Great Strides and sleeping

Thanks for checking in at SamIAm. Samuel is doing just wonderful. We have a follow up appointment on Wednesday the 30th at Phoenix Children's so we will get an official weight then, but our best guess is about 13 pounds, 8 ounces. His face is so round and he has more chins than I can count. It's really bad when he gets milk stuck in the folds of his chins. It's so hard to get dry so it stinks before too long. BUT he still smells like a new baby. I love to hold him and just sniff his head. He is so easy to love! Unless it's 3:00-6:00 am!

While Samuel has been sleeping mostly through the night, the other night he was awake about every 20 minutes. Kevin was sleeping soundly, I was not as I was up and down all night tending to Samuel. Apparently, one time Kevin did wake up and was laughing at me the next morning for my comment. I didn't say anything mean to him, although I often want to wake him to tell him it's his turn. He thought it was funny that of all the things he thought I should have been saying, like "I'm so sleepy", I said "I just got warm!" The evenings here have been very chilly (for Arizona) and I hadn't been able to get warm that night. When my feet finally thawed, Samuel needed my attention. And I DID still want to sleep (who wouldn't?) but I knew that getting out of bed would mean getting cold again. No fun!

I admit it, I'm so proud of Samuel. He will be 3 months old on Wednesday and is really filling out his clothes. He is so alert, laughing, and holding his head up on his own. Just yesterday he was laying on the couch, watching me fold laundry and rolled over to his side. I'm not sure if it's because it was slightly downhill, but I was very surprised! He also enjoys watching sports with his dad. Friday, while I was finishing my housecleaning, he sat in his swing and watched some Baby Einstein. Samuel is also really enjoying "Old Blue". Old Blue is a cross between a blankie and a stuffed animal. He likes playing with it because it rattles and the edges are satin. Also, he has taken a deep interest in his thumbs. Sucking his thumbs. Usually, one at a time, but he has been known to stick them both in his mouth. The pediatrician said to replace his thumb(s) with a pacifier because, in a year, we can take that away. I'll have to ask the doctor what to do when he spits the binky out and puts the thumb, or thumbs, in.

Before I sign off, please let me appeal to you to support our Great Strides team, Team Samuel. I have formed a team to walk on April 26th in Tempe, AZ, and set our team goal at $3,000. I KNOW there are so many people that support Samuel. With your help, I would love to be able to exceed my goal this first year we are walking. To learn more about Great Strides, donate to the team, or sign up to walk with us that day, visit www.cff.org/great_strides/ericakelley. This is not just for Samuel but for every child and family just like ours who has to deal with CF every day. This supports research to not only find a cure, but, until then, improve treatments. Thanks for your support of Team Samuel and the CF Foundation.

Check back next week for an official weight update!