2008 April « And Baby Makes Three

Daddy Time

April 29, 2008 at 6:43 pm (Benjamin, Brad)

Benjamin is growing before our eyes, and we can also see his little mind working all the time. When he’s awake, which is quite often during the day, he studies our faces, shadows on the wall, the ceiling fan, Chloe, or anything else within his field of vision. The past couple of days he has started holding his head up for longer periods of time, and he also can now turn his head back and forth while holding it up. With this newfound ability, yesterday he discovered the wall paper border that surrounds his nursery. He was fascinated by the bright colors, shapes, and animals. It has also been in the past couple of days that he has really started to notice Chloe (our cat, for those of you who don’t know her). He will track her with his eyes as she walks across a room or curls up in her bed. I wonder if she likes this extra attention.

One huge development has been that Benjamin is now consistently sleeping through the night until at least 6 a.m., and often until after 7. Yesterday, he amazingly slept until 8:30! Needless to say, I am feeling more well-rested since I am getting more hours of sleep, and more uninterrupted sleep.

Anyway, the main subject of this post is Brad’s time with Benjamin. They’ve been enjoying a lot of father/son time this week, and I captured some sweet moments on camera. Some of Benjamin’s favorite moments with Daddy: snuggling with him on the sofa, laughing at his funny faces, and having conversations (Brad says, “Tell me about it,” to which Benjamin responds with cooing, etc.)

Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view and a description of the picture, and then click on that version for an even larger view. (I’m still getting used to how WordPress handles pictures differently than Blogspot.)

The Daily Routine

April 23, 2008 at 7:42 pm (Benjamin, Emily)

For the past several days, I’ve been attempting to get Benjamin into some semblance of a routine, while still maintaining some flexibility in our schedule. We are making progress. The biggest variable is still his wake up time in the morning. Most days he wakes up between 5 and 6, I feed him and put him right back to bed, and then he sleeps until between 9 and 10. Today, however, he slept straight through the night until 7:15 a.m.! So, I started his daytime schedule at that time. I fed him, then he was awake for an hour, and then I put him down for a nap. I hope he continues to sleep until after 7!

I took the advice of two books, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and Baby Wise, both of which suggested putting your baby on a schedule where they eat, then play, then sleep (as opposed to eat, sleep, then play). So, that’s the order of his activities during the day. His “play” time includes sitting in his swing or bouncy seat, laying on a quilt (tummy time or on his back), watching the mobile in his crib, looking out the window, taking a walk, etc.

When he is napping, which can be anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, I am able to get things done around the house, as well as do some fun stuff like play on the Wii or write on my blogs, and take a nap when needed.

All in all, things are going pretty well. He still has the occasional fussy time at night, but swaddling, rocking, and offering him a pacifier usually soothe him. Here are some pictures that show what Benjamin has been up to:

Benjamin enjoys sitting up in the swing, whether he’s looking at us, the television, or the backyard. In this picture he is sitting with us at the dinner table.

He had plenty of attention at my 30th birthday party, since all his grandparents were there (including Mama C, pictures with him here).

Since he has outgrown most of his blankets, I bought a new set of larger swaddling blankets yesterday. In this picture he is sporting the cute striped one during a cozy nap. And yes, he still loves to be swaddled and to wear his hat and mittens when he sleeps at night and when he naps.

This picture captures Benjamin’s sweet smile and refreshed face, just after he awoke from the long nap pictured above.
And this picture proves that even a well-rested baby only has so much patience for a picture-happy Mommy. The little lip pout is what he does as a precursor to crying. Needless to say, after I snapped this picture I put the camera down and tended to his needs, which included cuddling, changing his diaper, and feeding him.

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Turning 30

April 21, 2008 at 10:45 pm (Emily)

I am now 30 years old! I am perfectly fine with the idea. In fact, we celebrated with a big birthday bash on Saturday. We brought some Louisiana flavor to Texas with a meal of boiled crawfish, gumbo, and bread pudding. Entertainment was provided by the Wii and XBox 360 – especially Guitar Hero and Wii Tennis and Bowling. I hadn’t had a birthday party in years, and it was a blast!

Some memorable moments from the party:

Everyone singing “Happy Birthday” to me. It brought back fond memories of my childhood.
Blowing out the candles on my cake (a “3″ and a “0″ candle, rather than 30 individual candles)
Seeing all the kids playing in the backyard, which suggests that it will be an inviting place for Benjamin to explore in a couple of years. Of particular interest to the kids was our bird bath, resulting in a change of clothes for some of them.
Having family, friends, and neighbors all together in one place
Watching non-Louisianans try crawfish for the first time. It’s quite an experience, from twisting the body in half, to ripping the tail off, to tasting the spicy goodness of the tiny bit of meat that all that work earns you.
Celebrating my birthday just like I did when I was a kid. It makes me want to throw a party every year!

Here are some pictures from the party:

I decided to be festive and wear my Mardi Gras jester hat from Brad’s 30th birthday party a year ago. It seemed fitting with the Louisiana theme, and with my Mardi Gras style cake.

Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to me (in perfect four-part harmony, I’m sure).

Lindsay and I had a friendly dueling guitars competition on Guitar Hero. Our song of choice: “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys.

We enjoyed lots of four-player tennis and bowling games on the Wii. Also notice our new tv – that was my birthday present! It will make my viewing of shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica all the more enjoyable.

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Six Weeks Old

April 15, 2008 at 1:52 pm (Benjamin)

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted new pictures of our growing baby boy, so here are a few taken on Saturday, when he officially turned six weeks old. But first, here are a few highlights of the past week:

The biggest news: Benjamin has now slept through the night twice, from roughly 10:30 – 5:30, so I can officially say that he was six weeks old when he started (and hopefully continued) sleeping through the night. And he doesn’t stay up at 5:30. I feed him, and then he goes back to sleep until after 9:00.
We are getting better at recognizing his various cries, which means we are also getting better at meeting his needs.
I added another soothing technique to my list: carry Benjamin in the Baby Bjorn while I play games on the Wii. He stops crying and sometimes even falls asleep, and I get the added bonus of having fun. This may sound dangerous, but rest assured that I am quite aware of my precious cargo while I am playing tennis or bowling. I skip the boxing game during these soothing sessions.
In order to combat the evening fussy times, we’ve also now borrowed a baby swing from some friends. Hopefully soon he will be able to also start using the bumbo (a little seat that babies can sit up in, for those of you unfamiliar).

The Official “See How Much I’ve Grown” Pose

Who can say no to these eyes?

Sweet Feet

Chubby Hand

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Waking Up Time

April 15, 2008 at 1:48 pm (Benjamin, Videos)

One of Benjamin’s sweetest times of day is when he first wakes up in the morning. He is very bright eyed and smiles a lot, and loves to watch his mobile. In this video, you’ll notice all of those. A note about his clothing: we’ve learned that he sleeps best at night when not only swaddled, but wearing nightgowns that have little hand covers to keep his hands warm. Also, the whirring noise in the background is his sound machine, set to “waterfall.” So no, we don’t live adjacent to an airport. Enjoy the video!

A Leisurely Morning at the Library

April 12, 2008 at 1:24 pm (Diversions)

One of my favorite places to go is the public library (pictured above). It is right around the corner from our house, and is much more than just books. With its lake, wetlands, wildlife, dock, and walking/biking trail, it is the perfect place to enjoy a beautiful day, and to meet other people from the community. Benjamin and I did just that yesterday. I was excited to go, especially because I hadn’t been since before I had him.

First we strolled through the library (that is, I pushed Benjamin in his stroller). I browsed through the new books section at a leisurely pace while Benjamin looked around and up at me contentedly. He seems to have a natural affinity for libraries, just like his mom! I ended up selecting two books to read: No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (we recently watched the Oscar-winning movie adaptation, and I am interested in learning more about the characters’ motivations – something that was missing in the movie) and Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light. The second book sounded like fun, since I always enjoy chocolate and am interested in learning more about it. The back of the book describes it as a “scintillating narrative” that “delves into the mysteries of cacao: its history, its legends and lore, the processes that make chocolate…”

After I checked out my books, we headed out to the trail for a fast-paced walk. I got my exercise with four laps around the lake while Benjamin had a nice nap in his stroller. Afterwards, Brad joined us and we took some pictures that capture the beauty of this community spot (as well as of the beautiful day!).

Brad reminisced about his childhood days at his family’s lake house. The sounds of the ducks and the fresh smell of the air and water reminded him of his time spent there.

I love the wetlands, the bridge, and the water – they all combine to raise this library several notches above its counterparts.

Since the lake was designed to be a natural wetlands habitat, wildlife is thriving. We saw several ducks and fish, a crane (the bird, not the machine), and these swans with their babies.

I plan to take Benjamin to the library often, especially while the weather is nice. It’s the perfect place to go for books and exercise. Where are your favorite places to go in your community?

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Weathering the Storm

April 11, 2008 at 1:35 pm (Family, Miscellaneous)

As everyone in Carrollton did, we experienced an unexpected and unwanted wake up call at about 4 a.m. on Thursday morning. For us, the wake up call came initially in the form of our electricity going out. I got up to reset the security alarm, and it was then that I noticed the unsettling noise of extremely high wind and heavy rain outside. Brad and I quickly crossed to the other side of the house, grabbed Benjamin, and took cover in the front (interior) bathroom, in case this was a tornado. We also had a battery-operated radio, so we soon learned that the heaviest part of the massive storm was, indeed, in Carrollton. We stayed in the bathroom for about 15 or 20 minutes, until the storm subsided. Conveniently, 4 a.m. is about the time that I normally feed Benjamin during the night, so I was able to do that while we waited.

In the morning, we learned via the news that a tornado hadn’t hit our area. Instead, it was damaging straight line winds. Some areas experienced winds as high as 87 mph! Thankfully, our house and yard didn’t suffer any major damage. But from the looks of the damage some people have, this might as well have been a tornado. In fact, one meteorologist explained that sometimes strong storms like these (it was a huge line of severe weather) can produce tornado-like activity that isn’t technically a tornado. Benjamin and I took a drive around the neighborhood yesterday and saw tons of fallen trees, damaged fences, a few damaged chimneys, etc. We also stopped by my sister’s house. They live less than two minutes from us, but their neighborhood was hit even harder. Here’s her take on the experience: http://vontress5.blogspot.com/2008/04/scary-stormy-night.html

Brad left for a day trip to Roswell, NM Thursday morning, so I had to assess the storm damage myself. We lost a large branch of our bradford pear tree, and another rather large branch from one of our live oaks. This branch was leaning against a tree and across the driveway, so I had to drag it out of the way in order to get the car out of the garage. Our already dilapidated basketball goal lost its backboard, and one of our trash cans that normally sits right next to the garage ended up in a still-standing position at the end of the driveway. Those were the main signs at our house that a strong storm came through. Other than that, we will just have a lot of clean up of twigs and leaves in the yard.

Here are a few pictures that show the aftermath of the storm. Not pictured is one of those huge electric relay towers (not sure of the official term) that fell and crushed an SUV just up the street from our neighborhood. Thankfully it didn’t land on the house that the SUV was parked in the driveway of! Since I couldn’t get a good shot of the tower that fell, I thought I’d include a picture of the type of tower I’m talking about, so that you get a sense of how strong the winds must have been to knock it over:

In the next picture, you’ll notice the branch leaning across the driveway that I had to unleash my inner super woman to drag out of the way. In the bottom left corner is the backboard of the basketball goal, and in the bottom right corner is the trash can that was apparently lifted straight up into the air and deposited at the end of the driveway (I had already moved it out of the alley when I took this picture.)

Here is the branch that fell off of the Bradford pear tree. Sadly, we will have to say goodbye to this tree since it could likely split and cause roof damage at any time now.

Here is the worst storm damage that I saw. This building is part of a church just up the street from us. An exterior wall was ripped off by the high winds, exposing two floors of the church to the elements. I hope insurance will cover most of the cost of repairing this awful mess!

One thing we learned from this experience is that we want to be better prepared if there’s a “next time” of this type of weather emergency. We didn’t know where our radio was, or our flashlight, etc. Here are some suggestions from the Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_601_,00.html

Nana’s Quilt

April 9, 2008 at 2:07 pm (Benjamin, Family)

Quilts have always been important in my family. My great grandmother made enough quilts for just about everyone in the family to have one. Brad and I have one of those at our house now. Then in college I took a folklore studies class, and we spent a lot of time discussing quilting as an art form, and about how it is dying out since the older generation is no longer passing it down to the younger. Also in college, I read the short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, which focuses on a family quilt and whether it should be put to everyday use or put on display. Although I believe quilts are worth preserving as family heirlooms, I also believe in using them.

A few people have made quilts for Benjamin, and for the reasons I mentioned above, these are very special to me – I hope they will be special to him as well. So far, his favorite is the one his Nana made for him. Over the past week he (and we) have discovered the joy of tummy time. This activity soothes Benjamin when he is fussy, helps him fall asleep, and relieves tummy aches. Nana’s quilt has become the go-to for his floor time, so I thought I’d share a few pictures that show how content he is. Thanks Nana!

These two pictures capture Benjamin’s first experience with a Baby Einstein Activity Center. He was amazed!

Benjamin is multitasking: studying pictures, relieving a tummy ache, and sucking a pacifier to calm down for a nap. Isn’t the quilt beautiful?

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One Month Old

April 3, 2008 at 8:20 pm (Benjamin, Emily, Growth and Development)

Note: If you don’t have time to read the short novel that I wrote in this post, scroll on down to view the latest pictures of Benjamin. I had some extra time on my hands this afternoon because he is taking an extra long nap in his crib.
On Tuesday, which happened to be April Fool’s Day, Benjamin turned one month old – and that’s no joke! (Sorry for the cheesiness – I’ll blame cabin fever, since I don’t get out as much these days.) In celebration of his one month birthday (is that what I should call it?), here are some things we have learned in our first 30+ days with Benjamin in our lives:

Ways to Calm A Fussy Benjamin: Breast milk, pacifier, bouncy seat (with the vibration setting and ocean sounds turned on), a walk in the stroller, a walk in the Baby Bjorn, a car ride, applying diaper cream after a diaper change, turning on the musical mobile in his crib, funny faces, running the vacuum cleaner (he likes the noise), running the clothes dryer (with the baby in his car seat sitting on top of the dryer), laying him on his belly on a blanket (with supervision, of course, since babies are supposed to sleep on their backs these days), letting him look at pictures from our computer through our television (he likes all the bright colors), showing him his face or our faces in a mirror (he thinks this is very amusing)

Please share any other suggestions you have for soothing fussy babies. We like to have a full arsenal, since Benjamin tends to be fussy in the evenings and at those times requires lots of undivided attention. It would be nice to have some more hands free time.

Ways to Multi-Task While Breastfeeding: Stare at Benjamin’s sweet face (I never grow tired of this one), chat with friends on the phone (with Bluetooth earpiece for ease of use), catch up on television (among other shows, I now regularly watch Jeopardy! and David Letterman), make calls to customer service of cable company that you have been avoiding (might as well be on hold while I’m stuck on the couch, you know?), read a book (I haven’t attempted this yet, but plan to soon), marvel at how tiny Benjamin’s fingers and toes are, nervously contemplate when I will first tackle the daunting task of clipping his nails, update my list of his daily feeding and diaper change schedule (I have been very meticulous about recording the times and duration of his feedings, as well as when he has wet and dirty diapers, mostly just so I can differentiate one day from the next), observe the thick layer of dust on all the furniture that I never get around to cleaning, ask Brad to give me a foot massage, eat (very carefully, so as not to spill anything on Benjamin), sleep (I find myself nodding off sometimes, especially during the night feedings)

Am I missing out on any exciting breastfeeding diversions? Let me know!

Benjamin’s Personality: Laid back, happy, but strong-willed (like his mom) and interested in observing his environment to figure things out (like his dad). He likes being swaddled, taking baths, seeing the reflections on people’s glasses, snuggling, getting a fresh diaper, sleeping in his crib at night (what a blessing!), going for walks, feeling a breeze on his face, imitating our faces (especially smiles), watching television (he’s only interested in the bright colors and shapes, of course), staring at the bumper pad and mobile in his crib (the brightly colored and fun patterns never cease to amaze him)

Benjamin does not like: having to wait for anything, having trouble pooping or burping, hearing sudden and loud noises, getting strapped into his car seat, having his clothes changed in the middle of the night (we’ve had some leaky diapers on our hands).

Other Things I’ve Learned:

I can function on six hours of sleep at night
Brad is an excellent swaddler and diaper changer (and an all-around great dad!)
Being a parent at times makes me feel pretty inadequate, but when I get something right it feels like a major accomplishment, even if it’s something small.
Having Benjamin in our lives has been amazing and wonderful. I wouldn’t trade the experiences of this first month for anything!

And now for a few pictures:

We love to watch Benjamin sleep. He looks so cozy, especially in his favorite position, which is stretching his arms up above his head. In this picture he has decided to rest his hands on his shoulders instead.

Here’s another sweet sleeping shot of Benjamin. He usually naps in his bouncy seat during the day. That’s where he is in these pictures.