We are having a great holiday thus far. Nona arrived on Christmas Day and Grandma and Pop arrived on Thursday. Here are a few fun pictures....

Christmas Time

It's hard to believe that Benjamin is 10 weeks old! I haven't updated the blog since before he was born. The time has been wonderful but going by oh so fast! Everyone warned us about this- so I am not surprised. All we can do is take in every single moment and enjoy it... and we are doing just that!

We are currently working on mastering the art of napping. We have Aunt Meredith aka " sleep consultant" to help guide us in the ways. Meredith is graphing and researching and lucky for me- she gives me the condensed version of what we should be doing. I have to say that things are going fairly well so far and we seem to have crafted a pretty regular routine. (yes, I am using Meredith's charting graph and Jason thinks we are nuts)

Part of the overall routine involves the evening bath which we have dubbed the "Willard Spa". Ben loves his bath time! We dim the lights and Ben gets to splash around in the warm water to relax. So much fun! Bed time falls around 9-9:30 and he will usually sleep until about 3am. Jason is off until Jan 7th and so he has been taking the 3 am shift which is absolute heaven for me. Benny is then up again around 6 and I pull him up into bed for that feeding. Oh the life of a little baby! Did I just say little? Benjamin is weighing in at 13 pounds! He is a little chunk! I can't wait to see what the dct says at his appointment next week.

I am feeling much better and just got the green light to start exercising. I have been walking and just started taking Ben in the bjorn which we both love.

We have a Christmas tree and it is beautiful. Jason put up outdoor lights as well. (a strand of red, white and then blue) which our friends are jiving us about. We are very excited for Benjamin's first Christmas- even though he won't really remember any of it, it is fun for us.

So much to be thankful for!

I go to Vallejo usually every week to visit with Mere and Alina. This week I took up matching outfits and we put Ben and Alina together and it was hysterical. (see the pics below)

This will no doubt be the first of many photo sessions with the 2 of them together.

Christmas Tree Tailgater

We went to Skyline Ranch to cut a Christmas Tree. Who knew it was a tailgate? The Barberini's knew. We had a great time. We dressed Ben in camo so the bears wouldn't notice him. LOL!

Holiday Fun

We had a fun week. Johnny and I ran a turkey trot on Sunday (no babies on the trail so Ben took the opportunity to nap) and for Thanksgiving we all went to the big house (Byron has a new friend). Maybe all the fun is what is helping him sleep a little longer at night!

He's got a pretty big baby face!

Ben is gaining chins but he is so darn cute. It must be his coach potato attitude. He was channel surfing trying to lose a chin and then I caught him dozing during the 49ers game.

He's growing so fast!

Everything is happening so quick. How do we slow it down? I guess we can't slow it down but we can just love every second of it. And if you can't tell...we are loving him!

Nona has arrived!

Mom's visit is going great. We are having fun just sitting around the house with Ben, cooking, cleaning and talking. It's so great that our family has taken the time to travel West for this special time in Ben's life. Our friends are also visiting and helping out. Gabrielle was just here today to offer Carrie a rest from breast feeding. We (Ben) couldn't be more happy!

First time for everything!

Halloween was a first. We didn't exactly go Trik or Treating but Ben got to dress up. My beautiful colleagues at OLA outfitted Ben for this special day. Thank you so much to everyone again for all your support and generosity with Ben. We love you!
xoxo, Jason, Carrie and Ben

Multi-tasking

Having a baby really does give new meaning to multi-tasking. In fact, as I type, Benjamin is laid across my body, sleeping. That is why we are so thankful for our parents. Benjamin is growing too. Holding him and doing things is getting more difficult. Tomorrow we will get an official weight. How do single parents do it? Carrie and I really do have a sense of teamwork when it comes to Ben. I think we are pretty good at parenting too (So far that is).

Family

Having Judy and Dale and Kirk and Marti here has been a huge help. The honeymoon continues next week with the arrival of my Mother, Nadine. Benjamin and Alina are lucky to have such awesome grandparents.

Swaddler

"They" say it's all about the swaddle. Right now I believe them.

Time flies when you're having fun!

It's hard to believe our little boy is already 10 days old. Time flies when you're having fun. This picture looks fun right?

Welcome home Benjamin

Michelle and Johnny had some big signs on the house when we arrived home yesterday. Very sweet. Benjamin had a great first night. He slept with us on some little newborn thingy. You'll have to ask Carrie about that. We actually, sorry, I actually got some sleep. Carrie is not getting much sleep at all and is still in a little pain but her spirits are very high. Ben's breastfeeding practice is starting to pay and he is getting the hang of it. He def doesn't like to be changed but we use a hair dryer to calm him down. A little high maintenance for me but Ben likes it. His Dr. appt went well today. Everything is normal and he has gained almost all the weight he lost. Back to 7lbs 3oz. Anyway, its great to be home. Less stressful and more peaceful. The start of a new family.

P.S. I had some trouble loading pix so visit this link http://willardphotoblog.shutterfly.com and you can see more Ben pix. (He's the one with dark hair if you couldn't tell.)

Benjamin Kirk Willard

Our little boy came via c-section early Sunday morning October 14th @ 3am. Carrie went through a lot for this little one. His birth weight was 7lb 6oz and his length was just over 19 in. Not as short as I would have guessed coming from a short guy like me. He is healthy and beautiful. I wish I had more time to call every one at this moment but as you can imagine our world has changed so much in the last few days. It is amazing. I will get some better pics up too once we go home. We are scheduled to leave the hospital tomorrow. We love you and thank you so much for your warm thoughts and prayers.

No baby yet.

We went in Tuesday night and after 5 hours of the run around, they gave Carrie the standard Oxytocin to induce labor. (They skipped the pill to soften her cervix because she was already having small, weak contractions.) It was a bad night of sleep, the room was making weird noises with all the equipment, the IV was uncomfortable and her contractions were never really that strong. (We did eat great burgers from Tony's Cable Car though.) Wednesday they kept increasing the dosage but things never really progressed. We walked small laps around Labor and Delivery saying hi to the same people trying to help move things along but no luck. Finally around 2pm today they suggested stopping the induction and sending us home. They would like to avoid a c-section if possible. The baby is healthy, Carrie is healthy and there is no risk in waiting. We wait until Friday for induction again. Let's just count on that for now. I know I said we would be three by the time of the next update but who knew? Only God and a little baby cuddling. Ciao.

It's time.........

...to go to the hospital. Carrie went in for testing today and they monitored a contraction. She felt a few more tonight during the Cowboys game. Maybe that was just the excitement of the game, not really sure. Anyway, she is scheduled to be induced tomorrow. We are a little nervous pacing around the house, packing like we are going on a cruise to the Caymans. But we will try and get some sleep because we are going to need it. It has been a long 9 months for her and she is ready so direct all the peace and positive energy you can share her way. The next time we update we will be three!

2 days over and counting

Well, despite being swollen to three times my usual size, despite the fact that I have pregnancy induced carpel tunnel and my fingers are constantly numb... I can't sleep and no position is comfortable, standing or sitting...... we all are SO ready for this baby to arrive- but despite all of this, the baby obviously is not yet ready.
This is a good lesson for me and Jason. This is the first of many things that we will have no control over with this child.
So- we wait. I try to be patient and positive. Luckily I have Alina to occupy most of my days. Thankfully my Mom and Dale are here cooking and entertaining and keeping things fun.
It could be much worse!
I will keep walking and walking and just hope this little one finds it way sooner rather than later!
If I haven't gone in to labor, my next appt is Friday at which point we will see how things are progressing. My dct says we will then schedule induction. Yikes! I want this baby to come naturally.
Think good thoughts of naturally coming- coming SOON and hopefully as pain free as possible.
:-)

a few updated Alina pics...
with Dad

Alina with Uncle Jason in her favorite position

Alina Carolyn Noyes

I am completely totally 100% in love with my new niece!~

Meredith and Roger are settling into newborn routine and I am getting a great crash course! Tuesday Alina had her first walk and her first bath!

Only 2 days to go for me. I am so swollen and uncomfortable and I am very anxious for this little one to come out!

What are the chances it will actually happen on our due date? probably zero.
We will keep you posted.
Much love to all and thanks so much for your good wishes!

Sweet Alina asleep on my chest...resting on the belly which holds her future cousin!

Final Week

So it is hard to believe that we are in the final week~ My due date is Saturday but who knows if this baby will be on time.

I think I had a contraction last night but only one and it didn't really amount to anything.

Still, today I am rechecking our bags and our lists to make sure we are ready to go. I have this feeling it will be a middle of the night affair. Jason just had the bag conversation with me- which was basically emphasizing that I have too many- so I am trying to consolidate. I only have 1! But then we need to have a few extra things- like the cooler with snacks for him etc. etc. No matter how I try to streamline, we will end up with a couple bags. I just want to be prepared and have everything we need. (ok, so mabye I do have a small overpacking problem)

My Mom and Dale arrived yesterday and were very excited to get their first glimpse of baby Alina. Jason made an awesome Italian dinner for everyone.

So now we settle into this week. Mom and Dale will be staying with Mere and Roger and helping them get settled with Alina and we will wait to see when this little one is ready to make his/her appearance in the world.

WOOOSAH