Benjamin, how has a month gone by already!  These weeks have flown by and it feels like you have always been apart of our family. 

Height: Approx. 21.75 inches ( birth 20in)

Weight: Approx. 10lbs (birth 8lbs 3oz)

Sleep




Benjamin loves to sleep.  He sleeps most of the day away and still sleeps pretty well at night.  As far as sleep goes at night Benjamin wakes up about every 3 hours to eat and goes back to sleep quickly.  The only time he really cries at night is if he has a bubble in his tummy and needs to be burped. 



Benjamin sleeps so much during the day that I feel like I barely get to see his eyes.  I know he is still in the sleepy newborn stage and this will change but it still amazes me at how much he sleeps!


Right now at night Benjamin is sleeping in the dockAtot which is placed in our bed.  I originally tried putting the dockAtot in the packnplay next to our bed but he wouldn't stay asleep for very long.  Sometimes during the night Benjamin sleeps next to me, but I try really hard to get him back into the dockAtot.  He definitely sleeps better next to me.  I have been trying to figure out the best swaddle for Benjamin.  We started with just a traditional swaddle blanket but he busted out of that pretty easily, so I switched to the love to dream swaddle because he seems to like to have his hands near his face while he's sleeping.  I used this swaddle for a little while but I think it kind of annoyed him because he would try to suck on his hands and couldn't.  I decided to try the nested bean zen swaddle, which I used with Ellie, and he seems to be enjoying it.  Occasionally he will bust one or both of his hands out of the swaddle but it doesn't seem to bother him if he does. 





Eat

Benjamin is exclusively breastfeeding right now.  From the moment he was born he has had an amazing latch!  This boy came out knowing exactly how to nurse and out of all of my babies he is the only one who didn't make my nipples become sore!  He is currently nursing every 3 hours, there are periods throughout the day where he might want to nurse more frequently but thankfully those times happen during the day and not at night!!  





Development/Firsts

Benjamin has had a month of first:

Two years, two years!  How has that much time gone by already?!?  It feels like yesterday that I was holding you in my arms for the first time, but it has been two years since that happened for the first time. 

Height: 32.8 inches
Weight: 23lbs 9oz

EAT:
Ellie is definitely my best eater right now.  She is not very picky and will out eat most of us. Ellie's favorite foods right now are probably eggs, cheese and fruit.  She doesn't eat a ton of bread, pasta or crackers.  I don't know why but she will usually leave them on her plate.  She loves fruit and veggies and will actually walk around with a bell pepper eating it like an apple, it is so strange to watch.  







SLEEP:

Since Ellie started sleeping through the night at 14 months, she has been a great sleeper and it continues, thankfully.  Ellie goes to bed around 7:30 and sleeps until about 8:00. Ellie sleeps overnight with a bed full of stuffies and books and she needs to be covered with her quilt made by Grambie.  Before heading to bed Ellie and I sit in the rocking chair in her room, read a few books, and then cuddle and kiss as I tuck her in bed.  




Things I don't want to forget:

• When we read Duck and Goose: Goose needs a hug Ellie will always hug the picture of Goose when he says he needs a hug
• Ellie's favorite place to go is the "part" (park)
• Ellie has to give everyone a "muah" (kiss) before she goes to bed
• Ellie will say "I love you" to me now and will only say it to me.  If you ask her to say it to anyone else she will blow them a kiss
• Ellie is starting to potty train (10/13-10/15) she does great when she's naked and only has had a few accidents when wearing  undies.  She also doesn't pee when she's wearing a diaper. (Before we started potty training there was a time I asked Ellie if she wanted to use the potty because she wasn't wearing a diaper and she looked at me and said "No Thank You, Diapie". 

Ellie I don't really have words to describe you, you are funny and sweet, caring and kind, feisty and silly. You have a love for animals, real and stuffed, that is very similar to my own love.  Anytime you see a dog when we are out you say "Dog, I touch?"   I have watched you try and get close enough to an injured pigeon to cuddle it (I stopped you before you touched it, because I'm sure if I didn't stop you you would have picked it up!)






You have the best facial expressions.  They seriously crack me up!  And you know you're funny and try to get anyone you can to laugh. 








Your Grambie and Geep came for a visit recently and you were completely enamored with them.  You loved having them here and had to give them kisses each night before going to sleep and would ask where they were each morning if they weren't already awake.  It made me sad to see you sad when they left.  A few days after they left I asked you what you wanted to do after your nap and you said "Play with Geep".  We talk to them on FaceTime everyday and when we are talking to Grambie you insist on seeing and talking to Geep, so much so that one time when Geep was taking a nap Grambie actually had to take a picture of him and text it to us so you could look at him.  You ask to see that picture almost daily. 








You recently became a big sister and have taken to your new role like a fish to water.  You love your baby brother and ask to hold him all the time, you give him kisses and want to help mommy with him.  Watching mommy with your baby brother has brought out your maternal side.  You already loved baby dolls, but now you love them even more.  You carry your baby around, pretend to give you baby "nu-nus" (our word for nursing), put your baby in its carseat to take it in the car with us and tuck it into bed with the blanket Grambie made for your doll.  I love watching you nurture your doll. 








For your birthday this year your one request was a purple cake "puwple Tate" For weeks leading up to your birthday when asked what you wanted all you would say was puwple Tate.  So that was a must.  Your second request made just a few days before your birthday was to go swimming, something you've never done before.  Your brothers started swim lessons early in the week leading up to your birthday and you want to join in so badly.  So on your birthday after opening presents we put on our bathing suits and headed out to the community pool to go swimming!  You had so much fun swimming with mommy, I think you are going to be a little fish. 









Oh My sweet Beautiful Ellie




Oh how I love you so much!  You are my goobs and are such a big mommy's girl!  You remind me of me with your personality.  You are kind and caring, love animals and stuffies, you are funny (and you know it).  You have the best facial expressions they crack me up!  I love your voice right now.  It is so high and sweet I want to bottle it up forever.  When someone gives you something you really wanted or just something you're really happy to get you respond with the sweetest "Tant too" (thank you), but its not just the words, which are cute, but the tone of your voice.  I can hear how truly grateful you are for whatever it is.  While you are sweet and cuddly you definitely have a feisty side and are learning to hold your own with your brothers.  When they start to wrestle sometimes you will jump in laughing and tackling them.  I never want to forget what you are like at this age.  I feel like time is moving so rapidly and you are changing too quickly for my liking.  I want time to so down just for a bit and keep you little for a little longer.  

Love you Ellie Estellie

I am truly blessed that I get to be your mommy