A few more pics of Ben

Benton has Arrived!

Jenifer's the one that started this webpage but I'll be the first to post since she is asleep right now and want to get out a few pics of our new son. Turns out that the baby was upside down (his feet were on the bottom) so we go in on wednesday for a "Version" (the medical term for an in-utero backflip) and it was unsuccessful. It also turns out that during the version, the placenta was partially separated which then caused her water to break about 24 hours later about 1845 on Thursday the 18th with a slightly scary detail. After rushing to the hospital, and an immediate C-section (baby was still upside down) Benton ("Ben") Michael Carvell joined us at 2022, he was 6 lbs 9 oz, 19 inches long and just about 2 weeks early. Both baby and mom are doing well. This all happened about 14 minutes after she posted the previous blog.

Make Room for Plan B

Plan A : Jenifer will separate from the Air Force and stay at home with the baby, making it easier to travel with Jordan on his deployments/TDYs and visit family in the States.

Plan B : The Air Force will not let Jenifer separate until 2010, but does offer transfer to a job with more manageable hours for day care and the chance to hone her secretarial skills once again.

Plan A : The baby will turn and be born the traditional way just as we had planned and practiced.

Plan B : The baby has decided to remain breech after several failed attempts to turn him and Jenifer will be scheduled for a C-section in the near future.

To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn

Jenifer is now 36 weeks pregnant and counting down the days until delivery. The thought that pregnancy lasts 9 months is a fallacy...it's actually 10 months (or 40 weeks). Maybe that is what they tell you so that people will continue to procreate. It's the $9.99 theory...if an item were priced $10 that would be too much, but make it $9.99 and you haven't quite reached that double digit.

Anyway, this has been a fairly easy pregnancy; no morning sickness, no complications, no overwhelming discomfort. This baby has had it easy. So easy, in fact, that he hasn't felt the need to turn head down and prepare for his journey into the light. He got comfortable laying on his back with his head buried in Jenifer's right flank and his little feet and knees kicking up into her rib cage. (I said no "overwhelming" discomfort; I never said it was discomfort free). But, he's healthy and active and for this we are thankful. To correct his positioning, we are scheduled for an external cephalic version next Wednesday. This is a procedure that consists of two doctors pulling and tugging on the belly to try to manually turn the baby upside down. If the procedure does not work, then the baby will have to be delivered via C-section (not a first choice of ours). So, wish us luck and here's hoping the baby will perform his first somersault.

One final note: some friends of ours are very talented with the camera and they agreed to take some pictures of the Belly. They all turned out wonderfully, below are just a few: