The last pregnancy pictures I would take. I was on bed rest, it was a Sunday and I got ready so I could get these pictures when they came home from church. I was hoping I would keep him in longer but also had a feeling that I was nearing the end of the race. (Fun fact: We took the same pictures in the same dress when I was pregnant with Millie.)
After a week or two of bed rest, ultrasounds measuring his growth, my embilical cord function, placenta function and a couple of steroid shots, the doctor decided it was time to meet this boy. They tried to induce me but after monitoring my contractions, they decided baby boy might not be strong enough to handle delivery the natural way. Soon, I was being prepped for a c-section and getting wheeled down to surgery while singing Primary songs in my head to calm my nerves. There were so many unknowns, (never having a c-section before, what baby boy would need following such an early delivery, etc.) I was super nervous and was just trying hard to be calm and brave. Luckily, one of my sisters had all c-sections and had always said how easy they were, so that helped calmed my nerves as well.
Being wide awake, having surgery performed and having no clue what was going on with my body, only feeling the pressure, was interesting to say the least. They had Ryan come into the operating room when it was go time and a few minutes later, we heard the smallest, cutest cry ever.
Everything checked out and because his oxygen levels were normal I was able to hold him. It was very special to hold that little guy. It's one of my favorite parts of having these babies.
Ryan went with baby boy while they finished working on me. I didn't get to see him again for another six hours, (at midnight) when they wheeled me (bed and all) up to the NICU. When we left, his nurse for the night kept saying we needed to name him because it was weird calling him baby. She gave us her number and told us to call her if we came up with a name during her shift. We went back to the room and decided on the name Benjamin. I called the nurse and told her and we both felt good about our name choice. Especially because Ryan would call him Benny. It would take another few days to decide on his middle name George, because I am the world's worst decision maker.
Only a few hours old. Ryan took this picture while I was recovering and it's one of my favorites.
Some pictures of Benjamin taken the next day after a little sponge bath. The kids loved it when his eyes were open, they thought he had the biggest, dreamy eyes.
He only had to be under the blue lighting for one day. He hated the mask and anything else like his feeding tube and oxygen but he was a good boy and tolerated it as much as he could.
My Mom rushed in the Sunday before, to help when she found out I was on bed rest, she bought a one way ticket with plans to be there for the long haul. Luckily, she had a few days to learn the ropes of our school schedule before she would be left to do it on her own for a while. She was a life saver, I didn't have to worry too much about the other kids because I knew they were in good hands. I am very grateful for her help.
The pictures don't do it justice, but he was a little guy. While I was still in the hospital, I would go up to the NICU and do skin to skin time when he was being feed through his tube. I really appreciated that bonding time. Having a baby in the NICU is a weird thing, I kept feeling like he wasn't totally mine. But, I am glad we delivered at the hospital we did, all of the nurses were awesome, I didn't really have any negative experiences. So that helped.
I think this was taken a day or two before I left the hospital. You could tell they were having Mommy withdrawals. They all wanted to be by me but they didn't really want to talk to me, they just wanted to practically sit on me and watch cartoons. Sam wanted the TV louder, that is why his ear is pressed up against the speaker.
I am officially a Mom to four kids.
I really wanted to do this pregnancy right, take more belly shots, get a video of him kicking, get professional photos done in the hospital shortly after birth. Just really end my child birthing years on a more together note. This picture really sums up how it actually happened.
Oh well, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.
By the way, we are all in love with Benjamin, aka Benny.
He is the perfect caboose to this crazy train we have.
