We decided some time ago to name baby boy "Bennett", but I suppose it can be blog official now. I'm not sure how we came up with it. I saw or heard it somewhere, and played around with it (and possibly researched origins and meaning and popularity, as I am known to do). We started calling him Bennett to test it out, and I suppose it stuck when we told Callie that his name was Bennett. (She only ever calls him Baby Bennett, by the way. Totally adorbs.) It was a little late to turn back once she started pointing out my "big big belly" to everyone that passed by and letting them know that that's her brother, Baby Bennett.
Bennett is a derivitive of the latin Benedictus (as are all Ben-rooted names) which means "Blessed". For babies, it can be interpreted as "blessed little one", but I prefer to interpret it to mean that we all are blessed with this little life who made his way to us and decided to stick around.
While Bennett has traditionally been a last name, originating mostly from England and Normady, it is gaining popularity as a first name, and Bryann and I both think it's fun as a kids name, and is sophisticated as a man's name. It's still not in the top 100 as far as boys names go, which was one of our preferences, but it's sharply on the rise, so who knows. Perhaps the world will be flooded with Bennetts in a few years, and our teen son will use it in his arsenal of reasons to be mad at us for ruining his life. :-P
In other news, the nursery is ready, aside from a couple of boxes of goodwill donations and bags of wrapping paper, tags, hangers, and other unwrapping garbage that just needs to be taken out! I have been meaning to get it cleaned up so I can take photos of the room before it's occupied.... Add that to our to-do list over the next few days. Aside from that, we have everything we need. Pack'n'play is set up in our bedroom, next to the bed. Diaper bag is packed for the hospital. Infant car seat is in the car and ready to go. I am SO far ahead of the game the 2nd time around, I should get an award! I had some serious nesting syndrome with this pregnancy, and hardly felt the need to nest at all with Callie. Who knows if that has any links to Bennett's personality, but time will tell.
Callie is getting excited to meet her baby brother. The other day she let us know that it was her job to get baby Bennett out of his crib... we had to have a discussion about what jobs Callie is well suited for - playing with baby, giving hugs and kisses, tickling baby, helping us get diapers, reading to baby - and what jobs were for mommy and daddy only - picking up baby, feeding baby, changing baby's diaper. C has been around enough infants that I think she has an idea of what we're all in for, but we'll see whether expectations meet reality when she's faced with her attention-stealing baby brother. But she's so kind and gentle with our friends babies, that I'm confident she'll adjust well.
What Baby T has been up to:
- Bennett is the size of a mini-watermelon right now. We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and Bryann wanted to do a pic comparing a pumpkin to my belly, but I conveniently forgot to do it. heehee
- He was considered full term after 37 weeks, and has really just been putting on the pounds over the last few weeks. His lungs are now fully developed and he's been practicing breathing (my OB even saw it!) and has been hiccuping a few times a day.
- He also likes to practice stretching and kicking and trying to tumble around like the good ol' days, but he's run out of room and so just ends up kneeing me in the ribs instead.
Pregnancy symptoms include:
- Ugh! These last few weeks really suck. I have managed to avoid the stretch marks and the swelling, but if it's on the list otherwise, I've got it! Heartburn, restless leg, itchy abdomen, back pain, round ligament pain, exhaustion and fatigue, constipation and gas, and the list goes on.
- I feel like I have a mini-pharmacy at my bedside. I take my prenatals at night as well as some pepcid for the heartburn, some benedryl for the restless leg and to help me get to sleep, some TUMS for the heartburn that I currently have, and saline spray for my simultaneously dry and congested nose (what?!)
- The strong desire to not be pregnant anymore. I remember during my last few weeks with C, I was ok being pregnant awhile longer. Catch up on rest, sleep a little longer, enjoy the final days before my life completely changed. But not this time. I'm ready. Let's do this. I am already not sleeping longer than 2 hour stretches from either needing to pee or needing to burp or feeling like I'm going to vomit from the acid reflux. I'd rather have a reason I'm not sleeping, like feeding a baby, than dealing with this crap any longer!
