Loving Ben to Bits

Alyssa's favourite photo. We loved hanging out in bed with Ben on his first morning at home. Not to worry, Rafi wasn't sleeping, just loving the snuggles.

At Home

Benjamin got into this cuddly position all on his own. Rafi straightened him out a few times, but he just slid back down. He's such a little snuggle bug, we can't get enough.

Ben and his Daddy.

Finally Home

Ben relaxing with his Uncle Matthew. We love his kissy lips (thanks for giving us such a perfect description Merrie!)

Ben and his Mommy trying out the rocking chair.

Coming Home

Benjamin dressed for his trip home. One of Rafi's patients gave Ben this sweater along with matching hat and pants.

And here he is all strapped in. He loved his Montreal Canadiens socks from our friend Judy in Montreal (thanks Judy!).

Special Care Nursery

The three of us (that's so nice to type!) in the Special Care Nursery where Ben spent his first 7 days. He wasn't allowed to eat during his first 24 hours, until they figured out exactly why he was sick. Rafi gave him his first bottle.

The nurse who worked Christmas Day thought Ben looked great in this red hat. It was a bit too big, but she kept sticking it back on his head. All of the doctors and nurses took very good care of Ben, and of us.

Ben getting a bath in his bed. He loved having his hair washed.

Benjamin is coming home tomorrow!!

After many blood tests and x-rays, Benjamin was diagnosed with pneumonia - poor little guy :-( He is looking and feeling much better after 7 days of antibiotics. So much better, that he is coming home a day earlier than expected. Ben is coming home tomorrow!!! Our cameras are fully charged and we'll capture and share all the firsts. We cannot wait for our little guy to sleep in his own bed.

She said....

More exciting news from the Green-Lee-Firszt clan. Tony gave us the best present, he proposed to Melanie and she said Yes!! Once we have photos of the happy couple and the ring, we'll post them here.

Benjamin Shai Firszt

We arrived at the hospital just after 5 pm on December 23rd.

Benjamin arrived at 2:48 am on Thursday, December 24th. He weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz.

Rafi and Ben enjoyed some time together just after he was born.

He had a little trouble breathing and was sent to the special care nursery about 5 hours after he was born. He's doing much better now and should be back with us on Friday morning.

We're spending a lot of time with him in the nursery. He has a very healthy cry, but he always settles down when we visit and hold him.

Benjamin is named for Alyssa's grandfather Burns and Rafi's great aunt Bella. His middle name, Shai (pronounced 'Shy'), is for Rafi's grandfather Shaia.

He's hooked up to all sorts of wires in the nursery and doesn't like any of them.

But he stops crying and looks his Dad right in the eyes when he's being held.

We can't feed him until his lungs clear up, but he certainly looks like he's ready to eat.

For now, he has beautiful navy blue/hazel eyes, a little darker than Rafi's. We're not yet sure who he looks like. We'll have to wait and see how his looks change as he gets a bit older.

Game Time Entertainment

Hurricanes vs. Anaheim Ducks with Melanie.

Can you find the player who thinks it's still the 80's?

Here's a closer look. Number 16, George Parros. We'd never heard of him before, but we were very impressed with his classic mullet/hockey hair and circa 1980's stash. He was on the ice quite a bit, lucky for us. He kept us entertained the entire game.

Then there was this wacky scene. This guy repeatedly held up his baby and made her little fist knock on the glass. She didn't look much older than 3 or 4 months and none of the players paid any attention, but he continued the entire game. Rafi has been warned to never try this with our baby.

More Baby Stuff and a Rainy Football Game

We couldn't manoeuvre the dresser into the spot we wanted without removing a door. Once the door was off, it fit right in.

But then Rafi had to put the door back on.

Melanie was a great supervisor, making sure the job was done right.

Melanie was happy to join us at the last football game of the season.

Even when it started to rain.

BabiesR'Us

We waited for Melanie's visit to buy any baby stuff . All we had before she arrived was a crib and a dresser so we spent a few hours at BabiesR'Us.

Back at home Melanie and Alyssa assembled everything. The Harrod's Bear served as a stand-in until the real baby can test out all the new gear that's making our apartment feel pretty cramped.

Installing car seats required lots of muscle power.

But now we're ready.

Alyssa jamed her thumb putting the car seat in the stroller. Rafi stepped in to push .

All we need now is a real baby.

Melanie Comes to Durham

Melanie flew down to visit with us over the American Thanksgiving holiday. So nice to see her, and so much fun to have her here!!

The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is Alyssa's supplier for her only real pregnancy craving, red candy apples. Melanie was adventurous and had a Rocky Road.

Go Habs Go!

Unlike Montreal, it's possible to buy tickets to see the Carolina Hurricanes. We were actually able to buy two-for-one tickets to see them play the Montreal Canadiens. The best seats they had were in row C behind the Canadiens bench. We thought the third row would be amazing. When we arrived at the arena, we realized that row C was actually the first row behind the bench.

The Canadiens lost but we met a bunch of relocated Montrealers, heard some French, and Rafi caught a puck that Guy Carbonneau threw over his shoulder. We bought tickets for the exact same seats in December, when the Habs are back in town.

News from Us

We've been quite busy lately. Rafi is studying for his Pediatric Board exams, which he'll write on October 27th. Alyssa's been busy at work, trying to tie up all sorts of loose ends before her maternity leave. Little Baby Firszt is doing well, now at 30 weeks. Only about 2 more months to go. We had our final ultrasound last week and we were once again able to resist the temptation to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. We did find out that the baby weighs 3 pounds, and has a strong heart. We tend to refer to the baby as "he" because we just can't imagine a girl kicking with such force. It's pretty amazing to watch the baby flip and kick from the outside, and we wonder if "he's" going to be a hyper little kid. We're enjoying our last few months of peace and quiet, but we're looking forward to meeting the new addition to our little family.