Since we brought Sam home...

Max just loves his little brother (much to our relief). He really is so cute with Sam, giving him kisses, caressing his head, and helping me pat his back during burp time. Whenever Max hears Sam grunt or cry, he'll say "Uh-Oh-- Sam--fiyuh" and point to his little brother--indicating to Paul or I that we need to give little Sam his pacifier.

The visit from my parents has been one of the things our family has been looking forward to for quite a while. It was exciting for us to show them where we live, and for them to see our two beautiful boys. But mostly, I have missed them and it was so wonderful to have them around, especially when I really needed the help and the company.

Max just loved Papa and Gramma Jill. He had to show them his horse collection (I think he might actually have more horses than Papa), and his motorcycles. And they introduced him to football--he was having quite the good time watching the opening weekend games with them.

They were both so great with little Sam. Max occupies so much of my time that I feel like I can't hold Sam as much as I would like. My mom was more than eager to fill this void. He was actually kind of crabby the day they left since there was no one around to hold him and play with him the way they did.

We did a lot of nothing for most of my parents' visit, partly because it rained so much and partly because it is such an ordeal to take a newborn and toddler anywhere (and partly because there were so many football games to watch on TV). But, we did take a drive into downtown historical Philadelphia where we visited Benjamin Franklin's Grave, Liberty Bell, and saw Independence Hall.

Papa and Gramma in front of Independence Hall

Gramma and Max at Liberty Bell

Gramma and Max walking around Philadelphia.

Max absolutely detests riding in the stroller and complains and struggles to get out the entire time he's in there. Consequently, he either walked very slowly and occasionally would hold someone's hand, or one of us had to carry him (and he is heavy).

We also made a drive into Amish Country. It was quite interesting to see the horse drawn buggies alongside the road and see the way this culture lives--like a step back into history. While we were driving around we saw a train carrying passengers and thought that not only would Max love this (he has acquired quite the fondness for Thomas the Train), but it might also be a great way for us to see the spectacular countryside.

This turned out to be a great idea as--unbeknownst to us--Thomas himself was actually one of the trains at this attraction. Max was ecstatic to actually see "Tommy Choo-choo" in real life. We didn't end up riding on the Thomas Train, as this ride was relatively shorter with longer lines and cost more money; we rode the regular train instead (and Max didn't even know the difference).

Paul took this picture of Max while we were waiting for our train to come. My camera battery died shortly after so we didn't get any shots while on the train.

Needless to say, when the day for my parents to return to Utah came much too quickly, I was beyond sad. Max was trying to figure out why mommy was crying so hard, and, as hard as I tried to hide it from him, there was no holding back. Everyone who knows me knows how emotional I am anyway, and couple that with postpartum hormones and you get one very teary Ginger. Probably the saddest part about their departure is that I don't know when I will see them again. It is hard for them to just up and leave their ranch for any length of time. And the thought of me flying for over 4 hours with two little ones during the height of flu (and swine flu) season doesn't sound so appealing (especially since I haven't even figured out how to efficiently leave the house to run minor errands with the two of them in tow). So, hopefully somehow or another I will get to see someone in my family very soon.

In the meantime, since we brought Sam home we have been trying to do a lot of fun things for Max. My sweet little guy--his entire world has been shaken up. He has been the center of Paul's and my universe for almost two years and to have to share the spotlight has been a little difficult for him. We don't want him to feel too neglected or resentful of Sam, although at times-- especially at feeding time--this seems rather difficult. He is very cute with his little brother, but he is also demanding a lot more attention and being a lot clingier than before little Sam forced him to share his mommy and daddy.

We've been going to some new and fun parks where he prefers running around over the playground...

We went to a place called Linvilla Orchards--about 20 minutes from our house--where they have a lot of animals and a great playground.

Max got to see the turkeys, chickens and roosters,

but he was a little upset that he couldn't ride the horses.

At least he got to feed the hungry goats.

However, once he spotted the tractors it was all over. He was so upset that he couldn't ride in one that we had to load up and go home.

We also went to a very mediocre zoo in Wilmington, DE. We chose this zoo instead of the bigger one in Philadelphia because it was so much closer to our house. It was so tiny and had few animals, none of which were very exciting.

Max did get to feed and pet these goats--pretty much the highlight of our zoo visit.

Here is my new double stroller. It is so long and heavy. Hopefully, if Max will oblige, pushing the two of them around will help me lose my pregnancy weight.

Max wants me to carry him and hold him all the time now. Since he is so heavy and since I often need both my hands, I will just deposit him right on the kitchen counter so he can see what I am doing. I was making him a sandwich the other day, and I turned my back on him briefly to check on Sam. When I looked back at Max, this is what I saw...(and it was so cute I had to grab my camera)...

Now, he has no interest in a PB&J sandwich--he only wants the jar of peanut butter. Hopefully he will forget about this soon enough as these sandwiches are one of only a handful of things he will actually eat these days--and giving him a jar of peanut butter is much too messy.

Max has a new book with a picture of an ice cream cone in it. He really didn't know what one was, so whenever we read it we pretend that we are licking a cone and even make a silly sound to accompany it. The other day I decided to buy some cones and he knew right away what they were, so I gave him his first ice cream cone. He looooved it!

And I created a monster because now he always asks for one, using the cute little pretend licking motion and sound we use during our story. It's so hard to say 'no' to this smart little guy sometimes...

Max has also discovered a love for bubble baths. Every so often we will let him bathe in our big tub with bubbles.

He has so much fun. Even though he has no clue who Santa Claus is, he puts the bubbles on his chin and says, "Ho-ho-ho!"

Since I am no longer pregnant, we decided to have Sushi for dinner the other night. However, instead of hauling both kids to a restaurant, we decided we would enjoy it more if we ordered it "to go".

Max actually tried a few bites, but mostly he enjoyed trying to eat with the chopsticks (and oh what a mess he made).

Love this little guy. He is growing up so much. It is funny--before I brought Sam home Max was my baby. I thought he was just so little. And now, after holding little Sam, Max is a GIANT. His hands, his head, his diapers...I am so sad that he is growing up so fast. But, he just keeps getting more and more fun.

Little Sammy is growing really fast, too. He weighed 7 lbs 4 oz when he was born, and just 2 1/2 weeks later weighed a whopping 8 lbs 14 oz. He is just the sweetest, most mellow baby. He rarely cries, but he does this little "grunting" thing all night long--like he's trying to tell us, "Hey--I'm awake! Let's play!"

Even though Max is really cute with Sam, sometimes he is not as gentle as we would like. So, we put Sam on the table--out of harm's way, or so we thought...

Max quickly figured out how to climb up onto the table.

My adorable, sweet little boys...

Sam's Exciting Birth

Wow! What a crazy story we have to tell. It's impossible to put into words the emotion that one feels from such an experience, so the following is more of a description or timeline than an attempt to convey what we went through. Paul has said several times that he is still trying to put his arms around the whole experience. The end result is what we had hoped for--whether it took place in our home or in a hospital. Our family has grown by one, and he is perfect and healthy. For that, we are eternally grateful. I guess I will start at the beginning and try not to make it too long because I know my family is dying for me to post this blog so they can see pictures of our amazing baby boy.

Well, I will start with Maggie's arrival in PA. She came on the 22nd--exactly a week before my due date on the 29th and I was so scared that I would go into labor before she got here. But, once she was here I was certain that I would be pregnant forever--going well over my due date yet again. I had an OB appointment on Tuesday the 25th and my doctor gave me the depressing news that nothing was happening with my cervix and that it looked like it would be a while before I went into labor--we even discussed induction dates so that I could have Sam and be out of the hospital before my parents arrived on the 9th of September.

So, we were going about life as usual, thinking that it would be a while before we had a new baby. I was just enjoying my two handsome guys and trying to get everything clean and organized and feeling so grateful that Maggie was there to keep me company and help out with Max...

On Thursday, the 27th, Maggie and I took Max over to a birthday party for one of the little girls in our playgroup. It was a hot and sunny day and we stood outside for a couple of hours watching the little ones play. Max had a great time, and on our way home we stopped at the grocery store. I felt completely fine (though maybe a bit sweaty from the rampant heat) throughout all of this.

We finally got home around 1:30 that afternoon and when we walked in the house I started feeling a little "crampy"--sort of like my pants were too uncomfortably tight. I changed into one of Paul's T-shirts and some loose shorts and went to play with Max for a few more minutes before his nap. I was still feeling crampy but not at all like I was having contractions and I thought that maybe I had just spent too much time standing in the hot sun. Maggie could see that I was uncomfortable and suggested that I call Paul since he works in the city and commutes via the train. I initially resisted, however, because I was certain that if Paul came all the way home from work that I definitely wouldn't be in labor and I would doom myself to two more weeks of being pregnant. Maggie was persistent (thankfully) and I ended up calling Paul, telling him that it was probably nothing, but maybe he better come home "just in case." Paul checked the train schedule and figured the next train would get him home around 3:30. He was also not very optimistic that this was the real deal. By this time it was about 2:00 and I decided to put Max down for a nap. My pain was still not at a point where I would consider myself having "contractions", but I was getting noticeably more uncomfortable. So, when Max fell asleep I decided to take a warm bath in our jetted tub.

At this point (around 2:30) I decided that I was most likely in labor. Although my contractions weren't that bad yet, there was a start and stop to them. I didn't time them, but I figured they were only 30 seconds or so long and irregularly spaced. My doctor had instructed me to call when my contractions lasted 60 seconds and were 2-5 minutes apart for an hour. By my calculations I was a long way from this. So, I stayed in the tub and practiced breathing through the pain. When Paul got home at 3:30 I was still in the tub. It had been an hour and my contractions were getting closer together, but they still weren't that bad or that long.

Max woke up about this time and I figured I had better get out of the tub and finish packing my hospital bag, knowing Max would be at my feet the rest of the time I spent at home. With a stopwatch around his neck, Paul timed my contractions while he threw a few things in his bag, took out the garbage, changed car seats around, and brought his dry cleaning in. In the meantime, I was trying to disguise my worsening pain from Max as I played with him while packing and breathing through contractions. At 4:00, only a half hour after Paul got home and barely 2 1/2 hours after my crampiness started, we estimated that my contractions were only 1-2 minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds. However, they still weren't that bad. I was in a lot of pain, but not the writhing, torturing, excruciating anguish that Max's labor had given me. We called my doctor who told us to head to the hospital. But, since it had only been 2 1/2 hours and because of the difference in labor pains from my first experience, I was just sure that they would examine me once I got there and tell me either to go back home, or that I could stay but I had hours and hours of labor ahead of me. At any rate, we were off to the hospital.

At around 4:10 I picked up Max one last time to give him a big goodbye hug before heading out the door and then "SPLAT!"--my water broke. I knew instantly that we weren't going anywhere as I immediately felt this overwhelming sensation to push. I'm not quite sure of the words I used, but something like, "This baby is coming right now!" I have no idea what Maggie and Paul's reactions were as I ran into the bathroom and fought off the first pushing contraction. I remember them telling me, "No it's not. Let's just get in the car right now and go to the hospital." I replied, "Only if you want this baby to be born in the car!" at which point I had another urge to push and couldn't hold back. I felt the baby crowning and immediately laid myself on the floor--half in the bathroom, half in the hallway. I think at this point Paul knew I was serious and yelled for Maggie to call 911. She had Max crying in her arms and didn't know our address or township so Paul grabbed the phone and Maggie took Max outside. Paul was able to get the ambulance dispatched, but as far as help with the delivery it seemed as though the operator was clueless. Dr. Paul definitely was on his own as far as the birth of this baby was concerned. At 4:20, after only two more pushes, Sam was born. It was very surreal. I had just birthed my baby in our hallway on the floor not even 3 hours after labor started. It seemed so easy. The baby wasn't crying but he was pinking up nicely, seemed alert and was moving around so I didn't get too concerned. He was sort of coughing, and Paul said so to the dispatcher who told us to suction him. Luckily, I knew where the bulb syringes were and Paul ran upstairs to get them and some towels to wrap and warm the baby in. I suctioned Sam the best I could, and told Paul to get the camera so we could snap some pictures of this exciting moment. By the time the paramedics arrived I was breastfeeding little Sam and I knew that we were lucky--everything was going to be alright. Now, if only I could get Paul to blog his side of this story it would put the stress and worry of these 10 minutes into perspective. I don't know whether it was Mother Nature or my ER nursing experience, but for some reason I didn't once panic. I somehow knew it would all be okay and I felt absolutely great afterwards.

They loaded Sam and I onto a stretcher and into the ambulance with Max in the background saying, "Mama, baby, truck!" Paul followed in a separate car and arrived moments after we did. All of the hospital staff were amazed at our incredible story and how perfect everything turned out. We finally got to weigh and measure Sam about 45 minutes after he was born--he weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and is 20 inches long.

Here are the photos Paul snapped (at my prodding) of Sam Harris Blane moments after he was born.

I didn't pay attention, but it doesn't look like our hallway was covered in that much blood. Notice the bulb syringe in my hand.

The closest towels Paul could grab were from the laundry room--the ones we typically use as rags. Fortunately, they had recently been cleaned in bleach.

This picture is just moments after our arrival at the hospital.

The pictures above...the way Mother Nature intended. The pictures below are how we do it now...

Sam is such a handsome, sweet baby. I've included a lot of pictures because I know it will be a long time before most of my family get to meet this amazing little guy.

This picture is one of my favorites. He is just a couple of hours old yet he looks like a 3-month old deep in thought...

Finally, after two nights we get to leave the hospital. Sam seemed so tiny in his brown chariot...

Paul and I were really missing Max. I couldn't wait to hug him and he seemed so happy to see us. It was so fun to introduce him to Sam. I was a little worried about what his reaction might be, but he was so sweet and excited to meet his new baby brother. The following pictures are their first introduction...

I think Sam looks a lot like his daddy...

We are so grateful for Maggie. She stayed with Max while we were in the hospital--not an easy task. Thank you so much, Mimi--we couldn't have done it without you!

Max really loves Sam. He's always giving him kisses and wanting to "pet" him. He wants to hold him a lot, too, which I think is so sweet.