"hey I remember this.."

Alicia showing Ben the caterpillar toy as she said "I remember playing with this." :)

3 weeks

Happy 3 weeks old, Benjamin.

Here's some info about our little guy:

Last Friday we had a quick checkup and Ben tipped the scale at 8 pounds, 3 ounces. Note, he left the hospital at an even 7 pounds, so yeah Ben for some nice weight gain! Also, he had some eye crusties, which we got some eye drops for and it appears to be getting better too.

Ben "likes":

mommy and daddy holding me

my big sister singing songs to me

Grandma Kloss spending time with me last week

my little light up musical seahorse

my swing

to eat (I think we've hit a growth spurt the last week here, as it feels all we do is feed/eat)

Ben "dislikes":

messy diapers

gas

getting my clothes changed

empty bottles

Cheezzeee

Ben's Birth-Day Story

We were just a few days shy of the 39 week mark. What an accomplishment for us to get this far! We had been concerned all along that the preeclampsia or the blood clot concerns with mommy's health would put us at an earlier due date. But wow, modern medicine and great doctors really rock and allowed us to get to this point. So, Monday, January 31, mommy had another routine appointment at the doctor's office. For the last month or so, we had weekly non-stress tests to monitor the baby to make sure mommy and baby were handling the pregnancy well. Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for us to fail the non-stress test in the dr's office and get sent over to the hospital for an extended non-stress test/monitoring at the labor and delivery floor. Let's just say, we were getting to know and see some familiar faces and names of some of the nurses on that floor :) On Monday when we were told the non-stress test wasn't getting the readings they liked, we weren't completely sure this was really IT. So they did one more check of the baby and did an ultrasound in the office and saw my fluid levels dropped significantly from last week too. That was the final straw to send me over to the hospital. We were to come back in a few hours after we had a meal and had gathered our belongings for an induction.

Sidenote: This was kind of a blessing to us, as quickly approaching was one of Chicagoland's biggest snowstorms. It ended up being the 3 largest blizzard in Chicagoland history dumping over 20+ inches of snow starting late Monday evening continuing into mid-week. So we were safely stuck inside the hospital getting great care while the weather outside was quite blustery. I guess if I had to be stuck or stranded somewhere during a blizzard, the hospital was the place to be :)

So, Monday evening, the induction started. Mommy had been having some contractions on and off before hand and was already dialating some, so we just had to turn up the pitocin and see how fast things progressed! Tuesday, February 1, Mommy's water was broke at about 6:30 that morning, and the contractions started rearing its ugly head and mommy ordered the epidural by mid-morning.

By 1 o'clock, the contractions and pitocin were also taking a task on little peanut too, as when mommy had a contraction, baby's heart rate would drop. :( With the nurses and doctor watching us closely, we were almost ready to deliver naturally and began to push. However, the pushing began to appear too stressful for the baby and we were immediately rushed off for an emergency c-section. At 1:30, we were signing consent forms and daddy was being sent off to find some scrubs to go to the operating room. By 1:46 p.m. baby Benjamin safely arrived into our world. During our stay, we had a few friends stop by the hospital, and of course, a special big sister, Alicia, was able to make an appearance after the snow settled so she could finally meet her new baby brother. On Friday, Feb. 4, all were headed home to start our life of the family of 4!!

Just chilling. What's up?

Super Bowl 2011!

The newborns appear ready to duke it out during this evening's superbowl between the Packers and the Steelers. Alicia's ready to officiate the matter (however she may not be the most impartial judge here).

Cali @ Age 17 Weeks

Ben @ Age 0.5 Weeks
Alicia @ Age 242 Weeks

Note: This may be a good backdrop for someone's desktop back in dbq

Go Hawks!

Ben's first game!

Ben's decided to watch parts of the Iowa BB Game with his dad. :) Tomorrow i'm sure he'll watch his first superbowl in packer attire. (If only the Bears had won)

Here's a pic.. (he didn't cooperate too much earlier), but we were able to sneak this pic with the iphone.

We survived the first nite, and now its just getting in a routine.

Its Time to Wake up!

Alicia visited Ben again today. She's really looking forward to playing with Ben. She tried to get him to wake up to play. Here's a short video of the encounter.

Note: the Super Big Sister Shirt she's wearing. She was all excited about that.

Ben/Alicia & Fredbird

GoCards!

Benjamin Russell Kluesner

Born: 2/1/2011 1:46pm

Weight: 7lbs 7oz

Height: 22.5 inches

I know some of you will want the original pictures. We'll create an album so you can download them. In the mean time, the collage was the fastest method for getting some pix up.

Enjoy and stay tuned.