Back to the grindstone...

Okay so I have a year and half worth to catch up on. Flashbacks starting...the month, January. The year 2009. WOW! I'll do a little at a time and hopefully Iwill have past and present meet in one entry sooner rather than later. Please be patient with me. :)

First Few Days at Home

Getting ready to come home.

Sam's first time in his infant seat.

Mommy feeding Sam -- and no I'm not watching football on TV. Scott was sitting in front of me giving me words of wisdom. :)

Grandma Pitcher working Sam's legs.

Loggin time on Grandpa Pitcher's lap

Sammie's and YaYa's first meeting

Bath Time!!

Here's Sam' first bath... he did so well. Grandma Pitcher told Mommy that she did a good job too.

Sam's First week -- in the NICU

Here he is at 2 days old...

He was determined to pull out his IV so they had to tape it down really well. Later in the week, he succeeded in his goal and they had to stick him again.

Here's Sam with Aunt Dale.... and Aunt Heidi and Uncle Peter...

Here's the first time we held him...

Sam taped up after pulling out his IV....

Here's a little shot of me in the hospital the weekend prior to delivery. Yep... I was admitted once again for blood pressure (BP) and upper abdominal pains. Was there Friday night through Sunday noon....

Then, went back to Labor and Delivery (L&D) on Tuesday (Nov 11) b/c my BP was up when I went in for a checkup. When I arrived at L&D -- BP was fine. Was told to go back to the clinic to be checked out on Wednesday...that's the day they decided to induce me.

Here's one of me --- they are getting us ready to be wheeled down the hall for the C-Section.
So this is after 15 hour of being induced. I
only reached 3 cms... contractions were 3 mins apart. I just wasn't moving the way they like.

I think I didn't move along b/c I had to stay in the bed to be monitored BP-wise and pregnancy-wise. I hear if you are able to get up and move around it helps with the dilation. Oh well... within the hour of this pic Samuel Dustin Pitcher was born.

Football Baby Shower

Here are a few shots from our

"College Football" Baby Shower on 25 Oct.

A Scoreboard that Bridget made...

Heidi explaining the rules of the stroller game to the guys... they had to run and push a stroller around the house and keep the baby safely in the stroller. "On your mark. Get Set. Go!"

Here's Scott after winning the stroller races... He kept winning so he kept having to run around the house. Afterwards he decided he should have thrown the first race. :) Here's me with the Corsage Bridget made for me... Kind of like homecoming.

The girls threw a football through a hula hoop.

...Opening of the gifts...

Here comes the food and socializing....

Here's Heidi and Dale dishing out cake. The two of them and Bridget put this whole thing together for us and Sam. They did and awesome job! Thanks again ladies!! :) This is the party favors they gave out. Cookies shaped like footballs and helmets. Scott's college was represented with black and gold (U of Central FL)... Heidi bought specialized M&Ms saying Go Sooners! and Go Knights!

Announcing Samuel Dustin Pitcher

Samuel Dustin Pitcher

Born 13 Nov 08 @ 1648 Eastern Time

5lbs 4oz

18.5"

Late afternoon on Wednesday 12 Nov, Tara was sent to the hospital by Southern OBGYN so they could induce her. After 15 hours of contractions with no epidural (the doctor tried 4 times and finally gave up claiming "her back is made of stone") or pain medicine, she wasn't progressing past 3 cm dialated so the doctors elected to do a C-section. Normal C-sections in this hospital happen with a spinal tap (similiar to an epidural but with a smaller needle that is supposed to numb from the breasts down). However, they were also unable to get the smaller needle into Tara's "back of stone" and she was then placed under general anesthesia. Because Tara was placed under the general anesthesia, Scott was not allowed to be in the room during the C-section and had to wait in a room across the hall. Normal C-sections should take about 20 minutes....40 uninformed, fret-filled minutes later, Scott saw the doctor doing some paperwork still in his scrubs and gave him a paniced look. The DOC put 2 and 2 together quickly and asked Scott if he had seen the baby. After answering no, the DOC assured Scott that the C-section went very well and baby and momma were doing fine. He then had a nurse rush Scott into the Nursery and here are the pictures!

Sammie was moved to an intermediate care ward later that night due to having fluid in his lungs and needing more oxygen. He is still there today and getting stronger every hour. We hope that he can be placed back into the regular nursery on Saturday.

Proud Daddy to be...awaiting the delivery.

Sammie on 13 Nov 08

Sammie on 14 Nov 08

We have some video of him. I will try to upload it tomorrow. Thank you for all or your continuos prayers.