Ben has started to get cabin fever - He will actually get cranky when we’re inside for too long, and it’s probably a good thing to get me out of the house. Great for Ben, not so great for the housework So we’ve discovered the play area at Brentwood mall! He loves being able to crawl around on the bouncy carpet-covered floor (and not hurt himself if he falls), pull himself up and cruise along all the toys, turn all the spinny things, crawl through tunnels and slide down the slides (with mom’s help, of course).

I’ve had a blast watching him ‘run off’ to check things out,  and love that he turns back to make sure I’m still watching. Then he’ll smile, wave and keep going - boy, it tugs on your heart strings. The other mothers (who always look like they’re just happy to get a break) must know I’m a rookie for tearing up.

It’s been interesting to see him interact with the other kids, as well as how other kids interact with him. There are older girls who think of him as a ‘toy’ (much like the dentist’s neice in Finding Nemo - needless to say, this needs supervision), then the slightly-older-than-Ben kids who like to come check him out and make him giggle. Lastly, the kids that Ben likes to approach that tend to shy away from him.

Yesterday though, Ben had his first run in with a playground bully - a 4 year old boy and his older brother who almost seemed fixated on Ben; running circles around him, secretly chatting and pointing at him, at one time standing over him while he crawled to pin his waist down, and finally ending with a’run-by’ and a sideswipe with the knee to Ben’s right temple.

While I was just a few steps away from Ben, it’s tough to know when boys are just being boys and how long to let them play before intervening, and ultimately, Ben will need to learn to fend for himself.  He just looked so innocent and unphased by the situation, while it felt for me that those kids were just being…well…a**holes (forgive my choice of words to describe child, but it’s hard to think of another word when you’re an upset mother!).

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that there is a very good chance my little guy will often face these kinds of people in his lifetime, but all I can do is give him the right tools to become confident in himself. When does he have to start daycare again? Maybe I could convince Chad to let me stay at home with Ben until he’s an adult…

Life has (very suddenly) become even more hectic now that Ben is mobile. It seemed like he was trying for months to lunge forward into a crawl and then in the space of 2 weeks, he was crawling, sitting, standing, cruising along furniture…and teething! Needless to say, the added excitement for him together with 2 new teeth (total 8 ) has meant some seriously sleepness nights in the York household.

It’s starting to dawn on me that my time at home with Ben is coming to end. Emotionally (together with the fatigue), I often feel like a frayed nerve when I see little things that mean he is learning to be independent too - choosing solid food over breastfeeding, wanting to crawl off and play with something that has caught his eye, wanting to be held by other people instead of me. Sigh. I know I know…all these things must happen *Timbit wipes a tear from her eye*

I’ve definitely noticed a slow down in my brain function of late. I’ve become so forward thinking about what Ben would need for the day, that I often rush out of the house with everything he needs, only to realize part-way there that I’ve forgotten to eat breakfast. Shucks, even doing simple math or spelling a word (something which I used to pride myself on) takes its toll.

So I’ve made a promise to myself to do at least one creative thing a day - no matter how simple - just to get the juices going. I started today slowly with a simple Photoshop tutorial. Hopefully, the cobwebs will get a good dusting!

Back from our first family vacation in Playa del Carmen, and Ben was an absolute champ! He loved all the stimulation - From regular strolls on 5th Avenue, to all the attention given by the locals, we loved watching him giggle and interact with everyone (maybe he picked up some Spanish?)! Even more so, it was like he grew so much in the past week alone and suddenly instead of a baby, we have a little boy on our hands - He is able to sit on his own (graduating from the Bumbo/bouncy chair to a high chair) and stand up by leaning on something. He wants to reach for everything (resulting in a mommy wearing a vanilla soy latte on one occasion) and has definitely learnt the advantage of his opposing thumb to nimbly handle objects. After some convincing, he loved being in the water and I can’t wait to take him for his first swimming lesson in a couple of weeks.

The introduction of solids in his diet is going well and he readily opens his mouth for approaching food. He managed to grab a slice of lime one day and for some reason, really enjoyed sucking on it! Maybe it’s because Mexican limes are sweeter or it soothed his 2 new teeth? I’m sure there is something in a rule book about having your baby’s first food be citrus, but there hasn’t seemed to be any reaction to it since (phew!). Unfortunately, the work of getting him used to his potty has become a distant memory and I’ll give it a try again once things have settled down back home.

It really is amazing that once you think your baby has learnt everything they can for their age, you’ll blink and suddenly there is something new! Here is a video from this morning of Ben in his high chair, handling a mandarin and almost understanding what I was saying:

…Almost a whole different kid from a video taken just 3 months ago!

Could be my imagination, but I think Ben is starting to recognize his own name!

Ben’s name

Ben has always been such a chatterbox, but we’ve noticed a definite addition to his vocabulary. Previously, he’d repeat mostly vowels - ‘aa’, ‘oo’ etc. and the random ‘wa wa’. These past couple of weeks, he has been adding and repeating more consonants - ‘b’, ‘r’, ‘l’ and ‘m’. I’m sure this is just me projecting, but it occassionaly seems like when he has had enough of his crib and wants me to get him, he’ll say ‘mmma-mmmma-mmmma-mmmma’. 

I’ve been a bit wishy-washy about making the eco-friendly cloth diaper switch for 2 common reasons: The cost and the perceived extra messy work. I’ve been using g-diapers on and off, but Ben seems to get a little fussier (in his oh-so-cute way) with them on (I think because they are a little bulkier and awkward in the waist for him). So a few weeks ago, I decided to take the hit and buy a few trial Bum Genius One Size 3.0 diapers. At a cost of CAD$25, each diaper comes with everything you need.

After a week, my verdict is…They’re awesome! Apart from being easy to use and clean, I can’t believe how how dry the diaper touching Ben’s bum bum  remains, while the actual microfiber cloth insert holds so much fluid! It comes with a second cloth ‘doubler’ if you want to be extra safe, but I haven’t had to use it yet. It’s even managed to withstand a few major Ben poo-poos.

The tricky part really is being able to tell if the diaper is full or not (which requires actually slipping your finger inside to feel the insert).

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m convinced that time really does fly faster as you get older. Our little Ben is already 4 months old!

Being in the 95th percentile, he’s outgrown all the clothes we had lined up for him already! The milestones are coming at such a fast pace, I can barely keep up - Holding his head up high, sitting on his own (with some teetering), grabbing things (to put in his mouth, of course) and making eye contact.  He’s learnt to giggle (infectiously) with intent at tickles and games we play with him. My favourite part of the day is greeting him in his bed in the mornings - there is always a smile big enough to melt your heart as he looks up at you

Ben has also started trying to mimic the things we say by watching our mouths. His first and most consistent ‘word’ is ‘oooowww’, and you won’t believe when he says it - always after Sparky howls at the sirens passing by. So there you have it - our dog taught our first born his first word

As our parents had never done this when we were kids, Chad and I had decided that we wouldn’t force any sleep times on Ben (for now anyway!), but rather allow him to follow his own rhythms around some routine things we do. Wonderfully (though not consistently), Ben has managed to follow our schedules with his sleep time! For e.g. Ben manages to be asleep around the times that Chad and I work out/shower in the mornings, make dinner in the evenings, and after bathtime at night around 9.30pm.

Because of Chad’s love of music and this article I found out of the University of California, we’ve been educating Ben with our music collection. We’ve also managed to find a sleep-favourite - Over Christmas with all the commotion and excitement, Ben will often fall asleep after a feed and some Norah Jones!

I guess, actually, now that I think about it, we’ve probably just learnt to follow his patterns! Nevertheless, it makes for 4 (including Sparky) happy campers around the house.

I can’t believe our little Benji is already 4 weeks old, and how much he has grown and developed! He’s already holding his head up for longer during tummy time and about to outgrow his second set/size of sleepers and onesies. I love seeing him make eye contact with the occasional smile when he sees your face (and it’s not always gas) or hears our voices.