Happy Birthday to Ya. (Sam)

A year ago today, Sam was taken from my womb. He entered the world by force and just had to deal with it. His revenge was not breastfeeding for a couple of days and causing worry for me and the nurses. He decided to sleep much of his time in the hospital and wasn’t interested in feeding. After a refresher course in how babies are suppose to breastfeed, we got it and things got better. Not great, but better.

Sam was/is a small baby. He was born weighing 7lbs 4 ozs and 20 inches long. Only one pound less than his sister. There was concern around month 9 when Sam would be in the less than 3% on the growth chart. This will be when I throw in the towel and wean the Sam man from the breast. Sam doesn’t miss a beat and takes to the bottle no problems. “Boob, boob…what boob? Milk comes in bottles, right?” At his year appointment, Sam weighed in at a whooping 17.14lbs and is 28 inches long. Still in the lower 3%, but doctor seems fine with it. So we will go with it.

Sam has hit all his milestones, even if we didn’t have a party at each turn. Second child syndrome, anyone? Not walking or talking, yet, but there is still time. One thing Sam can brag about, to his sister, is that there is more video of him than her. Since I have started this little blog, I am obsessed with getting funny video of Sam. He has his fair share of pictures, too.

The thing about Sam is his laugh. It has got to be the best baby laugh I have ever heard. It is hearty and he really means it. It isn’t very hard to get a laugh, so I get them as many times a day I can.

Sam is a big flirt. He loves to play shy and give the ladies a little smile. It doesn’t matter if there is a binky in the mouth or not, if you give him a little attention he will reward you with a smile. Don’t mistake this for him wanting you to touch him or pick him up. He would much rather observe you from afar.

A few favorite Samisms, that are cute but can annoy at the same time:

An obsession with putting things in and out of the oddest places. The item is usually the binky.
Many a time I have found a binky in the bin under the train table, dog dish, garbage, crockpot in lower cabinet, and toilet.

Yelling at the worst time, like when it is absolute calm in the car. This has caused me to swerved and curse. I believe he finds it very amusing.

Pulling all the books off the bookcase in bedroom. Sitting in the middle of bookpile flipping through his favorite book (Colorful butterflies or 10 Ladybugs).

Letting the water run from the cooler.

Laughing when Mom says NO. I know you know what it means, you just don’t care.

Kicking legs violently when trying to change diaper or clothes. Also, turning over while in the dressing process. I understand you may not like it, but CPS may have problems with me letting you go out naked.

Drop and pick up game. Sam grabs things with the sole purpose of throwing it to the floor. This occurs in stores, bedroom, public restrooms, outside, car, etc. I have learned to take the item away. This really pisses him off.

Sam has, finally, decided that he will eat real food. No more baby food is needed, but I still have some in the pantry. I guess I will sneak it in when I can. I don’t think I can take another look from the customer service agent at Target when I return baby food. This has caused a dilemma, because you don’t eat much of the food. So for now we will stick with the formula. You seem to like the whole milk, but we will reserve that for mealtimes.

It has been a long journey for both of us. You finding your way in the world, me trying to figure out this life with 2 kids. It was rough in the beginning, but as time passes things get better. Here is to your second year of life. I hope it brings more laughter than tears and more sleep.

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