Milestone!

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} catch(err) {}I am very excited to report, that at the doctors today after I finished telling her how Ben doesn’t sit up, roll over ect and I am starting to worry, Ben rolled over!!

He was reaching for his giraffe Sophie (which, on a side note, is all the rage in the JC. EVERYBODY had Sophie and honestly, she is great. Nobody in OH seems to have heard of her though. Humm. Yuppie dolls. Who knew?) Sophie is a plastic giraffe from France that is good for teething. Ben tries to shove as much of her as he can into his mouth while slobbering all over her, and himself. Its gross to be quite honest. But he loves her and apparently she is worth rolling over for! The pediatrician said this is the second baby that has rolled for the first time in her office. Whoo hoo! Go Ben!!

In not so great news, Ben did not gain any weight. Nutritionist here we come!

We manged to get Ben’s RSV shot squared away here which is great news. So they actually come to your house and give it to you so they are schedules to come on Sunday. We were given a list of specialists at the Children’s Hospital we need to make appointments with. 1) Nutritionist 2)Opthomologist 3)Pulmonologist 4) Physical/Occupational Therapy and we have to go back for a 2nd flu shot in a week. Soooo. I have to get my dialing fingers ready tomorrow. While I am at it I will try and make appointments for Josh and I to see doctors…might as well.

Raspberries

We are headed to the doctors today so we will see how much Ben weighs as well as talk about what doctors we should be setting up in Cincinnati. Ben and I went for a walk today to try and go to story time at a children’s book store in the area. Apparently you needed to sign up for it ahead of time and and, for being a children’s book store, the girl working there was quite rude in informing me of this. So, no story time but we did get a walk out of it. Its supposed to be warmer today (low 60’s) but its overcast and dreary. It sort of feels like it has been dreary since we got here. I’m hoping this weather eventually passes because it doesn’t do much for people’s moods.

My mom and dad have started to use Skype with us. For those who don’t know, its an internet video chat that is free provided you are calling another Skype user. This has been great because they get to see Ben in person, almost daily. Ben doesn’t quite get it but it doesn’t seem to bother him and once he is a bit older I think he will understand what is going on.

The latest trick in our household is Ben has started to try and blow raspberries. Its pretty hysterical to watch because he knows he is supposed to purse his lips and puff out his cheeks to try and blow air. But he can’t quite get letting the little bit of air though his lips to make the noise. Instead, he sits with puffed cheeks and his lips clamped shut and blowing as hard as he can…but nothing happens! He practices almost constantly even during feedings and with his pacifier in.

Milestone!

I am very excited to report, that at the doctors today after I finished telling her how Ben doesn’t sit up, roll over ect and I am starting to worry, Ben rolled over!!

He was reaching for his giraffe Sophie (which, on a side note, is all the rage in the JC. EVERYBODY had Sophie and honestly, she is great. Nobody in OH seems to have heard of her though. Humm. Yuppie dolls. Who knew?) Sophie is a plastic giraffe from France that is good for teething. Ben tries to shove as much of her as he can into his mouth while slobbering all over her, and himself. Its gross to be quite honest. But he loves her and apparently she is worth rolling over for! The pediatrician said this is the second baby that has rolled for the first time in her office. Whoo hoo! Go Ben!!

In not so great news, Ben did not gain any weight. Nutritionist here we come!

We manged to get Ben’s RSV shot squared away here which is great news. So they actually come to your house and give it to you so they are schedules to come on Sunday. We were given a list of specialists at the Children’s Hospital we need to make appointments with. 1) Nutritionist 2)Opthomologist 3)Pulmonologist 4) Physical/Occupational Therapy and we have to go back for a 2nd flu shot in a week. Soooo. I have to get my dialing fingers ready tomorrow. While I am at it I will try and make appointments for Josh and I to see doctors…might as well.

Raspberries

We are headed to the doctors today so we will see how much Ben weighs as well as talk about what doctors we should be setting up in Cincinnati. Ben and I went for a walk today to try and go to story time at a children’s book store in the area. Apparently you needed to sign up for it ahead of time and and, for being a children’s book store, the girl working there was quite rude in informing me of this. So, no story time but we did get a walk out of it. Its supposed to be warmer today (low 60’s) but its overcast and dreary. It sort of feels like it has been dreary since we got here. I’m hoping this weather eventually passes because it doesn’t do much for people’s moods.

My mom and dad have started to use Skype with us. For those who don’t know, its an internet video chat that is free provided you are calling another Skype user. This has been great because they get to see Ben in person, almost daily. Ben doesn’t quite get it but it doesn’t seem to bother him and once he is a bit older I think he will understand what is going on.

The latest trick in our household is Ben has started to try and blow raspberries. Its pretty hysterical to watch because he knows he is supposed to purse his lips and puff out his cheeks to try and blow air. But he can’t quite get letting the little bit of air though his lips to make the noise. Instead, he sits with puffed cheeks and his lips clamped shut and blowing as hard as he can…but nothing happens! He practices almost constantly even during feedings and with his pacifier in.

General observations on Cincinnati (or, the city that nobody can spell)

So, people keep asking me how we like Cincinnati. Hard to say. So far, its…a city. Not a big city. Just, a city. Give me some more time, I’m sure I will have an opinion. I always do.

Observations about Cincinnati thus far:

1. They are OBSESSED with tanning. Tanning signs everywhere…”come get tan in the winter”… “one month of tanning free”. Who goes tanning anymore? (sorry if you do…but really??) Did they forget to distribute the skin cancer memo in Cincinnati?

2. They also love Jesus. A lot. So much so that the “non-denominational ” church we drove by near our house on Sunday had people directing traffic. In orange jackets. Like we were at Great Woods (or for you New Yorkers…Jones Beach) (ok, ok…for everyone else, an outdoor concert venue in the summer) Yup. Crowd control at church and it wasn’t even Christmas.

3. Rush hour seems to last from exactly 830-9a. And 5-530p. Otherwise its smooth sailing into and out of downtown. But luckily, in the new economic stimulus package, this “very crowded” highway is due to get an extra lane to control traffic in the near future. Um……ok.

4. There are a lot of boarded up houses in the downtown area. I’m not sure I have ever legitimately seen a boarded up house in person before unless we were expecting a hurricane. But here, literally boards over all the windows right next to normal houses. It makes for some interesting streets…

5. Speaking of houses, in looking at real estate, they don’t list square footage. I can literally reel off the average price per square foot in all my previous home states and cities as well as all neighboring communities. I can do the same party trick for about 15 random states as well (thanks HGTV!) but finding it out here? Near impossible unless we research the property records. “We just never have…” was the best answer I could get out of a real estate broker. Um, so that why when we were standing in a house that CLEARLY was 1800 sq. ft. he guessed it was 1000. Um, good try buddy. Sigh. I guess my obsession ends here.

General observations on Cincinnati (or, the city that nobody can spell)

So, people keep asking me how we like Cincinnati. Hard to say. So far, its…a city. Not a big city. Just, a city. Give me some more time, I’m sure I will have an opinion. I always do.

Observations about Cincinnati thus far:

1. They are OBSESSED with tanning. Tanning signs everywhere…”come get tan in the winter”… “one month of tanning free”. Who goes tanning anymore? (sorry if you do…but really??) Did they forget to distribute the skin cancer memo in Cincinnati?

2. They also love Jesus. A lot. So much so that the “non-denominational ” church we drove by near our house on Sunday had people directing traffic. In orange jackets. Like we were at Great Woods (or for you New Yorkers…Jones Beach) (ok, ok…for everyone else, an outdoor concert venue in the summer) Yup. Crowd control at church and it wasn’t even Christmas.

3. Rush hour seems to last from exactly 830-9a. And 5-530p. Otherwise its smooth sailing into and out of downtown. But luckily, in the new economic stimulus package, this “very crowded” highway is due to get an extra lane to control traffic in the near future. Um……ok.

4. There are a lot of boarded up houses in the downtown area. I’m not sure I have ever legitimately seen a boarded up house in person before unless we were expecting a hurricane. But here, literally boards over all the windows right next to normal houses. It makes for some interesting streets…

5. Speaking of houses, in looking at real estate, they don’t list square footage. I can literally reel off the average price per square foot in all my previous home states and cities as well as all neighboring communities. I can do the same party trick for about 15 random states as well (thanks HGTV!) but finding it out here? Near impossible unless we research the property records. “We just never have…” was the best answer I could get out of a real estate broker. Um, so that why when we were standing in a house that CLEARLY was 1800 sq. ft. he guessed it was 1000. Um, good try buddy. Sigh. I guess my obsession ends here.

We have arrived!

We arrived in Cincinnati about a week ago and are living in corporate housing. The apartment is significantly smaller than our apartment in Jersey City but we are adjusting. We know we won’t be in this particular apartment forever so we are trying to remain as un-grumpy about it as possible. The biggest adjustment for me is there is no digital cable at the apartment. Yes, you heard me, no digital cable…which means no DVR! Depending on how well you know me, you understand this is a HUGE travesty in my life. I make my living on television and have long been the biggest DVR pusher there is…needless to say, I am currently in a period of mourning.

(First night in Cincinnati…Ben is his Jumperoo)

Ben did well on the drive out here. We left on a Thursday night and drove all the way to the Pennsylvania border. After a long debate over which hotel chain would be acceptable for me to stay in, we ended up in a Hampton in in Youngstown Ohio. (although I realize I have now not painted the best picture of myself in the previous two paragraphs, hotels and television are two things I take very seriously. My forever travel partner Caitlin Tobin can attest to this…) Ben slept the whole way except for a dinner break for all of us which turned unfortunate for Josh as he got stuck changing a VERY poopy diaper in the men’s bathroom with virtually no counter. Ben wasn’t phased though and promptly returned to sleep straight through the night. We got up the next day and finished our journey into Cincinnati.

Josh’s job is going well. He only works with two other guys directly and this has given him the opportunity to become a part of the team rather quickly and start making a difference. He has some late night but on the other nights he gets home around 630ish which is much better hours than NYC. He also doesn’t go in until 730a rather than his previous 630a. There is virtually no traffic so I drop him off downtown about half the week and he drives himself in our rental car the rest of the time.

I have been taking a boot camp class at 530-630a every morning. It has been great thus far although I haven’t been feeling up to it for the last two days so I need to catch up. Ben and I both have a mild cold. I am feeling pretty run down and can’t figure out if he feels the same way. He was pretty fussy over the weekend but back to his normal happy self as of yesterday. (he is currently napping on the couch next to me) I also have been taking a Mommy and Me Yoga class on Tuesdays and met some other mommies today who I ended up getting brunch with. Sooo, slowly trying to make some friends but it always takes time.

Ben visited the pediatrician right before we left and was 11lbs 12 oz. I am getting a bit concerned about his strength as he still isn’t holding his own head up while on his tummy. I think we may need to start to work with some specialists (PT and OT as well as speech which helps with eating). We had not set anything up in NJ because he was too young but now is about the time when he should be hitting some mile stones that he isn’t. He also doesn’t roll over but can roll on his side if TV is an incentive (see! definitely my child!). He can’t sit up but can stand quite well while holding my hands. I just think he needs some help with core strength and that will come with the specialists. We set up a new pediatrician appointment for next Thursday so hopefully they can point us in the right direction.

(Ben with his monkey @ 7months)

What Ben does do though is smile a ton, he also laughs hysterically at me (not so much as Josh but Josh tends to not do as many faces/voices as I do). He talks up a storm and always wants to be standing. He still wiggles like crazy and LOVES diaper changes. Its when I can usually make him laugh the most.

I know we have been slow in the updates of late…I promise I will get better about this. Keep up your comments…it makes me feel like people are actually reading and keeping up with us!

PS. Ben FINALLY fits in his Red Sox hat…whoo hoo!

We have arrived!

We arrived in Cincinnati about a week ago and are living in corporate housing. The apartment is significantly smaller than our apartment in Jersey City but we are adjusting. We know we won’t be in this particular apartment forever so we are trying to remain as un-grumpy about it as possible. The biggest adjustment for me is there is no digital cable at the apartment. Yes, you heard me, no digital cable…which means no DVR! Depending on how well you know me, you understand this is a HUGE travesty in my life. I make my living on television and have long been the biggest DVR pusher there is…needless to say, I am currently in a period of mourning.

(First night in Cincinnati…Ben is his Jumperoo)

Ben did well on the drive out here. We left on a Thursday night and drove all the way to the Pennsylvania border. After a long debate over which hotel chain would be acceptable for me to stay in, we ended up in a Hampton in in Youngstown Ohio. (although I realize I have now not painted the best picture of myself in the previous two paragraphs, hotels and television are two things I take very seriously. My forever travel partner Caitlin Tobin can attest to this…) Ben slept the whole way except for a dinner break for all of us which turned unfortunate for Josh as he got stuck changing a VERY poopy diaper in the men’s bathroom with virtually no counter. Ben wasn’t phased though and promptly returned to sleep straight through the night. We got up the next day and finished our journey into Cincinnati.

Josh’s job is going well. He only works with two other guys directly and this has given him the opportunity to become a part of the team rather quickly and start making a difference. He has some late night but on the other nights he gets home around 630ish which is much better hours than NYC. He also doesn’t go in until 730a rather than his previous 630a. There is virtually no traffic so I drop him off downtown about half the week and he drives himself in our rental car the rest of the time.

I have been taking a boot camp class at 530-630a every morning. It has been great thus far although I haven’t been feeling up to it for the last two days so I need to catch up. Ben and I both have a mild cold. I am feeling pretty run down and can’t figure out if he feels the same way. He was pretty fussy over the weekend but back to his normal happy self as of yesterday. (he is currently napping on the couch next to me) I also have been taking a Mommy and Me Yoga class on Tuesdays and met some other mommies today who I ended up getting brunch with. Sooo, slowly trying to make some friends but it always takes time.

Ben visited the pediatrician right before we left and was 11lbs 12 oz. I am getting a bit concerned about his strength as he still isn’t holding his own head up while on his tummy. I think we may need to start to work with some specialists (PT and OT as well as speech which helps with eating). We had not set anything up in NJ because he was too young but now is about the time when he should be hitting some mile stones that he isn’t. He also doesn’t roll over but can roll on his side if TV is an incentive (see! definitely my child!). He can’t sit up but can stand quite well while holding my hands. I just think he needs some help with core strength and that will come with the specialists. We set up a new pediatrician appointment for next Thursday so hopefully they can point us in the right direction.

(Ben with his monkey @ 7months)

What Ben does do though is smile a ton, he also laughs hysterically at me (not so much as Josh but Josh tends to not do as many faces/voices as I do). He talks up a storm and always wants to be standing. He still wiggles like crazy and LOVES diaper changes. Its when I can usually make him laugh the most.

I know we have been slow in the updates of late…I promise I will get better about this. Keep up your comments…it makes me feel like people are actually reading and keeping up with us!

PS. Ben FINALLY fits in his Red Sox hat…whoo hoo!