Samuel's Family

Great Uncle Richard
Samuel and his Lulu

The Tellings

Aunt Emily and Cousin Andy

Our First week home with Samuel

Jackson sleeping on the recliner with me and Samuel.

What a hard life!

Samuel's favorite spot.

Great Grandmother Bobby

Uncle Mike, Samuel, Mike and Dude

Aunt Di Di

Needless to say, our first week home was quite an adventure. I don't think you can ever prepare yourself for what you are about to embark on as a new parent. So many emotions, sleepless nights and uncertainty it's a wonder you survive. But we did. We are settling into our "new normal" days and nights and as each day passes the "why did we do this?" becomes more evident. This transition from NICU to home was particularly hard on me. The reality of the amount of responsibility I now have really hit me hard and I shed quite a few tears over it. It's not just Mike and I anymore and that has been hard to adjust to but overall I am settling into my new role as a mother. Mike is still looking for a job. I am so thankful that he has been at home to help me through this transition and to enjoy his new son. God was looking out for us even though we didn't know it at the time Mike lost his job. Love to you all.

Home at last

We are so excited to finally be home. Monica decorated our car with It's A Boy decals and our house with balloons which was really nice. We had a nice send off with Monica, Hugh and Granddad. Here is Samuel chillin' in the recliner with daddy.
Sleeping like a baby!

Almost Home

We spent the night before we went home at the hospital with Samuel. He was without monitors which was very exciting. Samuel didn't sleep much so neither did we!!!
Grandma Lulu with Samuel just before we left the hospital for good.

Proud daddy and Granddad!

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S

We spent New Year's Eve with two of our favorite people, Bobby & Poppy! Chinese food, good company and then off to the hospital to ring in the new year with Samuel. We brought the nurses Sparkling Cider to celebrate.

Samuel's Coming Home!

FINALLY! Provided all goes well the next two days Samuel will be coming home on Saturday. The nurses told us things would speed up near the end and boy did they. We have been through our discharge class, he received his vaccinations, passed his hearing screening and tolerated sitting in a car seat for an hour. All things that had to be done before he could go home.

The last thing we have to do is "room-in" with Samuel on Friday night. Mike and I will stay at the hospital Friday night and get up with Samuel every 3 hours and feed him, change his diaper and love on him with no monitors to get in our way. The nurses will be close by in case something goes wrong. We should be discharged Saturday afternoon and then we can finally start being a family.

We have been waiting for 8 weeks for this day to come and we couldn't be more excited. I cry every time I think about it. ;) At the same time, we are nervous. Samuel is still 4 weeks away from his due date so he is not acting like a newborn just yet. He needs lots of sleep and extra attention when feeding him. Samuel will be behind developmentally for a little while but they say that by the time he is two he should be acting just like his cousin Andrew (who was born 3 days after Samuel but was a full term baby).

We will never be able to thank all of you who have supported us since I went into the hospital 13 weeks ago. Mike and I have been through so much in 2008. It has brought us closer together with not just each other but all our family and friends. We are thankful for that. We are really looking forward to starting this new year off on a good note and bringing home our son couldn't be a better way to do it.

Peace and love to all of you and may 2009 be your best year yet!