It's been 4 months!!

So a lot has happened in the last 4 months. I left with the story of Bennett's birth- which was the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. Honestly, labor was a breeze (mind you, I had the epidural). Had I not had that, I probably wouldn't be saying it was easy. Bennett was born early Thursday morning and later that night they sent him over to the NICU, called Special Care Nursery at the hospital. He was having issues with his blood sugar and temperatures. I thought he'd be there for maybe a day but it turns out they kept him for 4. Those 4 days were the hardest days of my life, both physically and emotionally. I was still hooked up to my IV of magnesium sulfate (which was to prevent me from having seizures due to the preeclampsia) and hooked up to my catheter. Not only was he in the NICU, I was trying to breastfeed him, which turned out to be the most challenging thing I've ever done! So, every 3 hours we had to drag myself, with my IV and catheter (which wasn't the easiest thing to do) down to the NICU to feed him. He was being fed through an IV there so he wasn't really interested about drinking Mommy's milk, which hadn't come in yet. So there we were, in the NICU trying to get him to catch on with the whole breastfeeding thing and we would see the other parents come and feed their baby and leave. It took us at least an hour to feed him. It really didn't help my confidnece watching those parents come and leave- making breastfeeding look like a breeze. Anyway, we'd get back to our room and get me back in the bed to rest or eat and usually by that time it was time to pack all our stuff up again and head back to the NICU to see our son. I would have set up camp in there with him and slept in my wheelchair if they would have let me. I was exhausted and emotional to say the least (heck, I'm getting emotional now just thinking about it). I missed him so much while he was in there. It was the hardest thing I had to do- to leave my son in there all alone (even though I knew the nurses were taking care of him). I wanted him in our room so badly but for some reason God had a different plan for us. We did that all day (minus the 2:00 feeding in the morning- we needed our sleep) for 3 days- not exactly how I had pictured our hospital stay. He was born at 6 pounds 1 ounce and dropped down to 5 pounds 9 ounces- he was so tiny!!! I don't think I had ever held a baby THAT small. I was discharged Saturday night and Bennett was discharged Sunday around lunch. I could not have been happier to get him home!! Those trips down to the NICU were so draining. If it hadn't been for Jason helping me each trip and being there with me, I would not have been able to do it. He was my support and I made it through because of him. I know we had it easy compared to some parents, whose children are in the NICU for months, so I count my blessings- and boy do we have a lot of blessings. God is so good and he has blessed us with the most precious child!! We both finally made it home and I honestly would do it all over again in a heartbeat- if it meant having Bennett as my son!!

Here are some pictures from his hospital stay in the NICU:

So, now that we are home, life has been completely different- a good different though. The first 8 weeks were the toughest, I think because of just adjusting to our new life and still trying to master breastfeeding. No one told me breastfeeding was so hard- but it was, at first!! We both caught on around 6 weeks and it's been so rewarding. If anyone were to ask me what was the one thing I was the most proud of, it would be sticking with breastfeeding and succeeding!! I am so proud of myself for that. I almost quit twice- I came so close to giving up. But something inside me, probably my stubbornness, told me to keep trying. So after conquering that battle, things have just been getting easier and easier each day. He has grown tremendously in the past 4 months. He started at 5th percentile in weight and now he's up to 65th percentile!! Right now he is 15 pounds 7 ounces and still growing fast! Here are some pictures, month to month:

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010 

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

We have come a long way from where we started! Bennett is now 4 months and 2 weeks old!  Wow, time has been flying!!  He is now sitting up with assistance, smiling and laughing all the time, talking up a storm and rolling over! Bennett enjoys bath time and splashes all around! He's so sweet and such a good baby!! Often times I look at him in amazement- he's actually mine! He still amazes me every day!! I love him so much and would not trade him for anything!