Samuel Owen Hollifield

Born 1:27 pm on 1/25/2010. He is 5 pounds and 14 ounces, 20 inches long. Blond, blue-eyed and beautiful. And grumpy...he's had a long day. Jen is doing wonderfully. We are both very happy and enjoying our new son. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. More pictures and stories will follow.

Home Made

When I got pregnant I thought it would be a fun project to let each of our kids tie-dye a onesie for Samuel. Well, the kids had this last Monday off school and to keep them busy we decided it would be the perfect day to let them make a mess. So, we will now have a hippie kid this summer. Here are the results:

The first four are the ones Michael and I did and the other four are the kids' creations. They had such a wonderful time. I have also been working on a blanket since I found out I was pregnant. It was a pattern my Great Grandma Carter used to knit/crochet a baby blanket for me when my mom was pregnant and my grandma knit one for Samuel as well. The edging in the pattern has tassels and I decided to do something different so that each blanket is unique. I really like the way it turned out. I have it in the wash now getting clean. Here are the pics:


And lastly, I have explained a few times about my swollen feet. I had to post a picture for everyone to see. It is pretty sad. Michael has been amazing and rubs them daily.

So Close

Well, I am two weeks from my due date (13 days to be exact) and I can't wait. At my appointment two weeks ago, I was told that I am 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was hoping that at my appt. last week they would tell me that I have made more progress. However, I was hit with the information that I had made no progress whatsoever (I was told that he is at a minus 2 station), I had gained a pound a day (I attribute this greatly to having a afternoon appt. for the first time and having just eaten lunch), and I was positive for group B strep (which means 3-4 intervals of 30 minute IV meds. once I go into labor and Samuel is going to have to be monitored for 36 - 48 hours). I was not a happy camper when I left the office. I was so disappointed and concerned that I would have to leave my newborn son at the hospital while they discharged me. I quickly called my doctor and asked if that would be the case as I forgot to ask it while in the office. I learned about 2 hours later that I would be staying with him. Praise the Lord!! I am so glad I do not have to leave the hospital empty handed. After that worry was over, I began to do some research on Group B strep and found that it can be fatal to the baby if he contracts it during labor (thus the meds). I have yet to ask if I can still have a water birth despite the need for antibiotics but my assumption is that they will have me in the bed during the antibiotics and then I can chill in the tub (hopefully). I'll find out on Friday as long as my memory reminds me to ask. I quickly perked up and remembered that God has it all under control.

On the upside, we finally received the birthing tub, car seat and diapers. I am so excited. I can't wait to have him. I had a friend explain to me what a contraction felt like as I have no idea and nobody has really explained it in a way I have experienced. Sure enough, as soon as she explained it, I started feeling them. They are not regular and although they have increased at times in intensity it is never consistent. Michael and I had a couple friends visit today and we went on a walk and then a hike. The whole time I was hoping that it would help in either moving this kid on south or begin the laboring process for real. Three hours later and I still had more contractions yesterday than today. I guess I just need to continue walking more. However, my kankles make it very difficult. My toes are so swollen that it hurts at times to walk because they get bent. Michael has been great about rubbing them for me. The other night he told me it felt like he was playing with Playdoh. A fun analogy that I would have to agree with. So, I am trying to guzzle water and keep my feet up as much as possible but that is very difficult with 5 kids and so much around the house to do (plus the nesting instinct has kicked in full blast). Speaking of which, it is time for me to go pick up the kids from the bus stop. Hope our next post has some pictures of our son (if not, at least something interesting :)

New Year Plans vs. Reality

Well, our New Year's eve was quite eventful. Not in the way we had wanted it to be. Our plan was to spend the day at home nibbling on finger foods and watching movies before the ball dropped. What actually happened was far different. I woke up at about 1:30 am as one of our kids was feeling nauseated and wanted some meds. As I was getting back into bed I realized that I also felt sick to my stomach and sure enough a half hour later I was in the bathroom. I'll leave out the fun details but needless to say I could not keep anything down and was feeling very sick. I spent the entire day attempting to keep down liquids which was very difficult as I wanted to guzzle something as I was dehydrated. I spoke to the triag nurse at my doctor's office several times and she informed me to be highly aware of any contactions as sickness like this at 35 1/2 weeks can induce labor. THAT IS NOT SOMETHING I WANTED TO HEAR. Since I have never had kids before, I had to ask what a contaction feels like and how she described it did not help. I may have felt a couple during the day but I'm not sure. We decided at about 6:30 to go the emergency room and got me hooked up to some IV fluids (as I was still unable to keep anything down - no worries, Samuel is still in the belly safe and warm). My temp. at that point had gotten up to 101.7 and I was feeling less nauseated but very tired. I slept through most of the IV stuff although the bed was killing my back as there was very little support for my growing baby bump. Poor Sam. I was so concerned that he was not getting what he needed. My dad reminded me that he gets first dibs on anything he needs and I get the left overs, which at this point was little to nothing. After the fluids, my temp was back to normal and I was ready to sleep. We got home by 10 (a super quick trip to the ER, I believe due to the fact that I was pregnant). Michael woke me to watch the ball drop and then I was back in bed. Michael and one of the kids made the finger foods and all the kids enjoyed eating them. Yesterday I was mostly tired and Michael let me sleep/rest most of the day. Sadly, this morning I woke up at about 5:30 to Michael doing the same thing I did hte other night. He has been in bed all day not feeling well. I am taking care of him and hoping and praying that he can sleep through most of the day. Unfortunately about an hour ago one of the kids told me that she was feeling sick to her stomach as well. She is now in her room resting and hopefully will be feeling better soon but I have a feeling it is going to take about a day. My prayer is that this stomach bug will leave our house soon as it seems to be going around and around. Hopefully our next update will include some good news concerning a healthy family. In the mean time, we appreciate your prayers for patience and healing. Thank you.