It's a Benjybenjybenjy!

The newest member of our family was born on March 6th. Welcome, Benjamin! We call him Benjy, or "Benjybenjybenjy" when we're crooning to him to try to soothe him. We are so excited he is here! 

This is the last belly picture we took, at 37 weeks. 

My due date was March 5th, and with no baby by the morning of the 6th, I went in to my OB for yet another check. My doctor happily announced that I had progressed to being 5 cm dilated (or halfway done), and said "I think you need to get to the hospital now." I was a little shocked. He explained that because I'd tested positive for group B strep, I would need antibiotics before the baby was born. As I had made it "halfway" through labor on my own, when the actual contractions kicked in we probably wouldn't have time for the antibiotics to work. My doctor decided to just take control of the delivery time, and as I was sick to death of being pregnant, I went along with his plan willingly. He told me to get to the hospital around 1pm, which gave me 2 hours (two! hours!) to figure out what to do with Sam, get my house ready for my mom, and for Ryan to find a sub for his classes. I freaked out a little. But still managed to make it to the grocery store to buy milk so we'd have some to drink when we got out of the hospital.

My good friend Rachel offered to take Sam, and he was beyond excited to have a playdate with her daughter. He didn't even mind that Mommy left! And our dear friend Elisa, who only works a half day on Tuesdays, said she would pick Sam up from Rachel's and take care of his dinner and getting him to bed at our house so his routine wouldn't be too messed up. Then she was able to get off work on Wednesday so she could stay overnight with Sam. Our hero! It was the first night I've ever spent away from Sam, so I was relieved to know that he was in good hands.
It was totally bizarre to drive myself to the hospital. Lucky thing we live just a few minutes away, or I would have totally psyched myself out on the drive. Ryan was able to find another teacher for his last class, and made it to the hospital before anything exciting happened.

Here I am just hanging out, getting the antibiotics. No contractions, no pain, just watching a movie and waiting for the doctor to come break my water.

 Breaking my water didn't speed up the contractions enough, so I got a dose of Pitocin. The sweet nurses allowed me to talk myself into getting an epidural before I got overwhelmed by the pain, which really was a great decision. Instead of a resident giving me the epidural, like when I had Sammy, I had a "for real" anesthesiologist administer it to me. This guy was a pro. It was awesome. Now I know for sure that the epidural I had with Sam didn't work very effectively (I'd always suspected that).

Contractions have started. "Support person" has arrived. We are in business!

It took a good ninety minutes of pushing to get Benjy out and in my arms. I was considerably more in control of myself than last time, which was nice. I was able to be somewhat polite to Ryan and the nurse, and never collapsed into hysterics claiming that I was going to die. About two pushes before Benjy emerged, I did say something like "Ow ow ow there's a frickin head coming out of me!" because really, who wants to be completely calm while there is a head coming out of their crotch? A little insanity is definitely indicated.

Because of the angle at which I was sitting, I was able to watch Benjy's head and body slide out, which was so cool! Babies are messy! But cute, for all that.

Saying hello for the first time

Benjy was 8.5 lbs, 20.5 in. long, making him a pound heavier and an inch longer than his big brother. Sheesh. If I have another kid, it had better not end up being a 9.5 lb baby. I can't even imagine what it would be like to deliver something that big.

First picture with Mommy and Daddy

Staying in the hospital for a long time is a bummer, but our nurses did a great job of speeding up the process so we could go home early. Benjy was born at 11pm on Tuesday, and we got out by 5pm on Wednesday. Since he is our second kid, they decided we were "competent" enough to go home after one night. Oh, if only they knew...

On Wednesday morning, Ryan headed home to pick up Sam and Elisa so they could meet the new addition. It was so special to watch Sam meet his brother. He climbed up on the bed next to me and gently patted Benjy's head, saying "Hi baby brudder." We let him "hold" the baby, and he was fascinated by the tiny person. Now, at home, when Benjy is sitting in his bouncy chair, Sam will come over, stroke Benjy's head, and say "Hi Benjy!" He is very sweet to his little brother, and has only had a few moments of obvious sibling jealousy. 

First family picture! I cannot believe how swollen my face still is! Sam is wearing his special "big brother" shirt.

My mom arrived on Thursday night to help restock our fridge, show Sammy some extra lovin', and generally be a lifesaver. She is going to be here for two weeks! Hopefully by then I am marginally competent at managing two children. We are all so happy that she is here.

Welcome home, little Benjamin. We're so excited to watch you grow!