A Busy Week...

Hey everyone!! 

Bentley is now 5 1/2 weeks old, and he's growing so quickly.  I know he's still tiny, but he seems to have grown a foot since he was born.  He discovered his gym this week.  I've tried it out a couple of times, but this week was the first time he seemed to enjoy it and actually play. 

You can see that he's looking at the toy that he's hitting around.  He was getting so excited!

I got his attention for a second.

I got it!!! :)

Along with figuring out a new toy, Bentley also went to the doctor with me for my postnatal check-up.  Daniel had an eye doctor appointment at the same time, so Cyndel went to be on baby duty in case Bentley decided to have a meltdown while at the doctor.  He never even woke up, but I'm sure he would have if no one had been there with me 

My check-up went well.  The doctor said I'm healing fine, and all is well.  My iron was just a tad bit low, so I still have to take my iron, and of course I have to continue taking my prenatal vitamins because I'm nursing.  I'm one of the lucky women of the world...I weight two pounds LESS than I did when I got pregnant.  Daniel and I have decided that I lost a lot of muscle mass during my two months of doing NOTHING!!  I'm going to have to get to the gym to get my muscle tone back.  I was joking with Cyndel they other day, and I told her that I feel like MamaPete, my great grandmother.  Since I lost some muscle, I feel flabby, so I definitely have some work to do.

After going to the doctor on Tuesday, Daniel and I decided it was time for Bentley to have his first bottle.  We wanted Daniel to be able to be more involved, so we decided that Daniel will give Bentley a bottle at bedtime each night.  So, we've been working on a good bedtime routine this week, and here's what we've come up with.  I give Bentley his bath about 15-30 minutes before his final daily feeding.  Once he's out of the tub, Daniel wraps him up in his towel and snuggles with him in Bentley's green chair.  After I clean out the tub, I get Bentley all lotioned up and delicious and get him dressed for bed.  Daniel then takes him back to his chair for his bottle, which he has learned to take really well.  After eating, he usually (ALWAYS) poops, so I take care of that, and then Daniel gets to snuggle Bentley off to Sleepy Town.  We are trying to put Bentley in his crib while he's still awake so he can learn to get to sleep on his own.  He's done pretty well, and most of the time he drifts off after a little extra "shhh-ing" and patting.  Last night he had a tummy ache and was having an all out meltdown, so I just rocked him until he was good and asleep. 

It took his a minute to realize what was going on, but Bentley caught on pretty quickly to the bottle scenario.

I think this shot is precious.  He's looking at his Daddy with those sweet blue eyes.

Hey Daddy...this is yummy!

All wrapped up and comfy.

Drifting off to Sleepy Town...

As far as sleeping goes...we've been pretty lucky so far.  Bentley didn't sleep well last weekend (for three nights in a row), but he's slept really good the rest of the time.  Lately, he's been asleep sometime between 8:15-9:00.  He usually wakes for his first feeding between 1:00-2:00, and then again between 5:00-6:00.  Most of the time he goes back to sleep until about 8:00.  He does really good about going back to sleep, but his poopiness really gets in the way sometimes.  He poops everytime he eats, so I have to feed him, wait for him to poop, change him, and then get him back to bed.  Usually we can do all that in about 30 minutes, but every now and then we have moments like last night.  He woke up at 3:40 to eat, so I fed him, waited for him to poop, changed him, and then he got the hiccups.  (He hates the hiccups!)  While hiccupping he pooped again, so I had to change him again, which woke him up just enough to need some serious effort to get back to sleep.  Finally, he went to sleep. and I was back in bed at 4:45.  At least all feeding sessions aren't that way! :)

Another big event of the week was my baby shower at school.  Of course, we only got a couple of pictures, and none of them are great.  I am so lucky to work with such wonderful people.  We got so much great stuff for Bentley, and the shower was beautiful!  Bentley went with us, but I didn't even get a picture of him.  He was passed around to quite a few people, so he got to meet a lot of my co-workers.  He slept pretty much the whole time, so he may not remember anyone. :)  Thank you so much to all the lovely ladies I work with...You are amazing!  Like I said at the shower...your prayers were enough of a gift to us, and we are so thankful for all the thoughts and prayers that helped to get Bentley here healthy.  I love you all!!

Chocolate covered pretzels...too cute!! :)

Daniel got a shot of me stuffing cake into my mouth...YUMMM!

Well, that pretty much sums up the week so far.  Be praying for all the boys in our family.  They are on their way to Helen, GA for a car show (SOWO) this weekend.  It's the first time Daniel will be away from me and Bentley since he was born...we'll see how that goes.  We miss Daddy already!