2 Year Anniversary

In honor of our two year anniversary today, I've made a photo montage of Brad and I throughout the years, beginning with college. Since we started dating in 2002, my life has gotten better and better. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us. If it is anything like these past six years, we are in for an amazing ride. Happy anniversary, Braddy.

Just click below because for some reason I can't get the video to just post...

Our Life over the Years

One Month Old

Today our little Benjamin is one month old! I can't believe it. Time sure does fly and I'm already dreading going back to work. At his one month appointment, Ben was 9lbs 15 oz an 21 inches long. Right on track.

Here are some things that Ben has been up to in the past month:

I have started to "hold" my bottle. Now my mommy thinks I'm a genius. And she is just so proud that it's with my left hand so that I actually have one trait of hers! (Daddy has been trying to force me to use my right hand behind her back!)

I love to look at myself in the mirror during tummy time. See, Mom. I AM like you!

One of my favorite pastimes is crying. It's funny to see the reaction all the adults give me.

I have been passed around quite a bit over these past few weeks. Sometimes when I'm annoyed, I pee or spit up on people. That sure is fun!

Most of the time, though, I have just been hanging out looking cute.

Oh, and sleeping, of course. That is, when I feel like it.

Job Description

I thought I'd let everyone in on what it entails to be Ben's mom. Here was my schedule last night:

7pm Bottle/Change Diaper

730pm Bath

8pm Bed

10pm Unswaddle, Bottle/Change Diaper, Reswaddle

12am Unswaddle, Bottle/Change Diaper, Reswaddle

1am Baby screaming, Unswaddle, Change Diaper, Reswaddle, Baby still screaming, Unswaddle

2am Baby screaming, Bottle/Change Diaper, Swaddle, Unswaddle, Baby finally quiet

3am Baby screaming, Bottle again? Yes, bottle/change diaper, swaddle, unswaddle, more crying, rocking, swaddle, unswaddle, rocking....

and here's the wild man at 4am, happy as a clam:

Finally at 5am, the little guy went to bed. I had to get creative, though. I was desperate!

Of course, he was up again at 7am to start another crazy day!

The story of my life...

Why, oh why, does this always happen to me at 4am when I am deliriously tired?!?

Cheese.

Yesterday my mom and I took Benjamin for some professional pictures because she was having a FIT that I hadn't had any done yet. Meanwhile, he's only 4 weeks old! Anyway, Benjamin was so calm and sweet. We got some really cute pictures. They'll be online until July 15th. Check them out here. http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventthumbs?event=Y4000Y8Y&b=0&t=-1&start=0&password=Eich

Firsts

Since Benjamin is being *such* a good boy this evening (he went to bed at 8pm with no hassle!), I thought I'd update his "firsts."

Benjamin John's first breath

Here he is in his first outfit (thanks Tim and Nicole!), getting ready to leave the hospital.

And, Benjamin finally makes his first appearance in the outside world on May 23!

Here he is during his first real bath on June 12 at 3 weeks old. As you can see, he was NOT thrilled.

And, of course, yesterday Ben and Brad had their first Father's Day. I had to have him all dressed up in his Yankee gear for his daddy, a life long fan!

Ben was just slightly tempermental!

Thankfully he calmed down after getting his paci.

And here are three generations of Eichs. Benjamin is the first grandchild for Jim and Carol.

Bloggy Style

So, I've decided to embark on a new journey into the wonderful world of blogging. There are many reasons why, mainly because I wanted to document Ben's milestones and typing is just so much easier for me. Secondly, I think it is a great way for our family to get to "see" the baby without physically being here. And, of course, I just needed something else to be addicted to since myspace is starting to get old.

I'll start off with the birth story. I started having contractions around 4:30am on Tuesday morning, May 20th. (My due date was May 23rd.) They were very light, but consistently coming every five minutes. This made me freak out a little, so what did I do? I went into the nursery and started cleaning and straightening up! Then I decided to shower. I paced for awhile and finally woke Brad up at 6:30am. Unlike in the movies where you see the husband jump out of bed upon hearing their wives are in labor, mine informs me that he will get up in 10 minutes and goes back to snoring! In the meantime, I decided to call my doctor. He told me to hang out until my contractions were a 10 out of 10 on the pain scale!! This seemed extreme, however I took his advice. I went out to lunch with my brother and mom. I took a nap. And then around 2pm the contractions were so strong that they took my breath away. I knew it was time to go to the hospital.

Upon arrival at the hospital, I was only a fingertip dilated but 100% effaced. They admitted me anyway around 3:30pm. From 3:30-7pm, I dealt with paralyzing contractions. Thankfully, around 7 I was 5cm dilated, so in came the anesthesiologist. Let me tell you, that epidural was pure bliss. I had so many friends and family at the hospital and since I was feeling great, they all came into my room and we watched the American Idol finale until they were kicked out to the waiting room around 930pm. At 10pm, I was fully dilated, but my contractions were not strong enough for the doctor's liking. I was given pitocin to create longer, stronger contractions and my epidural was turned off! By midnight, I was ready to start pushing...or at least THEY were ready for me to start pushing.

The first hour was HELL! The nurses were all very calm and quietly coached me to push. This did not help me and actually discouraged me to the point that I started begging for a c-section. The nurses seemed to give up and in came Dr. Brescia--my knight in shining armour! He scolded me for wanting MAJOR SURGERY and told me that I COULD naturally deliver this baby. For the next hour, he coached me all the way through and finally, at 2:20am, our beautiful baby Benjamin was born. As you can see, I was so out of it and just exhausted that I couldn't fully appreciate the moment.

But, Brad was on CLOUD 9!! He was absolutely amazing through it all. I couldn't have made it through without him...even if I did tell him to be quiet a few times during labor!

Benjamin John arrived at 2:20am on May 21 and was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 20 inches long. He has been the light of our lives ever since.