Play, play, play!!!

Ben's getting really good lately at this playing "business" :) The newest addition to his toy repertiore ~ the Exersaucer!!

He likes the Bumbo more and more now that he can hold his head up a little better, BUT, has begun trying to escape! Not that he doesn't like being in it, but I think he gets so interested in what's going on other places - like the patterns in the carpet, etc...

Playing with Yurtle the Turtle ~

Reading a book with big brother Chandler. He looks so "into" it!!

Hanging out with his "girlfriend" Sophia. As one friend said, Look, Just like a boy...holding her hand, but acting like he's not. "too cool"...ha ha ha!!

Yeah, he's holding hands with Sophia, but Mama's always going to be his #1 girl, right?!

Finally, after all that playing, this baby boy's worn out! Conked out in big brother Mason's lap :)

Four Months Old!

Whoops! I was drafting a "6 Month Stats" post on what Ben's been up to when I found the one from 4 months that I never posted! So, even though this is old news, I wanted to post it anyway so when I look back I can remember what our days were like at that age :) Not too exciting, but wait! I'm hoping to post a video soon - Blogger.com is having technical difficulties right now, but is supposed to resolve them soon, so stay tuned!

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Wow! Mark and I can't believe how much Ben has changed in just one month. He's really starting to show his little personality in ways that are so, so fun!! I am absolutely loving every single day I'm home caring for him, and feel so very blessed to have such a sweet baby boy to love :)

At four months, Ben is....

• still wearing size 2 diapers


• wearing size 3-6 months clothes


• trying SO hard to sit up...in the carseat, the bouncy seat, when he's eating, etc...!


• sleeping from 8:30 or 9 o'clock until around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m., with the 11:30 "dreamfeed" of about 3 oz of formula (Daddy's job!)


• still sleeping swaddled. I've tried a few naps with one arm out, but they end up being much shorter, so I guess we're not ready to drop the swaddle yet.


• still nursing about five times a day! I can't believe we've made it this far...but still hanging in there week by week.

Here's how our typical day goes:

• 5:30 - wake up, Mama gives Ben a paci several times to get him through to breakfast time.


• 7:00 - nurse, hang out and watch Mama eat cereal, play a bit


• 8:30 or 9:00 - nap until 10:30 or 11:00


• 11:00 - nurse while watching The Price is Right, hang out and watch Mama eat a sandwich and/or get a shower. Time for Ben to get dressed before his nap.


• 12:30 - nap about 45 minutes or an hour


• 2:00 - nurse again


• 2:30 - play, maybe a stroller ride, read a book, etc.


• 3:30 - nap again, hopefully until 5:00


• 5:00 - nurse, eagerly await Daddy to get home! Possibly nap before bath.


• 7:45 - Bathtime ~ Ben's favorite part of the day!


• 8 or 8:30 - nurse again, then to bed around 8:30 or 9:00


• 11:30 - "dream"feed

Happy Halloween!

Ben had a great First Halloween ~ a bit uneventful due to the rain, but that was OK with him (and Mama and Daddy, too!) All along, he was to be a skeleton..."Bad to the Bone" is what his little cap said. But then I found a cute monkey costume at Old Navy for $2 on Friday, so he had a costume change mid-day.

First we went to the mall to do some errands as B.T.T.B. Everyone thought he was just adorable, and of course, I agreed!! :)

Then to go trick-or-treating (i.e. go visit the 3 neighbors we're friends with - ha!), we put on the monkey suit.

He did OK with it for the most part, but when we got back to the house, he told us in his own way that he was not ~BANANAS~ about this hot costume business!!

Starting off all smiles....

"Hmmm....not so sure about this."

"Ok, take a hint. I'm getting tired..."
"WAHHHHHH. I don't want to be a MONKEY anymore!!!!!"


Tee hee hee!! Only a mommy could think this face was cute! :)

My Lil' Pumpkin!

Ben has two Halloween "outfits"- his costume, and this:
So, of course, since he won't be wearing it anymore after Saturday, we've been sporting it out and about a lot!!

Graduating....

...from "weeks" to Months!! Ben's reached the big 3 month mark...soooooooo old (ha!), apparently the thing is to refer to how many months he is instead of weeks now. So, at 3 months, things have changed so much I don't know where to start.

Let's see...

*He moved up into Size 2 diapers just last week.

*He's wearing mostly size 3 month clothes now, with few 6 months thrown in.

*Still sleeping swaddled...I don't know HOW we're ever going to drop that thing - I had to go buy a bigger one because he outgrew the size Small!

*Speaking of sleeping, we've started getting in a extra "dreamfeed" at night (around 11:00-ish), meaning we wake him up before we go to bed so he can eat one more time. This has helped him start sleeping through the night more consistently. He still has a pesky habit of popping awake at 3:30 some nights, but goes back to sleep easily as soon as he gets a paci. I would love for him to sleep until 7:00 each morning, but most of the time he wakes up between 5:30 and 7:00, especially if he's slept through the 3:30 Mommy Call.

*More about sleep...we made the move to his crib!! I was prepared for the worst...several long, sleepless nights and lots of crying, but he did GREAT. The first night, I put his bassinet in the crib, and he continued to sleep in the bassinet. It was a "normal" night, so the next night, it was just Ben and the crib (oh, and the sleep positioner - but that only lasted a night or two...see the next bullet as to why!)

*Somehow, he does laps around that crib at night. I have no idea how, since he's wrapped up like a mummy in the SwaddleMe blanket, but he is completely turned around and on the opposite end of the crib some mornings (or nights!) when I go in there. We recently got a video monitor for his crib, so I'm looking forward to catching him in the act to see just how he accomplishes that!

*When swaddled, he can roll over from back to tummy. But then, he's STUCK. Last night, for example, he cried out at around 2:30, which was unusual. His cry sounded unusual, too, so I turned on the video monitor (have to keep it off at night b/c my eyelids are so thin...hee hee hee...I'd never get to sleep it's so bright!), and he was on his tummy, head up like a turtle and couldn't get back over. Normally, that would be super cute....not at 2:30 a.m. though!

*He's getting stronger in the tummy, and can sit in the Bumbo now!! I think it's a hit! He likes to practice sitting up. Sometimes when he's in the swing or bouncy chair, he'll curl up like he's trying doing an ab "crunch" and fuss until someone helps him sit :)

We're still doing the nursing thing, and he's finally seeming to catch on. You wouldn't think it would take 3 months!! I really hope I'm passing on some antibodies from my seasonal flu and H1N1 (when I get it) flu shots, since he's too young to get the vaccination himself. That's SO scary to me how vulnerable he is....it's really going around from what I hear and can be very dangerous to a baby his age. We've been praying so hard for good health this winter!

Ben loooooooves Daddy-time at the end of the work day each day. He definitely smiles for Mama, but when Daddy gets home...it's grins left and right (from both of them)!!!

One of Ben's favorite new things to do is check out his feet. He's just realized they belong to him, but I think he's still perplexed about how they do all that wiggling!! :) He spends lots of time trying to reach for them, but still hasn't mastered the arm movements yet ~ SOOOOOO cute!

Unwilling Subject ;)

So, if you haven't guessed it by now, I LOVE taking pictures. Now that I have a captive subject that I'm crazy about (my baby, of course), the floodgates have opened...ha!! The other day I was playing around and tried this cute hat on him that my late grandmother made for my brother Ernest. Mom brought it and a matching sweater up on her last visit. Ben was sleeping nicely....

when I put on the hat (couldn't resist stringing out the little bobbers!!)....and apparently this is what he thought about THAT:

(HINT: look at the hands!) Hee hee hee!!! Yes, that's "the bird". Hope you got a good laugh for the day ~ I did when I looked back at the pics!

He's Going to Kill Me One Day!!!!

First I posted all his ultrasound pics verifying that, indeed, he was A Boy! Now, check out his precious little booty in this photo I took last week ~ soooooooo cute I can hardly stand it!! Yes, he's going to kill me one day!! ;)

Here's another I took on a rug he got as a gift from our pastor...I have to give credit for the photo op idea from my friend's birth announcement for her little girl ~ they apparently have the exact same rug, so when I saw how cute Ensley looked on hers, I had to do a "photo shoot" with Ben! He thoroughly enjoyed it, as you can see by the grin, probably because (unbeknownst to me until I SAT in it!) he peed everywhere once I took his diaper off!

Other than looking adorable, Ben's had several outings in his 8th and 9th weeks...to the doctor for his 2 month check-up, and the dreaded shots :( He did OK, though, only running a low-grade fever that night, but still managing to smile for us a few times. We also went to the Dragonboat Festival on Saturday, and he grinned the whole time riding in his "big boy" stroller.

He's even been laughing out loud, too!! That's such fun for Mark and me to see :) His newest "skill" is chewing his hands. He used to just do this when he was hungry, but it seems like he's finally discovered those two hands attached to his arms and he's really exploring them these days...grabbing onto everything like fingers and blankets and SQUEEZING! He's also getting better and better at clasping them together - soon he'll be clapping for us...I can't wait!!

2 Months...10 lbs 9oz...6 hours of sleep...Happy MOM!!!

Wow! It's hard to believe Ben's 8 weeks old....he has changed so much lately. His face is getting rounder, his cute little chin is getting more prominent, and best of all, he's started cooing and "talking" to us with lots more smiling!! I've honestly never seen anything cuter in my life - not even kittens or puppies ;)

At two months old, here's an idea of what else he's been up to lately...

*He very much dislikes tummy time (on the floor; Dad's chest is pretty fun!), but can roll over from tummy to back.

*He can say "Ah-goo" and "Gggggrrr"

*He just started squealing in delight at his mobile or when someone's talking to him

*He's still nursing, but getting more and more impatient and favoring the bottle. We're going to try to make it through Mama's seasonal flu and H1N1 flu vaccine shots so he can get some antibodies before weaning :(

*He's wearing 3 months clothes and even a few little pieces that are 3/6 month.

*Still wearing Size 1 diapers and going through TONS!!!

*He weighs 10 pounds, 9 oz and is in the 50th percentile for weight (up from the 25th the last two appointments!). We go next Thursday for his 2 month shots...Mama's sure dreading that one!

Ben's starting to get the hang of the sleeping thing a little more...sometimes he sleeps as much as 4 hours at a time during the night. He can go up to 6 hours without eating if sleep is involved! He's still sleeping in the bassinet beside our bed, but we are starting to think about moving him out (sorry little guy!) because he's such a NOISY sleeper! Daddy doesn't miss a wink of sleep, but Mama hears every little peep :)

Ben's big outing last weekend...to Chick-Fil-A on Labor Day to get free chicken if you were wearing your favorite team logo!! Here we are ~ Go Heels!!!

Then to Winged Deer park afterwards for some fun in the shade with Mama while the boys played football....you'll be right there with them soon, Ben!

Here's he is riding in the "big boy" part of his stroller - it has several "attachments"...the bassinet for infancy (which he hated to ride in because he was laying down flat), the car seat that he likes just OK if the straps aren't too tight, and the real stroller part that he'll ride in up until he reaches 35 or 40 pounds. We tried it out last week and he loves it!! WHEW!

Ben's Photos are Online...WoW!

I am CRAZY about Ben's newborn photos!! Of course, my baby is gorgeous ;) , but I really like the girls at Picsee Studios and the pictures they took blew me away! We went last week to view them, and it brought tears to my eyes how they captured his sweetness. He was so tiny ~ already so much bigger and more grown-up. Time flies.......

http://www.picseestudio.com/index2.php

Click on "Clients" (all the way on the right), and the password is babyben.

How in the world am I going to choose?!?!

Who Does He Look Like?

When Ben was born, Mark and I both agreed: He didn't look like either one of us!!! BUT, as soon as we got our own baby pictures out, we changed our minds...looks like Ben's a little bit of both :)

These 3 photos are Ben, Julia, then Ben: This next pair is Mark, then Ben:

And I have been wanting to compare Ben's 30-week 3-D ultrasound to his "real" self since he was born ~ that's him alright!! It's amazing how close they are...

Ben Turns One (Month!)

Well, we made it a whole month!! Time has REALLY flown by....I haven't done a thing except feed Ben, sleep, and change diapers but the days have gone by so quickly. He had a great 4 week check-up, weighing in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces. Thank goodness I'm not starving my baby boy! I just about croaked, though, when the nurse put him on the scale and it came out 6 pounds 12 oz....Mama started crying right there on the spot!! Mark and I knew that couldn't be right, because he's feeling heavier and looking a little chubby in the legs :) So, she did it again, and apparently had pushed the wrong button on the scale ~ whew!!

Ben, in the past month, we've taken several rides in the stroller, and tried out the bouncy seat but you didn't like it AT ALL.

"Ummm...does this bouncy seat make me look like an old man?"

You also went to your first Lake Day!! Here you are in your girlfriend Sophia's pink boppy - don't tell Daddy ;)

"OMG, my first Lake Day, and I don't know how to swim!!"

At one month, you are still nursing and eat about every 2 hours during the day, and every 3 at night. Sometimes at night, you do sleep for up to 4 hours, but usually it's about 3 and then you're hungry again :) Daddy and I love to watch you waving your arms all around ~ you're still trying to get control of them and it's so cute! We pretend you're waving "Hello!" at us. In the past week, you've started having more and more awake and peaceful moments....just sitting in the swing, looking around. Also, for the first time this week, you enjoyed looking at the mobile in your Pack-n-Play for a whole 5 minutes! (Yay! Mama got to brush her teeth!!)

The big event for Week 3 was your first bath...you didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. You were DEFINITELY cute, though!!




The newest development that Mama is most excited about is your first ride in the Mei Tai. We borrowed this from your Aunt Anne ~ she said your cousin Hank really liked it. So, Daddy and I watched a Youtube video on how to work this thing, and put you in and you LOVED it!! That next day, I carried you all around the house, and you were happier and so was I since I could load the dishwasher, make a sandwich, and just have both hands free for once ~ WOW!! This thing is GREAT! Here you are....riding in the Mei Tai. I'm already thinking about getting another one in black (you know, so it will match more of my outfits - ha ha!)

Baby Ben, we're so glad you're here and we can't wait to see what next month holds!!

Photo Shoot with Poop

Finally Ben's newborn pictures are ready to view! Two awesome ladies, Jennifer and Christy from Picsee Studios, came when he was six days old and spent 5 1/2 HOURS at our house waiting for Ben to settle down and go to sleep. He was acting just like a cat - you know how if you desperately want them to come sit on your lap, they act like they hate you, but if you ignore them, they won't leave you alone? Well, the more we pursued sleep for this little one, the wider awake he became!! Ha! Mark even gave the girls some lunch while I fed him for the third time, hoping it would conk him out (Nope.)

Now, at this point in his life, we were supplementing him with super calorie-rich formula because he had lost so much weight. Well, apparently he wasn't needing ALL those calories, because he was a pooping machine for a few days :) Yes, including that day. Twice while he had no diaper on (for photo purposes), he let it rip!! EEEK! Thank goodness he was wrapped up tight in two blankets each time (I was feeding him), but even that wasn't enough to contain it.....ha! Then as soon as I'd put him on the changing table to clean up, he'd pee. Fortunately, I must have gotten a fair amount of sleep the night before, because it was so funny ~ we laughed and laughed!!

Anyway, we eventually gave up on him, quit whispering and tip-toeing around, and he just happened to fall asleep. So, even though they were about to leave (thank goodness they had no other appointments that day!), they got a few more good shots of him :) I love the second one of us with Mark holding him - look how TINY he was! He pretty much fit on one of Daddy's hands...so sweet! Enjoy!!!

Here's the link ~ leave a comment on her blog if you have a second...it's easy, and we'll get a free print!!

http://www.thepicseeblog.com/?p=2211

Ben's Second Week

Since Mark went back to work, I haven't gotten the chance to take as many pictures as Week 1, but here are a few...our little sweetie is changing already!Asleep in Mama's arms...in the evenings lately, he will only sleep while being held by Mark or me! (Or any warm body, I suppose...volunteers??)
This was last night - I think it lasted 20 minutes while we wolfed down dinner. I thought babies loved to swing!?!
Ben and his great grandmother Nana.

Daddy Love

Have I mentioned what an awesome daddy Ben has? You know your husband is a trooper when he fixes your Mother's Milk tea, brings it to you and uses a nursing pad (nothing gross, just catches the drips when you're not nursing) nearby as a coaster - LOL! Hey, this newborn business is HARD...we gotta find humor somewhere :)

Basically, we've just been taking it one day at a time. Nursing is 100x harder than I thought it would be, and I am tempted to throw in the towel every day. But we've made it a whole two weeks, and I really want to keep trying (sometimes;). Ben has already started in on the "fussy baby in the evening" bit....UGH. So, right when Mark comes home from work, Mr. Cranky gets going and that's our night! We're doing the best we can, though, and hoping (and PRAYING) this is a phase that will pass soon :) Again, Mark has held me up through all this with such positivity, willingness to help, and concern for my wellbeing ~ here are a few of my favorite Daddy Shots (Ben's a lucky little booger)...I love you, Babe!

* Sweet kisses *

Ben loves Daddy's big cozy arms...

This is one of the catcher's mitts Ben "gave" Mason and Chandler for his birth day. They asked if he could take a nap in it!

Big Yawn!!