Celebrity Profile: Benjamin

Benjamin is such a sweet boy.  Our nicknames for him are Benjamin Bunny, Rabbit, Crabbit (crabby rabbit, if he is in a bad mood), Pabbit (piggy rabbit, back when he got bottles he would drink them so fast!), and Funny Bunny (when he is giggly and happy).  He has really changed so much over the past few months.  For about the first four months he was very needy and I called him my high-maintenance baby.  I could not put him down, or he would just scream and cry.  If not for the Moby wrap, I would never have been able to do anything!  I wore Benjamin in that wrap as I made breakfast, ate breakfast, sat on the couch, even when I went to the bathroom.  And then he went through a phase of hating his car seat and stroller, so I (or my mom) wore him in the Moby wrap anytime we went anywhere-- on walks, to the grocery store, the coffee place...  Writing this makes me realize just how much things have changed, because today we went to the post office and grocery store and the boys were complete angels, even getting compliments on how happy and calm they were!  Anyway, Benjamin is now a very easy-going, happy boy.  He smiles all the time, and is a complete ham for any camera-- point it at him and he grins away!

While Asher has to be moving at every second, Benjamin is happy to crawl to a toy, transition to sitting, and play with the toy for a while.  I have recently noticed that sometimes he is happy to be alone when there are a lot of people around; for example, at play group on Friday he was in a corner playing with toys with his back to the other babies.  He is happy when I bring him back to the group, but clearly doesn't mind being alone.

Benjamin also laughs a lot!  He loves when I pretend to eat him up, when we bounce him on our knees, and he often laughs at Asher.  He has the cutest giggle I've ever heard, and just hearing it is contagious.  He smiles all the time now, and it is so rewarding to go into the nursery when he wakes up from a nap and see him grin at me as soon as he sees my face.  He has delicious juicy thighs that I nibble on (leading to more giggles!) and chubby little fingers that I think are just the cutest things I've ever seen.  His hair... I forgot to get a picture, but he has a giant bald patch in the back, so while his hair is filling in on top, he is still bald in the back.  My mom thinks it is really funny to look at, and it kind of is.

Benjamin is also crawling, and pulling to standing.  He seems to be about 3 days behind Asher on some things.  It seems like maybe he is watching and learning, and then doing it himself.  He is very good at sitting on his own, and very good at going from crawling to sitting.  He is somewhat less aggressive in his movements than Asher.

For a while, Benjamin was our big eater and Asher seemed more picky, but now he eats a little less than Asher.  They nurse about the same amount, but sometimes on solids Benjamin peters out first.  He does seem to enjoy every food he's been given-- oatmeal, yogurt, green beans, peas, squash, pears, applesauce, you name it.  He is good at managing more difficult solids like pieces of bread, and you can see him practicing his chewing.  He has a strange habit of stuffing his fingers in his mouth after you feed him a spoonful of food, so eating gets really messy really fast!

Oh, and Benjamin is getting is first tooth!  It's coming in on the bottom, on his right.  I am kind of sad about seeing the boys with teeth because I so love their toothless grins.

Benjamin does not seem to favor any particular toy at this point.  He likes eating his Sophie giraffe, and shaking rattles, but he will examine pretty much anything.  He likes the jumperoo in the mornings, and has lost any positive feelings he once had towards the swing.  For now, books are for eating and not reading!  He is really a sweet angel, and I am so glad that he has mellowed with time, because it has made my life easier, and reassured me that he is happy and getting all the love and affection he needs.  I'm a very lucky mommy, and am struck by that thought every time I see his beautiful face.