09 August 2010

First Days

The very end. Trisha and Savannah just before going to the hospital. Almost 39 weeks along, who would have thought after all the scares and doubts? It's an amazing thing.

Trisha, Savannah, McKay, Michelle, Eli, Joleigh, TJ, Emmett and Me. The Cheney's came to spend some time with us the day before the baby came. It was so much fun to have them all here and play with them. They got to stop by the hospital and see us just after the baby was born, on their way back to Provo.

Sam came out screaming and fighting. He bit the doctor, then peed on him, then peed on the nurse and he continued to scream for the next 15 minutes. I don't think he liked being pulled from his comfortable and warm space...

Mommys first look at the baby. She was so happy to see him. She has spent a lot of time hoping that he would get here healthy and it was a rush of relief when that was confirmed.

He was trying to wiggle his way back into the womb still, I think. Just as I was leaving the operating room with him, all of the nurses were trying to predict his size. Most were saying in the 6-7 pound range. I knew he wouldn't be that big cause our last fetal growth ultrasound measured him at 4 pounds 13 ounces. I was really anxious to see what he weighed in at. It was a huge relief when I saw 5 pounds 9 ounces show up on the scale. I was pretty sure things were gonna be okay at that point. He is a short little man at 16.5 inches long.


He didn't like the nurses handling him at all, but once he got under the heat lamp he was pretty happy. As soon as we got to the nursery, Trisha's mom and my mom got to come in and see him.

This is me waiting by him in the nursery for Trisha to get out of recovery so we could go see her. I couldn't stop looking at him, he was so small and cute, even when he was screaming.


After all his health checks we got to take him back to our room. I love holding him and snuggling with him.


Trisha was still a little tired at this point, but we had to get our first family picutre anyways.


His Grandma Sorenson was so happy she could be there to see him and she loved holding him so much. We are so glad that she got to spend the first few days of his life with us!!

Momma is walkin up a bit and just loved holding our little Sam

The nurses got mad at us for giving him a binki before he learned how to latch on for breast-feeding but how could you resist, he is so stinkin cute when he has a binki in his mouth. It's amazing that he can actually keep it in his mouth, it's so big compared to him

TJ and Michelle got to stop by and see us for a minute. The kids weren't allowed to come back to our room but they did get to go to the nursery window and I was able to hold him up so that they could all see him. It was really fun

His little hair. I've decided that for now it is a dirty blond color with a slight red tint. He has a lot of it down near the bottom of his head and it bunches up when he moves his head or his oversized clothes bunch up on him. He also has a lot of peach fuzz on his cheeks and his shoulders and his back.

Trisha trying to nurse. This has been a huge challenge, as I'm sure it usually is for most first time mothers. He is getting progressively better but it is almost always a battle to feed him.


Sam sleeping in his hospital bin. He was actually awake almost the whole first day of his life. He only slept for a minute. The next few days he started sleeping more and now he is sleeping like an infant, almost all day long excpept when he is hungry or poopy.

His cute little sleeping face.

Nana Cheney holding Sam. We are so grateful for all the time before and after the baby was born that we got to spend with her. Now that we are home, she has been such a huge help for us!!

Our second family portrait. Day 2 of life.

He pretty much hates being naked cause it's too blasted cold for him. It is a rare moment if he doesn't scream when his clothes are taken off. Everytime we change his diaper he screams his face off.

We bought some caps to keep his head warm but I don't think they make them for small babies. He gets drowned by it but he loves to have it on to keep his head warm. One night I woke up and walked over to his bassinet to find the cap all the way over his head, down to his neck and he was happy as a clam.
We also found out that the hospital doesn't have any size diaper except size1 and Sam is way too small for that. The diaper is as big as him. So once we left the hospital we had to invest in some premie diapers and they fit much better on him. Hopefully he won't fit in them for that long, we want him to chunk up fast.


After only 2 days in the hospital, mommy and baby were released to go home! Trisha has done really well recovering. She was prepared for the worst and she did her best. About 8 hours after the surgery she wanted to get her catheter out and start walking around. The nurses were a little shocked but she has done good eversince. I am so impressed by how well she is recovering. She is gonna be back to her normal self in no time at all.
Baby also did really well. Besides the slow progress with feeding he was ready to come home with us. We put him in the car seat and he was just drowned out in it. Before you leave you have to show the nurses that you have safely fastened the kid in. It was a slight problem when all the straps were adjusted to their smallest size and still wouldn't hold him in snuggly. We ended up having to place blankets under him and around him to get him to fit in their safely. The good news is that everytime he has been in his carseat, he just curls up and goes to sleep. He loves going on drives.

I LOVE THIS PICTURE!! He loves to have his hands by his face and he loves to cross his feet. It's funny to know that this is probably the exact position he has been in for the last few months.

Our first night home, Trisha was ready for her favorite meal in the entire world. I went out and picked us up Cafe Rio and we had a picnic on our bed. It was delicious!

We are so happy to be home!! We are exhausted; we sleep very little during the night and take lots of small naps throughout the day. We love to stare at him and cuddle up with him.

Things that I have learned about Trisha:
1. She is Super Woman! I always call her a medical wussy, but this time she has been amazing!! She has been so tough and rarely complains. Seriously I am so impressed!
2. She is so patient. At times in the middle of night when I want to jump out of our window to escape the shrill cries, she just comforts Sam and keeps going.
3. She is going to be such a good mom. When things aren't going so well, she justs moves on. However, when things are going well and Sam is doing well she is loving and encouraging! Despite the very small amount of sleep that she is getting, she is happy and positive. She loves to cuddle him and stare at him (which is good cause then I'm off the hook lol)!

Other things:
1. This sleep thing is kicking my butt!!! I love to sleep and I'm not sure I will make it through this. I am really scared when I have to go back to work tomorrow after being up all night. My addiction to caffeine is about to jump to a whole new level!
3. A womans body is made to breastfeed. Why is it so freaking hard to make it work?! It is amazing how many hours go into learning how to get it to all work at the same time. I thought I knew everything, but I had no idea.
2. Today while Trisha was trying to change his diaper, he started peeing all over his face. As she was trying to solve that problem there was a loud squirting noise and poo started flying out of his butt. I laughed my face off for like 10 minutes. It was hilarious!

Samuel Aquilla Sorenson

It was really easy to plan for the arrival of our little guy. Because he was still breech and Trisha has two uteruses, we knew that we were going to need a c-section. We scheduled the c-section with the doctor and we knew that by 2:30pm on Thursday, August 5, 2010 we would have a little baby boy.

We had to be at the hospital at 12:00pm for surgery prep. Once we got there they had to pump Trisha full of fluids and get her ready. It took about two hours to get everything ready. We had a short consult with the anesthesiologist and the obstetrician. Once 2:00pm came, they wheeled Trisha out of the room and gave me scubs to put on. About ten minutes later, they escorted me into the operating room where Trisha had recieved her spinal block and was all laid out on the table. I got to stand next to her head and look over the divider and watch the entire thing as it unfolded. It was the best day of my life to watch this, I was so happy!! The OB was awesome and he let me film the entire thing; it was incredible. It took about four minutes for me to see his little bum come out and by 2:15pm he was here! There is nothing like seeing your kid for the first time. He was so little and so cute!!

His little bum poking out

He bit the doctor on his way out


Here he is!!! Samuel Aquilla Sorenson
Lots of people ask about his middle name. Aquilla is the middle name of my Father's Grandpa, Alma Aquilla Olson. It is of Latin origin meaning Eagle (Aquila in Italian).

The nurses cleaning him off and taking care of him


Mommy could not believe that he was finally here, safe and sound. She was overwhelmed with love and happiness for our little man

We knew that he was going to be really small and we were overjoyed when he weighed in at 5 pounds 9 ounces and 16.5 inches long. He is healthy and strong and doing so well!!

The other cool part of the surgery was just after the birth when the doctor pulled out both uteruses and laid them on Trisha's belly while he cleaned it out and stitched it back up. It was really fascinating to see the anatomy and learn a little something about how it all worked.

We are so happy that Sam is here and healthy. We think he is the cutest thing ever and we already love him so much!! Mom and baby are both recovering really well!

28 July 2010

24th of July

My favorite holiday!! Much of my extended family (on my Moms side) sleep out on the parade route. It has been a tradition all of my life. We lay out blankets and set up chairs, play games, eat junk food and have a good time.

Part of the group

Tyler, Shayne, CJ, Clara and Tania


Trisha (grandma, grandpa and mom in the background)


At midnight, all of the cousins that are old enough take a walk to "The Sev" and get us some slurpees. From there it is bed or stay up all night playing cards and watching all the crazy people.

Luckily this year a lady who owned a neighboring house was kind enough to let Trisha use her bathroom for most of the night, I only had to walk to the outhouse 1 time at 4:00 in the morning

At the break of dawn, we all walk up, roll up the sleeping bags, clean up and condense into several rows of chairs and blankets to watch the runners and the parade.

The entire group ready to watch the parade

Some of my favorite floats this year




Tarzan was the coolest float of all

Once the parade is over, we are all beat tired so we go home and crash for a few hours. The fun doesn't stop there though.... Later that night it is another party at Liberty Park. We again lay out blankets and set up chairs. We eat more junk food, play more cards (Bang! and Hearts this year) and have more fun. On menu for dinner is Navajo tacos with strawberry lemonade, followed by the best funnel cake ever! To end it all off, some fireworks!

Trisha and Tina (Trishas mom flew in and got to be a part of it)

Barb, Jon, Shayne, Dad and Jill

Another great PIONEER DAY!!!

17 July 2010

1 Year Down

Engagement pictures- May 2009

Our Wedding- June 27, 2009

Honeymoon in Las Vegas- June/July 2009

Lake Powell- July 2009


France/Switzerland- July 2009

Our new life in Vernal- October 2009

Family Home Evening making cookies- Fall 2009

Halloween, Elphaba and Fiyero- October 2009

Cleaning the Vernal Temple every tuesday night for 6 months
November 2009 - April 2010

Our first home- December 2009

Happy New Year 2010

Our first baby, week 12- January 2010

Still in love after 6 months- January 2010

Making friends and yummy desserts- January 2010

Baby bump appears, 17 weeks- March 2010

It's a BOY- March 2010

Salt Lake City Marathon- April 2010

24 weeks pregnant- April 2010
Starting of the 2.5 month adventures in Salt Lake

St. George/Cove Fort- May 2010

30 weeks- June 2010

Ruth's Diner, Emigration Canyon- June 2010

Castle Creek Inn- June 27, 2010

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BABE, I LOVE YOU!
1 Year down, many more to go...

18 June 2010

Who would have thought

This morning when I got to work a group of people approached the pharmacy counter. It sounded like they were speaking French, so I waited until they got closer so that I could hear them well. One lady came up to the counter and started asking me a question in broken english to which I inquired, "Vous parlez francais?" Op la, she immediately started speaking french (really fast) and I tried to process this bizarre situation and switch to my french speaking brain. I was caught so off guard that I don't think I spoke one understandable phrase the whole time I was trying to explain to them, in French, which cream would be best for her husbands hands. Finally I got into the right mode and talked to them a little bit about them and what they were doing here and how I knew French. Now that they are gone my mind is going a mile a minute in French, just chattin with myself, thinking of all the things I should have/could have said to them. Who ever would have expected a group of French people to be driving through little ol' Roosevelt and stopping at my pharmacy??? Just crazy! It gives me an itch to return to my adopted country that I love- I am so happy right now!

03 June 2010

Quite the project

I started weeding and raking my dead grass over a month ago. This is what it looked like after a few hours of work on the side of the house.

After a few more hours, I moved to the front of the house.
This picture was taken 3 weeks ago.

Then life got crazy and the yard was not a priority. You can not believe the growth of the blasted prickly weeds. This picture was taken last week, only 2 weeks after the last picture.

Four of five hours later, I made some progress

The rest was just plain brutal!! 9 (NINE) hours it took me to pull weeds from this last section of lawn. Happy Memorial Day to me! Now my dead lawn is almost rid of weeds and I can figure out how to get grass growin there again...
 
Any suggestions???

06 May 2010

Missing my wifey

One of the many reasons that I miss my wife while she is taking it easy in Salt Lake:

Instead of her making me delicious things like this

I am stuck making all of my own meals. So yesterday on my day off, I prepared 3 days worth of meals to take to work with me

Isn't she the cutest pregnant girl you've ever seen?! I hope she stays pregnant for a few more months cause I'm lovin this look!! Although I don't get to see you everyday, I love you!

In other news, this is the progress that we are making on our nursery
See the magic of magnetic walls...

Babys new crib bedding