What is Icing?

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

I don't get it, its sticky.

Hunting season

Wascaly wabbits!

On a Walk

We almost got clobbered by falling branches. So windy!

Fall Fun

Wow it has been windy and the seasons are changing. Benj is changing too! He just got some nice shoes (not cheap ones from bbsRus) from pappy and gigi, he eats a LOT, and *sniff* is about to turn 1!! We are trying to plan his birthday party....
The past few weeks have been rough because I've been working a lot, into the evenings and such and Benj has been waking twice a night screaming. We don't want to start a bad habit of giving him milk, so he usually has to cry back to sleep. After much debate, we figured he is hungry and instead of making him try to eat what we eat for dinner (which he was only picking at), today I stocked up on some favorite foods...even though they arent 100% healthy perfect mom entrees. We went to Trader Joes this afternoon (I actually got out of work at a decent time) and he pushed around one of those baby carts like it was his job!!! He is so short though one lady stopped me and said she wondered why I got a tiny cart until she peeked over and saw the small boy pushing it. We grabbed some of his favorite foods (some inspired by cousin Trinity) mushroom tarts, dumplings, montery jack string cheese and avocados. He loooves guacamole.
After that, we picked out a pumpkin from a local vendor (like one of those fireworks stands) and I wheeled him and the pumpkin in a wagon for a bit. Gosh I really should have gotten pictures of all this. He also lost his first balloon that the cashier gave him from Trader Joes, but he wasnt sad at all. I'm not sure he was that attached to it ;)

This saturday, I'm taking him to his first gym/baby class thing at Little Gym in Fairfax Corner. We'll see if he likes it! He loves climbing on things and other kids, so I think it will be fun. Free trial can't hurt, right? As long as he doesn't pick up a bug there, I'm ok with it.

We also received my mom's piano and got it tuned. Benjamin loves listening to music and today while listening to some songs on a dvd, he didn't just bounce up and down, he swayed his hip and swiveled (according to pappy). Apparently he also enjoys the super loud music that blasts out of Abercrombie (that makes one person in the world) and "be bopped" in his stroller today. I hope he doesn't ask me to buy him anything there haha.

I have no idea what he should be for halloween. I can't swallow paying 20 bucks for a polyester outfit when he's just gonna pull off the hoodie and wear it for an hour. Hmm. Creative suggestions welcome :)

Major Advancements

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Proud to say Benj says Ma-Ma! He can say Da-Da too but its hard to say if he knows why he's saying anything yet.. Its very cute.

Also- today Benjamin not only stayed in the nursery the whole church service, he let a stranger put him to sleep!! She's not a stranger to us, but he's only met her once or twice. (Nice job Tif!) This would have been unheard of a few weeks ago. He has really come a long way in the sleep arena.

Benjamin has also done away with all crawling. He only walks!

Update

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

It's been a couple of weeks since we last blogged, just a small update on Benjamin's progress. He's been sleeping great, until a few days ago, he was doing 10-11 hours straight. Recently he's been waking up once in the middle of the night and very difficult to put back to bed, we think he might be teething, as Leah can feel a molar trying to burst through.

Benjamin has ceased crawling all-together now, he walks everywhere! He stand from sitting really quick and zips around. We took this funny picture while goofing around in the living room, Benjamin has expressive eye brows!

=Dillon

Hey You

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Benjamin is pretty playful with other kids now. This is his friend, Safari :) They were chasing each other around today and seemed to have fun mimicking each other. Benjamin actually napped at someone else's house today- he is making a lot of progress in the sleep area.

Some new things he does:
- Points at objects
- Splashes with his feet in the tub
- Walks carrying big items
- Picks up his sippy cup and drinks without prompting

We trimmed his hair a little because it was quite raggedy. Nothing too drastic.

Today's Tip from Benj B.

I'm not good with posting videos - I know I need to get one up of him walking! But in the meantime, here's Benj's Daily Advice tip. I think it involves "Eat your veggies, Watch your back, and Don't Forget to Brush Your Teeth". I'm open to other captions :)

Ready for Football!

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

We have been preparing Benj for Hokie Domination. We've been reading him "Little Hokie's First Football Game" at night and he watched daddy play flag football the other day. It should be interesting to see if he likes watching football on tv or not. He definitely enjoys his signing time videos, but those are for children :)

Hokies kick off the season this saturday at 8pm! Our little hokie better be asleep...

ZZZzzzz...

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

It seems like with the 10th month, tons of things have happened with Benjamin. Walking, refusing to be spoon fed, chewing bites of adult food, sleeping through the night, establishing a great bedtime routine and learning to fall asleep on his own. We are very proud!

You're probably tired of reading about how Benjamin doesn't sleep, but to close out the record (and so I remember in case one of the next ones has the same problem) here's what we did:

0-5 months: Mom got up at all wakings and fed or rocked Benj back to sleep
5-9 months: Benjamin would require rocking to sleep with relatively loud, rhythmic music, then the same at each of his 3-4 night wakings. He usually woke at 10pm, 1am, 3am and 5am, then got up at 7 for the day.
9 months: Daddy would take Benj to basement couches and lay with him until he cried to sleep. At nightwakings, Dad would lay and arm on Benj and he'd go back to sleep with minimal fussing. Sometimes Mommy would nurse him back to sleep. Sometimes we all slept in his nursery or in the living room. Sleeping on the floor is surprizingly good for your back.
Interspersed from 6-9 months: We'd try a few nights of letting him cry but worry that he was hungry or teething would set in and we'd give in.
10 months: The incessant wakeups had to stop because he wasn't allowing us to put him down and would just take too long to put back to sleep. Got frustrated and put him in crib crying and called cousin (supermom!) Judy for advice. We decided to call a sleep consultant/center and also let him cry and visit him at 3, 5, 7, 10, 12,and then 15 minute intervals.

Night 1: Put him to bed with assistance, but at the first wakeup, let him cry with visits. 2hours of crying. Woke 4 times and we visited him each time. Cried about 45 mins at each wakeup. Super tired the next day.
Night 2: Did a bedtime routine and put him in crib awake, but sleepy. Mom stayed and laid in the room and told him it was bedtime and had earplugs in. 1.5 hrs of crying. Still woke up 3 or 4 times.... less visits needed.
Night 3: Bath, Stories, PJs...I think 20 mins of crying. No visits needed because there was only stage 2 crying (whimpering and whining, not screaming).
Night 4: Asleep after put in crib in less than 5 minutes. Two stirrings at night but he got himself back to sleep. Two nights in bed without getting up for mommy and daddy.
Night 5: Asleep in less than 3 mins.
Night 6: Asleep in 30 seconds. Sweet!

Naps are another story, but we are working on it. The sleep plan suggests waiting until he is peacefully sleeping through the night. The only thing is that I miss being able to rock him to sleep sometimes (we cant even for naps yet because it will break the training). But, we work in other quality time and snuggles.

Although I wish I'd tried this earlier, I just wasn't mentally or emotionally ready for it until now. With him starting to walk, it kinda made sense that he needed to learn how to fall asleep on his own. He'd never fallen asleep without being held in his whole 10 months (except few occasions and in the car/stroller). He is smart and he learned so fast.

It's resulted in a better daytime appetite (no more sneaky night feedings) - he downed half a pear, two mini corn muffins and some other finger foods the other night for dinner.

Future news--- he'll probably be going to a home daycare one day a week to give grandpa a break and he's pretty much fully weaned. He doesn't have a lovey yet and is very adept at drinking from a straw and sippy!

Vacation and swimming

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Leah has updated the blog is a while... because we've been on vacation for the last week visiting family in Los Angeles. We stayed with my cousin Judy, her husband Calvin and their 17mo Trinity. Trinity and Benjamin had a great time together and really looked like they bonded by the end of the week.

Benjamin had a bunch of new experiences including meeting family and first cousins, swimming, going to the beach, Benjamin, as expected, was fearless in everything, he loved the swimming pool and the water, going in twice during the week. Here's some of the fun pictures we took.

-Dillon

Sleep, or lack thereof

I havent written about this in awhile, but Benjamin STILL doesnt sleep through the night. I still think its an urban legend that babies can sleep through the night in a crib by themselves, and at this hour of the night would be much more likely to believe in bigfoot than my child sleeping more than 3 hours at a time.

Right now he is putzing around the living room blabbering and playing like its 9am. Its not like we didnt try to make him go back to sleep at 1am. Dillon had him cry for about an hour and a half- he would fall asleep but then stir and wake up 5 mins later. After a few rounds of that we decided something else must be the issue. Tylenol, teething tablets, ambesol. More crying. Milk. Awakeness. Dirty diaper. Maybe that was it. Its not the first time he's woken up to go to the bathroom...

But he usually passes out pretty quickly after that. I guess he is just waiting for his next sleep cycle to arrive and as soon as he shows any sign of tiredness I'll scoop him up and try to rock him back to sleep.

As with other things in parenting, its hard to tell if you are doing something wrong, or if your child is just doing his own thing. You have these expectations about how things should go, but you ultimately don't have control over this other person, you can just guide and direct. I guess thats how God feels about us sometimes. I go in and out of periods of being frustrated, angry, patient, humored and just plain confused about why Benjamin does what he does, but its good to know that God's ultimately got it under control.

First Steps!

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Last night Benjamin took his first unassisted, unprovoked steps! We were chilling in the living room watching a Seinfeld rerun and he waddled from the coffee table to the lazy-boy chair! He just let got and threw his hands up and wobbled over to me :) It was cute and Dillon and I both shouted YAY!

I remember back to the time when he was inch-worming on his belly across the floor. He could only move a few inches at a time, and then he learned to crawl for real. Now he clomps around on all fours pretty quickly.

This is kinda the same feeling. He can only walk 2-3 steps at a time, but I'm sure soon enough he will be running circles around us.

Yay Benjamin taking his first steps at 9 months old!

Baby Caitlyns's Birthday!

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Benjamin attended one of his first baby birthday parties. The kids we 10 (benj), 12 (caitlyn) and 16 (connor) months old and they got along pretty well!
Benjamin discovered a walker toy and now I need to get him one! He had fun watching her open presents and playing with a whole new set of toys. He even had a small bite of cake :)
Connor passed out and took a nap towards the end but Benjamin just kept on buzzing. He was obviously tired and would lay his head down for 2 seconds but then would pick it back up and starting babbling and crawling full speed. He never picks sleep over fun!

New Swing!

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Benjamin got a new swing and he loves it! I think he is just somewhat mystified at the wind blowing through his hair and mommy's face getting closer and farther so fast.

Before I forget-- here's things that Benjamin does at 9 months:
- takes one, maybe two steps towards me without holding onto anything
- can get a spoon with food in his own mouth
- points remote and tv, presses buttons, changes channel and smiles
- pushes high chair around kitchen while walking
- smiles at every child he comes across
- reaches out to hug and be held
- says ma ma and da da and other blabber, but not really for any real reason
- crawls like a maniac
- climbs stairs
- opens cabinets, pulls off felt bumpers and tries to eat them

Climber

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Benj is always amazing us with the new things he learns, a few weeks ago he just started climbing the stairs. He can make it up a full flight by himself (with mommy or daddy behind him), but he hasn't figured out a good way to get down.

Veggies

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Benjamin has become very picky about eating, almost to the point where he will not allow anyone to find him food; he wants to feed himself. His favorite food are Puffs, which are like Cheerios, but are more of a snack than a meal. He refuses to eat baby food, so we've started feeding him things he can easily pick up like chopped up fruits or mixed veggies. He likes the carrots and peas, but usually doesn't have enough patience to sit down and eat, and usually just wants to be fed a bottle of formula.

Cheeeeeese!

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Benjamin makes some pretty funny faces these days! This is his 'I think you are funny' face. He also flails his little arms when he gets excited.

Unfortunately, the family reunion trip messed up his sleep and now he wakes every two hours again at night. Looks like he will need to do some more crying at those 9, 12, 3, and 5 wake ups so he knows that nighttime is for sleeping! He is much easier to put to sleep though, so thats helpful.

Today we had a playdate with baby Colin and the boys seemed to get along pretty well!

First shoes, first steps

I got these sandals for him to wear around the airport but he never used them. We are going to a picnic, so we will see how long they last. He doesnt walk yet and I dont want shoes to impede that process, but they are kinda cute on his pudgy feet. Took me a few tries to find some that would fit over the chub.
Last night as he was cruising around the furniture, he took one little step towards me while letting go of the table! He has no fear, but I think we should be afraid of the mini godzilla we are creating!

Benjamin's First Baseball Game

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

We took Benjamin to his first baseball game while we were traveling through Minneapolis on our way to a family reunion in Iowa. Benjamin lasted through the entire game, taking a 45 minute nap through the biggest inning as the Twins scored 6 runs, including a home run. He enjoyed looking at all the other people and was always trying to figure out why everyone was cheering.

Three car garage

Happy Days

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

This is what a happy dad and happy baby look like! Benjamin decided he wanted to sleep through the night last night, so he did!! Grandpa put him to sleep at 8 (mom and dad went out to dinner) and then we brought him home, laid him on the couch in the basement (his new room, ha) and he slept from 10-5am! I had to go poke him when I realized that I hadn't heard a peep in more than 2 hours.

He had a pretty long day, church picnic and an afternoon with grandma and grandpa. He got a bath in their kitcken sink and I'm sure he played with the dogs some.

Even though his 6th tooth is emerging, he still slept through the night. I don't get it, but I'm not complaining! God is good :) The beginning of this week was so bad- he was waking every two hours crying madly and now he is peacefully resting.

Yesterday was also his 8 month-day. He's getting big and is so mobile. Looking back, I miss those days when he slept a lot and didnt move, but I love running around with him and making him laugh. I'm glad that he is generally friendly and smiles and neighbors and friends!

We also had a good time in the church nursery today- there were two other moms in there with their babies. I don't think I've sat through a service in two months since he always needs something. It was fun to compare notes and talk about our kids. They sure are amazing little creatures....

Trouble

New toy!

We hit some yard sales n scored this activity table for 2 bucks! He loooooves standing.

Old McDonald had a farm

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

e-i-e-i-o

We visited Frying Pan Farm Park on saturday with my parents (leah). It was fun! Benjamin mostly enjoyed the view from his stroller and in the shade because it was really sunny.

Here he is driving a little tractor (supervised, of course!).

I think the fifth tooth is on its way... he is super crank at night- OR maybe its just that every 2 weeks he catches on to the bedtime routine and then fights it. We are on bedtime routine, the 7th version, I think. Brush teeth, stories, nursing, crying, rocking, light music..

Recipe for making Benj sleep tonight:
- 2 hylands teething tablets
- 8 oz infant tylenol
- 1 12 Stones CD
- 1 umbrella stroller
- 1 baby backpack ride
- 1 sleepy rag aka lovey

Combine with cranky baby, 2 parents, and 30 seconds of teeth brushing. Work on it for about 60 minutes, and then enjoy your sleeping baby!

Benjamin's business

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Things have been getting better and slightly more predictable. We no longer have to drown him out with music at night and he is responding much better to his bedtime routine. He can be calmed and will lay on his mattress next to me for awhile and unwind! Now that those 4 pesky teeth are in, he is a new baby.

But, I'm pretty sure another tooth in on its way. Lots of biting. He even bit grandma today! He bit my arm too- and it seems like he understands the word No. He will stop what he is doing and look at your questioningly.

He is super active. I hardly remember the days when we had to carry him everywhere. He's at this good stage where he can crawl really slowly and doesnt need to be constantly entertained. This allows mom and dad to chill on the couch for a few minutes while he explores the living room or nursery. I know-- In a few weeks he will be walking and then we will just be chasing him everywhere!

He loves standing and will pull up on anything!

We are gearing up for a few trips this summer and hope he travels well. He is better behaved in the car now- if you time it with a nap he will doze off :)

Ohh and the little chubby 7 month old only wears 12 month old clothes!

Chillin

Mom will blog more later. Im chillin ;)

Calling all Moms

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Happy mothers day! It is such a blessing to be a mom. You get to experience trials and love like no other! It is definitely the hardest thing we have ever done but God has brought us through and is teaching us day by day.

Thank you and lots of hugs and kisses to all you moms out there. You are priceless and your efforts shouldnt go unnoticed!

Happy Boy!

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Well, the teeth are in and we have our happy baby back! I'm wondering if thats why he was sooooooooooooo cranky the past month. He's like a whole new baby now, very smiley and adventurous. He don't sit still for a minute but it is fun to watch him explore. It seems to make him very happy to be able to scoot around on his own.

He's been better in the car too :)

Strong Man

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Here's a quick video of Benjamin's new skill- pulling himself to standing on momma's legs! He is really strong! He will walk around a little when holding onto your fingers and really looks like he wants to be able to move on his own.

Changes

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

There are two types of changes going on- diaper and life!

I found a really good deal on these gdiapers (www.gdiapers.com). They have an inner lining that is flushable (put the poo where it belongs!) and the outer shell is super cute and soft and comes in lots of colors. You can wash in the washing machine when necessary. We are going to try these out and see how it goes. I will probably still use disposable for night time since they are more absorbent and reliable. But these are a great alternative to disposables that take 500 years to decompose (these take 50 days).

Life changes- Benjamin has TWO teeth. Count that TWO! In less than 2 weeks. Poor little guy. So the sleep training stopped during that time and he got smarter. He is now able to withstand many different forms of sleep inducing: stroller walks, car rides, swaying to music, humming, pretty much every trick in the book. So we are back to crying this week. Night one, 40 minutes of non-stop top of his lungs crying.

We went in a consoled him a few times without picking him up. Another thing that is helping is his lovey. A little blue towel that he holds when he naps. I hope it helps comfort him! (and I need to find backups, just in case something happens to it!) Speaking of naps, they are about 2 45mins naps a day. That is not acceptable for a little baby! He should have at least two 1-1 1/2 hours naps and I think that is why he isnt sleep well at night. We need a complete sleep overhaul.

Also, the little man really really wants to crawl!! On his belly he can do a full pushup onto his toes and he lunges forward. When he gets moving for real, I'll get a video and post.

Ok enough for tonight. Pray for mommy and daddy, we want peace!

Go Hokies!

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We are SO ready for football season! I hope Benjamin enjoys watching and cheering. This is a 12 month old outfit but its fits now, so we are using it!

Sunny day!

Benjamin got some sunscreen (and sunglasses) and went on a stroll with daddy today.
Day 4 of cry it out lasted 25 mins. He sure is stubborn.

Sleep Update 3

Just in case you were wondering, night 2 of crying it out went ok. 20 mins of crying. We did his routine and then he just got super fussy and wouldnt let me rock him or sway him so I put him in his crib and went downstairs. Poor little guy. But alas, he is asleep.

Sleep Update 2

Well, he's into his 6 month and in general, is more mature. He reaches for everything and recognizes a lot of things. Especially the cats :)

After about 3 BAD weeks of crying at night (in our arms and screaming), and getting over a cold, Benjamin finally started responding to his bedtime routine. Bath, nursing, book (sometimes) and dancing/rocking by daddy got him down easily every night last week.

Unfortunately, the past few weeks have been a roller coaster for him. Grandma Allie babysat all last week instead of Grandpa and then Easter weekend was really busy and this week Daddy is traveling and Grandma Bussert is here. Needless to say, his little brain is tossled and he is having a little trouble sleeping.

Its really hard for me to dance/rock him to sleep because Dillon usually does this and ...well, Dillon doesn't remind Benj of nursing. And, afternoon naps are hairy for Grandma Bussert. So today, we let him cry at naptime (even though we promised Daddy we wouldnt) and it took about 45 mins.

At bedtime, after the routine he was soooooooo tired but wouldn't relax in my arms so I just put him in the crib to cry. He flipped over on his belly, cried 3 mins and passed out!

We were also having issues with the "45 min intruder" which is where he would wake up 45 mins into his bedtime sleep and naps. Glad to say he has been asleep over an hour! I wonder if he will sleep through the night!!!

All that being said, I'm thankful for the instincts God gives us and that there is no universal way to get babies to sleep. Thankful that God promises a peaceful mind to those who trust in Him.

Broccoli

Apparently broccoli makes a good teething toy!

Here I come!

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Originally uploaded by dbussert

Well here he is. Up on hands and knees. He hasn't figured out what to do from here, but he's strong enough to push up and hold it for awhile. I think its just the fat rolls on the arms that provide a column of strength. He also has mommy's chin!

Get my good side mommy

Good morning

Cute lion outfit!

Nanny cat

Luffy really does have an affection for Benjamin. During his nap today he came over and placed a little paw on his back. Also, when Benjamin cries, Luffy is always pacing nearby looking for some way to help (or maybe he just wants the noise to stop).

Sick day

Benjamin has had a really stuffy nose and has been whining for a few days now. I know a stuffy nose sounds like nothing, but for a baby, it affects everything- eating and sleeping - since they predominately only know how to breathe out of their nose. He had a little fever but nothing too serious.
His voice is pretty hoarse too. Its so sad to hear him cry.

In general, he has pretty high spirits though - here he is posing:


Mom got him to sleep in the stroller today but had to tilt it back to keep him asleep :)