Baby Ben's Arrival

My Mom arrived in town on January 20th, she was originally going to come on the weekend but came early because of bad weather in Arkansas.

My first day of maternity leave was Friday January 21st. I spent it with my Mom and Ainsley.

Over the weekend we relaxed and caught up on sleep/chores, etc. Ainsley enjoyed having Grandma around- they have so much fun together! The last night of my pregnancy.

I slept well Saturday night, terribly Sunday night. I woke up at 2:30 and could not go back to sleep. I was up until it was time to get ready – 4:45. Not a great way to start the day but it will be good regardless!

Ben's arrival Day

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 am. We got checked in to the labor and delivery ward quickly. I had a catheter placed and was started on my oxytocin drip at 6:45.

I started having contractions very quickly. They initially were not painful- which is a good way to start. I noticed a stronger one at 7:24. Another strong one at 7:34. Another at 7:37, 7:41, 7:45, 7:48. Every 3-4 minutes seemed pretty quick after less than an hour on the drip!

I got an epidural later in the morning - 9:45. It helped some, but was effective more on one side than the other so the doctor had to bolus me some more. This helped with pain relief, but not 100%. By 11 am, I was more comfortable. Things had progressed some, not tons. Between 11 and 12 though, things rapidly progressed. Ben arrived and he was healthy and crying.

He has a lot of dark hair- I would say black in color. His eyes are blue. He has a large stork bite on the center of his forehead and small ones over each eye, a small one under his nose too. His eyelashes are a little light in color and they are short- the biggest surprise. I would have thought they would be long like mine and Dan’s. Maybe they will grow! He seems very thin, but has a few little chub spots. He has a rounded face with a slightly pointy chin. I did not see that he looked just like Ainsley- similar but different.

Dan's parents came to visit around 3 pm.

Ainsley, Sara, Dave and Mom arrived at 4:30. Ainsley was so cute! She came and said hi to Dan and I, then said, “Where is Ben?”

He was in the crib so she ran over to see him. Dan picked her up and showed her Ben. She had the cutest smiles. She wanted to touch him and then she just stared at him. So precious! I gave her the baby Ben doll and she was really happy with it.

Family pictures


Ainsley could not wait to hold Ben- she was so excited! She did not want to give him back.



We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and were discharged on Wednesday the 26th. We went home and tried to get settled in. Ben has done great- he nurses every 3 hours and sleeps most of the time.


His first doctor's appointment was on Friday the 28th and it went well. He had gained 4 ounces since Wednesday- the doctor was impressed! He has started to be awake for a little bit of the day now too. He is very content when he is awake- looking around, quiet and happy.