First month reflections

Ben turned one-month old on February 23. In celebration, Tyler stayed up with Ben after his 6 a.m. early-bird feeding, while I caught a few more zzz's. After being jolted awake every two hours for the past four weeks by high-pitched shrieks, there was no better gift than to slowly stir and stretch under the sheets, knowing that my baby was warm and cozy with his dad. (I should have mentioned that during pregnancy, one of my top fears of new mommyhood was the forfeit of sleeping in on Saturdays!)

At this milestone in our new journey, I feel compelled to offer some tips to the moms-to-be out there...and there are many! So here's a list of things that have made my life easier in the first month of my new baby's life.

1. my donut. No, not the kind that comes from Krispy Kreme (although I wouldn't have turned those down either!). I'm talking about the inflatable one that the hospital will give you so that sitting directly in a chair for the first two weeks of postpartum will not reduce you to tears.
   
2. small goals. The successes and accomplishments of a day are not to be judged by clean laundry and cooked meals, but by a full tummy (his) and brushed teeth (mine).
   
3. help. This is a big one! It comes in all forms, and should be accepted in all circumstances. From my mom bringing the baby to me in the middle of the night during my first week, to Tyler emptying the dishwasher when it seems like an insurmountable task, to the sweet, sweet friends who have ensured that I have neither had to cook or venture to the grocery store in a whole month with their generous and thoughtful gifts of dinners. And then there have been all the phone calls and visits that have been the highlights of my days - you never know how much all those simple things are appreciated until your sole purpose and responsibilty becomes feeding and caring for an infant. Tyler and I can't thank you all enough!

I had a bunch more tips when I started this post two days ago, but before this turns into his 5-week post, I'll just stop here!

Ben and his big sister, Zoe.

She's a much more cooperative model, having years of experience under her belt,

and was happy to get back in front of the camera for a change!

Just so that people will believe me when I say this sweet baby has a dark side...(but then again, how would you like having someone take your picture while you're screaming your head off?!)

Lunch with Aunt Jess!

Happy one-month birthday Ben!

This time four weeks ago, Ben had only been part of this world for just a few minutes and was in the middle a whirlwind of tests, baths and new noises, faces and surroundings as Tyler and I looked on in amazement. Four weeks later, and we're still in awe of him...as evident by the amount of pictures we've taken!

Rocking in his glider. I discovered that he doesn't really need me to cuddle him here, just to propel him to dreamland.

Going...going...

Gone! Time for a birthday nap.

Road trip!

This past weekend, the Prentice family squeezed ourselves, plus half the nursery, a stroller, a pack-n-play, and Zoe into the Suburu and headed up to Nashville. Traveling with an infant, we managed to set a new record for the longest commute, thanks to a 50-minute pit stop halfway. Sidenote: In case anyone, besides my Dad, thinks you can just grab the baby and nurse on the go, let me point out it's illegal (even though our parents did it with us and "we made it just fine"), so we got quite familiar with the back corner of a Wendy's parking lot.

While Tyler was at an orthodontics conference, Ben and I had a fun weekend with my family - minus my mom who is in Boston helping my Nana recover from heart surgery. We're praying that she overcomes her surmounting complications quickly and that my mom has a refreshed spirit and patience to endure another week in the ICU.

Here are some pictures from our weekend!

Dad and Ben: Best buddies

Mom and Ben: BFFs

I know there are a lot of sleeping pictures, but he just always looks so angelic!


Me and Ben, Jenny, Jenny's baby Ethan and Tracey

Grandpa feeding Ben his first bottle

Our big boy is three-weeks old!

Yesterday was a big day! It was Ben's first doctor's appointment, my first time to drive since going into labor, and our first outing - just the two of us. By all accounts, it was a success...although I had my doubts when that evil woman stuck a needle in my baby's heel and dripped his blood into a vile. (She may have mentioned something about collecting blood samples for his state record...but still.)

The doctor was very happy with Ben's progress. Since leaving the hospital, he's been quite the aggressive eater. (The baby books call him a "barracuda.") So it was really no surprise to learn that he now weighs 10 lbs and measures 22.25 inches long! That means he's in the 80th percentile for weight, and 90th percentile for length. Have I mentioned my back hurts already?!

Per my sister's demands, I mean, requests...here are a couple of pictures from his most recent photo shoots!

Just lounging in my crib...check out my rolls!

Showing off my baby blues

So it's only half his face...somehow it's twice as precious!

Ben's buddy, Travis, brought us dinner tonight. Thanks T!

More two-week old pictures

I have to assume that if you're checking the blog, it must mean that you're interested in seeing lots of Ben. :) So that means I don't have to feel guilty or self-indulgent for plastering this with pictures! Here are some cute moments from our week.

(Just follow the link. You don't have to be a Shutterfly member or have a password to view pictures - or even to order them!)
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8ActWbdo4buGjY

Hope you have a great weekend! Tyler's parents are flying in tomorrow from Toronto to spend some time with their newest grandchild (#9), so we're looking forward to seeing them and having more pictures to share next week!

Two weeks old!

Happy two-week birthday, Ben! Yesterday marked day 14 in his little life. It's amazing how in just 14 days, he has changed so much and wrapped us completely around his little, tiny finger!

Our friend (and next-door neighbor), Angie Davis, was nice enough to do a newborn photo shoot yesterday. I thought I'd timed Ben's feeding/bath schedule right, but apparently our boy is quite the tempermental male model! Even so, I think she was able to capture some sweet moments.

http://picasaweb.google.com/davisangie/Ben2Weeks?authkey=IzbqiaSINFM

Wild man in his giraffe blankie.

Tummy time in his crib.

Ben loves bathtime, and I love wrapping him in his hippo towel!

prayers needed

Some good friends, Dona Lisa and Gene Conklin, are desperately in need of prayer. Their son, Amyas, was born three weeks early on January 31, weighing 4 lbs, 12 oz. Since then, he has experienced several seizures and is being cared for at a local children's hospital in California. The prognosis from the doctors is bleak: severe brain damage and possible blindness/deafness. To make matters worse, their insurance won't cover the mounting hospital bills.

This world is far from fair, and this sweet couple deserves a healthy child as much as anyone else. There aren't words to console these parents, and we can't even scratch the surface of Amyas's medical bills, but hopefully our prayers will give them peace, hope and strength when they can't find it on their own. Please take just a minute to pray for a miraculous healing and that by trusting in the Lord, Lisa and Gene can find new strength. If you have encouraging words and/or scripture that I could pass along to them, please post or email me. Thanks!

Just the three of us

Well, it's the end of our second weekend at home. They never seem to last long enough...

My dad came down on Friday night, and after showing us all how to entertain Ben on Saturday (it's a wonder he survived all week without his grandpa!), he and my mom returned to Nashville on Saturday afternoon. Ben and I both had a good cry, but decided that we were going to be just fine! So far, so good. Our little family had our first outing last night - going to visit Kelley and Scott's new baby, Carter, and then out for dinner at Moe's. Ben did so well, it gave us hope for future public appearances. :)

We also had the chance to weigh Ben and discovered that, thanks to a very healthy appetite, he's gained one whole pound and now weighs more than 9 pounds! We're so thankful for his health and the happiness he's already brought to us.

P.S. You all know "the mailman" was just a joke, right?! The fact that he's gotten more votes than I have is unacceptable!

Showing off my outfit with Mommy

Snoozin' with Daddy

Playing with Daddy

Carter Brown and Ben - born 6 days apart

Kelley and Carter, Stacey and Hope, me and Ben

Joys of parenthood...

Aside from pictoral updates to add to Ben's story I only have two fatherly comments...

1) No longer can I say I've never been pee'd on (with a sense of accuracy I might add!)

2) All those who said "breast-fed babies' diapers don't stink" are bold faced LIARS!