7 months old

Wow, I can't believe a month has passed since I last posted. I still have pics and videos to post, but Benji has been a velcro baby lately (always wanting to be attached to me), we've had a lot going on, and we've had our first illness with baby (nothing serious, just a cold that all of us caught).

Things are going well. No crawling yet. No teeth yet. Lots of enjoying food and enjoying each other though :) I'll add more soon (hopefully) Hope everyone is healthy and happy.

6 months old

Ben is 6 months old today. I'm amazed that 6 months ago today I was unaware as the time passed waiting for Ben to be born (and trying not to scream through the contractions). The time has passed so quickly.

Ben will be starting his next solid today. We took a break after his second time eating broccoli as his system wasn't quite ready. He had broccoli again over the weekend to much more success. Today we will be trying carrots.

Ben is now barrel rolling (front to back to front...) and moving across the floor. He is playing with his toys regularly on his own and passing them back and forth between his hands. He continues to rock on hands and knees and tries to launch himself forward and scoots backwards. He loves to grab anything, especially if it's something someone else has. He regularly grabs my glasses and hair and Jeff's beard. He wants to play with pens, remotes, and phones, which trump any toy that is his.

He giggles at funny noises and faces now. He still loves to be sung to and it is the one way to keep him happy when he is getting tired or grouchy (unless he is hungry). I have more pictures and videos to upload, and will hopefully get them done before the end of the week.

We also went and had our first professional photos done. Ben did wonderfully and the pictures are adorable. I'll be loading a link on here in a few weeks if people want to order some pictures in addition to what I ordered.

I am continuing to love being a mom and am amazed daily by the joy Ben brings to our family.

6 month check-up

Wow, it's been a hectic couple of weeks. Our Internet has not been working well which has made being online tough as well. Ben is doing great. He continues to have good and bad days when it comes to teething. He's becoming more independent with so much. He now is willing to be left alone to play on the floor regularly and often wakes up in his crib and just hangs out talking to himself and playing with his hands and feet.
Ben is moving a bunch now. He is never in the same place I put him in the crib when I go and check on him. He even woke me up one night with all the moving around and running into the crib walls. He can roll from back to stomach and stomach to back but thankfully hasn't figured out that if he does it over and over again he will travel. He is scooting backwards and rocking on his hands and knees and launching himself forwards. He loves to grab anything and everything, but I think his favorite things to grab are my glasses, my hair and Jeff's beard. He interacts with people and toys regularly and has started to enjoy throwing things to the floor and fussing so someone will pick it up. He also fusses if he can't throw it to the floor. He is absolutely amazing. I am truly loving the interaction and playfulness.

So, today was our 6 month well baby check. Ben is doing great. The doctor is impressed with how strong he is. She asked if he could sit up and was amazed that not only could he sit, but he balanced himself as he began to tip. Ben now weighs 16 lbs. 10.5 oz. and is 26" long (although I think he is longer than that). On the charts, he is 50% for both height and weight and 75% for head circumference (17"). He was really good at the office considering it took us 25 minutes to be taken back to a room and then another 45 minutes before we saw the doctor (and that was only because I complained). He seems to be doing okay tonight. No more fussy than he was this morning due to teething despite the 3 shots he had today. We'll see how he's doing tomorrow and if he is running a fever.

First food pics

Okay, now what?
Hmm...
Yummy

All done!

A bit messy, but fun. He had more today and was cleaner and got more of the broccoli in his mouth :D

5 months old

Wow, just wow.

Ben is doing great. He is enjoying his toes and toys. I think he can roll from tummy to back, but only really does it in bed. Sleeping through the night is on and off, depending on how eating goes during the day.

We've run into a string of constant eating and then refusal to eat. I was concerned Ben wasn't getting enough to eat, so he has gotten a bottle on 2 nights over the past week and then I pumped later in the evening. He has also been acting VERY ready for solid foods, watching us eat, grabbing at our plates, not quite seeming content with just breast milk. So, I broke down and let him have his first solids yesterday. We tried broccoli. He had lots of fun playing with the broccoli and got a bit in his mouth. When he got real bites we got a bit of a sour not sure face, but he went back for more, so...I think he likes it. Pics to come soon.

As far as other things, he is now 26 3/4" long. No clue on weight as we don't have a scale (no, not even one for us). Our next appointment is Sept. 2, so we will see what his weight is then.

Rear Facing car seats

On a mothering group I am on, the discussion started about when to turn a little one around to face front. As much as I would love to be able to look in the rear view mirror and see Benji's face, we will be waiting until he has reached the maximum weight his car seat will allow before he is forward facing. I encourage all other mothers, fathers, grandparents and those who love and care for babies to do the same. In the case of an accident, it could save the little one's life.

Here are a couple of you tube videos about why to keep a little one rear facing. It is said much better than I ever could. I am a bit too blunt sometimes.

Ahh, Sleep

We have reached a new milestone and I am really enjoying this one. Ben has begun to sleep through the night. Upon arriving home from MN, I was determined to help Ben sleep better and be able to fall asleep on his own, especially when he wakes in the middle of the night. I started a better bedtime routine with him which he seems to really enjoy and have tried to keep a consistent bed time (around 8 pm). Well in just a few short days, Ben only woke once and was able to get back to sleep with just a little bit of calm talking and patting his tush. On Friday night, despite my waking multiple times to check on him because I thought he should be awake, Ben slept from 10 pm to 5:30 am. Hooray, I was excited but cautious, maybe he was just VERY tired. Last night Ben slept from 8:30 pm until 5:30 am again. We'll see if it continues, but I will definitely enjoy it while I can.

The other nice thing about this is that it has allowed me to pair one of my least favorite activities with one of my favorite. In the morning when Ben wakes up, I let him eat while I pump the nearly engorged other breast. Pumping has always been a task that I did so that Jeff could feed Ben and so that I was able to go and do things without fear of Ben going hungry. It has been nice to have it be relaxing and productive (I can pump nearly twice as much when he is eating than when I am pumping alone).

Yay, sleep.....

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, our trip to MN was absolutely lovely. Ben did great on both flights, sleeping through them. We had a wonderful time at the wedding and visiting with family and friends while we were in MN. Ben began to play with his toys independently while there and begin giving kisses and cuddling more. We also had an episode of Ben being ill the night before we came home. Nothing too serious, but he did experience Pedialyte for the first time.

Once we got home we went camping on the beach with some friends. It was absolutely lovely and relaxing. Ben did great with his first camping trip and enjoyed looking at the ocean.

Now we're home and the house needs cleaning, laundry needs washing, groceries need to be bought, and I have commitments that need to be met for the Synagogue. Lots to do and a little one who is used to having lots of people around to entertain him and play with him.

On a side note for Bubbe Nee, Ben is doing great sleeping in the crib at night again and even put himself back to sleep after waking up last night. He is fighting naps. He also wants to be held a lot, but we'll get back to normal soon.

Lots of photos from the trip have been loaded by Elysha and Zayde Marc and I will upload ours as soon as I have a chance.

Leaving on a Jet plane

Well, we are off to MN on the red-eye tonight. Hopefully flying will go smoothly. Ben and I will be there for a week and a half.

Ben continues to progress in milestones. He is now rolling from his back to tummy with no problem in both directions (right and left). He has rolled from tummy to back a couple of times. At Gymboree today he sat unsupported for more than 5 minutes. Our little guy is really strong.

I should be able to update while in MN if we have time. Until next time all....

4 months old (yesterday)

Wow!! Our boy is 4 months old. He is so amazing. He is now regularly grasping toys and bringing them to his mouth (to chew on and relieve teething pain), rolls over at will, lifts head when on stomach well and creeps himself while on the stomach. It is really fun to see him actually interact and enjoy his toys. He complains when on his stomach, mainly because he wants to move and it is a lot of work for him. He successfully moved from my belly, over my shoulder and onto the couch today twice while we were cuddling.
Other recent accomplishments are waking only once during the night and sleeping in the crib at night instead of the co-sleeper. Due to my exhaustion and Ben's snacking all night when sleeping near me I moved Ben into his crib during the night about a week ago. He has done well. It was more difficult for me, who has gotten used to hearing him breathe next to me and checked on him umpteen times the first night we slept in separate rooms. Ben has also recently taken to biting. I used to offer him one of my fingers to chew on, but in the last couple of days I have been bitten while feeding, on the lip, and on the arm. Ben also threw himself at me in an attempt to get a mouthful of ??? (maybe cloth). I have decided letting him chew on a finger may be confusing with my telling him not to bite, so we are now offering toys to chew on when he feels the need to bite.
We also had a visit from Grandma Wendy for several days. It was wonderful to see her. Ben enjoyed spending time with her as did Jeff and I. We have some great pictures (taken by Grammy and me) that should be loaded at some point in the near future.
Now we start planning for our first airplane trip. We are headed back to Minnesota to see my folks and go to my cousin's wedding. It's amazing how much more I need to make sure I bring with us with a baby. Luckily, Bubbe Nee is going to borrow a stroller and a few other key items so that we won't need to fly with them. If anyone has any suggestions for flying with an infant, I welcome your advice. I already plan to either feed Ben during take off and landing or give him a washcloth to suck on (as he refuses pacifiers).