from across the Atlantic…

Mom and pappa got here on the 29th…

Started out with them "losing" their bags since they had to run for their connecting flight from Denmark to Oslo!  Luckily their bags came on the next flight…so they just had to wait around and bit and ended up getting all 4 of 4…phew!  Lars picked up the folks at the airport while Nell, Sissel and I waited anxiously at Sissel’s place! 

FINALLY they arrived and it was soooooo much fun to introduce them to Nell!  Nell was SUCH a good girl…she smiled right away at mom and pappa when they talked to her, and she was so content in their arms the entire night!

Yesterday we had beautiful weather, so we threw Nell in the stroller and walked down to Drøbak.  Had an icecream in the bathing park, bought some fresh shimp from a boat in the harbor, fresh bread from the baker downtown…and then headed home for a seafood dinner!  Too much fun! 

Today the weather is just as nice, but we are at home re-grouping.  Mom is helping me with laundry and the baby, pappa is helping Lars fix our awning…and now Lars went out to play in a golf tournament.  Nice to have a day at home just relaxing together!  Nell is snoozing as I write, but should be up any minute!  Mom and I are setting up her bathtub on the kitchen table as bestemor is anxious to get her sudsy hands on Nell Bell!

Not making too many plans…just taking the days as they come!  As I said, the weather has been beautiful (up toward 90F!) but now they’re saying that we should expect some rain too.  We’ll see!

Will fill you in more in a couple more days!  Don’t forget to check out our pictures from time to time!

Here are the 1st pictures of Nell with her besteforeldre!

More to come…
this will be the link to all the pictures from mom and pappa’s trip!
(I’ll update the album and the link will take you to the new pictures automatically)

This was just toooooo funny not to post!

Here is the article from Celebrity Baby Blog.com

Funnyman Will Ferrell is used to making people laugh, and now he’s lending his comedic skills to a good cause. The 41-year-old father of two recently partnered with Cancer for College to launch ‘WILLPOWERED’ sunscreen in three giggle-inducing varieties: Sexy Hot Tan, Forbidden Fruit and Sun Stroke. Sold in 6 oz. bottles, the sunscreens are PABA-free, alcohol-free, mineral oil-free and fragrance-free, offering UVA/UVB broad spectrum protection in a light, non-greasy formula enriched with aloe and Vitamin E.

For Will — whose former fraternity brother at the University of Southern California Craig Pollard, a two-time cancer survivor, founded Cancer For College in 1993 – the opportunity was too good to pass up. “The bottle says it all,” he quips. “I’ve always dreamed of owning a lotion company.” Will adds,

“Honestly, I’m proud to be associated with such a great charity. I’ve watched Craig and Cancer For College help hundreds of cancer survivors realize their dream of a college education. The stories are so inspirational. I’m just happy to help any way I can.”

Priced at $12 each (or order all three and they’ll throw in a t-shirt for $40), 100% of the net proceeds from WILLPOWERED go directly to Cancer For College’s scholarship fun, which provides scholarships to college-bound cancer survivors. The good times will only continue; In September, Will has signed on to host a golf classic and live auction in Rancho Bernardo, California to benefit the organization.

I just have a quick second…as Lars and I are desperately trying to clean up the house and put Nell to bed….

We are expecting my parents tomorrow afternoon!  Yipee!  The first time that they’ll meet Nell, and that she’ll meet her besteforeldre!

We’re so excited to have them visit…and it seems that they’re bringing some fantastic weather with them!  Should be a heatwave this weekend and next week…will be interesting to see how Nell handles the heat!

I figure I’ll take a break from my "friday’s favorite things" and will use that time to write updates on the Bentsen’s journey through Norway and pictures from our adventures. 

Make sure you check out the link (on the right, under categories) titled "visitors from abroad" to find all the postings about their trip!

So check back!

So Nell seems to just love her bed and bedroom…good news!

Since we brought Nell home from the hospital we have had a "bed" set up in the livingroom, on the sofa.  Lars and I always thought that we’d have her take her naps in a communal area so she would get used to hearing everyday sounds, so she’d be used to sleeping anywhere.  I remember one of the first days we were home, Lars started vacuuming and I was terrified that it would wake her up…but she slept right through it!  Nice!

Anyway, the past week or two Nell has seemed more restless falling asleep during naps and even after she’s in a deep sleep…but she has been sleeping really sound in her bedroom at night.  I don’t know if its because its dark in her room (we have a "blackout" curtain and always keep it rolled down so Nell will know its "nighttime" when I put her down in there) or if its because its chilly (we always leave the window cracked so she gets fresh air and to keep the room cool)…but whatever it is, she sleeps like a rock!  Her three hour sleeping stretches have turned into an almost steady 4 hour strech since we started putting her down for every nap in her room.  And as I posted yesterday, we even got 7 hours of sleep a couple nights ago!

I’m still sleeping in the bunkbeds in Nell’s room, just so I won’t have to run as far when she coo’s for a midnight snack…but I have plugged in the baby monitor for the first time today…so I’m mentally preparing for climbing back into my own bed!

7 weeks old and a 7 hour stretch!

Last night Nell graced us with a night of 7 hours of sleep!  Not something that I’m planning on getting used to, but it sure made getting up this morning a breeze!

We had a visit from Andrea yesterday…and she brought us the Baby Bjørn Babysitter Balance to borrow.  Nell spent her activity times yesterday swinging her arms around hard enough to get herself to bounce…and coo-ing to beat the bands!  So maybe she just needed a more active play time than just laying on her Baby Einstein play mat (also borrowed from Andrea) and looking up at the dingle-dangles? 

We’ve had a spin in the bb-bjørn chair already this morning and she’s so vocal when she’s in it, I think she finds it really entertaining!

Beautiful sunshine here today so I supose a long walk is in the cards for us…hope you’re days looking sunny too!

My latest motherly discovery is an interesting, but useful one…

We have a relatively small to average sized 2nd bedroom so with the bunk beds, Nells crib, the closet, and all of the rest of Nell’s goodies we just don’t have room for a rocking chair…something I had always envisioned having in a nursery.  We do however, have a "left over" office chair in Nell’s room after clearing out our desk and stationary computer to make room for baby!

And the office chair has proven to come in very handy indeed!

When I have trouble getting Nell to sleep for naps or in the evening…I take her into her room, where its dark and cool (I always have the shade drawn and the window open)…and we settle into the office chair…and then we swivel! 

Nell loves the side to side movement…and the sitting and full back of the chair really helps save my back.  My back and shoulders are seriously spared by holding Nell while sitting and leaning back against something…instead of curling my shoulders forward like I usually do while standing and cradling her.

Just a little tip to moms and pops out there…I’ve found swivelling to be just as effective as rocking!  Swivel away!

Now for a favorite thing that surprised me.  Its something that I didn’t think I’d use…and something that I figured if I actually did end up using it, it would be for seasonal use only.  Its the SmartWool hat and mitt set.  Andrea suggested that I borrow her little mittens since Mathias was such a stickler for having mittens on his little fingers when he was sleeping…(the only silly thing about this set is that the hat is pretty gigantic and doesn’t seem to match the mittens in age-size)…so I took them and figured I might use them once or twice if Nell was at all interested.

Turns out I use them every single time that we go anywhere outside our home!  As you’ve seen…Nell sleeps with her hands up…which means that its impossible for me to tuck her little hands under her blankets to keep them warm.  And as I’ve posted before, many babies (including Nell!) have icey fingers when they’re so small.  I am certain that I will be using them through the entire summer (for morning and evening walks) and into the fall and winter…definitely worth the $25, if you ask me!  And even though Nell would be swimming in the hat now, it’ll be great to have for this winter and next spring.

So since the pair I have is out on loan, I ordered a new pair that Nell’s bestemor and bestefar are going to bring with them from Seattle!  I ordered the Banner Stripe (shown in the photo in the posting), but in the color azelea…too cute!

Here’s a link to all of SmartWool’s baby stuff (I think its too bad that they don’t have more to choose from, like clothing for example)…and a link to some super cute baby socks that bestemor and bestefar sent Nell right after she was born (in pink of course!)!

Latest Nell update…last night we experienced our first diaper explosion!  Lars’ worst nightmare!  Ha, ha! 

Fittingly enough, he was the one to lift Nell out of bed and rock her in his lap…on the handover to me he felt that Nell’s entire back was wet and said "whats this?"  I looked at him and replied calmly "thats poop"…you should have seen his face!

So, into the bathroom we went as a team…stripped down Nell, held her over the (big) bathtub while Lars sprayed her down with the shower nozzle.  Then into her bathtub she went for a washdown…Nell loves bathing, by the way.  Then I proceeded to asses the damage…her pj, her wool blanket she was wrapped in, the down comforter and comforter cover that she was laying on…all straight into bins to start the soaking process before tossing them into the wash. 

What a mess!  I knew it was coming at some point, but didn’t realize it would soil sooooooo many layers in one fell sw(p)oop!  I wish I woud have had a clean hand to take pictures!

side note: seeking advice from experienced moms!  I washed up the soiled laundry (after letting it soak in cold water) and the poop stains came out of all but Nell’s new and beautiful (and expensive!) wool blanket.  Does anyone have any good tips for getting poop stains out of clothing?  If its already washed is it too late to get it out?  I’m just SICK that this blanket got ruined!  Thanks for your help!

Just got home from my Tuesday afternoon with mom’s group!

I think I mentioned this once before, but the healthstation pairs moms up with other moms that have have babies around the same time…my group is made up of 6 of us (me included), 4 with children from before, 4 with girls and 2 with boys.

Our group has met twice now and its so great to have some girls to chit chat and toss ideas around with!  The 4 that have kids from before are excellent resources for tips and experience, and the other mom who has her first baby is fun to visit with since we’re both going through this for the first time.

Last week when we met, we walked down into Drøbak and sat outside and had lunch at a café after a long walk.  This week we met at one of the girls houses and then walked from there for an hour and a half…then went back to her place for lunch.  We visited over lunch for another two and a half hours.  It was a sunny afternon (after a little rain), so the walk was fantastic!  And it was pretty fun to sit to lunch and listen to the "choir" of babies grunting, groaning, wimpering and crying in the background!  It seemed that once one started, the others chimed in!  Nell was a picture perfect baby this afternoon though…she slept the entire walk in her stroller, woke up to eat when we got back to the house, and went right back to sleep and laid in her stroller bag without making a sound.  I got to sit and enjoy my lunch and coffee completely uninterrupted!  Aahhhhhh, it was a lovely afternoon!

Now I’m home and have just transferred a sleeping Nell from her car seat to her bed…and I’m now going to throw on some dinner for my honey.  Hope you’re having sun where ever you are…

I just happen to be writing this posting on a rainy day…

The past couple of days I have watched as Nell’s big blue eyes have welled up with tears when she gets herself worked up into a tissy.  None have fallen yet, but I can see that we are just seconds away from seeing our beautiful little bird with tears streaming down those rosy cheeks!  I told Lars last night that thats going to make me an even bigger sucker for her wimpers…I think its hard to hear her upset now, how am I going to handle seeing her really crying?!

In other developments, we have now gotten the camera software on the home computer…so there are no more excuses!  Pictures should be up way more often than they have been in the past!  I’ll try to take pictures and get the posted at least once a week, but don’t hesitate to send me a reminder should you see me getting lazy (thanks Auntie Sharon!)…I sometimes need that extra push!

link to more 17th of May fun!

Happy 17th of May!

Norwegian Independence Day…and Mom and Pappa’s anniversary!

A day filled with Norwegian pølser (hotdogs), icecream, sunshine, parades, family and friends!  We’ll be headed downtown to stroll Nell around and show her off!

Make sure to check back for pictures!

This Friday’s favorite thing is one that no breastfeeding mom on the go should be with out…the CamelBak Better Bottle, available at REI.com

Reasons I love it
*the spout is one that you have to sip from…this makes it possible to drink while laying down…no leaks!
*the spout folds closed (again no leaks) so I have a water bottle laying on the sofa (Nell’s primary nursing station) at all times!
*the bright colors (available in 15 funky shades) make them easy to spot and fun to tote!
*BPA free…fantastic!
*safe for both cool and warm beverages
*seems utterly indistructable

Need I say more?  Pick one (or 2!) up today and toss them in your purse, diaper bag, car, where ever…stay hydrated!

ps I got the tip for this from Aimee’s website…thanks for the fantastic idea!

weight: 10.9 pounds
head circumfrance: 15.4 inches
length: 21.5
 
All was well at the healthstation yesterday!  We do have a follow up appointment in July to work with a physical therapist a bit though…Nell tends to curl to her right more than her left, and we’re thinking that she is a little stiff due to her positioning in the womb.  The doctor turned Nells head to Nell’s left and her shoulders and body followed…so they think she’s stiff in her neck.  Can be whats bothering her with her eating too (since she has some reflux type symptoms)…so will be interesting to see how that turns out.  The midwife assured me that its nothing to be worried about, but that we will get her muscles stretched out through some physical therapy appointments. 
 
Her eyes look good, her ears…everything looks great.  So nice to know Nell is doing just fine!
 
He weight is right on, her length was a little less than average which surprises me, but might just be because she doesn’t really strech her legs out all the way still (as she was laying breech).  Her head is bigger than average, but the doctor looked at me and said "well, you don’t exactly have a small head either"…Ha, ha, ha!  I told her its definitely genetic!  Too funny!

I haven’t been good about updating our photobucket picture account, but we’re getting our camera software onto our home computer soon…so then I’ll be much better!  I’ll let you know when I get completely updated…ummm, 18 years from now?!?