Simon Benjamin Hollingsworth

born Friday, 6 October 2006 at 8:14am
at BryanLGH Medical Center
8 lbs, 2.8 oz, 19.75+"

It's another boy! This morning we got up early for the C-section we had scheduled at 8am. Everything went smoothly, and we now have a healthy baby boy. Simon is our third child, behind Micah (6.5 yrs old) and Noelle (4.5 yrs old). Simon is a Hebrew name meaning "to hear" or "to be heard". Benjamin, also Hebrew, means "Son of my right hand," and is his Dad's first name. He's got blue eyes, just like all the boys in our family, and a moderate amount of brown hair.

At 8 lbs, 2.8 oz, and 19.75" long, he's somewhat lighter and considerably shorter than his siblings were (Micah was 9-5 and 22.5"), but he was also the earliest birth of the three (10 days early). [Note: After measuring 22+" at several checkups, we're pretty sure they mis-measured him at the hospital. I did notice that they didn't stretch his leg out very far at the time. He was probably closer to 21" long.]

We know the Lord was watching over us, because when Dr. Taylor pulled him out, he found that the umbilical cord was tied in a loose knot. Had we delayed the delivery much longer or attempted a vaginal birth, the knot may have tightened, which would have been bad. We're so grateful that He's watching over us!

Simon slept almost his entire first day. We rarely saw his baby blues after his first couple hours. In fact, he's been more interested in sleeping than eating, which may become a concern if he keeps it up. Stacy has been pretty tired and in some pain, but nothing unexpected for a C-section. Since this is her third one, I think she's getting the routine down. Unfortunately, she hasn't gotten nearly as much sleep as her son has. Hopefully, she'll be able to catch up before we head home from the hospital on Monday.

Ben's parents brought Micah and Noelle came to see him around 5pm. Both kids were very excited to hold and "pet" him, and kept asking to make sure "he was ours" and "we could keep him." It's a hospital, kids, not a pet store. Micah was especially eager to hold him. When we called him at school to tell him Simon was born, he danced all the way from the office back to his 1st grade classroom. (Are you allowed to dance in the halls at a Christian school?)

Here's a few of the better photos from the 100+ that I took on his first day. You can find large versions of these and others here.

Day 2 (Saturday, 7 Oct)

Simon slept through his first day when we really wanted him to eat. Around 2am, he finally decided he was too hungry to sleep, and kept Stacy and I awake most of the night while he ate every half hour. He was awake a bit more on Saturday. I'm at home tonight with the older kids to give Grandma a break. Stacy is healing, and she was able to put on street clothes and walk around a bit today since they disconnected all her wires and tubes. The nurses brought each baby a Husker shirt, blanket and cap to celebrate the NU-ISU football game (NU won 28-14).

I read Simon his first book today: "Sheep in a Jeep." This has traditionally been the first book I've read to all our kids.

Day 3 (Sunday, 8 Oct)

Simon was awake and hungry most of Saturday night, too. The kids and I spent a couple hours at the hospital in the morning, then the kids went to Grandma's for the day. I stayed and held Simon so Stacy could sleep a while. He slept for three hours straight this afternoon. Hopefully he'll have some extended naps during the night rather than staying awake and hungry all night like he has so far. Stacy is getting around pretty well now, thanks in good part to the industrial-strength pain killers. They'll come home late Monday morning.

Day 14 (Thursday, 19 Oct)

Simon came home early Monday afternoon on the 9th. It took him a few days to get his nights and days straightened out. Even now, he still prefers to be awake about the time the older kids (and Stacy) to go bed. He spends more time awake now than he did last week, but still sleeps most of the day. It's very fun to sit here with him -- just the two of us -- and watch him squirm and look at things, holding him and staring into each others' eyes. Although we haven't measured him since the day after he came home, he appears to be growing by leaps and bounds, since he eats about every 90 minutes. Stacy is recovering from her surgery, and is getting around pretty well now. The lack of sleep (breast feeding every 90 minutes all night) seems to be her worst ongoing problem.

Comparing Simon with Micah's first week photos, it's uncanny how much they look alike. Micah had pudgier cheeks, but Simon is catching up thanks to all his eating. You can certainly tell they're brothers. He's also developing dimples on his cheeks like his sister has.

Day 18 (Monday, 23 Oct)

Simon had a checkup today at the doctor's office. This is two weeks after he left the hospital. In that time, he's gained nearly 2 lbs and more than 2" in length (up to 9 lbs, 1 oz, and 22" long). The doctor couldn't believe it. Did I mention he's been eating like a horse?

7 Weeks (25 Nov)

Simon's still eating lots and gaining weight accordingly. He's well over 11 lbs now. He's sleeping better at night, and staying awake for longer stretches. He figured out how to smile a couple weeks ago, and does plenty of that when he sees people he knows. This boy loves his Mamma!

2 Months (6 Dec)

Simon had his checkup today. He's 24.5" long (95th percentile) and weighs 13 lbs, 10 oz (90th percentile), which is 5.5 lbs more than his birth weight and 6.5 lbs more than when he left the hospital eight weeks ago. He's developed quite the double chin, too. He's the same height and one pound heavier than Micah was at this age. He's one inch taller and one pound heavier than Noelle was. His weight is even more impressive when you consider he was the lightest of the three at birth. I hope he doesn't continue gaining at this rate...

2.5 Months (16 Dec)

Simon got his first Jeep ride today, and I'm sorry to say it was from Stacy, not Ben. We didn't really plan it that way. We were juggling the logistics of transporting lots of kids around that night, and it just worked out that Stacy & Simon would take the YJ while I drove the Tahoe. It didn't even dawn on me that this was his first Jeep ride until just as I locked him into his seat and he looked over and grinned at me. At least I got to give him a ride myself on our way home later that night. As was the case with his siblings, the bouncy suspension tends to put him to sleep. He was out cold just after we hit the road, and then woke up again as soon as we got home.

~3 Months (1 Jan)

Happy New Year! Simon laughed for the first time tonight. He was lying on the floor with Dad watching Boise State beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl while Dad tickled his tummy, ribs, and chin lightly. He's been right on the verge of laughing for a couple weeks, so we knew it would come soon. Although he smiled constantly, we only got one laugh out of him -- a short, bubbly giggle that was very similar to his big sister's laugh. I'm sure there'll be many more to come!

~3.5 Months (15 Jan)

Simon rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time tonight. He's not wild about being on his tummy, but he's getting much better at holding his head up so he can look around while he's down there. He's probably still quite a ways from being able to crawl. He is, however, strong enough to stand up under his own strength if you hold his belly to balance him. It's amazing how strong his little legs are considering how little exercise he really gets.

4 Months (12 Feb)

One day after Dad's birthday, we discovered that Simon had cut his first tooth. Mom thinks this means he'll be graduating to spoon feeding a little sooner than expected. He's been eating a bit of rice cereal for a week or more now, and doing quite well, so at least he's used to it.

It's been a busy week. Simon's second tooth broke through just a few days after the first. He had his first taste of prepackaged baby food (peas), and seems to enjoy it. Finally, he rolled over from his back to his front for the first time while reaching for a toy.

You can see all our digital photos, which are primarily of Simon these days, here.