Announcing the New Arrival!!!

Benjamin Jacob was born on October 10th at 8:16pm. He weighed 7lbs. and 9oz. He was 18.5 inches long. He's absolutely beautiful!

We haven't had much sleep in these last three weeks. I have only just now found my dreary way to the computer to add this post. Sorry for the delay.

Benjamin is wonderful. The delivery went very well. The facility we delivered in was beautiful, very modern and practically deserted. I had all the attention I could want or need. The nursing staff and complete medical team were very professional and tended expertly to my every need.

Due to my elevated blood pressure, Benjamin's projected large size-due to my gestational diabetes, and his decreased fetal movements, I was induced on Friday, October 10th. I was one day from being 38 weeks along. They started me on pitocin at 1:30PM. and I had him by 8:16PM. He was easy to push out. He came out screaming. . . what a beautiful sound!

He's been an easy baby, not very grumpy. He has these cute little squeaks and grunts frequently like a low muttering. He cries only when there's something fixable going on. His patterns are very predictable, sleep, grunt/cry to poop, fuss, diaper change, eat, sleep. he loves getting a bath. We do it in the kitchen sink and he loves the warm shower from the sprayer. He cries when we get him out. He's very ticklish and hates to be naked as a result. . .everything tickles! He gets the hiccups very easily.

We did have a bit of trouble at first, though Benjamin wasn't really complaining about it. He lost too much weight. He wasn't doing well at nursing. We thought he was just tired from being a newborn and therefore wasn't waking up enough to want to eat much. He could latch but wasn't getting much out of nursing. He seemed content just to hold on and sleep with it. At his first check up we discovered his weight was dropping and was concerning. The doctor checked out his mouth and determined that Benjamin's suckle/swallow reflex was far in the back of his mouth. . . too far for me to reach with nursing. We decided it would be best for his health to switch to bottle feeding for now. His weight quickly came up after that. I pump and he only gets breast milk. It doubles my feeding time, pump time plus feed time. It makes me a little sad that nursing doesn't work but I'm glad he's doing well now. His muscle tone in his mouth area seems a bit sluggish even with the bottle. He spills a lot. Thankfully more goes down than out. I predict Benjamin will need some sort of speech therapy. His mouth and how he uses it seems way to quirky to not have other problems in his future related to the area. Oh well, he fits right in with the rest of us! Three of my other four kids have speech issues.

Benjamin loves to snuggle. I haven't mastered the art of letting him have time away from my arms. I love snuggling him and nothing else on my list of things to do seems more important. As a result, I am less organized and proactive. It's been three weeks now and I'm finally trying to get back to some sort of regular schedule and life.

There have been a few perks with this baby that I've never enjoyed before. My weight seems to be melting off! I give credit to the diabetic diet. It seems that sugar has been my problem all along. The gestational diabetes has gone. I no longer have to avoid sugar. I am, however planning to continue avoiding most sugars as I see the positive results and love them! I gained 11lbs. with this pregnancy. I lost 12lbs. when I delivered Benjamin. I've lost an additional 10lbs. over the last three weeks. It's fabulous! I hardly feel as though I have put in any effort. I just keep shrinking. Sugar must act as a toxin in my body, causing little fat explosions and deposits all over. I can gladly live a life free of the weight and the sacrifice of hard core sugar seems completely worth it. I can hardly wait for the sixth week to come and I'm able to get into exercising. That extra little bit of effort should yield amazing results!

We all love our little Benjamin and already it feels as if he's always been a part of our family. We'll be blessing him this coming Sunday in the LDS stake center here. Anyone able, is invited to join us in celebrating his arrival.

It's amazing how nice the fifth baby seems compared to the first baby. I mean, I am so much more relaxed, and I don't freak out at the slightest thing. I don't worry about most of it. I have big kids who can help me a lot and they do. I can relax and enjoy it. I'm so glad to have my little baby Benji to snuggle and enjoy! Thanks to everyone who offered prayers and support in our behalf as we went through this wild pregnancy. Clearly the Lord had a hand in all of it. Though my pregnancy was completely out the ordinary for us, it turned out to be one of the best and easiest I've endured. The IUD came out wrapped in the placenta. That explains all the bleeding during the first trimester. Thanks to the gestational diabetes, I learned how to properly feed my body and I now know what sugar does to me even if it's not always raising my blood sugar, it's raising my body fat. I just feel so appreciative and so loved right now! Truly we have been blessed.