Five Months Old

July 31, 2008 at 4:13 pm (Benjamin, Growth and Development)

Another month has passed, and now Benjamin is five months old. Brad and I have remarked that in the past couple of weeks, Benjamin has really started to develop quickly. He can entertain himself with his toys for long stretches of time, he loves to interact with us and giggle, and he is almost rolling over.

Here’s a list of his recent accomplishments, activities, etc.:

  • He’s back to sleeping all the way through the night! – This was the norm for about two months, until three weeks ago when he started waking up every night, anywhere from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., wide awake. When I’d go in to check on him, he’d be chewing on his hand and drooling like crazy, which either meant he was starving or having teething troubles. Either way, nursing him seemed like the best solution. I’m glad that he came out of this routine on his own, and that I’m back to mostly uninterrupted sleep. And as the next picture shows, as of Thursday, July 31, he has discovered how comfortable it is to sleep on his side. Until now he’s always slept on his back:

  • His bed time may be getting earlier – Benjamin used to take four naps a day, with the last one being a short one around 8 p.m. He has stopped taking that fourth nap most days now, so I think I will start putting him to bed before 10. He is exhausted and happy to see his crib after his long days of playing. For now, I’ll shoot for 9:30. Monday night when I put him to bed then, he slept until 7 a.m. I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept until 8 a.m. some days.
  • He’s having fewer dirty diapers, but they are getting messier! – Benjamin is down to 1 or 2 poopies a day, whereas he used to have 3 or 4 of them. Must be something about the rice cereal – I guess it’s harder for his digestive system to process than my milk. I’ve become diligent about placing a burp cloth under him when he’s playing, just in case one of those explosive poops erupts. That way, I don’t have to figure out how to take apart and wash the bouncy seat, exersaucer, swing, etc.
  • He’s becoming very dexterous – Benjamin used to bat at his toys for a few seconds, but then they would fall out of his grasp and he’d forget about them. Now, he will hold and study a toy for several minutes. Some of his current favorites: a big, soft block that chimes and crinkles, the smiley face star on his Baby Einstein Activity Center, and the big caterpillar toy.

  • He’s about to outgrow his baby tub – There’s barely enough room for our boy in his tub now. His feet hang out the end, and his elbows are cramped by the sides. Besides, he wants to splash around in the water! As soon as he starts sitting up, we’ll move him to the big bathtub, and use the baby bath seat (don’t know the official name) that Cara gave us.

  • He’s graduated from nightgowns to sleepers – About a week ago I realized that it was crazy for Benjamin to still be wearing the gowns he wore when he was a month old! Sure, the tags claim that they are for 0-6 months, but I’ve learned that Gerber’s sizes run small. So, now every night Benjamin is looking sweet and cozy in zip-up sleepers, otherwise known as footed PJs.

  • He’s almost rolling over – So, technically he started rolling over when he was about 2 1/2 months old, but that was only three times, and they were all accidental. (The weight of his head caused him to roll from his belly to his back when he turned to look behind him.) Just this week, he has begun rolling from his back to his side, and staying there for awhile. This always happens when he is holding on to his toes. I figure it’s only a matter of time before he realizes he can keep going to go from back to belly, then back again.

  • He wants to sit up – He’s tired of viewing the world from flat on his back, or while craning his neck. He’s ready to see things from a more direct perspective! We know this because whenever he’s reclined, whether in his car seat, bouncy seat, or somewhere else, he strains to lift his head and back up, like he’s doing crunches. So, we help him practice sitting up – “One… Two… Three…!” (lifting him up to seated on the count of three).
  • He likes his rice cereal – Most nights, around 6, we feed him two teaspoons of rice cereal mixed with water. He seems to have developed a taste for it, if his exuberant smile and lip smacking are any indication.
  • His neck is ticklish – This is a fun development for me and Brad. When we kiss or nuzzle Benjamin’s neck, he lets out the most contagious giggles! Sometimes we tone things down a bit by lightly tickling his neck and lower face to relax him.

A few more pictures…

Benjamin is fascinated by his cousins these days, especially Jacob and Joel, who are already teaching him about being a big boy.

Brad and I have a nightly ritual of presenting Benjamin to one another after his bath. Whichever one of us has bathed him will wrap him up in his hooded towel and come show him to the other. We’ll exclaim, “Look at the clean baby!” or something like that. This is a ritual that we learned from watching Cara and David do this with their kids. It was fun then, and it’s fun now.

And here’s another sweet picture of Benjamin in his quickly becoming too small tub:

As you can see, we are having a blast watching Benjamin grow and helping him learn about the world around him.

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Childhood Memories

July 27, 2008 at 11:43 am (Diversions, Emily, Family)

Recently, while in Ruston, Brad and I left Benjamin with Mama C and went on a journey into my childhood neighborhood. My family lived in the southwest part of Ruston until I was about 12 years old, when we moved to the northeast part of Ruston. Although Ruston is a small town, I rarely visit my old stomping grounds, since it’s all the way on the other side of town.

Brad and I had fun talking about my childhood memories, and taking pictures and videos. Our first stop was my old house:

It’s not much to look at, but I have so many memories from living here. I often walked over to my neighbor’s house when I was preschool aged. Her name was Miss Peggy, and she was a retired librarian. She was a very calming presence in my life, and may be partly responsible for my mellow personality. Instead of running around with neighborhood kids, I would spend time sitting with Miss Peggy on her swing watching hummingbirds drink from her hummingbird feeder. Other times we would carefully and methodically build towers out of Dominoes, or eat fresh carrot sticks from a water-filled jar of them that she kept in her refrigerator. I can still remember the smell of her house, and the sound of the ceiling fans turning and the breeze blowing through her open windows (she usually didn’t turn her a/c on).

Other memories of my childhood on Yale Drive:

  • Riding my bike to the E-Z Mart to buy icees, jolly ranchers, and caramel cubes
  • Exploring the woods at the end of the cul-de-sac
  • My dad pushing us down the sloped, icy street in a Coca-Cola ice chest when it would snow. The weather wasn’t often wintry, so this was always very exciting.
  • Playing in the sprinkler, the slip ‘n slide on hot summer days
  • Chasing fireflies on summer evenings
  • Building houses out of pine straw in the back yard

Sometimes my siblings and I would venture outside of our neighborhood, to the nearby Tech Farm (the agricultural area of Louisiana Tech’s campus). Brad and I also visited this area and walked around.

The above picture is one of Tech pond, one of three ponds at Tech farm. It wasn’t so fancy back in the day – it was just a pond then whereas now there’s a fountain and a deck. Throughout my childhood, I would either ride my bike or walk over with my sister and brothers. We would bring a bag of stale bread with us (usually the end pieces) to feed to the ducks and turtles. When we would run out of crumbs, we would stop by the Tech Farm sales room to buy some little cartons of chocolate milk to drink. It sure did hit the spot after playing outside!

From the pond, we would make our way over to the stables, where, as I recall, at least 10 horses were kept. When Brad and I were at the farm, we discovered that the stables area now has restricted access, and is closed to the public, but as kids we were able to roam free to watch the horses, sometimes pet them, and climb in the hay bails that were stored nearby. Sometimes there were rodeos and horse shows at the farm, and we could come and go as we pleased at those events as well. I even remember watching a horse give birth one time. That was amazing! Here’s a picture of some of the horses at the farm now. This was as close as we could get to them:

A couple of other memories of exploring Tech farm:

  • climbing a huge magnolia tree (it’s still there, and even more huge now, 20 years later!)
  • discovering a herd of goats that was kept in a fenced in area behind the stables
  • my brothers playing their own version of golf in a small field adjacent to the farm
  • visiting the Tech dairy with my dad to pick up fresh cheese

Tech farm isn’t just a fun play place from my childhood. It also has some significance in my family history. My mom’s ancestors used to own the land that is now Tech farm. In the late 19th century, several of them, unfortunately, died of yellow fever, many of them children. These ancestors are buried in a small graveyard that provides a view of the rolling, green pastures.

I was always intrigued by one of their names: Levoisier Fasio. Brad and I walked through this graveyard, and it is filled with a strong sense of the past. It was very quiet, as all graveyards are, I suppose. It is neat to visit an area that has strong ties to your family’s past.

Brad and I really enjoyed our date that morning, spending two hours walking, talking, reminiscing. We had a similar experience two years ago when we visited Brad’s relatives in Ohio, and he showed me around his childhood neighborhoods, and told me about his formative years. I enjoy being nostalgic. Can you tell? :)

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The Wonderful World of Peanut Butter

July 24, 2008 at 5:14 pm (Diversions, Emily)

I just wanted to take a moment to sing the praises of peanut butter. I am totally loving this creamy, nutty food these days. Actually, I’ve been craving it since during my pregnancy. As a nursing mother, I have found that this is one of the most satisfying snacks to curb my constant hunger.

My current brand of choice is Smart Balance. I first purchased the creamy peanut butter, which was good, but then I tried the chunky kind, and it was excellent! Smart Balance makes many claims about its product being natural, healthier, etc. I find that it tastes better than other peanut butter I’ve tried, so it’s an added bonus that it is trans fat free, all natural, etc.

Anyway, here are some ways I’ve found to enjoy it:

  • By the spoonful – This is my favorite way to eat peanut butter. It’s an instant hunger reliever. I’ve found this especially useful as a middle of the night snack. Yes, I have to rummage through the pantry at 3 a.m. Benjamin has been waking up several nights a week wanting to nurse (growth spurt, perhaps?), so I am always hungry afterwards.
  • With a apple slices – This is super easy now that I have my handy dandy apple corer, which was only $3 at Target! I needed a corer because I am cutlery challenged (it takes me forever to use a knife).
  • With celery sticks
  • On a slice of bread
  • Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  • Peanut butter and honey sandwich
  • Peanut butter chocolate banana smoothie (yummy!) – Maybe this sounds gross to some of you, but it sure was delicious to me during my third trimester. I don’t really have the time to put it together these days, but I highly recommend it to anyone who does. Click here if you want the recipe.

Did I miss any ways to enjoy peanut butter? Let me know if you have other ideas.

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Mother Goose Time

July 21, 2008 at 3:31 pm (Benjamin, Diversions)

Brad and I took Benjamin to his first Mother Goose Time at the library this morning. That is what our library calls the “story time” for babies age 0-12 months. It wasn’t quite what we expected, mainly because of the low attendance. The librarian who led the nearly private time of stories and songs said that not many people have been coming. Hopefully attendance will increase, because Benjamin seemed to enjoy himself, so I’d hate for it to be cancelled.

Those of you without kids may be wondering what a baby can get out of a story time. That’s what I used to think. But, it’s actually designed to be interesting to babies. So rather than stories, it’s mostly singing songs, doing hand and body motions, and looking at different shapes and colors. Very low key, very short (20 minutes), but a nice change of pace from all the same old activities at home.

Benjamin had two favorite parts. One was touching a red fire truck shape made of construction paper. Well, touching is an understatement. He basically crushed it in his hand. (The librarian had said they have plenty of shapes, so he could do what he wanted with it.) His second favorite part was singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” That’s one song we hadn’t sung at home yet, but we’ll be sure to do so now. He laughed and laughed, with an open-mouthed grin, as Brad and I sang along. I was also bouncing him on my knee to the beat of the song. However, it was the song itself that amused him, because the “Alphabet song” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” didn’t get the same reaction.

The other mom who was there had an 11 month old boy who was more interested in watching Benjamin than participating in the songs and stories. As she explained, he’s not used to having boys, or men, around. Sadly, her husband has been serving as an army engineer in Iraq for about 10 months, so he hasn’t seen her or his son for that long. She told us how hard it is to raise a child with her husband so far away for such a long time, and with her family living in Panama. :( One positive is that he’s coming for a short visit soon. Then he will go back to serve the (hopefully) last 5 months before returning home to his family.

Chatting with her, while Brad and I were both enjoying Benjamin together, made me feel so lucky to have his support as we take care of Benjamin and give each other breaks. I hope that I’ll continue to see her at Mother Goose Time so I can get to know her better and see if there’s anything we can do to help her while her husband is in Iraq.

Here are a couple more pictures that show Benjamin looking entranced by the whole new experience.

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A Growing Boy

July 20, 2008 at 10:58 am (Benjamin)

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted an update, so here goes. We’ve had a busy couple of weeks. Brad has been traveling more for work, I’ve been working on a project for Mattel, and Benjamin has been keeping us on our toes with an unpredictable schedule. All but a few nights in the past two weeks, he’s woken up wanting to nurse during the night. (Up until this point, he had been sleeping 10 hours straight every night since he was about 2 1/2 months old, so I was spoiled!) The time he wakes up varies, anywhere from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. I figure either he’s wanting to nurse because of a growth spurt or because of teething.

His nap schedule has been equally unpredictable. Some days he takes two long naps, other days he takes four short naps, and others he’s somewhere in between. It’s difficult to make plans for the day when we don’t know when he’ll sleep. But, at least he is sleeping.

Benjamin is getting better and better at entertaining himself. He enjoys interacting with me and Brad, or with his feet or a toy. He also really wants to sit up, but isn’t quite ready. Whenever he’s in a reclined position, such as in the car seat or bouncy seat, he strains to sit up, like he’s doing crunches. We help him practice sitting up everyday, which he gets excited about.

Here are some pictures that show how he is growing. (WordPress was having some issues with adding images when I wrote this post, so if they aren’t working, check back later.)


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Food, Fun, and Fashion

July 10, 2008 at 11:08 am (Benjamin)

Food. Fun. Fashion. Those three words sum up what Benjamin has been up to the past couple of days. Let me expand on that a bit.

Food

Last week Benjamin’s pediatrician gave us the go ahead to introduce him to rice cereal. We finally got around to it yesterday, and it went very smoothly (and not too messy). As first time parents, we of course had to make sure the video camera was charged, that the camera was nearby, etc. (Hopefully, we’ll add some video footage to the blog soon.) All three of us enjoyed this monumental event.

Benjamin had already shown interest over the past few weeks while watching us eat – staring at our food, licking his lips. So we weren’t surprised that he liked the rice cereal we fed him. Of course, he only wanted a small serving, and we prepared it very liquidy, but we thought it went very well.

Here are a couple of pictures from the event:

Fun

A few days ago I picked up the much anticipated Exer-Saucer from Cara’s. After getting it all cleaned up (it’s been in her attic since Anna outgrew it), we introduced Benjamin to its wonders yesterday. He loved it! It’s the first baby gear he’s encountered that allows him to “stand up” and rotate 360 degrees, with something new, shiny, and colorful to touch and see at every turn. I’ve no doubt this will provide him with hours of entertainment over the next several months.

We’ve been introducing a new toy to Benjamin every few days (we were lucky to be given lots of hand-me-downs). Lately he’s very intrigued by this caterpillar discovery toy:

Fashion

Last week I managed to finally take most of the newborn and 0-3 month clothing out of Benjamin’s drawers, to store them away until another baby comes along to wear them. Today I remembered to do the same with his socks, hats, and the items that were hanging in his closet. I came across a few cute outfits that he never even wore. He outgrew them somewhere between when I thought he was too small to wear them, the weather got too warm, and when I forgot about them completely. One cute outfit looked like it might still fit him, even though it’s labeled 0-3 months. So, I got him all decked out in this cute sea-themed overall/onesie/cap set this morning. He was so cute that I had to take pictures. Unfortunately, the outfit is, indeed, too snug, so he’ll never wear it again. :( I especially love the little cap. He’s never really worn any hats other than the little ones he wore to bed when he was a newborn. They are very cute on a baby boy.

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Date Night

July 6, 2008 at 12:56 pm (Brad, Diversions, Emily)

Yesterday, Brad and I had the thrilling opportunity to spend four hours just the two of us. As much as we love Benjamin, we relished the chance to spend some time together without being interrupted by feeding times, spit up, a fussy baby, etc. So, what did we do with our precious time?

  • First off, I have to give a big, big thank you to Mandy and Will, who offered to spend their evening hanging out with Benjamin. I was a little worried about leaving him for an extended amount of time, since in the past he has gotten fussy if I was gone for more than an hour or so. Thankfully, he hardly noticed we were gone! We armed Mandy and Will with two pages of notes (yes, I’m one of those kind of crazy moms) about Benjamin’s typical activities, from his naptime routine to his favorite toys, and they managed to keep him entertained, happy, and most importantly, on his schedule.

  • After leaving Benjamin in the very capable hands of Mandy and Will, we set off on our freeing “dinner and a movie” adventure. We started with the movie, though, by seeing a matinee showing of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. We went all out, sharing a Coke and some Sour Patch straws (yes, that’s splurging for us). And we were highly entertained by the movie. You can read my review of it here.

  • When we got out of the movie (and after I called to make sure Benjamin was being cooperative), we headed over to The Keg Steakhouse (my favorite place to get a steak in Dallas) for dinner. We had such a nice time eating great food in a quiet, cozy atmosphere, and enjoying distraction-free conversation.

This date night experience makes me want to have more of them. Having some time away from being a parent seems to have an energy-renewing affect. It’s kind of like a mini-vacation. Everyone needs a break from their daily routine, whether it’s working a 40-hour a week office job or caring for a baby who depends on you for all of his needs. And I must say, while I didn’t really miss Benjamin while we were away from him, I was very happy to hold him in my arms when we returned home. The time apart was probably good for both of us. :)

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Sweet Feet

July 5, 2008 at 11:56 am (Benjamin)

I snapped these photos of Benjamin’s sweet feet earlier this week.

Here they are dangling out of his swing. Notice, also, the chubby legs.

Here’s a closeup of his feet in socks. Sadly, he is still wearing the same socks he wore when he was a week old! I haven’t made it to the store to buy him any new ones, and I also haven’t taken the time to search through the hand-me-down socks we received to find some bigger ones. I do love these socks, though. They still stay on his feet really well, and I’ve heard from other moms that it’s hard to find socks that won’t constantly fall off.

And now my favorite feet picture. I love his little toes, and he likes to wiggle them every which way. His second toe is bigger than his big toe, just like his mom. And we learned at the pediatrician this week that one of his feet is slightly longer than the other. According to her, that is true of most of us. (Take a moment to examine your feet now – I already did.)

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Four Months Old

July 2, 2008 at 9:45 am (Benjamin, Growth and Development)

We celebrated Benjamin’s four month old “birthday” yesterday. He commemorated the occasion with lots of drool, lots of dirty diapers, and lots of smiles and laughs. We celebrated by having our friends Mandy and Will over for dinner, coffee and dessert, and some friendly Wii bowling and tennis competition.

Here are some details about who Benjamin is at four months old:

  • He weighs 13 lbs. 7 oz., and is 25 3/8″ tall. These stats make him tall and skinny for his age.
  • He is becoming more interested in everything, which makes it more of a challenge to feed him if the television is on, Brad (or anyone) is talking, or there is any kind of noise in the house.
  • He loves to chew on his hand. In fact, he loves it so much that he lay awake in his crib for 40 minutes one night this week talking to himself and doing the hand chewing. I think that he must be teething.
  • Speaking of teething, another sign of it is the waves of drool that pour out of his mouth all day. I sometimes keep a bib on him to catch some of it and to keep his clothes dry, and we always have a burp cloth nearby to wipe up the excess that ends up on his face, my arm, etc.

  • He finds more to laugh at everyday – especially when his Daddy is involved. Brad has discovered that Benjamin’s neck is ticklish, and when he kisses it and nuzzles it, Benjamin lets out the sweetest, most contagious giggles. And when he’s really amused by something, we call him our pterodactyl boy, because his high-pitched laugh sounds like the caw of these flying dinosaurs (or at least what we know of them from Jurassic Park).
  • Another new father/son activity is beatboxing (vocal percussion, for those not familiar). Brad will do this to entertain Benjamin, and now Benjamin has started trying to imitate Brad. Since he can’t make a “bah” noise, his beat boxing is more of a “hah hah…” but it’s very cute!

  • Last night Brad helped Benjamin discover his toes. As Brad says, Benjamin has a “kung fu grip” on his left foot, but has trouble holding on to the right foot. Could this be a sign that he’s a lefty like his mom? This left-handed kung fu grip is also true of our giraffe tug of war game.

  • He’s also highly entertained by the tummy time lights and music toy. We’re pretty sure he’s figured out how to turn the music back on by pushing the big lever on the front of the toy. He loves to watch the lights and shapes while kicking his feet to the music.

And finally, here’s a look at his favorite toys:

  • the tummy time toy I just spoke of
  • the giraffe that we play with together
  • the mirror/smiley face toy (he loves to play with this one while in his swing)
  • An elaborate rattle (it’s like a ferris wheel – the whole thing turns, and the individual parts do as well). He likes to feel the little ribbon fringe on one of the parts.
  • His ring of rings. This toy has given him lots of practice with holding and manipulating objects.

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