Second City: Welcome to the world Bennett Ray

We were surprised to learn that we were expecting a baby when E was only 9 months old. We had planned to have a third but not so close together. This pregnancy was by far the most stressful and hardest of the three. We changed jobs, moved across country and bought a house. It certainly made the 9 months exciting.

I tested positive for Group B early on and almost tested positive for GD. Other than those 2 things the pregnancy was pretty uneventful other than the aches and pains and horrible heartburn. I guess that explains the hair. One of the most exciting things about this pregnancy was a good friend and I were due on the same day and my college roommate and another friend were due a week later. They were all expecting girls and two of them were named Chloe.

Up until we found out that B was a boy, I thought we were having a girl. Wishful thinking? Maybe. I also thought I was going to deliver early, but you arrived one day before your due date. My doctor told me most people go into labor during the night so the week before you were due I went to bed expecting to start contractions overnight. It never happened so when I thought I was peeing myself the morning of May 27 I didn't give it much thought. I was waking up about every 30 minutes "needing to pee". My water had never broke before and if it was going to I expected a big gush, which I think is a myth only played out in the movies. Finally around 6:00 am I woke David up and told him what was going on. I went ahead and called the doctor and told her what was going on. She advised me to come on in since I was positive for Group B. We took our time getting ready since I wasn't having contractions. I was only half packed for the hospital. The kids were mostly ready to head to grandmas. The hospital was in Lee's Summit and roughly 35 minutes away. We loaded up the Fusion (the Pilot was still in the shop) and headed out. First stopping by CFA in case I was admitted. At this point I wasn't convinced I was in labor.

The hospital was expecting us and quickly admitted me. David took the kids over to grandmas and returned just before they checked me. It was determined that in fact my water was leaking and I needed to get on an antibiotic. We headed to another room where we would deliver.

They waited some time to see if my contractions would start, but they didn't. So on Pitocin I went, but the nurse forgot to connect the fluids. It took about 30 minutes for me to realize that nothing was happening. Finally I was hooked up and requested the epidural. I felt great and watched a movie while trying to rest. The bed was really uncomfortable and after switching sides the baby's heart rate dropped dramatically. Three nurses came rushing in trying to get me in a position where the heart rate would increase. Nothing was working so finally they had me get on my hands and knees. This position helped, but it made things harder for me and they gave me oxygen. This was my first experience with oxygen that I can remember. The baby's heart rate stabilized and I was able to return to a normal position. It wasn't much longer until I started to really feel the contractions. By now the epidural was wearing off and I wanted to start pushing. They called the on call doctor over from the office and we were a go. After about 15 minutes of pushing B arrived with a full head of hair. He looked like C's twin only with boy parts and he was covered in vernix. I was able to cut the cord and they handed him to me after checking him out.

He cried the most of the 3 that I remember and didn't want to latch right away. I thought like I was failing him, but he didn't seem interested in eating just crying. After a little while we were transferred to another room. The room was awesome. David and I both had our own tvs and B had his own little bed and stayed with us the entire time we were at the hospital.

It took us more than 24 hours to decide on a name. I'm glad we didn't settle on anything beforehand. We had two names as the top contenders, but I couldn't imagine calling him either one of those names. When David mentioned Bennett, a name I had suggested early on but was vetoed, I knew it was the perfect fit. We hadn't planned on all the kids names ending in TT but it works. Now we had to figure out a middle name. Both my Dad and Grandpa were named Raymond so that's were the Ray is from. We are so in love with our little boy.

Newborn Stats

Height: 20.5 inches

Weight: 8 lbs. 6 oz.

Time: 5:16pm

Fun Facts

Top Song of the Week: Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake

New York Times Bestseller: 15th Affair by James Patterson

No more photos

Still no name

Grandma and Big Sister came up the next day to visit. E had a fever and was unable to visit B in the hospital. C was smitten right away and couldn't wait to hold him.