Benji's first rally / vacation

gymkhana in the background

This weekend we went on our first vacation as a little family! There was a scooter rally up in Austin (http://www.therallywithnoname.com/) that we weren't even sure we'd be able to go to because we thought Clay might have to work, but luckily his case settled and we were home free.

We didn't bring any of the scooters up to Austin since it was a last-minute thing and it was supposed to be very rainy all weekend (we got 4 inches of rain between Friday and Saturday!). Yesterday there were torrential downpours, but today has been beautiful. Benjamin did very well at his first rally (mostly sleeping in the baby backpack) & didn't seem to mind all the noise of revving engines or boisterous but very nice scooter crowd. Plus, it was so super nice to get to spend a whole weekend with Clay NOT working!

now which scoot does Ben want...

NOT good scooter riding weather!

The Colonel got boarded while we were away (which is great) because that means he got his first bath in about 6 months, so he'll be all clean and non-stinky when the Cannon clan descends on San Antonio next weekend. I'm SO looking forward to two great weekends in a row!

hotel!  (we brought his pack-n-play for him to sleep in)

It was a bit chilly this weekend, so this is his first time wearing pants!!

Ain't nobody dope as he

He's just so fresh, so fresh and so clean.

Week 5 bath from Clay Hackett on Vimeo.

just a few photos

Here are a few pictures of The Colonel guarding Benjamin and Ben enjoying his high chair for the first time since he was about a week old.

8 weeks old today!

Benjamin's rear end problems are way better today, so he's a much happier baby. He slept from 12:30-7:30 straight last night, which was great! I often get about 6 and a half hours of sleep, but getting them all in one solid chunk was nice.

It seems like he looks different every day-- this morning I looked down at him when he was in the backpack and I thought he looked like nothing but my dad's side of the family (although the pictures don't show this at all). Maybe he's got more of the Cannon genes coming in! He's also almost grown out of my favorite onesie set (the striped tiger one below). The video is from yesterday morning after he'd just eaten his breakfast

Pediatrics & picnics

showing his muscles to the pediatrician this morning

Benjamin had to go to the pediatrician today because this weekend we kept seeing a little blood in his poo. The doctor found a small "fissure" on his rear, and said that was the likely culprit. So now we'll be applying vaseline and a prescription cream (for his diaper rash) for a while. I sure hope that helps. It's really really hard to see him in pain (and every time he's pooping it seems like he is in pain). I know in the grand scheme of his life, this is probably the least of the real pain he'll have to suffer, but I totally wasn't prepared for how bad it make me feel. Being a mama gets more "interesting" all the time.

Oh, and when they measured Benjamin's length at the pediatrician's office, he's now 23.25 inches-- he's grown about 2 inches in the last month! That's my boy! (or probably more accurately-- that's Clay's boy!)

"picnic"

We had a quite low-key weekend with Clay having to work all day Saturday and half day Sunday. Sunday afternoon Clay took some great photos of Benjamin and me (some are uploaded above), and because the weather was so beautiful we took Benjamin to the park where he had his first "picnic" (as the picture shows). It was great until we got swarmed by mosquitoes, but by then Benji had finished his bottle anyway.

Ways in which my son exhibits behavior befit a member of a fraternity

• Drinks until he passes out.
• Frequently vomits on self.
• Obsessed with breasts.
• Inarticulate.
• Stays up late, sleeps late in the morning.

Saturday photos

Just a few post-feeding photos :)

eyebrows & afternoons

eyebrows are coming in!!!

Well Benjamin has graduated to the next bigger size of diapers now (after several yucky blow outs in the other size). His eyebrows are also starting to come in and look more visible now. That makes all of his funny faces even more expressive.

the remains of an afternoon well-spent

I had a lovely afternoon with my friend Tina today (as evidenced by the picture). I had not played either War or Double Solitaire in a very long time. War was just as pointless as I remembered, but Double Sol was definitely fun. Chocolate cookies and a great lunch made by Tina helped round out the day, too. Benjamin was a bit fussy, but as long as I kept him in the baby backpack he did just fine.

baby play date

Not much news to report today. Benjamin and I had a lovely play date this morning. His little friend, Daniel, is about a month and a half older than Benjamin, and it's amazing how much difference that amount of time makes at this age! Daniel is way better at focusing than Ben is (as the pictures show-- Benjamin was all wild-eyed wiggly). I can't wait until they're both old enough to really interact! 

Taking his first nap in his crib! Onesie decorated by his Uncle Matt, stuffed bear provided by Leilani, and Glow Worm given to him by his Auntie "N"

Lotsa pictures & "wake up" video

I got out the Nikon this morning to capture His Royal Adorableness. Below are my favorites. Benjamin and I went to Babies R Us this morning to get some more pajamas for him and we're going to try to finish the week's laundry this afternoon.








One lovely recent change in Ben: when he's crying I can often talk to him or kiss him and the crying actually stops! Hurray for feeling like a true Mama!   :)

**In the video below Benjamin is doing his slow-happy-wake-up routine

not-so-busy Tuesday :)

Benjamin and I took it easy today. Unlike most days, today we stayed home all day long (waiting for the washing machine to be delivered), I worked on my latest ETS contract assignment, and I finished some of our dinner preparations for the week. This week we're having homemade hot wings (the delicious secret is broiling them in the oven + Louisiana Gold sauce) for two dinners and Bubble and Squeak (with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes) for the other two dinners. I'd forgotten how much prep work goes into making Bubble and Squeak, but luckily for me Benjamin slept soundly in his swing for the hour I was working in the kitchen. It's weird, but he seems to prefer the swing when it's not actually moving most days.

The washing machine was delivered earlier than they said it might be today, and it works great. I'm really psyched that it's a top loader too. Bending over to load and unload laundry in the small space available in front of our old machine was a real pain (especially since I spend so much time with Benjamin in the backpack in front of me). It is great to be able to just dump the clothes in the new washer from up above! Most top loaders are not as energy efficient as front loaders, but this one gets an Energy Star rating, and is supposed to be really good. Better yet, it has a high reliability rating and hopefully won't break down after two years like our last two washers did!

P.S.  I just glanced back at the pictures of little Ben from September 10, and it is crazy how different and more filled-out he looks now! Actually it's a little scary how skinny he looked (and I didn't even realize it!)

***the onesie Ben is wearing today was designed and given to us by his creative Aunt Katie

+ 1 lb 4 oz!!

Great news this afternoon from my visit with the lactation consultant: in the last week Benjamin went up one whole pound and four ounces (the average to go up in a week is 3.5 to 7 ounces)!!! The previous week he had only gained 2.5 ounces.  So it looks like the combination of nursing and bottle feeding milk/formula is definitely working!! I am so so so glad! I'd love to be able to focus on things other than if my baby is getting enough to eat!

He really seems a lot happier, too, and had been practicing his smile today when I touch his cheek. I'll try to get a photo of it, but so far it's been fleeting.

All of our weekend's washing machine research finally paid off today, and I ordered an LG that rates very high on Consumer Reports from Home Depot. Home Depot could deliver it tomorrow, but Sears (which had it for the same price) couldn't deliver one until Oct.9.... Hmmmm... I didn't have to think too hard to decide which store to go with!

doing the baby "mind trick"

floor time with The Colonel

Benjamin had a very exciting poo blow out (all over me!) this morning, and I will be SUPER excited to have a washing machine again!! (Especially since I only have a couple of pair of pants that fit in my post-pregnancy-still-far-from-my-old-weight size.)

at Earl Abel's last night

Happ(ier) baby

yum. finger.

I had a bit of a stroller snafu this morning. I went to The Baby Gap store to spend a gift certificate one of our friends had kindly given us, and used our great new stroller so I could browse and Benjamin could be keep sleeping. The car seat and stroller are designed so that the car seat snaps right into the light-weight stroller. When I finished shopping (I bought Benny a cute little navy blue coat for this winter), I tried to take the car seat off of the stroller and it wouldn't come. I pulled harder.... still stuck together. I tried lifting just the front side... and then just the back... no luck. I tried pressing on the sides and wiggling it back and forth... nope!

Embarrassingly, I ended up spending at least five minutes in the Gap parking lot trying to pry the two parts apart while (luckily!!!!!!!!!) Benito slept soundly in the car seat part. I'm not sure what made them eventually come apart, but I'm so glad they did! I was getting afraid that I was going to have to call Clay at work and have him come help me figure it out, because it's not like I could just load the stroller into the trunk (with the baby still in it) and drive home that way! Sheesh. Later today I'm going to get the stroller and the manual out and figure it out. I've only used the stroller a handful of other times, so I imagine it's something simple I just didn't realize I needed to do.

In Benjamin feeding news: so far I think the combination nursing, pumping, bottle feeding is making Benjamin a more happy baby (although with the formula feeding his diapers have DEFINITELY got more stinky!). Yesterday whenever he showed signs of hunger (even if it was shortly after a feeding), we were able to immediately give him something to eat (either milk or formula or a mixture of both). It felt GREAT to just be able to immediately provide food for him and know how much he was getting. Plus he actually went to sleep last night around 10:00 and didn't wake up until 3:00 (and then again at 6:00), but it was wonderful to be able to go to sleep that early myself!!

"Stop pumping and hold me!"

The biggest challenge to this new feeding routine is that after nursing and bottle feeding him, then I have to pump milk, at which time I cannot hold him because of all the hoses and other pumping paraphernalia that he would inadvertently mess up. As shown in the picture, he does NOT appreciate being put in his bouncy chair while I pump!

I came up with a brilliantly obvious solution around lunch time though, and that's to nurse him then set him on a pillow next to me while I pump and bottle feed him at the same time. A bit tricky, but this afternoon has nicely been lacking in "pick me up" screams.

Speaking of nice things, Clay usually comes home from lunch, and pre-baby I used to have lunch waiting for him. Now however, I'm often feeding Benjamin or pumping when he gets home. Today when he came home Clay fixed a nice lunch for both of us and then insisted on changing Ben's diaper before he left for work. I have the best husband in the world. Just saying.  :)

SIX weeks old today!!

Today has been a day of taking it easy. I talked to the lactation specialist on the phone this morning and am now following a new suggested regimen: nurse him about 20 minutes then give him two ounces from a bottle, THEN pump (to supply those extra ounces). That way he's getting practice using his newly clipped tongue muscles and we're also making sure he's getting plenty to eat.

Arrg! I'm Benjamin one-eye

In other good news, I THINK Benjamin might have smiled for the first time a few days ago (when Clay was home for lunch, luckily), then today he gave me at least a half smile for quite a while.
 

 

Benjamin having a staring contest with his glow worm

Formula/failure

Even though we got Benjamin's tongue tie clipped this morning, I've still been following the lactation consultant's advice to pump and then bottle feed to make sure he actually gains the right amount of milk this week (& because nursing without the shield still hurt this morning).

But given that i was at the dentist this morning and not at home pumping, I wasn't able to pump enough milk today to give Benjamin the full 3 ounce servings... So I had to supplement the milk with formula. I've failed as a breast-feeding-only mama now, but I'm hoping this will only be temporary (if his operation makes any difference, that is).

In happier news, I had my 6 week post partum appointment today & for the first time since I checked into the hospital to give birth my blood pressure is normal!

A second opinion is always a good idea!

 At the suggestion of the lactation specialist, Benjamin and I went to the Pediatric Dentist this morning to get a second opinion about his mouth issues. The dentist thought Benjamin was a good candidate for having his frenulum cut (the little flap of skin that is connecting his tongue to the bottom of his mouth). While she didn't say he actually has a tongue tie, she said she'd seen a lot of cases where babies mouths looked like Benjamin's and mothers reported a significant improvement when it was cut. She also said that by cutting it now, his mouth will grow more properly and the muscles in his mouth will strengthen better. She even said it might help avoid some possible orthodontic issues down the line. 

The whole process took about 15 seconds, and I'd say at least 10 of those were the dentist and the nurse getting him to open his mouth the right way. He screamed while it was going on, but stopped immediately as soon as no one had their fingers in his mouth, and acted like nothing had happened. The dentist said if this doesn't make a difference she could cut more in a few days if I want her to. 

sleeping in the waiting room

She had me try to nurse right after the procedure and I DO think he was latching on much better, but it still hurt a good bit.... so I think I'm going to continue with Kay's instructions of bottle-feeding him expressed milk and in a day or so try latching him on again. I'm loathe to just try to nurse him now (even after the clipping procedure) since he gained so little weight last week. This is all so complicated! I had to pay for the procedure out of pocket, but they gave me the paperwork to submit it to insurance... I hope they pick up the cost!

Last night I ended up getting about four hours of sleep between waking up to pump, Benjamin not wanting to fall asleep, and our early morning dentist appointment. Then this afternoon I have my 6 week post-partum appointment at my doctor. Hopefully I can catch up on a bit of sleep in between those things!

Bottle-feeding it is! (at least for now)

floor time!

 I just got back from the lactation specialist, and it seems that my worries about him getting enough to eat were totally founded. in the last week he should have gained 3.5-7 oz and he gained 2.5. Given that this is worse than before we're going to try a different approach. Instead of me nursing him at least 8 times a day, I'm going to pump 8 or more times a day and give him all his meals in a bottle. If I cannot make enough milk to get him a complete 3 ounces at every feeding then I'll just have to supplement with formula. Not the way I would have preferred it, but as the lactation specialist said-- we've tried everything else at this point and the important thing is that he gets the calories he needs to grow. In a way, I feel relieved with this new plan; while not ideal, at least now I can feel satisfied that I'm giving him what he needs!

being burped

Oh, and the lactation specialist said she still thinks there may be something wrong with the way he sucks (pushing out instead of pulling in, and snapping as he swallows instead of kind of rolling his mouth). So she called a pediatric dentist for me and I have an appointment tomorrow morning just so we can truly rule out any sort of problem with his mouth.

One nice thing, during the last couple of days Benjamin has started figuring out his hands a little. Especially when eating he's begun to try to hold on to my clothes; very endearing except when he misses the clothing and scratches the skin instead.

In other (unrelated) news, one of the more weird things about being pregnant was I lost my taste for my previously "can't-do-without-it" morning tea. During the last couple of weeks I have gotten it back, though, which is great. There's something about the ritual of morning tea that I really enjoy.