And that it's my right. So, right or wrong, let's get down to business!
1. WEIGHT
We were honestly stunned by Benjamin's weight. Jacob was 7 lb 4 oz over a week overdue. Nicholas was 8 lb 13 oz a week overdue. Benjamin was 8 lb 12 oz five days early. That child would have been nearly a ten pound baby had he reached a week overdue. The last month of my pregnancy I kept marveling that I ever went over with J and N because I felt so large and so uncomfortable. I guess I know why I felt that way. I still can't believe I grew such a would-be gigantor baby. Same general weight gain as with the boys, just a HUGE baby for being so early. Perhaps that's why during the c-section when they said I would feel a "little pressure" as they pushed him out I felt like an elephant (or two) was standing on my chest. I don't remember that with J and N, but with them I'd been in labor for hours and hours before the surgery. That's right hours and hours. I think that by the time the c-sections came perhaps the discomforts of the surgery blended into the discomforts of labor. Oh, how I suffer!
2. BUILD
When Benjamin was born I sort of assumed he was built like Nicholas because their weights were so close. However, Nicholas was stout. Really stout. With cheeks from here to eternity. See?
Benjamin is leaner everywhere, more like Jacob (read: chicken legs). In addition to those pencil legs Benjamin has the tiniest bottom I have ever seen. Ever. We are at a loss as to how to diaper him. Nico had ample cheeks everywhere. Wink.
3. RESEMBLANCES
As newborns, Jacob looked like Matt;
Nicholas looked like an Eskimo;
and Benjamin looks like my dad.
A lot! By the way, I love everything about this picture of my dad and his twin sister with my Grandparents.
As a toddler I would say Nico looks like my mom's family...gleefully wicked grins are apparently an inherited trait.
4. HAIR
This is the biggie in our family. I have a friend who has fairly bald babies. OK, totally bald babies (sorry Mardee). Her husband was a bit surprised when I said Benjamin had "some" hair as if it wasn't much. But, in comparison to his brothers, I still say he has the least hair.
To know the true nature of a newborn baby's hair you have to discuss it immediately post bath. Otherwise it all looks the same...dark and greasy. (Thus goes the seedy underbelly of baby hair.)
Nicholas looked like an Eskimo in part because of his thick crop of black hair. Adult hair, really. Couple that with his full face and he was a sight to behold. I remember just having to part his hair after his first wash. What else was there to do?! (All of these pics were taken after the first or second time I washed their hair.)
Darling. Oh, they are all darling. But back to the hair. Jacob's hair was the lightest in color with delicate curls.
Benjamin's is mid-range in color and those curls are tight.
His curls are perfect for a good faux-hawk...which you all know I'm partial to.
5. CUTENESS
All in all our three sons* really are beautiful. Matt's sister told me after her second child that she was amazed she had made something so perfect. I couldn't agree more. It's humbling and exciting to have these boys join our family.
OK, long anecdote. As we were driving to the hospital I was feeling a little ill at ease. I always really didn't want c-sections for many reasons, but after both of our previous attempts it was clear to us that my body was not interested in doing things traditionally. It's just weird to walk into a place healthy and whole (albeit 9 months pregnant) and pay them to slice you open. I was worried about if I'd be emotionally strong enough to do it. (Somehow a c-section is easier to go through after long, complicated labors. The drama helps.) The thing that kept me going was thinking that Benjamin was coming. I just knew he was a boy by that time and couldn't stop thinking about him. I was still super nervous, but when we got into the pre-op room and I saw the little bassinet it hit me: I am the luckiest girl in the world. (Me feeling lucky.)
I realized then that I was in store for a miracle...even if it wasn't totally on my terms. I feel so grateful for these boys. They are each of them so cute.
I am loving learning more about this darling boy Ben. I am so excited to see this little ball of clay grow and develop into a big kid and beyond. I have a feeling he's going to be pretty wonderful.
*Matt rented the first season of the TV show My Three Sons in honor of Benjamin's birth. Let me tell you...it's the most boring show on the planet. That, and they rely very heavily on the word "jeepers".
