Chubby Bubby

Ben is growing so fast!! Look at this beautiful chubby little body. These shots were taken on 29th May. Ben was 9 weeks old.

Beth and Peters Wedding

On 20th May, my cousin Beth was married to Peter Smith. Somehow we managed not to get a single shot of the groom. Anyway... here's some snaps of the happy event. This was our first trip away with Ben and the first time Uncle Matt, Uncle Justin and Robbie Pop had met him. We also got to meet Dad's fiance, Jasmine. It was a great night!!

Boys Boys Boys

Why is everyone having boys?? I've joined a mothers group in Stockton and all but one of the babies are boys. We also have four nephews between us and not one niece. Lucky they are all good looking little fellas. We're thinking a boy band would keep all the parents happy in early retirement. This shot was taken on 22nd May. Beth is feeding Alfie, Brett is holding Elliot, Paul is holding Ben and Nikki is holding her little boy Jet. Nikki is one of the Mums from the mothers group and lives just round the corner. We've also learned that Nikki is a big fan of champagne... I'm looking forward to exploring this shared love a little further.

Holding Hands

On 15th May Elliott and Kel came to visit. Elliott and Ben had really missed each other since they last met and decided to get really close and hold hands.

My First Mothers Day

Ben was such a thoughtful little fella on Mother's Day. He made Mummy a very special card and organised a day trip out with Unnie, Nanna Judy, Aunty Sal, Aunty Jane and cousins Nick and Will. Dad was also there!!

Aunty Chris Drops In

On 12th May Aunty Chris came back to visit Ben (and also to go to Great Aunty Peggy's 80th). That night I went to Aunty Peg's party with Aunty Chris and Mum while Matt and Unnie looked after Ben.

Ben's First Ferry Ride

On 9th May Ben had his first trip on the Stockton Ferry! Aunty Jane, cousin Will and Unnie were all there to witness this milestone!

Ben Meets Alfie

I mentioned in an earlier post that we had met Beth and Paul in antenatal classes. Beth was due about a month after Kel and I, and on 3rd May another boy was added to our little troop. Poor little Alfie had a very tough time in his first few days. Beth's labour was long and difficult (to say the least) and the little fella had to be resuscitated for 8 mins after he was born. Needless to say the days after Alfie's birth were a worrying time for his parents and we were all anxious to hear good news. Happily, Alfie proved that he is a little Aussie battler and has subsequently recovered and gone from strength to strength. We're sure that Alfie, Elliott and Ben will be great mates!! Maybe they'll all play for the socceroos .. or the wallabies..!!

Autumn in Stockton

Autumn has been sensational this year. These shots were taken out and about in Stockton in early May. The image at the top is of Unnie and Nick looking at a pod of dolphins off Stockton breakwall.

Ben and His Aunts

Here's Ben with his Aunts.

Isn't he lucky to have a trio of blond-haired blue-eyed beauties who love him so much? We think the uncles are pretty fond of him too.... but they aren't so photogenic!

Life Gets Better

With everyone's help and a little more serotonin on board life really started to improve. As you can see from these shots Ben and I started enjoying walks on the beach with Jane, Judy and Will, a visit to the hospital to see Mel and Sylvain's little boy Luka (very cute - looks like his grandad!!) and a visit from Travis who looks a lot scarier in this shot then he is in real life.

Life Gets Tough

By the time Ben was four weeks old I had been diagnosed with post natal depression. Despite the fact that Ben has been the most wonderful addition to our family, my hormones and some really tough times with breastfeeding got the better of me. In working through this very rough patch we have been so lucky to have the support of our friends and family who have totally wrapped us up and looked after us. We particularly want to thank our three Mums: Judy, Annie and Aunty Chris who all put their lives on hold for a time to help us. Thanks also to Bop for knowing the right words to say. Sally for the CDs and the lovely words. We also want to thank Emma who came to visit Ben for a couple of days, found me in a mess and stayed for a week. This was a big deal; Emma's got two little boys at home and another baby on the way. Justin, thank you so much for looking after the boys so Em could do this. And a huge thank you to the Watsons. Janey, you've been a rock, thank you for listening to me and buoying me up. And Matt particularly wants to thank you for all the food ... everyone knows how he loves his food. To all of our friends thank you so much: Manda and Adam for the tulips, Amanda for the note in the cot, Emily for knowing exactly what I was going through, Liz for the biscuits, Katy for the nipple shields field trip, Libby for the long talk, Kel and Beth for being so supportive, Catherine, Renee and Veronica for the champagne, Meg for the phone calls and especially for the letter, Rachel for listening, Julie for the poo consult, Anna for the handbag book, Mel and Sylvain for the flowers, Anjanette for the risotto, Renay and Chad for the chocolate, Snooze for the empathy, Al for the wise words, Jane-Maree for the reassurance, Joclyn for the curry, Caroline for the long telephone conversation. I was such a mess and everyone's kindness really helped. Another good thing that came out of this was the fantastic support we continue to receive from health professionals. Things are much much better now. I've stopped putting Ben to the breast, but I'm expressing and Ben gets about 500mL breast milk and about the same amount of formula. I'm also taking antidepressants and feeling fantastic. Thanks to all of this we've been able to get on and enjoy our little man and we are all now on the right track.

Just a Touch of Gangrene

When Ben was about a week old his cord got REALLY smelly. I rang the hospital and asked if it could possibly be infected. But reassuringly they told us that it was normal and was just a touch of gangrene. Obviously Ben isn't looking gangrenous in this photo. But its so cute (and you can just see the tiniest little bit of cord left on his belly button)

Ben Gets Out and About

Ben started going to the beach, taking the dogs for a walk and even convinced Daddy to pretend he was a stork. Ben was about three weeks old in these photos.

Our First Family Portrait

This photo was taken when Ben was two weeks old.

Ben Meets Elliott

On 3rd of April, when Ben was 6 days old his new best friend Elliott Finn Graham was born to Kel and Brett. Of course Ben needed to meet his new friend ASAP. Here they are hanging out together when Elliott was 2 days old. Looks like Ben's bored Elliott to sleep... he does go on.

Emily Strikes Gold Again

My amazingly talented and generous friend Emily once again hit the mark with these images. Emily came to our place when Ben was five days old and took countless beautiful shots. We couldn't put them all on the blog so here are just a couple of samples of her work. OK yes the subject matter is pretty cute but it takes a special kinda girl to really capture that cuteness so well. Thanks again Em!!!

Snowball Comes Home

There were lots of really good things about being in hospital; meeting other Mums, getting lots of help with breastfeeding and having two hot meals day (the food was surprisingly good!). But after two sleepless nights in a shared ward I was desperate to come home. The hospital offered home maternity services for anyone discharged earlier than five days so we decided to bring the little Snowball home. This is one of the first pictures we took of Ben at home. He's curled up on the beautiful quilt made for him by Kel.

Making New Friends

Thankyou to all those visitors who came to meet Ben while we were in hospital. Here are a few snaps of some of Ben's new friends. Sorry we didn't take photos of everyone who came. Don't think we were getting enough sleep to concentrate!!

Meeting the Family

Visitors started rolling in!! And it seemed like the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins were possibly more excited than Mum and Dad at the arrival of our little bundle of joy.