Ben passed his hearing test!

I brought Ben into the Ontario Early Years Centre today for a repeat hearing test on his right ear. The test was originally administered in the hospital following his birth; his left passed, but his right failed. It was assumed that the failure was likely due to a protrusion on the right side of his head resulting from being "sunnyside up" during labour.

Anyway, the swelling is down and Ben had his test today - and passed! What a HUGE relief!

Naturally, the appointment directly conflicted with Ben's feeding schedule (appointment was scheduled for 1pm and Ben was due to feed at 1pm,) so I had to wake him from his morning nap early, then feed him early, and hope to get him back to sleep - and stay asleep - before his appointment (they needed him to be asleep to administer the test.) I had complete success and Ben is still napping! :)

My wee bitty baby is one month old today!

Wow, time flies! I can't imagine how quickly the year... and years will pass. It scares me to think about it and reminds me to milk every single moment I have with Ben.

Ben is certainly more alert these days and the better I'm getting to know him and read his cues the less cranky he is.

He's also enjoying his baths more and actually cries when I take him out rather than when I put him in.

Here are a couple more photos of my big boy solving the world's problems:

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Andi, Vinny, and Cooper came for a visit last weekend. Cooper looks a little miffed by the arrival of another baby on the scene.

Vibrating chair - a good buy!

Ben and I went to Once Upon a Child (local baby consignment shop) today in search of a vibrating chair. I found a Fisher Price vibrating chair/rocker combo for $30 and as good as new. I put Ben in it when we got home and he really seemed to like it. He sat contently in it for at least twenty minutes before getting a bit fussy, which clearly indicated naptime was upon us (he was overdue anyway.) It's a bit of a relief because he doesn't much care for his swing.

Here are a few photos of Ben sitting contently in his new chair:

Rollin' rollin' rollin'

Ben rolled off of me today! He was lying on his back on my chest when I noticed him craning his neck, then he worked his body, and before I knew it he'd rolled over and onto my arm! Wow!

I wonder how long before he's doing a proper roll over on a flat surface.

First day on my own with Ben

Nic went back to work today and Ben has been a little fussy lately so I wasn't sure what I was in for, but everything went pretty well. Ben had his fussy moments (what baby doesn't?), but in general was pretty easy and easy to soothe today.

We also had an outing to have Ben's photo taken for his birth announcements. I'll pick them up tomorrow and work on addressing them bit by bit over the next week or so. I just compiled the mailing list and it's pretty lengthy.

Ben also paid his first visit to the voting booths today. He snoozed through it... I guess he's inherited his Mommy's interest in politics.

Me!

Just thought I'd post a bit on how I'm doing.

After having Ben the first couple of weeks were pretty rough. I lost my appetite, had some gastrointestinal isues, was recovering from the episiotomy, and was trying to get breastfeeding established.

Well, something had to give, and it was the breastfeeding. It was very emotionally and physically draining, especially because I was feeling so poorly to begin with. Nic and I made the decision to bottlefeed Ben formula. Ben had latching issues, which isn't uncommon among babies who have "traumatic" births, then my lack of appetite completely diminished the milk supply I had established, so we didn't even get a chance to sort out the latching issues. Anyway, while it was an emotionally difficult decision to make, it is definitely for the best and I can honestly say I'm happy with the choice. And Ben is healthy and happy... that's most important.

Physically and emotionally I'm doing much better! My appetite has returned! Yay! And I'm getting out of the house more. Physically I'm feeling a lot more like my old self. I'm still sticking close to home until I feel 100%, but I'm almost there! :)

Nic's been a huge help and he's been off work for the past 3.5 weeks. Now that I'm feeling so much better he's going back to work on Monday. It'll be a little weird not having him around the house with me and Ben, but it'll be nice to settle into a normal routine again.

Oh, and I'm back into my pre-pregnancy clothes and a few pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight. I guess there's a silver lining to everything!

Ben's check-up today

It's confirmed - Ben weighs 10 lbs! His head circumference is up again and he's 50th percentile all around, so he's doing well. Bilirubin levels are totally normal also.

I didn't attend Ben's appointment today because I finally received my ROE (record of employment) from work and had to get my claim for maternity benefits filed today. Good thing I'll receive top-ups from work because it's probably going to be a few weeks before my claim is processed. Good ol' Canadian government...

Ben is 3 weeks old today!

Ben has come a long way in three weeks. His jaundice is gone, he's ~10 pounds, and he's eating a LOT! In fact, we think he's going through a growth spurt because he's doing a lot of frequent feeding and wakes up hungry as a bear. He also seems to be focusing in more on our faces and responding more to movement.

Anyway, here's a 3 week pic of our little guy:

Benjamin checks out his playmat

A gift from Granny and Granddad Bloomfield. Here's Benjamin checking it out:
Well, hello kitty!

Catching up

Benjamin had a doctor's appointment on Friday. He had his head circumference measured (up 1 cm) and was supposed to get weighed, but bad Mommy and Daddy forgot the diaper bag at home so we had to postpone. We have another appointment this coming Friday anyway. Our GP sent Ben for one last bilirubin test to confirm the level had dropped to normal. We're all sure it has because he's not lethargic, and any trace of yellow in his skin is gone. He's one pink baby!

Last night Andi, Vinny, and Cooper came by for a visit. I should have gotten some pics of the babies together, but I didn't... I guess we'll have many opportunities. I did get to have a couple of glasses of wine, however! What a novelty! You could tell we are all new parents though... we were all yawning by 8.30pm. We managed to stay awake until 11.30pm... I was quite proud of myself!

This morning both of my boys are sleeping soundly. I'd like to go out for breakfast, however, so I wish one of them would get up! This will be Ben's third restaurant experience. We went out for dinner the other night and once again, he slept through the entire thing. I'm not complaining!

I breaka you face!

Ben tells Mommy what he thinks of the camera.

Two weeks old!

Benjamin was two weeks old yesterday! He's doing very well and eating lots. He's consuming ~4 ounces of formula every three hours. The only thing that makes Ben cranky is waiting for food... other than that he really doesn't fuss or cry for anything else.

The bilirubin level in his system has dropped, so the touch of jaundice he had has passed and at his doctor's appointment last Friday he weighed in at 8.5 lbs. We have another appointment this Friday so I'll post an update then.

Nic, Ben, and I went out for breakfast this morning. This was our first outing with Ben aside from doctor appointments and bilirubin tests. Ben slept through his entire first restaurant experience.

Ben is also sleeping in his crib at night and falls asleep on his own after his night-time feedings. Let's hope this this is a trend!

And finally, some more Ben photos. :)

Naptime with Mommy:

Feeding time at the zoo (monkeys first!):

Content with a full belly:
Just lounging:

And here's Ben after breakfast this morning. His first big outing to a restaurant and he got to wear "big boy" clothes too. :)

Benjamin's first week

Here are a few pics of Benjamin taken over the course of his first week at home. He's doing very well and Nic and I are slowing getting a schedule together so that both of us can get a little more sleep.

Ben's milestone this week is the loss of his belly button nub. He has an innie! :)

Anyway, on to the pics...

Here's Ben having a nap. It's tiring work being a baby!


And here he is holding his own bottle.

Although Ben's not all that fond of bathtime just yet.