Grandpa Clark
Grandma Nancy
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Grandma and Grandpa Brown!
My parents could not be more excited to be grandparents - and Ben is SO lucky to have such caring, awesome people in his life. I absolutely loved introducing Ben to my mom and dad - I think he will have such a special relationship with them :)
First moments with Ben
One of these days I will get around to posting about the whole labor/delivery/hospital experience, but for now, I wanted to share a few pictures of Ben's first moments:
I could start crying looking at this photo. Total emotional
moment right here. He recognized my voice and locked eyes with me. LOVE HIM.
Super proud daddy!
My amazing doctor - she stayed the night in order to be there for Ben's birth in the morning :)
First nap with dad...
...and mom.
Naps
I have had a hard time putting the camera down this week. I think I have tripled the amount of photos I've had stored on my iPhone in the past 5 days! One thing I noticed about the pictures as I have scrolled through is just how many different spots Ben has been able to go to sleep/pass out in. It's so adorable. Ben is in the sleepy newborn baby stage where I have to wake him up every couple of hours to eat, but in between feeding and his brief moments of being awake, check out a few of his favorite spots:
On the couch with Maxwell.
In his "Rock & Play" sleeper in our bedroom.
On our bed (with us next to him to supervise).
In his swing.
On one of us.
Wrapped up in a burrito in his crib. (Picture taken from
our room as I stalked him via video monitor) :)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Ben is HERE
While I have been stuck in a state of total mommy-bliss, I realized I had forgotten to make the most important blog update of the year: BEN HAS ARRIVED!
7 lbs, 11 oz, 19.5 inches long born at 7:28 am on September 24th!
From the very SECOND I laid eyes on him, I was hooked. Total love at first sight, which is not something I ever would have expected myself to say in my pre-Ben days. I have not been able to take my eyes off him since.
More details and pictures soon, but for now I have to return to my new job of obsessing over my kid.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Overreaction
Me: OMG, Greg. Emergency!
Greg: (Stunned look of sheer panic).
Me: I left my body pillow downstairs!
Greg: (Eye roll).
I guess using the word "emergency" should be off limits this week.
Greg: (Stunned look of sheer panic).
Me: I left my body pillow downstairs!
Greg: (Eye roll).
I guess using the word "emergency" should be off limits this week.
Random thoughts at 40 Weeks and 3 days...
Over the weekend, it seemed like I was experiencing all kinds of early-labor symptoms. Today = nothing....and at the moment I'm okay with it! I am still experiencing some lower back pain, which could be pregnancy/labor related and could be accident related (or both), so I decided that working from home the next few days was the way to go. (Have I mentioned how much I love my job and the flexibility it allows me to do this? I'm so lucky).
It seems that all of our friends and family members are on baby watch, which is awesome :) I can remember each and every one of my friends who have been where I am right now and how much I was anticipating the births of their babies! There is NOTHING like waiting for a human being to arrive!
Now that this is MY baby that is on the way, I have to admit that I'm starting to get nervous. I made the mistake of watching an episode of "A Baby Story" today, which almost gave me a panic attack. (I do not advise anyone to watch that show for the first time the week they will be in labor). I promptly turned it off and gave myself a pep talk that I WILL get through it and that there are plenty of drugs waiting for me.
Today, it is the responsibility of being a parent that I cannot quite wrap my mind around. Yes, there is the stuff that I have probably mentioned a lot before on this blog - things like worrying about the sleep and freedom we will be lacking for awhile and the general adjustment of caring for someone else 24/7, but it's so much more than that.
I think I'm having a hard time imagining myself as a mom. I have ZERO problem imagining Greg has a dad, as I feel he will be a complete and total natural, but I picture myself being awkward (Miranda-ish) and unable to relate to this new role.
The good news is that by all accounts from everyone I know, becoming a parent is a truly rewarding experience, and one that will change me forever. It gives me GREAT confidence to see how well all of my friends have transitioned into motherhood. You all, (not to mention my mom, mother in law and sister in law) serve as such fantastic role models to me! I feel lucky that even if things are a little confusing or hard to figure out, I have such a massive support system ready and waiting to help me when I need it.
THANK YOU to all of you for being so supportive and encouraging to us this year! I cannot believe we are at the end already :)
It seems that all of our friends and family members are on baby watch, which is awesome :) I can remember each and every one of my friends who have been where I am right now and how much I was anticipating the births of their babies! There is NOTHING like waiting for a human being to arrive!
Now that this is MY baby that is on the way, I have to admit that I'm starting to get nervous. I made the mistake of watching an episode of "A Baby Story" today, which almost gave me a panic attack. (I do not advise anyone to watch that show for the first time the week they will be in labor). I promptly turned it off and gave myself a pep talk that I WILL get through it and that there are plenty of drugs waiting for me.
Today, it is the responsibility of being a parent that I cannot quite wrap my mind around. Yes, there is the stuff that I have probably mentioned a lot before on this blog - things like worrying about the sleep and freedom we will be lacking for awhile and the general adjustment of caring for someone else 24/7, but it's so much more than that.
I think I'm having a hard time imagining myself as a mom. I have ZERO problem imagining Greg has a dad, as I feel he will be a complete and total natural, but I picture myself being awkward (Miranda-ish) and unable to relate to this new role.
The good news is that by all accounts from everyone I know, becoming a parent is a truly rewarding experience, and one that will change me forever. It gives me GREAT confidence to see how well all of my friends have transitioned into motherhood. You all, (not to mention my mom, mother in law and sister in law) serve as such fantastic role models to me! I feel lucky that even if things are a little confusing or hard to figure out, I have such a massive support system ready and waiting to help me when I need it.
THANK YOU to all of you for being so supportive and encouraging to us this year! I cannot believe we are at the end already :)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Due Date Surprise (And no, it wasn't a baby)
I figure since part of the reason I am blogging is so I can look back on this year and remember the whole "Journey to Ben", I should blog about what happened on my way home from work yesterday.
The last couple days had been pretty good, considering the fact that I had accepted that Ben would be late. I had had a productive day at the office and was planning to spend the evening with Rachel, Peter, and a 1/2 a glass of red wine. As I was sitting at a stop light, honestly feeling as though there was absolutely NOTHING else I needed to do to prepare for this baby (whenever he should arrive), I was rear ended (HARD) and pushed into the car in front of me.
O
M
G
I am happy to report that my air bag did not deploy and my belly didn't hit anything, but talk about being a little emotionally rattled! (Imagine the horrified look on the guy's face when he realized he had just plowed into a 40-week pregnant woman).
After we all pulled into a parking lot, gave our statements to the police, and exchanged our information, (not to mention the witness who saw the whole thing go down, saw I was pregnant, and also called the police and requested the fire truck with sirens blaring to come make sure I was okay), I called my doctor to see what she thought I should do. She told me to get someone to take me to the hospital immediately for 4 hours of observation (which immediately worried me and made me cry).
Greg came straight home from work and off to the hospital we went. Imagine our surprise to find ourselves checking into Labor and Delivery, ON MY DUE DATE, to NOT have a baby.
And for the record, he freaking loved it. Massage chair, someone rubbing his feet and FOOTBALL of all things playing on the flat screen they have up on the wall made for a happy Greg :)
The last couple days had been pretty good, considering the fact that I had accepted that Ben would be late. I had had a productive day at the office and was planning to spend the evening with Rachel, Peter, and a 1/2 a glass of red wine. As I was sitting at a stop light, honestly feeling as though there was absolutely NOTHING else I needed to do to prepare for this baby (whenever he should arrive), I was rear ended (HARD) and pushed into the car in front of me.
O
M
G
I am happy to report that my air bag did not deploy and my belly didn't hit anything, but talk about being a little emotionally rattled! (Imagine the horrified look on the guy's face when he realized he had just plowed into a 40-week pregnant woman).
After we all pulled into a parking lot, gave our statements to the police, and exchanged our information, (not to mention the witness who saw the whole thing go down, saw I was pregnant, and also called the police and requested the fire truck with sirens blaring to come make sure I was okay), I called my doctor to see what she thought I should do. She told me to get someone to take me to the hospital immediately for 4 hours of observation (which immediately worried me and made me cry).
Greg came straight home from work and off to the hospital we went. Imagine our surprise to find ourselves checking into Labor and Delivery, ON MY DUE DATE, to NOT have a baby.
(Belly looks enormous from this angle)!
Anyway....they monitored Ben's heart rate and my contractions for 4 long hours to make sure things looked okay. They felt okay releasing me at that point, but I was told to call back if I experience any additional pain (you know, because at 40 weeks pain is so uncommon...). The one positive thing of this whole ordeal was that I got to meet a bunch of nurses on the floor, (one of whom specifically requested that we ask for her when it's baby time - she was awesome) and ask a lot of questions about what we could expect later this week when we are back.
Monitoring. Top line is baby's heart rate, bottom is my contractions.
And then we went home.
I am a little on the sore side today, but happy to know that Ben is doing well. I am extremely irritated that in the midst of "when will my baby arrive", I now also have to deal with taking my car to the shop, not having a car to drive, and dealing with insurance companies....but in the end, I know that the fact that we are healthy is ALL that matters.
And as for Greg, I couldn't be luckier to have him for my husband. He took me to get husband/wife pedicures this afternoon to cheer me up, much to the delight of the ladies at Happy Nails (where I have only gone solo thus far). When they asked him if he was excited to be having a boy, he exclaimed, (loud enough for everyone there to hear):
"Oh yeah! I can't WAIT until the day we can get father/son pedi's together"!
The entire place erupted in laughter and I fell even more in love with him for knowing exactly what to do to make me feel better.
And for the record, he freaking loved it. Massage chair, someone rubbing his feet and FOOTBALL of all things playing on the flat screen they have up on the wall made for a happy Greg :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)