The First Few Weeks

Life is crazy...so I haven't been good about keeping this updated! We are exhausted but so thankful to have little Sam in our lives!! Jack is still in love with him and showers him with kisses and hugs over and over all day long! We are so blessed!

Jack turned 15 months today and Sam will be 4 weeks old on Thursday already! Both boys have Dr. appts on Friday so I'm excited to see updates on height/weight for both of them!

I'll write more later but wanted to get a few pictures up that we took in the first three weeks. Pictures from this week aren't uploaded yet but hopefully soon...

Thanks for all the love and support! Enjoy the photos!

Jack hanging out in Sam's chair...he thinks he's pretty funny...

Nana, me, Jack and Sam

Crazy hair is an understatement...

More plastic bag madness in the kitchen when we weren't looking...

Running around the house with this big pillow and laughing...

Wearing Mommy's shoes

Sam and Daddy napping on the couch

Does this look familiar? Jack did this same thing - lifting his legs and head at the same time

Family picture!

Jack holding Sammy! He's so proud!

Auntie Amy and the boys

Jack is still in love with the vacuum and pretends to vacuum all day long if we'll let him...

Great Grandpa Olson and Jack!

Great Grandma Olson and Sam

Now Jack with Daddy's shoes...

Daddy and Sam

Plastic bags again...you get the picture of how our life goes...

Sam's first bath! He did great...no crying until we took him out!

Jack wanted to be right there helping Daddy with Sam's bath!

Jack kissing Sam to try to get him to stop crying...so sweet...

The BIG Day!!!

January 4th - DAY 6

Troy, Jack, my mom and I arrived at the hospital around 10am that morning. The first words out of the nurse's mouth were "Sam's going home today!" We were hoping for this but really hadn't gotten our hopes up...so you can imagine the joy that came from hearing those words!

One of the requirements for leaving the NICU was having Sam sit in his car seat for an hour to make sure his breathing was not affected in that position. So around 11am he was put into his seat and we went downstairs to eat some lunch to try and distract us for a bit - because as you can imagine we were all pretty anxious at this point!

At noon he was discharged! Jack and Nana were standing outside the doors waiting for us. Introducing our two sons was such a special moment! Jack did so great...he was so curious and excited! It was so fun to get Sam home and just be a family...what a wonderful feeling! We are so blessed and thankful that Sam's health is restored and that our prayers for fast healing were answered! Troy and I can't begin to describe the joy we've felt over this past week and especially now that we are at home!

Enjoy the pictures of Sam's special day and thanks again to all of you for your love, support and prayers!

Sam doing his "car seat test"

Jack looking at his baby brother's picture before meeting him...
Jack is waiting for the doors to open and for us to come out!

Our two boys meeting for the first time!!!

Jack and Sam looking at each other

Our first family picture!

Sam was so alert...it was fun to see his eyes!

Nana's first time holding Sam!

Daddy feeding Sam for the first time!

Tired baby boy...

Jack giving his baby brother kisses!!

January 3rd - DAY 5

Today we started seeing promises of maybe taking Sam home soon! He was out of the lights for jaundice and was eating really well! We also got to see our little guy's face for the first time without any tubes or eye protection! We really enjoyed our time at the hospital that night spending about 2 hours holding him...which was also a first. By far the longest he had been outside the confines of his isolet!

Loving my holding time and looking at his sweet face!

Daddy and Sam
Nana's first time touching him!

Drinking a "big" bottle!

The nurse dressed him in clothes for the first time...he's looking like a normal baby now!!

January 2nd - DAY 4

At the beginning of day 4, Sam was diagnosed as jaundice. With all the lights he looked like he was in a tanning bed the whole day! Because of the need to be under the lights, he was only able to come out during feeding and when they took his vitals. The big news of the day was that he started taking a bottle and by the end of the day, I was able to nurse him! This is a huge thing for babies with respiratory issues because it means he's figured out how to suck, swallow and breathe without having any of it go down the "wrong tube" and into his lungs. We were SO proud of him and it was wonderful to have some snuggle time at the end of the day before we said goodnight to him!

Enjoy the pictures!

Hanging out in his "tanning bed"

Here is the monitor with his vitals that we watch so intently each time we are there
Sam's little corner...

Getting weighed - 6 lbs 11 oz...still a good size!

Taking his bottle from Mommy!