Brandon Michael Hill

Good evening everyone!!! Just wanted to let you all know (if you haven't heard) that Brandon Michael Hill has finally arrived!!!

Ben, Brandon, and I are home from the hospital and are attempting to adjust to life as a family of 4!...It's been an interesting first day to say the least!

Brandon was born on Thursday, August 21st at 4:21 am and weighed in at a VERY HEALTHY 7lb 10oz and is 21 inches long. I'm going to let the doctor know that 7'10" is closer to 8lbs than it is 7lbs! :) So far Brandon is doing excellent and just trying to get used to all these crazy people that are in his life. I tried to warn him about his big brother, but there were just not enough words! I bet he wishes he could crawl back into the safety of the amniotic fluid, but it ain't happenin'! :-)

I am doing great and wanted to say thank you to everyone for the thoughts, calls, texts, flowers, prayers, or anything else you may have done. I know I didn't respond to hardly anyone, but everything was very much appreciated. I will try to get back to returning some messages over the next week, but please accept my apologies if I don't get back to you; it's only an error of mind, not of heart.

Russell is doing great with Brandon; he already wants to help with everything! He has tested the waters to see what he can get away with, but that's too be expected so we're having to go ahead and set the record straight that nothing has changed that much! Other than that, he has been great. You can already tell that he loves his little brother so much.

Of course I have pictures, but getting them posted is kind of at the bottom of the to do list right now. I'll get some pictures up in a few days; just know that he is the absolutely most handsome little boy in all of GA.:-)

Thank you all again for everything. Ben and I appreciate it all and can't wait to introduce our newest addition to each and everyone of you!! Take care and check back soon for pictures!!

Love,
Ben, Lindsey, Russell and Brandon

Still Counting Down

So at this point I'm just a little aggravated with my still unborn child, and I really could kick (HARD!) the midwife who said she thought I would have this baby early as well! I am due in a little over 5 days, and according to my doctor, this little guy has pitched a tent and seems to plan on staying a bit longer! I already have one stubborn child...I guess I'm going to be adding another to my brood!
As of today, the doctor has also estimated the baby to be right around 7 lbs. Of course this is just based on my measurements and by pushing on my belly to see how much room he's taking up, but it sounds about right considering Russell was 6 lbs 5 oz and was 13 days early. If I'm still pregnant next week, I assume they'll do an ultrasound just to confirm the baby's size as well as the state of his current environment, but I'm not 100% sure about that.
At my appointment last week I was given the option to induce labor sometime this week, assuming my body was ready to do so, but I was told today that I could not be induced even if I wanted to be. Apparently my body has not done what it needs to do to be ready for delivery. I don't want to be induced if it's not absolutely necessary, but to be told that I couldn't be even if I wanted to was not exactly what I wanted to hear either. My sister-in-law accused me of being selfish and wanting to keep the baby to myself as long as possible, but I assure you that is not the case at this point. I am MORE THAN WILLING to share him with everyone, if he would just come out!
My doctor told me to schedule another visit in one week, which will then be a day past my due date (not thrilled to hear that option either!) but on an encouraging note he did say that he hopes to see me again sometime this week. I don't know if that means anything, but I'm going to grab onto it for dear life and hope it happens.
In other exciting news, we are now completely ready for if/when the baby gets here. Some of you knew that our crib we used with Russell had been recalled so we had to send parts of it back to the manufacturer in order to replace the crib. Well UPS temporarily lost the package so I didn't know if we would get the replacement voucher or not. The crib company did give us a voucher and we were able to find another crib that matches the existing furniture, so the nursery is now all set. I went this past weekend and got a car seat, since we also needed a new one of those, and last but certainly the most important of all, we have decided on a name for this stubborn brat. Brandon Michael Hill. Hopefully Mr. Brandon will join us before too much longer so that we'll have a face to finally put with the name, but at this point don't hold your breath! My bags are packed and ready to go, so if Mother Nature will hurry up and do her thing we'll be all set. I hope to be able to update the blog again in the next few days with pictures of our new addition, but we'll see if that pans out or not. Until then, take care and please whisper a little prayer for a healthy baby boy. Lord knows he's taking his own sweet time to prepare for this world! :)