Letter to Sibley Hospital for Sam's first birthday

This week I took Sam to visit Sibley hospital where he was born and spent the first 3 weeks of his life. We were able to see Rebecca, the wonderful nurse who delivered Sam, and some of the doctors/nurses in the NICU who were SO excited to see him. We brought them cupcakes, pictures, and a letter updating them on Sam's life (since we wouldn't get to see all of our favorite people).

Here's the letter we sent:

Dear Sibley Friends,

It is hard to believe that 1 year ago we were patients at Sibley delivering our precious baby Samuel Geller-Cheney at 32 weeks. His birthday is this week (March 24th) and we wanted to take this opportunity to once again thank you for all that you did to ensure that despite his early arrival, he would have every possible chance for a healthy and happy life.

We are so delighted to report back to you that as he turns one year old, he is absolutely amazing and completely caught up on all milestones (and even ahead on a few). He weighs 22 pounds and loves to eat table food (eats like a horse!). He is exceptionally happy and social – his babysitter calls him Mr. Sunshine. He smiles and laughs all day long at everything. He loves to share (especially giving food to the dog), wave, give high five, stick out his tongue on command, fall down at the end of Ring Around the Rosy, and so much more. He has two words that he uses intentionally (“hi” and “dog”) and is very communicative with his other sounds and gesture.

His favorite activity is exploring everything around him – his favorite toys include opening and shutting doors/cabinets, the dishwasher, Tupperware, the dog’s water bowl (he loves to splash and pour the water on his head), toilet paper, watching his shadow in the sun, and the dog. He is a very proficient crawler and cruises around holding onto furniture. He loves his push toy and is beginning to take a few unsteady steps. He has five teeth and 2 more are breaking through (which he is not enjoying).

We are continually amazed by his endless smiles and sunny disposition. He is an amazing sleeper and an overall easygoing baby. He is very healthy (we survived the winter with only a few minor colds!) and his reflux is completely gone!

We thought you would enjoy some pictures of Sam from the past year. He brings so much joy to our lives. We will be eternally grateful for everything you did to help with his challenging beginning. Your thoughtfulness, attentiveness, kindness, care, love, compassion, and support touched our hearts and our lives. We will never forget the amazing gift that you gave to our baby boy and to our family.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you did for our family and for what you do every day!

We hope that you all are doing well. We think of you often.

Best,
Rebecca Geller, Brad Cheney, & Samuel Geller-Cheney

P.S. – We hope that you enjoy the cupcakes!