Behind....

I think I'm behind in everything right now.  Wait, that's not completely true...I did pay all of the bills on time.  But, I think I have overestimated my abilities to have a newborn, 3 other children, and get anything done.  Of course I'm cutting myself a little slack...our newborn did end up in the hospital with RSV.  How long do you think I can use that excuse?  I'm hoping it lasts until his first birthday.

So, here's a list of what I'm behind on. I publish this list so that you will feel better about yourself....

1.  The laundry...oh wait, I'm not behind in that because Aaron is amazing and took that over.

2.  Kids clothes...Peter and Natalie are regularly spotted in pants that are too short because I can't manage to get the next size bins out of the garage. Good thing Spring is coming, we'll just pretend they are wearing capri pants.

3.  My clothes... Just last night I sorted all of the maternity clothes out of my closet...it only took 6 weeks.

4.  The office...I have nothing to say except that I'm pretty sure it was ransacked by burglars.

5.  Deadlines...I have reverted to writing things on my hand to remember them.  Since Benjamin has been born I have missed appointments, kid snack days at preschool, phone calls that need to be returned, and the list goes on.  In fact, while writing this, I just remembered an important email that I promised to send yesterday.  Oh crap.

6.  Work...I work very part time.  Let's just say that I enormously overestimated my abilities to keep working even just a little.  Every time I sit down to do something, a certain little adorable baby needs to be fed, or changed, or fed and then changed...the cycle never seems to end.  Thank goodness for the amazing people that I work with who have saved me!

7.  Showers...ewwww...gross...believe me, I know.  I am an every-day-shower kinda girl.  Right now, I'm lucky if I get one every other day. Yeah for the pony tail.

8. Sleep...I'm hopelessly behind in sleep.  That's because I stay up late, writing pointless blog posts. :-)

9.  Cooking...thank goodness for friends and family.  They have set a record, because we received about 15 meals since Benjamin was born.  My kids thank you...they were getting really sick of chicken nuggets and peanut butter sandwiches.  But seriously, isn't that an amazing blessing?  It almost makes me want to get pregnant again... (that comment was purely for my hubby).

So, there, don't you feel better about yourself? 

I hope to return to my regular, productive self someday.  But for now, while the house is falling down around me, I am soaking up every moment with my newborn.  Because I know that in the blink of an eye he'll be a baby...not a newborn.  So we cuddle on the couch, I hold him while he naps (sometimes), and I consider it a gift when he gives me a happy smile.  I smell his sweetness, and kiss his fuzzy little head, and stare into his eyes while I'm still his whole world.  Everyday I think, " I can't believe I get to do this again." 

Yep, I'm behind...but I'm feeling pretty okay about it!

First Smiles

Benjamin has started smiling!  He has the most adorable little grin.  After eluding my camera for over a week, I finally captured the proof!

 

Happy Valentine's Day

thanks Mema for the valentine's FUN!!!

flowers from my sweetie!

Benjamin's Dedication

Yesterday we had Benjamin dedicated at church.  It was a great day.


Here is the scripture we chose for him....


9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’swill in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ¹¹May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹²giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.    Colossians 1:9-12

A special thank you to Pastor Jackson for dedicating our little guy on his last Sunday at UPPC.  

Benjamin's Big Adventure...

Sometimes, life isn't fair.  Just ask Benjamin.  At 4 weeks old, he got RSV.  RSV is a common respiratory virus that almost all kids get.  It's no big deal if you're a little older, but if you're a brand new infant it's pretty nasty stuff.  We don't know how he got it, because none of the other kids are sick.  But, it likely came home with one of them from preschool, sunday school, or wherever.

It all started on Friday with a little cough.  Then he tested positive for RSV, it turned into lots of coughing, congestion, and then turned into respiratory distress by Monday.  The thing about RSV is that it usually gets worse, before it gets better. It's terrifying to have a sick infant, especially when they are having a hard time breathing.  After a few very stressful days of watching our sweet boy day and night, he seemed to be getting worse and tiring out.  On Monday night his respirations were almost 80 per minute, he didn't want to eat, and was looking poor.  I called our pediatrician, and he sent us to Mary Bridge ER.  (Here's a shout out to our pediatrician who called ahead and spoke the attending ER pediatrician about Benjamin, so they'd be ready for us when we arrived. Now that's an AMAZING pediatrician!)   I can't express how thankful I am to live near an excellent children's hospital.  We arrived, never set foot in the waiting room, and were whisked back to an exam room.  I thought they were showing extra care for Benjamin, but it turns out that they don't like to have kids with RSV infecting all the other people in the waiting room.  Whatever...we got super fast service! 

The doctor saw Benjamin and immediately admitted him to the in-patient pediatric unit.  We arrived at our room around 1am and he was hooked up to IV fluids, had a respiratory therapist, and the monitoring started.  After several sleepless nights, I could finally relax knowing that someone else was watching and carefully monitoring his every move.  There's no treatment for RSV itself.  It's a just a virus, so the plan of care is to support the little one so they can fight it off. Once his breathing was under control and he started getting fluids he improved immensely.   He's a strong little guy!

So, Benjamin turned 5 weeks old in the same place we started...TG/Mary Bridge.  I never expected to be back there...so soon.  We all know that he's a Stewart, so it's probably just a matter of time before he needs stitches or sticks a lego up his nose, etc.   And maybe we should have seen this coming. There seems to be some cosmic force that isn't satisfied until we have met our health insurance out-of-pocket maximum for the year.  It only took 38 days this year.  That's a new record for us!

It was hard to see an IV inserted into my infant's arm, juggle the leads and wires to hold him, and stare at a monitor watching his numbers..BUT it once again reminded me of how thankful I am for the awesome doctors and nurses at Mary Bridge, and reminded me even more that God is in control of this little guy's life.  I know that He loves and cares for Benjamin infinitely more than I can imagine...which seems impossible!  

Benjamin did so well, that after just 24 hours we got to go home.  He had a better day today, and seems to be continuing to get better.  And so hopefully this will conclude Benjamin's first big adventure!

Super Bowl Sunday...

We had a great time watching the commercials Super Bowl with the Allen family!  As can be expected, SuLee had a delicious spread for us to enjoy!  The kids disappeared for hours and we thoroughly enjoyed the day!  Thanks Allen family for a great day!

One Month Old...

Dear Benjamin,

You're ONE month old and we continue to fall more and more in love with you everyday!  Peter is especially smitten with you and always wants to hold you, comfort you, and is in your personal space on a regular basis.  You are an excellent nurser, but a little on the slow side.  That's fine with me, it's just more time that we get to snuggle up on the couch.  You love your swing, but prefer to be held most of the time.   When it comes to sleeping, you haven't quite figured that out yet.  At first you had your days and nights mixed up, and now you'd just prefer to just sleep in my arms.  The problem is that you are the only one getting good sleep.  So, we've been trying to convince you to sleep in your bassinet...you're slowly coming around.

I feel privileged beyond imagination to be your mom.  You are such a sweet gift to our family, and I adore having a newborn.  God is so very generous to give us you!

All my love,
Mom