Benjamin Henry Smith

On Tuesday evening, October 12, JB and I finally took our tour of the labor and delivery wing at Providence hospital where I would (we thought) be giving birth in a mere three weeks.  As the nurse showed us around the delivery room, we asked our questions and mooned around thinking three weeks seemed so near, so far.  Back at home, JB finished waxing the wood floors in the baby room, and I went to bed thinking about how much our child could still grow in the next three weeks.  And then at 5 am the next morning I felt the first indications that Benjamin would not be waiting three more weeks.  For the next four hours my body and his were in negotiations from which my conscious mind was excluded, but by 9am we were pretty sure he was coming.

In birthing class we joked about the woman in one of the videos we watched who went out and bought a washing machine during early labor.  But really, the first few hours of labor were quite pleasant.  I got some baby clothes laundered, the kitchen cleaned, the hospital bag packed, and JB made us breakfast.  By late afternoon, Christy came by to check me, and labor started to be not-so-pleasant.  She went home to take a nap, and JB helped me through increasingly difficult contractions. On the way to the hospital at around midnight, the familiar lights of Waco Drive looked so strange--maybe it was the pain, maybe the new reality of motherhood I was beginning.

Christy and JB were by my side from midnight until Benjamin was born at 7am.  They coached me and held me and reminded me to breathe.  They supported me when I lost hope and decided I needed pain relief and rejoiced with me when I was ready to push before the doctor even arrived to administer the pain meds.  The joy and amazement in their voices as Benjamin emerged got me through the last pushes, and Benjamin was born at 6:58 in the morning, just as the sun was starting to rise over Waco.  

And now, ten days later (and still almost two weeks from his due date), Benjamin is feeding well and sleeping a lot and starting to explore the world with his big blue eyes.  I know he is only supposed to be able to see 8-10 inches in front of his face and only in black and white at this point, but still, he looks curious and definitely seems to recognize his mother and father.  And he hiccups.  A lot.  

For his one week birthday, we took him for an outing to Cameron park.  I was also getting a bit stir-crazy and needed to get out of the house.  

You wouldn't know it from these pictures, but his eyes do open.  I don't think I have any good pictures of that yet.  So here's one Benjamin with my other blue-eyed man, sitting on the porch swing:  their favorite place to be together.