1 Month, Already?!

It has been a little over a month and I haven't had time to get on here. It has been a major adjustment for me trying to handle having two kids, and I am a bit frazzled. Andi has tried my patience so much and I am trying to get things under control with her. She is by far the most strong-willed child I have ever seen. Ben has been a wonderful baby. He has been easy-peasy, I just wish Andi was the same. We have our good days, but mainly bad days outnumber them. I have been reading literature on how to handle a newborn and a toddler and trying to incorporate the advice they give. What they suggest works, but she seems to be the wildest when I am feeding him. There are times I want to go back to work to escape the chaos. 

I will move on to more pleasant news. Ben is growing like a weed. He can wear some 3-6 months, but he is mainly in 0-3 and 3 month. He eats constantly. I am very thankful I am able to nurse him because I prayed about having that opportunity with him since Andi didn't want nothing to do with it. I got my prayer answered, I just didn't know how restricting it would be. I literally stay stationary all day. He eats every 1.5-2hrs. I can't get anything done. Thankfully Matt is a wonderful husband because he has been doing the cooking and cleaning. Ben doesn't take from a bottle real well, but he is going to have to once I go back to work. He doesn't take a pacifier real well either. He and Andi are complete opposite as babies. I am thankful he is as easy as he is. He literally wakes, change his diaper, feed him, and he goes back to sleep. Sometimes he stays awake for an hour twice a day. He sleeps good at night, eating every 2-3 hours. The only thing that I would change is how much he spits up. I stay covered in spit up and breast milk all the time. It doesn't matter how many showers or times I change my clothes, I still smell like soured milk. I still haven't quite gotten the hang of changing his diaper. I have been sprayed in the mouth and peed on countless times. His bag of jewels are also quite large for his size, which makes it hard to clean. That is one thing his daddy is awfully proud of...lol. He is staring to coo, which is cute. He is really strong and holds his head up really well. 

Next Monday I have an MRI scheduled. I injured my knee 2 weeks ago squatting down with Ben. When I stood up it snapped, crackled, popped and has been swollen since. It hurts on the side of my knee and wants to give out when I turn or cross my foot over my other. I think I probably sprained it or something. Probably soft tissue damage. So having that going on has made it hard getting up and down too.

Now I will talk about Andi. She can count to 10, we are working on her abc's and she is getting them down. She was potty trained but has regressed to peeing in her pants. She will poop in her potty and when she runs around naked she will use her potty. Whenever she is clothed though, she will pee in her pants. She goes around calling herself a baby and wants to be rocked and tries to wear Ben's diapers. She loves her baby brother though. She is all about him. She is constantly getting his clothes and trying to put them on. She helps me with him like changing his diaper and getting me towels when he spits up, or his pacifier. She loves to hug and kiss him too. I hope and I think they will have a wonderful bond.

 She is constantly picking her nose these days.

She has been getting into my makeup and skin creams. She will come running through the house with it all on her face while I am feeding Ben, of course! It is one thing after another with her and she can make sooooo many messes! The pic is a little blurry but she has lipstick all over her hands and face. She eats it as well as lotion. She is into EVERYTHING!!!!!

We had quite a bit of snow this past week and Andi got to play in it. We got her snow suit out from last year that hadn't been used. It is a 12 month. The pants fit but the jacket was too small. Anyway, she loved the snow!

Ben's 2 month appointment is March 13th. We think he will be close to 12 pounds and he has grown a lot length wise as well. He has almost outgrown his bassinet. He is definitely going to pass Andi up pretty soon.

2 Week Update

This past week, Ben had his 2 week appointment. In two weeks time he has gained 2 lbs and grew 1.5 inches. He is weighing 8 lbs 12 oz and is 20.5 in. tall. His head grew .5 inches too. He is in the 50th percentile for weight and height. His head is in the 10th. 

He is definitely a little pig. I am constantly feeding him. He cluster feeds a lot so he eats every hour. I pretty much stay stationary all day. He is a strong baby. He holds his head up really well just doesn't have the control yet. He also pushes with his legs a lot too. He is a really good baby. He only cries when his diaper is wet, then he feeds and goes back to sleep. He sleeps really well throughout the day but at night, it seems as though he wants to be held more. So I end up sleeping in the recliner holding him. I am probably starting a bad habit but I don't want him to cry. He spits up A LOT, mainly because he eats more than his stomach can hold. He has some funny moments when he is eating. When my milk lets down it comes out really fast but then slows down. He gets mad when it slows down and starts throwing a fit, so I switch him to the other side where it is faster. Then switch him back and forth throughout the feeding. He usually eats for 20-30 minutes although when he is having a growth spurt he will eat up to an hour. The great thing about him eating so much is I have lost 26 lbs in two weeks. I gained 40 so 14 more and I'll be at my pre-pregnancy weight!

This past week has been a trial with Andi. She has been a handful. She has spent more time in timeout this week than she has all together. She is mainly rebelling against me. When I get Ben to feed she says to put him back in bed. She won't listen to me either. She is constantly getting all his blankets and clothes and putting them on her baby dolls. Every time I feed him she starts destroying the house. I have been giving her as much attention as possible in between feedings but she still acts out. She definitely loves her brother though. She is constantly singing to him and wants to hold his hand. She has her baby moments though. She wants to be rocked and fed milk when Ben is being fed. She helps me change his diaper and throws it away. She gets upset if she doesn't get to throw it away, so that is her official role.

Welcome to the World, Benjamin Wayne!

I will start from before I had him. The pic below is me at 39 weeks. I was 39 weeks and 2 days when I had him. He was a day earlier than Andi. The ironic thing is they were both born on my day off, they were both born on a Friday, and they were both born during the 8am hour. 

On Thursday, January 8th, I had an appointment and I was 3cm dilated and 75% effaced. We went ahead and scheduled an induction for the 15th. I didn't want to be induced and thankfully little man decided he would come on his own. My labor and delivery was A LOT shorter this time. January 9th @ 2am I started having contractions. I thought they were just Braxton Hicks so I tossed and turned through sleep for an hour. Once 3am rolled around I noticed them being closer together and feeling like the real deal. I got up and started timing them. They were coming 3-4 minutes starting in my stomach and moving to my back. Oh great, back labor again. I timed them for 40 minutes then decided to take a shower. The shower made them progress to  2-3 minutes apart. Matt and Andi were still asleep and when I got out of the shower I started getting the bags together and Matt woke asking what I was doing. I told him he should probably get ready because we need to go to the hospital. The doctor had told me to wait 2 hours before coming in so we wouldn't be turned away. Well we almost waited too long. We waited for Christie and Cassie to come out and get Andi. We got to the hospital @ 6am. They didn't have me finish the paperwork since I was in pain and I was already at a 3 the day before. When they checked me I was already at a 5. By the time they got me back in labor and delivery, things had progressed a lot faster. They still couldn't finish the paperwork. I wanted an epidural cause by this time my contractions were a minute apart and mainly in my back. Matt and his mom were in there. Matt kept trying to hold my hand and I kept jerking it away. I did not want anyone or anything touching me. Of course they had the bands around my stomach which was irritating and then they had the automatic blood pressure band on my arm which was very irritating!!! When I had Andi, I had my epidural at 3cm. By the time they got me the epidural I was at an 8. I was having the urge to push while the doctor was giving it to me. They were having a hard time because I kept arching my back instead of bending over. They said it would take 30 minutes to kick in, it actually only took 5 minutes. The nurse said I could have done without it since I was already at my peak contractions but having the epidural let me enjoy the birthing process a lot more. Once I had the epidural, I told them I had the urge to push so the nurse said let's do some practice pushes. I did 2 and she said stop because she needed to get the doctor in there or she would be delivering the baby! I did something very embarrassing but I can't keep from laughing about it. When I pushed I was spraying, what I thought was my water, but apparently it was pee. I peed all over the nurse. Poor Matt was holding my other leg and was turning away from it. He thought it was my water too, but she informed us both that I had peed on her. Apparently my bag of waters was gone and I never knew when it had broken. It must have in the shower because it was gone when we got to the hospital and he was so low that nothing ever leaked out. The same thing happened with Andi. Anyway, the nurse got the doctor and by the 5th push, we had our baby boy @ 8:27am.

His umbilical cord was really short! Matt didn't have a whole lot of room to cut. They had to keep Ben down so he could.

I will admit, I was in a bit of shock when I saw him. First of all, he looked nothing like we thought he would. He looked like a little old man, in fact, he looks so much like Matt's grandpa. Then his entire face and head was bruised really bad. They said it was from such a fast delivery that it was like 200 lbs of force to his head with each push. Thankfully by the 3rd day all of his bruising in his face and on his head was gone. He had just a little bruising on his right eyelid. Which he has a red dot above his right eye, which they said is from his veins in his eye that hemorrhaged from delivery. It should be gone in a month or so. Anyway, other than that he was a healthy, strong baby boy. He was 7 lbs and 4 oz, 18.5 inches long, and his head was almost 13 inches. He also has blondish red hair.

 He has huge hands and feet, which I am sure he will grow into due to how much he eats!

 Wonder where he gets the red hair?

Due to the flu being so bad, they weren't allowing anyone under 14 into the hospital so Andi was having to stay with everyone else. Oh what a surprise she was in for when we brought Ben home. She loves baby Ben!! She said her first sentence that night while I was feeding him. She said, " Baby Ben drink milk." She loves to give him hugs and kisses. The one thing we had to overcome was her crying when he would cry. She finally has stopped but she loves to help as much as possible. She carries her baby around and watches what I do, then she does it. I am so glad she adapted as well as she has! The only thing that has been a struggle so far is her wanting my attention while I feed him.

We took Ben for his appointment this past week and he has already grown over a .5 inch and gained 5oz. I will say he is a little piggy. He nurses so well. I prayed he would not have difficulty latching like Andi did, and he doesn't. He eats soooo much too. I have lost quite a bit of weight since last week due to him nursing. Sometimes he will nurse for an hour or more. He spits up more than Andi did. Last night he was eating for an hour, I literally don't see how his stomach was holding it all. I thought he was done, cause he spit up. He wasn't though. He wanted to nurse more, he just loaded his diaper in the process. He tends to do that every time he eats, apparently to make more room. He has been a wonderful baby so far. He only cries when he has a wet diaper. He will wake up, look around for a bit, get fed, then go back to sleep. He sleeps through Andi screaming and running through the house, which is amazing! He doesn't like pacifiers and not big on bottles either. He is literally a titty baby!

After I fed Ben, she thought she needed to assume the feeding position.

He likes his sissy!

 He looks a lot like Matt did when he was a baby.

 John Deere tractor flower vase Barb and my mom got him.

His circumcision band and belly button cord have both fallen off. I am still getting used to cleaning a boy. Matt does such a better job and Ben doesn't squirm around so much when he is changing his diaper. I have been peed on many times. I have been sprayed in the mouth and face. Matt luckily has only been peed on twice and it was his hand. 

I am very thankful for two easy pregnancies and deliveries. We have been very blessed to have two wonderful, healthy kids. We are very thankful that God has trusted us enough to give us the privilege of taking part in their lives. We can't wait to watch them both grow and their love for one another grow stronger as well as their bond.

I am pretty sure we are done having children, unless there is an "accident." Now our focus is saving money to have a bigger house!