Pictures!

I would have posted the maternity pictures that we had taken a long time ago, but we just received them in the mail from our photographer last week. It seems pretty anti-climatic to even post these pictures, seeing as how Samuel is over a month old now, but they are pretty cute, so here they are!

I also have the pictures from Samuel's newborn photo shoot! They were taken when he was the ripe age of five days old. We hired a professional photographer to take these for us.  They ended out costing us an arm and a leg, but I think they were worth every penny! And not to mention the fact that they were delivered to us within days after we ordered our prints. Lesson learned: You get what you pay for.

Life with a Newborn

What can I say? Samuel is...perfect. I can't even find adequate words to express how much we love him and how far that love reaches deep down inside of us. Being home with Brandon and baby Samuel these past couple of weeks has made me see life in a completely different light. I am constantly in prayer thanking God for the little family He has given me. I have fallen more deeply in love with my husband, I love Caden more, and well, Samuel just plain stole my heart the moment I first heard him cry. I think back to when Brandon and I were praying every night for a girl and I am so thankful that God said "no" and gave us Samuel instead. I couldn't imagine life without our precious little boy.

I must brag on my husband now. Brandon has been absolutely amazing. I knew that he would be, but he has far exceeded the unspoken expectations of what I thought he would be like as a new daddy. I was so relieved that he didn't pass out in the operating room (which was a huge feat in itself) and I will never forget the moment we shared when we heard Samuel's first cry. It was a beautiful moment and I praise God for it. Brandon was at the top of his game during the hospital stay and helped me with anything and everything that I needed, and with so much patience. He is also a very committed,  hands-on daddy. Since we have been home, he has been the one waking up every two hours to change Samuel's diapers, feed him, and rock him to sleep again.  (I bet he is relieved that I am finally feeling able enough to start working shifts with him during the nights now!) Samuel is barely ever left alone in his crib or pack n' play while he is awake or sleeping because his daddy would rather hold him and read/sing/talk to him. What a lucky kid to have a daddy like that...and how lucky I am to have him as my husband. He had alarms set on his phone to remind me to take my pain medication, and not only that, but he brought it to me along with a bottle of water so I didn't have to get up. Not to mention, he's been pulling all of the weight around the house as far as chores go while also dealing with our (God love him) defiant six year old and he does all of this without even one complaint. Lord, what did I do to deserve such a man?

Back to Samuel... I love the little grunts and cute noises he makes, the way that he breathes, the faces he makes when he starts to fall asleep, especially when he smiles. I love the way he smells and how quickly he calms down to the sound of our voices and embraces when we come to the rescue when he cries. I love to nibble his little toes and the feel of his little fingers when they grip ahold of one of mine. I love him, oh Lord, how I love him.

Here are some shots we've taken around the house these past couple of weeks.

Here is Bella checking out what's moving around in the bassinet.

 (This one is for you, mom!) Sam w/ his eyes open.

Hanging out with daddy while he works on computers.

lol @ Samuel's pirate face. Arrr!

Sleeping baby...

Sleepy parents...

Even Bella is sleepy...

And I saved the best for last. I got lucky and happened to catch one of those precious smiles that he makes while he falls asleep. I wonder what he was thinking of...it had to be mommy and daddy. :)

Oh Happy Day!

Samuel Allen Wilkerson was finally born May 26, 2010 at 8:01 a.m. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 11.5 oz, and was 22 inches long. He had a full head of dark brown hair, and his feet were just as gigantic as I predicted they would be! Here are some pictures that were taken at the hospital.

This was taken by my anesthesiologist right after I was sewn up.

Here is Caden admiring his baby brother. He was so gentle with him!

Here's my mom and mother-in-law embracing after catching a glimpse of Samuel for the first time. They are some pretty proud grandmas!

Mmm, beef flavored water for lunch! I wasn't allowed to eat solid foods until breakfast the next day.

And here he is, finally in mommy's arms!!!

We had some professional pictures taken of him when he was five days old. I will post them as soon as I get the disk! I've already seen the proofs and they are AMAZING!

The Countdown. . .

Only three more days!

The pantry and refrigerator are full, the house is (mostly) clean, and the laundry is almost finished. The only thing we really have left to do is pack for the hospital! We couldn't be more ready for this baby. If Samuel only knew how much his birth has been anticipated...if he only knew how much he is already loved and by so many people...maybe he'd surprise us with an early arrival. A girl can dream, can't she?

There are so many things that I am looking forward to besides finally holding our precious baby in my arms. For one, I am SO over these maternity jeans...and this gigantic belly I have been toting around for several months now. Yes, I am afraid that the novelty of the big, 'cute' pregnant belly has worn out its welcome. Even though I am the laziest person when it comes to working out, I am eager to get into shape. My goal is to be in better shape than I was before I was pregnant. (And for those of you rolling your eyes right now, let me say this: Yeah, I might have been thin, but I couldn't've run even a half of a mile if my life had depended on it. And quite frankly, for my age, that's just pathetic and not to mention-unhealthy.) The other thing that I've been looking forward to is enjoying a glass of Pinot Grigio. Mmm... Although that will have to wait awhile because I am going to try with all of my might to breastfeed this time around.

At the beginning of this month, we hired Sarah at Fish Lips Photography to take some maternity pictures for us. I don't have all of them yet, but these are the ones that she posted on her blog as a "sneak-peek" for what's coming! I can't wait to see the rest. (Thank you SO much Janet, for doing such an amazing job on my makeup. You always do! The photographer even complimented me on it!)

Here's my belly at 39 weeks. (Picture taken just a few minutes ago!)

And that my friends, will without a doubt be the last picture that I publish of my belly for a very VERY long time! :)

Samuel's Nursery

I am finally done decorating the nursery! Now all we need is Sam...

I finally got confirmation for the official date of Sam's arrival (unless of course he comes earlier)! It's going to be May 26 - which is also the day before Caden's sixth birthday. Yep. We have to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. but I am pretty sure we won't have any trouble getting up and at em on this particular day. It feels like we've been waiting years to meet him... Sometimes I'll pass the time by sitting in the glider in his nursery and day-dreaming of finally getting to hold him in my arms.

Brandon made a funny comment to me the other day. He thinks that I might to have to fight him for time with Samuel. I assured him that I don't think that's going to be a problem. I'd bet that before the first full week of being home all day with a newborn, Brandon will approach me with bags under his eyes, holding Samuel out to me pleading, "Take him!" LOL Ohhh he just has no idea! All joking aside, I know Brandon is going to be an exceptional daddy. He will more than likely surpass all of the expectations I have of him dealing with all things newborn.

One more thing before I go, check out what I came across while walking around Hobby Lobby last week.

Did you notice where that verse is found? I think it is so cool that even though we decided to name our baby boy after Brandon's grandfather, Sam, this particular verse found in the book of 1 Samuel was an amazing reminder of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. How so? I cannot even begin to guess the number of countless nights I prayed asking God to bless Brandon and I with a child of our own. What a wonderful way to be reminded that God heard my prayers! The more I sit and think about it, all I can say is WOW, because Samuel will be living proof that God answers prayers.

I praise you Lord, because I know that this child you have blessed us with was fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14) 

P.S. In case you were wondering why I was at Hobby Lobby since I was put on "house arrest" and all, my doc told me last week that I'm allowed to do some light shopping now...still no heavy lifting or going back to work though.

Just Sayin'

My doctor doesn't think that we will make it all the way to May 24, which is when the cesarean is tentatively scheduled for. And ever since he told us that, anytime I make a strange face and/or noise, Brandon's immediate response is, "Are you okay? Are you having contractions?" 
He is going a little crazy playing the waiting game. I think it is safe to say that Brandon is more anxious for Samuel's arrival than anyone. 
I on the other hand, am on the fence. One side of me can't wait to finally meet our precious little gift from God while the other side of me doesn't think I'll ever be "ready" to receive such a gift. Why? Probably because I am admittedly terrified of what kind of effect this baby is going to have on my life our lives. Or maybe it's because I am scared of the long, painful road to recovery that I must endure after having the major abdominal surgery that is necessary to deliver our little man, as well as deal with the listless unpleasantries that follow childbirth. 
Arrrrrrgh! I know that I need to stop thinking about those kinds of things, but sitting around the house all day, completely unoccupied sure makes it difficult not to...

Lord, help me focus on you instead. Please remove this fear in me that is consuming what was meant to be a blessing.

A Night at the Hospital

As several people have asked for details on what happened, there is really no way to avoid being a little graphic, so if you are (a) a guy or (b) easily grossed out, you might not want to read this.

I called my doctor Sunday morning after noticing about 2 tablespoons of reddish-brown discharge in the toilet after I had my morning tinkle. Luckily they had an answering service setup up for the weekends and an on-call doctor called me back within minutes. She informed me that my cervix might've started dilating and to go to the hospital's birthing center so that that they could monitor the baby's heartbeat as well as examine me to find out what was going on.

Without going into the play-by-play of the entire fiasco, I will say this: We arrived at the hospital around 10:30 a.m. and it wasn't until around 6:00 p.m. that we were told that I would be staying overnight. During this time frame, I was examined four different times. Twice by the nurse and twice by the on-call doctor I had spoken with over the phone. Both informed me that I had dilated one centimeter. Then, the on-call doctor explained to us that since I have had a cesarean in the past, they like to err on the side of caution since I was both bleeding and having cramps because those can be symptoms of something that they would need to act upon immediately. Apparently, sometimes the uterus can begin to separate from the placenta and in cases like that, one out of five babies die and mom loses a lot of blood. After finding that out, we weren't bothered anymore that I had to stay overnight. They ordered an Ultrasound to see what was going on with my uterus and placenta, hooked me up to an IV and gave me three rounds of antibiotics to "calm down the uterus" to prevent anymore cramping.  The nurses were telling us that if the bleeding and the cramping continued, my doctor would probably be delivering our baby the next morning.

I was so thrilled to see my doctor first thing the next morning, especially when he said that I could go home! He said that the baby is doing great and that he didn't have any cause for concern to keep me there any longer since the cramping and bleeding had stopped. I was bummed that I wasn't allowed to go back to work though. He said he wanted me to take it easy so that this baby doesn't come any sooner than he needs to. I am not allowed to drive, run errands, lift anything heavy or even keep myself busy around the house preparing the nursery. He suggested that I read a few good books or catch up on some movies while laying on the couch. UGH! It's going to be so hard for me.

While I was happy to be going home, Brandon was bummed. He was hoping that he'd finally get to meet Samuel. Dr. Johns explained that every day we get closer to my 39th week (May 24), it gives us back two days that Samuel would've have to spend in the ICU for being delivered too early. I think finding that out eased some of Brandon's disappointment because I honestly don't think he would've been able to leave Samuel in the hospital ICU while we went home and waited... So, stay in there Sam! You're not done cooking just yet!

*** A HUGE thanks goes out to Alan Pollard and my MIL who took Caden off of our hands while we sat around in the hospital all day - and to my step-mother, Cyndy, who kept him overnight for us. 

Here's (quite possibly) the last belly picture! Brandon took it May 1.