When Alex and I brought Ben home from the hospital we decided that our first week would be spent figuring out how to be Ben’s parents. We knew it {and every day hereinafter} would be a period of trial and error and simply getting to know Ben and his needs, and that’s exactly what it was. We’re {obviously} still learning, but we’ve learned a lot in the first ten days we’ve been home with Ben.
{Ben is constantly making the funniest faces – he cracks us up all the time! One very important thing I’ve learned is that baby boys go through an exorbitant number of diapers and outfits and require constant washing of sheets and changing pad covers. I’ve done laundry almost every day and we have 3 sets of sheets and changing pad covers!}{So far Jackson is crazy about Ben. Ben seems indifferent. Jackson is hardly sleeping during the day because he wants to always be in the action with Ben.}{This little guy sure is growing! He’s growing right out of his smallest preemie clothes already. Ben has a “growth check” doctor’s appointment next week and we’re excited to hear how tall he is. His last weight was on Sunday and he weighed 5 pounds 6 ounces.}{He sure is long and skinny!}{Ben has been getting used to tummy time! We’ve been incorporating it into his diaper change/feeding routine so he’s been spending a small amount of time on his belly several times throughout the day.}{A few days ago we noticed that Ben was more alert during the day. It has been so much more fun to interact with him and have him hang out with us during the day instead of nap in his crib.}{We’ve been incorporating time in his little seat to our day. Yesterday evening he was in the kitchen with me making dinner – Jackson liked it because his wubby was easily accessible for him to snatch…}{This morning Ben was hanging out in his chair and it was so fun watching his eyes scan the room checking things out.}{At a minimum each day we’ve been getting out for a walk. I am absolutely loving the exercise, fresh air and time together as a little family. We have a terrific coffee shop in our neighborhood and we’ve been making it a tradition to grab a cup of coffee and either walk with it or sit out front and watch the neighbors walk by.}{Ben has already been to the arboretum twice and today he got to come with us to Woodinville. After we tasted some wine we went on a walk on the Sammamish River Trail. Our stroller {the City Select Baby Jogger} is fantastic! We are so happy with it!}{Paternity leave is pretty awesome!}{Yesterday I tried out one of my baby carriers for our evening walk. It was so cool carrying Ben in this little wrap!}{Jackson had a special day of swimming yesterday! While Jackson is getting probably twice as much attention as he was pre-Ben, he’s still having an adjustment period getting used to Ben getting a lot of attention from us. We’re going out of our way to make sure he feels included and taking him swimming or playing ball.}{Even if Jackson is jealous of Ben he sure adores him! This was one of the sweetest moments since Ben has gotten home. Ben was on our bed {supervised, of course} doing tummy time and Jackson jumped right up and calmly laid down next to him.}{We didn’t do anything for the 4th of July, but Ben did get dressed up!}{On Monday I made a big breakfast at home for the first time in 2 months! I’ve been cooking lunch and dinner at home most days, but breakfast has been harder because there’s a lot of stuff that goes on in the mornings. We’re easing into a routine now and I foresee many more homemade breakfasts in our future.}{As we ease into our routine, we’ve learned that Ben really only cries for a reason. He’s a super calm, content, easy-going little boy, but when he has a dirty diaper or is hungry he really lets loose. For being a preemie, his lungs sure are fully developed!}{We’re aiming to have 2.5-3 hour feed, wake, sleep cycles and it seems like that works well with Ben. Several nights we’ve been successful in having 4 hour overnight sleep cycles, where we’ve fed him at 10:30 p.m., 2:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. and that’s what we’re working towards keeping up with for the time being. Oh, and yes, I do love dressing ben in aquatic life clothing. I just adore Baby Gap’s stuff right now!}{This morning I had some extra snuggles with Ben. He has been having some digestion issues and woke up early with reflux. We felt so bad for him and I decided to hang out and rock him for a while. It was so nice to spend that time with him!}{We are having the best time getting to know Ben as we start our life as a family together. We are so grateful for the time we will have this summer, with both of us being on leave for an extended time. We keep hearing it only gets better and better, but so far, we’re so happy and loving every moment of parenthood!}
