Benjamin - Five Months Old

Benjamin is five months old!  Actually he's just about 5 and a half months old but since his four month post I started a brand new job and entered into a contract with a really old house! So much excitement and so much paranoia about new job Internet monitoring means little time to blog.  But we are doing awesome.

In the beginning of the month I weaned from the breast pump.  I was hoping to exclusively pump for six months until Benjamin could get his flu shot but it just got too hard to handle pumping and everything else all at once.  I'm happy that I made it as long as I did though and that Benjamin got five months of breast milk.  And not having to wake up and try to wrangle an increasingly animated baby whilst pumping breast milk and prepping his bottles every morning is a nice change.  Now I just show up with three empty bottles because formula comes free with our day care tuition.

I found the O and the H blocks.  Or H found them.  They were just underneath some clothes so that shows you how disorganized we are.  I'm looking forward to a fresh new start in the new house.  So much room to organize!

Weight and Other Stats: I don't know.  There's no five month appointment.  Maybe he's 15 pounds?  I think he's HUGE!

Size: Still in Size 2 diapers and clothes are sort of all over the map.  Some three month onesies still fit but he fits best in nine to twelve month pants.  Maybe he'll have long legs like me?

Eating: I don't really know since I don't send breast milk anymore but even when I did day care usually was giving him a fourth bottle right when I was picking him up.  He never eats four times in eight and a half hours when he's with me but he also doesn't really nap for them. I'm over it.  On the weekends he eats his regular 24-28 ounces and seems satisfied.  We started solids two weeks ago, right after five months, but it is going incredibly slowly.  Benjamin is disinterested in purees and bananas made me freak out and rip it out of his mouth.  BLW fail.

Sleeping: Much better!  We went back to the swaddle for a while but now we are firmly with the Magic Sleep Suit and he is doing okay.  He goes down religiously at 6 pm, so only about thirty minutes after we get home and will sleep until around midnight or 1 a.m.  If we're lucky he will go back down until 5 a.m. after that but then can be "pacified" until after 7.  DH and I trade off nights which is the best system ever.  Even if you have a terrible night you know you can sleep a solid twelve hours the next night if need be.

Benjamin loves sitting up.  He can't really do it for any sustained period of time but he looks so proud of himself when I put him on the couch and just let him be...until he falls over.

Just this week he has started developing a touch of separation anxiety which is pretty sad.  I wasn't expecting that for a while but he got so upset playing Hide N Seek with H and kept looking at the door when I was in and out of the bathroom drying my hair.

He loves music and will shake a rattle to a tune if encouraged.  He's been in Music Together for two months now and I think it's paying off.

Life is good.

Benjamin's First Halloween!

I had such high hopes for Halloween this year.  The weekend before Halloween, I planned to dress up in our awesome costumes and take Benjamin out on the town to the amusement and delight of many.  My husband always said it wasn't going to work but I was optimistic.

In the end we stayed home.  Sigh.  The night we were supposed to go out it was so friggen cold and we had to wait for our groceries to be delivered and after all that happened Benjamin was asleep and the idea of taking a cranky baby out into the cold night was just ridiculous.

But I wasn't going to let the holiday pass us by.  On the morning of Halloween I jumped out of bed as soon as Benjamin woke up so I could start dressing him up.  First up, I put him in the dalmatian costume my mom got him.  He thought it was great fun!  He also loved to eat it.

As soon as my very patient husband woke up, I directed him to don his smurf costume so we could take a family picture.  We had been smurfs for Blue Night on our cruise in January so we already had the costumes and I knew it would be a huge hit - at least on Facebook since we never actually got to go out in public with them on.  I'm glad we took the pictures first thing in the morning because there is no way Benjamin would have been a happy camper right before bedtime.

The fun didn't stop there! Day care had told parents that costumes were not allowed but "Halloween themed pajamas" were encouraged.  Being the Mother of the Year that I was, I didn't set out to buy said pajamas until the day before Halloween so we got stuck with a Robin costume. He still looked adorable though, if I do say so myself.

In all the excitement, I actually forgot to feed him so Super Dad swept in and did it while I got changed out of the smurf costume and into my work clothes.  And I wasn't even that late!

Benjamin - Four Months Old

Benjamin is four months old and we already lost two of his monthly photo blocks. Oddly enough, the "O" and the "H."

Oh.

I swear someone is messing with me. I looked EVERYWHERE. I could just go to Homegoods and buy some new blocks, but seeing as I am back to work and Benjamin actually turned four months old three days ago that may be a little TOO MUCH TO ASK OF ME RIGHT NOW.  

Weight and other stats: My big boy is fourteen pounds and two ounces, now in the fifteenth percentile! He is twenty five inches long, which I think is in the twenty second percentile. He still has a big head.

Size: He's still in size 2 diapers and all of the newborn stuff (even crazy Target) has been put away or loaned out.  Most of the 0-3 too.  There are a few "3 month" things that work but he's mostly wearing 3-6 month stuff now.  The other day he wore a Six Month jacket and I got a little weepy.  I'm not sure why I keep buying clothes he will only wear for like a week but it's hard to stop.  Old Navy had a 40% baby sale.  Much cuteness resulted.

Eating: Still pretty consistent, though I'd love to reduce the nighttime feeding.  I bring three 5 ounce bottles of breast milk to daycare and he usually drinks all or most of it.  If he doesn't finish his last bottle by 5 it's usually gone by 6 p.m. before he goes to bed.  Plus his morning bottle (5 oz) he SHOULD only need one nighttime feed but I swear he wants to eat every time he wakes up.  We try and try to find other ways to soothe him.  It's hard. He drinks 8+ ounces between midnight and seven no matter how much he drank during the day. He still gets some formula in addition to the milk I pump.

Sleeping: It's the worst it's ever been!  He pretty much stopped the magical seven hour stretches he was giving us.  Now we're lucky if his first stretch of sleep is four hours. Last night it was only two! We transitioned him out of his Miracle Blanket and into a Magical Sleep Suit.  Save your $40 because it is NOT magic. He's now sleeping in his Pack and Play instead of his Rock N Play.  We wedge it in between my husband's bathroom and the closet so he has his own little alcove, much to the dismay of our younger cat who likes to sleep in the closet. I am sleeping more soundly now that he's not three inches away but the downside is I actually have to get out of bed to try and soothe him. He still goes to bed between 6 and 6:30 and woe to the person who tries to mess with that.

Being back at work was awesome at first.  My first day back I got a call about a second interview and had that in the middle of my third day back. I really thought I hit it out of the park.  Since then I've been a giant ball of nerves waiting to hear back.

Benjamin is doing well in daycare.  His teachers are really nice.  He seems to be quite popular over there and I know they're taking good care of him.  We walk to work together every morning and I go and visit him around lunchtime.  I'm pretty happy with the arrangement thus far.

Developmentally, I don't know.  Benjamin rolled over.  And then stopped.  Benjamin laughed.  Once.  I guess this happens with kids but it's pretty stressful reading about other kid's milestones so I'm just going to skip that part so as to not pass my anxiety on to other parents.  I'm sure your four month old is fine.  Stop googling!

Benjamin - Three Months Old

Benjamin is three months old!  This month we took him to his first ever music festival and he was the world's best baby the whole weekend.  I was worried he would melt down or the weather would suck or all of our friends would abandon us but, luckily, none of that happened at all. 

I know it seems self-serving to attribute interests to someone who has been on the planet less than 100 days, but Benjamin really likes to listen to music.  He would smile and pay attention when a band was playing and get annoyed at set break.  He's our kid! I want to sign him up for a Music Together class which starts next month but I'm not sure how it would impact his bedtime.

My husband taught him to move him arms up and down in tune with the music.  So cute! We also noticed he sleeps the best when he's outdoors so he pretty much slept through eighty percent of the festival.  He did, however, let us take him to the Kids Tent where frankly, he is way too young for the miniature golf or other activities but we still hung out to make some friends with kids and show off his awesome bear costume in honor of the theme of the Kid's Tent - Bear Song.

Weight and other stats: For whatever reason, there is NO three month appointment at my pediatrician's office so we don't know.  I think he's probably twelve pounds now.


Size: He's mostly in 0-3 month clothes now.  We bought a whole bunch of soft onesies from The Gap that were barely used by a friend so he wears those daily because I love them.  The Target newborn onesies I bought still fit too and like one or two things that just say "three months."  We breezed past Size 1 Pampers Swaddlers pretty fast and now we're in Size 2.

Eating: I don't keep track anymore but I swear he's in a growth spurt.  He sucked down three bottles last night so that's about 11 ounces.  During the day today he had about sixteen?  I don't know, it seems like he eats a ton but it's still pretty consistently 24-28 ounces a day. I pump six times a day so Benjamin consumes about 80% breast milk.

Sleeping: I have been on a mission to get him to nap lately.  Three days this week I've managed to get a two to three hour nap.  It takes very hard work and determination though!  I should write more about this later.


Likes: His hands!  Seriously he has so much fun just sucking on his hands or looking at them, especially in the morning.  I will unswaddle him and change his diaper and then go back to bed while he lays next to me in the Rock N Play cracking himself up talking to his hands.


Dislikes: Sigh.  He has gone off his swing, which was always sort of hit or miss.  And he still hasn't taken to his "Zen Chair" which means a whole lot of baby crap taking up our floor space has been for naught (not to mention the money spent on them).  I haven't removed them from the apartment yet just in case he changes his mind but when we bring out his exersaucer that may change. Also still hates the Ergo (and the Boba Air) but loves this cheapy crotch dangler I got at a flea sale).


In other news, we went to visit my inlaws to spread my sister in law's ashes.  It was every bit as depressing as you could imagine, maybe more so actually. I am comforted by the fact that her kids are doing well.  I hope we are able to have a close relationship with them going forward.  My husband and I always talked about doing a special activity with my nephew before this happened and it just never came to pass for whatever reason, but now I know I should make sure it will happen.

We also went and stayed with my parents for a week, which was nice. I like being able to take a nice long nap or be able to pass Benjamin off to fresh arms. He loves to be held and luckily he's not too discriminate so long as someone is interacting with him.

That reminds me of day care...we went to visit since my husband had never seen the place I picked.  It looked nice and comfortable.  I am sure we will be happy there.  I am just sort of questioning how mellow it looked, lol.  Benjamin loves action and all these kids were just sort of laying around. Maybe I just came at a quiet time, who knows.  I'm going to see how it goes and reevaluate within a few weeks/months.  None of the babies were crying, so that's good.  AND it's only a few feet from where I work.

Finally, I have another job interview next week.  It's my third while on maternity leave so I'm not putting all my eggs in the basket or anything but I'm looking forward to it.   Same commute (walking ten minutes) but a potentially more engaging work environment and more moolah!

Hug Naps Are The Worst (And The Best)

Shortly after posting my last entry about a typical day with Benjamin, I lamented to some cyber friends how the only times Benjamin wants to sleep during the day is when I pushed him in his stroller or let him pass out on my shoulder for a while as I remain immobilized on the couch.

I have logged many, many miles pushing my Uppababy Vista this summer and I love it because it gets me out of the apartment and moving. And, occasionally, B sleeps soundly enough that I can even sit in the park and do some reading/browsing.

Unfortunately for my relaxation intentions, but perhaps fortunately for my waistline, there are days when I have to keep him continuously in motion because the slightest pause in movement makes him wake up.  He does this on car trips too - sleeps the entire time we are on the highway but startles awake when we are stopped at a light.

And sometimes I just can't push a stroller all day so we relax on the couch and he'll pass out on my shoulder in a sleepy tiny hug.

I love the hug naps, but after a few minutes I remember all the bottles I could be washing or the lunch I could be making, or the thank you notes I could be filling out (cringes, three months later)....and I long for the days of a few weeks ago when I could plop sleeping Benjamin in his Rock N Play or just down on his Boppy next to me on the couch, and he would continue to nap.

Those

were

the

days.


As time went on, though, Benjamin would start waking up the minute I tried to transfer him anywhere but my shoulder.

My cyber friends all had great suggestions, like nap routines that are similar to our bedtime routines including swaddling for naps like we do for bedtime and we are trying to make some changes.

Yesterday, however, while we were riding on a train on the way back from staying with my parents, I sort of had a naptime epiphany.  I walked through three cars trying to find two open seats so I could sit Benjamin's car seat next to me to no avail.  He woke up when I had to take him out of his seat and screamed.  I was so stressed out but luckily he calmed down after a quick bottle and then proceeded to fall asleep on my shoulder.  For two hours.  Every few minutes he would sigh and hug me closer.  As each minute went on, I grew less and less anxious about his crying disturbing a train full of people and came to realize, shit, I was the luckiest person on that whole damn train.

I don't really know the secret to naps and we completely are without a "schedule" for how we spend our days, but I know these hugs won't last forever so I'm just soaking them up for now.

A Rainy Day With Benjamin

When I was pregnant I desperately searched baby blogs for detailed accounts of what mothers did with their new babies all day.  I had major anxiety over the idea of staying cooped up in the apartment all day and thought if I was armed with an arsenal of "activities" I wouldn't go crazy.  I can't tell you how many times I googled "maternity leave activities."  LOL.  I still remember telling my husband how much I wanted to take B to a working dairy farm.  Because maybe he needed to learn agribusiness?  I'm not sure exactly.

Even though we have yet to spend a day like I envisioned sprawled out on a picnic blanket or hiking a natural trail, I still try to give B a fair share of "activities" each day. And since there may be other anxious mothers to be out there wondering just how the heck the day is going to go, I decided to chronicle a "typical" day.  Not everyday has been like this but a lot of them have been close.  I didn't write down exact times as they were happening but here's basically how the last twelve hours have unfolded.

8:30 a.m. - H gets up to get ready for work and B is stirring.  I silently curse H for not picking up B because I just got back to bed from a feed/pump session less than ninety minutes ago.  Decide that B doesn't really want to wake up so I turn on the Sleep Giraffe and rock his Rock N Play until my wrist feels like it will fall off.  It works.  He sleeps for 40 more minutes.

9:10 - B is awake. Change shirt and diaper.  Feed while laying in bed watching The Today Show.  Chat, smile, laugh.

10:30 - B is getting overtired.  Check forecast and see there's a 100% chance of rain.  Boo.  Decide I don't care and throw B in his stroller with the rain cover and set out for a walk. Head to a bagel shop six blocks away.  B is asleep by the second block.  Kid loves going for walks.

10:45 - Order a delicious bagel with cream cheese and lox and a 20 ounce coffee.  It had been a crappy long night.  Eat the shit out of it.  Play with iphone.

11:30 - B is waking up.  Head home.  Feed.  Pump while he sits on my lap or on the Boppy pillow next to me.  Change diaper.  Chat, smile, laugh.

1:00 - B falls asleep on my chest and proceeds to take little cat naps for the next hour or so while I watch Netflix.

2:00 - Put B in his swing for 5 minutes while I do dishes and H makes us lunch.  He is not having it.  Pick him up and hold him.  Pump again.

3:00 - B is overtired again.  Throw him back in the stroller.  Walk to the big park across the street.  By the time I get to the lake, he is asleep.  Because his afternoon nap is usually harder to sustain I walk for thirty more minutes just to ensure he stays asleep.  Great calorie burner!  Sit on a bench for another thirty minutes and read my Kindle.

4:00 - B is starting to wake up.  Head home.  Change diaper.  Eat. Place B on his activity mat for 10 minutes while I do more dishes.  H leaves to go out, which means I'll handle the nighttime swaddle and put down which I've only done a handful of times by myself at this point.

5:00 - Call my Mother In Law while bouncing B on my lap for thirty minutes.  By the time the phone call is over he is a cranky mess.  Attempt to put him in swing.  Fail.  He cries on and off ten seconds at a time, a sure sign he has earned a One Way Ticket to Swaddle Town.  Try as I may, I cannot beat his early bedtime tendencies.

5:40 - Swaddle B and put him in his Rock N Play.  Sing Christmas carols until he falls asleep.  Take a nap.

7:00 - B starts crying in his sleep.  Rock him a little until he stops.  Go back in the living room to have a glass of wine and pump.

8:00 - Make dinner.  Check on B.  Write blog post.

For the past six weeks he will sleep for six hours after his initial nighttime swaddle but lately he starts to fall apart earlier and earlier in the night.  I've tried various techniques to move the six hour stretch to later in the night but without success.  So I will pump again at 10 and then head to bed.  B will likely wake up at midnight, 3, 5 and 7.  LOL.  So that was our day!

B is 11 weeks old and has never seen a working dairy farm.

Benjamin - Two Months Old

Benjamin's second month was even more exciting than his first. He is waking up and is much more alert and active than last month. We have been taking him with us pretty much everywhere because this kid loves to be on the move.  It is more challenging but I feel like the challenges accelerate at the same pace as the rewards so it's easier to manage.

The most important thing this month is that Benjamin learned how to smile!  He now smiles and coos frequently.  Sometimes it sounds like he is trying to talk.  For some strange reason he likes to coo and smile and strangers more than his poor mother but oh well, he's a baby.

Benjamin has also discovered his hands. He is content, at times, to just sit and look at them flapping in the air.  Then he coos and I imagine he is saying "did you know I had hands?!"

Weight and other stats: As of last week (eight weeks exactly) Benjamin weighed ten pounds, seven ounces. He is still in the thirteenth percentile so he's staying on his curve from last month which is a relief. He is twenty two inches tall.  This lands him in the fifteenth percentile.  His head circumference is thirty nine and a half centimeters (sixty eighth percentile).  It is sort of crazy that his next regular doctor's appointment isn't until he is four months old.  They really trust us with him for two more months?  Okay then!

Size: I swear he grows overnight.  We moved up to the Size One Pampers Swaddlers and now I'm not sure I like them as much.  B's hips are a little wide for them.  But seeing as my coupon clipper husband bought us a thousand of them, I will see how it goes for the next few weeks. In clothes he's still fits in Newborn the best.

Eating: Benjamin loves to eat.  He still drinks about 24 ounces a day, but I stopped keeping track of every single ounce lately and just feed him when he's hungry.  Our lactation consultant sort of made fun of me and said to stop tracking it.  I resisted and kept at it for a while but when we were out of town this week and other people were feeding him I just gave up.  I do know that he is still drinking mostly breast milk (about 16 ounces a day that I'm able to pump) and for that I am grateful. He recently had a procedure to correct a lip tie and a tongue tie so we are still hopeful that he will be able to feed directly from the breast but we are taking it one day at a time.

Sleeping: He sleeps ::whispers:: a good six hour stretch almost every night and has since he was five weeks old.  Sometimes seven and once he slept eight and a half hours.  Of course there are the (thankfully rare) nights that he only sleeps four hours in the longest stretch but those are almost always attributed to a bad swaddle or dirty diaper.  From reading other new mom experiences I know that we are insanely lucky to have a good sleeper.  The daytime sleep is less predictable.  We can usually get a good three hour nap in the early afternoon but sometimes I have to work for it and take him on a really long walk.  He seems asleep but then his eyes pop open as soon as I stop walking.  At least I'm burning calories!

Likes: Warm bottles (we started warming them up after someone gave us a bottle warmer and it's helped a lot with his craziness at feeding time). The stroller and going on walks where he can look at the trees and their shadows.  Taking a bath with me (no screams!).

Dislikes: Being changed.  Waiting for a bottle.  Gas. The Ergo (sigh, we'll keep trying).

I am enjoying my maternity leave and can't believe it's half over already.  My husband just got offered a new job (woot woot) so we've had an awesome month in many ways.