The New Gerber Baby

Now I'm not into modeling, but this kid could do it! Check out Mr. Personality! Download the series.

Grab it, Eat it

Hooray! Benjamin did his first grab-and-stick-in-the-mouth move. We are excited about this because he started teething and this could be more difficult than necessary if he is not able to put a teether in his mouth himself. Until today, I was tied to him during fussy moments - my finger in his mouth as he chewed on it and drooled all over me. Bonding as such moments are, they simply aren't practical for a gal with laundry to do.

So I used some of my Babies R Us money today to purchase a few different teethers. We had to stick them in his mouth and play with him so he could get the feel of them. He doesn't reach out and grab on his own yet, but he will grasp something placed in his fingers. I wrapped his fingers around a Sassy butterfly teether and put it near his mouth. Brent almost fell out of his chair when Benjamin sort of accidentally got it into his mouth and gummed it. Victory!

While he still needs to work on voluntarily grabbing an object, he will probably pick that part up quickly now that he has discovered a motivation for grasping something. He seems to suddenly be learning things so quickly! Big boy!

Holy Zseberan Four!

So we recently had a fantabulous visit by Brent's sister and her family, the Aunt Amy who keeps leaving comments all over this blog and sending little goodies to Baby Benjamin (the kind of spoiling that Mama can't do, but aunties can). Cousin Morgan did an excellent job of caring for her new baby cousin, and Molly happily crawled right over him. Uncle Brian helped Brent with manly house-related tasks, which manly Brent appreciated. Unfortunately we had a snowstorm blow through leaving traces of snow just prior to their arrival...pooh! I was looking forward to long walks in the park with the strollers. Anyway, we snapped a few photos and they are just adorable. Enjoy!


Morgan, me, Little Bear


Aunt Amy and Morgan getting their first peep at Mini B


More peeping of Mini B

The manly men relaxing


Good golly, Miss Molly! Look at those teeth!


Mama Bear and Little Bear

First tooth!

So Benjamin was whimpering and being very unhappy, and when I asked him why he was so sad, he pointed his chubby little finger to this tiny little bump on his lower gum. No, I said. It can't be.

Alas, it is. The ever so slight white of a tooth trying to rise from the pink surface of his gums.

Alas, too, for as bright as Benjamin seems to be on so many topics, he has not figured out that biting down on a teether will help him feel better. He chewed on my finger for a while this morning, but hasn't transfered that knowledge to using other objects. And, alas again, even if he did, he could not hold those objects with his hand yet.

We will be very excited to welcome the arrival of his lower front teeth - Mama just wasn't ready for this big-boy step yet.

In the meantime, Benjamin begins to drool foamy manifestations as he rubs his tongue over and over that part of his gums. This, too, is terribly cute.

It's monkey time again!

We have a calypso/reggae baby! Benjamin is showing an interest in music. He is aware of it when we put it on, and he gets downright happy when his favorite song comes on. Benjamin's favorite singer right now is Asheba (the guy in the photo), and the song is "No More Monkeys"...jumping on the bed. (For real, this is not me making up an opinion for him in order to make you laugh.) When this song comes on he just smiles and smiles. We discovered Asheba on a compilation album, and Benjamin got very excited when we found Asheba's web site with more albums, including the song "Itsy Bitsy Spider."



Benjamin also enjoys Abdel Wright who has an island sound but does not specialize in children's songs.

For Asheba's music, click here.
For Abdel Wright's music, click here.

The Orange Hat Series

The latest in fine portraiture as Benjamin completes his second month of life on the planet. Click here to view the entire series.

Leaving On an Airplane

Last weekend, Benjamin and I took an airplane to California to visit the family. I was nervous about flying with an infant, mostly because I care too much what people think of me and I didn't want to be the woman with the screaming baby who was annoying everyone. Benjamin, kind soul that he is, spared me such an ordeal. We had a 5 hour flight to Las Vegas, on which he was absolutely silent! (Barring a few adorable coos.) Our layover in Vegas and the one hour flight to San Diego was a little fussy. I think Benjamin had never before encountered being hot...and it was hot! I had to work hard at distracting him on that flight (steeper ascent and descent bothered his ears, I believe), but even so, he was not horribly noisy.

Our entire flight home, layovers and commuter planes included, was entirely peaceful. I am very fortunate!

I did learn than pre-mixed formula in a bottle is one liquid you can take on a plane, but a bottle of water to mix with your powdered formula is not. Mind you, I could not find this information anywhere on the internet.

Anyway, my family took good care of us during our stay. Mom enjoys being a grandma, Dad made a few laps around the house with Benjamin when he was fussy, and I discovered that my independent sisters do have maternal bones in their bodies after all! Funny what a sweet-faced infant can do to people.

Something like 25 or more friends and relatives showed up at the shower - I felt so loved and supported. It always surprises me how many people are with us on our journey. I don't think I touched Benjamin that afternoon for four or five hours. He just cruised around the room in adoring women's arms. One of my friends had to actually wrestle my 80-something year-old grandma to get him away from her. I'm serious! Benjamin intervened, fair referee that he is, and told my friend not to pick on seniors. Grandma smiled smugly, but turned him over.

Kudos go to Michele who outlasted everyone that day. Somehow she ended up in Dad's wine cellar for a tasting session. Somehow she forgot what time it was and happened to stand up a few of her friends she had invited over for an informal dinner of leftover Indian food that night. Poor Michele. That's what happens when I come to town. Mind you, Rebekah (one of the seemingly non-maternal sisters who surprised me) would not give Benjamin up even that late in the evening, insisting that she be allowed to feed him and hold him and ready him for bed because she would not have the opportunity to do that again for a very long time. Again, whaaaa?

Everyone lamented Brent's absence, but he was not able to take time off from work. I missed him, too, and Benjamin seemed to perk up when my Dad entered the room projecting his big man voice which, to Benjamin's ears, was an inadequate, but not uninteresting, substitute for his own Papa.

Our voyage home was largely unnotable, except for the time I spilled a bottle of formula I was trying to mix up all over my seat and I had to cover the cushion with one of Benjamin's blankets. It was somewhat embarassing.

I will say, that even though it is unnerving to wonder if your infant is going to make a lot of noise, traveling with a baby is pretty cool - I got to board near the beginning, a woman escorted me straight to the ticket counter when checking in and I got to skip the outrageous line, random strangers helped me with my bags, everyone wanted to tell me how cute Benjamin is, and half the plane volunteered to hold him when I started down the aisle for the bathroom.

The only downer was trying to get two diaper bags, a loose ticket, and a baby in a Snugli through security while unfastening my belt, unhooking the Snugli, and removing my shoes in order to place everything in separate plastic bins without dropping my son.

Lactation Station, Parte Dos

I recently realized that my explanations of both the attempt to provide breast milk myself and our level of openness in this adoption were very incomplete. One of the coolest parts of this open adoption, and of our relationship with Emma, is that she provided breast milk for about six weeks by pumping on an infant's feeding schedule round the clock. Amazing dedication.

Most adoptive babies and mothers never have that advantage. As Emma and Kevin interviewed us, we were all pleased to discover our similarities in perspective regarding breastmilk. It was a disappointment to us all that inducing lactation did not work out, but a relief to know that Benjamin got a significant amount of "liquid gold" in his first month and a half. My freezer was overflowing with bags of milk for a while. I even videotaped it and when I get back to working the kinks out of the video process, I'll post it.

I'm in the process of catching up on old news, and this is one of those topics. I'll get to the entrustment ceremony soon!

BenSpeak

So Benjamin is trying out language, or rather, he has been trying out language for the past two to three weeks. His vocabulary consists primarily of "ai/hi", "oh", and "goo". The last few days he has been experimenting with "gee", "gah", and "boo". One cannot, however, successfully elicit those sounds from him on a regular basis yet.

We are also able to identify the "I'm hungry" cry, the "I'm not comfortable" cry (for diaper changes, feeling too cold, feeling a burp and can't get it out, needing to get out of the Snugli because my diapers are wadded up between my legs), the "danger" cry (the bathwater is too warm, I burped and it came out my nose, mom is sticking the bouger sucker in my nostril), and the "I'm bored and crabby for no discernable reason" cry, usually a series of wah-wah-wahs accompanied by the uber pouty lower lip.

Benjamin also makes noises that sound like a cross between a spitting, angry cat and a sputtering old car that's having trouble getting started. These sounds are his favorite way to say "I'm mad." In fact, quite often he doesn't even start out with a whimper of "help me, I don't feel well." He launches into a red-faced boil, and just spills over from there. It's a good thing I find this totally hilarious.

Your vocabulary test in BenSpeak is next Friday. Better start studying.

Haven't seen a smile that pretty in a while

I am delinquent on postings, what with travel, jetlag, and a well-developed sinus cold. Allow me to tie you over with a few snaps of the cutest little smiley guy ever. For the whole set, view my album here. I apologize for the cluttered background - he was so happy, I just grabbed the camera and started shooting. He was smiling at his daddy.

Don't you just love the little creases under his eyes? So cute!

Happy Guy!

For this lovely series, Benjamin is enjoying his favorite seat - the Zanzibar bouncer that has a vibration setting. Boy, does he ever like that chair. Brent has declared it a lifesaver, or magic, I can't remember which. Most of the time, when we can't figure out the cause of Benjamin's unhappiness, we can plop him in it and hit the button. His silent alertness is almost instant, followed by sleep. So fantastic. (Thanks, Jim and Betty!)

For the entire set of high res photos, click here. I sized these and loaded them so that you could order 5x7 prints if you want. I thought a couple of these would be nice enough to do that.

Little Bear and Edgar

Last week we read the Little Bear stories together. I particularly like Mama Bear in the Little Bear stories because she takes all of Little Bear's questions and personal variances in stride. She is able to knowingly humor his whims and he figures things out on his own because she lets him explore, even when it appears as foolishness to someone who knows more about life. Benjamin usually identifies with Little Bear, especially the story where Little Bear keeps wanting more clothes to stay warm and in the end decides his own fur coat is the most effective piece of clothing he'll ever need. Benjamin sometimes thinks he wants all kinds of things before settling down on the one thing that he is truly craving (usually a bottle).


This week we are exploring poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, darker fare, perhaps, but not as dark as you might expect...often full of longing, and very fun to read aloud. Benjamin is holding off on choosing a favorite poem until we finish the collection. (I will say, shamefully, that he fell asleep to the reading of The Raven. Nevermore!)

Oh, Happy Day! (The Smile)

After all that attention on mugwumpery (yes, Aunt Amy, that is correct usage), Benjamin gave me a real, genuine, bona fide smile this morning. About 9 am, I had finished feeding and changing him, we read some Poe poetry, got him dressed in a so soft jersey-knit outfit, and cuddled on the sheepskin rug. And then it happened. The smile.

I was encouraging him to coo (which he started working on a week ago...saying oh, and hi, and sticking his tongue out, and making other noises that sound like adult conversation but are nonsense to adult ears), and smiling at him, and asking him to smile, when suddenly his eyes gleamed and one corner of his mouth went up into a full smile and the other corner just sort of curled. It was the cutest, happiest little lopsided smile.

And then he cooed and gurgled and we had a glowing moment together before he fell asleep and I came downstairs to add our glowing moment to the blog.

Expressions of a Mugwump

For more on mugwumps, see this entry. My favorite shots involve the lower lip sticking out. Don't worry, I'll create another collage with happy faces when he makes them.

An Experiment in Laughter

Benjamin is such a serious guy. At his happiest, he appears to simply be looking around alertly. His smiles at this time, alas, are purely gas related. And when he is fussy, he is very, very fussy (even without a curl in the middle of his forehead). The term mugwump** has even been whispered on occasion.

So Mama was thinking: we do lots of things in response to what he does, but most of the time that does not include laughing. We also do things to stimulate him - wave around a rattle, talk to him, smile, play peek-a-boo, snuggle, etc...none of which are laughter. So Mama pondered the idea of laughing, even when nothing is laughable just to see if this example of laughing might rub off. Even better, Mama has begun to laugh when the drama king is wailing away for no apparent reason. For maybe this serious little guy needs to be taught how to laugh.

We are now about 24 hours into the experiment and the results are curious. In most cases when the drama king is making an appearance, an outburst of he, he, ho, ho, ha, ha ha, ha, hoo, boy! has successfully brought peace. Mama even thinks she caught a glimmer of amusement in his eye.

**Mugwump - Grandma McNew's preferred term for children displaying crabbiness, pouting, or a surly countenance. It was understood that one was not a permanent mugwump, but would move in and out of that category according to mood and behavior.

For the story behind real mugwumps, click here. I never knew! And, for other types of mugwumps, click here.

Mama is enjoying writing about herself in the third person.

Benjamin's Dedication

Sunday morning, the 24th, we had a beautiful gathering of Benjamin's family, both biological and adoptive, to honor our dedication of him to our God. In some churches, this would take the form of baptism. In our church, we save baptism for the point when an individual of any age decides to follow Christ. As an infant, instead, the parents vow before the church family to raise him to know the love of Christ and to rely on God as a source of wisdom and strength in parenting. We then pray together, asking a blessing on Benjamin. I also prayed the prayer of my mother...that God would make up for any deficiencies I will have in parenting, loving, or raising my son.

After church, we all returned to the house on Dove Street to eat lunch and visit. Emma and Kevin were able to be there along with both sets of their parents. Brent's mom and Aunt Gerri came to town, as did my parents. Dad found excellent conversation with Paul, who has worked for Kodak many years. (My dad is a photographer and businessman - they printed exclusively on Kodak paper for many years.)

Grandma P and Aunt Gerri helped me prepare the soups for lunch...actually, they did more than help...they just took care of it. (It is so wonderful to have mothers come to visit.) All I did was point them to the recipes and buy the ingredients.


Benjamin mentioned that he really appreciates the way family on all sides have rallied around him to welcome him into the world. He asked me to write what he said into his journal (on account of his not being literate at this point in his life) so that he doesn't forget it in his teenage years. He's aware that his brain might short circuit during puberty, cutting off the path to expression of appreciation temporarily. He's wise for his age.

In closing, Gramma Karen offered a musical blessing by playing Amazing Grace on her bagpipes. She is of Scottish descent and plays bagpipes for real with a bagpipe group. Very cool. This was moving for everyone.

So, Benjamin is off to a great start in life - a life that will be rich with love and people looking out for him. Hooray for our village!

Photos from the day are here. Please send me any e-versions you might have. I realized that I really didn't take many photos of my or Brent's family!

The First of Many Celebrations

On Saturday, February 23rd, friends from our neighborhood, school, and church gathered to celebrate Benjamin. Friends Diana and Elise provided a delicious spread (go, foodies!), and Karen made a cake with the amazing kind of decorating that I have not seen since I was a child and my mom enrolled in a cake decorating class. I felt very loved and supported, and Benjamin told me (in private) afterward that he just adored being handled by so many attractive women. Good lord, it's already begun!

We did not play any shower games - I didn't have a belly to measure with a roll of toilet paper (although, wouldn't that have been an ironic twist?!), but it was a lovely time for everyone to eat, converse, and relax. I enjoyed myself so thoroughly that I forgot to take more than about three pictures. Thankfully, someone else grabbed my camera and snapped a few off. You can see them here. If you have an e-version of any of your shots, please send them to me. I'd love to have a little more documentation of the event.


The most meaningful moment was an activity put together by Diane and Joanna - guests were invited to write advice, wisdom, lessons learned and so on in a journal for me, and to write a letter to Benjamin to seal in a box that will be opened when he turns 13. If you are not in town but want to add to either of those, please leave your message in the comments section and I will transfer it into the book.

The Bathrobe Series

Benjamin was thrilled to receive a froggy bathrobe from his friends AC and Patty. He showed me how it matched a pair of flipper slippers that fabulous cousins Molly and Morgan had handed down last month. Of course, he begged me to take some photos as he was quite proud of the matching ensemble and the way it complements his chubby cheeks. For the entire downloadable series, click here.