Dr. Seuss

One of my favorite parts of one of my favorite books by one of my favorite authors.

First Swaddle-Free Night

Let's see if he can handle it...


Stay tuned!


UPDATE - He's not ready. I'll be swaddling him until he is 5.

Mad Verbal Skills

This new noise Ben has been making lately just cracks me up. My friend Hilary commented that he sounds "burly", which cracks me up even more!

4 Months Old

Today, Ben turned 4 months old.  Every Saturday, I think back to Ben's birth day and I'm amazed at how many weeks it has been.  (As of last Saturday, it was 17 weeks).  But when we celebrate another whole month that has gone by, it seems surreal. 

Ben is such a joyful baby.  He has a way of making people feel so wonderful by just looking at them and flashing the most adorable smile out of the blue.  This is one of my favorite things about him - the amount of joy he brings to us, our family and friends!  It is crazy how much he has changed in the past month:

Ben really seems to have sharpened his eye-hand coordination skills.  He now will reach out for something specific and grab hold of it, (whereas he used to just grab onto whatever happened to be near his fingers).  I notice now that when I hold my hand out in front of him, he will very carefully and purposefully grab my hand with both of his and guide it straight into his mouth.  He also is a hair grabber.  Apparently it's common for mamas to lose hair after having a baby (hormonal changes after pregnancy), but I'm almost convinced this is due to babies learning how to yank it out themselves! 
Another new development is that he seems to almost "hug" me when I pick him up.  I don't think this is intentional, but there is nothing better than when I feel him pull me close to him.  I am pretty sure that he is just trying to get closer to my shoulder - to gnaw on it.
Ben is 100% a thumb sucker.  This explains his complete refusal of pacifiers, as he seems to prefer his thumb to everything else.  He started with just putting his whole hand in his mouth, but lately has been isolating his thumb.  I often look over to see him sucking his left thumb as he scratches the back of his head with his right hand.  I still swaddle Ben at night, and at some point in the middle of the night he will fight to just get his hand up and out so that he can put it in his mouth.  It's like a magnet!
Ben is not sitting up on his own yet, but I can tell that he is becoming so much stronger when we practice with him on our laps.  He takes very little support and just needs to be held so that he doesn't fall to the side.  He also is not rolling over.  I have yet to put him down on his back and see him roll to his tummy - however, he will roll to the side on occasion, so I'm thinking he may be close?  When on his back, Ben generally seems to enjoy kicking....and kicking...and kicking!  I have to admit, for my own selfishness, it's nice that Ben isn't mobile yet!

Ben is starting to grow into his activity station/jumper now, which is awesome.  We have to boost him up as he feet still do not quite touch the ground, and we prop a pillow behind him to keep him in place, but he will spend a good 20-30 minutes at a time playing in it.  He seems SO curious about everything there is to look at.
His sleeping patterns seem to be changing a little, in that he is not napping quite as much during the day as he used to.  He still seems to get tired approximately 1.5 hours after eating, but at times he will only go down for a 20 minute nap.  Most naps take place in his swing - which makes me nervous for the day when he no longer fits in it!  As far as at night, we always put him to bed between 8pm and 8:30, he routinely sleeps until 3-4 am before waking to eat, and then back to sleep until 7 am.  I would say that every 3-4 days, he skips his middle of the night feeding and sleeps all the way through. 

In terms of laughter, we have not had another full on giggle-fest since the one I caught on camera a month ago!  We get the occasional laugh here and there, but I am waiting for the day when I can regularly hear him cracking up!

We were/are back to having a serious struggle with the bottle.  After I went back to work, he took the bottle just fine that first week with zero problems!  Granted, he only takes 2 bottles/day, 3 days/week - and sometimes only 1 on Fridays if I make it home early enough.  The following Monday, he went into serious meltdown mode when my mom tried to give him a bottle.  Crying, screaming, totally freaking out.  He eventually just fell asleep and I came home to feed him at lunch.  That afternoon, seemingly in protest, Ben took the longest nap he has ever had and went 5 hours without eating.  He woke up just a few minutes before I was home for the day.  He was not happy at all.  Greg's mom has been staying with us, and eventually got him to take his bottles last Wednesday and Friday, (it was still a challenge) but I am nervous each and every morning and afternoon when I know it's feeding time and I'm away from him.

Yesterday, he took both of his bottles very well.  I had Marcia drape an unwashed shirt of mine over herself (so he would smell something familiar - me - while he ate) as she fed him, and apparently that worked very well.

Back to happier news - I weighed Ben at my parent's house on Sunday evening (I really  need to invest in a digital scale) and Ben now weighs 16.2 lbs!  I am eager to get his "official" weight and measurements at his 4 month appointment, which due to my work schedule and my doctor's availability, is not until February 7th.  I have zero problem with this delay, however, as the appointment comes with more vaccinations. 

We have retired all of Ben's 3 month and 3-6 month sleepers and he is now in 6 month clothing for the most part.  Some of his pants and T-shirts (and "fancier" clothes, aka button ups, vests, jeans, etc.) are still 3-6 month, so I plan to get some use out of them in the upcoming  months.

We could not possibly love this kid more, and continue to be so thankful for such a happy, healthy, hilarious little boy!

Yoga - Getting back into the groove/How to modify your yoga practice for pregnancy

I have admittedly slacked BIG TIME in my yoga practice since having Ben.  I can count on one hand the number of times I have stepped on to my mat in the last four (okay, six) months.  I was so, so good about making time all the way through my seventh month of pregnancy, and then when I received the news about my low amniotic fluid, I was forced to take it easy. 

Recently during one of Ben's naps, I got my mat out and did an HOUR of yoga - and it felt SO good.  This was the first practice I have done in a long time that made me realize how important it is for me to make the time for it on a regular basis.  Mentally, I am a different person.  I physically feel so much better, even after just one good class.  Yoga is such a big part of my life, and I know that a regular practice will make me feel more like myself after living in this Ben-fog for several months now.

One of the things that had been holding me back from doing this sooner was the aches and pains I was experiencing post-pregnancy.  Some I can attribute to the car accident I was in right before Ben was born.  My back/SI joint was very sore and for a few weeks it hurt to even walk.  After that subsided, I noticed just how sore my pelvic bones were.  That sounds weird, but I imagine the pain to be mostly from carrying a baby around in my pelvis for 9 months (and 8 bonus days).  I'm sure labor and delivery contributed to that soreness as well.  Also, due to breastfeeding, it was a bit painful to do any chest down poses. 

Now that I am pain-free, I am so happy to be feeling so motivated to get back to a non-modified practice.  In addition to feeling a lot better, I have 4 weddings on my calendar this year - which means it's time to tone up!

During the months when I was doing yoga while pregnant, I had to modify my practice quite a bit.  Very early on, I no longer could do Upward Facing Dog Pose - which is part of a sun salutation that I do frequently throughout my classes.

This pose was causing too much of a stretch in my abdomen, so instead of doing a low push up and pressing up into this pose, I would skip it all together and just press back to Downward Facing Dog.

Due to avoiding this pose for so long, I have noticed that my arms are SO WEAK now.  It is going to take a lot of practice to get back to where I was in terms of strength.  But I will get there!

Rules for Prenatal Yoga

Since I am a BIG advocate for prenatal yoga, (it produces zen babies, ya'll) I thought this might be a good post to discuss some of the necessary modifications for yogi mamas-to-be:

** I am not a doctor, just a yoga instructor - Double check with your doctor before starting up a yoga practice for the first time, especially when pregnant! :)

As my yoga teacher, Catherine Munro says, "Don't cook the baby; Don't squish the baby".  This was her general advice to us before she launched into teaching us the prenatal yoga section of our teacher training.  This was the rule she followed while she was pregnant (and continued to practice until the day she delivered).  But I thought it best to provide a little more detail...

1) Avoid ALL deep/closed twisting poses: Twisting in towards your mid-section is to be avoided completely.  Twisting essentially is telling your body to "eliminate".  While this is great for digestion and to release toxins, it's not such a great thing for fetuses.  Prenatal twisting should be open and gentle and provide more of a stretch to your shoulders and upper back than a crunch into your core.

NO:

YES:

2) No Inversions after your 7th month: In layman's terms - don't go upside down.  Any pose where your pelvis is higher than your head is not safe for pregnancy after the 7th month.  Since in these late months we want to give your baby the signal to go DOWN, flipping upside down into a headstand is giving them the opposite message.

3) No stomach-down poses: Because, duh.  Perfectly okay to do these early in pregnancy when your belly is non-existent.

4) To modify when you have a belly, simply take a wider stance with your feet.  A lot of times we have heel to heel alignment with our feet in standing poses, or feet together.  When you need to make room for your expanding belly, just take your feet to a comfortably wide position, such as hip-width.  This way, when lunging or squatting down, your belly can move between your legs instead of squishing down on your thighs.

5) Back bends: Still okay, but you will not want to go as far back as you normally would.  Which brings me to...

6) Do not overstretch your abdomen: Usually you are at risk of this in a back bend.  For some, they don't feel that pull in the midsection as much as others.  I happened to feel it very early on.  Just be gentle with your belly area.

7) Don't fall on your belly: Avoid poses that make you feel as if you are very off balance.  Use blocks or a wall to steady yourself.  One of the first things I noticed about practicing while pregnant is that my sense of balance was completely off - probably because I was carrying additional weight in front!  Be careful.

8) Don't lie on you back for too long.  Some would say to avoid this all together.  When on your back for an extended period of time, you can cut off blood circulation to you/your baby  I continued to lie on my back for a quick pose, but for savasana I would turn to my left side.

9) Be careful with overstretching: Due to all of the relaxin hormones in your body, your body is likely to be a lot more flexible than you are used to.  This may seem like a dream come true in your yoga practice, but it actually can be very dangerous.  I made the mistake of doing my pregnant yoga photo shoot without warming up enough, and I definitely over stretched myself.  It took a good week and a massage before I felt better.

10) Take a break.  Remember - this is not business-as-usual.  If you are the type that normally feels like you have failed if you need to take a breather while exercising, do everything you can to get rid of that mentality during your yoga practice now.  I'm telling you - the fact that you are doing ANYTHING is a major accomplishment!  Drop down into child's pose (knees wide!) whenever you need to get your breathing under control, or during a pose that you simply need to skip. #NoShame

Here is a list of poses that Yoga Journal advises against for pregnancy.  I don't agree with all of them and continued to do several of them while I was pregnant, but I wanted to include it anyway.  If you are participating in a regular yoga class at a studio, be sure to tell your instructor you are with-child.  They may call out alternate poses to you throughout the class.  OR - attend a prenatal yoga class!  All of the poses are safe there.

Finally - hot yoga: Safe, or not safe?  That seems to be a big debate lately with the hot yoga craze happening.  My doctor told me she would prefer I did not do it, and this is probably the one thing I did not take her advice on.  I continued to teach hot yoga (95-105 degrees) during my first trimester, but I did NOT practice in it.  I simply stood in the back of the room and talked, opening the door to cool off as necessary.  Since the first trimester is such a delicate time and when major things are forming and developing for the baby, I did not want to risk overheating.  During the second and third trimester, I did start participating while teaching and practicing, but only in the 95 degree classes. 

Namaste.

Grandma Ingle - Update

If it sounds like I'm bragging, it's because I am :)
Having Marcia/Grandma Ingle/Mom here for the past week has been SUCH a blessing.  Seriously.  The only thing I can really compare it to is when I lived at home with my parents and my mom cooked and cleaned for me!  And of course back then, you don't appreciate it in the same way as you do after living on your own, working full time, and especially now that we have a baby.

I have not been allowed to do a load of laundry, dishes, or any kind of food preparation since she has arrived.  I think the only thing I have done on my own is put creamer in my coffee ;)  Marcia has done all of the grocery shopping, cooking, baking, laundry, bedding, and organizing around here - in addition to being a fantastic Ben-entertainer/snuggler. 

The other day she said to me, "Today I'm doing your bathrooms".  Today, she tackled one of my junk closets and organized it.  She has also purchased all kinds of cleaning products that she thinks I will like.  She even is making extra meals so we can freeze them and heat them up after she has left.  Ha!  While Greg is constantly telling her she is doing too much, I have resolved to just laugh and thank her, over and over again!  Having a son of my own, I know that one day I will absolutely love to help him and his family in whatever way I can - it will give me so much joy, just like I know it is giving her.

She also has encouraged Greg and I to go out and take time to ourselves, so the other night we took her up on that and grabbed some Happy Hour food and drinks. It was nice :)

Maeve's First (Blizzard) Birthday

On Saturday, January 14th, Maureen's daughter Maeve turned 1 year old!  It's impossible that she is a year old, as it seems like just a week ago I was visiting her when she was 5 days old!

The morning of her birthday, snow began to fall at our house - which is about 20 minutes south of Maureen's house.  Rachel was coming up to carpool with me and Ben, and when we got on the road, the snow was only falling lightly.

As we got closer and closer to her house, the snow seemed to be falling harder and harder.  The ground was covered with it! 

Maureen had decorated her house beautifully for the party, and had amazing food and beverages set out for us all to enjoy.  (I of course failed to take pictures of both - but I will try to steal some later and post here).  Ben even got his first party gift bag! 

Due to the fact that I don't have 4-wheel drive, we were only able to stay an hour and half or so before we made the scary drive home. 



I was especially sad to miss Maeve eating her first birthday cake.  It was fun to see everyone and to introduce Maeve to Ben!  She seemed to be very interested in the "baby" :)

Here is a blurry picture of Maeve, Maureen's dad and Ben.

Adorable owl cookie!

Snow Bear

Our friends Jamie and Collin got us this little bear suit when Ben was 8 days old. It seemed HUGE. While its still a little big on him, it is the perfect size for him to wear now and grow into over the next few cold-weather months.

It snowed here for the first time this year, so we had to take Ben out of course! He was all toasty and warm and seemed to be very curious about the entire experience.

Hands -------> Mouth

For the past couple weeks, Ben has become increasingly fascinated with his hands.  I will notice him with his hands joined together, just staring at them, seemingly trying to figure out what he wants to do with them next. 

He is a big fan of putting one, (sometimes two) fists up to his lips and then trying to cram them both into his mouth.  The slober that is generated by this activity is impressive.

Grandma Ingle is Here!

On Monday, Greg's mom arrived for her (almost) 3-week stay!  When I had my daycare meltdown, I had asked if she would come visit sooner than we had originally planned and stay for the full 3 weeks she had offered to.  She agreed!  Ben seemed to immediately fall in love with her, as he was all-smiles ALL day!  Having Marcia here has been such an enormous help.  I had hoped that she would help me cook a meal or two (as I am not big into cooking and Greg has been so busy with his new job), but in addition to cooking nightly, she has taken over our laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping duties as well! 

My Little Bear

When I was pregnant, I always had visions of walking around Seattle on a sunny and crisp winter day, with Ben in the Ergo, enjoying the day as a family of three.

Last weekend, that vision became reality! We took Ben to see the fountain show at the Seattle Center, for a ride on the monorail, and then a super exciting (quick) shopping trip at Nordstroms ;)

It was a good day.

Soothe and Glow Seahorse

I'm mentally preparing another list of our "must-have" items, but for now I thought I would share one of our new favorite things.  The Soothe and Glow Seahorse.  My mom bought this for Benny, and he freaking loves it.

This thing lights up (with a soft glow) and plays about 5 minutes of bedtime tunes, intermixed with some bubbly/ocean sounds.  Ben will just stare at it and 9 times out of 10 will fall asleep before the music ends.

In other news, and yes this is a terrible picture, I now allow Ben to have 1 arm unswaddled.  He really likes to suck on his fingers (and sometimes attempts the whole fist), so it's nice that he can self-soothe when he wakes up throughout the night.  He is not ready to be completely unswaddled yet, though, as with both arms out he becomes a flailing mess.

2012! New Year, New Schedule

First post of the year!  I am so happy that I chose to start a blog last year, as this has served as a personal journal AND baby book all at once!  My fellow blogger- friend, Maureen, told me about a website called Blog2Print, where you can print out a hard copy of your blog - and my first book, 2011, is on its way to me now.

Yesterday was my first official day as a working mom, and my first day working at the office and away from Ben.  I would be lying if I said this was easy.  I cried when I put Ben down in his crib on Sunday night, knowing that I would not have much interaction (other than feeding him) until after work the following day.  (Little did I know that Ben would choose that night of ALL nights to wake up 3 times). 

So on Monday morning, I drove my very tired self to work (stopping at Starbucks and participating on a conference call along the way).  I was the first to arrive at the office.  As I sat there at my desk, changing my voice mail greeting, removing my "Out of Office Assistant", and hanging my "Ben" calendar, I have to say I felt okay! 

The day really did fly by.  I had 2 meetings, I pumped in my office (so awkward), I got a bunch of paperwork done, and made a massive to-do list!  I got a few picture messages (and all kinds of text messages) from Greg, updating me on the day at home.  Ben did a great job taking his bottle!  I coordinated my lunch time around Ben's feeding schedule, AND Greg brought Ben in for his afternoon meal :) 

I received all kinds of supportive text messages, emails, and Facebook posts - and Rachel brought me brownies and a card!  This type of outreach is what makes the hard times manageable. 

And today was a work from home day!  I was able to get up an hour before Ben this morning (who, by the way, was nice and let his mom SLEEP last night) and got some work done!  I also was able to work a ton today during his naps and while he was otherwise occupied, and spent some good quality time with him reading books and snuggling when he was up and alert.

What's next on our to-do list, mom?

Here is Ben in his Jumper/Activity Station that Hil and John bought for him.  He is still not at the required age (4 months) and is definitely not quite tall enough....but while supervised, he seems to be SUPER into it!  So cute.  So focused.