21 Weeks Old

Enjoying the grass today!

Bennett had a great week. He is continuing to work on his sitting and is rolling over onto his stomach with no effort at all. He has yet to accomplish rolling from his front onto his back though. Bennett is still chatty as ever and loves to yell. This week he has gotten very curious about faces. He will hold our faces in his hands, or just rest a hand on our cheek while he looks at us. It is very endearing. Every time he does it, it's like he is trying to relay the message of "Hi. You are my mommy/daddy and I love you" with his eyes. He will also throw his arms around our necks (or as close to around our necks as his little arms will let him) and grab onto our hair. It's almost as if he has discovered we are separate from him and he can touch us because he wants to. It is also apparent he does it for comfort as well, because if he really wants to be picked up, when we hold him, he'll try to wrap his arm around our necks like he is saying "Don't put me down!" The worst part of exploring via touch is he constantly inadvertently grabs and pinches skin. So painful.

Going down for naps continues to be hit or miss. Usually he is pretty good about going down for his morning nap. I can turn on his mobile and lay him down fully awake. He will squawk a bit and sometimes I have to go in there to hold him, but he only needs me for 5 minutes at most, before going to sleep. His afternoon naps are a different story. There is usually a good half hour of fussing. I usually cave in and feed him because we both know if he eats, he will fall asleep. I really don't want to get him in the habit of needing to eat to sleep, but I think he actually might be hungry too. It usually takes him 5-7 minutes to eat. Today he woke from a half hour nap screaming bloody murder. It was so loud at points, I thought I had gone deaf, but he had eaten 1.5 hours prior (he still eats every 3 hours) so I didn't think he was hungry. After a very stressful half hour, I let him win and fed him. He ate a full 6 minute meal. He has been doing this all week, wanting to eat every 2-2.5 hours during the day. It is just difficult to determine if he is in fact hungry or just wanting to eat to sleep because it always coincides with nap time. After one of these feedings earlier this week, he looked at me, smiled and made a happy noise. I'm pretty sure he said "See? I was super hungry! If you can feed me right away next time, we can avoid a half hour of screaming." Maybe he's going through a growth spurt? He has been sleeping more this week too.

He is also starting to enjoy his exersaucer. Joel puts him in the seat backwards, because the back of the seat is higher than the front, so he has something to lean on. Because of his new position, he'll spend a lot more time in it and will even jump around a lot. Money well spent! Same goes with the carrier we bought last weekend. He was indifferent the first few times he sat in it but now loves it. He loves to look around, so much so that he did not want to sit in his stroller when we went to the mall earlier this week. Too bad for me, I didn't bring his carrier with, so I had to hold him and push the stroller at the same time. We didn't stay at the mall too long... But now that he's had a taste of this new way to view the world, he can't get enough.

A few times this week people have commented on what an observant, curious baby Bennett is. This is something Joel and I have realized from the beginning, but it is always surprising to hear strangers recognize this in him also. Bennett also continues to be stubborn, if there's something he wants. He is usually laid back and chill, but if he wants something, he will fuss until he gets it. This isn't news to me because I knew he was stubborn before he was born. I love seeing his personality develop though, even if the trait is less than desirable. Today at the gym, the daycare ladies commented on what a good chill baby he is. They had five infants under their watch at the same time, in addition to about 20 kids. Bennett was the only one that didn't cry. They said he started fussing, but they asked him to please not cry because they didn't have enough hands to hold him, so he stopped. It is moments like this that make me proud of Bennett, even if his good behavior was just a fluke.

Overall, he is just as happy as ever and always quick to smile, even when he is tire. He is still a little shy around strangers and won't chat much, but around us, talks nonstop. Basically he hasn't deterred us from wanting more kids in the future. Ha.

Showing off his pouty model face with Daddy.

Looking grown up!