Daddy Love

Have I mentioned what an awesome daddy Ben has? You know your husband is a trooper when he fixes your Mother's Milk tea, brings it to you and uses a nursing pad (nothing gross, just catches the drips when you're not nursing) nearby as a coaster - LOL! Hey, this newborn business is HARD...we gotta find humor somewhere :)

Basically, we've just been taking it one day at a time. Nursing is 100x harder than I thought it would be, and I am tempted to throw in the towel every day. But we've made it a whole two weeks, and I really want to keep trying (sometimes;). Ben has already started in on the "fussy baby in the evening" bit....UGH. So, right when Mark comes home from work, Mr. Cranky gets going and that's our night! We're doing the best we can, though, and hoping (and PRAYING) this is a phase that will pass soon :) Again, Mark has held me up through all this with such positivity, willingness to help, and concern for my wellbeing ~ here are a few of my favorite Daddy Shots (Ben's a lucky little booger)...I love you, Babe!

* Sweet kisses *

Ben loves Daddy's big cozy arms...

This is one of the catcher's mitts Ben "gave" Mason and Chandler for his birth day. They asked if he could take a nap in it!

Big Yawn!!

Coming Home...

It's hard to believe it was a whole week ago today that we came home from the hospital with our sweet baby boy :) He's 9 days old today and it has flown by! Here's his first week in review:

His official hospital photo at 2 days old ~ what a cutie!!

Here we are..."ready" to leave the hospital (not really!!)

First ride in the carseat...I cried and cried when it was time to leave the hospital, but we made it home in one piece! (With Mama holding Ben's head the whole time so it wouldn't touch that mean old plastic piece on the straps - ha!)

Mark has been the BEST daddy over this past week! Our first two nights at home were pretty rough. Ben's demand for milk was WAY outpacing my ability to supply, being so early, so we had a fussy boy with a growling tummy who did not want to sleep for 2 days!! We got through it, though, and Daddy's been wonderful about helping with nursing sessions, changing diapers, and most of all (BEST of all!) loving on our little baby :) Look at the smile on Ben's face!

Monday after we came home, it was time to pay the pediatrician a visit and see how his weight was doing. Verdict: not great. He had lost 15% of his body weight, BUT, was not dehydrated and everything else looked wonderful - especially his color and lack of jaundice, said the doctor. Here we are ~ first dr. visit!

Grandaddy Raoul is his pediatrician...who better to love and care for our baby?! So, we decided to supplement his nursing with formula and see how he was doing in three days. Well, Thursday, it was declared a record weight gain - 12 oz in three days!! (We were hoping for 0.5 - 1.0 oz per day) Yay Ben! At 7 lbs 2 oz, he is well on his way to getting back to birth weight.

Finally, to celebrate Ben's 1 week birthday, we got out of the house and took a stroller ride.

More to come on Baby Ben ~ we had quite an adventurous photography session with him on Wednesday (it involved lots of poop, if that gives you a hint!)

Ben's Birth Story

Mark and I consider ourselves VERY lucky to have had such a wonderful experience for the big event!! Since I had to be induced, it didn't exactly start out as we "planned", but ended up being better than we imagined. Here's how it happened:

Thursday, 7/16/09: We arrive at the hospital at 6:15 in the pouring rain. We checked in and settled into room 137 where the nurse was preparing to go off shift. The 7:00 a.m. shift nurse Laura explained she'd be with us all day (assuming this didn't last past 7:00 p.m.!) She seemed super nice and was explaining everything so thoroughly ~ all was going well until she tried to place my IV. First time, "blew" a vein - yuck and ouch. Ok, move to the hand on the same arm, and encountered a valve, meaning she couldn't thread it far enough up into my vein. Yuck and OUCH again. So, she called another more experienced nurse who successfully stuck me on the other hand the third time. GREAT, we though - this Laura girl doesn't know what she's doing!! BUT, she proved to be the absolute best nurse we could have ever had....so considerate, knowledgable, encouraging and sweet. Just couldn't stick you very well ~ I guess you can't have it all!!

Anyway, at 7:30 Dr. Carter declared I was 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced - very favorable for induction (thank goodness!!) They started the Pitocin to induce labor at about 7:30 and that started the contractions. Here I am before they got offensive ;)

So, we just hung out waiting to dilate more. After about two hours of upping the Pitocin every 20 minutes, this business was starting to hurt. About that time, Laura said she was turning up the Pitocin dose again, so I asked for an epidural because it can take up to 30 minutes to take effect. That was at 9:50. Well, three people (ahead of me in "line") and a c-section patient later, I finally got one at 11:30!! You cannot IMAGINE how relieved I was....

By that time I was at least at 5 cm - halfway there! A little after noon, Mark left to go check out the cafeteria and while he was gone, Dr. Carter checked me again and casually said, "Oh, 9 cm. Hope Daddy didn't go far!" OH NO! Four centimeters in an hour?! We weren't expecting that! So, I called him, texted him, and called his mom (waiting outside) to hunt him down :) Thankfully, his mom found him (no cell phone coverage in the cafeteria) and we had a few minutes before it was time to push. From 1:00 to 2:00, Mark, Laura, and me worked on pushing, Dr. Carter came in at 2:00 and he was born at 2:18! Praise God for how smoothly everything went and we were free of any complications at all!

Here he is ~ just minutes old!

Happy Mama!!

Proud Daddy :)Later that day....

The whole family!!

He's Here!!

Well, he's finally here! I'm thrilled to announce that Benjamin Mark Williams (Ben) joined us on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 2:18 pm. He was a whopping 7 lbs 7 oz (!) and 21 inches long. Of course, he's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen :)

Thanks so much to all of you for your well wishes and prayers ~ more to come later on what a wonderful experience it was!!

40 Weeks and Stilllllllll Going!

Ok, today's the "big" day, and I'm afraid it's going to come and go uneventfully! Except for some false labor last Friday night, I feel EXACTLY the same as I did a week ago (plus some back pain). None of the typical signs are appearing - I'm not even feeling very "nesty" due to the need to run back to bed and put the heating pad back on every time I try to do anything ~ Ha!!

I do have my next appointment tomorrow (Wednesday), so we'll see how we're coming. Then if he's not here yet, Thursday's the real Big Day!!! I'm scheduled for induction at 6:00 a.m., Thursday the 16th. I'd LOVE for him to come on his own before then, but either way, please keep us in your prayers!! More updates to come... :)

39 Week (dis)Appointment ;)

Well.....I thought for sure we'd have made a little progress in a week, but this Baby Boy is cozy and hanging tight in there! 1-2 cm is all we've got so far - can you believe that?! But, the doctor said it still could be any time (hmph). I'm starting not to believe them! And, starting to get more and more impatient, mostly due to the terrible back pain I've had the past two nights. So, if it's not a trip to the bathroom waking me up, it's back spasms on the left side no matter how I lay. I even tried sleeping sitting up last night - No Good. So, I'm pooped! Baby's not, though...I don't think I've ever felt him bouncing around so much! I guess it's getting tight in there :)

I'm glad last weekend was the 4th of July instead of this weekend ~ I was all energetic thinking he'd be here any minute (hahahaha). Here we are, watching the fireworks!

Two preggers, April and me...her baby Sophia is due September 2, and Sophia and Baby Williams are going to be best friends and get married one day (LOL!!)

Dear Baby,

It has been 39 whole weeks, and it is a full moon tonight. Don't you think it's about time to get moving?! Mama's had a haircut and a pedicure, which means I'm READY!! My bags are packed, plus one for you, one for Daddy, and some other random stuff I'm sure we'll just lug in and out of the car without using :)

I've got your room ready, casseroles frozen, and even bought a video camera! Please, please don't get too comfy in there ~ Mama's so anxious to meet you! You're not even born yet, but have already got me on the verge of a meltdown with all this waiting, Little One. My ankles are swollen, face is splotchy, and I'm so tired I don't even care ;)

Daddy would like for you to come soon, too. Every time I call him, he thinks it's THE CALL, and is probably getting tired of it. Ha! But what else do I have to do while twiddling my thumbs but to call him all day asking him to swing by Walmart on the way home and get another one of those clear plastic bins so I can organize our washcloths?!

Well, I suppose you'll come when you're ready (or the doctor is ready, one!). I've waited this long to meet you ~ what's a few more days? You're worth it, Baby Boy!!

Love,
Mama

11 days and counting...

Well, I hope only 11 more days. Not much news at the doctor yesterday for my 38 week checkup ~ maybe 1 cm dilated, but that's it. Boo!! I told myself I would not be disappointed if that was the case because it doesn't necessarily correlate to when the baby will come, but I was a little bummed after that. On Tuesday, I had this awful pelvic pain for hours and TONS of Braxton Hicks, and when I called about it the doctor on call said it was my pelvic bones separating due to the baby moving down, and to just sit and rest. SO, given that event I guess I was expecting more progress. Oh well!!


The up-side is that Mark and I still have time to get ready for this little sweetie. I've done several loads of laundry with the baby detergent, washing everything from clothes to Boppy covers to sheets and towels. We got the carseat and bases installed in both cars and passed a check at the fire department with flying colors ~ the fireman said Mark was only the 4th person of HUNDREDS he's inspected since getting certified that got it right the first time. Wow. Go Mark!!! (And everyone else - go have your carseats checked!!) So, we practiced with the seat a little, adjusting the straps and all that....it's not as simple as you'd think. Here's the temporary occupant/guinea pig for the carseat (yes, I have been riding around like this - ha!!)



We also got a bed set up for Mom in our family room so she'll have a "real" place to sleep when she comes. Tonight we're going to work on finalizing the nursery ~ I think I've been putting it off because I just don't know what to do with the furniture arrangement. More specifically, whether or not to use the hutch that came with the dresser or shelves. So, I keep moving it to the end of my list since the baby won't be sleeping in there at first anyway. But as soon as I get all that figured out, I'll post some pics. :) Here's another belly one in the meantime....