Half a Year

Six months ago, Daddy took Mama to the hospital to check out what seemed like a strange stomach flu; hours later, Samson was surgically removed from the womb two months earlier than expected to start his life in the neonatal intensive care.

Since then, Samson has made incredible progress. Here are just some of his accomplishments:

• coming home with no monitors after living for 6 weeks in the NICU
• growing from less than 4 pounds to over 16 lbs
• healing from a heart murmur, sepsis, sleep apnea, and umbilical hernia
  
• transitioning from tube feeding to bottle feeding to breastfeeding over a period of 12 weeks time
  
• going from a "colicky" constant crier to a happy, "rarely cries" baby after we removed all cow milk protein from his (and Mama's) diet
• from soaking 20-30 burp cloths (plus 2-3 changes of clothes for himself, Mama, and Daddy) each day to minimally wetting only 6-10 burp cloths and wearing the same outfit all day long
  
• from staying awake & fussing most of the night to sleeping most of the night between 9pm and 6am (and most importantly, going immediately back to sleep after his night feeds)
• from demanding to be held at all times to enjoying several 20-30 minute independent play periods each day in his crib, exersaucer, jumper, and playgym mat
  

Samson is becoming quite an active boy. He loves to kick and jump and wave his arms. He can hold his head up very well, and sit or stand with assistance. He likes to read picture books, suck and chew his fingers, and giggle and "talk" (especially first thing in the morning). Recently, he's begun to pick up some objects on his own and get them to his mouth for a taste; his favorite teether is a cotton burp cloth. Yesterday, he discovered that he can scoot/wiggle around his crib and he was able to roll from his back to his side for the first time.

Though we kept him cooped up for the first couple of months to protect him from germs, Samson has since made a few trips away from home to meet his East Texas family. He's been as far as Bryan, San Augustine, Beaumont, Houston, and Livingston. In town, he's been to the homes of the Turners, Murphys, and Boriches. He's eaten out at Elsi's, Central Market, Curra's, Opal Divine's, Chuy's, and Logan's. He's shopped at HEB, Whole Foods, IKEA, Sears, and Babies R Us.

Mama and Daddy are very proud of our strong, beautiful boy. We can't wait to see what Samson will do next and we're looking forward to some big milestones in the coming weeks. He will soon be sitting up unassisted, rolling over, and eating his first cereal.

Evidence of recent cuteness:


3/29/07


3/29/07


3/26/07


3/18/07


3/13/07

Prunes and Hot Butter Pants

If there's one thing people say when we talk about Samson's blog, it's, "Tell us more about his poop!" Well, here's the latest.

Samson has, for the past month or two, become a baby who only poops once per week. This is OKAY, really! Our doctor says, and the current medical literature backs this up, a breastfed baby is fine having a stool even as infrequently as 10 days. It just means that his digestive system is processing the perfect food (mama's milk) very effectively and there just isn't much waste leftover to eliminate.

Mama and Daddy love this new schedule for the most part. We almost never have any poopy diapers to change, and the occurrence of blowout diapers has come to a standstill. Our consumption of baby wipes has gone down by about 70%, and we only use 5-7 diapers per day (rather than the 8-12 we used during the first couple of months at home).

When he does finally poop, there's not much more volume than before, and the texture is pretty much the same. But, the odor... well, it's not fecal (breastmilk poops truly don't stink), but it's weird. It smells, no kidding, like hot butter. Mama will never enjoy movie popcorn again after this - heh.

The trouble in paradise comes up when Samson goes longer than 7 days and starts to show signs that he is uncomfortable. There are a few things we're authorized to do to encourage, um, movement, and none are pleasant for baby or parent: rectal thermometer or Fleet suppositories.

During the week Daddy was in China, Samson passed the 10 day mark and was getting antsy. Mama tried the thermometer with no success. Next came the Fleet, and if you've ever tried to give a cranky infant a suppository and keep it in for 15 minutes, you'll understand why this was a disaster. By the 12th day, Mama decided it was time for professional help.

Dr. C said that she'd had great success with diluted prune juice and Samson was old enough to give it a try. She said that we shouldn't have to worry about an allergic reaction (a concern because babies with cow milk sensitivity are more likely to have other food allergies), but she coached Mama on all of the signs just to be safe.

So, Samson had his first solid food, a 1:1 mixture of water and prune juice with pulp, on March 16th at 5 1/2 months chronological age. After no change, we repeated the dose on the next day (also the day Daddy came home), and eureka! The long awaited dirty diaper finally appeared, Samson's "welcome home" gift to Daddy.

There are pictures, of course, but we'll spare you dear readers the evidence this time.

Rest now, Mam-maw

Mama's mama, Doris, passed away suddenly last night. This is the woman who raised Mama from the age of 7 after her birth mother died of cancer when Mama was young. Most of what Mama knows about being a good wife and mother came from Doris. Her health had been deteriorating for years, but it is still a shock to realize that she is really gone.

Doris was too sick to come visit Samson when he was living in the hospital, but she stayed up-to-date by phone and through reading printed copies of the blog mailed to her by Aunt Cynthia. Samson did finally get to meet her a couple of weeks ago when he made his first overnight trip to East Texas.


Though they didn't have much time together, both truly enjoyed the visit. Samson just giggled up a storm at Mam-maw's teasing.



Samson is going to miss out on her fantastic homemade baked goods (yeast rolls and biscuits and cornbread), her soft lap, and her tearful laughter at the comical antics of dogs and kids.

We love you, Mam-maw.

A Week Without Daddy

Daddy is in China this week for work, so Mama and Samson are anxiously awaiting his return. Grandma Alice has come to help us out for a few days and she and Samson are having a great time playing together. Since Daddy's departure, Samson has been busy trying new things:

First Trip to the Park


First Storytime with Grandma


First Try in an Exersaucer

Morning Playtime

Samson is always in his best form when he first wakes up for the day. Our morning routine usually involves an half-hour of conversation ("Coo-goo?" "Coo-goo." "Gah?" "Yes, gah.") and then Samson goes to his crib for an half-hour of mobile time so Mama can take care of personal business and grab a bowl of cereal. This shot is typical of Samson's expression when he sees his toys for the first time of the day, as if to say, "These wonderful things are here again? Awesome!"

The red blotch on his cheek is a fresh gash from his ever lengthening claws. Mama has to trim those nails (while baby sleeps) every other day or Samson's face would be just one giant scab.

New pictures

We finally downloaded all of our pics from the past 3 weeks onto our Flickr album. Click the link to see some moments of Samson's first overnight trip out of town, as well as several new funny face shots.