Oliver's Newborn Photos

Several weeks ago Oliver had his newborn pictures taken.  At this time he was a little over 2 weeks old.  It was such a fun session with the talented Melissa Koontz with Midwestern Lace photography out of Atchison. 

Oliver loved being naked to say the least..he peed on everyone and everything :)  But we all just took it in stride and laughed the whole day.  Here some of our favorites with my own commentary :)  So I have a lot of favorites and if you would like to see the rest let me know and I would proudly email you them or show in the album we have....yes I'm that proud cheesy mom now!

 This photo turned out so sweet and beautiful, when it was being taken I didn't really see the vision but Melissa had it and it turned out fabulous!

 Hanging on to Dad!  Love it!!

 I always sleep this peaceful and angel like!

 What should I do today?

 Just a little nap in the dresser

We totally are in love!

 

 Can you believe it?  No we can't! or were we thinking...man we are in trouble :)

 Love the reflection

 Good Night!

 Good Morning!

 Smitten

 Can't believe he is here!

 I'm DONE!!!!

Family of 3!!

Dreaming about something funny.

After this shoot we headed to the apple orchard to pick apples.  We were a little late for the gala apples that we enjoy but still managed to find LOTS of apples to pick.  I made my first homemade apple pie.  It was delicious!!!  Next time I will attempt my own pie crust. 

Introducing Oliver Steven Bennett!!!

The time has finally come!  Oliver is finally here!  It was quite the wild ride but we are home and trying to get adjusted :)

Monday at my regular appointment I was still had high blood pressure and was still not dilated.  Dr. Brunner was concerned about my BP so we decided that an induction was necessary.  We went to the hospital Tuesday night and got admitted and I was given the meds to get me dilated.  After 12 hours of Cirvatal (sp?) in I was still not dilated so they started the Petosin (sp?) early Wednesday morning.  After being checked all day the progression was about a centimeter an hour which meant for a long day of waiting.  About 8:30pm it was finally time time push Mr. Oliver out. Well, as I suspected all along he had his own plan and is going to be stubborn, and hour and a half later we had made no progress, Oliver's heart rate was a little fast and I was starting to run a temperature.  Therefore a c-section was decided to be done.  Because of the heart rate and my temperature, it was suspected that Oliver might have an infection in the amniotic fluid so he would have to go directly to the NICU to get IV antibiotics, he cannot be on the regular mother/baby floor and have an IV :(  It is hospital policy that if they suspect this infection they start treating it right away with antibiotics and run test simultaneously, with results taking 48 hours to be returned so he would have to stay in the NICU at least 48 hours until his results came back negative, which they did! (more to follow on the NICU experience)

Back to the C-Section- We were third in line so we had to wait...at 11:37 pm on Wednesday August 22, 2012 Oliver was finally born!!!  We was perfect in every way.  That first cry will forever be engrained in my mind.  It was magical!!!  We weighed in at 7 pounds 3.5 ounces, and was 19 inches long.  I was so drugged up and hadn't eaten in over 24 hours so it is hard to remember some of that evening but that first cry and seeing that face come over the curtain was amazing!  Seeing James hold him for the very first time was so special as well.

We exited the OR and headed back to the room, the NICU wasn't quite ready for us so Oliver got to join me back in the recovery room for a few minutes.  It didn't take long before the grandparents and aunts found us too.  Everyone got to take a peek and James and I got to hold him a few.  I remember telling James that I was too out of it and felt insecure holding him.  A few minutes later Oliver was taken to the NICU to be admitted and start his IV's, I would be wheeled up there before being admitted into my room.  By 4:00am we were in our room and Oliver was upstairs.  That is hard, sad feeling.  I kept thinking, this is not fair he is healthy, he's fine, he should not be up there but then again if he did have this infection he was in the best place for him and that was really what was important.  I  also had to remind myself that it was only going to be 48 hours. 

Then the waiting really began!  It was about 1:00 Thursday afternoon before I was given permission to get out of bed and move to the wheelchair so I could be moved wheeled upstairs to see Oliver!  I was so excited yet unsure what I was going to see.  NICU has a negative connotation, which is why James and I kept it on the DL while we were in the hospital.  When we got up there he was fine, other than an IV in his arm.  Such a relief but still not excited that I had not had time to bond, hold, love, or start breastfeeding.  But again, this wasn't serious, just an inconvenience and precaution. Just as we were about to bust out of the NICU on Friday the nurse noticed that Oliver's resting heart rate seemed low, so an EKG was ordered, those results would not be back until Saturday so he would have to stay another day upstairs.  It turned out that his EKG was fine and that due to the fact that the nurses in the NICU don't handle healthy, full term baby very often they were spooked by his numbers.  Again, praise the LORD everything with him has been fine!  Saturday early evening Oliver was finally brought downstairs to room-in with us.  I was more than excited!!!  It had been a long waiting game and I was tired of going up and down between floors.

As for me....well this darn blood pressure is going to haunt me.  Since the beginning of the month I've been fighting high blood pressure.  It is not at a scary level but it is not great either.  They are watching it very, very close and I've been put on meds for a short while.  This also is something that was keeping us in the hospital.  So much that on Sunday they were still considering keeping me another day of observation but she eventually decided that my BP would probably get better at home with Oliver than send Oliver home and me stay  Thank goodness!

We enjoyed our first night home last night and survived.  Oliver is doing well and I'm taking it easy.  It's hard for me to sit and rest while James is up keeping our house running but it is necessary right now so I don't end up in the hospital or on more meds for this silly blood pressure business.  Enjoy the pics!!!

And while all this is happening my amazing husband was holding down the fort!  He was going to feed Oliver, when I couldn't be there, he was organizing our visitors, keeping me calm, making sure Moe was taken care of and just being FABULOUS!!!  Love you honey!!!

We can't wait for you all the meet Oliver really soon!
All our love!

Work is overrated!

Work is OVERRATED!!!! Well at least Oliver thinks so after just two weeks of being back at work.  When I was at the doctor on Monday my blood pressure was a little high, so they had me lay there and relax (yeah right, relax on the doctor table ha ha) and see if my blood pressure would lower. It did in fact go within normal range after about 10 minutes or so.  Therefore, Dr. Brunner asked that I check it twice a day with the school nurse, which I did, and it remained higher than she wanted so she has put me on partial bed rest.  BOO!!!  So that means starting Friday I will be working half days until Oliver to decided to grace us with his presences! 

I'm having mixed feeling about this.  I was so blessed to spend Monday and Tuesday with my long term sub!  We were able to cover a lot of topics and she is even spending tomorrow with me on her own time to see all the rules and procedures that will be taught to this new group of students.  So I feel so comfortable with her taking over and I know that the transition will be smooth and fabulous.  The control freak in me doesn't want to leave this new group of kids so soon.  However, I have always known this was going to be the case so I just need to deal with this fact.  I will not miss the cankles that have taken over in the last two days.....I don't know how some women deal with this for months.  I have had them for two days and as I type I have ice packs on them because they hurt so bad.  Kicking up my feet at lunch with hopefully help the amount of swelling that has occurred. 

As we approach the finish, yes I'm 39 weeks today can you believe it?!?, the unknown makes me nervous but mostly I'm just super excited for him to get here.  I wish there was a little bit more movement downward as I have hardly dilated in the last two weeks.  Again BOO!  But again, I know that this is the best place for him to continue to grow and get even more healthy! 

We will continue to keep you posted but as for now, I will be spending a little bit of time working and a lot of time resting and waiting!  Let's hope it goes by quickly as I don't do forced rest very well  :)

Love to all!

The countdown is on....

It has been a while since I have updated so I will try to back-track a little bit to catch you up.  Around week 30 I started to measure two weeks ahead of schedule.  Meaning, when at the doctor my belly should measure the same as the week we are in, so 30 weeks, 30 inches.  However, I was measuring around 32. Since that same progress continued, Dr. Brunner wanted to take a look at little O to see what his true size was.  I was more than happy to comply with that request.  We had not "seen" him since around week 20, so a little peek at him was welcomed surprise.  I had been saying, and Dr. Brunner suspected that part of the issue was that I was just out of torso space....and that was confirmed at the sonogram.  He was measure RIGHT on track at 33 weeks (which is the week we were in by that time)  He was around the 50 percentile for weight and length and almost 5 lbs at that time.  He seemed so much bigger and more human-like at that sonogram.  I'm still amazed at how much he has grown in such a short period of time.  At our last appointment this week (week 36) we got the news that his heart beat is starting to slow down in anticipation for his delivery.  He has been in the 150 most of the pregnancy and he is now in the low 140's, high 130's.  He should be around 90-120 at delivery!  We were also told that if I went into labor they would no longer try to stop it....holy moly the emotions that went through my mind!  I can't believe that I have done it!!!  I have kept him safe and sound for the last 36 weeks and from everything we have seen and heard he is going to happy and healthy!!!  He can be here at any time but Dr. Brunner and I talked on Monday and I told her that I would like to make it to the start of school, August 15th and she said that she didn't think that would be too difficult as he is head down (as he as been since week 20) but still somewhat high.  Works for me!  I would really like to get some things established in my classroom prior to delivery.

As for me the two biggest questions I'm getting: is the room ready? and how are you doing in this heat? 

As for the room, it is nearly done!  We have a few things to put on the wall, a closet door to reinstall and last get the lid of the toy chest!  The bookshelves look amazing!!  I will post pics as soon as the these finishing touches get done!  I was so blessed to have my mom come up and help me put away all the clothes, toys, and various gifts we have received from our showers.  She also helped put together the swing/bouncer and stroller!   Now we just wait for Little O to arrive!!!!

The heat-UGH!  As with most of the country we have been in extreme heat warnings all summer (more that 20 days off 100) as well as a major drought!  We tried to keep our lawn lush and green but gave up after two weeks of major watering each day and it was still drying out and going dormant.  I on the other hand have been blessed to be able to be home all summer and I don't HAVE to go anywhere so most days I try to stay inside and stay cool!  I have started to get a little stir crazy as the house is clean, the baby room done, and I really don't want to work on work stuff. So some evenings James is forced to take me to Target so I can walk around to see, what is new. :)  He has been a good sport about it!!!  But school is starting soon so I have been trying to get things in order a little at a time, in the mornings!  So, I guess overall I can't complain because I have been blessed to stay home and in the AC. I truly think that if I had to be out and about in this all summer, even working inside, I would have swollen everything (which again has been a blessing, I rarely am swollen, just slightly in the fingers) and would probably have been put on bed-rest.  Once again, God has taught me the lesson that he does know what is best and he is one truly in-control of my life!

Before I sign off I hope that I have you all up-to-date, I want to thank our family and friends for all their love and support they have shown James, Oliver and myself.  Your generous gifts, visits and time have meant more to us than we would ever express into words! Thank you!!!!  We love you all and can't wait for Oliver to see and feel the love that has been bestowed on our family!

Adventures with Mikhayla!

As I mentioned in a previous post James had suggested around Easter that we needed to find some summer art classes for Mikhayla, and I was able to find some at the JCCC.  She spent 3 weeks here, Wednesday evening to Friday, attending class in the mornings on Thursday and Friday and then had our afternoons free for adventures!  I'm not sure who had more fun?!?  KC has some many fun things to offer that I enjoy exploring the city with her.

She LOVED LOVED LOVED the art classes!  Thank you to Mom, Erika, and Bob for making it happen.  I feel like I had the easy part, take her and see what she created when I returned to pick her up.  In the afternoons we went swimming, went to the aquarium, attempted Legoland but that will have to wait for another time and went shopping!  I LOVE being the Aunt.

James also got in on the spoiling!  Kayla's new food love is sushi so we went to a sushi restaurant and they had a ton of sushi!  She tried squid and octopus, she enjoyed them both but found the squid hard to chew.  We also had her a few days after her birthday so we surprised her with dessert at the Melting Pot!  It was amazing!  She didn't know what to expect so when she realized that a pot of chocolate and a ton of dipping yumminess what coming her way she could hardly contain herself.  It was priceless!

Here are few pics of our adventure at the Sealife :)