Samantha Michelle Biggs (Sami)
Birthdate: Tuesday October 11, 2005 at 8:51am
We always said we were going to wait 5 years after we got married before we thought about having kids. In June of 2004 we decided we were (financially) in a situation where we could start trying for a kid. We tried for about a month or two and then decided to quit trying and just let nature take its course (we didn't try, we didn't NOT try). The main reason was because we'd decided that in summer of 2005 we would go on the long Utah/Grand Canyon bike trip that we'd wanted to do for several years.
Well, nature did take it's course... without going into too much detail I used a home pregnancy test near the first of February that was pretty much useless (couldn't tell). So I made a doctor appointment. Urine test at doctor's office came out negative. It was a Friday so I didn't get the results of the blood test until Monday morning. Blood test came back positive. That was Monday, February 7th. I told Marty by giving him an early Valentine's Day card that was to "Daddy". Of course his first statement about it was "But we weren't even trying."
On October 10th, I had my last OB/GYN appointment. After one last quick ultrasound, and a non-stress test, and a regular exam, they decided that the amniotic fluid was too low and the baby would be safer outside in the world instead of risking the placenta stopping working. So they scheduled an induction for that very evening.
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We got to the hospital around 5:30pm, and all the birthing rooms were full! They put me in triage, got all the paperwork and exam done and started me on the Pitocin (drug used to induce labor). At 7:30 I still wasn't having any contractions (that I could feel anyway) and they upped the dosage. That was about the time they put me in a birthing room too.
When the contractions started they started HARD - directly into hard labor (very intense). When they started I was dilated to 3cm. I put up with them (no drugs) for about 3 hours and wimped out and they gave me Statol (which is supposed to take the edge off). I tried that for another hour but couldn't tell any difference at all in the pain. So 4 hours after labor started (and I was STILL at 3cm) I got an epidural. It was heaven on earth. I couldn't feel anything below my waist (couldn't even lift my legs).
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So after 10 more hours of flipping me over every 30 minutes, I was finally at 10cm and it was time to have a baby. It only took about 4 pushes and she was out! Amazing. We stayed in the birthing room and breastfed for the first time and they weighed her and measured her and made sure everything was okay. After about an hour they moved us to our hospital room where we stayed for the next 3 days. Of course the grandparents came in as soon as we were moved to our room.
All those plans of putting her in a daycare when I had to go back to work just kind of flew out the window within the first week of having her at home. Fortunately, (I don't know how I got so lucky) my company allowed me to work from home. So I had a nanny that came to the house during the day while I worked from home.
As you can see from the following baby pictures (all taken at 3 months old), Samantha shares many features with both Marty and myself.
Milestones:
10/11/2005 - Birth (8:51am)
11/11/2005 - 1 month old
12/11/2005 - 2 months old
12/24/2005 - Started playing with toys
1/11/2006 - 3 months old
1/24/2006 - Started sucking on her thumb
1/28/2006 - Rolled over (front to back)
2/2/2006 - Rolled over (back to front)
2/8/2006 - Played with toys while on her tummy
2/11/2006 - 4 months old
2/14/2006 - Started solid food from a spoon (rice cereal)
2/15/2006 - Started teething (bumps in bottom jaw)
3/11/2006 - 5 months old
3/11/2006 - Started solid food twice a day (stage 1 jars)
3/12/2006 - Played with dogs
4/7/2006 - Drank from a cup
4/11/2006 - 6 months old
4/13/2006 - Sat upright on her own
4/16/2006 - First word (Mama)
4/16/2006 - Used both hands together for one goal
5/7/2006 - Started crawling
5/11/2006 - 7 months old
5/12/2006 - Started waving
5/26/2006 - Started pointing at people and things
5/27/2006 - Started solid food three times a day (stage 2 jars)
5/30/2006 - Started pulling herself up onto her knees
5/31/2006 - Pulled herself up to standing position
6/5/2006 - Started walking while holding onto a table
6/6/2006 - Started eating finger foods
6/6/2006 - Started making "raspberry" noises
6/11/2006 - 8 months old
6/14/2006 - First teeth popped through (bottom two)
7/11/2006 - 9 months old
7/22/2006 - First step
8/11/2006 - 10 months old
9/5/2006 - Started walking (several stable steps)
9/11/2006 - 11 months old
10/1/2006 - Started walking MORE than crawling
10/1/2006 - Started dancing (sitting and standing)
10/11/2006 - 1 YEAR OLD!!!
11/11/2006 - 13 months old
12/11/2006 - 14 months old
12/22/2006 - Played with another child (as opposed to playing in parallel)
1/11/2007 - 15 months old
2/11/2007 - 16 months old
3/1/2007 - mimics many jestures and sounds
3/11/2007 - 17 months old
4/11/2007 - 18 months old
4/24/2007 - Pointed to a ball and said "ball" (without provocation)
10/11/2007 - 2 YEARS OLD!!!
3/9/2008 - First day of being a BIG SISTER
10/11/2008 - 3 YEARS OLD!!!
6/1/2009 - First swim lesson
10/11/2009 - 4 YEARS OLD!!!
12/8/2009 - First day of school (preschool)
12/15/2009 - First performance (Christmas Chapel at preschool)
5/6/2010 - First field trip (Strawberry Farm with preschool)
10/11/2010 - 5 YEARS OLD!!!
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