Our Babies

Benjamin Matthew is our first born. Here he is pictured at about three months of age. His middle name was chosen for his Grandpa Richard Matthew Krist. He arrived exactly one month early. My water broke on Saturday morning, January 22, 2005, the day of the biggest blizzard that winter (9-13 inches of snow), when I was lying in bed. I was induced and I had an epideral. Ben was born vaginally at 4:31 PM. He was 7 lbs, 6 oz and 20 in. We had not been around a lot of babies, so it took us a while to figure things out. I hope he was in no way negatively impacted by our inexperience. He is so special, such a sweet, loving boy. From the beginning, Ben had a healthy appetite and typically ate whatever we fed him. I nursed him for about 15 months and made his baby food from organic fruits and veggies. I pumped milk for Ben when I returned to work part-time after three months. He developed a large vocabulary pretty quickly. His first words were dada, dog, duck, giggle, nose and cookie. Ben is now about to turn 5 years old. He weighs 45 lbs and measures 3 ft. 7 in tall. He attends Christ the Life Preschool three days a week. His teacher describes Ben as an observer, well behaved, and a "pretty mellow fellow." Ben is enthusiastic about school. He has an excellent memory. Ben has a great imagination and loves to role play. He loves reading books, building things, riding his bike and playing games (like Cooties, Chutes & Ladders, Checkers, Go Fish, etc.). He enjoys being Dad, Mom, Grandpa and Grandma's helpers. Ben loves his sisters.

Abigail Joy is our middle child. Here she is pictured at about 3 months of age. She was full term (37.5 weeks) when she was born. My water broke on Monday morning, January 8, 2007, when I was at work. I was also induced with Abby and had an epideral. She was born vaginally at 4:50 PM. She was 8 lbs, 7 oz. and 20.5 in. Abby was a pretty laid back baby. She spent a lot of time as a baby in the Baby Bjorn carrier. She dropped the pacifier quickly in favor of her thumb. I also nursed Abby for 16 months. She was the easiest of the three to nurse from the beginning. She benefitted from Ben's lack of pickiness when it came to foods. I also made all of Abby's baby food (with the exception of prunes, which we bought jarred) from organic fruits and vegetables. I also learned to make Super Porridge, from the Super Baby Foods book by Ruth Yaron, with organic grains (oatmeal, millet, brown rice) and legumes (beans and lentils). I pumped milk for Abby when I went back to work part-time again. We switched to glass bottles when she was about 8 months old. She was also a good communicator early on. Her first words included dada, mama, Abby, hi and mine. Abby is now about to turn 3 years old. She weighs 29 lbs and measures 3 ft, 1 in tall. She is adjusting to being a big sister. Abby adores her big brother who she often calls "Benny". Abby is our little comedian. She is so full of expression and enthusiasm. Abby has a passion for her books and can be content for hours "reading" aloud from her memory. She loves to be cuddled and to copy her brother. She loves music, princesses and nursery rhymes. Abby is certainly a joy!

Lorelai Sue is our youngest child. Here she is pictured at two months old. Her middle name was chosen for her Grandma Susan Lee Krist. Lorelai was born on her due date, Wednesday, October 7, 2009, by induction due to my gestational diabetes diagnosis during her pregnancy. I was induced that morning and gave birth vaginally without any pain medication. We were blessed to welcome our healthy baby girl to our family after two first trimester miscarriages the previous year. She was born at 1:34 PM and we went home the next day. She weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz. and measured 21.25 in. By my third full term pregnancy, I was eating almost exclusively organic. Lorelai is also exclusively breastfed. She spends a lot of time in my Moby Wrap and is quite attached to her Mommy (I am quite fond of her as well!). She is now 2 1/2 months old. She weighs just over 10 pounds and measures over 23 in. We are excited to watch as her personality develops. She sure is a blessing, as are her older siblings!