4 Weeks Old

I can't believe Samantha is already 4 weeks old. The time already seems to be going by so quickly. She is growing more everyday. She has been doing a lot of spontaneous smiles and still continues to stare at the face of whoever is holding her. She loves looking out the window at the light coming through and really likes her being in her bouncer or swing. I've made several attempts at carrying her in a sling but she hates it and cries as soon as she's in it. I think she'll end up liking the baby bjorn better but she's still not big enough for it.

Baby's 1st Christmas

Samantha had her first Christmas and boy did she make out.  She got lots of cute clothes and some fun new toys; she even got a new umbrella stroller from Grandme.  We spent Christmas eve at my parents house and Christmas day was spent at home.  We had so much fun spending time with our families and friends.  Samantha has been much more alert during the day and has begun to really focus on faces especially her mommy and daddy's!  We also took her to see Santa and although it was more for us than her, I'm glad we took her.  She didn't even know she was there she slept from the moment we left the house until we returned home.  Santa warned us that next year might not go so well!

SAMANTHAS WORLD

Samantha is now three weeks old and we've quickly learned that she's running the show! Everything has revolved around Samantha, which is great. She has given us a new meaning for life. We have started to get a routine for sleeping, feeding etc.. Toby and I took her to the mall for the first time and she loves to go out but with the weather being so cold we haven't been out much. We are just so proud to be her parents, we love our new roles as mommy and daddy and wouldn't change it for the world. We couldn't imagine our lives without her, she is such a joy, we don't remember what we did before she was here. She is growing more and more each day at her last Dr visit she was 6lbs 7 oz, (I have already filed her little fingernails, twice). We are hoping to see Santa Clause with her in the next couple of days and we will post the pics ASAP.
Samantha had her first real bath last week and she did great. She just looks around and becomes so alert, she especially loves when she gets her hair shampooed.

Busy Baby

Wednesday Samantha went back to the Dr.'s for a blood test to see if her jaundice had gone down. The blood test was harder on me than it was for little Sammie, she's a trooper. It was such a relief to here that it had gone down and that she was doing fine. Thursday we went to the store to buy some more diapers and wipes and other baby essentials; who knew one little baby could go through so many diapers so quickly! Today we made a stop by Shining Light and Samantha was baby Jesus for chapel. It was good to see everyone and they were just as excited to see Samantha. It's been a busy week and now that Daddy will be home tonight we are looking forward to some relaxing family time. Although Samantha has proven to be a great traveler, she loves her carseat and car rides, it will be nice to be home as a family.

Sunshine

So our little girl had her first Dr.'s appointment yesterday and she did great and was completely alert the whole time, she had all the Dr.'s and nurses in love with her - what a little charmer!  She's only lost an ounce of her birth weight which was good but she is still a little jaundice.  We go back to the Dr. tomorrow to make sure that her levels have gone down.  The Dr. said to put her in some sunlight to help but there hasn't been much sun and it's been so cold outside so I've kept all the blinds open to let in as much natural light as possible.  I think we might go on a sunshine hunt later today.  Samantha has become a champion sleeper.  The first few nights she slept in one and two hour stretches now she's up to 3 1/2 hrs which lets me get some much needed sleep. 

Our first weekend home

It was so great to be home and have Toby here. We are so in love with this little girl she is everything we hoped and dreamed and more. I was glad to have Toby here on Saturday night when Samantha decided she wanted to be awake most of the night. We also had a visit from Toby's brother, sister-in-law, and Samantha's cousin Nash. Nash reached his arms out to hold Samantha and was so good and gentle with her, It was the cutest. It was hard to have Toby leave again but knowing it's his last week makes it a little easier and then he's taking a few weeks off, I can't wait.

She's Here

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Samantha Grace Lay decided to surprise us by coming early.  My water broke Tuesday night and she was Born the next day, December 3, at 1:42pm weighing 6lbs and was 18inches long.  Everything went so quickly I wasn't sure if Toby was even going to make it here in time, thankfully he did.  Samantha is amazing and we are overwhelmed with joy and happiness for our beautiful baby girl.  I never knew I could love someone so much for just being alive it was like my heart was born with her.  She is a little peanut and the cutest thing ever so far she's an easy going content baby.  However, our days have become a blur of eat, sleep, poop!  We just watch her constantly each squint and squirm has become our favorite topic of conversation, we can't get enough of her.  We are truly blessed.

Thanksgiving

Toby had four days off for Thanksgiving.  We were able to spend Thanksgiving day with both of our families and it was good seeing them all and they were glad to see the belly growing!  We also finished decorating the house for Christmas, Christmas shopping and wrapped all our presents.  The last thing to do we did before Toby went back to LA was prepare our hospital bags, so now that everything is ready for Samantha's arrival I feel much more relaxed.   I'm staying at my parents house until Samantha arrives so I can be close to the hospital if anything happens.  My mom has been an amazing help and I'm so glad to have parents who are so supportive.