Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Dedicated

This past Sunday, we participated in the dedication service at our church. For those unfamiliar with a dedication service, it is essentially a time of commitment from parents to raise their children in a Christian home. Benton did really well while we were in front of the congregation, and even lasted for about 30 minutes of the actual service before we had to head out into the atrium.

It was such a special day for Landon and I, and our families. All of our immediate families were able to attend (except Landon's brother, Justin, and his family), and my grandparents even traveled down for the service. After the service, the family came over to our house for lunch and visiting. Benton is one loved little guy.






PS-Papa Son also came, but we didn't get any pictures of him with Benton!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Things We Couldn't Have Lived Without: 2 Months

I thought I'd keep this going since there are some readers who aren't mommy's yet, but are thinking about it soon. You know who you are! :) We still love all the things on the 1 month list, but here are a few more recommendations:

1. Angelcare Monitor. Benton is sleeping on his stomach now due to reflux, so Landon and I bought this so that we could rest a little bit easier (and we have!). It came highly recommended from other friends with little ones.

2. Breathable Crib Bumper. Benton is able to scoot himself all over the crib, so we removed his crib bumper. After we removed the bumper, there were a few nights were we found him with either his arms or legs hanging out of the crib. Obviously, he woke up everytime his arms or legs were out, and he in turn woke us up. :) The crib bumper is made of mesh material, so it prevents his body parts from escaping, but also allows him to breath if his face is up against it. More sleep for everyone.

3. Gripe Water. When Benton gets the hiccups, he spits up ALOT and for a long time. We use the Gripe Water to get rid of the hiccups! It works probably 75% of the time.

4. Brookstone Baby Noise Machine. We also have the Sleep Sheep, which we like, but it only plays for 45 minutes. The Brookstone noise machine is great because it plays continuously, which is perfect for nighttime!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Benton Update: 2 Months

Time.is.flying. Way too fast. People told us that time would pass by more quickly once we had a child, but we had no idea how right they were. Benton is growing like a weed and we are truly cherishing each and every day.

Some facts from Benton's second month of life:
-Wearing 0-3 month clothes. They fit him well right now, but he is probably about to transition to size 3-6 month clothes.
-Mainly wearing cloth diapers on the smallest snap, though he is moving to the middle snap. In disposables, he is still wearing a Size 1, but I think he could easily move on up to Size 2 in the next week or so.
-Eating 6 times a day for 15-20 minutes. Of those 6 feedings, 2 are a bottle with 4 ounces. He still loves bottle time with dad!
-Sleeping much better! We put him in his crib around 9:30pm and he wakes up around 6-7am. Yes, that's right! We are back to sleeping (most nights) at the Hubbart house. :) Due to reflux, he is sleeping on his stomach with his mattress at an incline. He loves it and we can tell that his reflux isn't bothering him at all. Our Pediatrician recommended this, even though the hospital pretty much made us swear on our life that we would never let our baby sleep on his stomach. He also takes most of his naps in the crib, but we keep him out for snuggles for a couple of naps a day.
-Still doing well on the eat/play/sleep routine. Our play time is becoming much more fun and we do things like play in the activity gym, practice smiling :), sit in the swing and watch the mobile, take walks, and go to the neighborhood swimming pool (his favorite).


Random things that we don't want to forget:
-He was dedicated at Crossings on his 2 month birthday. We are so grateful to be entrusted with this little one, and we are committed to raising him in a Christian home.
-He watched his first television show this month. Landon had a few guys over to watch the FIFA finals, so Benton got to join in on the fun. We don't think he was impressed at all!
-Smiles!!! He started smiling on his 1 month birthday, but now he is really smiling. And giggling. :) And cooing. We love it.
-When we go on walks in the evening, Benton either rides in his stroller or in the Baby Bjorn. He loves both. When he is in the Baby Bjorn, he will look at the person who is not holding him and smile/giggle. It is so funny...like he thinks he is playing some kind of game.
-He went to the lake for the first time over the 4th of July weekend! He had a really good time! He saw the infamous golf cart parade and slept through the fireworks.
-Before he goes to sleep every night, he must turn himself sideways in the crib. He does this by grabbing the side of the mattress and pulling himself sideways. We've tried just putting him in the crib sideways, but that just makes him mad. Silly little guy.
-We had our first family swimming night! So fun. He loves the water at our neighborhood pool, and he loves all the action going on around him. The pool is perfect because the water is warm and part of the pool is shaded in the evenings.


Our 2 month appointment is next week, so we will add have his weight and length stats after the appointment. He weighs at least 13 pounds based on our scales at home...

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Cloth Diapers!

Benton is finally big enough to start cloth diapering! We have been using them occassionally for the past couple of weeks, just testing them out and making sure we like them... Now, our plan is to use cloth diapers most of the time, but also use disposables when it is more convenient.

The diapers we are starting out with are:
8 Bumgenius One-Size Diapers
4 Flip Diapers with 8 Inserts (I think we will buy more of these.)

So far, so good. Both Landon and I really like them, and Benton doesn't seem to mind. :) I'll keep you updated on how everything goes!!! Here are a few pictures of Benton in his cloth diapers...



PS-I love the last picture. Watching FIFA with daddy and looking a little chunky and sleepy. FIFA was the only time he's actually seen the TV on and I don't think he was too impressed.

PSS-In the first picture his belly button looks weird... We know. He has an umbilical hernia, but it is no big deal and it will go away!

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Newborn Pictures

We had Benton's newborn pictures taken by Abby (Abby Coyle Photography, http://www.abbycoyle.com/) when he was 2 weeks old. She captured him perfectly! Here are a few of the pictures...




PS-He is wide awake in all the pictures. What newborn won't go to sleep once over a 2-3 hour period?!?