Oh my gosh I cant believe Bennett is 4 weeks old today! When did that happen? He will be 1 month on February 6th, but for the first few months of life development is monitored in terms of weeks so I will be thinking this way for a while. And speaking of development, he reached a few milestones this week: he smiled purposefully (and hasn’t stopped!), tracked his mobile, and sucked his thumb all for the first time this week. He has a stronger grip on his pacifier and can keep it in his mouth while sleeping most of the time. He does not like “tummy time” but his neck is strong and he is doing well holding his head up for several seconds at a time. I feel like B has moved from newborn to baby, and with that change comes a lot of memories in the making.
We had a great visit with Bennett’s grandma’s! My mom and Sam’s mom drove down to Georgia to spend a few days with B and to see Sam pin on Senior Airman. It was wonderful to spend the time together and get some advice from some seasoned pros. I do wish I had taken advantage of their help and napped a little more! One of these days I will get it through my head that I cant do it all…We are looking forward to visiting Virginia from February 24th - March 2nd and introducing Bennett to the rest of the family. My mom is hosting an “open house” for anyone who would like to come by and meet Bennett on February 25th from 1-5pm. (more details to come) I am thrilled that my brother, Jared, should be home from Afghanistan and back in VA for a visit as well!
The latter part of this week was rough for Bennett. He was diagnosed with a pretty bad case of acid reflux and painful gas that was affecting his sleep and eating. This sweet baby never cried or fussed more than a minute or two so it took me a while to pick up on the signs. So far the medications seem to be helping! As a precaution, his doctor has instructed me to cut diary out of my diet in case an intolerance to cow milk may be the culprit behind the gas - you know a mother’s love is strong when I am more than willing to cut out cheese and ranch! Also his doctor suspects that he is “tongue tied” and has referred us to an ENT to be sure. This could be the reason for the difficulty we have had with nursing. Please pray that both these things will be resolved and B’s pain/discomfort will be swept away. I am so thankful for the love and healing from our Father!
-Ashley
Some pictures of our visit from the Grandma’s this weekend…
Bennett got to visit with his two Grandma’s - Sam’s mom and my mom - when they came down this weekend. We had a great time and are so thankful to them for making the 12hr drive down here to Georgia!
Some more pictures from Sam’s promotion ceremony (to Senior Airman, Below the Zone).
Today was the promotion ceremony where I “pinned on” my new rank of Senior Airman. It isn’t effective until Feb 13 so I can’t wear the extra stripe yet, but it was my first promotion ceremony nonetheless! Ashley as well as my ART supervisor were there to punch my arms from both sides, and this picture was taken seconds before she nailed the crap out of my right shoulder. I also found out that today is the 20th anniversary of JSTARS’ first successful mission of lending a major hand in rescuing a group of Marines from an attack during Operation Desert Storm.
-sam
A few of the last pictures from our newborn photo shoot with Bennett. To see the rest or to download visit our Picasa album below…
Bennett turns 3 weeks old today! In some ways I feel like time is flying by and he’s growing up too fast, but then again being on a 3 hour continuous cycle makes each day feel much longer than it is. B is doing great - he is sleeping well and eating a ton. We are up to a 4 hour sleep stretch at night and a 3 - 4 ounce bottle per feeding in the last few days. We are working on stretching out his night sleep and figuring out what makes him spit up so much / keeping him safe while he’s throwing up…
We are looking forward to a visit from B’s grandmas this weekend! My mom and Sam’s mom are heading down to Georgia to visit with Bennett and see Sam pin on Senior Airman. After that we will be looking forward to our visit to Virginia at the end of February (Sam’s leave was approved!).
Some AF stuff
It’s been a while since I posted anything related to my job. First off, my promotion ceremony for Senior Airman is on Jan 31 and we are stoked to have my mom and Ashley’s mom make a joint trip down for the occasion! It will also be the first visit to see Bennett from someone on my side of the family. I’m very happy that my mom sprung for the trip! And although the ceremony is on Jan 31, my promotion is not effective until Feb 13, my 28th birthday, which I will be spending at 35,000 feet somewhere above the US.
In other news, for those who have asked in the past what I do when I’m not flying (which is only a couple times per month stateside), I now have a legitimate answer for you! I have been given a “day job” as a Security Manager for my squadron, which means I will be in the office responsible for upkeep of security clearances and access to restricted areas for everyone in my unit. It’s one of the busiest offices in the place which is awesome.
More later!
For those of you not on FB, here are some of the pictures from our newborn photo shoot we had yesterday with a talented photographer on base. Bennett did so well this time and we got some really good shots - I cant wait to see the rest! You can see / download all of them from this album on Picasa:
Help, Baby Wise mamas!
Ok I find Baby Wise to be inspired and completely rational, but I am having trouble getting started…here is a little of our info and my question about what’s confusing me. I would appreciate any advice! You can PM or email if that works better for anyone. Thanks so much!
- We are on a 3 hour feeding schedule of 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am. They are predictable and steady.
- B takes 3 - 4 ounces at each feeding. He has surpassed his birth weight and is healthy.
- He sleeps well if swaddled and if he doesn’t get the hiccups (which cause him to spit up or throw up)
- So far this schedule is really working for us. My dilemma is if I put him down at 10pm and let him sleep as long as he wants (up to 5hrs since he’s breast fed) he wakes up around 2am and again at 5am, meaning he didn’t make the 2nd 5-hour stretch and it was throwing our 7am feeding off…
My question is this: Is every 3 hours the proper schedule to maintain until he is 8 weeks for stabilization or am I supposed to be working at dropping the 1am and 4am feedings for a single late-night feeding during these 8 weeks? And whichever the case, how did you go about dropping a feeding? When it’s the right time, is it ok to put him down at 10pm and let him just sleep up to 5hrs at a time as long as I stick to starting the day at 7am no matter what?
In this video Bennett bounces himself with his hiccups. I felt his hiccups for months before he was born, and he shows no signs of slowing down now!
