Benjamin Alec finally graced us with his presence yesterday afternoon, following a 2-day long induced labor and subsequent C-section (phew!).� Mother, father and baby are all doing well despite their excruciating exhaustion.

Congrats to new parents, Sara and Shawn - you two were definitely troopers!� Ben clocked in at 8 lbs., 11 oz. and 21.5 inches long at 2 weeks late.

Now for a look at the handsome little fellow ...

[caption id="attachment_1024" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Baby Ben"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1025" align="aligncenter" width="538" caption="Daddy Shawn with Son Ben"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1026" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Uncle James (Officially!)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1027" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Me and Little Ben"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1028" align="aligncenter" width="539" caption="Cousin Meets Cousin (An Attempt)"][/caption]

Age Time: <1 day

So my family does this cute little thing where we call one's birthday his or her "birds date."� Today I received this lovely little poem in my inbox from my father dearest:

[caption id="attachment_548" align="alignright" width="255" caption="awesome cupcake baby"][/caption]

Happy Birthday to my youngest daughter,

Who waits in Boston for the breaking of her water.

Will Lil Lump choose this day to make her a mama?

Or is he/she waiting for the inaugural of Obama?

Regardless, today you're three and twenty.

So I hope you enjoy your day aplenty.

You've officially made it to U-24!

Is it cold up in Boston?� I blame Al Gore.

Thanks, Dad!

I've been overwhelmed will all of the birthday wishes today.� Thank you to everyone who has wished me a happy birds date on facebook, twitter and via text message or phone call (I can't believe how many of you there have been, and the day is only half over!), and thanks in advance to those who will do so later today.� I feel so special because of you!

As for sharing a birthday with Baby Lump, it doesn't look like that's going to be the case at this point.� Even if I went into labor right now ... Wait a minute ... No ... That was just a swift baby kick to the rib ... Anyway, even if I went into labor right now, I doubt my labor would be speedy enough to enable me to pop out a baby by midnight.� And though, yes Lauren, it would've been "totally cosmic" to share a birthday with my baby, I agree with my mother that Baby Lump should have his/her own day to celebrate.� Besides, that will totally mean I get to chow down on two separate birthday cakes within the span of one week for the rest of my life!� Not too shabby ...

Oven Timer: 40 weeks, 2 days (OVERDUE!)

Maximum Days Until We Meet Baby Lump: 8