An Overdue Update!

Samantha Elle Baker

Born March 26, 2013 at 5:59 p.m.

8 lbs, 4 oz and 19 3/4 inches long

Our precious Samantha Elle is here!  I can't believe it.  As I hold this baby, staring at her, studying every little detail of her sweet face...I think to myself how surreal it is that she is my daughter.  And I am her mother.  And we are now a little family.  Wow!  ...and if you can't tell, I started writing this post a LONG time ago, as we have an almost two-month old on our hands now, ha!  ;)

Here's a quick run down of how we arrived at baby girl's birthday just over seven weeks ago...  We had our last appointment with our midwife on Monday, March 25th and there was some talk of an induction because of my high blood pressure.  I was 38 1/2 weeks along.  I thought that we might be able to induce naturally, so we went out for Thai food that night.  I know...just an old wives' tale, but I thought I'd give it a try!  I ordered my pad Thai hot, which must have done the trick as I began having contractions during my meal.  No joke!  It was pretty exciting to see them getting closer and closer together...this was it!  I labored at home for 10 hours before heading to the hospital.  Upon admission, I was highly encouraged with the news I was already at 7 cm and thought, "hey, I can do this natural childbirth thing because I only have 3 more cm to go!"  I was so focused that I lost track of time, not even aware that another 12 hours passed by.  At this point, I was sure I had made progress but was disappointed when nothing had happened.  In fact, baby girl had shifted in position and wasn't anywhere near where she needed to be in order to make progress.  I knew by the looks on the faces of everyone in the room..our midwife, the nurse, the attending doctor on call, Blaine...what was coming next.  The safest route for baby girl and me was a cesarean section.  Blaine and I both were disappointed as we really wanted to avoid this situation, but we were overcome with joy at the thought of meeting her so soon.   It seemed to happen so fast...and I'll never forget looking up at Blaine's face as he saw her for the first time and we both heard her cry.  And this girl can cry...very healthy lungs!  I find it amazing that we were holding our daughter in our arms within 30 minutes of that decision and I'd do it all over again for this amazing girl!

Samantha is seven weeks and one day old now and we are adjusting to our new life as a family.  Contrary to what I thought in those first few weeks, it DOES get easier!  And those first few weeks seem like a blur of chaos to me right now.  ;)  But we're finding our groove and getting the hang of things now.  Blaine and I are so in love with her and can't imagine living without her.  I had no idea there was such a space in my heart to love someone this much!  She is doing great...eating well, sleeping well (for the most part), and she seems to change and grow so much with each day.  This new normal for us evokes so many different emotions and has been quite the adventure!  

Meeting my baby girl for the first time...I still get choked up looking at this picture.

Blaine holding Samantha for the first time, so proud!

In love with this girl!

One of Samantha's favorite places to sleep in those first few days was on her daddy's chest.

Our new family!

Grandma and Baby Sam...my parents were here for 10 days and were a huge help!

Finally escaping the hospital!

First car ride...heading home!

Blaze and Holly met Baby Sam for the first time and were so sweet...Blaze is still pretty uninterested and will sniff her every now and then, but Holly is protective and constantly sits by her to keep watch.  She even growled at Blaze a couple of times when he got too close for her comfort!

First bath at home.

Wasn't really into bath time at first, but loves baths now because she likes to suck the water/shampoo off of her fists, ha!

Lots of hair to brush!  We're not sure where she got all of that hair from.  We both imagined a baby with no hair or blonde hair, so this really threw us for a loop!  Ha!

Grandpa and Baby Sam...and Holly protecting "her baby".  :)

Aunt Cassandra even stopped by for a visit on her way to Florida!

Rather than post a bunch of pictures and rush through these past two months of her life, I'll end this post here.  I have many more pictures to post and stories to share, but will save those for a future (hopefully NEAR future) post.  Stay tuned...I'll attempt to blog often, but, of course, spending time with my baby girl takes priority over blogging.  She's napping now, but I have lots of other things to do around the house before the wakes up!  ;)

Baby Update and Another Air Force Move!

Okay, I think it's time I blog about baby and other news in the Baker household!  We've been so busy getting everything ready that the blog has suffered as a result.  Hopefully, you all understand.  :)  From preparing the nursery to planning another move this summer, we really have been on the go!

Normally, I would have blogged about this right away, but it's not really my first priority right now.  We did get news that we will be moving again in June...to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois!  Blaine will be working a joint staff job for two to three years.  I know he misses flying but I can't complain that we will have him home for a good while.  I've never been to the midwest, but I hear St. Louis, which is only 30 minutes from the base, is a great city with so much to offer!  I have been thumbing through my official visitor's guide to St. Louis and have found a lot of neat things to see and do.  It may be my pregnancy cravings, but one that stands out is a brewery that makes it's own sodas!  Yum!  

As far as baby goes, she is doing great!  We had more visits to our midwife than we would have liked last week due to some blood pressure issues with me, but it was good to get the careful attention and see our sweet girl on ultrasound again.  They did a non-stress test on Baby Sam and she was not so happy with being poked and prodded.  Our midwife even put a loud buzzing/vibrating wand next to my belly when she wouldn't move for us, and it startled her so much that she jumped to the other side of my belly!  I felt so bad, but we all laughed.  Then on ultrasound, we got a glimpse of her very chubby cheeks and the fat rolls on top of her feet!  Ahh, I'm in love.  The ultrasound showed that she is growing right on track and estimated that she weighs about seven pounds now.  And my blood pressure is back to normal thanks to the medication I am taking now.  It hasn't helped with the ridiculous swelling of my entire body, but everyone tells me that will go away after baby girl is born.  Fingers crossed.  ;)

And, for fun, here's how my growing belly has changed over the past nine months!  

2 months (or close enough)

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months...this was taken today!  

I look back on the first picture at seven weeks and laugh at the fact that I thought I was overweight then.  If only I can look like that again when this is all said and done, ha!  ;)

I do have some pictures of the nursery, but they are grainy iPhone photos, so I'll wait until I can get some better ones to share them with you here.  Who knows...maybe next time I blog, I'll have pictures of our baby girl to share, too!!

IO Culture Day!

I know I should be posting nursery pictures, belly shots, and baby updates...but I couldn't pass up blogging about an awesome experience we had today.  Each year, ACSC (the school Blaine attends at Maxwell AFB) hosts an International Officers' Culture Day.  Of the 400 students here at ACSC, roughly 80 of them come from different countries around the world.  Today is a celebration of them, and they get to showcase their countries with decorations and foods from home.  What a treat!  We had such a great time, I think I could have stayed all day!

We sampled foods from Afghanistan, France, Georgia, Germany, Malaysia, Nigeria, Qatar, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.  There were many more countries there, we just didn't get to all of them.  It was really special, too, to see all of the children running around and playing in their traditional garments from back home.  We felt humbled and honored to be a part of such a fun day for these families!  You could see the pride in their eyes and smiles each time we stopped to listen about their cultures and try their homemade dishes.

Such a great turn out of people!

Edros and Zai (Malaysia)...Edros was in Blaine's class last semester.

Khalifa (Qatar) was also in Blaine's class last semester.

Mamman (Nigeria) is on the right...he's in Blaine's class this semester.

Blaine really likes Mamman...he's also a pilot and his wife is a neurosurgeon.  No big deal.  ;)

Tiger (Taiwan) is also in Blaine's class this semester.

Had to pay a visit to the UK for Blaine and his mom!

Blaine thoroughly enjoyed Pimm's and Boddington's while I devoured bangars and scones with jam and clotted cream!  Yum!

I really enjoyed the homemade sauerkraut and sausages from my homeland of Germany!

As we were leaving, we stopped for a while to watch the kids play a soccer (football) game.  It was amazing to see children from all of these different countries playing together...I think everyone watching was smiling and in awe of this precious picture.  :)  Today will certainly be a fond memory of ACSC for me.

A Tea Room Baby Shower!

Some of my fellow AF spouses hosted a lovely baby shower for me this past weekend and it was amazing!  I've been trying to convince moms-to-be for a while now that a tea room shower would be adorable, but I haven't had any takers.  I was beyond thrilled when this became an option for my very own shower!  I love tea rooms.  :)  When my wonderful friends in Hawaii heard about this, they offered to help, too, making this the perfect day!  There were 12 ladies in attendance; some neighbors, others whose spouses are in classes with Blaine, and some more that are just friends from different spouse groups here in Montgomery.

Cute tea setting with spa favors for each guest

Enjoying afternoon tea and good company

Yummy foods...I can't wait to go back to just have lunch soon!

Sweet gifts from my generous friends

Poor ladies having to endure watching me open gifts...I'm a slow gift opener and talk quite a bit.  ;)

One of many cute outfits for Baby Sam

There are actually A LOT of pictures of me opening gifts...but I could only find a few where I didn't look absolutely huge!  Seriously.

Beautiful handmade blanket made by one of my neighbors.  She also sells on Etsy...her company is called Mouse & Me.

Bonnie (one of the hostesses) and her three-week old son, Isaac...isn't he adorable?!

Another sweet outfit!

Thanks ladies for making me feel so special and loved!  The only thing missing here are my amazing friends in Hawaii...sure do miss you girls!  I can't thank you enough for all the happiness you bring into my life.  :)

More Ultrasound Pictures

We had our 4-D ultrasound re-do yesterday and Baby Sam was much more cooperative this go around!  Here are some of my favorites...

I just LOVE this little face...I stare at it all day long, really.  Those cheeks and plump little lips are so adorable and kissable!

Another face shot...we think she has my jawline and Blaine's nose.  

Look at that chubby belly!  I just love it!

So our ultrasound tech says that Baby Sam is growing right on track and is, maybe, a bit on the big side.  Her heart rate was good, she's moving all around, she's head-down, but her weight is estimated to be 4.8 pounds!  My midwife gave me a funny look when I told her the weight estimate.  I think I may have a monster of a baby.  I mean, just look at how big I am now!  And I still have nine weeks for her to grow bigger!!

Big baby girl!  And momma, too...I'm feeling very puffy these days.  ;)

My next blog post should consist of shower pictures...the AF spouses here in Montgomery, along with help from my wonderful friends back in Hawaii, are hosting a shower for me this Saturday at a tea room!  I'm so excited and humbled by these girls' generosity, I have awesome friends!  And I also hope to have pictures of the nursery in the near future, as we are going to Atlanta in two weeks to pick up the rest of Baby Sam's furniture!  I can't wait to put it all together and have a complete nursery for our sweet baby girl.  :)

All Things Baby!

30 weeks today!  Only 10 more to go...and I'm feeling the nesting urge and time crunch to have everything perfect for Baby Sam's arrival.  The nursery is coming together, I have a list of must-haves that I need to shop for, and my growing belly serves as a constant reminder that we are in the home stretch.  And we couldn't be more excited!  Blaine and I talk daily about meeting her for the first time and what our lives will be like once she's here.  She's moving constantly and we enjoy watching and feeling her little squirms, punches, and kicks.  Aside from swollen feet and fingers (my wedding rings are officially stuck and will probably have to be cut off soon), and some backaches, I'm feeling great and anxiously look forward to delivery day!

To capture this amazing time, we decided to take some maternity pictures.  I set out to hire a photographer, but decided that we could do them ourselves to save some money.  We scouted out areas with nice backgrounds, bought a wireless shutter remote for the camera, and set out with our tripod and gear on a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon!  I was skeptical, but, to my surprise, I think we got some really nice shots.  And we learned that Blaine is actually a great photographer!  Out of 400 photos, we ended up with about 40 that I would actually put into an album.  I look at these pictures and still laugh because the photographer I was talking with wanted me to wait another five to seven weeks so that my belly would be "nice and round".  I don't think that was a problem for these pictures...and I don't think I will want to be photographed in another five to seven weeks.  ;)

We went in yesterday for a 4-D ultrasound, something I wasn't sure we would do, but decided on it after all.  Mainly, I wanted to see her again and make sure she was doing well in there.  Our ultrasound tech was AMAZING, taking the time to go over every detail and she checked out all of her measurements again to ensure her growth is right on track.  She also checked (for the third time at my request) that she is, indeed, a girl.  :)  Samantha was not very cooperative, hiding her face in my side, but we got some decent shots.  Our tech (again, LOVE her) said she could get better shots and scheduled us to come back in two weeks to try again...for free!  Maybe I'll have some better pictures then, but for now, you can get some idea of what our precious girl looks like.  We think she is beautiful!

Little fingers and feet!

Side of her face...and yes, she is smiling!  Check out those chubby cheeks!!  As soon as I saw this image on the screen, I thought she looked just like my mom.  And my mom thought that was funny because when I was born, she and my dad said the same thing about me...that I looked like my grandma!

I'll post more ultrasound pictures in two weeks, granted we get some better ones.  And I'm sure my blog posts will consist of baby stuff, nursery pictures, etc. over the next 10 weeks...since that's ALL that's on my mind!  :)