sleeping through lunch

ben still likes to eat

Ben is 3 weeks old. We've been trying to figure out other things Ben likes besides eating, and haven't had much success. He does sleep, but only after eating. He's not thrilled about being carried around or held for very long if there isn't food involved. His current favorite position is peeking out over your shoulder- he'll be content with that for a little while if there are some lights to look at. We tried the swing- Owen's favorite thing when he was so little- but both ours and Susie's seem to be broken (how can that be?). From our home scale, Ben was 13 pounds on Saturday.

Nights have gotten easier- Ben's sleeping in the cradle in our room. He eats every 2-4 hours, but sleeps soundly in between feeding. Owen climbs into our bed around 6 each morning, and it's kind of cozy having the four of us together, for a little bit. Owen continues to be a loving and helpful big brother, wanting to help carry Ben's car seat and rubbing his fuzzy hair. Owen's going through a kind of funny phase of calling Richard "Richard," and occasionally calls me "Aunt Barbara." We remind him of our official titles of Dad and Mom.

proofs

We just got the proofs from Ben's photo shoot with Livia Fremouw. Here's some of his pics, posted on her blog:

http://fremouwphotography.blogspot.com/2009/01/sweet-newborn-newborn-photography.html

The proofs will be posted on her site for a month here:

http://www.fremouwphotography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=1217

password is: mcmannus (yes, 2 n's)

He was a good little model.

bath time

Owen's been a big help with Ben. Above is a picture of Ben's first bath- he cried the whole time, but doesn't seem to suffer from long term trauma. Owen helped wash him, and got his towel and helped dry him off. The second picture is Ben in the sweater Susie got him for Christmas- she actually got us a family set, but Ben's the easiest to dress. I'll get the other 2 in theirs sometime soon.

tank mcmanus weighs in

1/3/09: 10 lbs 14 oz

1/5/09: 10 lbs 4 oz

1/15/09: 11 lbs 2 oz

Looks like Ben's eating just fine. Feels like it, too.

some fantastic pictures

My friend Heather Stokes came over last Friday and had a long photo session with Ben. She received a new fancy camera for Christmas, and wanted to test her skills with newborns. She had lots of gear too- including a baby cocoon she knit the night before. I think the pictures turned out amazing. My favorite are the first two. The next day, we had a 4 hour photo session with Livia Fremouw, which was a baby gift from my sister. Livia took Laurel's newborn pictures, and Owen's 2 year pictures. I'll post a link to those pictures once they are available.

ben likes to eat

I think Fuzzy will be an inappropriate nickname for Ben- Tank will likely suit him better. For now, Lamprey works. Ben likes to eat- a lot- all the time. His first doctor's appointment is tomorrow, so we can see how much weight he's gained. I don't have many recent pictures, since he would have to be separated from my body to make that happen.

Here are some more pictures of his first week, including his 1 week birthday party. The knit hat in the first picture was made by Jen Wallis, and the blanket is from Andrea.

owen holding ben for the first time

eating out

Ben's first restaurant- he had a cheeseburger.

more grandpa time

I don't have a picture of Ben sleeping peacefully in his crib yet, since he hasn't slept peacefully in his crib yet. But I'm sure we will get there. Dad built this crib for Susie, and I slept in it, as did Owen and Laurel. Now it's Ben's turn. Dad got a plaque made for each of us and added Ben's this week. In the picture in the crib, Ben is wearing Owen's coming home outfit. I figured it was now or never.

Dad flew home to Virginia this morning to continue renovating his home. When we visit this summer, he'll have a brand new front area- new kitchen, floors, ceilings, walls. Owen and I were talking about visiting Grandpa in June and he told me to make sure I remembered to pack his swimsuit. We had a great time having him here for the holidays and for Ben's first week. We all benefited from Grandpa time.

0 to 40

Uncle Todd celebrated his 40th birthday on Wednesday. After the wax from 40 candles was removed from the top, we all enjoyed cherry pie.

grandpa time

If I was thinking a little clearer, I may be able to calculate the ideal number of pictures we would need to take, having 6 people in the picture, 2 of them 2 and 3 years old and 1 of them less than a week old, in order to get everyone looking at the camera, not being silly, and not crying. I think you'd need to use some factorials or some exponentials. Statistics of some sort.

It's been great having my dad here with us for this first week. He watched Owen for 2 days and nights, has been picking him up from school, and been on several Ben watching shifts. Plus running errands, like picking out some hair color for me today, and doing dishes and laundry. The new addition to our family may be small but he goes through a lot of laundry.

quilts

My mom made Ben this Peter Rabbit pillow and Christmas blanket, and dad had them finished with some women from the quilt shop who had helped her pick out the fabrics. They are just beautiful and a truly special gift.

at home

We have had a nice week at home as a larger family. I wanted to get the boys in their matching pj's since Ben's won't fit next year. Owen at first was reluctant (he doesn't like new clothes or pictures) but then said he would get on his jammies but Ben was just a baby and would cry about it. Ben cried of course.

Owen got Ben a coming home gift- it is a very cute and soft dragon. He was so proud to give it to Ben.

Our first night home was rough, but they have become a little easier. Richard's temporarily moved to the couch so the bed can be nursing fest all night long.

coming home

On Monday, Ben and I both passed our final exams and were released from the hospital. We put Ben in his coming home outfit- I underestimated his size when I bought it. We tucked him into his car seat and headed out. We used a soft blanket Lori sent, plus the quilt my Mom made to keep him cozy on the trip home.