3 weeks

Happy Birthday Gramma Karen

(or Nona as Owen calls her.)

no babies were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Silly Owen

Owen has become quite the character lately! He is into EVERYTHING and climbing like a little monkey (thanks Little Gym, no really, thanks.) He is really interested in learning, especially his letters. He is all about O, E, and F, although he can recognize a good bit more.

We went with Maggie and Miles to the park this morning to meet some friends of hers and to let the boys play. Owen had a blast and cried when we had to leave. I think he could have gone up and down the slide for HOURS!!!
I was trying to get a picture of them both. Miles was saying CHEESE and Owen was running off...probably to slide again.

The telephone is also an evil obsession. He knows the difference between a real working phone and ones we give him to play with. He now says "ello" when he picks up the phone and puts it to his hear, rambles for a few seconds and then says "bye-e."

Here he is as he is singing and playing the drums.

He wears me out, but boy do I love this little and ever so GROWING cutie pie!

The simple life

Sweet Ben

One of our friends, Joanna, came by yesterday to take pictures of Ben for us. This was a gift from her (which we could not have afforded otherwise.) Thank you Joanna for capturing my sweet and precious sleeping baby!

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After our morning walk, Maggie, Mile, Owen and myself, met Our new friends Erika and Mason, from Little Gym, at Panera. We hope to get the boys together more often for play time and Erika is planning to join Maggie and I on our daily walks.

Thanks be to food and good friends!

On Saturday afternoon Danny and I took Owen and Ben to the pool. I couldn't get in the water, but Danny and Owen had a good time splashing around. I put Ben in the stroller and had him covered and under the shelter. While we were there, we got a phone call from our friend Sara who wanted to come over and bring dinner. She brought yummy Marco's Pizza and drinks for the three of us. It was so sweet of her to do this and she also offered to stop by the grocery store and pick-up anything we needed. I already feel guilty with so many people bringing us gifts and food and considering we were at the pool, it would really look bad if we had someone else doing our grocery shopping. Ah, thanks Sara for being so great! (Note to self... I some how neglected to get a picture of Sara with Ben... must do this next time we see her!)

Today, Katherine stopped by and brought a bag of adorable clothes for Ben that her son had outgrown, baked spaghetti, salad and bread for us to have for dinner and a HUGE basket of squash and zucchini from her garden. Not to mention the Edible Arrangement of fruit she sent when we arrived home from the hospital. Katherine, YOU ROCK!

Now, this makes me question how I got so lucky to have such wonderful friends? Not that you have to bring food to be my friend or to be wonderful for that matter, but you do get extra points :)

Grove Park Inn

We met Heidi, Aaron and Jack for brunch at the Grove Park Inn today.

On my way....

This was the last picture taken of me pregnant. It was July 4th and I was almost 38 weeks.


Danny took this one today. I am 1 1/2 weeks postpartum. I am down to my prepregnancy weight, now I just need to get it all back to where it belongs.

a few pictures....

Tummy Time

(Ben actually rolled over from tummy to back)

The Thinker

GQ Owen- Just before his hair cut

Our first walk with the new double stroller

Finally getting around to hanging pictures in Ben's room

Today's Doctor's visit

Ben's BR score was 13.6, which means it's going down. YAY for BEN!!!! Perhaps being on display in front of the window and the fact that he's nursing like a champ helped! The doctor also weighed him before I left and Ben now weighs 6 lbs 7.5 oz. This is .5 oz up from his birth weight and 4.5 oz up from his visit on Monday.

I don't have to take him back until he's 2 months old.

Ben on Display

First bath at home

All clean and ready for the doctor

1 week old

Ben and his big brother, Owen (who really needs a hair cut)
I imagine Ben is like most 1 week olds. He sleeps most of the time and wakes usually just to eat. I am excited to say he is now eating a little more frequently and "the girls" are much happier!!! I went and bought a pump on Monday to help with some relief, but I would much rather my little guy be eating when he is supposed to. He is pretty much nursing every 2-3 hours, which is perfect!

I have noticed only a few changes in him. One being his little belly is starting to be more round and he is starting to "unfold" a little. He was awake a little longer today, which was fun for me! Owen was napping and I pulled out his old play mat for Ben to try out. Of course he can't interact with it yet, but he did seem to hear and respond to the musical star.

I was determined to take Owen to Little Gym today, so this morning I got up, fixed Owen's breakfast, got Owen up and dressed, dressed myself, pulled my hair back into a ponytail, dressed and nursed Ben, grabbed a Luna Bar and Root Beer and headed out the door. I realized then, I need to give myself 30 more minutes on Wednesdays. I really need a better breakfast. I was so glad I decided to go though. Owen had the best time and I really want to make sure I am still focusing on him and giving him special attention. He really seems to want mommy time to cuddle and do fun things. Ben was a perfect angel and slept the entire time. I had him in his infant carrier in the stroller and well covered. The parents and kids were very courteous and only a few asked to take a peek. I felt it was a fairly germ free experience for the little guy.

Ben's appointment yesterday didn't bring the news I wanted to hear, but the doctor didn't think we needed to start Photo Therapy just yet. His BR score went from a 15.7 to a 15.9. He said they have one of the best machines you can have in an office, but it still can't determine how significant the difference in numbers like this mean. Had it of been actual points higher, then he would be more concerned. He did have me reschedule for tomorrow, Thursday, to have him rechecked. This was so hard for me to hear. I felt I was doing everything I could do. I had him in front of a window all day, he was eating and going to the bathroom good and I didn't notice him "glowing." Although, he was a tad more yellow under the office lights than at home. I started to cry a little when the doctor was giving me the news. I don't know if it was because of the hormones or because I just want him to be perfectly-healthy. The doctor handed me a tissue and reassured me everything would be OK and this was very common. So today, I found the sunniest spot in the house (in front of the storm door) and I pulled his bassinet up to it and had him nap there for most of the morning. It's like he was on display for all the neighbors and construction workers.


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I would like to give thanks to my mom who came and helped with Owen when we first got home from the hospital. I was so sad to see her leave!

Also to Maggie for calling everyday this week to come over and play with Owen so I could nurse Ben, take him to the doctor and catch-up on things I need to do. She has been my angel and is so deserving of her wings.

And to Julie for coming to visit and for bringing us yummy Blue Sky Cafe for dinner.

I would also like to say Thank You to all your wonderful comments, calls, cards and well wishes, and to all of you who actually read our little blog. It really means a lot to me.

and the story goes...

The day of Ben's birth

July 9, 2008

(Grab a cup a coffee and a comfy chair)

I started the day like I always do. I got up around 7:45 am, got Owen up and dressed for Little Gym, made breakfast and by 8:45 am we were on our way to Little Gym. Little Gym is pretty parent involved, so I was running around with Owen and chasing him from one station to the next. I remember at one point one of the other mother's saw me cramp up and she asked if I was OK. After Little Gym, Owen and I went across the street to Toy's R Us to look for a birthday present for Miles. After 35 mins of unsuccessful shopping, we left and headed home.

When we got home, I went to the bathroom and noticed a little bit of blood (a little too much information, I'm sure). I remembered having this with Owen the morning he was born, so it alarmed me that it may be close to time. I immediately called Danny and my mom to let them know, so they could be ready at any given notice. At this point, I really wasn't having regular contractions. They were anywhere from 30 mins to an hour apart.

After lunch, I tried to lay down and rest, but all I could think about was the million and one things I needed to do. I went ahead and packed a bag for me and Ben, swept and cleaned the floors, washed the sheets, caught-up on a few e-mails and talked to Danny's mom and sister on the phone. I also gave Maggie a call to let her know what was going on. She had offered to watch Owen for us a while back.

Around 4:00 pm, Danny called to say it was a girl at works birthday and they were all going out for a drink after work. I wasn't too excited about this, but my contractions were still a good 20-30 mins apart, so I figured he might as well go out.

At about 5:15 pm, I was making Owen's dinner when I started to have a pretty painful contraction. His dinner was starting to burn, the dogs were outside barking wanting to come in and Owen managed to pull one of the kitchen chairs over on top of him. I then called Danny to see if he could come home. I was in no position to be doing all that I was doing. I did ask him to pick up Panara Bread for dinner and to stop by the grocery store to get bananas and fruit for Owen. It was a little after 6:00 pm when we got home.

I started timing my contractions then. They were coming more frequently and were much stronger. They were about 15 mins apart when I decided to get in the shower. When I got out of the shower they were coming about 8 mins apart. I called Danny's grandparents in Spartanburg (1 hour away) and asked if they would come stay the night with Owen, but I hoped they wouldn't get mad at me if it were a false alarm. After making the call, I still thought I needed to curl my hair, so I did. I pulled a chair into the bathroom, dried and curled my hair.

When I finished getting ready, I went in the kitchen and started making food for Owen for the next day. I made out a mini schedule for him with his naps and what he eats and Danny and I got those meals and snacks ready for him in the fridge.

I went to put a few things in the car and when I did, I noticed I was really in a lot of pain. I went inside and called Maggie to come sit with Owen until Nana and Bobo got there. She's only a few minutes away, which is really nice. At this point, Danny went upstairs to send and e-mail to our friends and family to let them know we were heading to the hospital. This was at about 7:45 pm.

When Maggie got here, we left for the hospital. It was my idea to take the interstate; I thought it would be faster. I didn't take into account we were having bad rain storms when I made this suggestion. When we got a few miles up I-26, we noticed traffic was at a standstill. Thank goodness we were approaching an exit. Danny crossed over and got off the interstate. We went another way to I-40 and managed to miss whatever was going on on I-26. We then get off at the hospital exit and get behind a car from Missouri that neglected to notice the light was green. I leaned over and honked the horn. We get on H-ville rd and get behind a driver from Ohio who also didn't notice his light was green. Good Lord tourists, don't you know I'm in ACTIVE LABOR????

We finally get to the hospital and Danny drops me off at the Emergency room and goes to park the car. I walk in and the men at the desk say, "oh, another one." I take it this means there are a lot of babies being born today. My contractions are about 2-3 mins apart at this point. I was standing in the lobby hugging a support beam when the escort takes me upstairs. She takes me to my room and tells the nurse how close my contractions are coming.

The nurse starts doing the things she has to do to get me admitted, meanwhile I am SCREAMING for an epidural. She asks when I was checked last and I told her Monday and that I was 4 cm and 65 % effaced. She then decides to check me. At this point I am 7 cm and way more than 65%. She runs out in the hall and starts yelling orders at people to get me admitted faster. Oh, I forgot to mention Danny and I couldn't get a hold of the doctor on call, so she didn't know we were at the hospital.

People are coming in left and right doing paper work, asking me questions, getting the delivery room and baby "station" ready. I knew the anesthelogists name was Joy, so I was asking everyone that walked in if they were Joy. Not so lucky.... The nurse takes my blood for a platelet count that was necessary for Joy to do what she needed to. It seemed like eternity for the results to come back. Danny said they were sitting at the computer hitting refresh over and over hoping the results would come in before there was no cervix left.

(I didn't mention that when Danny finally got to the room, I had to send him back to the car to get the bags. I needed the camera and baby book for Ben's feetprints.)

Ah, finally the results were in and I could get the drugs. They set me up and have me slouch down. Jill cleans my back and starts doing whatever she has to do. I am having contractions every 2 mins at this point. I was holding onto the nurse's arm (I think I was actually biting her), when I felt like I delivered a water balloon. I knew this must have been my water breaking (this didn't happen with Owen.) They get the epidural in just as I feel Ben's head dropping and dropping and I have this sudden urge to push. As I was telling the nurse my water broke, she noticed her feet getting wet, YUCK.

At this point, Dr.Harrington walks in. The hospital said they have numbers we don't have and they were able to get in touch with her.

As she's walking through the door I look at her and say, "Dr. Harrington, I think he's coming." I had said this to the nurse, but she said I was probably just feeling him drop. When Dr.H lifted the blanket to take a look, her face suggested I was right. She asked Danny if he wanted to see. Undoubtedly, Ben's head was already coming out.

I swear Dr.H's delivery get-up dropped from the ceiling, she was dressed, the nurse was breaking down the table, lifting the stirrups, putting paper and plastic down when the doctor asked if I wanted to feel. I said no (not sure why.) They didn't have to tell me to push, I couldn't help but do it anyway. I pushed 1 1/2 times and while doing so, they ask if I wanted him on my belly. I said yes, and there he was. Dr. H said I looked so shocked when they put him on me. I had no idea he would come so quickly. It was now 9:02 pm.

My epidural had yet to kick in, so they had to give me something else in order for Dr. H to do a little stitching.

At about 9:25-20, the epidural finally kicks in and I am scratching like a crack head. Does this count as a natural birth???

I guess the lady at the Japanese resturant was right.

**I think it took me longer to type this than it actually took to have the baby**

Me and Danny and our beautiful baby, Ben

Nurse Erin, me and Ben, and Dr. Harrington

Just after Ben was born, my mom arrived. I had invited her to watch the birth and she was so excited. Had she not eaten that pot pie, she just might have made it for his debut. Sorry mom, maybe next time :)

Mom stayed at the hospital until about 2:30 am. Danny walked her to her car and when he came back in the hospital, he had to stop at the visitors desk in order to come upstairs. When Danny told the guy at the desk his wife had just had a baby, the guy asked, "Did you name him Chuck?" Danny said, "No," and the guy looked at Danny and said, "That's one ugly shirt." I second this comment. When Danny and I were leaving for the hospital, I actually asked him if that was what he was planning to wear for the birth of his son.

Ben's first Well Check

Monday, July 14, 2008

Getting ready to leave for the doctor...


Weigh in at 6 lbs 3 oz still down 4 oz from his birth weight.

Ben and his doctor, Dr. Love

We have to take Ben back today to have his bilirubin checked again. His levels were a little high and they want to check him today to see if they have dropped any.

Julie came to visit...
She brought Owen a Mickey Mouse chair...

He LOVES IT!!!!

4 days old

and he's the perfect baby!



So far, Ben sleeps almost all the time. He wakes to nurse or we wake him to nurse, every 3-7 hours. He hardly makes a peep and is just as loving and sweet as can be! How did I get so lucky?

Welcome Little Ben!

We are so proud to introduce Ben Bradford Johnson. Born July 9th at 9:02 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and is 19 inches long.



We have a very interesting birth story that I will share when I feel up to writing more (for those of you who are interested in hearing it.)

Also.... I believe it would only be fair that I include both Owen and Ben somehow in the title of our blog. Any suggestions on a name change????

Cute kid of the week!

Owen was chosen as Goodyblogs Cute Kid of the Week. It's under Thursday's posts.

Check it out at http://www.goodyblog.com/playing_house/2008/07/cute-kid-thur-1.html
I'll post updates on Ben's arrival here soon. Just trying to play catch-up.

Thanks for all your thoughts and well wishes! We have the best friends and family!!!!

Love,
Crystal

20 months old

This little guy is well on his way to turning TWO. Didn't we just celebrate his first birthday???

At 20 months...

- Owen is cutting his four incisors (poor little guy)
- runs on his tiptoes and hardly ever just walks
- LOVES going to little gym and likes practicing forward rolls
- is not as fond of the swimming pool as he was last summer
- is GREAT at following directions and picking up after himself
- has a very passive and docile disposition
- LOVES play dates with his friend Miles
- Thinks both Julie and Bethany are his girlfriends. He's totally smitten!
- will say "uh-o" when he drops something, when he falls, when the phone rings, etc
- can imitate several animal sounds and will say about 20 words. Ball seems to be his favorite these days.
- Will repeat the letter's of the alphabet after you say them. Most actually sound correct, some still need a little work.
- Still loves bath time
- is infatuated with shoes (his and everyone else's)
- has to throw his own diaper away
- when he wakes-up from a nap or in the morning he always hands me his blanket to hang over the side of the crib and then he goes and turns his Sea Turtle on and talks to the fish (or "sish" as he calls them)
- is a GREAT eater!
- naps and sleeps well at night!
- gets upset if we don't give him our keys
- likes to chew ice (bad habit, I know... I imagine it feels good on his poor little gums though)
- he had started to not be as interested in books for a while after we moved, but has since started discovering some of his old favorites.

-Will squat next to me when I am using the bathroom and then insits I give him some tp. He then wipes himself (clothed) and uses the square to pretend like he's blowing his nose. It's a must see!
- still LOVES Mickey Mouse

Here was my attempt at making him Mickey pancakes... Some turned out looking more like moose rather than Mister Mickey.

Updates

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and everything is moving right along. I am now 4 cm dilated and Ben is head down at a -2 (whatever that means.) Dr. Horton said she'd be surprised if he came after his new date and would even be surprised if he waited until the 23rd.

I go back next Tuesday and if I am 5cm, she's going to admit me to the hospital and go ahead and break my water. Her fear is if I am at home and that far along and since I had such a quick labor/delivery with Owen, that I might not make it to the hospital in time.

I guess I should start packing a bag and get things ready for the little guy.

As far as the house goes, we had two more showings today. Let's hope this keeps up and leads to a good offer. Heck, perhaps even multiple offers :)

the "other" house....

Our agent is on her way to present an offer. Cross your fingers for us that this one works out. We have only had the house back on the market for 6 days, but we priced it to sell.


**Update**

The lady put in a full price offer, but her loan required we pay $5400 towards her closing costs and $7000 towards her down payment. Who has $12,400 to spare???? Not us. We might be motivated to sell, but we're not exactly desperate (yet).

Dr's apt

Today I am still measuring 3 cm, but I am now 65-70% effaced. I haven't gained any weight. Yeah! I go back Monday for another apt.

I scheduled a prenatal massage for next Friday in hopes of getting things moving. I am really hoping to have this baby before the 23rd. The 16th sounds good to me!