ONE month old

Where has the last month gone! I have to say I was not expecting Ben to hit his ONE month birthday so quickly, my friend Kelle actually brought it up during an early morning phone call this morning. It seems like yesterday we were blessed by Ben's arrival. Our days are filled with lots of love and joy in this house with two sweet little boys of ours. We are adjusting to life with two and "trying" to figure out a routine that works best for all of us. But for now, we are just going with the flow and making every the best we possibly can. Ben you are a complete joy to our family, you bring joy to our days, and you remind me each day that it is the simple things in life that can bring such happiness to our lives. You are the sweetest little boy and you look just like your big brother. We hear it from everyone, but even your daddy and I can't get over how much you resemble Luke. Luke loves you so much, giving you kisses throughout the day, asking for you in the morning, and always wanting to hold you. He tells me that he "be nice" to you and I know that one day you two will be the best of friends. Often times Luke will lay down next to you on the blanket you when are spending time on your tummy or just stretching, and you just stare at him and sometimes try to talk back to him when he says "HI Ben". These past four weeks have been so wonderful and I can't even describe how much joy you and your brother bring to our lives. Ben, you are wearing newborn diapers and clothes. You are going through diapers like it is your job. It never fails, the minute I change you, you fill another one! I am strictly nursing you, however you did get your first bottle last night! Daddy fed you a bottle of formula while I gave Luke a bath and put him to bed. You like to eat every 2-3 hours during the day. You lost your umbilical cord exactly two weeks from your birth and enjoyed your first full bath a couple of days later. You love your bath time, especially when you can suck on the washcloth. You are taking a pacifier but often times pop it out of your mouth. You love love love to be held and are spending a lot of time in the baby bjorn. When we go for walks you don't necessarily like to be in the stroller, you would rather mom carry you in the bjorn. You are a champ when it comes to sleeping at night, giving me a five hour stretch most nights, and even gave me an eight hour stretch last night! Most nights you have one long stretch of sleep and then wake a few hours later. You don't like to fall right back to sleep after I nurse you and put you back to bed. You have met so many of your family and friends these past four weeks and you bring a smile to every ones face! You are precious, you are perfect in our eyes! Ben, you make our family so proud, you are the sweetest little boy, you are the perfect addition to our family.

One month old and getting "so big"
Perfection

Our two sweet boys that make our days complete and full of life

Luke is a very proud big brother! I know you two will be the best of friends:)

Weekend FUN!

How beautiful was this past weekend? It was amazingly wonderful:) We spent the majority of our weekend outdoors taking in the beautiful Fall Iowa weather. The leaves are starting to change, the air is crisp and smells like Fall, I LOVE IT! Saturday we had a great visit from our good friends the Steiners. Sean and Scott went to college together and have remained great friends and now we are enjoying raising our kids together. After Luke woke from his nap, we packed up the three boys, went to a local yogurt shop for an afternoon treat, then ventured out out to Kroul's Farm to pick pumpkins, attempt the corn maze (Luke got scared), checked out all the animals, and rode in the wagon looking for the biggest pumpkin! Sunday we took the boys out to a local apple orchard, Wilson's apple orchard, to pick apples so Sean could put me to work on an apple pie! Unfortunately, they had a very light crop this year and picked all the apples for their store. We took a walk through the orchard just because it was so beautiful and hoped to find at least one or two apples for Luke to put in his basket. We were unsuccessful but he did take a walk through the pumpkin patch. We packed Luke a little lunch and had a picnic after we bought a few goodies from Wilson's store. We bought several different apples, Luke picked out a caramel apple with sprinkles of course, and Sean and I shared their famous apple turnover with cinnamon ice cream. What about Ben? Yes, he joined us and slept the whole while we were out there. It was a beautiful morning for a walk through the apple orchard! That afternoon we took Luke down to the pond in our subdivision to go fishing,he was pretty disappointed he didn't catch a "bish", and we tried to explain to him that he will not always catch one. It was a beautiful weekend for some great outdoor fun!

While our weekend was wonderful, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't share that we had a little meltdown Sunday evening. Ben is wanting to be held quite a bit, especially in the hours of 5pm-7pm, which makes it hard to get much done. So I have been wearing him most days in the baby bjorn which works well, he is content and I can get somethings done, play with Luke, etc. Well, Luke is now wanting "up", sitting on my lap, and rocking with me in the chair when I nurse Ben. Last night it was about Ben's feeding time and Luke was just looking really sad, whining, etc. So we assumed he was sick or tired. But as we asked him questions and paid attention to his behavior we started to realize he was missing his mama's undivided attention. He just wanted to be held so that is just what I did. I asked him if he was sad, and he said "Yes". It broke my heart to pieces. I do feel that Luke has been getting an overabundant amount of attention from all others but me, and I felt so bad for that. With nursing a newborn, that has taken up so much of my time. Go figure that as I was tending to Luke and snuggling him, Ben started screaming and it was feeding time. I just looked at Sean and said, time for Ben to take a bottle. I just couldn't put Luke down. We snuggled, I gave him a bath, and snuggled some more. He feel asleep in my arms at 6:40pm. He was exhausted and I loved my snuggle time with Luke. Sean enjoyed his first bottle with Ben. It may not always be a bed of roses, were going to have meltdowns, but these precious times with our sweet little boys make the meltdowns worth every second.

Lastly, Ben is one month old today and I can NOT believe how fast these past four weeks have gone. It seriously just seems like yesterday when I was going into the hospital...what a blessing this little boy has been to our family. I will post more on the happenings of Ben's first month, but wanted to share this sweet picture of Ben.

Sweet Baby Ben is ONE month old today

October 3, 2011

Sean & Luke with Scott & Sebastian (Ben was sleeping in the Bjorn)

Luke is obsessed with Bucks, just like his daddy, so he wanted his picture taken as a Buck!

Sean & Ben enjoying a beautiful morning at Wilson's apple orchard

Luke trying to find "just the right one"
Ben, snug as a bug, enjoying the fresh Fall air!

Recap in pictures

Picture overload...rightfully so when I have two adorable little boys that keep us laughing and loving everyday! A lot of these pictures are taken from my phone because it's just easy to snap pictures throughout the day! We spent this past weekend at my parents, Ben's first trip to the farm, Sean checked out all of his hunting stands, we took family pictures, and Luke got a big surprise! We have been enjoying the weather this weekend, playing outside lots! Ben is really enjoying time in the Baby Bjorn for a couple of reasons but mostly because he just started the phase of wanting to be held non stop. The little guy will almost be asleep and the minute I set him down he wakes, only to fall right back asleep when I pick him up. So he has been spending sometime in the bjorn and it is a win-win for us all. He sleeps, I have my hands free to run around with Luke outside, and we are all happy! Speaking of happy, I have to share that Luke has just been talking up a storm lately. The other day, Ben was crying and I told Luke, "Ben is not happy." So last night Sean was gone and I was trying to get both boys down to bed and Ben was crying and Luke walks over to him and says, "Ben, be happy!" I about died, it was precious. We are working on going to the potty and poopy on the big boy potty. We are no where close to potty training, but we are asking a lot and spending sometime in the bathroom reading books. I took Luke to Target Monday after school and we picked out a few little toys and some treats. I put them in basket and told him he gets the toys if he goes poop and treats if he goes potty. I have handed out two toys and four treats in the past two days! We are making progress, but have a long way to go. We will be as patient as we need to be, but are sure to celebrate each occurrence on the "big boy potty"! Below are lots of pictures of the boys these past couple of weeks...Enjoy!

"the shirt says it all"
Luke loves to help in the kitchen, especially when we make sweet treats!

This is Luke on the plane ride back from Seattle in July. Several months behind but I just saw it on my phone and wanted to make sure to document Luke's 1st trip via plane. He did such a great job!

Luke likes to put on my sunglasses and say "cool dude"

Ben wasn't so into the Iowa vs Pitt game two weeks ago! He napped through the brutal first three quarters and woke for the exciting 4th quarter to see the Hawks pull out a win!

Ben is a very alert little boy

Doing a little art project! We are working on our colors and Luke is doing a great job so far with yellow, blue, green, black, and pink.

As I mentioned we are working on potty training...this is what really pushed us. Luke will run to different hiding spots throughout the house to go poop. He has several in the kitchen and living room so we decided it was time to start getting him to run to the bathroom rather than hiding under the kitchen table!

With my two boys a couple of weeks ago before our first outing to the mall

Ben's 1st full bath
Ben's cord fell off on his two week birthday, September 17th so we gave him is first full bath on September 19th

Luke was such a great helper giving Ben is bath. Ben didn't care too much at first but then he began sucking on his hands and was very content. He now loves his bath time which is a great way for us to wind down the night and get him thinking about bedtime.

I love this picture of my dad, Sean, and Luke having a little pow-wow

Luke's surprise...my parents bought a gator to keep at the farm! When we had to leave on Sunday night Luke pretty much cried the whole way home. He loves his Bop and Nannie so much, playing on the farm, and now you add this to the mix...we will never get him to come home with us! It was kind of cute, although it breaks my heart how sad he gets. He was watching Cars on the iPad and out of the blue he would start crying and say "Bop, Nannie, back" (he wanted to go back) then he would be fine, a few minutes later he would start crying again, "Bop, Nannie, back". This literally went on the entire drive back to Coralville.

Ben's first of many trips to the farm!

Precious at 3 weeks old

working on tummy time and loves to look at the mirror

life with two

So many of my friends have asked how life is with two...so I thought I would just reflect a little on how our last few weeks have gone! Let me just start by saying, everyday is different. Just when I think "I am getting this..." no two days are alike in the life of Luke & Ben Merrick:)
Luke is a very active two year old, as most are, so I am slowly keeping up after him. I will say my biggest struggle post partum/post op was my restrictions from the csection. I felt so guilty not being able to do much with Luke, however as with my first one, I feel like I am recovering well. I really started to feel so much better starting in week two post. I am definitely feeling better each day, but need to remind myself to take it slow. So now that I am feeling better, I'm starting to try to keep up with Luke more. I will put Ben in his stroller in the garage while Luke and I play outside, which seems to work. We are working on getting our night time routine figured out...that might take a bit. As much as I want Ben on a more predictable schedule, I know that will come in time. Right now it always seems he wants to eat right when it's time for Luke to go to bed. I still put Luke down every night, which I love doing. Sean spends a lot of time with Luke when he gets home from work, because I usually am feeding Ben and getting dinner ready. So, needless to say, we are functioning without a schedule, but I know in time I will fall into place better. My biggest struggle right now is the demand and time of nursing and figuring out how to engage Luke, not leave him out, and keep him out of trouble.
The real question I have been getting is my love for these two precious boys. Let me tell you, my heart is exploding! When I was pregnant I did wonder how can I possibly have enough love, will I love this baby as much as Luke, will Luke still feel as loved as he did before, and of course, if I'm sharing my love for two kids, how about Sean!? Well, let me start by saying, I'm absolutely in love with my three boys!!! I love Ben just like I love Luke. I find that maybe I don't get the cuddle time as much during the day, but I make sure that late night, early morning feedings I snuggle with Ben a few more minutes than I normally would. Forgoing a few extra minutes of sleep is SO worth it to me, because this time around I realize how fast they grow. I love Luke with every ounce I ever have. He brings a smile to my face everyday and makes me laugh endlessly. He gives the best hugs and melts my heart when he still wants to snuggle. We have been trying so hard to make sure he feels involved with Ben, and showing him the attention he deserve. Lastly, I have a very patient and understanding husband. Sean is so wonderful, not only hoping out tremendously, but recognizing I need sleep and downtime to be able to function at all hours of the day with both boys. I do hope to have a date night in the near future but for now we are both just 'trying' to figure out our new normal. We may not have it down to a "T" and we may never...but one thing is for sure, I am so blessed, and WE couldn't be more thankful for our to beautiful boys. So for my friends asking...YES, my heart explodes with love for these two sweet boys. They bring such a new meaning to what is important in life. Everyday isn't perfect, some days I'm more exhausted than the day before, but each day I wake as tired as I may be, I m thankful for the two boys I am holding. Tonight Sean I a work function so I let Luke snuggle up in our bed to watch Backyardigns, I had Ben laying on my chest sleeping, my left arm around Luke as he snuggled up against me, and I thought to myself, the only thing more perfect would be if Sean was laying there with us. But that moment....ahhh...that is just priceless to me. Life with two is double the fun!!!

My precious boys

Look alike???

Do you think our boys look alike??? I think so...

Luke at 2 months old

Ben at 1 week old

Panera Date

The Friday night before Ben was born, I spent the evening on a very special date with my Sweet Luke. Sean had a buddy in town for their fantasy football draft, so I took Luke to the mall to walk a bit, I was having contractions all afternoon, ride the carousel, and have dinner at his favorite, Panera. I had a feeling our little one was going to arrive that weekend and wanted to cherish this special time with Luke. We had a great little date, walking through the mall, checking out all the animals at Scheel's, riding in the bulldozer, and topping it off with his favorite meal at Panera, Peanut butter and jelly. I even splurged and let Luke indulge in a candy cookie. We had a great little night out together, all the while having contractions, not knowing that Sweet Little Ben would be making his debut the very next day!

Luke enjoying his PB&J from Panera during our little dinner date

TWO

Luke at TWO years old!!! He sure keeps our lives full of life and lots of laughter!

Sweet Little Ben at two weeks old (9.17.11)
We had Ben's two week appointment on Friday, September 16th and we are happy to report this little guy has surpassed his birth weight by an ounce! He is a great eater, happy baby, and sleeping like crazy:) We have forgotten how much newborns actually sleep. Ben has give us a few great nights of sleep already with five hour stretches. However, we have also had our fair share of nights where we are up partying like rockstars! I have been nursing him around 7pm, then wake him for a dream feed around 9:30 or so, then he goes back down until 2 a.m or so. The problem lies when it is time to go back to bed after the 2 a.m feeding. He doesn't fuss, he just lays and stares at me with his beautiful blue eyes. Then when I do lay him down, he makes noises like you wouldn't believe keeping me up until nearly the next feeding at 5:30 or so. Ben may soon inherit the nickname "lil dolphin" because he sounds like one at all hours of the night, he might be the noisiest sleeper! We are enjoying life with our two sweet boys and I love watching Luke love on Ben and acknowledge him all the time. When Luke wakes in the morning, he immediately asks for Ben! Ben lost his umbilical cord this weekend, on his two week birthday so he received his first full bath tonight and much to our surprise, did extremely well. I was expecting a lot of screaming because he absolutely hates it when I give him a sponge bath with no-rinse solution. But overall, he did really well. So far, he is taking a pacifier but each day I feel like he is rejecting it more, which is exactly what Luke did. Ben has found his thumb and loves to suck on his fingers. We are adjusting to our life with a busy toddler and a newborn. We are thankful for the beautiful weather because we take lots of walks and spend lots of time outside burning up Luke's energy! Our house is full of laughter as Luke is quite the ham these days. We are absolutely out of this world thankful for the addition of Benjamin David to our family!
Here are Ben's stats from his TWO week check up:

21 1/4 inches long (2o inches at birth) which puts him in the 75th percentile for height
7 lbs 13 oz (7 lbs 12 oz at birth) 50th percentile
head measured 14 1/4 inches which puts him in the 45th percentile