One month on.....

So it's been one month since Bennett was born! The time really has flown by. It's been an absolute blessing to have this little boy in our family and watching him grow ever so slightly each time I see him, his little newborn legs are starting to get chubby and there is a slight hint of a smile appearing on his face from time to time. So who wants to see some cute newborn photo's...I'm guessing all of you so here you are...

Bennett 1 week old

This newborn photo was taken by Zandy J Photography, such an amazing talented woman! You can find her website here: Zandy J Photography and her facebook page here: Zandy J Photography - Facebook

Bennett 2 weeks old

Bennett 3 weeks old, with his mama

Bennett 1 month old!

Bennett has been world famous in New Zealand, he has been a little TV star right from the second he was born...well actually before that; his first camera appearance was when I was 19 weeks along and we were finding out that he was a boy...some of you are probably wondering TV star!? what on earth is she talking about??? ...Well what I kept hush hush from my blog entries was we had 20/20 NZ following us around on this amazing journey right from the beginning of my pregnancy and shortly after Bennett's birth our story aired on national TV. It was a blast working with 20/20 over these months and for those who missed our story or for my oversea's followers who would like to view it you can do so by clicking on this link: 20/20 video

Over the last month there has been quite a lot going on behind the scenes, we have had endless contact with our lawyers getting all the adoption papers sorted out and in fact yesterday we (as in myself and my hubby Terry) signed Bennett over to his proper mama and daddy! why Terry aswell? well basically the adoption laws in New Zealand have not been updated since 1955, therefore because Terry is my husband it makes him the legal father even though he is not blood related to this child. It was a nice feeling putting my name on the dotted line because I know how much it means to Sara and Lance to have all of this "official" and to have a birth certificate with both their names listed as Bennett's parents... now all we need is a court date to come through once our paperwork has been filed and the adoption will be all official once the judge gives it the all clear! Like my lawyer said - "now it's just a waiting game"!
How's home life in the Smith household? Well it's all fine and dandy, Holly is so in love with her baby brother, she is a very doting big sister and showers him with hugs and kisses. Mama and Daddy have adjusted really well to having another newborn in the house and have been having a lot of fun with explosive poo's with a dash of bags under the eyes from the night time wake up's but they are loving every moment of it and it's nice seeing some peace settle over their household since Bella's death. But I want to remind everyone that Bennett is not an "erasing tool" to wipe away the pain of losing Bella, he is his own unique person and is simply another child to Sara and Lance not a replacement of Bella. They will always have three children even though only two are with them (in the physical sense).

Holly having cuddles with her baby brother

And how are things with me? Many people have been wondering how I have been dealing with all of it emotionally and wondering if seeing Bennett before my own eyes instead of just feeling him in my tummy makes it all the more harder; honestly, that has not made it any harder and not once have I felt any difficulty handing him over to my sister and watching her raise and care for Bennett. Bennett was always Sara's and only ever my nephew. In fact I'm so at ease with feeling just a nephew/Aunty  bond with him that sometimes I actually forget that I was the one that gave birth to him and for a split second think Sara was the one that did all of that. It may sound strange or confusing to a lot of people but it's just as simple as what I have been explaining over the last 9 months - I am Aunty, Bennett is nephew, full stop.

Even though it's been an entire month since Bennett was born it has not lessened the love and support I have been getting from my friends and family; even strangers! I have always said it means a lot, and honestly it does :) So again thank you for all the love and support and of course thank you for following this amazing journey, the pregnancy talk may be over and done with but the blog entries (once monthly now) following Bennett's first year have just begun!

xoxo