More pics, and see below for even more fun!

We had some visitors!

Well, we had some company this past weekend. We FINALLY got to meet Jackson James Trice. My best friend's son who is just a few weeks older than Ben. Yes, he's a few weeks older than Ben, and yes, Ben and him are about the same size! Our little man is growing very fast. I do swear that I wake up and look at him sometimes and he has grown over night. But back to our visitors. Jen, Scott, and Jackson Trice, and Tim, Sandra, and Tristan St. Peter all came from the Detroit area. We had a blast. It was so nice to be with the old gang. Boy how times have changed. What used to be long nights getting "silly" at the cottage, were now midnight feedings, and most of us up by 6:30am and feeling rather rested by that. We spent all our time shooting the sh**, holding our babies, and chasing Tristan around. He's 18months old and gave me a nice little glimpse into my near future. My house is SO not ready for a toddler! It will be, though.

Ben has had a good week. I feel like we're going a little bit longer between feedings now. He is more awake during the day and very interactive. His favorite things to do are watch Abby and be face to face with me. There are more frequent smiles now, too! I almost caught one on camera! He is just so precious!

(On the couch, Ben is wrapped in the blanket, and Jackson is getting some tummy time. In the bouncy chairs, Ben has his blanket under him, Jackson is on the left).

3 blogs in 2 days! What the heck has come over me!

I know, 3 blogs in 2 days, I must have found some energy somewhere! This just happened this morning and I had to share it. Ben was just a little fussy, I laid him down on the couch which he seems to like. Don't worry, I don't go far, the rolling over thing is imminent, but he just seems to like to lay on the couch! So, anyhoo, Abby came by and wanted up on the couch. With my permission, she ever so gently got up and laid down with her head snuggling his legs. They both settled in and just fell asleep like this. It was so cute! So, I guess Abby is warming up to Ben. That, or it's her attempt to get some attention. I think she figures "they're always right next to this little human, I'll stick close and maybe they'll remember that I'm their first child!"

Not much else to report. I'm starting to catch up on all the other things I'm supposed to be doing as a new mom. Like, ordering pictures for family, watching Oprah, not sleeping, and occasionally brushing my hair. Life is good!

Love everyone!

Ben getting kissed by Abby. And...2 blogs in 1 day! Wow!

Yeah! I think I got this video downloaded! It's more of Ben looking around, exploring. He had just gotten done smiling like crazy, but true to form, when the camera came out, nothing! Abby also wanted in on the shot and you get to see her loving on Ben a bit. Also, to my Mother-in-law...note the Moose Pez dispenser in the shot. What would we do for Moose without you?

I'll try to get some tummy time video soon and change it up a bit!

Ben is 1 month old!

Ok, so it's been more than a week since our last blog. In my defense, I kept meaning to, but my computer died and I have no idea how to do the picture thing on Brian's. So, this morning, I think I've figured it out. Here's a picture of Ben with his latest fascination, Abby. And a picture of Abby with her new fascination, Ben. She has been a good girl with him, often sniffing, giving him kisses, and wanting to lay near him. Although, her likely reason for laying near him is that I'm doting all over him and she wants in on the action.

The last week has been trying. I thought I was going crazy, or Ben was. He wants to eat ALL the time! I thought there is no way I'm keeping up with him! When he wasn't eating, he was cranky and wanting to eat. I was anxious to go to the doctor for his one month appointment to ask his pediatrician for advice. So Thursday we went to the doctor on the coldest day of the year! Actually, the coldest day in eight years or something like that. Our high was -10 that day. So, I hesitantly bundled up my little bundle and we ventured to the doctor. He was a good boy. The doctor looked him over and said he looked real good. Lungs are in good shape, they sound clear. He's still a bit nasally, but getting better. They weighed and measured him and I learned why he is so hungry. He has jumped from the 50th percentile in length to the 90th! His weight stayed in the 50th. And this was all in about a week and half. The doctor was amazed! He is now 10 lbs 4.5oz, and 23 inches long. She said he is certainly using every calorie and gave me some advice on how I can keep up and go more than 2 hours (often at the most) between feedings. The feeding every two hours was certainly getting to all of us. For a while I was able to get enough throughout the day for Brian to give Ben a bottle and let me sleep, but I haven't even been able to do that with how much he's eating. So, bottom line, we have a very healthy baby who is growing like a weed!

I'm getting anxious for this coming weekend when my good friends Jen, Scott and their new son, Jackson, and Sandra, Tim, and their one year old Tristan are coming to visit. We have been on quarantine and I haven't socialized much due to all our illnesses so I'm very excited for some adult interaction. I don't even get to talk to Brian too much. By the time he gets home at night I just want to go lay down and sleep. We are also still hoping to plan a trip to Virginia for Ben to meet the rest of his family! The doctor, of course, advised against it in cold and flu season, but I'm thinking maybe later February or early March, before I go back to work.

I'm going to try to put some more video up soon. I have not been able to catch a smile or laugh yet on camera. He'll smile at me and by the time I reach for camera he just looks at me all inquisitively, wondering what the heck I'm doing.

So, that's about it here, just eating, crying, playing, and rarely sleeping. Just what you'd expect with a one month old!

New Video of Ben

A little update on the Bishop household. I think I'm figuring out how to upload videos. It's kind of a pain! Anyway, I think I got some cute video of Ben today and wanted to share it. I think it would be cute even if I wasn't his mother! He's really starting to coo. Sometimes he seems really surprised that he's making that noise. I still haven't been able to capture a smile, but I swear they're happening.

As far as Abby's adjustment. It keeps becoming more and more apparent that she is not too happy with our new addition. Yesterday, I was doing some housework and pulled the bag out of the garbage. I left the room for a little while and when I returned Abby had fished through the garbage, only to remove a wrapped up diaper. She proceeded to carry it over to the rug and lay down next to it. She didn't pull anything else out of the garbage, nor did she chew up the diaper. It was almost like she was saying "you want me to?!" It's like we're pushing her over the edge. Today, she decided to empty out the bathroom garbage and tear up as much tissue as she could. When I discovered it and called for her, she REFUSED to come in the room. She knew! She gladly goes where ever we want her until now!

I'm feeling better, actually got a few hours of sleep last night. Ben is feeling really good! He's still a little stuffy, but nothing he can't handle. He's wanting to do nothing but eat ALL THE TIME! Which is a good sign that he is feeling better. He is getting bigger. He now fits into his "newborn" clothes rather than him swimming in them. I'm being ridiculous, I know. I find myself getting sad already that he is growing up too fast.

On The Mend!

Happy January! Well, I wanted to be sure not to forget about our first born...Abby. She has been a bit jealous, and mostly just mopes about it. I do feel bad, there's no explaining this to her. I try to cuddle with her throughout the day and she just seems to pout during cuddle time. We also had an instance the other day when we put Ben on the floor on his Tummy Time mat. Abby just sort of watched. A few minutes later I was upstairs and Brian was calling me from downstairs. I came around the corner and found that no sooner had we picked Ben up off the mat, than Abby got up and decided that is where she needed to be to get attention. She was trying to curl her 80lb body on this 16inch mat. It was hysterical and sad all at the same time. I just love that girl and can't wait for the weather to get nicer so I can take her and Ben for walks out and about.


Here's Ben getting a little love from his Grandma who came to help after our most recent hospital stint!



Things here with Ben are getting better. I have noticed last night and today that I'm not freaking out all the time that he may not be breathing. I'm not jumping out of bed every 20minutes checking his color and respirations. I have actually only had to suction him a couple times last night and today, as opposed to every couple hours and with every feeding like we were doing. He also has not coughed since yesterday. I think he's feeling better! I tried to get some cute awake time on video this morning. I SWEAR he's smiling. I know, some people think that it's just gas, but he is smiling! I just haven't been able to catch it on video yet. One thing is for sure, the smile KILLS you it's so cute! He just beams ear to ear! He started doing it again at about 5am this morning, and it just woke me right up and I started laughing so hard I just about fell out of bed!

So, I think all the Bishops are on the mend. I, of course, was fighting a cold the last few days and have been drowning myself in orange juice among other fluids. Brian has been trying to let me sleep as much as he and I can. The feeding issue is the biggest thing. I've tried producing enough...you know...product for Brian to give him a bottle and let me sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. It's hard when Ben clearly has his appetite back and is feeding from me really well, and I'm not feeling well so I'm not producing as much. So, we'll just keep trying. I am feeling better today. I just can't believe we all got a cold! I didn't think that started until day care came around!

Well, I'll try to catch some cute video (shouldn't be hard, look at our subject). Hopefully get that up soon. There is some cute video from the last hospital stay of our poor little guy I might need to share.

Hope all is well!

Happy New Year's!!!!!

Hi everyone - Happy New Year.

We are back at the house. I worked for one day and am now back at home. Patti took it easy with her mom today. Ben was being Ben. Sleep, eat, wheeze. Rinse and repeat.

We were in the hospital - a great experience at Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn - for New Year's Eve. Carson, Ryan, and Dick were all there with us. Patti and I sipped on Sparkling White Grape Juice of the finest year. Ben was sipping...well, you know what Ben was sipping.

Here's a clip from the ball drop - as always, delayed from New York because we're not East Coasters anymore:






The next morning was really nice, as Ben's stats were up. His O2 was constantly high (but still not great). He was weezey and snotty, but you'd expect that from a sick kid. We got to go home that afternoon and spent the rest of NYD resting and watching football.

Good win for the Hokies, representing the ACC in the big bowls.

Alright, I'm out because we have some monstrous enchiladas to eat. Very nice!



- Brian