I'm awake!

Nana holding Ben and a more alert-looking little guy!
Benners' awake-time becomes longer and longer all the time, and it's neat to see him so alert. He's becoming more and more aware every day.

Congrats to Bryan & Anna

What a beautiful place for a wedding, and a really nice ceremony. Thanks for having us. It was really nice to see as many aunts, uncles, and cousins as we did & I'm pleased to have you finally meet Ben. We had to take off early, so missed out visiting with many of you again, but we're happy to have been able to attend. Anna & Bryan~ you looked wonderful and really had a beautiful wedding. Congratulations and best wishes!

Benjamin loves to be held!

He's quite a cuddler! Here he's cuddling with Auntie Monkey (Kirsten); being held by his cousin Madelyn with Gracie looking on; and with his Grampie. He's still growing like a weed, though we haven't weighed him recently. He's becoming a great sleeper too, so hopefully we're moving in the direction for some kind of a nighttime routine!

We're planning to attend Bryan and Anna's wedding on Saturday, so we'll see some of you there!

Trip to Sugarloaf

Our first overnight trip with Benners! We went up to Sugarloaf on Friday and spent the night. The weather was beautiful up there and Jay got in a couple of bike rides while Ben and I did some walking through the cross-country and dog trails. It was nice to have a change of scenery and Ben did wonderfuly in the car! He slept the whole way up there and though he was awake on the way back home, he didn't fuss (much) and made the car trip a great experience (I was pretty nervous about that). It was an awesome weekend for us all!

Benners and Grampie

Grampie came by for a visit this morning and our 11 lb, 12 oz baby boy fell asleep in his arms. Ben is a great sleeper and, obviously, a great eater as well! We're still trying to figure out a nighttime routine, but imagine that will take a while. There are times when he is much more alert now during the day, and it's fun to start seeing him focusing on objects and learning about his environment. Though his world is still quite small at this point, we can see it expanding every day. It's quite amazing!

Big Ben

We weighed Benners the other day and he's about 11 pounds! Saturday marks week three, and we've all learned a ton about each other in those three weeks. Breast feeding continues to be a challenge, but we're getting much better at it. Ben is, obviously, not suffering in the food department and appears very happy for the most part (but we all suffer from the occasional bout of fussypants, right?). I feel extremely fortunate to be able to stay home with Ben through the rest of this year, and imagine it will be quite difficult to go back to fieldwork in January.
Ben and I went out on our very first solo outing yesterday~ we visited Daddy at work and got to meet all of his co-workers, and then we visited Nana at the library. It was quite a big day for us!

Our wonderful midwife

At my two week follow-up appointment~ Me, Ben, and our midwife Susan. She was wonderful throughout my prenatal care, and amazing during labor and birth.

My two-week appointment went well, despite a case of mastitis. I am healing well and getting more comfortable every day. Ben continues to nurse, nurse, nurse and grow like crazy! He seems very healthy and is in a pattern of napping for 2-3 hours after he eats. His favorite place to sleep is on Mum or Daddy's chest, so we're trying to get him used to sleeping in his own bed for short periods of time. It'll come. Jay's back into a 'regular' schedule at work, and it's strange not to have him around the house~ we miss him! Ben and I are trying to get into our own routine, which I assume will also come with time. Jay and I fall more in love with little Benners every day!

Proud Papa

Jay and Benjamin sharing some close time! Ben is almost 2 weeks old already, that's hard to believe. He's already changing every day and continues to eat and sleep like a champ. Jay has been back to work a couple of days, which has been a hard transition. Ben and I certainly love having Daddy home all the time, but I think it's hardest on Jay being away from his new family. We learn things every day and continue to branch out in our experiences. Ben has had a couple of successful car rides and one bumpy (but soothing, apparently) stroller ride in the past week. I plan to take him out for a walk with Harley this afternoon. We'll see how that goes!

Thanks to all the good wishes and the patience on visiting. We're still limiting visitors at this point, until I'm a little more recovered, but look forward to introducing Ben to everyone in the near future. Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts~ and for continuing to check the blog!

Cousins

Ben's foot is on the left, his older cousin Claire's foot is on the right! The two were due just a few days apart, but Claire arrived early and Ben got to grow some more before he arrived.

The Jewetts

The first picture of the three of us together at home...

Benjamin's Due Date

Today is the day Muffin was scheduled to arrive! At 6 days old he already weighs 9 lbs 3 oz~ 90th percentile for weight! For height he's in the 85th percentile, and head circumfrence 75th percentile! He's our big boy! The pediatrician said he looked wonderful, and all is well.

Ben and Mum are getting the hang of breast-feeding, and Mum is definitely learning the meaning of sleep deprivation! I'm healing well, though abdomen is still quite sore. I'm resting well and often while Dad takes care of us. Jay has become a domestic diva (his own term), and is taking care of everything.

Thanks for all the emails and good wishes!

Ben's first few days

We're home now, a family of three! We were in the hospital for 4 days due to my having a C-section as well as some low blood glucose level readings from Muffin. Apparently Ben didn't like parts of the labor (I had 'unusually long' contractions) and it's thought that the stress from labor and pushing caused some low blood glucose levels. Also, being a big baby meant he needed a lot of nutrition to keep his blood sugar stable. Ben was a NICU patient for a day or two, though he was still able to room in with us, so he had an IV attached for a couple of days. The IV fluid was a 10% dextrose solution that ran at a continuous rate to keep his sugar stable until Katie's breast milk came in. Monday night Ben had his 3rd sugar above 40 which was a really emotional moment b/c that meant the nurse could take out his IV and he no longer needed to have his heel pricked with a lancet to obtain blood (he was not a fan of that process at all). We were finally able to come home yesterday and begin getting used to being a family of three!

He's a healthy, and seemingly happy, little boy and we're very proud parents.

I'm in recovery-mode at home, so may or may not pick up on phone calls for a few days. Though the surgery went well, I had worked really hard at the pushing stage and Ben was well into the birth canal once we finally got into the operating room. The doctor worked hard to get the little man out of the birth canal so I was manipulated quite vigorously in the process. The MD and Midwife said I would need to rest a lot for the next 2 weeks at a minimum and that I am not to forget that I had major surgery. I welcome email especially and will let everyone know when we're ready for visitors. Presently we're happy, busy, and learning all the time! Words don't come close to describing the feeling we have when we look at the little Benjamin.

Look for more post and photos in the near future!

Love from all 3 of us.............!

Muffin is HERE!

Benjamin Thomas Jewett was born on Saturday, August 12th at 4:25am! He's a gorgeous, healthy baby boy & this is the first ever picture of him. He was a whopping 8 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long. Katie was induced on Friday afternoon due to high blood pressure and an ultrasound estimating Muffin's weight at about 9 1/2 pounds! Water was broken at around 5pm, full dilation occurred around midnight. And then there was pushing!!! Katie pushed with all her might, but couldn't get that big boy to go the final few inches. Muffin also was beginning to tire, and his heart rate was slowing down which is not a great sign. Katie had a C-section around 4am, and Ben arrived shortly after! Jay was able to be there at my head through the whole surgery, and announced to me that we had a BOY! (Actually, his exact words were "I know what it is!" and I replied, "Yeah? Well, TELL ME!"). With tears in our eyes, we welcomed this amazing person into our lives...

We're home today, after 4 days in the hospital. Tired, excited, happy, and in a perpetual state of fascination with our little one.

Good report

I had an appointment today with my midwife and things look good. My blood pressure is down a bit, as is the edema. I'm 1 cm dilated, so still have plenty of time left. I'm still doing check-ups twice/week and lab work, but my midwife said things looked a lot better today than last week, so that makes me feel better! Guess all this rest and relaxing IS helpful.
Muffin is due to arrive NEXT FRIDAY~ anyone want to wager on the actual birth day? ;-p

Still Pregnant! (38 weeks)

About 2 weeks left to go~ it's hard to believe! We're both very excited for Muffin's arrival and can't wait to meet her/him! I've still been feeling great, though am on an unofficial 'bed rest' due to a few high blood pressure readings, some edema in my ankles, and elevated uric acid levels... My midwife is just being cautious by having me rest and relax (I'm not complaining!), and I have been trying to keep my feet up and resting on my left side as much as possible. I do go to my midwife's office twice/week now for blood pressure checks and weekly lab work (blood and urine tests), and that's about the only time I've been leaving the house. My next appointment is Monday, where I'm assuming I'll be checked for any dilation (wow!) and to see how/if my body is getting ready for Muffin's arrival.

Jay is very busy at work~ both in the Critical Care Unit at Maine General, and about a shift/week at the Winthrop Ambulance Station. Once he gets through this weekend though he has quite a few days off (his birthday is Thursday!) and we're wondering if Muffin is just waiting for Daddy to have some time off before making the grand entrance!

'Microburst Mess'

The Microbust storms that came through this week didn't miss us, as you can tell by the pine that came down by our place. We were fortunate that the large branches and huge trees that came down didn't do damage to our home, Sue and Phil's place next door, or much of our property. Phil's 1956 Willis Jeep was totalled by a pine that came down next door, and that was a very sad ending to a 50 year old vehicle. Luckily we are safe, our homes are safe, and our pets are safe. What a scary storm though!

Our house

While we've been scrambling to get things in place for Muffin's arrival, we decided to finally replace our living room furniture as well (those of you who have seen our furniture will understand why and be very happy for us)... Here's a picture of our updated living room. New changes all the time!

New Addition!

No, not Muffin (yet). This is Jay's new car! He traded in the Honda for a Subaru and has also promised to sell the Jetta (YAY!) as well. He got a great deal on the Subaru & it's a much better family car. We love it!

In Muffin's Room

Jay and I hung the curtains in Muffin's room today, and Jay captured this shot of me in front of the window.

Just 5 weeks left to go!

Week 34

Here's Katie with less than six weeks left in her pregnancy!

Jay enjoyed taking some photos with his 'wide angle' lens, but it's true~ the belly really is that big. :) I've continued to feel well, though with this weather have noticed lots of swelling in my feet by the end of the day. I enjoy waking up with ankles, but by mid-day they have usually disappeared. Nothing a little relaxing and resting can't fix! Jay and I have been attending Hypnobirthing childbirth classes at CMMC and really enjoying them. We're both excited to meet muffin!

I had a wonderful baby shower on the 2nd, and thank everyone who came for sharing my special day with me. Erin did an amazing job with everything, and I appreciate what everyone did to make such a special occasion.

Jay has almost finished muffin's room, and it's actually looking like a baby's room now. I've had so much fun putting clothes away and playing with all of muffin's things. So soon we'll have the little one here to play with his/her own stuff!