Happy Birthday, my little three year old! It almost hurts to type that sentence out! 3 years ago today I was racing around, trying to find someone to watch my three kids so I could get my aching, contracting self to the hospital. I was 3 weeks from my due date, which was pretty exciting. You, or at least *I*, always expect the worse when it comes to going before or after your due date.
That's me, 3 years ago: 37 weeks and miserable!
Daddy meeting his newest son for the first time - I love this picture! Always gives me the warm fuzzies ;)
My doctor was kind of new and very paranoid once she found out my last labor had lasted only 45 minutes and ordered me to the hospital at the first sign of a contraction. That's right - 45 minutes! With Katie it was four hours, with Ethan two hours. But the doctor in Japan got a little stir crazy when my water broke with Micah but the contractions didn't start right up...so they gave me Pitocin. A.K.A. Drug from Hell. That stuff speeds up your contractions, but BAM! Gives 'em a little kick in the tail too. So, it was only 45 minutes but it was the LONGEST 45 minutes of my life! Micah meets Ben, his future BFF
Check out Micah's scary hair LOL! He looked like a troll doll! He was soooo adorable - 18 months old, with about 3 teeth - 2 in back, one in front...and heck on wheels!
It was a 20 minute drive, so my doctor was worried I would deliver Ben on the side of the road. Frankly, so was I. Boy, was I in for a rude awakening!
This was seriously the sweetest nurse I ever had - she let Katie & Ethan help with Ben's first bath, teaching them all about newborn babies. It was the nicest thing she could have done. I left a glowing recommendation for her!
Ethan was totally grossed out but he was a trooper and scrubbed little Ben's pastey body.
A little word to those who care: I had an epidural with my first baby, a shot of Stadol with my 2nd, and a shot of something starting with an "N" with my 3rd, the Pitocin baby, Micah. Then comes Ben. I'm all cocky from having had a 45 minute labor & delivery with just a shot of pain reliever and I'm thinking, How hard could it be to do this totally natural? Turns out - VERY HARD.Still being good little helpers:
I'll stop with all the pain talk now. Let's just say, it's a good thing we had already planned to quit after the fourth cause there was NO way I was doing that again! Anyway, he was my weirdest labor - started very slow, around 1:30pm, admitted myself to the labor ward around 4:30pm - alone. Chad was at work and his supervisor was raising cain about anyone leaving unless it was an emergency. Apparently giving birth to your FOURTH child is not considered an emergency. If that supervisor, prolly some Captain, had been any where near me, he would have been a dead Captain. Seriously. Benjamin Lee - 7lbs, 4oz
Big Sister Katie (2 weeks before 7th bday)
Chad finally showed up around 7:30 pm, with instructions to come back if it wasn't serious. Hmmm. Wish I knew that guy's name - for shizzle!
So, I'm still having contractions but they don't seem to be doing anything. I'm not used to this! I'm usually a Wham! Bam! Thank ya, Ma'me! kind of L&D kind of girl. The doctor wouldn't break my water, which I think they should totally do once they know it's the real deal, so I just sat there contracting for about 6 hours. Finally, I talked her into and he was born about an hour or two later. I'm real fuzzy on the details because I was stressed about the other three kids, mad at Chad's Captain, and in a LOT of pain with no relief in sight. I am too stubborn for my own good sometimes!
Looking like I just had a baby LOL
Oh, another fun fact: I didn't have any family to keep the other three kids, so I had to ask someone from my church to watch them. They reluctantly agreed, which always makes you feel GREAT about leaving your kids with someone. In fact, she called me about 10 minutes after he was born and asked if Chad was coming to pick them up yet.
But God gave me the most amazing mother in law and as soon as she heard I was in labor, she left Ohio and headed to D.C. She was there about an hour after he was born. Chad took her and they went to pick Katie, Ethan, & Micah up, brought them back to the hospital, where they got to meet Ben, give him his first bath, etc. Then, she stayed with us for about 5 days, which was a life saver since we ended up running back & forth to the hospital for weight loss & jaundice. I LOVE MY MOTHER IN LAW! (Jessica told me that when she goes into labor, she's calling MY mother in law instead of hers LOL!)
But little Ben was completely healthy, thank God. He was different from the beginning. For starters, he was a "sleepy" baby. I never understood what that meant until then. He would sleep 12 hours straight without waking to eat. He lost weight instead of gaining during the first three weeks, we had to admit him back to the hospital after 3 days or so for jaundice, I think because he wasn't eating enough to flush out his system. So, I did have to wake a sleeping baby to make him eat - something I have NEVER had to do!
He also wouldn't sleep good at night unless I held him in my arms. (He's sleep all day without waking once. The longest I ever let him go was about 12-14 hours straight.) But at night he'd fuss and fuss until I picked him up. Even to this day, his favorite place to sleep is in my bed, curled up tight next to me. It is both the sweetest and most aggrivating thing at times LOL. I love it, but he ends up sideways and kicking me in the head, every single night. Oh well. Secretly, I love it all. He's the baby and that's how it should be ;) And he still sleeps the longest of all my kids - 12 hours straight (if he's in my bed) is nothing for this kid!
9 days old:
How sweet is that?!?! 
I love birth stories - don't you? Each one is always unique and sweet :)
By the way, we had a small birthday party at home with family only today. He got so many toys, and wanted to play with each one instead of opening the next gift. What a blessed family we are! Thank you to all the aunts & Grandma that made it so special!
Future BFFs: 18 months & 9 days
August 1st, 2009: 4 1/2 & 3 years old ~ mostly BFFs :)
