Six weeks old

Rolling, rolling, rolling ... from front to back

 

I took this picture of Vivi looking very determined, thinking she was getting set to lift herself up, but no, she rolled herself over onto her back. And here's the evidence...

I'm not sure whether she meant to or not - she seemed a bit surprised at ending up on her back, but I rolled her back on to her tummy and she immediately rolled over onto her back again. This is the third (and fourth) time that I know she's rolled over - but the first caught on camera.

6 hours of uninterrupted sleep!

Vivi had been sleeping in fairly reliable 3 hour increments at night, waking up at 9pm, 12pm, 3pm, and 6am, but the last two nights she slept for 6 hours straight (8pm-2am) followed by a three or four hour stretch. Credit is due to the "Miracle Blanket" we received as a gift from Laura and Joel. Vivi has been able to get out of any swaddle since we brought her home from the hospital so we stopped swaddling our little Houdini early on. But Miracle Blanket keeps her swaddled and keeps her from waking herself up (which she usually does by punching herself in the face).

Who's this big kid on my playmat?

Vivi (5 weeks) and Cole (5 months).

5 and a half weeks - smiles

 

 My little giraffe and her giraffe. Even though this photo (above) is in the collage below, I thought it was worth posting a larger one. Too bad I had the camera on the wrong setting and the focus is on the stuffed giraffe and not the vivi-giraffe so she's a little out of focus.

 

Vivi is 5 and a half weeks old now. She's starting to smile and show an interest in her toys. She's getting so strong - she can lift her head and body up on her forearms. She also spits up and screams a lot, but we don't photograph those activities.

Who's the doll?

Vivi and her twin

Vivi's Great Grandma

Vivi met her great-grandmother yesterday. All four generations are together in the photo below - Viviana, me, my father, and his mother.

1 month old

We had a 1 month birthday party for Vivi with all four grandparents

Visiting Grandparents in Arizona

We took Vivi to Arizona to meet her Papa and Granny (Lyle's parents). It was a long drive for such a little baby, but Vivi did great riding in her car seat and seemed to enjoy being cuddled by her grandparents. Vivi is smiles a lot these days. Most of the smiles are in her sleep, but her Papa got a big smile the first time he held her. We're thinking of Vivi's Papa in his long surgery today.

Three weeks old

Happy birthday Vivi!

Mardi Gras!

Vivi celebrating mardi gras

Today is Mardi Gras - Fat Tuesday. People around the world are feasting and partying. Vivi joined right in. She, who normally eats every 3-4 hours, woke up every hour and a half to eat last night, more than doubling the amount of time she usually spends eating (and I presume the amount of food she consumed) - a feast of milk.

At the hospital, the nurses warned us that this might happen right around the three-week-old mark. Her more frequent feeding signals my body to produce more milk in preparation for a growth spurt. And she's right on time - her three-week birthday is today. What they didn't tell us is how long it lasts. I'm pretty sure my body has gotten the hint and she can go back to feeding every 3-4 hours. 

Two and a half weeks old

My little inch worm!

Vivi is crawling! She made it all the way across her playmat. Of course I didn't think to video tape her until she was almost done and had worn herself out. I have my hand down on the mat behind her foot so that she has something to push against. But otherwise, she's done it all on her own.

Apparently this isn't all that unusual - and doesn't suggest that she'll be an early crawler. Newborns are born with a crawling reflex that disappears after the first 4 weeks of life. So she'll likely be crawling across her mat for another week and a half and then won't crawl again for several months.

2nd trip to the doctor

Vivi's second trip to the pediatrician was today. The main purpose of the visit was to check to see if she had regained the weight she lost in the hospital. Newborn's are expected to lose up to 5-7% of their body weight in the first few days of life as their bodies acclimate to life outside the womb. They should be back to birth weight by 2-3 weeks of age.

At 13 days old, Vivi is at 7 lbs and 12 ounces - that's 2 ounces heavier than her birth weight and 7 ounces heavier than the weight at which she left the hospital. This is no surprise to me since she eats constantly. Even so, it is good news. It also means that we no longer have to wake Vivi up to eat every three hours at night. This is good news for baby's and mommy's sleep!

Grandparents

 

My parents doting on their first grandchild. 

California girl

One of our tasks given to us by the hospital was to get Vivi out in the sun to help with her jaundice. Sunlight and lots of eating helps to break down and flush out the elevated levels of bilirubin from her extracellular fluids. My parents happened to bring her some baby sunglasses - so here she is - a California girl soaking up some California rays.

Thumb sucking

 

Viviana has learned to suck her thumb. She does this with an open palm so that when her thumb is in her mouth, the rest of her hand covers up her face (see pic). 

Her next task - to learn that she cannot nurse and suck her thumb at the same time.

 

Uncle Brent

My brother came up to visit yesterday. Here he his holding Viviana. Although it's hard to tell from the photo, she's wearing a bib that says, "I love my Uncle."

Baby's first visit to the doctor

On the doctor's table

Viviana's first trip to the pediatrician was a success. The doctor said that Viviana was "a perfect little girl." Obviously our pediatrician knows her stuff :)

Vivi has gained 3 ounces since coming home from the hospital. She has excellent strength and alertness.

Yawning - on the way home from the doctor's office

We will have to go see a specialist to get an MRI on her hip soon. Apparently being folded up in my womb for 9 months may have caused one of her ligaments to develop improperly. The orthopedic specialist already visited us once in the hospital to check her hip. Worst case scenario is that she'll have to wear a brace for a couple weeks.

The faces of Vivi

Vivi is already an expert at making funny faces.