A night out!

Grandma Meads came over today, and she stayed with Sam this evening while Jeff and I went out to dinner. We had a terrific dinner at the Wonderbar Restaurant, and Grandma got a bit of cuddling in with Sam.



I think that Grandma might have worn Sam out with all that cuddling. Thanks again Mom for letting us have a date night! :>)

Back to see Dr Momen!

Today we went back to see Dr. Momen in the continuing case of "Sam and the Green Poopies!" All the stool cultures and tests came back negative except for a slight positive for the ability to break down a few sugars. So, we are giving it one more week to resolve, and then we might try soy formula for a week to see if that helps the situation.

BUT..Sam is still gaining weight. He gained 12 ozs in 5 days! (Yea....he is just like his mommy!) He now weighs in at 8 pounds 12 ozs!

Cooking out in the rain!

We grilled out last night even though it had been pouring down the rain all day. Our good friends Chad and Rebecca came over from Wheeling with their two kidos Cameron and Taylor. Chad and Jeff played football together at Shepherd, and we are thankful that we have stayed in contact with them over the years. Chad is a State Farm agent in Wheeling, and Rebecca is lucky enough to stay home with the kids now.

Here is a great picture of Sam with Chad, Rebecca, and Taylor.


We had to get a surprise snapshot of Cameron, who didn't want to be in the picture.



Chad and Rebecca, it was great to see you all!

Good hair day!

Today, my good friend Mark came over and cut my hair. It was so out of control, and I was so thankful that he came to the rescue. It feels so great when you get your hair done. He drove in all the way from Columbus, OH to do a gal's hair and meet the little man. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of Mark and Sam together....I know....we were pretty busy.....but no excuse. So...that means that Mark has to come back really soon so I can document that he was really here. THANKS AGAIN MARK!

Collection Accomplished!

First of all....Happy 4 Weeks Old, Sam! I can't believe that he is already 4 weeks. Wow!

The news today was that we were successful in collecting a 5 ml sample of Sam's poopies. (You see that I have NOT posted any pictures to go along with this topic!) :>) We made the recovery by running to the changing table at the first sign of Sam's "poop face". The diaper came off, and he did his business right on the waxed paper placed that we had placed under him. So, if you have to go through this, you might try that technique. Now we just have to wait to see what the cultures reveal about a possible cause of Sam's green poops.

Visiting Sam

Sam has had many visitors that have come to see him. I have put several pictures of Sam with his new buddies in previous postings on here, but I thought I would add a few more.

Here is Sam with Grandma and Grandpa Cutlip.


Bonnie and Melinda from FSU came to meet the new Dodson man.

(OK...remind me the next time that I have a baby not to get my picture taken between two Skinny Minnies the week after having the baby!) :>)

Our super neighbor Becky Hinkle also stopped by to tell Sam about the candy drawer that she and her husband Brad keep stocked full of bubble gum.


Kazum and Sondra (G'ma and G'pa Nasseri) also stopped by to see how Sam was doing.


Uncle John stopped by this week for a quick Baby Sam fix.


Cris and Melissa Larzo stopped by to bring some lovins to the baby and good eats to the parents. Thanks so much for the yummy food you all! (If you look really close, you can see that Melissa has a little man of her own in the oven. Yea!)



And you can see what Melanie is already teaching Sam.......

Green Poopies!

Sam and I had another visit to the Dr's today. We went on Monday because he has been having GREEN DIAHRREA! We got an order for stool cultures, and then we were on our way to the hospital to collect the official containers. Once there, trying to being effiicient and not wanting to drag the baby out again, I sat and fed him thinking that he could make a deposit and I could make a collection right there. Well, of course now there was no poop to be delivered and Sam was wanting to sleep since he was full of the momma cow's lunch specialty.

On our way home, he started to crying...of course, most likely (I thought) from a poop. So, I pulled over at the park to make the collection before we got any further away from the hospital. No poopie...but he was hungry AGAIN! So, I fed him...again....and then I hit pay dirt. While I was trying to collect the poopie in this little container....I see the directions on the side of the specimen container. It says, "Fill will sample to above line." Well, the above line was a total of 5 mls. This might not seem like much, but when you are trying to collect watery poop from a DIAPER that sucks away all the liquid, this proves to be difficult.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to make this collection? We are open to any advice on the issue! :>)

One bottle of milk on my tummy....one bottle of milk!...

Sam did have yet another first recently....he got his 1st bottle. Even though it still came from the momma cow, we wanted to make sure that he would take a bottle. A lot of what I read says that if you wait more than a month to give a baby a bottle, they might not be interested in taking it. So, here is Daddy giving Sam his 1st bottle.




And here is the bottle afterwards.........


I do believe that he likes the momma cow's milk however it is delivered!

Whew!

Well, it has been awhile since we posted an update on "The New Adventures of New Sam". This last week has been soooooo busy! (Yes...our world has been changed...for the better...with the arrival of Prince Sam.)

I must tell you that Jeff and I are so thankful to have such wonderful family! The first week that we were home, my mom and dad came to help with the baby and recovering from the C-section. Here are a few pics of Grandma and Grandpa Meads with Sam.


Grandma is warming me up after my first bath!


Grandpa Meads looks a bit worn out! Wait until Sam starts walking Grandpa!.....

We were so thankful that they could be here because they helped out SOOOO much! Jeff worked that first week and then took off the following week. Last week, Jeff's mom came to stay with us. She has an amazing ability to rock a fussy baby to sleep. Her super "Grandma Powers" lulled him off to dreamland on several occasions.

Sam is no match for Grandma Dodson's sleep powers!

We also got to visit a bit with Jeff's brother, Mike, his girlfriend Tanya, and their two beautiful kids.

Baby Ava and Derek were really interested to check out their new cousin.



Also, this past week, one of Jeff's best buddies Randy Orr came to meet Sam.

Randy, I think your bicep IS MUCH bigger than Sam's head!

Melanie and Bill also came to meet Sam, and Bill (again) put in an order for his own baby.....I think that he was putting orders in for babies even BEFORE they were married last summer!

Bill, I hear Melanie's ovaries ticking....


Natalie (Melanie's sister), Brian, and Baby Braedyn also stopped by to meet the new man.

This past weekend started Sam's green poop period. He has been extremely fussy...(we were thinking he had reflux along with the belly upset).....and he has been letting us know (with that distinct SCREAM) that he is uncomfortable. It is heart breaking....and exhausting to see him so unsettled. We went to the Dr on Monday and this green poop might be caused by a viral invader. We are still gaining weight...(OK...both Sam and I!)....Sam is now up to 8 pounds 7 ozs.

Jeff had a nice 1st Father's Day on Sunday, and Sam was excited to give Daddy his grill.

Here is a shot of Daddy grilling out on the new machine!

The many faces of SAM!

He might be small...weighing in at under 8 pounds...but he is a complex character. Jeff and I haven't figured out the meaning of all of Sam's faces...(probably most of them are "poop faces")...but he does have an array of different expressions. Here are just a few of the ones that we could catch .....


Just relaxing....


"Please let there be milk in place of this plastic thing when I open my eyes."


"Hmmmm....I wonder if I could market these pillows?"


"I am keeping one eye on these people...I mean, I just met them."


"Oh my!" (OK...I really think this is the REAL "POOP FACE".)


"But mom...I wasn't done eating yet."


"This is my new look for when I go on tour with Bono!"


"...Or maybe I should tour with Billy Idol!"


Here is the rebel yell!


"I just found this weird thing in my mouth."


"I am clean, full, and happy!"

Sam's first check up!

Sam went to the doctor yesterday for his check up. Exciting news!

First of all, he lost his umbilical cord (yes...I saved it! That will go in his baby book. I know...I know... a bit gross, but my mom and dad saved mine. The craziness runs in the family!).

Secondly he is putting on weight. When he was born he was 7 lbs 2 ozs. When he left the hospital 4 days later, he was 6 lbs 8 ozs. Today he weighed in at 7 lbs 11 ozs...10 days later! He DEFINITELY eats a lot, but I was glad to see the results on the scale!

Our first 2 weeks with Sam!

We brought Sam home on Monday 29th, and were welcomed by balloons (Thanks to Becky next door) and a sign. Everyone was there to meet us including Great Grandma Meads and Great Aunt Judy.






Sam got his first bath later that day and he really wasn't too thrilled with it.....although he does LOVE his hair brushed or rubbed. These 2 weeks have been pretty amazing. Momma is recovering, and is getting around pretty well now. My mom and dad came to stay that first week home, since Jeff was working. They were a blessing to have help out with Sam as we are adjusting to life with a new baby.








That next weekend my sister Rachael, brother-in-law John, my 1/2 year old niece Flora, and Flora's older cousin Maggie came to see Baby Sam. John and Rachael cooked a wonderful dinner on Saturday night, which was a blessing. Flora was super excited to meet the new baby, and she was amazed at how tiny he was.

Welcome Sam!

We were so pleased to be able to welcome our son, Samuel Alburn Dodson, into this world on May 26, 2006 at 10:16 PM. He was 21 inches long and weighed 7 pounds and 2 ounces. He arrived via C-section (after mom didn't dialate past 4 cms). His middle name was Jeff's dad's name. We named him after Jeff's dad who past away Memorial weekend in 1999.

Here is a picture of Jeff and I right before going into the operating room and then when we met Sam for the first time.

When mom went to recovery, dad went to check on the little guy and he slurped down an ounce of formula to tied him over until mommy was out of recovery...he had that ounce gone in no time! Dad looks pretty proud in this picture, huh?

He was definitely "ooohhhh"ed and "aaahhhhh"ed over by the grandmas, grandpa, and Aunt Rachael.




He really is a great baby....and so adorable. He has so much hair that we just can't help petting all the time so his hair always looks a bit crazy from someone having their hands in it!