24 Weeks

Vivs started sitting up all on her own this week!  She seems to have caught on quickly with only a few crashes here and there.  I have to be careful to keep her away from the hardwood - a different experience for us compared to our fully carpeted old house.  Her sisters have been enjoying playing dress up with her, as you can see by the wings and wand.  I think so far she's been a fairy, a vampire, and a bat!

Vivian Rolls Over

Starting yesterday, Vivs has been rolling over every time we stick her on her tummy.  She still complains like crazy while she's doing it, but she's doing it.  We'll take it! 

Lydia Loses a Tooth and Other Randomness

Lydia lost her first tooth this week.  It's actually been loose for weeks, but she babied it, preferring to gently tug and wiggle it with her tongue easing it into greater and greater looseness over time.  At the right moment, it popped out, no blood or anything. Easy peasy.  

Iris has been on the later side of losing teeth, and it appears Lydia may be on the early side, but one thing I want to savor is the memory of Iris kneeling beside Lydia's bed on the first night we discovered Lydia's loose tooth, offering up some big sisterly advice about the best way to wiggle and move her tooth to loosen the "stitches", as they call the roots.

Viverkins turned five months old on Monday. Such a big girl!  This picture shows the face she makes all the time now.  I think it's her way of mimicking the face we always make at her.  Completely adorable, in the words of Iris. She's also started reaching out to touch us and grabbing her toes, and she's almost sitting all by herself.  And she CAN roll from tummy to back, although she won't do it very often.  We made a big deal out of the first time she did it and scared her, and now she stubbornly refuses.  Already a big personality.  She also prefers to be paid attention to...all the time, so we'll be working on that in the months to come.  I'm sure it doesn't help that there is usually always someone to pay attention to her.  I guess that comes from being the littlest.  

Last night, Prescott hosted their annual costume parade, and Todd snapped this right as we were leaving.  Iris is a vampire, and Lydia is sporting my attempt at a homemade bat costume.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  

First Solids

Overall, things went fine.  She definitely prefers a more soupy texture.  The tears came when I tried to give her a thicker bite, crazy girlie.  I think it scared her.  I'm curious to see how her particular-ness regarding eating will play out with solids.  I probably should start amping up those prayers for patience now!

Eighteen Weeks

 

(sitting like such a big girl!)

Our little lady, or Viv-ster as the girls like to call her, is officially four months old!  It is crazy how fast the times goes by, and I'm pretty sure I've said this a million times, but it really does.   Iris was musing the other day that it seems as though she's always been a part of our family, that it's hard to remember what it was like before she was with us.  How sweet is that? 

She is such an easy baby.  Apart from a rather quirky particularity when it comes to drinking milk, she is so mellow and happy.  And I think I can officially take a break from freaking out over her weight gain and growth as she was 14 lbs, 4 oz and 251/2 in long at her four month check this morning! 

Some of the things I am loving right now:

*Vivian laughing hysterically when either of the girls jump.  I laugh hysterically watching them jump like maniacs trying to get her to laugh.

*Vivian holding on to her toes

*Iris talking sweet baby talk with her and letting Vivian chew and hug her beloved Poochie

*Not doing the 10:30 feeding anymore.  Hallelujah for getting to go to bed whenever I please again!

*Vivian trying to get my attention when someone else is holding her by "talking" loudly so I will notice her  and moving her body towards me.

*Hearing her shriek of delight at hearing me when I go to wake her up from naps

Fifteen Weeks

Twelve Weeks

Nine Weeks

Todd got such a kick out of her surprise at discovering both fists.

 

Our happy girl is growing and developing by leaps and bounds it seems these days.  I've forgotten how much change happens in a week when they're newborns.  And she is seriously such a happy, content little baby.  The only time she ever fusses is if it's time for a nap or I'm trying to wake her up from sleeping, and during tummy time - she loathes tummy time.  This week she started sleeping eight hours from 10:30 pm to 6:30 am. Yay!  She continues to give us big smiles and loves to talk and coo and interact. Oh! And she figured out how to suck her thumb which is the cutest thing ever!  I'm sure it won't be cute when she's two or twelve, but right now it's adorable.  She loves the toys on her bouncy seats and has even started to try to bat at them - if only her hands would cooperate!  The girls continue to be so sweet to her and have been big helps with watching her and playing with her if I need to be doing something else during her waketimes.   

Six Weeks

Five Weeks

This week we hit a little snag with nursing.  I thought things were going well in that department - she was pooping and peeing the appropriate amount, not acting fussy or starving between feedings, sleeping well - but it turns out our little lady is a bit of a "lazy" nurser.  She'd been systematically reducing my milk supply over the past few weeks by drinking less and less at each nursing once the flow got slower, and she had to work harder to get it.  I thought she was just an efficient nurser, but it turns out I was wrong.  She wasn't gaining weight!  So now I am triple feeding - nurse, pump, feed with bottle - in an effort to help her gain weight so that in turn she will hopefully be a better nurser once she's bigger.  I'm not super enthused about having to do this, and I cried buckets when I had to buy formula to supplement because my milk supply was so low, but a few days perspective has made all the difference, and I'm going to persevere and see what happens over the next few weeks.  It actually makes me feel better knowing she'll take a bottle and that formula is an option if things don't work out.  One way or the other she'll get fed, and she IS gaining weight, which is the most important thing.

Four Weeks

This week Vivian has brightened up considerably.  She is so alert during her wake times, making me laugh at how she cranes her neck in my arms as I'm bringing her downstairs to feed her after a nap, trying to absorb as much as she possibly can of this strange new world.  We've been getting some first grins and even coos which has been so precious to see and hear.  

She's a bit more feisty and a bit less sleepy at this age than the girls were, and I've been having a harder time figuring out her rhythms as far as predictable sleeping and eating patterns go.  I feel like the girls fell into that more quickly, but maybe I'm dreaming that.  It's been awhile, maybe I'm viewing their newbornhoods with rose colored glasses.  Todd's been reminding me that this season was hard with them too.  So, I'm praying for A LOT of perseverance and wisdom and courage during these early weeks of adjusting.  I'm so thankful for my older girlies and the knowledge that it gets better with time!

The girls continue to be very sweet towards her.  Iris especially has been sweet with her words and her actions.  This is such a milestone for her as she was pretty vocal about not wanting a sister while I was pregnant! I think it was just fear of the unknown (she takes after her Mom).  It's been such a blessing to see her interact with Vivian.

And so the first month is done. Hard to believe, and the next four weeks should be even more interesting as we get to see more of who she is. 

Baby Vivian

Vivian Lorraine Bumgarner

May 21, 2013

9 pounds 14 ounces
21 inches long