New Room

Bennett is currently taking his first nap in his new room. Can you find him amongst all the junk?

Sleepy

Now that we're back in our house, Grandpa isn't there to put Bennett to sleep so Luca helped.

Poor Dog

9 Weeks Old

This post is a day late, but Bennett turned 9 weeks old yesterday.  We've been pretty busy getting moved back into the house, but to celebrate Bennett's weekly birthday, he visited his house for the first time. Bennett was pretty mesmerized by all the windows and couldn't stop looking around.

Seeing his room for the first time. I think he approves

After the visit, Bennett managed to do one of these:

Poop in the back

Spit up in the front

I should also mention he managed to throw up before going to the house, so once again, the day was very bodily-fluid filled.  Ah, the glamorous side of parenthood.

This week Bennett is becoming increasingly more vocal.  He likes to have a long chatfest in the morning and again in the afternoon. He also started sleeping 5 hours at night, which isn't exactly through the night, but good enough for me.  Still loves foot rubs and full body massages.  As for the color of his eyes, you can decide.  I think it depends on the light he is in.  In the sunlight, they look blue/gray, but other times, they seem brown.

Below are his 9 week pictures. He managed to give himself some good scratches. I think it's because he wanted to look like a tough guy.

Just a Typical Wednesday Morning

Since Bennett was born, Joel and I have been trying to figure out who he looks like, which body part comes from which one of us.  It's pretty safe to say those oven mitts come from his Swenson side. Kwongs have long, lean piano-playing fingers... guess I shouldn't expect a piano prodigy.

Bennett was in a good mood this morning, so we decided to take some pictures even though he'll have his 9 week pictures tomorrow.  How do I know if he is in a good mood?  When I hear that he's awake, I'll peek into his bassinet and smile.  If he wakes up in a good mood, he'll instantly smile back. 

We did some singing and chatting this morning, saw Daddy off to work, then did some tummy time.

The girls during tummy time

And this face means tummy time is over, and nap time begins!

Another bath

Bennett vomited on all of his clothes tonight. He soaked his onesie and his favorite sleep-sack, "champ," while sitting in his rocker. It is his favorite sleep-sack because he whines before its over his head. But as soon as its covering his body down to his toes, he likes to hug himself before his arms are inserted into his sleeves.

We snapped a couple photos of Bennett before his bath.

What a Day!

Today was an... epic day, in the life of a parent. We had Bennett's two month doctor's appointment at 10 am. Being as we still live in Fridley, our goal was to leave the house at 9:15, so that we wouldn't be rushed to get to the doctor's office (ie. Mommy could stop and get Caribou on the way).  With a 9:15 out-the-door goal, our schedule goes something like this:
8:15- I get ready
8:45- Bennett eats
9:00- Let the dogs out/ get Bennett ready
9:15- Out the door

Simple enough. Bennett woke up at 6 to eat. He eats every three hours, which would make this next feeding at 9, so a 15 minute difference is pretty much right on schedule. PERFECT TIMING, KID! Usually after this morning meal, Bennett goes back to sleep for a while. Today he took a little cat nap and woke up in time for Joel to give him his meds, before Joel headed to work.  By 7, Joel was out the door and Bennett was sleeping again.  Great. Knowing his schedule, I knew this would be the perfect time to take a shower. The baby-sleeping-Joel-isn't-home shower happens so rarely it is a pretty big deal in my newish mommy world.  Everything is working plan, I remember thinking.  "Luca, take care of our baby boy," I said, before heading to the bathroom.  After the shower, I came out to find this:

Amazing, I thought. Bennett is still sleeping, Luca clearly understands me, and it's only 8:00. We're ahead of schedule. Then Bennett woke up, so we cuddled.

At 8:45, Bennett decided he wanted to eat.  Amazing! He is following MY schedule! Towards the end of his feeding, I start rubbing his back.  Odd, I think, Does my hand feel damp? This happened:

Yup, that's right. It was now 8:55, 20 minutes before our departure. The only solution: bath. Baths are still quite an occasion in our world, not something that happens quickly and simply, but that is the only option so I start rushing:  fill tub, get Bennett, poopy clothes off, in tub, scrub scrub scrub, dry off, clean clothes and diaper on.  Somehow this all happens by 9:15. Then the dogs went out, and we were out the door by 9:30. This is AH-MAZE-ING.  Given the situation, I pat myself on the back.  Victory for mommy.

Bennett's appointment went well. Here are some pictures:

Hanging out. He did this the entire appointment.

Getting dressed post-shots

 

 

By the time we got home, Bennett was tired and fussy. He would sleep for a bit, then wake up screaming this adorable high-pitch screech, and he wanted to be held nonstop.  I was really hoping he'd be knocked out and sleep on his own for a few hours, but clearly, luck was not on my side today. So being a mom and feeling super bad about his three shots, I did the best I could to soothe and cuddle him.  And also, how can you say no to this face:

 

 

Fast forward to 5:45, he was hungry and the feeding wasn't going well.  He was super fussy, gassy, kept stopping to scream, and felt kind of warm.  Knowing that a fever post-shots is a possibility, I decided to take his temperature, which at this age is done rectally.  No big deal, right?  So I set the new diaper beneath him, and started to take off the diaper he was wearing. Of course, he picks that moment to start peeing... but I caught it and closed the diaper back up.  Dodged that bullet, I thought. I gave him a few minutes, looked in the diaper, and it was just wet.  Easy diaper change, but first, we take the temp.  I stuck the thermometer in, and not 2 seconds later, poop. Everywhere. He probably shot out 4 ounces of mostly liquid in about 3 seconds. The thermometer, covered in yellow liquid. One of my hands was holding up his legs, the other hand, covered in yellow liquid. The diaper, filled and struggling to contain the yellow liquid.  Pop quiz, hotshot, what do you do? Grab the wipes container and open it with your free, but poopy hand, risking getting more poop everywhere? Use your clean hand, which would mean setting his butt down in the diaper full of liquid poop? Did I mention I like to change him on a towel ON OUR BED? Priority #1: do not get poop on anything that does not already have poop on it. In the end, I went with option two and realized that today was one helluva mommy test.  The most important thing is, I survived.  Let's just hope tomorrow is a bit easier, or at least less poopy.

What a day!

2 month checkup!

I met Bennett and Mommy at the pediatricians office for his 2 month checkup this morning at 10am.

He measured in at 23 1/4 inches ling and weighed in at 13 lbs and 13.4 ounces!

As we were meeting with his nurse, Bennett was naked except for a diaper and a body sized soft blanket. Cuddly and happy, he was all smiles and coos. He was putting on a charming show for the nurse. If he had only known what was to come next...

Two nurses, prepped with 3 needles (5 vaccines via shot and one oral) for Bennett.I laid him on the patient table for a nurse to feed him his oral vaccination. Surprisingly he took that very well; it appeared to be about 1ml of vaccine. Then the nurse asked me to rotate him such that she and another nurse had access to his hammy thighs. I appeared upside-down to Bennett as he laid on the table. He and I locked eyes. He grasped my thumbs like he was holding on to the handlebars of a bike on his first ride. I said to him that this is not going to be pleasant... Then the nurses had at his hammy thighs. But before Bennett could really get out a really loud scream, it was over. He had received his shots in less than 10 seconds and has two Sesame Street band aids to show off on his legs.
Shortly after the shots, Bennett was asleep in his car seat and on his way to a lunch with mommy and daddy at panera.

Cousins

Hey folks.
 

Today cousin August was over and the future besties had their first photo shoot.  Squirmy babies without perfect neck control makes for difficult picture taking, but we managed to get a few good ones. 

 

 

"We're in this together..." 

A glimpse into the future: "He did it."



 

 

Eight Weeks Old

In case you can't do the math, that would make me two months old! Oh how time has flown by.  I'm growing so fast! Mommy put away all my 0-3 month clothing this week, and I made my way into 3 month clothing, but am quickly working my way out of them.  (This quick transition is probably my parents' fault, because they should've put me in 3 month clothing a while ago... but they're new at this so I'll cut them some slack.)  This week I have been chatting away with Mom and Dad, and smiling at their silly faces. 

I still love it when they sing to me and foot massages are still my favorite way to relax.  This past weekend we borrowed a vibrating chair from my cousins and it is my FAVORITE thing! I love to hang out in it and it even puts me sleep!  I think I might be liking baths the more I take them.  I still fuss a bit because I get so cold, but I'm not screaming as much as I used to!

My two month checkup is on Monday. Any guesses as to how much I'll weigh?  I know I'll be well over 13 pounds, but how much over is the question.  Look at my chunky limbs and chubby cheeks... I'll be sure to let you know after my appointment!  Otherwise, things are still going well.  Mommy and Daddy were discussing the color of my eyes, and they may have turned brown, but they're still not too sure.  That's all for now!

Love, Bennett

Playing with blocks

I may be a chunk, but I'm still pretty teeny. 
Those are Daddy's hands, for a little perspective.

I don't know why my mom loves putting me in stupid baskets...