Introducing...

Benjamin Anders Witmer! Benjamin entered this world on Tuesday, May 24, weighing in at 7 lbs, 6oz. and 19 inches long. I went into labor around 2:30am that day and after about 15 hours of back labor and an hour and a half of pushing he arrived at 5:50pm. Overall, it was an easier labor than Katie, but easy is a relative term! We are thankful for the great care we received and of course for our healthy, beautiful baby boy.

So far he has been a pretty high maintenance baby. He often cries throughout the day, even when he's not hungry or wet. It can be stressful for all of us, including Katie; nobody wants to hear someone in distress! But there's not much we can do for him. We're hoping this fussy stage passes quickly. He is just starting to sleep a little better at night...he's still up every 3 hours to nurse but he's starting to go right back to sleep. Praise God for that! Katie loves him dearly and will often hug and kiss him without being prompted by us. She's been a great help to me by sitting patiently while I nurse or change his diaper. She is still a 19-month old, complete with screaming and tantrums, but all in all I'd say she's adjusted very well to her new brother. We all can't wait until he's big enough to play with her!

Here are some pictures from his first month of life. Thank you so much to everyone who has called, visited, brought meals, prayed for us, etc. It's been a tough month but your support has made it much more bearable! I'll try to post again when I can but life with 2 under 20 months is quite busy. Thanks for sticking with us!