Thanksgiving

Just a quick post to say: don't worry! We haven't been online in a while; too busy to type. Samson is doing great, up to 7 lbs now. He has passed his first 2 pediatrician visits with flying colors and just had his follow-up opthamology visit yesterday with no evidence of retinopathy. Yay!

We've got lots of pics to post, but just haven't had time to get them off the camera and onto the computer. This weekend, we hope...

Tomorrow, some wonderful friends will be coming by to drop-off some home-cooked Thanksgiving food for our first family holiday together. Our list of blessings is long this year, but we are most thankful for the people in our lives who have helped us during these past two long months:

• the midwife who sent us to the hospital when things didn't seem quite right;
• the doctor who read Mama's symptoms correctly and ordered the right tests to determine the source of the problem;
• the NICU staff who gave Samson the best care possible for the first 42 days of his life outside the womb;
• the loved ones who have brought an endless supply of food, baby gear, and comforting sentiments;
• the lactation consultant who saved Mama's boobs and showed us a light at the end of the "triple-feeding" tunnel
• the Daddy who has been Mama's constant support, cheerleader, and partner, and who skillfully does everything for Samson that Mama does (except for the breastfeeding);
• the Mama who never gave up on making "bestmilk" for Samson, even through spending 8 hours a day hooked up to a pump or doing the work to prepare and clean-up afterwards, and enduring repeated failed attempts to relieve the daily excruciating pain until the proper meds were prescribed to cure the bacterial mastitis; and, of course
  
• the Baby who has added an indescribable intensity to our lives, opening our hearts to possibilities that we never contemplated before, and already teaching us too many lessons to recount here.
  

What are you thankful for this year?