2 weeks and counting...

Benjamin at 13 days old: playing toys with Mommy




Benjamin at 2 weeks old: wearing Daddy's least favorite outfit



My feet: let me show you them



So we've made it through the first 2 weeks and lived to tell the tale. Benjamin has been such a good baby, it's hard to complain about any of it. Since he was born, he does very little besides sleep, eat, poop and burp. He does all of these things like clockwork, which makes him pretty predictable and easy to live with. He does not fuss just to hear himself, and is easy to calm down once you give him what he wants. Very Type B - he takes after Daddy for sure.

This week he began grabbing things, and the little guy has quite a grip. This is fine when he is playing toys or just hanging out, but not so much during feeding time, if you know what I mean. We are working on a hands-off nursing session but no luck yet. He also managed to flip himself from front to back in bed one night. We placed him in a Boppy and went to sleep, and when we awoke, he was face down in it, happy as a clam. I have no idea how he worked this one out, as he is barely two weeks old AND was completely swaddled and had no arms or legs to get this done. He is a determined little guy for sure. Needless to say, this was the last night he napped with the Boppy. Back to the flat sleep positioner for Benjamin! Other notable happenings include facial expressions. When he sleeps, as I'm sure most newborns do, he makes lots of funny faces. He will cycle from sad, to mad, to amused, to happy, and back to sad, all within 30 seconds. He'll do this for 10 minutes or so, and it's hilarious to watch. We call it: Benjamin going through his programming. When he is awake, he definitely has his sad and mad face mastered at appropriate times, but doesn't really express happiness yet. Although I'm pretty sure he smiled at me last night while we played and sang songs (badly). We looked it up, and he's really not supposed to smile intentionally for another few weeks, so it could have been a coincidence, but I'd like to think he was really amused at Mommy's rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Attending to faces and items in the environment has also begun this week. Ben will maintain eye contact with us if he is held close enough to our faces, and seems genuinely interested in what we have to tell him. He loves listening to us chat, and is a great outlet for sharing thoughts and gossiping. He also noticed his mobile and a few toys we play with and is adorable to watch as he gazes up at his rotating bears above his swing. He watches each one go by like it is a brand-new bear, and this will keep him busy for a minute or two. Sometimes when he begins to fuss, he'll catch a glimpse of his bear friends, and forget why he was upset. It's adorable.

Benjamin went on a couple of trips into the outside world this week. He accompanied Mommy and Grammy to a La Leche League meeting and the doctor's office on Wednesday. He slept through the whole thing. Mommy would have preferred sleeping through both activities as well. The meeting was a very strange experience, but Mommy picked up some good nursing tips that have worked like a charm. Mommy also got a clean bill of health at the doctor's office, which was fantastic news. On Saturday, Benny's 2 week old birthday, we traveled to Target (Ben's favorite) and the grocery store to stock up on items for the week. He also slept through this outing, but attracted a lot of attention along the way. He LOVES riding in the car and being pushed around in a shopping cart. He stirs a little bit when the cart stops to pick up an item, so we've learned to keep it in constant motion in order to keep him napping and happy.

Today is my official due date - November 16th. It's amazing to think that he could have stayed larval for two more weeks, and hard to believe that I wouldn't have exploded carrying this big boy 14 days longer. He would have been a cool 10 pounds, considering his birth weight. Today is also a milestone developmentally, because he is now officially "full term" so his developmental clock starts now. However, I don't think that will be a problem for Benny Boo - he is already doing things that should come much later and it has both pleased us and scared us equally as much. I think we need to start baby-proofing the house now - this kid will be an early walker! The last two weeks have exceeded our expectations of parenthood and we are completely in love with this little creature and endlessly amused by his Peanut Antics. We are looking forward to the rest of parenthood, but also savoring the early moments with our little guy. Everyone was right - it does go by fast.