Thursday, May 31, 2007

2 week check up

Benjamin had his two week check up today. He weighed in at 9lbs 6ozs, and measured 21 and 3/4 inches. It looks like Benjamin is trying to catch up with his older siblings! Another healthy Krajca Kid!

Benjamin was also circumcised, which is a whole other story in and of itself. Curtis told me that it wasn't blogable. :-) Poor Mommy! It was more traumatic for me than for him.... I think.

The new trick Benjamin is doing is attempting to hold up his head. It's so funny because when he does, he wrinkles up his forehead like a little old man. His other new trick is rolling over! Yeah, crazy, I know!!! We're trying to get it on video just so that everyone knows I'm not really exaggerating. I've lost track of how many times he's done it, but it's enough to where I know it's not a fluke. Like I said, he's already trying to catch up with his older siblings.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Sleep talking

I am blind as a bat without my contacts in. Because of this, the clock is on Curtis' side of the bed. Even when it was on my side of the bed, I couldn't see it, and would ask Curtis what time it was.

I fed Benjamin at 11 pm. Since he's such a good little eater/sleeper, I thought it would be several hours before I was up to feed him again. When he started crying, and I woke up, it didn't feel like several hours. So I poke Curtis, and asked him what time it was. No response. I poke him again, he asks, "What?!"

"Is it even 2:00 yet?" I ask my dear husband.

"It will be later," is his response. Despite being slightly annoyed, I found his response rather amusing, since I knew he was just as sleepy as I.

Back to bed for Mommy!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Look!

Benjamin is opening his eyes a lot more, and staying awake longer. I've been trying to get a picture of him with his eyes open, but they all kinda creep me out. :-) I like this one though, he's making such a cute little baby face! So, here's what Benjamin looks like with his eyes open!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Learning about Benjamin

Having a new baby in the house is an amazing change, especially when it's not your first. With Elizabeth, I had no clue what to expect. When Micah came around, I almost assumed he would be the same kind of baby as Elizabeth, and when he wasn't, I was thrown for a loop. This time around, I have tried to be a little more open minded, remembering that each of my children will be different, even as babies. Here's what I've learned about Benjamin so far.

  • He loves to snuggle.
  • He sleeps best on his tummy.
  • There are times when he just wants his Mommy.
  • His right leg will often stick straight out, while every other appendage is curled up.
  • The only part of bath time that is good is having the water poured on his body, everything else deserves to be screamed at.
  • Socks will not stay on his feet.
  • He can sleep for several hours at a time, making him my best sleeper so far.
  • We think he looks like a mini Micah and thus, a mini Curtis.
  • He scowls, just like my other kids.
  • He's not that fond of the swing.
  • He loves to be swaddled.

Benjamin is such a sweet baby! Since I already had more that one baby, I knew that the love I have for my children would multiply. But it continues to amaze me how much I love each and every one of my children!

Having a big brother


Benjamin is learning that having a big brother can be tough. Micah is fascinated by Benjamin's pacy! I love the look on Micah's face. "I'm not doing anything Mom!" or maybe "Yep, I'm stealing the pacy, who cares!" Aww, the joys of brothers!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Funny....

If you want to see something funny, check out some of the times when my blogs are published. Just goes to show the place I am in life right now. And of course, I love it, and wouldn't have it any other way!!!

And the winner...

Actually, it's winners!

You can release that breath that you've been holding! I checked, and now have the results from the Baby Poll.

Date of Birth: Michael
Time of Birth: Michael, predicted around lunch... right on the money!
Weight: Amy was five ounces under, and her sister Alicia was three ounces over.
Length: Lindsay, only 1/4 in. over, and the smallest guess!
Hair: Deanna, the only prediction for blond. Who would have guessed?? Well, besides Deanna!

Sorry this is a glamorous as the prize gets. But, if you want, I'll let you come watch all THREE of of my kids as an extra prize! Oh, and if you didn't win, you can come watch all my kids as a consolation prize. :-)

Due Date

Tomorrow is my due date. Funny, because I think most people thought that the 15th was my due date! I think a lot of people will think that Benjamin's birthday is the 15th, including me. I had to focus when I was asked my the pediatrician's office when his birthday was.

As many of you know, or guessed, finding out I was pregnant was quite the surprise! I remember looking at the positive pregnancy test, then looking at Micah, who couldn't even sit up on his own yet. But as a friend of mine said of her surprise baby, we're thankful that God knew just what we needed... a Benjamin David Krajca! We are so thankful for this sweet baby, and look forward to seeing the many reasons why God brought him into our family.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Thoughts at 3am

I should be sleeping right now, I know. But it's been a crazy night for Benjamin and I!

Benjamin got kicked out of the nursery earlier this evening. Okay, that might be a little dramatic. Here's the scoop. The hospital rule is that there must be an awake adult in the room with a new baby at all times. Since Curtis is at home, to take the kids to church, I gave Benjamin to the nursery as soon as he had finished nursing and was asleep. I immediately curl up, and go to sleep. 45 minutes later, Benjamin is back! The nurse said that he was screaming, and she couldn't calm him down. So, Benjamin and I got some high quality bonding time!

For some reason, I don't feel like I'm in College Station anymore. When I watch TV and see something about Bryan/College Station, I get surprised. Strange, I know. But being in the hospital forever is new to me. And I guess my body is just taking some adjustment time.

I LOVE morphine! The doc, gives gave me a shot of it yesterday right before surgery. It's a great way to help with the post op pain. Unfortunately, it only lasts for the first 24 hours after surgery. Needless to say, I was a little bummed when suddenly, I'm in pain! And of course, the icing on the cake is that the nurses make c-section moms walk. But, compared to how I did with Micah, I feel much better! And, thankfully they give you other pain meds too!

I haven't seen outside since Friday morning. I knew I would be in the hospital through the weekend. It's just weird to think that everyone else gets to get up, an go about their days, and I had to struggle to sit, get up and move, and I can't leave these hallways.

I feel guilty when I page a nurse for something. There are times when I think it's okay, like when the IV is beeping. But I hate paging and saying, "Hi, I need water again." I know it's their job, but I really do feel like I'm imposing sometimes. Oh, and when I page and ask for more pain killers, I feel like a druggie looking for her next fix. I just hate paging! That's all there is to that.

Graham crackers and grape juice make for a strange combination. I was given these two thing just a little bit ago, so that I could take some medicine. Now I have a weird after taste and crumbs in my bed.

Those are all my musings for now. I'm sure something else will pop into my head as I wait for Benjamin to come back from the nursery and nurse again. Until then, I might try to sneak a nap in.

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Friday, May 18, 2007

It's a Boy!

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children of one's youth.

Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!"

Psalm 125:4-5


Knowing that we are truly blessed, we joyfully

announce the birth of our son,


Benjamin David


Born on May 18th

Weighing 8 lb. 14 oz.

and measuring 20 1/2 in.


Please join us as we celebrate the addition of another child to our quiver.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

May 18th

We have a date! Benjamin will be born via c-section on Friday, the 18th, sometime around noon.

Here's the long version of the story. :-)

I went to the doctor today, and had made no progress in the past two weeks. Because of that, and because risks from my c-section with Micah, my doctor said he would not induce. He said that we could continue to wait, and see if I went into labor naturally, or we could go ahead and plan a c-section date.

Curtis and I were caught off guard that induction was no longer an option, and felt a little rushed in making a decision. While the doctor went to check O.R. availability, we talked through our options. Our concern is the recovery time that is involved with a c-section, while taking care of the other two kiddos. We decided that we would schedule a c-section for late next week (which would be right around my due date) and hope labor would begin.

However, the only available time to do a c-section is the 18th. Even though this isn't the option we wanted, we really feel like God made it very clear what door we need to go through. There is still a chance that I could go into labor, in which case, my doctor would just let me go. Benjamin is on the big side, but that isn't our main concern. Our main concern is complication from the previous c-section.

So, in less that 48 hours, we will be a family of five! Please keep the following things in prayer.
*Safety of Benjamin.
*Safety for myself during the c-section, and a smooth recovery afterwards.
*Pray for the different family members who will be driving in to be here with us on Friday.
*Pray for peace for Curtis and I. This isn't the road we were wanting to take, but we still want the end result of a healthy baby.

Thanks!

The end of an era

No 15th birthday for Benjamin. Now, people are going to have to try to remember another day of the month. :-) Oh well!

I have an appointment today, where hopefully, we will schedule an induction date. We want this baby to be small!!

Out of 11 people, 7 voted that Benjamin would be born tomorrow. Even Curtis thought he would be here yesterday, if not sooner. Up untill about 10pm, Curtis was still holding out hope. :-)

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Lots of Babies...

Just not one for us yet.

Including myself, there were five of us due between May 20th and May 29th. Well, three of my friends have now had their babies. And my sister-in-law is scheduled to be induced on Saturday. My three friends have welcomed very healthy babies, and I am so excited for each of them. Erin welcomed her son into the world early this morning! So, we have a 15th baby, just not Benjamin.

I'm so excited for all the healthy births that we have had, and will continue to have on Saturday when my nephew Carter should arrive.

Now I'm just ready for it to be my turn!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Life Verse

For each of our children, Curtis and I have chosen a "life verse". We finally decided on Benjamin's verse.

"Of Benjamin he said, 'The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders.' "

We really liked how it had Benjamin's name in the verse! Here are a few that we didn't like.

"And as her soul was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin." Gen. 35:18

"Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil." Gen. 49:27

Hopefully, this time tomorrow, we will be sending out news of Benjamin's arrival!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Place your bets!

Time to make birth predictions about Benjamin! If you win (even if it's just partial) you get the GREAT honor of being named of Benjamin's blog! I know, it doesn't get better than that. So, get out your lucky rabbits foot and tell us.....

Date of Birth
Approximate time of day (morning, evening...)
Weight
Length
Hair or no hair

For some back ground info:
Elizabeth was born on 06/15/04 and Micah was born on 3/15/06.
Elizabeth was born at night and Micah was born in the morning.
Elizabeth weighed 8lbs 2oz and Micah weighed 10 lbs 14 ozs.
Elizabeth was 21 1/4 inches and Micah was 21 3/4 inches.
Both Elizabeth had Micah had tons of hair, Elizabeth's was jet black, and Micah's was red.

Friday, May 11, 2007

Same?!?!

I went to the doc. today (actually, I saw the clinic's midwife) and there is nothing new happening on the baby front. Literally, NOTHING had changed.

Lee, I think I see C&J's in my future.....

By the way, I've eaten two whole pineapples in the past five days, to no avail. So, that's out the window!

The only bright spot in all this is that tomorrow is my baby shower! I'm so excited! We haven't bought any diapers yet, so I think tomorrow's shower is very good timing. :-)

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Movie Manners

Here's a bit advice for you, the next time you go to a movie, and see someone who is rather pregnant.


* Don't sit next to the lady who's nine months pregnant. Odds are, she's sitting so close to the aisle to make her frequent trips to the bathroom a little bit easier.

* If for some reason, you do see the need to sit, blocking the aisle exit, don't make any comments to pregnant lady as she is trying to climb over you to get to the bathroom. In case you weren't aware, a woman who is nine months pregnant does not enjoy hearing you say, "Oh my goodness!" as she tries to climb over you.

* Don't try to engage the pregnant woman in conversation. First of all, you're both in the middle of the movie!! Secondly, she probably has very nice husband who can ask her questions, such as, "Are you okay?!?!" Thirdly, the only objective in her mind at that moment is to get out as quickly as possible to make it to the bathroom.

Yes, I am afraid to say that all these things happened to me last night while Curtis and I were out to see Spiderman 3 (VERY good movie by the way). Isn't it funny the things that come out of the mouths of some people? Oh well. I'm very pleased that these are the first truly tacky comments that I have received this pregnancy.

Monday, May 07, 2007

No news....

No news, no baby. So much for the whole 05/06/07 birthday.

I had another appointment today. Still making progress, just not rapid progress. For those of you who know what all this means, I'm 1 1/2 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and the baby is at -2 station. All good things. The doctor did confirm what I suspected, and Benjamin is very low.

So now we wait more.

I go to see the midwife on Friday. Then, next Wednesday, I go back to see my doc. He said at that point, if Benjamin's not here, we will look at other options (induction). It's nice to know that there will be an end, even if I'm not there yet.

The good news is that every thing's looking great with Benjamin!

And if anyone has any suggestions on how to encourage this process along, let me know! I actually ate and entire pineapple last night, having heard that it could help. :-) I'm game for ALMOST anything.

Friday, May 04, 2007

Full Term!

37 weeks today, and I'm now officially full term!

And, I had my ultrasound today, and Benjamin looks great!! He is estimated to weigh 8lbs 5 ozs, and is measuring 39 weeks and 1 day. Even though that sounds big, it's still well within "normal". I got a little worried at one point when they were measuring his head, and the measurement was "Not in Range." That can't be good. :-)

The ultrasound tech said that he was very low, and that he could really come at any point. Yay!! So maybe the moon and it's gravitational pull did do me some good.

So, now the waiting game has begun. Of course, it could still be weeks before Benjamin comes, but I think we're all expecting a lot sooner now. I'm personally hoping for Sunday. Then, his birthday would be 05/06/07. That would almost be as cool as having another baby on the 15th.

Stay posted....

A profile shot, with his hand by his face.

What's been kicking my side for the last few weeks... a foot!

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Stupid Full Moon

Last night we had a full moon. There's a running debate between doctors and pregnant women who are tired of being pregnant, if there's any truth to the whole "babies come at a full moon" thing. Some believe that because of the gravitational pull the moon has, it can send lots of women into labor.

Well, not me!

And I guess that a good thing since I'm not full term till tomorrow. Add to that the fact that Curtis has nicely asked me to not have this baby till next week, and Christi has asked me to wait till after my baby shower on the 12th, and my Mom and Dad can't be here till the 13th.

So, here I sit. Still pregnant. And mad that I got my hopes up.

Oh, and I checked, and the next full moon is on May 31st, which is almost a week after my due date. The cool thing is that full moon is a blue moon (the second full moon in a month), so if Benjamin waits till then, I could say he was born on a blue moon. But, there is the obvious down side that he would be almost a week late.

It's good to know that Benjamin's days are already numbered, including when they will begin.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Dr. Positive

I had another doctor's appointment today. Things are finally starting to get exciting. Before, I just went in, heard the heartbeat, and was done.

But today I got "checked for progress." The doctor said Benjamin has dropped, is head down, and moving towards the exit! Things are also starting to progress with me too. All good signs pointing to the end of the pregnancy! I was kinda hoping that the doc. would tell me that things were going so well and fast, that the baby would be born any day. Probably not the case. As I was leaving, I told him, "See you next week," to which he replied, "If not sooner, you never know!" That was good to hear! Thanks Dr. Positive.

Something the doctor wants to do, which I wasn't expecting, is another ultrasound. We still have no reason to believe that Benjamin will be as big as Micah, but we wants to double check, since Curtis and I do tend to have rather large babies. Third trimester ultrasounds are always fun! Hopefully, it will be sometime later this week, and I'll get some good pics!