Samuel Max

Samuel Max Swenson was born on March 29th 2012 at 6:20 pm. He was 8lbs 8oz and 20 inches long. I had a scheduled c-section so everything was pretty easy peasy -no crazy/exciting birth stories here :). I was kind of apprehensive going into this delivery because I had a new doctor and was at a new hospital, but other than that it was just like riding a bike lol. I'm pretty bummed because I didn't take very many pictures while we were at the hospital. What was I thinking?! I think I was just thinking that I wanted to be home with my other kids because they couldn't come visit us due to restricted visitor policies :(. 

Anyhow, Sam is an absolute angel!! I'm so excited because he's been great at nursing and I haven't had to supplement with formula at all. With all 3 other kiddos I wasn't able to nurse that long and they still took bottles at the same time. Our first couple of nights at home were a bit rough but each night he's sleeping better so I'm hopeful it won't take long before he's sleeping through the night.

All 3 kids seem to be adjusting and loving their new little brother. At first Gabe thought we had brought home an alien or something and wouldn't even really acknowledge him. After a few days he was saying his name and just in the last week he's started giving him kisses and showing him affection. Cairi was immediately in love with him. She tells me at least 100 times a day, "I love Sam Sam, he's so cute mom!". She also loves to bring him toys and lay them on his blanket or play "I got your nose" with him (even if he's asleep). She's a really big help to me when Chris is at work. She loves doing easy things like bringing me diapers, letting the dog out or checking on the other kids if I'm nursing and can't get up. People will say to me "I don't know how you do it!" - but I think the kids do more than me. They're so good with each other and play together so well. Gabe will bring his sisters their sippy cups and say "here you go seedy (sweetie)". They definitely help take care of each other. Penelope also loves her new little brother. She's very intrigued with him and will randomly come stare at him and just smile. She also thinks it's silly to steal his binky and put it in her mouth.

All in all, having 4 kids has been amazing. I'm so excited to have all my kids here and to feel like we're a complete family! I just watch them throughout the day and am constantly in awe of the fact that they're mine. I feel so blessed that they're all happy and healthy and that I get to be their mommy.

 First bath!! I wish I'd had one of these pillow bathers with my first two kiddos. So much nicer than the big plastic ones!

Preparing for Samuel

It's really bitter sweet to think that this will most likely be the last little baby to come into our family! We haven't had to do a lot to prepare since we already have so much baby stuff from our other three kids. This pregnancy has all but flown by! Only a month and a half til he gets here. A couple things we've been doing to prepare is consolidating all of our stuff and getting more organized. The girls have been sharing a room since Penelope was about 6 months and we've been getting Gabriel's room ready to accommodate two kids as well!

This was his room before -basically the same but...

Now we have a bigger dresser for both of the boys' stuff.

 I got this puppy for 15 dollars on KSL. That's right! I've learned buying brand new furniture in a house full of toddlers is just silly. This guy is solid wood and already a little beat up. Perfect for our house where nothing stays "new" for very long.

 We put the old dresser in the closet and oh how I love the storage and shelving it provides me. Almost all the drawers are still empty and I'm so excited to have so much extra storage space. Can you tell I love organizing? I call it a hobby!!!

Until Penelope grows out of the crib Sam will be sleeping here!

In his little cradle next to our bed, which will probably actually end up being him sleeping next to me in bed. I'm not one of those mommy's that doesn't like my kids sleeping with me. I grew up climbing into my mom's bed all the time so I love it! I'm just trying to figure out how to get Cairi excited about sleeping in her own bed seeing as how I don't want her to roll over on Sam.

This is the girls shared room. We want to get bunk beds later this year when Penelope is a little bigger. The kids rooms aren't super big but I think it will be a lot of fun for them to share. We have a third bedroom that's a little bigger, but it's downstairs and I'm not comfortable having any of them down there so we're going to make it a playroom. I think their room will feel a lot more spacious when we have bunk beds.

Oh yes, and this little table was something I got with Sam's dresser. I got them BOTH for 15$. I was only looking for a dresser so I was super excited to get this guy to put in our entry way! Again, gotta love the storage -there's a shelf inside and it's super deep. I also like having somewhere for people to set their bags and stuff when they come over.

Sam I Am and the Layton Lights!!

I LOVE the holidays and one of our favorite things to do during this season is go see the Layton Lights with my family. We went to my mom's for some grub, went to the lights and then came back for Survivor night! It was a great night and the kids loved the lights so much we had to drive through them after we got done walking through the whole display. Then Cairi said "just one mo time pease mommy, just one mo". Haha, needless to say we will probably be going back, at least to drive through it again!

About to pull all the DVD's off the shelf... her favorite!

Penelope is my eatin' machine these days!

Playin with the new car mat at gramma's after the lights!

I also had my targeted ultrasound last week and it's crazy to think that I'm already half way through this pregnancy. I know having 3 babies keeps me pretty busy but I still can't believe how fast the time has flown. With my other pregnancies I would get pretty anxious because I just wanted to meet my baby and what not but I'm trying to enjoy this one and savor it since it will most likely be my last.

We've decided on a name for our little man, meet Samuel Max Swenson. Max is Chris' grandpa's name and all of the kids have meaningful middle names so Max was perfect for Samuel! This is our bean at almost 23 weeks.

 I can't wait to see what he's going to look like!!