, especially the close ups of his peaceful little face; he is so beautiful. I look forward to following your journey as parents to precious Sammy. We love you guys!!
ReplyDeleteMegan, stumbled on your blog through facebook...I wish we were closer so we could be mom friends! Isn't it the MOST amazing experience? Dr. Karp has literally saved us, Happiest Baby is incredible, and now we're using Happiest Toddler. Unfortunately, there are no 5-s's for a happy toddler, but his philosophy still really helps. The Moby is indeed the best, and I'm not really sure how people have babies without them! :)
ReplyDelete