Our world has flipped upside down

Sam Holtman

I’ve spent the last eight weeks trying to put into words how amazing this whole motherhood thing really is.

I had a few readers tell me they thought I’d have a column in by now, or that they are ready to read about my new little one, but describing it all isn’t as easy as it should be for someone who talks a lot.

Samuel Matthew Holtman was born at 10:08 p.m., Tuesday, April 5, at St. Francis Hospital. He weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 19.5 inches long — the perfectly sized baby if you ask me.

Waiting to find out the gender when he arrived was the best choice we ever made.

I think we had both convinced ourselves we were having a girl. So, when Matt looked at me and told me it was a boy, we were both in shock.

We had narrowed our girl names down to one, but we still had a list of boy names to choose from. I was glad we had Samuel on the list because he did not look anything like any of the other names we had. We waited until everyone went home for the night to decide on a name. Without even discussing, we each decided Samuel was the best choice.

That must mean it was meant to be, right? The name, Sam, fits him perfectly.

He was born with lots of dark hair, a trait that he gets from both of his parents. Since he was born, it’s taken on a reddish tint, which we knew was a possibility since both of us have red hair in our families.

He has continued to grow longer instead of chubbier. I should clarify now that this kiddo really is ours, just in case he turns out six feet tall with red hair. No one will believe us, so I’ll document it now.

We had so many visitors in the hospital and in the first few weeks. It was wonderfully overwhelming. I thought we’d need to borrow a lot of hand-me-downs from my nephews (we didn’t buy ahead since we didn’t know the gender), but I think almost everyone who came over brought him clothes of some sort (or food), so we built up quite a stack of clothes pretty quickly.

The time that has passed since the moment Samuel came into this world has been the best time of our lives. We feel so much more complete now, like a family.

I know we were a family before, when it was just the two of us. But this is different, in the best possible way.

The last two months have been full of baby snuggles and morning naps, of eat-play-sleep-repeat, and of trying to figure life out all over again. The last few weeks have been spent coming up with new ways to make Sam smile and coo.

And just when we think we have something figured out, a new challenge or change presents itself. We always feel so proud of ourselves when we master each little surprise.

Time has become a funny thing to me.

For days on end, I have started over every two to three hours. Like I said, eat, play, sleep, repeat.

Sometimes the sleeping happens on our lap (you can’t spoil a baby too much at this age, right?); sometimes in a crib or swing, while I try to gulp down a meal or get a small task done around the house before he is ready to start over.

And going somewhere for a planned event, or trying to arrive at a specific time?

That has required my new life motto to be, “Life takes longer.” It’s not as easy as hopping in and out of the car. There is a diaper bag, and car seat, and stroller, even a pacifier (or two) that needs to be strategically placed in case of emergencies.

Plus, we have to plan around feedings and naptime.

Sam sleeps pretty well — most nights. He must know his mommy likes her sleep.

He’s generally pretty happy, but when he’s not, he sure lets us know, as loudly as he can. He’s a zero-to-60 kind of kid.

He loves his changing table, being outside, and music; he is getting used to tummy time; but still doesn’t like bath time.

We’ve got so much to learn yet, but I think we’re managing to do okay.

And when we struggle, we just remind ourselves that he’s pretty good about forgiving and forgetting, at least for now.

I’m sure this little guy will be the topic of many columns to come, but this gives a brief look into the last eight weeks of our lives. We’re so excited for all the changes and growth to come. Matt can’t wait until Sam can play a little more, but this time – full of wonderful newborn snuggles and smiles – this is for mommies.

And I’m soaking up every moment, because there just aren’t enough moments.