Benedict “Benji” Otis Askew was born via scheduled c-section at 36 weeks 2 days gestational age on Thursday, March 12th at 2:54pm. It was a very different experience compared to his sister Cordelia’s birth! We planned to welcome Benji early to avoid any risk of Alyssa going into labor due to the classical c-section she had when Cordie was born.

Benji’s birth went smoothly and we were delighted to see some familiar faces from the NICU admit team in the delivery room, including the very same admit nurse who admitted Cordie two and a half years ago! This time, Danny got to be present in the OR, performing time-honored dad duties like cutting the cord and cracking jokes while his wife undergoes major surgery.

Our return to the NICU was not unexpected given Benji’s (intentional) prematurity. The best way to describe it, perhaps surprisingly, is “joyous.” There are so many people we know well from the four months we spent here with Cordelia; this is a reunion for us, and we’re comforted to have their talent and care in our corner again.

Benji’s support needs at 36 weeks are much lesser than Cordelia’s were at 26 weeks. He currently has a high flow nasal cannula with a whiff of extra oxygen to support his breathing. He’s been getting milk from a feeding tube and we’re hopeful he’ll get to practice bottle and breastfeeding more once his breathing support lessens.

Cordelia got to come meet him (her review of the NICU was “so many computers!”) and seeing the two of them together just about broke our hearts wide open. We’re so elated to be a family of four now and are looking forward to bringing Benji home once he gets some practice with life outside the womb.

Thank you everyone for your support and love!

Cordelia meets her baby brother Benji for the first time, showing concern that he drops his paci from his mouth.