The newest member of the Allen family has arrived! Our little peanut, Benjamin Ames, made his way into the world at 11:21 a.m. on May 31st, more than six weeks before his due date. Alex and I are over the moon and can’t wait to introduce him to our family and friends!
Ben was born at 33 weeks 2 days gestation and weighed 3 pounds 3 ounces and was 15 inches long. His apgar scores were 8 and 9. He may be a tiny peanut but he sure is mighty.
Being a preemie, Ben is requiring some special care, though no immediate interventions were needed right after his birth. About an hour after delivery the doctors put him on a very low dose of oxygen, and we were informed that has been removed already as of today because he is doing so well.
He is currently in the NICU at the same hospital I’m recovering at. We don’t know how long he’ll be there for – at the longest, until his due-date {mid-July} but it really could just be for a few weeks. At this point he’s hanging out in the NICU staying warm and plumping up – growing and feeding, they say! Alex has been able to go back and forth to visit Ben quite a bit and I’ve made two trips up to the NICU. Today will be the first day we’ll get to do skin-to-skin and hold him!
My recovery is going really well so far too. Ben was born by cesarean section, which makes for a little bit longer of a recovery and hospitalization. We’re taking things one step at a time right now and cherishing the little moments with our Benjamin.
Stay tuned for Ben’s birth story and more updates 🙂