Weeks 5 & 6

Week 5 included Ben's first 4th of July... Joe's favorite holiday. We took Ben out in public for the first time (not counting doctor's appointments) to buy some fireworks. It was also the first time we'd carried him in the Baby Bjorn, and he slept like a baby while Dad went on a shopping spree. Ben was too young to watch the firework display Joe put on this year, but we went ahead and documented the occasion in the pictures below. Is it redneck to pose your newborn baby with explosives on a great American holiday?

And here are a few more pictures from weeks 5 & 6...

Weeks 3 & 4

Here are a few pictures from weeks 3 and 4. I wish I had done a better job of keeping up with the blog during that time so that I would have documentation of the little things, but I think you'll understand why I got behind. We spent the first month trying to figure out our baby. No one warns you about how hard that will be. It does NOT come naturally. At least, it didn't for me. We've nicknamed our beautiful baby boy Benjamin Fussbucket as he looked like this for much of the time.As the weeks passed we started to learn what Ben liked, and the swaddle blanket was the answer to most of our problems. Swaddling him in this would calm him right down and enabled him to sleep for hours at a time. Ahhh.... sleep at last.
He loved to be on his stomach and was addicted to the pacifier. I would leave him on his stomach for most of the day when I was home with him. It was amazing how strong his little neck muscles were!
Otis and Ben watching squirrels...
Ben sporting an Eskimo Joe's t-shirt from Aunt Emily. He's already outgrown it!
Grandma Mindy comes to visit!

Asleep in the bouncer... a rare event as he cried almost every time we put him in it!

What you talkin' bout Willis?!?!
First stroller ride and a few more...

1st Photo Shoot

Yeah, yeah... so I'm way behind. Here are some pictures that our friends Carly and CJ took of Ben when he was 2 weeks old. He didn't cooperate too well, and actually pooped in my hand when we had his diaper off! I think they got some pretty good ones considering...

Week 2 - visitors

During our second week with Ben we had lots of visitors. The first visit was from Ben's Great Great Great Aunt Eileen and Great Aunt Tracy. He was a good boy and slept for our company, but he did leave his mark on Aunt Tracy by peeing on her lap. Our second visit was from his Grandma Judy (Grannie), Uncle Dennis and Aunt Jenny, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Chainey. We were especially proud to show Ben off to Grandpa Chainey, who he was named after. Here are some pics of those visits...

Great Great Great Aunt Eileen

Ben wears Aunt Eileen out

Great Aunt Tracy

In awe of the ceiling fan

Monkey face!

Great Grandpa Chainey

Great Grandma and Grandpa Chainey

Great Grandma Chainey with quilt she made for Ben

Ben's 1st week - exhausting!

We came home with Ben on Saturday, the 4th (the day after he was born). Ben's first week was a stressful one for Joe and I. Dad, Marcia, and Mom stayed with us until Monday, which was a HUGE help and greatly appreciated. I attempted to breastfeed in the beginning which meant that I had to be up with him every two hours, and it was exhausting! He seemed to be feeding pretty well, but was fussy all the time and screamed all night long. We resisted giving him a pacifier because the lactation specialist said that it could cause nipple confusion, but I caved one night and it made a huge difference. He loves his pacifier!

By Monday, Joe and I started to worry that Ben was having some problems because he was lethargic and looked a bit yellow. At his first doctor's appointment on Tuesday, we found out that he had lost 11 oz and was jaundiced. The doctor recommended that we start supplementing him with formula and offered him a 2 oz bottle, which he sucked down in a few minutes. I started to cry because I felt like I was starving my baby. I was exhausted and emotional and made the decision to stop breastfeeding. I still feel a bit guilty about it, but formula feeding has been so much easier.

We treated Ben with a biliblanket for the jaundice. It was a bit of a pain because we had to move the machinery around with him, but the blood tests were the worst. We took him in to the lab every day for a heel prick to test his bilirubin levels. He hated it and we hated it, but by Friday his levels were back to normal and we were able to take him off the blanket. Here are some pictures of that first week...

Joe resting with our yellow baby

The first outfit Joe bought for Ben

Ben on the biliblanket

Our little glow-worm!

Hungry face

Mommy feeling more well rested

Just back from getting blood drawn

Getting ready for a sponge bath

Mad about his bath

Showing off the chicken legs he inherited from Joe

Basking in the sun to help with the jaundice

No more yellow skin!

Announcing the Birth of Benjamin Theodore Hackler

Yes, yes I know. This post is a little late as Ben was born on June 3rd, but he's kept me very busy in the last month! Here's a summary of what happened on his birth day...

I had a doctor's appointment the day before and was dialated to 4 cm. The doctor laughed about the fact that I was still working and acting like everything was normal. She asked if I wanted to have the baby that day, and I said "Only if he's ready." She did a manipulation to stimulate contractions. I went back to work and felt a little queasy, but went about my day as normal.

At 4:45 am, I woke up because I felt liquid leaking and wondered if it was my water breaking. I went to the bathroom and found blood and passed a lemon-sized clot, which freaked me out. I called the on-call doctor who said that it was probably from the manipulation the day before, but he asked that I come in right away to be checked out. I was crying most of the way to the hospital because I was scared and couldn't feel the baby moving. Joe kept a cool head and told me he was sure that everything was fine. I started having contractions on the way to the hospital that were about 5 minutes apart.

The on-call doctor checked me and the baby at around 6 am, and said I was dialated to 4.5 cm and that the baby was fine. He wasn't sure that I was in labor and said he'd monitor me for a bit. We called my parents to let them know the situation, but told them not to come yet.

My contractions got stronger. By about 7 am, the on-call doctor declared that I was in active labor, and we asked my parents to come.

My labor progressed quickly, and I laugh now about all the useless things I brought to the hospital like music to relax me, hard candy to suck on, a tennis ball for Joe to massage my back... yeah right! I didn't have time for all of that! I was on my side in bed, screaming through the contractions until I started pushing. Joe did a great job of coaching me to breathe, although I wasn't much of a student.

At 8 cm, the doctor came in and broke my water, and the contractions became continuous. I kept wondering if it was time for an epidural, but I couldn't stand the thought of them jabbing a needle into my spine during a contraction. I started pushing before long, and Joe had to go out into the hallway to call in the nurse.

I pushed for over an hour. Joe and the nurse held my legs and encouraged me. They were great cheerleaders, but I was losing confidence by the end. The baby would come down far enough that the nurse would call in the doctor to deliver, and then he'd work back up again. The nurse coached me to use my muscles to hold the baby down between contractions and called the doctor again.

Benjamin Theodore Hackler was born at 11:28 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 inches long. They had to cut the umbilical cord from around his neck when his head came through, so they were a bit worried about him but, thankfully, he's a healthy little boy!

"It's too cold!"

"It's too bright!"

"Ah. Just right."

Exhausted Mommy

Happy Family

Proud Grandma Patton and Great Great Great Aunt Eileen

Benjamin Fussbucket

Proud Grandma and Grandpa Weston

Headed Home!