Samara's First Month

I'm 1 month old!

Hello All,
Samara turned one month old on Wednesday, October 24th!  As everyone has told us, the first month flew by.  Parts of it were very rough (learning how to breastfeed, not getting any sleep, etc.), but her little face makes it all worth it!!  Now that Sammy is a month old, things are getting a little smoother.  She sleeps a lot during the nighttime, only needing to feed a couple of times.  She has been a great baby so far.  She fusses every once in a while, but seems to be pretty happy other than that.  Enjoy the photos below!
Love,
Mindy, Aaron, and Sammy

Our little Pumpkin!

Samara Blair is Here! - Our Birth Story

Samara Blair Smith
7 lbs, 10 oz.
19 3/4 inches long
Born Monday, September 24, 2012, 8:40 am

Well, Samara came early!  She was born exactly one week before her due date.  Aaron and I had a fantastic birthing experience...
I woke up at 1:50 am experiencing some contractions and noticed my water had broken.  Contractions were already coming less than 10 minutes apart, but I didn't want to wake Aaron right away.  In our class, we were told to let the husbands get some sleep while you are in early labor so that they can be a good coach for you throughout your labor and delivery.  Finally I woke Aaron up when contractions were 4 minutes apart.  He was surprised and disoriented, but after some convincing words, we got in the car to go to the hospital.  We checked in at 3:30 am and got into our room.  Labor progressed very quickly and we were soon at pushing time!  After about 20-25 minutes of pushing, Samara was born at 8:40am.  We were truly blessed with a very speedy labor and delivery.  In fact, from check-in to check-out of the hospital, we were only there 36 hours!  It feels like a crazy dream now that never really happened, but luckily we have lots of pictures to prove it did.  Mom, Dad, and Sammy are now at home and learning all about each other: how to breastfeed, which little features come from Mom or Dad, how to swaddle... all the good stuff!  I always thought love at first sight was nonsense, but maybe that was just because I had never had a little baby girl before.
Enjoy the photos below!
Love,
Mindy and Aaron

So excited to finally meet her!

One of the happiest moments of Mindy's life!

Our first family portrait

Holding hands

At home!  Daddy is a master swaddler.

The best way to nap

True story

Chillin' with Daddy

Lap naps - truly the best!

First smiles

First smiles

38 Weeks - Only 2 weeks to go!!!

Hello Family and Friends,

It hardly seems real that Samara Blair is due to join this world in less than two weeks!  We have been anxiously awaiting her arrival for so long.  Our nursery is finally in order (babies need so many things!) and we think we have everything we need.  Though we also have a sneaking suspicion that we really have no clue what we are up against when she gets here.  One thing we do know is that we already love her so much.  It's strange to be so in love with someone you've never met.  Seems even sillier than love at first sight!
In other news, we got our maternity pictures from the photographer, and we were really happy with the finished product!  We have posted a few of the pics below.
Well, that's about it from our end.  More news as it becomes available!
Love,
Aaron and Mindy

Reflecting on how happy and lucky I truly am

Chillin' on the couch

Belly to belly

Holy Guacamole, that's a large belly!

34 Weeks!

34 weeks of belly stuffed into a bikini! (photo credit Maggie Keegan Gross)

Well, here we are at 34 weeks- hard to believe we only have 6 weeks to go before meeting Samara, our not-so-little Peanut!  Saturday, we got to take professional photos with Maggie Keegan Gross, a very talented photographer who specializes in maternity, newborn, and family portraits.  We had a great time and even got an amazing sunset at the beach!  It was a really fun experience and we can't wait to see the fully-edited photos in September.  Even though Mindy feels quite large these days, she is still surprised to see pictures like this.  She also startles when walking by a mirror or window (is that Tweedle-Dee me?!).  But in all seriousness, wanting a big preggo belly all her life, it's like a dream come true.  This is not to say that bellies are the most comfortable thing to live with.  We have learned that many daily activities are different:

- Breathing (difficult)
- Tying shoes (still doable, but barely)
- Painting toenails (doable, but painful, probably not going to be doing it any longer!)
- Getting out of bed (still possible, less than graceful, often involving a 3-point turn)
- Going up the stairs (possible, at the rate of 1 step/minute)
- Washing dishes (just as easy, but you have to stand like a foot away from the sink and bend over to reach!)
- Cooking (mostly unaffected, Mindy's dishes taste as mediocre as they always have)
- Blogging (obviously still possible, bad humor unaffected)

Yes, life has already changed for the Smiths, although not nearly as much as it will in a little over a month.  While we still feel like we are getting into something much bigger than we can imagine, we do feel much more prepared now that we have completed our childbirth classes.  Last night was the final class, and we have learned a lot about labor, delivery, and childcare along the way.  We still have a lot to learn, but now we are a bit more prepared for what this little lady has in store for us.

That's all for now.  Only a few more updates until Sam arrives!
Love,
Aaron and Mindy

Almost 30 weeks...

29 weeks at Nana and Pop's house!

Well, here we are, 3/4 of the way to meeting our baby girl.  This weekend, we visited Aaron's parents, Ginny and Charlie (soon to be known to Sammy as Nana and Papa).  We had a blast in northern California, but it sure was hot!

Now that we are officially in the 3rd trimester, we are getting pretty excited.  We only have a little over 2 months before the little lady arrives, so we are trying to prepare the nursery (and ourselves!).  We have been taking classes to learn all the ins and outs of childbirth.  They have been very informative and we are starting to feel well-equipped for the big day.

Until next time!
Love,
Mindy and Aaron

25 Weeks Belly Pic + Baby's Name!

Well, just when Mindy thinks she can't possibly get any bigger, she does!  It's hard to believe that we are only 25 weeks along with a belly like this, but we do in fact have 15 weeks to go.  One thing is certain, we will have one big baby girl.
In other news, we have decided on a name for baby:

Samara Blair

Aunt Blair and her guide dog Rollie

The middle name, Blair is after Mindy's Aunt on her mom's side.  Blair passed away 17 years ago, but remains an inspiration for everyone that knew her.  Despite being severely diabetic and blind, Blair was as independent as any other woman around.  She never complained and even made jokes about her disability.  This is the type of strong, grounded personality we would want for little Sammy.
Speaking of strong, Samara has become quite the little kickboxer!  While they say that baby begins moving fairly soon in the pregnancy, moms cannot usually feel these movements until around 20-22 weeks.  Mindy first felt baby kick on Mother's Day, which was a very sweet present.  At first they were little flutters, and now they are full-blown jabs.  Aaron can feel them sometimes on the outside, and sometimes you can even see them!  It is a very strange feeling at first, that is for sure.  Sam moves around every day, reminding Mommy she is getting bigger by the minute.  After all, she is now about 13 inches long and weighs about 1.5 pounds!!
All our love,
Mindy and Aaron

20 Weeks Belly Pic!

Quite a change from 18 weeks!

Well, there's no mistaking it now, I'm definitely showing!  This is fixing to be one big baby girl...

Baby Smith is a....

19 wks 2 days old

GIRL!!!

We had our ultrasound on Wednesday and got to see our very healthy little baby girl.  We were told that she looked perfect and healthy.  We even got a DVD of the ultrasound, so we could see all of her fingers, toes, and little parts.  We are working on trying to upload that video so you can all see it.  She is already about 6 inches long (not including legs), so hopefully she'll be a nice big healthy girl (though not too big, for Mindy's sake!).
We can safely say that Baby Smith already has us wrapped around her little finger, even if it is only a centimeter long!
Love,
Mindy and Aaron

18 weeks belly pic!

Hello Family and Friends!
Well, we are almost halfway there - 18 weeks pregnant!  The belly bump is growing pretty big now, and soon we'll find out whether peanut is a boy or girl :)
We have started thinking about names and nursery decorations but these things will be a lot easier once we know the sex.  More updates as they become available!
Love,
Mindy & Aaron

15 Weeks Belly Bump!

Dear Family and Friends,
We are a little over 15 weeks (~3.5 months) pregnant! Because Mindy is obsessed with the idea of having a huge pregnant belly, we thought we'd show her progress every so often. Despite the early stage, peanut is already making him/herself known! Today a total stranger even asked Mindy how far along she was for the first time :)
In other news, we have settled into our new place in West L.A. and so far we really love it! The area is great- there are all sorts of fun places to eat, shop, etc., and we are only a few miles from the ocean. Definitely a different world from Tucson, that's for sure!
Aaron begins his new job at HRL Laboratories in Malibu on Monday, and Mindy will begin her postdoc at UCLA in early May. We will continue to keep you updated!
Love,
Mindy and Aaron

12 and a Half Weeks

Today was very exciting! We got to see quite a different baby than we saw just 3 weeks ago. Today he/she has full limbs, and we could see the bones in the arms, legs, and even in the fingers! Baby was moving around a lot, which made it difficult for the sonographer, but we sure enjoyed watching the squirming. In the top picture you can see baby's profile, and it's amazing how visible the jaw bones are. You can even see a little dark spot where the ear is. The second picture shows a cross section through the baby's head. Mindy was particularly excited about getting to see baby's developing brain!
Baby measures 6.3 cm today, which is just shy of 2.5 inches. This means that he/she has grown an inch and a half in just 3 weeks. It's hard to believe that in just 6 short months he/she will be a full size baby!
Love,
Mindy & Aaron

Welcome, and First Ultrasound

Hello Friends and Family,
Welcome to our new blog, Follow Baby Smith! We decided to create a space in which you can find updates and pictures of Baby Smith- from early pregnancy through early childhood. Pictured here are images from our 9.5 week ultrasound. On this day (March 1st) we were able to hear the heartbeat for the first time, which was amazing! Baby measured 2.54 cm (or 1 inch exactly). You can see the head on the right and the torso with little limb buds on the left. We are currently 3 months pregnant and are looking forward to this exciting journey. Feel free to leave us feedback, and enjoy!
Love,
Mindy and Aaron