Baby's First Easter

Benjamin celebrated his first Easter this past weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday at our house and on Sunday we ventured out to his grandparents' house in New Jersey for a few hours to celebrate his first holiday. It was Ben's first road trip and he did fairly well with the two hour car ride!

Here he is on Friday in one of his new spring ensembles. He tends to get bored when we have extensive photo shoots, as illustrated by the final picture.

We decided to deck Ben out in his Sunday finest for his first Easter and luckily this adorable mini Ralph Lauren outfit was just the right size. We thought that he looked like he was ready for a night out on the town! Note the matching belt and Polo insignia :)...

Naptime is always cuter in little white slacks and a button down shirt...especially when he scrunches himself up into a little ball like this!

Here's our first holiday family photo. Maybe next year Ben will look at the camera!

Here's Ben with his Nana and Pop Caulfield. They especially got a kick out of his little dress clothes!

Uncle Mike and his girlfriend Chang were also visiting for the day and my very good friend Michele also stopped by to see the baby for a little while since we were in town. It was the first time any of them had ever met him. Here is Michele, Nana, and Chang with Benjamin. He always loves the opportunity to be photographed with a group of ladies. We'll get a photo of Uncle Mike with the baby next time!

Life Outside the Sleep 'n Play Outfit

After three and a half weeks in Sleep 'n Play outfits, we finally discovered a pair of pants in Benjamin's drawers that are just right for his size. Even a bigger newborn like Ben is difficult to dress since he is still really scrunched up. So, even most 0-3 month clothing will have to wait a few more weeks but we were glad to find even a few things that will work for now. Here are two photos of him in his first "big boy" outfit, albeit a onesie and sweatpants.

First Real Bath

This weekend marked a major milestone in Benjamin's life - the loss of his umbilical cord and the unveiling of his "innie" belly button. Now we're able to give him "real" baths and dress him in his big boy clothing such as onesies and adorable "mini man" ensembles just like his dad wears.

Benjamin never really cared for the whole sponge bath process (that's an understatement!) so this morning I decided to give him a real bath to see if he fancied this way of keeping clean more :). It started out well but I think he realized about halfway through that he was once again naked and being made to smell like baby lotion so his thoughts on bathing still remain the same. Maybe once he can sit up and play with some bath toys he'll enjoy bathtime more!

Getting ready for bathtime...content as can be:

"Who's that cute baby in the mirror, Mom?":

Afterwards: "This is not my idea of fun and the blue doggie towel on my head will not make me like it, no matter how cute you may think I look!":

Benjamin's Second Week at Home

This was my first week home alone with Benjamin for a few days. We're starting to discover some of the tricks to keeping Ben from fussing and making him look as angelic as he does in the following photos, such as bouncy seats, his cradle swing, and cuddling him a lot.

"Ahh...my Ocean Wonders bouncy seat - fish, music, vibration, the works. This is the life...":

"Ok, I've had enough of this for now....try again later, Mom":

Benjamin has started to really focus on things when he looks at them now. We've noticed that he seems more alert to faces and his toys than ever. We know he's trying to focus really hard when he either furrows his brow or crosses his eyes. Either that or he has gas! :)

On Wednesday Ben's Aunt Michelle came to stay with us for two nights. Michelle and I decided to go on a walk with the baby yesterday afternoon since it was so nice out. Here's Ben not really sure if he likes this idea or not:

"Maybe if I sleep deeply, they really won't dress me in this Winnie the Pooh outfit and take me outside..."

"So much for that idea..."

Benjamin's First Family Visits

Benjamin has been quite the popular little guy these past two and a half weeks! From his first day in the hospital to earlier today when Aunt Michelle left after staying with us for a few days to help out, he has had many people visit to ohh and ahh over him. Of course he's slept through most of these visits :)....

Here's a photo of Benjamin and his nana, taken only a few hours after his birth:

The next day Grandpa G, CC, Aunt Maggie and Billy came to visit us in the hospital:

What good timing Ben had when he decided to be born on March 20. Uncle Kurt and Aunt Michelle already had plans to be visiting from Seattle a few days later for a wedding, so they were able to come and see Benjamin three days after his birth. We're so happy that they were able to see the baby right away. Mommy's so proud of her little planner for deciding to arrive over a week early so that Kurt and Michelle's visit worked out!

After Andrew returned to work, my mom stayed with us for a week to help me out as I recovered. My dad dropped her off at the house one weekend and picked her up the following weekend. Here's a picture of Pop Caulfield with Benjamin at just under 2 weeks old:

Finally, Aunt Michelle was able to visit us again for two nights this past week during her school's Spring Break. She was a huge help around the house and in helping to settle the baby down. Ben's favorite sleep position is on our chests so here he is yesterday with his happy aunt:

Benjamin's First Week at Home

Benjamin has been at home for one full week and already he seems so much more alert and aware of his surroundings. While I recover from labor and get some much needed rest, we've been spending most of our time at home letting Ben do what he does best....eat and sleep! Below are some photos of the little guy in dreamland...and looking so sweet and cute in the process:

During the past week, little Ben has been getting used to his mom, dad and big brother Barney. His Nana has also been staying with us for the week to help me out as I recover. He really seems like he recognizes us now since he looks us in the eyes and smiles slightly when we sing, talk, or make silly faces at him. He's not even afraid of Barney at all, even when he pokes his big head near the baby, smells him or tries to lick him. For the most part, Barney has been really mellow around the baby and even seems worried when Ben cries...as any protective big brother would!

Even after a week, Benjamin's wild hairdo doesn't seem like it will tame itself anytime soon. Here's a photo of the baby fresh after a sponge bath, when his hair is at its most unruly! :)

Ben's facial expressions and actions seem like they have become so much more alert, even in the past week. He now watches the mobile on his swing and really looks around the house to observe his surroundings when he is awake. This morning we decided to try out his little play gym to see if he would notice any of the bright colors or if he would be oblivious to it. He did seem to enjoy the colors and different hanging toys but also seemed to be a little overwhelmed by so much activity at this point. He will probably be more interested in another week or so.

Meet Benjamin Thomas Martin

On March 20, 2006 Benjamin Thomas Martin arrived after about 15-1/2 hours of labor. He was born at 6:16PM in Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, PA. He weighed 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 20-3/4 inches long. Of course we think that he is the cutest little guy that we have ever seen!

For anyone wondering, we decided on his name because Benjamin was one of the top boy names that we both liked (and agreed upon!). We like the full name Benjamin and all of the nicknames (at least those we thought of) so we will most likely be calling him either Benjamin or Ben intechangeably and may also call him Benny sometimes while he's a little boy. Thomas is Andrew's middle name and also my dad's middle name. So apart from being a name we both really liked, it seemed like a good way to incorporate both sides of the family in the baby's namesake.

His four grandparents were able to be with us at Abington for the birth and enjoyed spoiling little Ben during his first day of life. They received our phone call at 5:30AM, once we had been admitted, drove in from New Jersey and New York and spent the entire day in the hospital waiting room eagerly anticipating the good news! Below are two photos - one of Pop and Nana Caulfield with us and the baby and another of Grandpa G and CC Martin with the little guy.

Below are some of Ben's first photos in the hospital:

After two nights in Abington Hospital we headed home with Ben on Wednesday afternoon. Even for an 8 pound baby his 0-3 month outfits were swimming on him. He looked so little and cute in his sleeper and bunting. Here is our new family as we prepare to leave the hospital:

Soon after we got home our rent-a-stork arrived to decorate our front lawn. Every new family needs a 6 foot stork on their lawn for a week!

Once in the house, our first task was to introduce the big, yellow, first-born child - Barney - to the new baby. After some initial excitement over this new "thing" we were bringing into his house, Barney has been very loving and gentle with the new baby. He seems to either ignore him or try to kiss him on the head! Apart from a bit of mild depression, Barney otherwise seems to be unaffected by the new family member. In fact, one kiss he did manage to sneak on the back of the baby's head was the only way so far that we have been able to control Ben's wild hairdo! The photo below is Barney offering his favorite toy to his new little brother.

Day two at home consisted of trying out Benjamin's swing for the first time and also giving him his first sponge bath at home. He looked so cute wrapped in his little frog bath towel as we bathed him! After his bath we dressed him in his little baseball sleeper and got this funny picture of him furrowing his brow, obviously deep in thought about something!