My dear little Benjamin,
You are already 3 weeks old. It's strange, on the one hand you seem so new to me; on the other, I feel like you've been around quite a while. I guess that's what happens when you feed a baby at least 8 times a day.
I meant to blog about your second week of life last week, but never got around to it. During your second week you met your Mamie (Maman's maman) who flew in from Kentucky and had eyes only for you at the airport. She came to meet you, but she spent A LOT of time cooking, cleaning, and gardening so that your parents could dote on you -- and your papa could get some work done. You also met your Grandma (Papa's maman) who came down from NJ to meet her first grandchild (and feed his parents -- there is a theme here, thank you moms!!). Both were delighted with you, each one counting fingers and toes (incidentally, your parents didn't do that when you were born, but that's probably because the week 20 ultrasound technician did it, so they weren't worried). Many many pictures were taken.
You also had
your first bath, which you seemed to really relax in. If you are crying after tummy time (even after that
incredible tummy time when you actually managed to turn yourself over!!), the bath soothes you. You seem to like sitting in the warm water and looking around (though we aren't quite sure what you are looking at).
Having your first bath means that your umbilical cord had fallen out (or, at least, so we thought until I noticed a tiny, tiny crust deep in the folds of your belly button a couple of days later, which meant no baths for a few days). We knew this was going to happen soon, the pediatrician had told us that very day, but we hadn't expected it to happen that night. I found it when I was changing your diaper and for a moment I was a little sad: this was the last sign of the cord that connected us for nearly nine months. It was a brief sadness because, frankly, you are so obviously your own little person now that it's hard to imagine you were almost part of me for all that time.
Your parents are still working on deciphering what your cries mean. Several times I've thought that you couldn't possible be hungry and then, after half an hour, I've fed you and discovered that your were in fact hungry. I'm not sure you were hungry when you started to cry and it may be that all that wailing, fist waving, and kicking gave you an appetite. We are also trying to figure out how to limit the spitting up because we are beginning to think you suffer from acid reflux (like many babies) because sometimes you get really, really upset after spitting up (and, interestingly enough, seem to want to feed very soon afterwards).
We've also introduced pacifiers into your life which usually sooth you immediately, but we aren't really pleased with the kinds we have. I really like the
soothie because it keeps your mouth open the way you need to latch on the breast, but it falls out as soon as you stop sucking. Your other pacifier (and I'm not sure what brand it is, probably something from CVS [papa notes: from Target, actually]) stays in your mouth better, but I think it teaches you that you can suck with your lips close together which just doesn't work for breastfeeding! Of course, there is also the question of how pacifiers influence breastfeeding -- and, like almost anything on childhood development, sources don't really seem to agree about when it is alright to introduce a pacifier (I've seen anywhere from 4 days of breastfeeding to a month).
You also seem to be becoming more aware of the world around you. Most of the time you have been staring past your parents, instead of at them, but in the last few days I've noticed a change and you sometimes look right into my eyes. You are also getting better at grasping things -- yesterday it was my hair while you cried in my arms.
Your parents continue to sneak into your room at night and put a hand on your chest or touch your hand or gently poke your foot to make sure you are still alive. We feel a bit insane about this, but sometimes we have an overwhelming need to know you are ok -- my understanding is that most new parents have gone down this path, terrified by what seems to be the randomness of SIDS (though if you look at what the
American Academy of Pediatricians suggests
to prevent SIDS, perhaps it isn't all that random). Obviously, we all have some growing to do.
You continue to charm us, even when you are screaming. I love your
little turtle-coming-out-of-his-shell movement when you wake and stretch and find your frenetic, fish-like gaping when you try to go on the breast by yourself really cute, even though it often means multiple tries to get you on right!
It's taken me several days to write this and I can't believe you are just a week short of being 1 month old!
-ta maman
