Benjamin: 2 months old

Nicknames:  Ben, Mr. Ben, Ben-Bo, Little Man, Buddy, Sweet Boy, Benjamin Kenjamin

Temperament:  so relaxed, easy going, happy and content

Item/Toy We Love the Most:  The rock n play, pacifier

Item/Toy You Love the Most: the zebra on your activity mat, pacifier

Things We're Loving Most Right Now:  You are nursing! And we love your smiles!

Things You're Loving Most Right Now: You love to smile at us. You love when we talk to you and sing to you and show you toys. You love your pacifier and you now love to nurse. 

Eating:  Thankfully, a lot has changed in this category since last month in a positive direction.  Ben had been gaining weight but was eating exclusively pumped milk from bottles, 8-9 times per day.  After he turned 5 weeks old, I decided to try to see if I could get him back to nursing now that he was a little bigger and older and had made it back to his birth weight. This was also the week before JP's schedule (and thus our family's schedule) got more hectic so it seemed like a good time to try.  

I started by attempting to nurse for up to fifteen minutes a side and then supplementing with a partial serving of pumped milk while pumping for the next feed. Ben seemed to latch somewhat but did not transfer a lot of milk as I could still get up to 3+ ounces when pumping. I did this for about half the feedings and just gave bottles the other half. I began to get discouraged when things did not improve quickly and a friend recommended a breastfeeding group at a new lactation center. I went there and Ben did the best job nursing during the group and actually seemed like he was not still hungry when he was done!  Since then, we gradually increased nursing sessions and reduced pumping to ensure he was continuing to gain weight. We now nurse 5-6 times a day and pump/bottle feed 1-2 times, to maintain supply and freezer stash for me and to help keep him accustomed to the bottle as well. I am so thankful that he was able to get bigger and stronger enough to nurse effectively as it is so much easier to be out and about with him (and we have nursed at museums, restaurants, friends' houses and at church now).  Ben is gaining weight and happy to eat so we are doing great!

Sleeping:  Ben continues to be a very good sleeper. His awake time is about 90 minutes and he takes pretty solid naps in between waking up every 3-4 hours to eat during the day.  He likes to take a long midday nap and I often end up waking him when it has been four hours since he last ate to help make sure he is keeping up with the progress he has made.  At night, he initially slept a longer stretch of 4-5 hours and then was up twice between about 9 and 7, but lately he is extending that initial long period to up to 6-7 hours, which is great for how young he is.  He will eat and then quickly go back to sleep by himself after I wrap him back up and give him his pacifier.  

Playing:  Ben is so much more social now. He learned to smile right when he turned one month old and it is his favorite expression. He smiles at me when I wake him up, takes nursing breaks to smile, and smiles in the middle of the night when I am about to put him back to bed.  He smiles at Abigail when she tells him a story or shows him things, smiles at JP when he comes home at night, and smiles at his toys and everything we show him.  He is such a happy baby!

He is more interested in his toys and seems to study the things around him more as his eyesight improves. He is improving at tracking things from side to side but still often loses things at midline. He will briefly hold a toy if we put it in his hand but he is not really aware of it yet.  He enjoys lying on the activity mat and waving his arms and legs at his toys and talking to them. 

We are still practicing tummy time but Ben has a hard time all the way prone on the floor--I think his head is too big. He does better on the Boppy or on someone's chest, and he is showing more head stability when we hold him in an upright position too.  

Abigail likes to play the jumping and bouncing songs with him and loves to hug him and hold him. She is getting used to how to be gentle with him and he finds her fascinating!

Growth:  We had Ben's two month check up and first immunizations right after he turned two months. He weighed 11 pounds exactly (15th percentile), was up to 23 1/4 inches long (54th) and had a head circumference of 15.8 inches (78th).  

He is growing out of his newborn clothes and we are sadly retiring some newborn favorites and finding lots of new 3 month favorites from the clothes we received as hand me downs and gifts.  When we have been out and about a few people have guessed he was three months old already which I am attributing to his big head and general cuteness!