One Month Old!!

Samuel is 1 month old today, I can't believe it. I feel like we were just at the hospital yesterday, however his clothes are telling us another story. On Monday, I had to pack away his first set of clothes that have now gotten to small. I tried to put him in a sleeper on Sunday night, one mind you that flooded him when he was born and now the pant legs only go to his knees. When people told me they grow quickly enjoy them little while you can, I never imagined it would be like this.

The last month has been one of the best of my life, I can't explain in words how Samuel has changed our lives, but how amazing it is to have him here. He has started smiling and when I catch a glimps of him smiling at me during the day it melts my heart. We still struggle as to who he looks like, some days he is defintiely Ben's son, and some days he looks more like me. The one he does look like every day is a little chipmunk with his chubby cheeks!
We also feel very lucky for our friends and family. Samuel has received so many great outfits and gifts, he is so lucky to have such great people in his life. Tonight was a great example, my dinner club group came over and each brought a premade dinner for us, that will allow me to not cook for the next week, AMAZING, and THANK YOU!!

Samuel is doing great, growing like a weed and starting to interact with us. He makes good eye contact, when he is not staring at his best friends "the lights" in our house, smiling, lifting his head (Dad even sings a song he made for Samuel to enjoy tummy time,) and starting to get a pretty good sleep schedule (well its predictable atleast.)

Samuel also found out he has some new friends on the way, we found out this week that 3 of our good friends are expecting their first baby, we are so excited for them and can't wait to the little ones.

Daily Adventures

Cabin fever has begun to set in for me, and so in the last few days Ben and I have tried to do a few activities with Samuel outside of the house. The great news is that Ben has been able to do all of these with us, because school has been canceled for him all week. The weather has been so cold, they have not wanted the kids to be on the bus, LUCKY BEN!! We had our 1st dinner out with Samuel, we went to Jose Peppers and it was great. Samuel slept the entire time. Samuel loves the car and even on a 5 minute drive he puts himself to sleep.

Then today we decided to venture out and take Samuel to his first movie. We thought a 10:15 movie would be pretty empty, WOW were we wrong. Samuel was great for the 1st hour and then wanted to wake up. He was a real trickster, as he would make 1 peep and I would walk out of the theater and then he was silent, and right back to sleep. This happened about 4 times during the movie, if the lights weren't so dark the rest of the people would have seen me with the redest face I think I have ever had. Needless to say we will be looking at movie durations, and renting vs. going to the theater. And finally, when did romantic comedies start lasting over 2 hours??
This past Sunday we had Samuel's newborn pictures taken, and that was an adventure. Our house was turned up to 80 degrees so that Samuel would be comfortable naked. No one prepares you for the things that can occur. Because they take a lot of naked pictures accidents are bound to happen. Samuel was a rockstar in that category having 4 different accidents during our session. Also, when you take pictures you should schedule them at a good time when you KNOW they will be sleeping, because Samuel was wide awake for the first half of his pictures, and he was not all about putting his hands under his chin or curling up in a little ball. Needless to say Ben and I coudln't stop laughing at the entire event, and glad that Samuel has a mind of his own and keeps things interesting. Pictures will be done later this week and we can't wait to see how they turned out.

Samuel had his 2nd doctors appointment on Monday and he is doing great. He now weighs 7lbs. 14oz. and they were really glad to see that he had exceeded his birth weight. Everything else checked out great and we are doctor free until 2 months.
Happy New Year to everyone!!

Happy Holidays - Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!

Ben and I received our best Christmas gift ever this year, the birth of our son, Samuel. We were released from the hospital on Wednesday, just in time to be home together as a family for the holiday. Due to the serious weather conditions we had this week, a lot of our family had to drive back home, so it was a small Christmas with Samuel, my mother, Ben and I. Even with this we had a great day just spending time with our favorite gift. This is just one of the many many pictures we took on Christmas of Samuel in his Santa suit. We put Sam in 4 different outfits throughout the day so he could wear all of the cute little holiday outfits that we had gotten for him. We are pretty sure Samuel already thinks his parents are crazy forcing him into all of these outfits and taking tons of pictures, sorry Samuel hopefully when you grow up you will forgive us.

We have been so fortunate to have my mother here with us, it has made the transition home from the hospital a great one and allowed us to really spend time with our son. She has been such a great help, Samuel is so fortunate to have such an amazing grandmother that loves him so much! She is leaving this week and we can't imagine how different it will be without her.

Samuel is adjusting well, I got my first present from him while changing his 1st diaper after we got home. He is eating well, and sleeping about 3 hours at a time at night, allowing Ben and I to get pretty good sleep. With each day he is more and more alert, loving to look at the lights on the Christmas tree. We spend most of our days watching him and even fighting to get to be the one to change his diaper (how crazy are we.)

Thank you to everyone for your support and calls over the last week. We will continue to update his blog as he grows.

Samuel Joseph Levy

Well, I got what I wished for. Samuel Joseph Levy was born, yesterday December 21st at 2:15pm. It was an amazing experience and Ben and I couldn't be happier. My water broke early in the morning and we headed into the hospital. We were shocked (and we are not sure why) when they told us we were going to have a son in just a few hours.

Ben was fantastic and so supportive. And from the minute he arrived, they have had such a great bond. Ben can't go more than 20 minutes without holding him, it is so cute and I feel so fortunate to have a husband that is going to be such a great father.

All of our family has made it to Kansas City and had the chance to meet our new addition. We feel so fortunate that he has so much love surrounding him. Here is a family picture to get you started, we will send more when we get home.

With Love, Ben, Noelle and Samuel

Family in Waiting

We are 39 weeks, and you guessed it we are still waiting for Little Levy to make his debut. I have never been a very patient person, but this is like torture. As most of you know I am a VERY type A person and I do not have the means or tools to understand what is going on. Normally, when a difficult situation arises, I assess, figure out my options and what I need and then execute. Unfortunately, when I did that with trying to get little Levy to arrive I have come up unsuccessful. And yes, I have tried it ALL!! I have read all the websites, blogs and ideas in books on how to induce your own labor and all have failed. The only thing I have not tried is acupuncture which I may consider this week. People at the gym think I am crazy. I am there for hours every day trying to walk this guy out of me, but with no success. Hopefully it will help with my recovery. What I should see is that we are fortunate that he has stayed in this long as he has, as he could have arrived 10 weeks ago. Ben keeps reminding me that his ACTUAL due date is still 6 days away which is true, but I can't handle it anymore, not because I am uncomfortable because for the most part I feel great, I am just so excited to meet him.

On another note, our doctors appointment went well and we are still right on track she thinks he is still in the 7.5 lbs range and has a heart rate of 130-140. My doctor actually told me she was surprised she didn't get a call from us over the weekend while she was on call. We did however discuss the idea of having a resident appear in the delivery room when he does arrive and she promised me it will not happen.
I guess I am just so excited to meet our son, see what he looks like and start the next chapter in our life, that I am impatient. I have been talking to him for so long I really just want to get to do it face to face. But we are in the home stretch and within 10 days he will be here.

Ben and I have also gotten to continue our empty nest activities. We are eating out and seeing lots of movies. If you need any suggestions on what to see with your family over the holidays just let me know, we've seen em all!!

Ben and I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends, and that 2010 is full of happiness!!

38 Weeks

This week was a week of to do's. I have been putting off a lot of things until my maternity leave started and they all came due this week. We now have an inspected car seat, Kansas pediatrician, insurance approval and savings/investment plan for little Levy. These little things are helping me to sleep a little better each day, which is getting harder and harder to come by.
We also had another baby shower this week. Ben's school threw us a very nice baby shower on Friday after classes. We got a lot more monkey toys, books and clothes for little Levy, and received some amazing hand made blankets that are the softest things I have ever felt. It was great to get to meet the people he works with every day.
Our doctors appointment this week was pretty uneventful. Things are right on track, but from what she can tell he is growing very quickly. Don't know for sure how big he is, but she said she thinks he was around 7 or 7.5 lbs. on Wednesday.
Ben and I are really trying to live these last few weeks up. Seeing movies, going to nice dinners and just relaxing at home with not a care in the world!!
We hope we have some news for all of you in the next 10 days, so keep your fingers crossed. I am such an impatient person that not knowing each day when he will come is exciting, but so hard!!

Full Term - 37 Weeks

So according to all the books and information 37-42 weeks is considered full term, so we have made it. I can't believe 37 weeks have gone by, and at most we have 23 days left to meet little Levy.

We took our final class this week on how to feed little Levy, so hopefully we have all of the essential information. We also did our hospital registration and tour. Shawnee Mission is really a great place, and so supportive during this time. Ben and I keep thinking we should have to pass an exam before all of this happens to determine if we are really ready. "Have they met us. do they know Ben has never changed a diaper?"

My last day of work was Friday, and I still don't think it has set in that I have the next four and a half months off. I am excited to have these next few weeks to relax and hopefully get through some of the reading I have been procrastinating. I still can't believe how fortunate I am to have this time off and to be able to spend it with our new son.

We had another doctors appointment this week and things are moving along. It still could be 23 days but she said it could be sooner. Last night when we thought Nebraska had won the big 12 championship I jumped so high in the air I thought I had for sure induced labor on my own. I had to sit down for a while to catch my breath and realize it was just little Levy having his own little party. A Husker fan so early, really makes his dad proud.

So all of you have patiently waited for this picture, and like I promised it is a doozy. If you took a woman's basketball and put it under your shirt we could probably be twins.