And then we had a Benji!

By now we've announced to you all already that our third family member has finally arrived! BUT you've only seen about 1/8th of the photos we've taken.

The first two weeks of life with Mr. Benji have been the classic challenge everyone promised: a sleepless fog of diaper explosions, sore nipples and high-decibel communication (happy to report that baby's lungs are in full working condition).

Mat has been Super Dad while I've been recovering - I basically do nothing but sleep, nurse, and take pictures of the baby; Mat does literally everything else! We decided early on that our original plan of having the baby sleep in our room in a bassinette for the first weeks/months, as opposed to in his own room in the crib, wasn't lending itself to productive sleep patterns - there was no use in having both of us exhausted from round-the-clock feedings! So I take the nightshifts while Mat sleeps, but then he cooks, cleans, runs errands, does small projects to make our lives healthier and more eco-friendly (homemade baby wipes! homemade baby soap! homemade diaper cream!), as well as tending to my raw post-natal emotional state. He truly is our super-hero :) I know we are so lucky to both be on leave and do this together... can't imagine trying to stay sane and do it all while he went to school or work!

The birth story is two-parts terrible, three-parts nightmare, and I think I'll write about it soon because it will help me work through it. But the short of it is: Benji was born at 11:16 p.m. on May 21 of a completely unplanned and entirely unwelcome caesarian section, after what was perhaps the worst birth experience we could have imagined (and honestly, I would have NEVER imagined it). Not only did it leave a physical scar, but several mental and emotional ones as well; it's a story worth the time to really sit down and write it out... when I have a few moments more than a series of 2-hour sprints interrupted by the Call for the Boob. 

But on a happier note - here are some photos!

Naptime photos come out the most sophisticated. :)

The first couple of bath-times didn't go over well - but after we discovered it was better to get in the tub WITH him and let him be partially submerged, he really loved it! 

We haven't decided which of us he looks like...I don't think he really favors either of us! Did we get the right baby from the hospital?

He sleeps SO LONG in the car seat, it's like magic! When we brought him home from the hospital, we were so afraid to wake him, we just left him in it until he woke up!

Until next time!