1 Month!

Please, enjoy the slide show. The music comes from our friend Justin and his children's band, The Okee Dokee Brothers. I get the feeling that they will provide much of Benjamin's soundtrack over the next few years.

Benjamin has been with us for 1 month! It's been a blast and we've learned a lot.

Thank you all so much for the continued love and support. Your love has helped us more than you will ever know.

More from the Hospital

We made a little video from our time at the hospital. We'll post a whole bunch of pictures later.

Enjoy!

Day 1

Allow me to take you through our past 3 days.

Monday at 7:30 we left the house for the hospital.  As you can imagine we were so jazzed up that we didn't get much sleep the night before.  After we checked in and moved into our room, they administered the Pitosin, the drug that causes induction.  At about noon Kristina had the epidural put in and she quickly felt pretty crappy.  She just didn't react very well to any of the drugs they gave her.  After a long nap, the doctor checked her and she was 1 cm dilated.  Kristina was in and out of sleep for the rest of the night, while her mother, my brother and I watched TV, read and drank 96 oz of coffee.   We finally called it a night at about 4:00am.  

Three hours later, everyone was up and the doctor came back to try to break Kristina's water.  She was still only 1 cm dilated and he couldn 't do it.  He came back at 10:15 to try again to break it.  Again he failed.  With great resignation, the doctor decided to send her in for a cesarian section.  It was amazing to see Kristina's attitude change quickly.  She was thrilled to see a light at the end of the long tunnel of pregnancy.  

At 11:20 the nurses wheeled Kristina into the operating room and I scrubbed in.  By 11:55 we had a bouncing baby boy.  Benjamin, his first name, was a name we both initially liked; I  because it starts with a "B" and she because it is bilingual.  Charles, his middle name, is a significant name for both of our families, so that was easily agreed upon.  It is important for us to include his Latino heritage in his name, so we included Ortega as a second middle name.  Of course we end with the powerful Lowdermilk.  

After they took him out, they told me I could take pictures.  While they finished stitching up Kristina, I followed Benjamin to the recovery room where a nurse measured (21 3/4 inches long), weighed (7.6 lbs.) and tested his joints.  I held the new addition while the new mom rested up .  We were a family.

Since then it's been a whirlwind.  Once my adrenaline wore off, I realized how tired I was.  We had some guests last night and Kristina gradually got more energy and spunk.  We all slept well last night, and if we hadn't work Benjamin up to eat, he would have slept through the night.  Today we've had more guests and more food.  The baby has been a treat to watch, despite the fact that he just eats and sleeps.  

A few interesting facts about Benjamin's auspicious birth date:

1. It's also the day Charles Dickins died (good riddance).

2. Secretariat won the Triple Crown.

3. Les Paul, Natalie Portman, Peter the Great, Dick Vitale, Michael J Fox and Johnny Depp all share a birthday with Benjamin Charles Ortega Lowdermilk.

Enjoy the pictures!

39 Weeks

Okay, it's official.  On June 8th--a Monday--at 8:00am, Kristina and I have an appointment to have a baby.  Set your clocks.  Ready your tear ducts.  Practice swaddling the dog.  Nemo's coming.

Of course we'll update the blog once we have the little guy or girl.  

38 Weeks

So we went to the doctor today and he backed down from June 3.  Now he seems pretty sure we'll induce on June 8.  We'll know for sure on June 2.  Kristina is 40cm.  Have a good day!

37 Weeks

A full term woman is 38 cm at 38 weeks.  At 36 weeks, Kristina was 39 cm.  We've got a big baby and the doctor wants to get him or her out.  

36 Weeks

Doctor says you can pencil in a June 3rd date for induction.  Get ready!