Another Little Miracle

Our sweet little boy, Benjamin Liam Martinsen, was born Friday, November 23 at 7:40 in the morning. He was 20 in. and weighed 8 1/2 pounds. He is a perfect, healthy, beautiful little boy and we already love him so much! 
    The labor and delivery was by far the easiest of our 3 babies. My water broke Friday morning at about 1:30, after which I called my neighbor to come over and sleep on our couch - he was ready to come! So she came over and we took off to the hospital. That's when my contractions started and they were hard and strong! The sad thing about having him the day after Thanksgiving was that I ate quite a lot and then on top of that, Rob and I finished off a bag of salt and vinegar chips. Needless to say, I was very nauseous and threw up several times. I asked for an epideral but the nurse said they had to monitor me for an hour before I could have one. After seeing the state I was in, the nurse received permission to give it to me sooner. Aahhhh, the sight of that man - he is my best friend. After that, it was smooth sailin'! We waited for a few hours, I pushed for about 10 minutes and he was here. He was born posterior, meaning his face was upwards when he came out, which is harder on them. So when he came out he had a large squishy lump on his head that looked quite alarming. Rob put it gently and said, "He looks like an ork!" All the nurses gave him a dirty look. It went away quickly though and now he looks like a human:)

We feel so very blessed to have our three little angels. Party of 5! We just bought a new minivan to fit us all in. Fun times! 

The girls were so excited to meet their little baby brother (and they also enjoyed the cookies and graham crackers on the table).

 

Jodi came and relieved our neighbor and stayed with the girls for the day. She also cleaned our whole house (I hired some cleaners to come but they never showed up and Jodi said, "Well, I can do that - you don't have to pay someone!). She's a super hero. The girls were ecstatic because she was taking them to her house in Logan for a couple of days while we were in the hospital. They loooove their cousins! Jodi, thank you, thank you, thank you!! You are amazing!

Ahhh, a little father son bonding time:) Rob is really thrilled about not being so outnumbered anymore. Those two are going to be great friends. There's also a bit of sleep deprivation in those eyes. Our first night home, Benjamin did not go to sleep until about 2:30, which we have now found is a pattern. We called the nursery because we had sent him there in the hospital for both nights so we could get some sleep. The nurse gave a little laugh and said, "Is your name Martinsen?" That's never a good sign. "Yeah, he didn't sleep at all, we pretty much had to hold and rock him all night." Okay, thanks for the heads up! So we've got a little night owl that will hopefully figure out the difference between night and day sometime soon:) 
The hardest thing is that now both Olivia and Brooky have stomach flu and have been throwing up all night. So Rob takes the shift with the girls and I get Benjamin shift. The girls wake up at 6:00 everyday (or earlier), so we've been watching a lot of movies first thing so Mom and Dad can get a bit more rest!
If you read our last post about Brooklyn, we're pretty sure she was anticipating a big change in the family which made her panicky and anxious. Everytime Rob or I left her to sleep she would cry Mommy, Daddy! and she would freak out. She was waking up at 4:30 every morning, wouldn't nap, she was basically a mess. Now that Ben is here, she is back to her normal, good sleeping habits (knock on wood). So interesting how kids can feel that there's going to be a change. We're so glad she's over it:)

This was a pre-stomach flu picture with Olivia, who has said over and over again, "Our baby brother is so cute!" She is going to be a great helper. She's been playing a lot with her babies, taking good care of them and now she has a real one! Brooky has also been especially interested in little babies. When we visit her cousin Camry, she loves to pat and kiss her head. I haven't got a picture with Brooky and Ben yet because at this point, she had stomach flu! So sad.

Grandma Monson with her 8th and newest grandson. What a sweetie pie!

This was the cute outfit that Megan and Jodi picked out for Ben to go home from the hospital in. So cute! Grandma Monson made most of the blankets Ben is using. Thanks Mom!!

Handsome little devil!

Our little football/guitar playing rock star. Welcome to our family little Benjamin. We love you!!