Paging Mr Personality! There he is, smiling, waving, talking, and entertaining anyone in his orbit. Your baby is also ready to explore a bit more, so beware his impulse to touch(and taste) everything and anything within his reach (including dog biscuits and poop!). He's probably able to bear weight on his legs when you hold him upright and may even be ready to hit the road, albeit at a crawl. Some little acrobats can pull themselves into a standing position or get into a sitting position when placed on their tummies. Stimulating your now-older baby requires new activities that'll help boost large and small motor skills as well as social, intellectual, and language skills. Get ready for the third round of immunizations at the 6-month checkup.

In other news, plenty of babies (really, not just yours) are still not sleeping through the night -- so this may be a good time to consider some sleep strategies. Your growing baby may also be ready to make the move to the big bathtub: Start slowly (a dry run in the empty big tub c an ease the way), and always practice safe tub-time. Nursing moms who have yet to offer a bottle might be in for a bit of a battle once you do, but there are ways to win over your picky guy. If your baby's got teeth, it's not too soon to start brushing baby's teeth (with a baby toothbrush only, please). And speaking of teeth, the best way to keep your baby's choppers (and gums) in good shape is to avoid baby-bottle mouth (the result of falling asleep regularly with a bottle -- or breast -- in his mouth). What else is up? Perhaps your baby's appetite -- so now's the time to consider dietary dos and dont's, such as introducing new foods one at a time and avoiding certain foods altogether (steer clear of citrus fruits until the eighth month and honey until after his first birthday).

YIKES! NURSING WHILE BABY HAS TEETH?!?!?! Luckily, the nursing ship sailed 12 weeks ago...and even if it hadn't, still no teeth. LOL. I swear they'll be coming in any day now, but nothing just yet. My little man is just absolutely perfect. He has been sleeping through the night for a little over a month now...only not sleeping through on very rare occasions. I have also noticed that when we follow the bed time routine, bath at 7, rocking with bottle at 7:30, he will sleep until 7:30am! However, if we put him in bed later than between 7:30-8ish, he gets up between 6 and 6:30! CRAZINESS!!

Every single day he is learning new things. He knows if he pushes certain buttons on certain toys music or a sound will occur...he still loves the ceiling fans....and is really starting to get into tags on things. Which is hysterical. He also LOVES the dogs. Sadly, that love is not exactly mutual...Brady does enjoy the baby more so than Lexie, which of course means that all Ben wants is for Lexie to love him. LOL!

Something else new is we have started food! So far he has tried and LOVED Sweet Potatoes and Peas (EW) and we're going to start Carrots tonight I think. He still wants absolutely NOTHING to do with his rice cereal. I'm hopeful that once we start him on some fruit that maybe he'll enjoy it more.

Well, I guess that is all I have today...hope all is well with you and yours!

xoxo

22 Weeks

YOUR BABY IS 22 WEEKS OLD!
Baby will soon be able to grip his own bottle, but he's still not ready to drink from it unsupervised. Falling asleep with milk pooled around his mouth can lead to an ear infection, and he also could choke on the milk. Better safe than sorry, especially when baby is learning a new skill.
Blocks are a great toy for him--they're big enough for him to grab and encourage the thumb-and-forefinger grip that he'll continue to develop over the coming months. He's also learning the fun (for him) game of dropping things. Though it might feel as though he's just trying to torture you, he actually likes hearing the sound objects make when they hit the ground.

WOW....22 weeks old. To think when I was 22 weeks pregnant, he had no name, and we had JUST found out he was a he. :) Hard to believe the time has just flown by. It really is crazy to think of how fast a human baby grows. I mean in one year they go from the womb to walking talking little beings. It's just so crazy....

This week some pretty amazing things have happened. First off...Ben actually enjoyed taking a bath....TWICE! So insane....it was definitely a nice and MUCH appreciated change from the red in the face screaming that usually ensues upon bath time. He is still smiling all the time, and honestly just such a good boy. He goes down for naps great, and he is SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!! SO nice...and again...MUCH appreciated. :)

January is just a mere 38 hours away...which brings with it a brand spankin new year. I know I have already said this before...and I'm sure I'll say it again, but this year has just flown by. It's amazing to think that one year ago, we had just found out we were having a baby. I remember the looks on the faces of my family and friends as we told them we were pregnant, I remember each persons response....good and bad....they are forever etched in my brain. I'll never forget the day I got a positive test. :) I'm anxious to know what 2011 will bring...I have friends and family who are expecting babies, some we know what they're having, and others we don't know yet. I just hope whatever the new year brings for my family it includes happiness, healthfulness, and loads of wonderful memories. :)

xoxo

Melanie

Happy Holidays!

Okay, so clearly I need to get "back in the groove" of writing on my blog. But I swear to goodness, between laundry, dishes, watching baby...and let's not even discuss cleaning of the bottles, I don't know where my day goes! And if that wasn't enough going on, I decided to find something part time to do outside of the house as well! I am currently working two days a week at the new Kosair Children's Medical Center in the east end of Louisville. It is a fabulous facility, and gets me out of the house a little bit, and the benefits are AMAZING...so basically I work for the health insurance. :)

The holiday's have come upon me so quickly I can't even see straight! My sister-in-law and her family got into town yesterday for the Holiday's....so hard to believe. I feel like just yesterday I was hott as heck and HUGELY pregnant. I honest to goodness don't know where the time has gone....

Tomorrow is my beautiful boy's Baptism. :) I am so excited I can hardly see straight. Geoff and I both got new clothes....a rarity here lately, and Ben's "gown" is pressed and looking absolutely fantastic. We are having a "private" Baptism...I put "private" in quotes for a reason, and here it is.....the reason we aren't having the Baptism at a mass is because due to Advent our church doesn't perform them in December. Well, my sister-in-law is the Godmother, so we needed to have it around a time when she would be home....so December it is. So not at a mass....but not very private either. There are...wait for it....8-0 people coming. And no that is not a joke. 80....I still find myself having a hard time wrapping my brain around it. Went grocery shopping today for all of the supplies....I won't even get into how much this is going to cost! LOL!! But in the end it will be a day to celebrate my sweet boy, and who can put a price on that???

Shutterfly's New Holiday Cards

OH MY GOSH! So naturally, I have already started shopping for Holiday Cards. To be perfectly honest, I feel like I'm behind! I am currently obsessed with Shutterfly, I saw their cards on their site and HOLY MOLY! They have really kicked it up a notch this year! They have all these different kinds, and if you, like me, have kiddo's then I'm sure you'll be interested in all of the photo montage options! There were SO many that I loved that I don't know what I'm going to do yet. But I will DEFINITELY be getting my cards from there again this year. The thing I love about Shutterfly is it's not just a place to get prints, or CHRISTmas cards...they seriously have EVERYTHING. You can personalize t-shirts and sweatshirts, mugs, calendars....pretty much anything for anyone for the Holidays. Although, I'm sure their cards are one of their most popular items. I use Shutterfly for my photo books. I made my nephew one for his first birthday that had photos from his entire first year in it. I am currently working on one for my baby and also my niece, and just started one yesterday for my newest nephew arriving in April. So be sure to check them out if you need any holiday shopping ideas! Throughout the blog are some of my favorites photo cards....to find your own simply try their website http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

xoxo

November....14 1/2 weeks!

Wow....where has the time gone?!?!?! It is so hard to believe that Summer has come and gone, Fall is almost over, and we're knocking on the door of the Holiday season!! Ben is growing and changing every single day. His smile just absolutely lights up my world. :) He is so into his his fish bouncey chair. He sits there in the mornings sometimes for over an hour. Kicking his feet, talking to his fisheys....but the second I open my mouth and start talking to him he turns to me and gets this HUGE grin on his sweet face. :) I love that I am able to stay home with him. Nothing makes me happier than spending time with my family....now if only we could win the lottery so Geoffy could stay home too. :) ha! We'd drive each other insane I'm sure. LOL!!

Ben had his first ear infection last week. :( We had to take him to the Pediatric Acute Care center on Friday night. He was up all night Thursday night, and by the time Geoff got home on Friday his eye was really gunky and he was SO fussy. So we called the doctors office and they suggested we head on over. He weighs 14lbs 14oz!! My little peanut has doubled in size since being born! Of course as we're sitting in the waiting room he is grinning and just the happiest little clam. I swear...boys....then we get back into the room, the doctor comes in and checks his chest, sounds all clear, checks his left ear, looks great, touches the right ear and Benny starts SCREAMING. Yup...ear infection. Luckily, she said we had caught it early, so just some antibiotics and we were good to go! He is MUCH better this week....and has started a pretty decent sleep schedule....goes down for bed at 7:30, wakes up for a bottle at 3:30, and then up for the day at 8! Pretty fantastic.

Sunday was Ben's first Halloween. He was The Great Pumpkin charlie brown. :) Had we gone to a Halloween Party we were going to be Linus and Sally with the Great Pumpkin. :) haha! But no parties this year...just passing out candy at home.

Well, I guess that's all of an update I have. I'll end with a photo of my sweet boy in his pumpkin costume. He was such a trooper...wore it almost all day! xoxo

Oh How Time Flies...

Wow...I feel like I haven't blogged in FOREVER. My goal was to blog EVERY Monday while on my maternity leave. Now I suddenly find my leave coming to an end, and can't quite remember the last time I sat down with my computer to type out my thoughts. As I sit here I am watching my almost 11 (yes 11) week old baby boy sleeping in his swing....I am constantly wondering where the time has gone. I have never had 3 months fly by so quickly...where was this speed when I was hot and uncomfortably pregnant???

So many things have happened while on maternity leave. First off...obviously...I'm a mommy now. I always knew I was put on this earth to be a mother....I never knew just how much I would love it. There's nothing better in this world to me than being a mother to my Benjamin. He has his days of being upset and crying more often than not, but for the most part he is an absolute joy. He is such an easy going baby, and I just LOVE being home with him.

Ben is quite the chunker now. :) At his last doctors appointment he weighed 12lbs! Quite a difference from the 7lb 4oz baby I gave birth to on July 25. He is hovering between 50% & 75% in weight, and between 25% and 50% for his height and size of his head. LOL. :)

Well, my sweet angel is starting to wake up. Guess I had better put my mommy hat back on. Hope all is well with you, and hope to talk to you soon!

xoxo

4 Weeks Old!

Are you talking to me? Yes, he is and your baby wants you to talk back!

Those adorable grunts, gurgles, and coos are his way of chatting about what's going on in his world, and the best way to encourage more communication is to keep the conversation going. (Don't be surprised if you hear plenty of sneezes and hiccups as well -- both very common in infants.) At this age, your baby is ready for supervised tummy time, a position that'll allow him to practice important motor skills (like lifting that big noggin, even for a few seconds at a time). He'll also discover his best built-in toys about now -- his fingers and toes, which are not only entertaining but potentially comforting as well (thumbsuckers, rejoice!). Also worth rejoicing over: You're an old pro by now at this baby-care thing -- who knew it would happen to quickly?!?!

WOW....it's so hard to believe my sweet boy is 4 weeks old already! I just feel like this time is flying by. I was definitely glad to read about hiccups being so common....I feel like Ben has them ALL the time. It completely cracks me up. I am definitely staying busy here at home....between caring for baby, laundry, and washing all those darn bottles and pumping supplies...SHOO...I'M POOPED! I will say that I am so incredibly happy with my little family. Watching my husband with my baby boy absolutely makes my heart melt...in the middle of the night when we have a screaming starving poopy baby and I get a hand on the small of my back and a whisper in my ear that he loves me so much, and loves how we're raising our son....it just fills my heart with joy.