Samantha at 3 Months Old

This week Samantha turned 3 months old on the 16th.  It's amazing how fast she is growing.  Sometimes I look at her, especially when I see her laying down all stretched out, and she looks so long!  We got her weighed last Tuesday, and she was 15 pounds, 11 ounces, so her weight has definitely leveled off from when she was a newborn.

My next section of this blog post has to do with Samantha's sleeping.  She has been sleeping much better during the day, and Ben has been a real trooper in helping Samantha get used to her crib.  Most naps during the day he is able to put her down in either her crib or pack n' play, which is a great improvement from a month ago. We have also decided to start trying to get Samantha to sleep in her crib in her own room rather than next to our bed in the pack n' play.  We tried it for the first time on Saturday night, and we had our mattress in her room on the floor, so that she would feel a little more comfortable sleeping in her crib with us still in the room.  She did pretty well this night, but still woke up a lot more frequently than what is normal for her lately.  Sunday night we tried again, but this time it was an unsuccessful attempt.  It was almost like she wasn't tired enough when we laid her down, and she woke up right away.  We had to end up just bringing her into our room again.  Monday night we tried to tire her out a little more before we put her down for the night, and it seemed to work.  She slept in her crib in her own room from about 9:45 to about 3:00.  After that, I brought her back into our room to feed her, and then just put her to sleep in her pack n' play.  We will continue to try putting her in her crib, and eventually I think we will have success and she will sleep through the night in her own room!  

Also, another random thing with sleeping, this past week when Ben was with Samantha during the day, she was on her tummy for tummy time, and she actually fell asleep that way on her boppy pillow for almost an hour and a half!  I have the picture posted here.  She is so adorable!

With school continuing on this week, things have gotten progressively better from the last time that I posted about starting back at school.  Once things calmed down and schedules became more set, I was able to not be as stressed out and because of that and possibly a combination of a new hospital-grade pump and an herbal supplement to help my milk supply, pumping at school and getting enough milk for Samantha during the day was much easier.  Also, since I've started back at school it seems like Samantha has spaced out her feedings a lot more during the day, and is wanting to nurse more when I am home with her in the evenings.  I read somewhere that breastfed babies will do this because they like spending time with their moms breastfeeding, and I have to admit that I enjoy the time as well.

Samantha has been increasingly interactive over the weeks, and it is something that we really enjoy.  The other day we had her in her blue chair that vibrates and has a toy bar hanging over the seat.  Ben helped her to grab onto one of the rings on a toy where you pull it and it makes noise.  He showed her how to do it, and then she kept holding onto it herself, and pulled it to make it make noise herself!  It was really cool to see her playing with a toy by herself, even if she wasn't necessarily doing it on purpose.  She has also been laughing a lot more, and they are real laughs too!  One night I was holding Samantha after some friends had left, and Ben was on the stairs, jumped down a couple stairs right in front of her, and she just thought it was hilarious and laughed so hard.  We normally can't get her laughing recorded, but we did this time!  If the above picture doesn't let you play it, go to on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnsmpRy6R_w and watch it on You Tube.  It will put a smile on anyone's face.

Well, the Toll family is continuing to make the adjustment into me being back at work, things are getting better, and luckily I have a lot of help from parents at school, but that still doesn't change the fact that it is hard leaving her every day, and that I would rather be at home with her.  However, I am going to try not to dwell on that on this post, as well as in my daily thinking.  I need to stay positive, enjoy the life and situation that God has put me in, and not always be looking for something more or something better, which is a problem I've had for most of my life.  


So, I am going to end this post with things that I love about Samantha.  I love the way she holds onto your fingers with her strong grip when you hold her, or when I'm nursing her.  I love the way she will put her hand on yours when you put your hand on her chest to comfort her when you are trying to get her to fall asleep.  She does it almost as if she is trying to hold onto you and make sure that you can't leave her.  I love the way she stretches out in the morning when she wakes up, and sometimes you can even see her feet sticking straight up out of her pack n' play.  I also love that huge toothless smile that she gives you when she sees you for the first time in the morning, or the smile that I get when I get home from school in the afternoon.  I even love her pouty face that shows up just before she is about to burst out into crying.  I love that we have such a social baby, that she loves to be around us, and loves to interact with us.  That really makes it all worth while, and makes us really excited for the days and weeks to come.

Samantha at 13 Weeks: Going Back to Work

Well, this week is sort of a continuation of my last post, and is also late, because of my week of teacher meetings and the first day of school coming up faster than I would have liked them to.  The first week back was actually not as bad as I thought it would be, but it was made much easier by the relaxing schedule and the fact that I got to go home and see Samantha every day at lunch.  This was also the last week that Ben had his summer readings course, so his parents offered to come down to Bloomington to watch Samantha for us while he was on campus for class Monday and Thursday.  Thursday afternoon, Samantha fell asleep on Grandma's lap and slept for almost three hours!  I'm sure they both enjoyed the cuddle time quite a bit.

Well, the following weekend, right before school started, we had a big weekend planned.  On Friday, we packed up and went to Upland for the night, had dinner with Ben's parents, took a walk around Taylor, and of course, had some Ivanhoe's ice cream.  On Saturday, we drove out to Ohio for a family reunion with Ben's grandma's side of the family.  It was also the first time his grandma and extended family had seen Samantha in person.  Cousin Alaina was also there.  We love getting the babies together whenever we can.

After that, we started making the drive out to Chicago because my cousin Mike is getting married, and there was a wedding shower for them that we wanted to make sure we went to.  However, as I was nursing Samantha in Ohio before we went on the road, I noticed that my right breast was red and really sore.  I started driving, but started feeling really dizzy and had a terrible headache, almost like a migraine.  We stopped and switched places, and I just started feeling worse and worse.  The thought crossed my mind that I might have mastitis, but after I took some ibuprofen, I felt a little better, so I thought that it must have been a bad headache.  Well, we finally got to Chicago and got checked into our hotel.  My parents and Christy came over and hung out for a little while, and we put all the tired Tolls to bed.  The next morning, I still wasn't feeling very good still.  I still had a headache, I had the chills, but was burning up, and my right breast was now very red and sore.  I was starting to get concerned about what was wrong with me, and thought more and more that I probably had mastitis.  I called in to my doctor, and they called in a prescription for me.  It was pretty terrible and made me feel really crummy.  Luckily, the antibiotics kicked in quickly, and Ben just let me rest in car the whole way back from Chicago.  Nevertheless, I really hope that I never get mastitis again.


The worst part of it was that I had to go back to school on Monday, and it was the first day of school.  I still didn't feel quite back to normal, and the stress of the day, plus not having some things organized at school that I would have liked to have, plus the mastitis, made it really hard for me to pump at school.  I was getting really worried that I wouldn't be able to work it into my schedule to pump at school, or that I wouldn't be able to pump enough for Samantha.  My mind jumped to the worst conclusions possible, and needless to say, it was not a very good start to the work week and really made me second guess whether or not I would be able to work and still take care of Samantha.  I'm going to end this post on a sad note, because that's how I felt that first day back returning to work.  It was sad having to leave Samantha, and I cried at school when I thought about her and how much I missed being with her every day.  This will definitely be an adjustment for me and for our whole family as I go back to work.

Samantha at 12 weeks: The Last Week of Summer

This was a week that I dreaded coming for the whole summer because it marked my last week of summer break and the end to my time at home with Samantha.  Since it was my last week at home, I decided to make the most of my time, and Ben and I went out and did a couple last things with Samantha.  Last Wednesday, August 3rd, we went to downtown Indianapolis and visited the art museum.  Samantha did really well and just slept in her stroller the whole time as we walked around the museum.  We weren't quite sure how it would go if she got fussy, but we figured we could always leave, and we wouldn't be losing anything since the museum is free to get into.  After the art museum we decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory!  Again, Samantha did really well.  She's gotten to the age where she is even more interested in life around her, and she just loves to be held so that she is facing out so that she can observe and interact with the world around her.  However, at the restaurant, we had another dirty diaper incident.  Lately she hasn't been having many dirty diapers during the day, and when she does, we know they are going to be good ones.  Well, as we were sitting there I could smell that Samantha had made a diaper, so I quickly took her to the bathroom.  On the way to the bathroom, her diaper started leaking, and needless to say, it turned into a 15 minute clean up job which resulted in a change of outfit for her and a mess on the front of my shirt.  Now I understand how Ben felt when he had her diaper leak on his pants in the middle of the mexican restaurant a few weeks ago!

The next day we met Grandma and Grandpa Toll at Colts Camp up in Anderson, Indiana.  Samantha wasn't too impressed yet, but if the Toll family has anything to do with it, she will grow up to be a Colts fan.  She was probably one of the youngest Colts fans there, even though she slept in the baby carrier in the shade most of the time.  Our little girl will be quite cultured, music and art from me, and sports from Ben.

With Samantha approaching 3 months old in one week, we feel that Samantha has almost had a developmental growth spurt in the last couple weeks.  She seems to have mellowed out a lot, she is much less fussy, is much easier to get to sleep for naps during the day, will sleep in her crib or pack and play a lot more, and she just has a much more interactive and happy disposition.  It is amazing how much babies can change from one week to the next.  I remember just a couple weeks ago feeling worried because it seemed to be so hard to get her to take good naps during the day, especially being laid down in her crib or pack and play.  Ben kept reminding me that how she is now will not be how she will be in a few weeks, and of course, he was right, and today she slept in her pack and play for an hour and a half!  It's just hard when you get caught up in the moment, and you don't realize what the passing of time will change.

As I said earlier, Samantha has had such an interactive and happy disposition lately.  I think her personality is really starting to come out.  She loves being around people, watching everything around her, and being out and about.  Ben is afraid that we might have a little extravert on our hands, quite the opposite of his personality!  She has been smiling a lot, and as our friend Michelle put it, when she smiles she lights up the room.  Her smile takes up her whole face, her pink gums show, and her cheeks scrunch up so much that it makes her eyes narrow like she is squinting.  We find it absolutely adorable and could stare at her smiling face all day, but then again, we are a little biased.  She also has been laughing a lot more.  We can get some pretty good giggles out of her when we tickle her neck, blow raspberries on her skin, and make silly faces and noises at her.  We get lots of laughs and smiles from her when we change her diapers and give her a bath, and we just eat it up! Of course, we get the camera out she stops laughing. Those of you that know Roscoe must think it is a family trait.

As I said at the beginning of my post, this week ended on a sad note, I had to return to work for teacher meetings yesterday with school starting next week.  It is really hard having to leave Samantha every day, especially after I spent every day with her this summer.  I knew I would have to go back to work since Ben is in graduate school at IU, but you just have no idea what it will feel like until you actually have to leave this little person that you have so much love for.  The one thing that is making it an easier transition for me is that Samantha is just staying home with Ben for the next three weeks until his classes start at IU, so they are getting lots of daddy-daughter time.  Once Ben starts classes, one of our friends, Melanie, will be watching Samantha in her home along with her two boys.  Even though I would like to be at home with Samantha, we have the second best thing with her being taken in as part of another family.  I just have to remind myself that this is just for a season of our life, and that hopefully in a couple years I will be able to stay at home once Ben is out of school.  

God has blessed us with this amazing, adorable, precious little girl, and has entrusted us with the immense task of taking care of her, loving her, and raising her to also put her faith and trust in the Lord.  Heavenly Father, give us grace and love as we seek to take on this task of raising our little Samantha.

Samantha at 10 and 11 Weeks: Her First Family Vacation

I decided to combine weeks 10 and 11 into one blog post since most of that time was spent on a Toll family vacation to Galena, Illinois.  Before the vacation started, Ben taught Samantha something new.  At her two month checkup, our doctor told us that babies will start mimicking you, the faces and noises that you make, and one example he gave that is good to try is sticking your tongue out.  Ben did it with her several times, making a funny face and a funny noise while sticking his tongue out, and she loved it!  She smiles and laughs every time.  In fact, right after he taught her how to do it, anytime she would see him, she would automatically stick her tongue out because she knows it gets people to laugh.  We even have noticed her sticking her tongue out at her toys or at her favorite thing lately, ceiling fans!

The beginning of Samantha's vacation was a weekend spent in the Chicago area to see my family.  We were a little worried about how Samantha would do on a longer trip like this because sometimes lately she hasn't been that big of a fan of being in her carseat for extended periods of time.  However, she did an excellent job.  In fact, she slept the first leg of the trip for almost three hours and let us get all the way to Crown Point, Indiana!  That evening we went to Giordano's to get Chicago style pizza which was a first for Samantha.  Saturday, July 23rd, my friend Janell from college came out to visit us and see Samantha.  It was great to hang out and catch up with her.  Sunday, we went to church with my family, had lunch, and then headed out for Galena.

During our trip to Galena, we did a lot of relaxing and playing with babies.  Since there were two 2 month olds, we didn't have any big plans of sightseeing, we were just looking forward to spending family time together.  We rented a house there that is a part of the Eagle Ridge owner's club, and it was a very pretty location.  While we were there we did a few tourist things.  We went on a boat ride on the Mississippi River, took a walk by Lake Galena, and the adults went on an alpine slide. 

Baby Alaina and baby Samantha were so cute together wearing their matching dresses and hats made by Grandma Toll.  Here they are hanging out on the table together during the boat ride.  They both did a great job on their very first boat ride!

Here is Samantha in her outfit, hanging out with her proud Daddy and Grandma.

While we were in Galena there was a very large rainstorm that came through the area and we got around 14 inches overnight.  The next day we went downtown to see what kind of damage was done.  We found the floodgates were down and the river had flooded over into the streets.

Overall, the last couple of weeks has brought a lot more interaction with Samantha.  She loves to be with people, to smile, and is even beginning to giggle and laugh.  She loves having people's attention, and Ben is afraid that we might have a little extravert on our hands.  It will be interesting to see how her personality develops as she grows.  We are really enjoying her happy personality and finding new ways to make her laugh and smile by making funny noises and faces, blowing raspberries, and talking with her in her own baby language.  In fact, on the way back from Galena to Upland, which was a seven hour drive with an hour and half stop over in Lombard, Samantha only slept an hour and a half total all day.  The rest of the time she was playing and talking with her mommy and daddy as we drove, just as happy as can be.  We are so blessed with this sweet little girl that brings such joy to our life.