My Little Piggy!

Thank goodness this week is over! I am always pretty tired by Friday. Getting up at 3:45 am each day to go see Ben then go to work tends to be a little exhausting...but so worth it! He is so cute. He actually is awake and waiting for me when I get there at 4:30 am and pm. Eating is so not an issue! He nurses for a little bit then still gets his full meal. This is a good thing and it is paying off! He gains at least an ounce a night!

I think I get to give him his first tubby this weekend! :)

New Experience!

Ok...I am assuming most of you moms out there have already experienced what I am about to write - but this was a first for me and I was in shock at first....then quite impressed!
I went in to see Ben at 5 last night and I change his diaper when I get there. Well he was a bit gassy so I kinda hold his little legs up and he gets it all out. Well I must have held him up a little high cause all of a sudden he had projectile poop across his entire issolette. I mean like a 2 foot shot and hit the plastic wall on the other side. It was so much poop that they had to actually get a new machine for him. Then when I finally get him to the non-poop side of the issolette and start to put on yet another diaper the little guy pees all over the place. I am just not quite fast enough with the pee-pee cover yet. I have been peed on before so that wasn't anything new but the other thing....that was incredible. Like I said - shocked at first then I was quite impressed with the little guy's power! :) (I know this was kinda gross but I found it so amusing)

He gained another ounce overnight. He is getting big fast (well to me anyway)...2 lbs 7 oz as of this morning. I think I also found a day care. I of course am not 100% in love with it but I think I will find something I don't like in each day care. I wish I could stay home with him but that is not gonna happen so I need to just deal with the fact that I wont like dropping him off each day but I am a good judge of character so I am sure he will be just find and I have to trust my instincts. Also, this day care is right next door to the police station and the fire station and there are nurses there all day. It is located about 3 miles from my house and 2 miles from my parents - right in between. So I am gonna sign him up and I figure worst case scenario it does not end up being a good fit and I look for another establishment.

Up next...Sarah (she and her boyfriend have been amazing helpers) is going to paint my bedroom. I think we are going to do it this weekend. Ben is going to be sleeping in his cradle in my room so I wanted to get it all nice before he comes home. I can't even out into words how incredible my Dad has been. He has refinished a bureau and a changing table, painted Ben's room, washed all the rugs in my place, stripped and repainted and re-puddied my windows, and been a huge emotional support. On top of all this he is trying to get ready to climb down and up the grand canyon. He leaves this Sunday and is gone for 3 weeks. Incredible huh! My Mom has been wonderful, too. I could not have been so prepared for Ben's arrival or had so much support during/after pregnancy with out my parents. I have always known I was lucky but even more so now.

My brother, Ryan, just graduated from Grad school in Denver - yeah for him! Miss him terribly and cant wait for him to meet Ben. He is planning a visit in July so that Ben will 100% be home and he can spend time with us. I am hoping he gets a job closer to me so he can be really involved with Ben but either way I know Ry will play a huge role Ben's life. I am so excited to see him!

I Knew He Could Do It!

I went to see Ben on Saturday morning. I had a chance to ask the doctor some questions. HE told me that in his whole career he has only had one other baby besides Ben develop at such a rate and not have any types of set backs. (keep fingers crossed...knock on wood...etc) He thought Ben would be ok trying to nurse - or nuzzle for the first time as they call it. The nurses and the docs ll told me he probably wouldn't do much so don't get disappointed. He is still too little they said...I knew better. He latched on and did a great job! He lasted for just a little bit. It really tired him out. Then they gave him the rest of his feeding via gavage. He loved all of it! Little piggy!

Ben has been gaining an ounce a day the past couple days. He is now up to 2 lbs 5 oz. He needs to be at 3.5 lbs to go in a regular crib. Ben has been maintaining his own temperature pretty well but they want to keep him in an issolette so he doesn't burn any extra calories!

Surprise!

As many of you know my son Ben was born on April 3rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm. He weighed 1 lb 7 oz and was 11.5 inches long. I will save the long story of how he came to be but needless to say I had 2 days to prepare myself for motherhood. A very rare but extremely serious syndrome attacked the baby and me and an emergency c-section was performed. Hellp Syndrome is rare and usually attacks first time mom's. There is no way to prevent it nor do they know why it attacks certain women. Basically the baby was looked at as a foriegn object in my body and my system began to shut down. I lost all liver and kidney functions and my blood pressure was at least double what it should have been. Also, the syndrome was now attacking the placenta. When I went to the hospital I was told that we needed to have the c-section within the next hour and both the baby and I were at risk of not making it. It was pretty serious. So they had to put me out completely and I woke up 2 hours later with a lot of pain and a very tough little baby!
Benjamin will be staying in the hosptial until the third week in June to the first week in July. His nurses are amazing and they treat him as if he was thier own. He continues to thrive and is ahead of schedule for all developmental/physical things. He just needs to gain weight now. We had some trouble with his feedings for awhile but now he is perfect and gaining at least an oz per day. He is now at 2 lbs 4 oz and will be in the ohter nursery within a week.
My parents have been amazing. Thank God for them! Ben's room is ready - all painted and windows re-done. Now I just am starting to decorate. I have been back to work since yesterday. I am up at 3:45 am and in to visit Ben by 4:45 am. I work from 7 - 4 every day and I also sse Ben for his 5 pm feeding. I am asleep by 8:30pm and pumping every 3 hours. YIKES! Next week he starts to nuzzle and then nurse. This has been a whirlwind but I wouldnt change anything! Ben is my little miracle!