Ben's Here!

Surprise! Our sweet little man made his entrance EARLY! Benjamin Jason Miner arrived at 1:49pm on December 2, 2013. He weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces and 21 inches long.

Contractions:
Madison felt "pressure" that she describes as similar to feeling a bowel movement coming on at 3:10am the morning of December 2nd. By 4:00am, a contraction counter app was purchased for her iPhone to confirm what she already was certain of: that it's time to wake up the hubby. The contractions were on average 6-8 minutes apart and lasted about 30-50 seconds. We grabbed the recommended bags and chargers and got the car ready to go. Our amazing neighbors, Jennifer and Holly, lovingly received our pup, Penny, and we headed to the hospital.

Arrival at hospital:
We arrived around 7:00am, checked in, and Madison was hooked up to the monitors. One monitor clocked her contraction frequency, intervals, and intensity while the other followed Ben's heart rate. Madison received her requested epidural around 9:30 or 10:00am. By noon Madison was only 5 cm's and the delivery room was flowing with the love of Grammie Fran and Grandpa Bill, Aunt Alicia, Aunt Melissa, Aunt Allison, and Natalie. And the rest of our family and friends were told to take their time in coming since a first-time-mom usually doesn't deliver quickly. When the group left for lunch, Aunt Alicia stayed to entertain Madison when the atmosphere quickly changed. Here's Madison's view around 9:00 AM:

 Mom, Dad, & Jason

Go-Time:
After 30 minutes of shorter intervals of heavy contractions, the nurse came back in and our delivery doctor, Dr. Linzey, was called in to check dilation again. Jason and the rest of our gang came back in time to hear Dr. Linzey announce to our nurse and long-time friend, Debbie Bolton, that it was time to push!
Delivery:
Jason coached Madison through the entire delivery while Aunt Alicia photographed all the amazing moments, and Aunt Allison and Grammie Fran cheered, ooed, and held feet for pushing. Grandpa Bill sat  anxiously in the corner where his view was safe and Natalie, Aunt Melissa, Grandpa Robert, Grandma Arlene, Uncle Buddy and Great Aunt Jane waited anxiously with their ears pressed to the delivery room door. After about 17 contractions with 3 breath holds and pushes per contraction, Dr. Linzey returned, assumed his "catching position", and instructed Madison on where to aim her pushes. Grandma Jody and Grandpa Michael were called on Skype to watch live from Florida and Madison only had 3 more contractions or 9 more pushes left. In just over 10 hours of labor and 30 minutes of pushing, little Ben arrived kicking and screaming.

Here are some more fun shots of Ben's stay in the hospital:

Four generations of "Miner" men. (Bob, Jason, Benjamin, and Robert)

Post delivery after Jason's first diaper change.

I get to go home! Yay!

Thank you for your prayers so far and for the ones throughout Ben's life. Our two days were filled with outpourings of love and guests. Our two nights in the hospital were long and wearisome, especially for Madison, whom fed Ben all night long with only short rests inbetween feedings. Please pray our transition at home is swift, productive, and positive.

Patience...an attribute I do not claim - 39 weeks

Ok, sweet Benjamin, we are ready to meet you in person! 

Here we are still waiting for our son to make his grand entrance. Penny is very happy, though, as she was made a new dog bed thanks to Jennifer (our friend and next door neighbor) teaching Madison how to use her sewing machine. The second it was stuffed with its memory foam, Penny was a happy girl. We put it in Ben's room since Penny has been found resting in there on numerous occasions. Here she is:

Oh, and I'm sure you see our rocking chair that will be getting a lot of use in the near future. We've also hung up the rad homemade boxes Grandpa Robert and Grandma Arlene made. They now hold our diapers, wipes, and baby bottom necessities. They go perfectly with the room's decor! And a shelf was hung to hold the vintage roadsters, money banks, and Orange "B".

Madison has been beyond blessed with her position at Bright Star speech not only with having a job, but also with her coworkers. They surprised her on her last day at Bright Star before maternity leave with this amazing display, loads of diapers, and a Winnie the Pooh stuffy:

This has been such an amazing time for the both of us to experience one of God's greatest gifts growing inside of Madison. Miracles do exist, people! Please pray for us as our time is nearly up! Only 2 weeks until we get to meet Ben!