Welcome Bennett Warner Cox!

He's here! Little Bennett decided to arrive a little late - 6 days, in fact. Now that he's here, though, none of that waiting matters. We are over the moon for our little guy and will be posting about all his developments.

This post is picture-heavy, but hopefully gives you a sense of our experience. I did leave out the pictures of the hard labor and before I got an epidural. I figure no one cares to see pictures of a woman in pain. :-)

Here's when we first got to the hospital, but hadn't yet been admitted.

The kids got settled in for a long night. They were awesome, despite being pulled out of bed at 2:00 a.m.

We all got popsicles. Well, I got a popsicle, as that's all I could eat. Everyone else had McDonald's and still managed to charm the nurses into a popsicle.

And then it was almost time. Bailey chose to stay in the room for the birth! Jeanne and my mom also watched, which was a special experience.

And then he was here.

 

 

He is a loved little boy.

One of my favorite pictures ever, as this was completely spontaneous. I'm talking to the baby and the kids are posing (that's Nolan's Spiderman btw).

And then it was time to go home.

And now we begin our life with this new "little blessed one." His name and its meaning is fitting, as he is blessed and so are we!

By a Thread....

Today is 40 weeks, 5 days. My ability to wait patiently is diminishing as I type. I didn't go to work today as I think the constant barrage of well-intentioned people saying, "You're STILL here?" was just weighing on me too much. Instead, today I shampooed my carpets, did some laundry, picked Nolan up from school and took him to lunch and for a bit of shopping, and am now in line to get Bailey from school.

The sense of normalcy has been comforting. That said, pray this baby makes his move SOON!

Holding On

I particularly enjoy the part of my pregnancies when people ask when I'm due and I get to say, "Yesterday" or "Last week." It always throws people for a loop, especially if I'm at the gym or at work or someplace the average person doesn't expect a 40+ week pregnant woman to be hanging out.

Alas, this is my reality.

And, frankly, that's okay. Today has been a hard one, with the news of Officer Chad Peery's death and the explosions at the Boston Marathon. Tragedies have an uncanny way of putting life and our problems into perspective.

So, we wait on our little guy and remain thankful for a healthy pregnancy and the joy he has brought us already.

In other news, Nolan FINALLY went to the doctor for his 5-year appointment. I couldn't take him until now because a few years ago, I didn't schedule his appointment until April so now we're perpetually on that schedule even though his birthday is in December. Anywhoo....

Nolan is a healthy guy who is now in the 56th percentile for height and 67th for weight! I couldn't believe it. But take a look at these legs and perhaps you'll see what the numbers see. He was anticipating his shots in this pic, so he doesn't appear to be loving life. :-)

Until the next update.....

K

Close, But No Cigar

Today, I'm 39 weeks, 3 days pregnant. It looks like #3 is going to follow the pattern of the first two and cook to well done.

This is really okay by me, as I still feel pretty great (for the most part). However, "tired of being pregnant" and "want to meet him" are definitely converging in ways that make time stand still. :-) 

I've managed to stay fairly sane throughout my pregnancy and only recently had my first (and hopefully last) emotional breakdown.  Two other women in my department were pregnant, with one due at the end of April and the other due at the beginning of May. Lo and behold, both of them delivered last week. While I am certainly happy for them and did my fair share of praying for the babies to be healthy despite their early arrivals (they are), the fact that this was not how things were "supposed to" go put me over the edge for a quick minute. I got asked about 72 times, "Weren't you supposed to go first?" Why yes, yes I was.

Jason did not at all understand why this elicited such a strong emotional response. He knows I don't particularly want to deliver early, for all kinds of reasons including his remaining school tests that are likely to make our early days with an infant a little more difficult. As I explained to him, it's not that I want to deliver early, I just want everyone else to deliver on time! It seems like every single person I know (exaggeration alert) gets to skip those final days where their stomachs are simply stretched beyond belief. Of course, I do have to acknowledge that the flip side for them is that neither was likely as prepared as they would have liked, which carries different challenges. Thus, I got over my moment and have moved on to a more productive and healthy attitude. :-)

So now we continue to wait for the little boy who will change us - hopefully in only good ways - forever. Everyone and everything is ready....see ya when we see ya, little guy.