who is this kid?

i often wonder what ben's personality is going to be like as he gets older. like, are the things that he's doing now give us any insight? or is he mostly just a baby now, doing baby things? if they DO give us insight...then ben isn't going to be a cuddly guy. he won't ever sit still - he's going to be constantly on the move. but he'll be friendly. and he'll be a great swimmer.

edmonton

yvr..peaceful arrival..synchyshyns..sunshine..snacks..mango chutney chicken..coloretto tournament..ben sink baths..ginger snaps..swinging baby..laughs..coffee..weak wrists..cookbook photos..early baby bedtimes..thunderstorms..mommy meltdowns..stroller muscles..orange pekoe..mirrored food court..first great aunt and uncle introductions..seeing cousins..birthday cake..no weight watchers..naps..diet coke..joshua jackson..dresses.."that's your other option?"..cookie pie..baby love..beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful cole..matching aprons..hugs..baby bed transfers..water bottles..earrings..peaceful arrival..home.

sytycd-c

i was pretty down on sytycd-canada last year. wasn't a keen watcher. after that over-played, poor attempt to be cool commercial that i've been watching for season 2...i bashed it pretty hard.

and then i've watched some of the auditions and was pleasantly surprised to see that blake was not on the judging panel. i loved that there were other judges filing in which would hopefully mean less luther. yay. we're giving it a chance.

and then tonight? blake AND luther? were they just doing other judges for the first part of auditions? is the rest of the season going to be these two idiots judging again? if so, i'm out.

bedtime

i've been meaning to post about bedtime for awhile now but wanted to have the time to sit and elaborate. at 7 weeks, i began attempting a "bedtime routine" for ben. sure, he may not clue in that having a bath means bedtime but it's setting the stage for later, i guess. so the bedtime routine is a bath, a clean sleeper, and a bottle. simple.

sure, it sounds simple but what i've discovered in the last 2 weeks is this. you don't necessarily know when the last bottle is and then he's fast asleep in his sweatpants instead of a sleeper. after some no routine before bed nights due to surprise sleepiness, i've figured out that his last bottle is going to be any bottle he has after 7pm. so if the 2-3 hour bottle schedule means his bottle is at 8pm, that's the last. and if it's at 7:15pm, that's also the last. by the end of the day, ben can get a little cranky because he wants to go to sleep but can't keep his limbs still. this makes for some funny baths but i try to do it anyways and just don't always soap up. and so far we haven't had any crying baths.

on the last bottle of the night, ben often can't even stay awake to eat the whole bottle. we lay him down in his crib and sometimes he hits the mattress sleeping and other times he lays in there thrashing for awhile. hasn't had to cry himself to sleep yet though. and then he sleeps until between 5 - 7am. every night. it's crazy awesome. i haven't blogged about it until now because i wanted to wait and see if it was for real or not.

a couple times near the beginning of routine building, we thought we should wake him up 2 hours after his 7pm bottle, thinking that he wouldn't sleep til morning if we didn't. (now we know that he will sleep til morning on a 7pm bottle) as it turns out, you can't wake ben from night-sleep mode. here i am burping him. and when i gave up on the bottle, i decided to cut his nails while he lay across my lap.

the latest from babycenter

About your baby's two month check-up:

What questions will the doctor ask?
Most likely she'll cover the baby basics:
• Your baby's feeding: Breast milk or formula, how often and how much?
• Your baby's elimination: How many bowel movements and wet diapers per day, and what is the consistency and color of the bowel movements?
• Your baby's sleep: How many consecutive hours at night, in what position, and where?
• Your baby's behavior and development: Does he respond to your voice, smile, and coo? Does he look at faces and track objects with his eyes? What does he do during tummy time?

umm...my doctor didn't ask one of these questions. hmm...

this next one is for alyssa...

When will my baby begin remembering things?

Even in his first two months, your baby can recognize familiar faces and voices, especially those he sees every day. Newborns can recognize their mothers' voice at birth, and breastfed babies can recognize their mother's smell after one week. This kind of recognition is the first indication of memory, although it's very different from remembering the details of specific episodes.

and if you've hung out with me in the first two months of ben's life, you'll know that i often wonder aloud when ben is crying if he is feeling "overstimulated". apparently these are the symptoms:

Here are some signs that playtime is over and she needs a break:

• Closing eyes

• Turning away

• Tensing up, arching her back

• Avoiding your gaze

• Irritability

good to know. ben does these things all the time. i guess now i'll stop getting in his face and saying, "why won't you make eye contact with me?"

on the seabus

tourist-ing it up with my cousin sarah from ontario.

i'd been telling her we were going to go on the seabus that day, building it up, and about an hour before, i mentioned something about being on the water and she says, "it's a boat? i figured it was a bus that went by the sea. well now i'm really excited." ah, the things we take for granted and forget to explain. it was a good ride.

ben goes to the movies

yes - ben goes to the movies. once a week at most local theatres, there is something called "stars and strollers". moms go to movies with their babies in the middle of the day. and you know, anyone could go sans baby but you'd be exposed to crying during the movie.

so i headed to langley on wednesday to see 500 Days of Summer with ben, his friend caedmon, and liz. there weren't as many people in the theatre as i expected. we were there early because i was anticipating crowds but instead we had our choice of seats.

even though this movie is played for moms with kids and it's "ok" if your kid is crying...it doesn't stop you from feeling worked up about it. so when ben started to cry a very short time into the movie, i couldn't stay at my seat. well i could, but i just felt like i was still disturbing everyone. but other babies were crying here and there as well. nonetheless, i stood at the bottom and walked back and forth in the hall where i could still see the movie. ben cried out of control for awhile for no apparent reason (umm except maybe the darkness and the crazy huge screen? or maybe it was the fact he'd had 3 shots earlier that day?) and then finally fell asleep in my arms halfway through. i headed back to my seat. ben wasn't too much of a distraction from the movie, i barely noticed the other babies crying and i enjoyed seeing a movie without having to leave him behind.

next week is julie and julia...we'll see if i make it to that.

at 8 weeks...

ben has started to notice these fish that hang above his swing. he will stare and stare at one making faces...sometimes smiling faces, sometimes "what are you doing there?" faces.

ben can fit into clothes that looked so big for him in june - now they fit perfectly.

ben's still working on tummy time - not usually a favourite activity. he lasts longer on his tummy though if i lay down beside him and cheer him on. he spends quite a bit of tummy time face down. and while i have pushed him over on his side a number of times from both his back and his tummy, he doesn't seem close to rolling over. maybe he should spend less time in his swing...

baby recreation

every time the parks and rec program guide comes every season, i sit down and read it page by page. in the past, i would look at all the programs for moms and tots and i couldn't wait until i could sign up for them to go with my own tot. well now my tot is here and the fall program guide came in the mail a couple days ago. i was pumped. i began to read through it. you know what i never looked at before? the prices. sure, mommymoves fat loss kickstart sounds great but it's $108.50 for 7 sessions. and mommymoves bootcamp would be great but it's $72.50 for 10 sessions. okay, a better deal but why don't i just pay the membership fee at the gym and go to a class there? i guess because i can't take my baby with me. hmm... i'm torn.

ben fix

aquafit

while i didn't quite make good on this past post, i started the point counting but not the gym going. i could write a load of excuses but i'll save it.

tonight i planned to go to aquafit. i hate the water and when you feel fat, who wants to put on a bathing suit? the closer it got to 6:30pm (the time the class started), i was getting nervous. i've never done aquafit. i've never even been in the pool at this gym. where were the changerooms? i wouldn't know where i should wait for the class to start. yes...i'm a big baby. but i put that bathing suit on under my clothes and headed to the pool.

so of course i found the change rooms and waited with the other people by the pool until the class began. then we got in and the workout began. wow. i chose a water class because it was low impact (my knees have been sore since the last month of my pregnancy). i know that water workouts are good but i did not know how good. an hour later, i climbed out of the water and could barely stand on my jelly legs, i was so tired. what a great workout.

once i get one good workout in, it feels so good. now i just need to keep that feeling in mind for tomorrow...umm...or the next day...

why?

i'm addicted to short sleeve sweaters.  i don't know why.  what's the point of a short sleeved sweater?  they must be for people who work in warm environments or who are naturally warm.  because if i feel like i need a sweater, i need one with arms.  but they're cute.  so whenever i go to winners and see a short sleeved sweater that i like, i buy it.  i take it home and keep it handy.  i try it on with my outfits many times during a week finally deeming it a stupid concept and then i return it.  you'd think eventually i would give up on buying them.  i usually think i've found the one.  so i bought one this weekend.  black, heavier knit, roxy sweater.  two brown buttons at the neckline which were so cool.  i brought it home, tried it on twice when getting dressed to go out, and thought, "why did i try this again?"  i have to take it back.  at least i'm figuring it out faster these days.  

from ben

i have to admit...and i don't mean to offend anyone...but i always laughed when people wrote cards or notes as though they were from their baby. "dear auntie rebecca, thank you for the great book. i love it! love caedmon" (no, liz never did this - just an example) i laughed because it's silly to pretend that your baby can think, talk, and let you know what he thinks so that you can write it down.

now i'm here. with a baby. and i'm a little bit tempted to write things in cards from ben. just a thought that i had...

dear readers of this blog, please ask my mom to stop taking so many photos of me. i'm tired of that flash. sincerely, ben

remember when ben was this little?

wow - time is going by fast.

washing? again?

i admit it. i'm not a frequent launderer. you know, referring to clothing, not money. dallas will know what i mean. :) but now that i have this baby, everyone refers to how much laundry you have to do when you have a baby. hmm...i'm not doing that much laundry. is this bad?

ben has lots of clothes now that he's gotten a little bigger. and sure, he spits up on himself everyday but am i supposed to change him every time? i don't. unless it's huge, he wears his shirt with a little spit up on it for the rest of the day. then at the end of the day, that outfit goes in the pile of laundry. we have lots of receiving blankets. we use one has the shoulder protector during burp time for the day and then it also goes in the pile of laundry. but that pile can build and build and i'm still not out of anything. i guess we are just lucky to have such generous people around us who have given us so many things that we are not in need. it has really been amazing.

so i wonder if my kid will be the one with the messy shirt at school that the teacher wonders, "doesn't his mother ever do laundry?" hopefully i'll improve over time...

the soother

often when the baby...i mean ben...is beginning to fuss or cry, we try to shove his soother in his mouth.  he most often doesn't want it.  he holds his lips together tightly or if we make it past his lips, he just pushes with his tongue.  once in awhile, he chomps down on it because he thinks it's his bottle but it only lasts momentarily before getting spit out (he's very smart...).  but there's that odd time that he's been crying and crying, trying to settle himself to sleep in our arms or wherever, that when we offer that soother, he grabs on and sucks til his little heart's content.  it soothes.  and that one in 22 times that he takes it keeps us trying it as an option every time.  

we always keep a soother in his crib with him.  in the earlier days of his life (haha) when i wasn't so savvy to the way that you're supposed to let the baby fuss until crying before you go get him (because he could and usually does go back to sleep), i would go in and try to give him his soother to try to put him back to sleep.  anyways, i'd go in and the soother would be quite far away from him.  i'd wonder, "didn't he have his soother in when he went to bed?  how did it get over here?"  i'd chalk it up to forgetfulness and figure that he hadn't had it in and i'd just set it in the bed to have nearby.  

tonight was a night that ben fussed and grunted and kicked and kicked while trying to fall asleep.  when you look into his room during these times, you can see his little feet waving around above the crib railing and wonder how is that possible?  after finally beginning to cry about his uncontrollable feet, i went in and offered the soother.  he jumped all over it, chomping down and he was instantly asleep.  a little later, i heard crazy animal sounds coming from his room so i went to check it out.  it was ben of course.  but he was still sucking that soother.  as i stood there watching him sleep (oh so peaceful), i witnessed him spit it out.   and he can launch that thing to the other side of the crib with no effort at all.  so it's not forgetfulness - he just has great projection.

"and that's what happened."    just a snippet of life with ben.  

small scale adventure

yesterday i put ben in the stroller and a bottle in the diaper bag and headed off for a walk. it was just the right temperature though i mistakenly wore pants and was a little too warm for pushing a stroller. i had my sights set on starbucks...a good 30 min walk away. as i started walking, i started scaling back my goal. maybe i'll just walk to the mall. but ben fell asleep after awhile despite all the bumps in the sidewalk. got to the mall and thought, maybe just to tim hortons. but when i reached tim hortons, ben was still asleep and i could see starbucks in the distance. so i kept walking. when i got in line, i was sweaty. i ordered my coffee frap light (only 2 points) and realized that i hadn't brought a book to sit and read at a little table. i looked out the window and thought about that forecast for rain and thought, maybe this coffee frap is to go. off we went. ben woke up just outside of starbucks and we still had about a 25 minutes to go. and then i passed superstore. and thought about my fact that we were out baby wipes. i decided to go for it. ben just laid in his stroller looking around and looking at me. we also picked up some freezies. it was now officially bottle time but ben was looking good so we got on the road again. and we made it home. (but not without boasting to a neighbour, "i walked all the way to starbucks!") and while it may not seem so adventurous to you, i was pretty pumped on my return home. i think ben was too.

ben walks...

weight a minute...

so as i got heavier and heavier during my pregnancy, i would joke about how it's okay now but i'll just be fat after i have the baby.  friends would tell me, "oh you'll lose it quickly" or "it comes off so fast".  i unfortunately misunderstood that this was encouragement, not fact.  and here i am 7 weeks later and i am shocked that the extra 60 lbs (yikes!) that i gained has not magically fallen off me.  what?  i have to eat better and exercise to lose this weight?  sigh.  

something that drives me crazy (besides people who say they look bad only to get a compliment) are people who are all talk and no action.  people, for example, who say, "i need to lose weight." but do nothing about it.  that has been me for the last 2 weeks.  if you have hung out with me, i have said, "i'm getting back to the gym this week".  and i honestly had the best of intentions but when the time came for me to go, i rolled over and kept sleeping.  

so i am saying it here, for all to read and keep me accountable (but not in a "don't eat those fries, rebecca" kind of way).  the weight watcher points are back.  and today i am making up a schedule of classes that i will begin tomorrow.  and i'm giving myself 9 months so get back to my old clothes...you know, because that's how long it took me to get here. 

here we go...

(and no comments saying "oh you look great!"...not what i'm going for.) 

what's in a name?

so i like the name benjamin. i like both the long form and short. but it has taken me 6 weeks to get used to calling my baby by that name. i call him every nickname possible but rarely ben. in fact, when recently hanging out with kara, she pointed out that i always referred to ben as "the baby" when talking about him. then the other day i read somewhere (probably the site or the book) that when talking to your baby, you shouldn't use pronouns (i, you) but instead use their name and mommy. so instead of, "are you happy to see me?" - ask "is ben happy to see mommy?". well if i thought calling my son by his name was hard, referring to myself in third person is killer. oh come on! i can't stand when people talk in third person or when they say to me, "how's rebecca today?" though i usually resist a sarcastic reply. so i decided that if i start calling ben by his name more, maybe i don't have to call myself mommy. you know, do half of what's best? i'm working on it. but just so you know, ben and his mommy think pronouns are important to learn too.