Samuel Spencer Haslam

February 15, 2011

I had a feeling the day before Sam was born that he was ready to come join our family. At 3:40 in the morning I started having contractions. No more playing games...this was it. They began 8 to 9 minutes apart but quickly went to 4 to 5 minutes apart. I labored at home for 3 hours to make sure the contractions weren't going to space apart and when we realized they weren't going to change we headed to the hospital. When we arrived I was already dilated to a 7.

Bryce was such an excellent coach. I knew he would be. I am so grateful for his constant watch over me and encouraging words to help me bring our little Sam into the world. Not only did he support me through 12 hours of labor and delivery, he has also been so gentle as I have been recovering and trying to figure out this whole mothering business. He truly is my greatest support and the Love of my life (along with Sam now).

How can I put into words the most spiritual and amazing experience of my life? When I saw Sam I could not contain my emotions. I was crying and laughing at the same time. To be able to hold my little son in my arms after so much effort and pain was a feeling I will never forget. It was overwhelming and such a special moment in our life.

Mom,
I will be forever grateful that we were able to share this experience with you. Thank you for your support at the hospital and in our home. I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you for your example of a good mother. I find myself thinking about what you would do to handle situations and it has helped me so much in these first few weeks. I love you!

February 16, 2011

Sam did pretty good his first night. I ended up holding him for about 4 hours so Bryce could sleep, but I didn't care. It was still crazy to me to have him in my arms and not in my belly. We only spent 24 hours in the hospital because I just wanted to be at home. Sam and I were both healthy so we were discharged around 3:30 PM.



Dear Breanna

I have always wanted to break into my wife’s blog and sneak in a message. So now that I have my moment of opportunity I am going to take it. Today I’m not going to bash my wife’s fan hood of the ‘mighty BYU cougars’ or make fun of the time that her doctor in Salt Lake told her she was ‘slow’, even though both of these bring with them a good laugh. Today I am going to put the sarcasm on the shelf and shortly tell my wife how much I love her.

Dear Breanna,

On February 15th I observed you do something that goes beyond amazing. Through 12 hours of pain and extreme hard work you brought into our family the most precious little Spirit. I’ll be honest, though hard to watch, the labor and delivery of Sam was inspiring and moving to me. You showed such determination, strength, love and power that I have never seen before. You truly called upon the powers of heaven on your behalf. It was something I will never forget and forever cherish. Thank you for your preparation and hard work to bring our beautiful boy here. Now that you are a mom I have found that my love for you has grown exponentially. You have carried that determination and strength into a constant watchful care of our boy. You are sincerely wearing out your life for our new little family and for that I love you. I am honored to have you as my wife and friend. I look forward to seeing you every single day. You are an unwavering example of faith in God. May the Lord continue to bless you and give you the strength to continue being the great mother you are.

I Love You!
Bryce

9 months

I made it! Now it's just the waiting game. When will Sam decide to make his grand entrance? My due date is next Sunday but the only thing I'm hoping for right now is to at least make it til this Thursday so my mom will be here. Bryce talks to Sam and will tell him to keep marinating for a little while longer. I still haven't had any contractions besides braxton hicks which have been pretty intense, but no pain.
The only time I don't like being pregnant is on Sunday when I have to wear a dress. I hate wearing dresses right now. Other than that and times when Sam kicks me in one of my nerves I still love being pregnant.

freezing rain

The first time I saw freezing rain I was in shock. I had no idea that could even happen. I was on my mission serving in Toledo, Ohio and we walked out to our car but couldn't go anywhere as it was completely covered in a thick sheet of ice.

If you don't have to drive in these storms they can actually be really fun to see and if you're lucky the sun will come out and shine on all the ice covered trees. beautiful.

For those of you who have never experienced an ice/freezing rain storm, here are some pictures so you have an idea of what we're dealing with out here.

Still no power outages for us and no sign of baby Sam coming. I can't wait until spring arrives!