Like mother like son...

So some of you may recall that a certain someone had a few rolls that made her the chubbiest baby in town... well now there is a new little one that is running for the role of the chubbiest baby... although it doesnt really look like it here... he seems to get a little rounder every day.

With all of the problems that preemies can have with weight gain, getting too chubby is never one of them so we are just happy he is putting on the pounds. At his weekly Dr. appointment this last friday he had gained 1 lb 4 oz in 7 days, tipping the scales at 9 lbs even. The Dr. said he has never seen a 7 day weight gain like that before... ever.

Other than getting a little bit chubby he is continuing to just be a happy baby that makes us smile every day.

Family moments captured

This last weekend we had Alison from Horizon Photo come and take some family photos. She did our beautiful wedding photos and is a great family friend. Here are a couple but there are more to come. She did a great job... (check out more of her work at http://www.horizonphoto.net/)

Other than that we are just enjoying time with the little guy. He is just a happy little boy!

Just a little more fun with Bennett

Dad Feeding...

Wide awake at 4 am... but still pretty cute...

Grandpa Jones visiting...

Our outting to the store today...

Bennett is changing everyday and we are venturing out a bit more. We even went to the store with Aunt Katie today who has came up to visit him a lot lately. He has also enjoyed visits this week from Katy, Jania & Tony, Auntie Jeanie & Uncle Kip and Grandma & Grandpa Jones. We are also doing some baby pictures with Alison tomorrow and we cant wait to see the beautiful photos she will get.

At his pediatrician appointment this week he weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces! He is growing great and the Dr. just said to keep up the good work :) He is awake more each day and seems to just love to cuddle and check out the world around him.

We look forward to seeing family on Febuary 7th at our house!

Bennett's new best friend

He has a new biggest fan... his dog Hurlie. She insists on sleeping under the crib and squirms out every time the baby makes a sound to make sure we didn't miss it. Hurlie has been amazing with the new addition to her family and although very interested she has been pretty relaxed. We have not let her get too close to baby and have just let her sniff his toes but I am sure slowly she will play with him nicely when he is up and running around.

So far so good on the home front. The pediatrician put Bennett on a strict three hour eating schedule to ensure he is putting on some weight. So we have been up around the clock hanging out with him and sleeping in two hour windows.

He had his first out patient pediatrician appointment at the regular doctors office this week and definitely made himself memorable by peeing all over his Doctors shirt. Boys will be boys I guess.

Our little man is doing wonderful and has seemed to give us a false sense of parenthood by sleeping soundly most of the time and crying just a second right before he needs fed. I am sure this will quickly change as he approaches the time when he actually should be in the outside world. He is waking up more each day and hangs out with us just looking around and making funny faces.

Our Journey here...

After...
106 Days of pregnancy bliss with our two boys
99 Days on strict bed rest
Countless fabulous home made meals from Grandma Ruth in bed including Thanksgiving Dinner
24 Doctor appointments and ultrasounds
11 nights spent in Labor & Delivery at St. Peters Hospital, Evergreen Hospital or Tacoma General Hospital
1 ambulance ride for mom and 1 for baby
5 Days in Tacoma General Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
7 Days in Tacoma General Intermediate Care Nursery
18 Days in the Special Care Nursery at St Peters Hospital in Olympia
....OUR FIRST DAY HOME AS A FAMILY!!

Bennett is one month old but it is still officially one whole month before he was supposed to be born. He is excited to get home and meet his dog Hurlie and see his new home!

Another thank you to everyone for your support through this difficult but wonderful blessing of a journey! I could not have done it without great family, friends, Doctors, Nurses, a mother who is going to be the most amazing grandmother in the world and a fabulous husband who's patience and stregnth astound me daily.

His first car ride!

Well not really... but we did pass the hospital car seat safety check!

He looked pretty happy and ready for his ride home :)

Getting ready to head home!

Look at us just being regular parents :)

We will soon be heading home!!! It sounds like Tuesday evening will be our first night at home as a family! He is doing wonderful and they have set a tentative discharge for the day after tomorrow.

We have gotten very used to functioning here on our own and we are really looking forward to getting him all settled into routine at our house. It is the end of a long journey and the beginning of an even bigger one!

Happy New Year!

Bennett has been upgraded to his last step of his hospital stay... we will soon be on our own!

We have been moved into an overnight room where I will be staying here at the hospital until he is discharged. It sounds like we will be out within a week.

He is doing wonderful with all of his feeds and has even started to give us some good cries lately (preemies are pretty silent) but we are still at the stage where we think his crying is super cute :)

He is doing wonderful and we are all excited to be out of 2008 and start a new year with our little man home and healthy.