FAQ

How'd you decide on his name?
Long ago, well before I was pregnant, I was sure that if we ever had another boy, we'd be in trouble because "Jackson" was the only boys' name that Kyle and I could agree on the first time around. Around that time, I was on Nicole's blog for the first time and loved the name of her middle son . . . Bennett. I mentioned it to Kyle and he loved it too. When I found out I was pregnant, we didn't remember it right away, but eventually came back to it and decided that it was perfect!

Nelson is my dad's first name . . . thus it became Ben's middle name.

Who does he look like?
His brother! He looks remarkably similar to Jack's baby pictures. But he looks remarkably different at the same time. It's appropriate that Ben's middle name is after my dad because he favors the Wietholter side of the family more than Jack did, but you can definitely tell he's a Luke, too.

How's Bennett sleeping?
This is a good morning for me to answer that. Up until now, he's been up quite a bit at night, but we think we traced his discomfort to a diaper rash and upset tummy. Last night, He slept long and pretty well, waking up only to nurse. I still feel tired, but not as awful as I have the last few mornings. I'm sick, too, which has added to my fatigue.

I've changed my strategy a little, too, regarding sleep and have tried to get to bed early, knowing that I'll be able to get stuff done early the next morning.

His REALLY long stretches of sleep start about an hour before Jack wakes up. He LOVES the sling and will sleep really well in there under almost any circumstance. I've been getting quite a bit done in the wee hours of the morning because he'll just ride in the sling.

If you know me, you know that I don't really sleep past 7 no matter what, so that makes it hard, too. I've tried to nap here and there, but it's usually pointless. Often, if I'm nursing laying down, I'll fall asleep for a little bit, though.

How's nursing going?
Extraordinarily well. He latched on with every little help right from the start. Jack never had major problems nursing, but it did take a lot more work. I'm sure that my experience has a little bit to do with it. I felt pretty confident going into it.

He would nurse all day if he could. After our second night of what I call the "all-he-can-eat" buffet, I decided that he had to use a pacifier if I was going to survive. The blisters and cracking were more than I could handle. Even with the pacifier, they're still a lot to handle.

How have his Dr. appointments been?
He had moderate bilirubin levels when we left the hospital, so we had to have him tested over the weekend and again on Monday. They're back to normal. THis is exactly what happened with Jack, so we weren't too worried. Our choice of pediatrician's office has been further affirmed over the last week. We've always loved them, and continue to be grateful for everyone in the office.

He was back to his birthweight on day 3 (DAY! THREE! I told you the kid nurses well.) so we don't have to go back until his one month check up.

When does open the shop back up?
It never closed. I was actually answering e-mail from the hospital. I didn't close up the shop at all because I'm entering the busiest time of the year. I've had some friendly criticism for that, but it's a significant source of income for us and I didn't feel like it would be wise. This has added some stress, but I'm caught up now and it's not seeming as bad.

Have you done his newborn photos yet?
I tried yesterday. Any confidence I had as a photographer of newborns has been totally shot to the ground. The kid will not stay asleep and I feel totally incompetent. My goal for today is to get ONE decent photo for the birth announcement. Just ONE. Why is it that neither of my kids like to have their pictures taken? It's killing me . . .