Bennett--18 Months (Feb 7-March 7)

This sums you up perfectly!  Happy-Go-Lucky for the most part and ALL personality ALL the time!  We love you B!

 

 

Growth

• At your 18 month checkup (no shots--yeah!) you weighed 26 pounds and were 30 something inches tall (I'll try to remember to come back with that correct info one day...)
• Diapers--moved you to Size 5 since they had a little more wiggle room!
• Clothing/Shoes--Depending on brand:  12-18/ 18-24/24month.  I've even started buying 2T shirts since the weather's getting warmer, so you're up to that too!  Growing boy!  Shoes--6XW for your chubby little feet!
• Sleep--same.  One good nap during the day unless it's the weekend when we push you for 2.
• Eating--getting better on some things.  One day you almost ate half a can of green beans with dinner--shocker!!  You now know where the snacks are and love to get into that cabinet--NOT a good thing!

 

The Land of Bennett

• You're now okay with us wiping your nose.  Not a big deal to most of the world, but with your allergies, a HUGE deal for us!  (One day while feeding Riley outside while you played, you actually came up to me, saw his burp cloth, and wiped your nose yourself!  Pro:  the obvious.  Con:  On Riley's burp cloth!  Oh well....pick the battles!)
• Tantrums:  In FULL  swing whenever you don't get something you want.  While we know it's completely normal, it also worries us because we wonder what future behavior problems will/could be.  I'm sure that's every parent's worry...but now that it's ours, it feels like it's only ours!  We try to distract you/change gears depending on the situation, but there are days we just have to get through them to move on.  Fun times!
• Talking--we realized that maybe we were speaking too fast for you and that you needed to see our mouths say the words, so we started slowing down a little and telling you to "Look at mommy/daddy" when we wanted to say a new word for you.  You've now really started looking at us yourself without us saying to do it and it's amazing how many more words we're picking up that we can understand what they are!  We're really excited about this because, although we weren't worried yet, we knew that we needed to watch your speech to determine if anything needed to be done about it.  New words:  bubble, mama, "I don't know".  Your current word for milk is "mlemle"--don't ask!  It's very similar to your current word for banana "nlehnlehnleh".  Hey--you've got the syllable thing down on that one!
• Sibling Rivalry:  You still LOVE to give Riley hugs and kisses every time you see him or he cries.  I think you've started to realize that he's not going away though, and that might be the cause of some of our issues--who knows!  You like to shove help give him his pacifier and hold the end of his bottle while he's eating.  It's adorable how much you love on him!  You also like to take his blanket--probably because it looks so much like yours!  Guess we get to work on the sharing concept now!
• You are getting so good at putting blocks together, putting the shapes on your V-Tech ladybug, learning colors (not saying them yet), and puzzles--depending on the pieces.
• Love seeing any type of "big truck" on the road and when we hear them from the road while we're in the back yard, it's a big deal too!  We have to make sure to acknowledge that we saw the "big truck" too--or we don't hear the end of it!
• You've gotten really good at understanding what we ask you to do.  For example:  one morning while getting ready to take you to daycare, I asked you to get Riley's blanket out of the living room.  You looked at me, ran in that direction, and came back with it!  You're awesome B! 
• You're really trying to say more with your hands as well.  The "I don't know" came up all of a sudden and it was stinkin' adorable!  I even taught you to answer with that when we ask you how cute you are!  Yes, I know...stupid parent tricks...but we like it!
• Learning to say "cheese" when we take pics of you and also to "do your muscles" or "make your face" like cousins Porter and Eli do.  You're such a copycat and we love seeing what you come up with!
• Pretending:  You like to lie down on the couch and be covered with a blanket--or on the floor, or doormat at the back door.  You're very demanding about wanting to be covered up and will drag the blanket with you, lie down, and stare at me until I cover you!  Funny kid!

"Sleeping"

Working on our colors/shapes

Pushing the sticks through the holes

Creative kid--he "plugged" in a cord to the dresser.  Hey--it had a hole and he knows they go somewhere!



Riley--1 Month

 

 

Wow!  As crazy-insane as this past month has been, I can't believe you're 1 month old, little man!  Even worse, I can't believe I go back to work in a month!  :(

 

Growth

• At your 1 month checkup, you weighed 9 lbs 13 ounces and were almost 21 inches long!  That means you've gained 2 pounds and 2 inches since you were born!  No wonder you're no longer in those little newborn outfits!
• Diapers--officially in Size 1--but quickly growing out of it by the end of your 1st month!
• Clothing--officially in either 0-3 month or 3 month--depends on the brand.
• You definitely hit the 6 week growth spurt and woke up more often and ate more.

 

Sleeping

• You are sleeping at least 4 hours on most nights.  We've had a few nights of 6 hours and we're trying to get more of them!  (How do we DO that???  If you could let us know, that'd be great--thanks!)
• Side note:  starting at week 7 I had a realization that big brother was already sleeping longer at night, so I looked at the info I wrote down for his first 2 months and realized he was eating 4.5-5 oz bottles at each feeding and had a formula bottle added already b/c I wasn't producing enough.  So...we began adding 2 formula bottles--1 during the day and 1 right before bedtime and VOILA!--you started sleeping 5, 6, and 7 hours!!!  Yeah for the mommy brain actually kicking in
• Naps during the day vary.  Sometimes you're awake a lot during the morning, and nap hard in the early afternoon, while other times you take great naps between every feeding--not just 15 minute ones in between fussy fits!
• I'm stressed about getting you on a routine since I go back to work right before your 2 month birthday.  We're trying to have the last feeding no later than 9:30pm.  At the 6 week mark, you had a habit of waking up around 2am and 5 am if we put you to bed by 9:30ish.  Once we started the formula bottle though, it was easier to work on the schedule since you were only waking up once in the middle of the night.  Then I could start your day officially around 6:30am and work on the schedule from there.  Didn't work every day, but most it did!

 

Eating

• You are eating every 3 hours during the day and you have been at 3.5 ounces each feeding since right after your 1 month birthday.  Around 6 weeks you took a few 4 ounce bottles.
• I am nursing you as the "top off" right before I go to bed, and during the middle of the night feedings.
• At the 5 week mark, we started giving you bottles only during the day.  It was much easier on me since we're always going/doing something and it was a good transition time in order to prepare you for daycare when I go back. 
• You've done great at both nursing and bottle feeding, and you LOVE to suck on the pacifier if you're awake and not eating! 

A Day in the Life of Riley

• You love the kisses/hugs from your brother--which is a good thing since he loves doing it!

• We started tummy time at about 3.5 weeks, but we didn't do it every day. Starting around 5 weeks, I tried remembering to do it daily. Sometimes you were okay with it for 2 minutes, other times 5-10 minutes. You've been good at working on your neck strength from day 1 though and have always had a "bobble head" when we burp you or hold you up!



• Starting around 4-5 weeks, you stopped pooping every day.  You would go 3 or 4 days without doing it, which definitely made me worry!  Adding the formula helped with this...but now we have stinkier diapers!
• You have started to make more cooing sounds when you're in a good mood and don't have the pacifier stuck in your mouth!  They are such sweet sounds!
• You smile a lot!  I love seeing them and sadly never have any camera around me when you're giving them!
• The baby bjorn is now our friend--especially during those witching hours after I pick Bennett up from daycare until about 8pm.  Thank goodness you like it!
• The week before you turned 2 months was a busy week.  We went to Cuero to visit Gram and Pops for a few days while daddy worked in San Antonio.  You did great and had a really good week too, which was good for both of us since it was our last week together.
• You started daycare on Friday, March 15th and had a great day!  It was a good day to start since it was spring break and there were fewer kids in the room.  Wonder what it will be like for you when the attention can't be all yours??? 
• I have a hard time letting you cry, so you're not good at self-soothing yet.  We're going to have to start the "Cry It Out" method soon--sorry little guy!

Smiley Riley!

Daycare with Miss Shawna--we love her!

 

 

Riley--Weeks 1-4

On our way home from the hospital!

HUGS!  Bennett loves Riley and would always find him and give him a hug/kiss.  Sometimes he pushed a little on Riley, but it was accidental and we're working on it!  (I'm just glad he's not hitting him!)

This is called "realization"!  The uncertainty of this little thing that's now taking time away from me, but also curiosity at what it is!

Hey Riley!

Life as Riley will know it....with a brother by his side!

Going on our first walk in "The Hoss"!

Bennett has been very loving towards Riley and always wants to hug, kiss, or hold him.

Trying to do some close ups!

 

Growth

• You weighed 7 lbs 3 ounces when we brought you home from the hospital.  By the time we had your first dr. visit 3 days later you were already up to 7 lbs 6 ounces and at your 10 day appointment you weighed 7 lbs 13 ounces.  You're showing us you're a good eater!
• Thank goodness we have a few newborn outfits because the 0-3 and 3 month ones swallow you!

Sleeping/Eating

• We had to wake you every 3 hours no matter what in order to feed you--until you got up to your birth weight. After that, we could let you sleep however long you chose during the night, which was nice for us...even if it was only an extra 30 minutes or so!
• We tried putting you in your crib when you were 2 weeks old, but due to you having a rough night and Bennett waking up several times that same night, daddy and I were exhausted and decided to keep you in our room a little longer.  Not that you couldn't handle it...we were just too tired to mess with going up the stairs!  We officially started you in your crib every night on your 1 month birthday!  (I still hate walking up those stairs twice a night...or more...just so you know!)
• You are a pretty content baby.  In fact, the first week and a half we thought we'd won the lottery since your cry was so quiet!  THEN you woke up!  Oh well!

You've had lots of visitors and have gone lots of places.  Being the 2nd child, we don't necessarily have the option of staying home like we did with your brother!  We need to get out for his sake (and ours too)!  So far, so good.  We'll see what the next month brings!

 

 

Welcome....Riley Carlton Dickens!

Here is what January 19, 2013 looked like for us:

Smuggling a basketball to the hospital.  Oh wait!  That's our kid in there!

Waiting, waiting, waiting....don't remember if this is before/after the epidural.

The epidural made me itch like a baboon!  I couldn't scratch my face enough!

 

Riley makes his debut!  7 lbs 11 oz and 19 3/4 inches long!

Proud daddy with Riley

Me getting my first look at Riley

"The Thinker"  What a precious boy!

 

Bennett meets Riley--our 2 precious boys!

I swear between putting B to bed Friday night and seeing him late Saturday afternoon he had to have gained 10 pounds and 4 inches!  He's such a big boy now that his brother is here!

Thank goodness for cheap hospital entertainment--balloons and a closet!

 

Life is still an adjustment getting used to 2 babies under 2--one who physically needs you and one who emotionally needs you.  We are stressed, tired, and tired (oh, did I say that already??), but we're also beyond fortunate at the safe arrival of Riley, the love Bennett already has for his brother, and the fact that we have so many friends and family who are willing and able to help us out!

 

 

Bennett--17 Months

Growth

• Clothing/Diapers--Still size 18 month and size 4 diapers.  I think we're about to have to go to size 5 for night-time diapers because you're drinking more and more and daddy's the only one who can change you fast enough that you don't really wake up if we change you before we go to bed!
• Shoes--officially bought you the next size up.  You're still in 5.5 XW and believe me, finding the XW in the next size was just as tricky!
• Sleeping--still the same.  Good napper and you like to catch up on sleep on the weekend!
• Eating--getting pickier every day it seems.  However, I did read that if you're eating enough on average, that I shouldn't worry about what you eat daily.  Just make sure you get your nutrients and go from there.  If only I could remember this when you won't eat dinner....
• You have LOVED (at least lately)--quesadillas.   I made black bean ones and you devoured them plus some of daddy's and when you and I shared them one night at a restaurant, I had to eat fast to get my share!
• Maple sausage--the frozen kind--was a hit last week.  We'll see how this week goes!
• Fruits/dairy/carbs--always a hit.
• Corn dogs--so far so good every time.  Chicken nuggets--hit or miss!  Ham--decent so far.

The Land of Bennett

Emptying old water bottles--what a randomly fun game for you!  (And a wet one!)

Your new dog guitar that you LOVE!  Music's a new thing for you and you love it!

• Trying to teach you "please" has not been fun!  We waited too long to start with this phrase and now you get temperamental if you don't get something right away because we're trying to get you to say please!  By the time you hit 18 months though it has gotten MUCH better and it's almost like you're slapping your chest at times if you're too excited to do the circular motion!
• Turning on/off lights--the best new game for you!
• Vacuum cleaner--You used to hate the noise.  Now you like the fact that it plugs in, has buttons, and you can push it!  Believe me, I let you help me with this one!
• You love books!  You love backing up into my lap when I'm sitting on the floor and giving me a book and I love it just as much!  I think the fact that my lap is slowly disappearing since I'm so pregnant is actually bothering you because you try to "wiggle in further" most times!  Soon enough, little buddy, it will be all yours again.  Well...yours to share with your brother anyway!
• Animal sounds.  You love repeating them and are getting so good at saying them back to me when I ask you what a _____ says!  I don't know that you could get any cuter when you do this!  You can do dog, cat, horse, lion, bear, snake, and duck.
• Stacking toys--those are becoming more interesting to you and it's fun to watch you put things together.  You have lots of these now:  legos, the wooden, colored circles (Melissa & Doug), the counting stacker (Melissa & Doug), wooden train (Melissa & Doug).  (It's a good thing that the Melissa & Doug brand is around or you might not have any of these!
• Puzzles are more interesting because you're learning to turn the pieces.  It's still a work in progress with that motor movement, but you're not fighting me on it as much!
• You're liking your Little People toys and interacting with the figures.  It's cute to watch you do things with them!
• Buttons--anything that has something on it that you can push is a winner for you!  Remotes, phones, cameras, computers, etc.  You're not picky--you just want to push buttons!  I've got to find more sensory things for you to do because of this.  I'll work on it, I promise!
• You now notice the sound of airplanes and will point up whenever you hear one.  Sometimes even a loud truck or motorcycle gets the "signal", and it's adorable to see how your face lights up when you hear it!

"Mommy...your lap is disappearing!"

All boy.  All dirty.  All the time!

 

Baby Dickens #2--Month 9

Month 9???  What the heck---already???

I honestly can't believe that we've reached the day where we're about to welcome baby #2 to our family.  Jeff says we can really call ourselves a family when he arrives since it will be more than one child. I told him we were a family when it was even just us! 

This has possibly been the most interesting month.  Here's why?  (To help understand these blurbs, you need to know that my "day that I move to the next week" is on Friday.)

Week 36--Saturday night I woke up with a terrible pain right in the middle of my chest at the top of my rib cage. Thought it might be heartburn, so I tried some Tums.  Nope.  Thought it might be my blood sugar since I cheated and had 3 Oreos.  Nope (it was 84--well within range!).  Out of thoughts.  Couldn't get comfy in bed, so I moved upstairs to the recliner and at least got a little bit of sleep.  Woke up at 5:30am to throw up, feel slightly better, and then feel the pain move to my right side. Basically rested all day Sunday thanks to an absolutely amazing husband (who took care of B when he was sick himself).  Monday I called the dr. just to let them know what was going on and they asked me to go to Labor & Delivery to get monitored.  Of course, by this time I was feeling better and all the monitoring/ultrasound checks came out good, so I was free to go!  (Side note:  at my 35 week checkup we found out that the baby was breech, but he flipped head down by the day after Christmas--my 36 week checkup....ultrasound  on this Monday showed he was still head down--yeah!)

Week 37--boring! normal.  Checkup was good.  Head still down.  Good to go.  2nd week of not seeing my doctor since she was gone during the Christmas holidays and I was ready to get back to my normal visits.  Only thing interesting about this visit was I had to take B with me, which was fine as long as he had food to occupy him.  (Thank you raisins that he has to pick out of the box....a great time consumer!)

Week 38--Finally saw my dr. again and she couldn't find "any presenting body parts" during my exam.  HUH???  Ultrasound confirmed what I thought---he was breech AGAIN!  (I knew I was feeing the roundness of his little head in my right rib area again!)  Sunday we realized I'd dropped.  First sign:  Jeff noticed.  Second sign:  I was able to easily bend over towards the front, an action I hadn't been able to do for about 2 months!  When Jeff noticed I'd dropped when I was pregnant with Bennett, my water broke within 12 hours and Bennett arrived less than 7.5 hours after that, so we were in a mad rush on Sunday to finish any and every little thing that we could possibly fix, file, cook, clean, take care of, etc. that day!  We were whooped!  I hardly slept that night because I could feel light contractions, so when I woke up I called the dr.  The dr. on call said that since I was breech at my last appt that I needed to go check into the hospital.  So...got B ready for daycare, all instructions for him finalized, bags packed, and headed there.  Dilated 2 cm.  Head down (Yep--I knew that too b/c in church on Sunday he was literally using my uterus like a hamster uses a wheel!  Talk about not having a clue what the preacher spoke on...)  Contractions 3, 4, 10, 7, 4, etc. minutes apart....maybe dilated to a 3....get sent home.  Not much action the rest of the day, so I followed orders to walk and drink a lot of water.  All that got me was a lot of bathroom visits and a lost shoe/sock from my walking partner in the stroller!  Tuesday--not much action at all.  VERY disappointing after all the excitement from Monday, but oh well!  Weds--Dr. appt.  Was really hoping she'd say I was ready to go to the hospital, but no such luck!

38 weeks 2 days

 

She offered to induce on Monday, but we said no.  She offered to induce the next day--we said yes, but the hospital had no room at the inn!  :(  Then, she said she was working Saturday, so we jumped on it!  Looks like baby Riley will make his arrival on Saturday, January 19th--unless he decides to come sooner, which we're totally okay with! 

Bennett--16 Months

16 Months--Ready to Conquer the World!

This pose is truly you! Always in awe of something new!

 Growth

• Sad to say, I'm guessing you're around the same height/weight--we have been so busy we haven't even checked!
• Shoe size:  You're getting to the "almost ready to move up a size" stage--at least in the pair of shoes that isn't extra wide!
• Clothing/Diapers:  18 months in clothing and still size 4 in diapers
• Sleep:  Same pattern as last month.  Good napper most days and still sleeping around 12 hours each night.  You're doing really well in the morning/nap time if we leave you for a while after you wake up. We know that if you cry or are kicking the wall then you're ready to get up!
• Eating:  Depends on the day!  One day you like chicken nuggets, the next day nope!  Fruit is always a yes, as is any type of carb!

The Land of Bennett

• Saturday, December 8:  You woke up with something wrong with your left leg.  You wouldn't put weight on it at all, and then 30 minutes later, you were fine.  And then back to not using it, and then fine again.  Well, since both daddy and I had time, we figured it would be a good thing to take you to the ER to check it out.  Of course, when we got there, nothing was wrong!  Luckily, after the dr. saw you and was about to dismiss you, you started limping.  We'd also video-taped you (smart daddy with that idea!) and were able to show them what we'd witnessed.  Then the dr. diagnosed you with toxic (transient) synovitis.
• Toxic (transient) synovitis is an inflammation of the hip joint caused by some type of viral infection.  It can come and go, and is very common in boys.  We'd never heard of it, so it was definitely interesting to hear!
• The stomach bug went around Katy the month of December.  You got it the 2nd full week and it got passed on to daddy too.  Luckily, I got on antibiotics due to a bad sinus infection, so it bypassed me....so far!

Stomach bug hit our house--daddy covered up so you didn't get him!

•  Christmas celebrations galore!  We had Porter Christmas Dec 15th in Bryan.  It was fun to see all 6 of the little cousins play together.  We had Blackwell Christmas Dec 22 in Cuero.  Bennett, Porter, and Eli love to play together and Bennett loves to try to catch up to both of them!  We came back to Katy to have our very first Christmas as our little family of 3 on Christmas day.  I'll have to post another time about that, but we loved it!

Ummm...you're sitting on the wrong end B!

Learning to play with friends/cousins is interesting!

Trouble--Cute, but oh the trouble they'll get into in the years to come!

Christmas morning playing with cars!

 

• You are starting to do pretend play.  You started one day "finding" something behind the rocker in your room and giving it to me--although there was nothing.  You then grabbed it from me and threw it in the trash.  You also do this in the car.  You did it one day after dropping things while snacking in your carseat.  After you ate all the tidbits, you continued to do it with nothing.  It's so cute and you love handing things to us and then taking them back, and it's adorable to watch!
• Surfing on toys:  I noticed you "surfing" on your legos, but you also did it today with the pom pom balls.  You dump everything out and then start spreading them out with your arms and lay on top of it all!
• Talking:  You're still not saying a lot, but you talk to us like you are honestly telling us something!  We've even noticed that the tone you use goes up and down just like ours does when you talk!  Words you "say":  Thank you, dog, ball, dada, shoe, sock.  You know sounds for dog, horse, cat, bear, lion, monkey.
• Hugs and kisses--you are just so stinkin' lovable to us and we're so glad you are!  You love giving us, the dogs, and your stuffed frog/giraffe lots of hugs and kisses!
• You don't tell us no, but you will shake your head "No" if you don't want something.  I guess we failed on the sign language aspects, but luckily you "show/tell" us your thoughts very easily!
• Temper:  oh dear!  Immediate tears, feet stomping, crying, etc. Sadly, you got this lovely trait from me.  Oh how I wish I didn't pass this on to you!
• Airplanes--You now notice them in the sky and when you hear them, you always look up!  Luckily, the area above our house is on a flight path for one or both of the airports, so we get to see planes quite often, which makes you happy!

For some reason, I can't upload any more pics to this blog.  Who knows why--could be me, but I'm blaming the blog!  :)