The Brereton Boys!: Benton is Here!!!!!

Just as I suspected....in the same fashion as his big brother, Henry, Benton Frederick arrived early! He came into this world on October 28, 2009 at 7:41 pm weighing 7 pounds 4 ounces and measuring 21 inches long! Hey, like I said before, I am glad for the early babies as long as they are healthy! Seven pounds is fine with me!! I was well on my way to a 9 pounder if we made it 40 weeks!!

Labor was quick and relatively easy. I woke up at around 4 am with some lower back pain and some painless contractions which progressively got as close as 6 minutes apart. So, I woke Ross up and we prepared ourselves to call the doctor. Then...contractions stopped. So, since we had a routine doctor's appointment anyway at 2:45, we decided to go about our day knowing that this would most likely be our last work day before Benton. Sure enough, Dr. Shoemaker checked me and I was 4 cm already, almost completely effaced and had a contraction while he checked:). Hooray! I was pretty miserable and tired of being pregnant, so this was great news to me! He broke my water at around 3:40 and I got my epidural shortly after---Hey, why wait??!?! Legal, good drugs--I'm a fan! I pushed for about 15 mins or so and he was here! It was great!

Henry is doing very well, much better than we expected. He really enjoyed his cousins coming to see him for a couple of days, as you will see below, and was most happy while they were here. He is a little jealous, likes to poke and hit a little, but, overall, he really is impressed by him and thinks he is really neat. We just have to keep him from disturbing him while he's asleep. He wants to get into the bassinet with Benton and we are desperately trying to teach him that he cannot. That's been the one tough thing. If we can master that, it should be easy otherwise. Daddy has really stepped up to the plate with Henry, too. They are two peas in a pod these days. Henry and daddy have done everything together since Benton arrived. They have spent a lot of time with the Fetners so that Sam and Henry can play. They spent the whole day together on Halloween--Benton and I joined the party for a little while just to see Henry is his costume and watch him trick-or-treat--but for the most part, Daddy has been all about his biggest boy! I miss my time with my sweet Henry, but I know that once things even out again and I get a little recovery time, things will be back to normal.

Ya-Ya stayed for 4 days, one night in the hospital so that Ross could go home with Henry. It was so nice! She helped so much and we were so sad to see her go!! But, she and Do-Dah will be back this weekend to visit again and let Do-Dah meet his new grandson. We cannot wait!

Benton is a wonderful baby--I cannot stress that enough! He eats great, sleeps great, etc.....what more could I ask for! I am loving every minute with my new little miracle! It is truly amazing that you can love something so much! I did wonder if I could ever love him as much as Henry, but it's like God gave me another heart to love with!! I am truly overflowing and full with love for both of them. Ross and I talk everyday about how blessed we are! And it is true--we could not ask for more than we have already!!!!! Thank you Jesus for our sweet healthy boys!!!!