7 weeks old

Hi everyone. Little Row turned 7 weeks old this week and he has already grown so much! He is trying really hard to hold his head up by himself and he loves for me to walk him around so that he can look at his surroundings. He has transitioned out of his swing and into a bouncy seat, which he loves. I like it too because I can easily move it from room to room and watch him. He is sleeping very well these days. He goes to bed at night between 11pm-12am and sleeps a good 6-7 hours. When he wakes he gets a bottle and then he goes back down to sleep for another 3-4 hours. He catnaps some during the day and takes a good 3 hour nap around 2pm. I think he is falling into a good routine and I am happy about that. He really is a wonderful baby. He lies on his back a lot and looks around, kicks his feet, and tries really hard to tell us all about everything he sees. He makes lots of noises and is a very happy baby. He is beginning to smile quite a bit too. Sometimes when I am giving him his bottle, he will pause for a second, look at me in the eyes, and smile really big. It melts my soul! He also still loves for me to give him kisses on his cheeks and he tries to kiss me back. He smiles a lot then too. He usually hears Sam when he gets home from the barn at night or at lunch and looks around towards his Daddy's voice. He is also a very sound sleeper. I vaccuum a lot when he's sleeping and it never bothers him. Swaddling has come in very handy. I usually swaddle him when he sleeps at night and when he takes his 1 long nap in the afternoon. I think it helps him sleep peacefully.

We had a good Thanksgiving. Mom Mc, Celia, Wills, Stephanie, Kevin, Mary Catherine, and Ella all came to visit us from South Carolina. We fried a turkey on Thanksgiving Day and rode horses at the barn. I think the little kids had a lot of fun...they went to Hershey, PA and met Santa Claus and his reindeer, including Rudolph (whose nose only blinks on Christmas Eve). I think they also went to a train museum and saw a lot of the Amish Country.

We have an eventful week coming up. We are going to South Carolina for Christmas and to dedicate/baptize Row at Sam's hometown church. We know for sure that Row is a 5th generation McLaughlin to attend there, but there could be more. On Christmas Day I am going on to Atlanta to spend the week with Mom. Our family celebrates Christmas on New Year's Eve so we'll be down there through New Year's Day.

Row's crib bedding finally came in! Now that it's here I can paint and get everything hung on the walls. I am excited to get it finished!

That's about it for now. I will try to update again after Christmas. Pray for us...it's our 1st long roadtrip together!

Love,

Jenny

Samuel Rowland McLaughlin, III

Well he is finally here! Many of you have asked, so here are the details...


Wednesday morning I began feeling contractions and called my doctor. She explained to me how things would progress and that I just needed to wait it out until they became stronger. I began timing them around 10am and they came regularly for about 2 hours but I really wasn't in any pain. At 1pm, Sam and I went to the hospital so they could monitor my contractions to see how far along I really was. In an hour I was sent home because they believed the contractions needed to be stronger. Sam and I left, got a bite to eat for lunch, and stopped in the grocery store to pick up a few things. We got home and no more than an hour later, the contractions were coming extremely strong. I called my doctor's office again, and this time I got my favorite doctor on the phone. I was hoping all along that he would be on call when I actually did go into labor. At this point, the pain level was bearable for the most part, but I knew it wouldn't be for long. He asked me to come into the office to get checked out, but that he wasn't sure if I was in true labor. (He later told me at the hospital that he knew for sure that I was in true active labor over the phone but didn't want to frighten me) Sam came to the house to get me and off we went. It only takes 5 minutes to get from our house to the doctor's office, but on the way, I was beginning to feel quite a bit of pain. I had a few silent tears but really tried to be tough. I was just hoping inside that I was really in labor and wouldn't be sent home this time. When I got to the doctor's office I was immediately checked out, and sure enough, I was 6 cm dilated. My doctor was really sort of upset that the hospital sent me home to begin with. Apparently, I was most likely far enough along the first time to go ahead and have an epidural. Oh well. My doctor told me- "Do not stop, do not pass go, go straight to the hospital, now. Do not worry about your bags." It was about 4pm by this time so Sam and I went straight to the hospital and got checked in. It was just he and I at this point but both of our mothers were on airplanes headed our way. It took a little while to get everything together at the hospital. They had to hook me up on monitors and IVs as well as order the epidural (have to have that). By the time all of that was done, it was about 6:30 pm and I was feeling pretty good with the medications. My doctor checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. He said he would be back again at 8:30. By the time 8:15 rolled around, I felt the epidural wearing off. Sam was such a good sport with me. He sat right beside me, held my hand, and watched the monitor for me. He let me know when the contractions were peaking and when they were coming down. He stayed very calm and that helped me to stay calm. I have to say, for first timers, all alone, I think we did pretty well, considering we had no idea what we were doing. :) At 8:30 the doctor came back to check me and I was ready to go. He said he wanted to wait until 9pm to give the baby a chance to progress as much as possible to make it easier on me. By 8:45, I was getting uncomfortable so Sam and I prayed together that God would bring us a healthy baby, that I could be strong throughout the delivery, and that it would progress as quickly as possible. At 9pm the doctor was back. He took a few minutes to give me lessons on what was going to happen and how, and by 9:05 or so we began. It did not take long. At 9:18pm we were holding our beautiful, healthy, baby boy. All of our prayers had been answered. All I can say is, wow, what an experience. For two people who "thought" we did not want children...well, we were wrong. We love him more than anything in the world! Sam and I spent 2 nights in the hospital and were cleared to come home Halloween evening. We were SO glad to get home. Our parents have been in town with us for about 2 weeks and the help and support has been really nice. Sam's mom has especially helped me to catch up on some much needed sleep.



We have a good baby boy. He is very healthy and strong. He sleeps and eats a lot, but I think he may have his days and night mixed up right now. We are working on that. He holds his head up, rolls over to his sides, and one night I found him rolled over on his stomach. He has not done it since, so maybe he will forget about that for a while...it gave me a pretty good scare. He likes to help me hold his bottle too. He has a very strong grip and loves to make noises when he's awake. He also loves to rub his face against mine. He opens his mouth wide and tries to kiss me back. All of this is what has made the last nine months worth it. After all was said and done at the hospital (and nothing was as bad as I expected), my doctor asked me if I had changed my mind about baby # 2. Definitely not! :) I love this little one with all of my heart, but I think this is it for us. However, we also said we weren't having children, so we'll see what God has in store for us. It's all in His hands in the end anyway.

Sam has been AWESOME throughout all of this. From the morning sickness to the very end, he has been right by my side and helped me every step of the way, good and bad. He is such a great Dad.

36 Weeks...

Happy Fall!

Our Halloween pumpkin.

Gracie sleeping in the back seat.

Gracie petting Molly.

This is the road we live on. A few days after we got home from the Celebration I took this picture. The Amish are usually finishing up their crops this time of year. Most of the time we see horses and buggies, but every now and then you will see something like this on the road.

Sam and Andy (far right) riding the Pirate Ship at Hershey Park.

Sam and Andy after their ride on Farenheit at Hershey Park.

And again...

One of the roller coasters they rode...

33 Weeks along...

33 weeks along...

34 weeks along...

34 weeks along...

36 weeks along...

36 weeks along...

36 weeks along...

I just realized that it has been a while since I last updated.

Things are going well for us. The weekend after we got back from the Celebration we decided to check out some of the local tourist spots that we had not done since living here. We went to Hollywood Casino in Harrisburg (my first trip to a casino) and had a pretty good time. They have horse races there and we enjoyed watching a little of that. We really didn't gamble much because we have no idea what we're doing. The next day we went to Hershey Park. It's an amusement park in Hershey, PA where Hershey chocolate is made. I couldn't participate in all the rides, but I had a great time watching Sam and Andy have a blast. I think they rode every open roller coaster in the park...more than once. It was pretty hot and humid that day (unusual) so I enjoyed eating ice cream to stay cool while watching them. I can't wait to go back after the baby comes. There are so many fun things to do there!

All of the baby news is good. When I went to my appointment after getting settled back in from the Celebration, my doctor was concerned about some tests that my doctor in TN failed to run. I had to go next door to the hospital for some routine bloodwork and a glucose test. All results came back perfectly normal and healthy so all is good there. As of my last appointment on Thursday, I have officially gained 11 pounds. I am going for check ups every week now, and the baby had significant growth from last week to this week's appointment. I think I knew that before they told me though. Just when it seems like there is no way my stomach could get bigger, somehow it does. It's OK though...I am rallying for a healthy baby boy! I still haven't experienced any weird pregnancy stuff yet...no swollen ankles...no swollen nose. :) I can still wear my wedding rings. Oh I have experienced one thing...heartburn! Yuck! Sam has battled heartburn ever since I've known him and I never understood it. All I've ever known is that I need to keep Tums around here at all times. Well, about a week ago when we woke up one morning, I told him that I hadn't slept all night because I thought I had heartburn. He brought me a Tums and it works like magic! I take one every night now before bed just for good measure. :) The baby's movement has become less agressive now that he is so big. Every day he stretches his legs out several times. It is so cute to watch him. I can see his little bottom pop up on the left side of my stomach, and then all the way on my right side, 2 little feet stick out. It really is so sweet. Other than him having the hiccups every now and then, that is the majority of his moving. I can also feel his fists every now and then too. I can't wait to meet the little fellow.

Sam is doing well. He has been traveling all over going to horse shows. He took a 3 week trip to go to Clemson, SC and Asheville, NC and did well in both places. He left Wednesday to go to Raleigh, NC for a show this weekend. My doctor put a halt on my traveling from here on out so I have been busy nesting at home. The natural instincts God gives you when you are pregnant are truly amazing. One good thing about nesting is that you know where everything is located in your house because you have cleaned and organized it from top to bottom. :) To those of you who have never had a baby...just wait. You will see. Sam has been really great with this pregnancy too. He put his hand on my stomach one morning and softly talked to the baby for a minute and the baby kicked his hand really hard. It startled Sam. His eyes got big and he said "did you see that?" I said no, but I felt it. :) He's going to be a great Daddy!

Well, that's about it for now. So far we are 36 weeks along. If all goes normally we have about 4-5 more weeks to go. We'll see if that happens or not.

Love,

Sam, Jenny, and Baby Row

Things for Baby Row...

Here are a few things we have received for Baby Row and his room...

This is his diaper bag...

This is his diaper bag, a life sized stuffed Lab (like our Molly), a basket to hold lots of baby stuff, and a red/off white gingham picture frame. All of these things came from 5 Little Monkeys in Murfreesboro. This is also where his bedding and crib came from. It is such an adorable store!

These are the fabrics I chose for his bedding. (The red in the picture is much brighter than the real thing. It's really a dark red in person) The crib skirt will be in the blue striped fabric. His crib sheet will be red. His bumper will be a combination of the blue stripes and red fabric and the cording/trim will be in the chocolate brown paisley. His blanket and accent pillow will be blue stripes on one side, red on the other, and corded/trimmed in chocolate paisley.

Celebration 2008

Blackjack Fantasy & Bill Callaway

World Champion Two Year Old Mare, Div. A, UNANIMOUSLY!!!

Blackjack Fantasy and Bill Callaway

Shock'n Y'all & Sam McLaughlin
Reserve World Champion Young Trainers 15.2 & Under

Paroled in Texas & John Allan Callaway
World Champion Two Year Old Mare, Div. B
Blackjack Fantasy & Bill Callaway
World Champion Two Year Old Mare, Div. A, Unanimously
Brothers and their BACK to BACK blues!

A group shot with all of the boys.

The Adcock Family's WC and RWC...
Michelle, Ashley, Chris, Odie, Liz,
Blackjack Fantasy, Bill, Sam, Shock'n Y'all,
Bob, Deb, Justin, Jenny, and Scott.


My little niece, Gracie.

I'm not looking!!

Gracie and Kasi

Kasi and Gracie

Gracie and Kasi presenting the

Master Plan Memorial Challenge Trophy

in the Youth 15-17 Pony Division.

Mom Mac, Jenny, Mom

Gracie loved the life sized "Molly Dog"

The food was wonderful!

We had stuffed tomatoes, assorted sandwiches on croissants,

chicken salad tarts, and a beautiful fruit centerpiece.

The beautiful fruit centerpiece created by

The Front Porch Cafe' in Murfreesboro.

Jenny, Mom, Aunt Paige

Mom, Jenny, Kasi, Gracie

Stephanie, Mrs. Linda, Jenny, Mom Mac

Mom, Gracie, Jenny, and "Molly Dog" of course!

Jenny and Loren

The crib we picked out for Baby Row.

It is dark chocolate brown and his bedding will be a mixture of

navy blue, columbia blue, and off white striped fabric;

solid red fabric; and chocolate brown and off white paisley fabric.

This is not his bedding shown in the picture.

I will post pics of it as soon as it comes in.

Another view of the crib.