Call me crazy, but I have loved those first couple of days in the hospital with each of our babies. Time seems to stand still and our world revolves around our sweet, tiny newborn. And while I'm on the topic of newborns - I absolutely love having a newborn. I just can't get enough of sweet Ben. How tiny he is… how snuggly he gets… the way he fits so perfectly on my chest all curled up… his little face and expressions… and his smell… oh his smell… nothing quite like the smell of a newborn!! I'm trying so hard to soak up everything I love and not waste a day with him, because this stage goes so fast.
But back to our stay at the hospital…
Gran and Papa were quite surprised when they got back from dinner to find out I was already delivering!
Since I delivered on John's shift day, we had a crowd of firemen show up within an hour of delivery (crowd as in 8!). They don't call them first responders for no reason. Unfortunately (fortunately?? :)), they got a call for a fire and had to run out, literally, within a few minutes of arriving. It gave the nurses all something to talk about. Our nurse came in and said it was quite a sight to see a bunch of firemen running through the hall. John's captain and his engine came back afterwards and of course Ben had to get a picture with his fire family:
Uncle Tony and Patrick jumped in the car as soon as they found out I was in labor (well, as soon as they could get ready and all) and made it to the hospital very shortly after Ben was born. He is one lucky guy to have such loving family come to greet him!
Ben's first bath
Soothing himself back to sleep after that horrific experience. Ben was born with areas on his hands where blisters had once been. He definitely likes to chew his fingers! (and now pacey). It makes sense why we were never able to get a decent view of his face during any of the sonograms we had (and we had several!) because of his hands always being up by his face.
Tiny footprints :)
Doesn't get much cuter than that!
It felt so odd to have all of this happening in the middle of the night. Rudy and Avery were both born around noon so it was completely opposite. I was allowed to eat and drink again around 1 am, had a shower about 1:30 am, we switched to our postpartum room (714) around 2:30 am… but it actually worked out perfectly. All of the "busy work" was done and we were able to get a few hours of rest before Rudy and Avery came to join us. And we just couldn't wait to introduce them to their new brother!
John was holding Ben when they arrived and Rudy ran right up to them and ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the baby and gave him the sweetest kiss (as I was wiping tears away!)…he was immediately the most proud Big Brother and all smiles!
Avery, well, Avery wasn't so sure. She's a pretty smart girl and I think she realizes this little guy just took over the "baby" spot in our family...
So happy to have Uncle Tony around!
Our hands may be full, but so are our hearts
Me and my baby :)
Watching a show, feeding their "own" babies...
Grandpa and Grandma Cicci
Special escort out…
And after all our visitors left on Friday, we took the time to rest. And Ben learned quickly that Dad is so great to nap with!
My view for the evening hours...
We were blessed with another "good" baby - Ben mostly slept unless he was eating and had to be woken to eat every 3 hours… but once awake, he'd eat for 20-30 minutes and then fall peacefully back to sleep. He made life easy for us those first few days and compared to taking care of the other two, it felt like a vacation. The other kids stayed at home the rest of the night with their grandmas and we ordered dinner from one of our favorite places and spent some time just being. We were anxious to get home and be a family of 5, though. We had to stay 24 hours and it would have been difficult to get discharged late at night, so we made sure to have everything ready so we could be the first ones out of their on Saturday morning.
But not without a few special moments...
…and a picture with just the 3 of us :)
Getting Ben all packed up and ready to go, an old pro at this!
Heading home!
And then the real fun begins… to be continued…
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