Family Time

We've had some good time at home these last few weeks as we adjust to being a family of four.

Our most recent family photo after a walk around the neighborhood. It was almost 7 pm, so I'm not sure why Rosemary was wearing sunglasses...

Vote for Benjamin!

(Thanks to Jason & Nikki for the cute onesie)

Rosemary enjoys holding her baby brother and I enjoy holding them both.

Thank you, Ms. Betsy, for the balloons! They're a hit.

"My Baby Ben"

That's what Rosemary calls her little brother when she introduces him to people. He's "my baby Ben." She's really doing well adjusting to having a baby in the family. I'm not sure that she understands the permanence yet, but thankfully she's generally pretty gentle with him.





Benjamin had his two week check-up today and he's up to 8 lbs. 11 oz.--that's 13 ounces in 10 days--and doing well. This boy is an eater. He's also a pretty good sleeper. I've been getting about 4 hours straight at least once a night with him and I've found the perfect way to make late night feedings bearable--youtube. (With Rosemary, I had tried reading but couldn't manage to hold the baby and a book so I watched the news--about 8 times a day it seemed). This time, I've thoroughly enjoyed Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South (thanks to Lark for the recommendation) and Becoming Jane over the past few nights. Since clips typically are less than 10 minutes, it's easier to make my way back to bed at the end of 2 or 3 segments than if I had to stop a movie. As strange as it seems, I think I actually look forward to the middle of the night feedings this way.

Benjamin is one week old today and it has really been a wonderful first week. It's hard to believe that just last week we were being induced. (And as a side note-if I had the choice between Rosemary's fast labor and Benjamin's induced labor, I'd pick induction in a heartbeat. The fast labor just seemed more intense and scary. The first 4 hours with Benjamin were honestly quite boring...we watched Wimbledon most of the time). Janice has been with us the whole week so we have had lots of help adjusting to life as a family of four.

We had an appointment with our pediatrician on Monday and Benjamin had already gained 4 ounces since leaving the hospital. That wasn't quite back to his birth weight (2 ounces shy) but I would think that by now he is probably back to 8 pounds. Ben is eating well and, surprisingly, sleeping well. The last few nights we've had stretches of 4 or 5 hours. After being pregnant, 4 or 5 hours straight seems like such a long time to sleep so we are thankful for that.

I'm feeling pretty good, although I think that recovery has been a little bit different this time around. I don't feel nearly as tired or emotional, but physically I feel less than normal. I've had to slow down a little bit so it's been nice to have so much help at home. I think it makes things seem not so overwhelming.


This past weekend, both sets of grandparents and Uncle Zach were in town. It was a good visit.



Benjamin got to meet Grandpa Workmaster for the first time this weekend.

We were all feeling pretty good, so we went to church on Sunday. Benjamin stayed in service with us and was pretty quiet. He only fussed a bit during Gordon Lightfoot's "Edmund Fitzgerald" song.

Ben got his first sponge bath at home last night. He did pretty well. I tried to be quick. There's nothing quite like the smell of a just bathed baby.

And big sister Rosemary is doing well too. I'm really proud of her for how she's handling things with a new baby in the house.

This was a picture that I took right before Rosemary headed out with Jonathan to see "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" on the "big scream," as Rosemary calls it. They went yesterday too, but there were problems with the projector that delayed the start of the movie and they ended up leaving before the movie was over so they went back today. She's been talking about Larry Boy on the big scream ever since they got back.

Benjamin Jonathan Peine

It has been a great July 4th for our family. We are home from the hospital and we named our baby boy. It came down to the last minute, but we decided that Benjamin was the right name.

So far, Benjamin is a healthy eater and pretty good sleeper. We are very blessed. I'm learning just how different two babies can be.

I'll post more later, but below are a few more pictures from our time at the hospital and first day at home. We've had lots of visitors!

He's such a cutie!
Renae and Katie (and Isaac too) stopped by yesterday to meet the little man.

Bob Gailey came by too. Benjamin waited until Bob got back from his ride to make his appearance.
Renae came back for an encore with Chris yesterday evening.
Charlie stopped by again last night with Lorie and Laurel.

Bennett, Sara, Logan and Caitlyn came all the way from Central Florida to meet Benjamin.
Jonathan has not lost his touch. I think he can look at the baby and it will fall asleep.

He's so nice to hold.
Already a little patriot.
Headin' home.
Chris was our nurse when we delivered and our discharge nurse.

Home at last!
Grandma Peine and her newest grandson
Our family at home.
Chillin' on the couch.

Meeting Grandpa Peine

Baby Boy is Here!

We have a baby boy! He was born at 5:10pm July 2, 2008, 8 pounds and 20 inches. We'll let you know more soon and post more pictures! Thanks for all your prayers, support and encouragement!

The newest addition to our family.

Just a touch over 8 pounds.

He was crying great!

Proud dad!

So these are my parents...

Rosemary starts learning what being a sister is all about.

The very helpful grandmas!

The grandmas love their newest grandson.

Rosemary gives a big sister kiss.

We're On Our Way

In about 15 minutes we'll be heading to the hospital. Please keep us in your prayers today. Even though we've done this before, I'm still a little bit nervous and ended up not sleeping as well as I probably should have. Hope to have good baby news for you soon!

Wednesday

Unless the baby has other plans, we're going to be induced on Wednesday--nine days after the due date. Things are looking good so we'll hopefully be able to post Wednesday night about our new healthy baby boy or girl!

Morningside Nature Park

We decided to brave the heat and humidity and go out to Morningside Nature Park for a bit this morning and see the animals. I think this might have been the first time Rosemary saw a cow and she was very excited. She also got to see sheep, pigs, and chickens. It was a nice diversion despite the weather.

Rosemary was anxious to get in the "barn." It was really just walking through the gate.

Rosemary and Grandma W. The roomies have thoroughly enjoyed their time together this past week and a half.
Meeting the cow. She even got to hear it "Moo" several times.

The sheep weren't quite as exciting as the cow, but fun to see nonetheless. We rounded the corner in hopes of seeing the pigs, which had captured Rosemary's interest. We didn't get a very good glimpse. I think that because it was so hot, the pigs weren't up much for entertaining. Can't say that I blame them. :-)

Checking out the old house.
A family pic outside of the kitchen.

Before leaving we had to make sure to visit the cow again.

This afternoon while Rosemary napped, my mom and I went out to the mall to pick up going home outfits for the baby...one for a girl and one for a boy. Afterwards mom treated me to a pedicure and a Double Chocolaty Chip frappuccino (my favorite indulgence while pregnant and one of the positives to being overdue...I can drink more fraps without feeling too guilty. Once the baby arrives those will need to go).

It was a great afternoon. We even made it back to the house before Rosemary got up from her nap. Tonight we went out for dinner then enjoyed our Saturday night of Lawrence Welk. Rosemary danced away.

We'll let you know

Well, we didn't have the baby today (or yesterday for that matter). Just waiting. I'm feeling really good physically, I just feel bad about making other people wait. In fact, I think I've been sleeping better these last few weeks than I did earlier in the pregnancy and much better than I did the last month with Rosemary.

I think it will be easier at this point just to post once the baby does arrive, rather than the daily update of "no baby." So if you don't see a post, it doesn't necessarily mean the baby's here. I'll make sure that someone gets a post up once he or she does decide it's time to venture into the world.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers.

Nada

No baby yet.

Status Quo

Nothing really exciting to report.

My doctor's appointment was quick. Things are progressing so it's still "could be at any time." I have another appointment scheduled for next week. If we still haven't had the baby by then, we'll talk about what to do at that appointment. For now, we've decided just to wait and see how things go. I'm not uncomfortable so it's just a matter of waiting.

Thank you all for your prayers and calls to check on us. We'll let you know when things get exciting.

Not Early

Since there's only a little over an hour left in the day, I think it's safe to say that this baby isn't coming early. Tomorrow's the due date, so it could still be on time, but early seems out of the question.

I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. Maybe I'll go into labor again while I'm there. It really was exceptionally convenient to do so when Rosemary came. :-)

No Baby, New Dryer

Still no baby. We did get a new dryer though. Yesterday while doing laundry, our dryer decided it was done...something that would not be so fun to work around with a newborn. So we went to Lowe's last night, found one that would work for us that was in stock, loaded it in my parent's minivan, and my dad and Jonathan hooked it up today.

And below are a few pictures from our week. First is Jonathan and Rosemary on Father's Day. The second is one of Rosemary enjoying her pool.

The Full Moon

Yesterday was the full moon. We didn't have a baby, but it was a pretty exciting morning. First my mom and I got to squish all the bugs that got in the house from the trash can. Then, as I was cleaning up the floor afterwards and went outside to throw out the garbage, there was a snake beside the can. I threw down the broom and dustpan, started screaming, and ran inside. If that didn't start labor, I was pretty certain nothing would. Once I got to the church, there was a beetle on the desk. It was dying, but still moving. Lots of things that are creepy, crawly, and gross.

39 Weeks and Holding

At yesterday's appointment, we found out that not much is happening yet. I haven't really felt any contractions, although about a week and a half ago I was feeling a little "off," but I think I just wasn't feeling well. My mom comes into town today we should be able to have some fun together before baby #2 arrives.

In going through some pictures last night I found where Jonathan had started writing down how contractions had started with Rosemary. I remembered them as being close from the beginning and they were. The first ones I felt were an average of 2 to 5 minutes apart...hopefully I get a little more warning this time!

Happy Father's Day 2008

Thanks for being the best daddy!

Love, Rosemary

Baby Update

No baby yet. I had my 38 week check-up yesterday and because my doctor was on vacation I met with one of the midwives. It was a quick appointment and she said that everything looks fine. The baby's heart rate was in the 150's this time.

And below is a picture from last night. Rosemary has started playing more in her room on her own. She usually sticks with books and toys, but last night she went after the bed and came out like this:

A Poll

We've added a poll on the right...do you think we're having a boy or a girl? Let us know what you think!