Life after Birth

Samuel did really well in the hospital and seemed like the most perfect baby.  Since coming home, we've seen a slightly different reality.  While he's still an amazingly good baby, he's not quite so "perfect" anymore. 

Night #1 at Home:  Samuel decided that nighttime should be playtime for an hour or so beginning at about 10:30 p.m.  He then wanted to eat, then spit up everything he ate, then cry, then eat some more, spit up some more, cry some more...and so the night rolled along...until we finally found a small success at 5:30 a.m.  Our only source of relief (used only as a fall-back from desperation) was a pacifier.  We were going to try to be the perfect parents and avoid the pacifier until at least two weeks had passed to avert any possible nipple confusion problems.  Desperation won.  We both gave in and Samuel slept.  I cried because I felt like a bad parent.  I'm completely over that and while we don't use it often, we're already finding that there are times when it's just necessary for sanity's sake to let him have something to suck on.  That night, we also learned that his vibrator seat can work miracles in the middle of the night when nothing else helps.

Night #2 at Home: Samuel actually went to bed and slept for about two hour intervals from about 10:00 p.m. until about 2:00 a.m.  Things got a little rockier after that...  Turns out that our son has some "cluster feeding" tendencies; that is, he sometimes likes to take several small feeds instead of fewer longer feeds.  We had five of those this morning, with him waking every 30 minutes to an hour to feed until about 5:00 a.m.  Fortunately, Mike decided to take him for awhile and keep him calm as long as possible so I could get a little rest.  What a great spouse and father!  We're both more rested today and feel like we improved slightly from the night before.  We'll all get there.  Mike and I have to learn how to be parents and Samuel has to learn how to be alive.  Tough changes!

All in all, though, our little Samuel is a sweet and wonderful baby.  He's quite a snuggler and just likes to be held.  He's not easily upset, unless you're changing his clothes or diaper, in which case, you might as well get out your earplugs because you're in for it.  He makes the cutest faces, like his "Mr. Magoo" face, he furrows his brow like his Dad, and occasionally opens his beautiful eyes to check things out. 

This whole experience is just amazing...we're both really enjoying our little fellow, despite the challenges.  Okay, time for a few pictures...