NEW BLOG!!!

Hey all! I've started yet another blog! Come along if you'd like! www.emilyarger.com THANKS, hope to see you there!

4 months-Baby Vivian

*Ok, I'm so done with blogger. Why oh WHY are there no spaces? In the Compose box--this is all nicely bulleted out...now it's all combined...ugh. anyway, here ya go: Age: 4 months Weight: Just under 16lbs. Whoa babes! Diapers: Size 2 Clothes: All size 6 month. Or 6-9 months. Again, this babe is LONG! Ok, fine, and a little chunky :) Hair: still brown and still losing her newborn hair-but it's funny in some pictures it looks auburn! Eyes: pretty blue like her dad. I adore her eyes! Swaddle: Would you believe it!? NO MORE SWADDLE!!!!!!! However, we are crazy, and were taken over by the billion dollar baby industry......we bought the Baby Merlin Sleep Suit. and I die. It's so freakin hilarious and cute I can't stand it. She is my sumo baby. I feel I need a whole post dedicated to this "apparatus". She sleep so well. Coincidence? MAYBE--but it still helps her startle reflex and seems to keep her snuggly and content. http://www.magicsleepsuit.com/ Sleep: See above. Usually she is asleep by 9ish--and sleeps until 7ish Woohoo! (However, I did experience my first and hopefully LAST clogged milk duct. Wow. that was so painful! and due to the fact that she was sleeping so long. After just a few days I think my body has adjusted!) Smiles: All the time-such a goofball--however, please note how UNIMPRESSED she is with all the pix I insist on taking...she's soooo over it! :) Laughs: Dang it! She is gonna make us work for that first laugh! She smiles soooooo hard and exhales really loud but no laugh. It's coming!!!! Coos: Her favorite thing is blowing bubbles and raspberries. She is most talkative with Daddy right after bathtime while getting ready for bed. She will "talk" to him for a while and kick around. It's so sweet. Nursing: Very good (minus the clogged duct) we are pretty consistent at 6 times a day. Tummy Time: Great. Very content on her belly. Able to roll over onto her back (not often though) and just last night rolled from back to belly!\ Favorite Toys: Yellow Dog with the crinkly belly AND the pink bunny her Auntie Stefi got her for easter. This bunny gets her complete attention-so funny! It sings and lights up and moves around! Also, do her hands count? She loves suckin on her hand or fist. *As the months go on, we fall more and more in love with this little girl. She is so much fun and I can't wait for my Kansas family to meet her!!!! Less than three weeks!!!!

Wordless Sunday!

Pictures!

Here are some pix from the last week-some from easter, my moby buddy, some of the big girl trying to standing and a funny one of the puppies-they jump up on the couch after I get situated to nurse, silly dogs. Little V is FOUR MONTHS old today, so I'll do a recap tmrw! :)

Milestone! And Fussiness?

Sweet Vivian reached a milestone yesterday! And I may have cried! Just kidding, but I was very excited for her as she figured out how to roll over! WOOHOO!! Its so amazing that this week LAST YEAR i found out I was pregnant. Now this year we're celebrating milestones. So amazing. This past weekend she was super fussy--wanted to be held and walked around, only played for a few minutes at a time. She did not have a fever, but she wasn't napping well so I figured she was overtired. I texted my mom and sees for advice (thank GOD for unlimited Text!) My mom suggested she may be upon a milestone and SURE ENOUGH, I would consider rolling over a major milestone! She has only rolled from tummy to back, but she is able to repeat it over and over. Gah I love these moments!!! Night before last Vivi also woke up so much I lost count....but then last night slept 9 straight hours (and my boobs about exploded...tmi? sorry) Go figure, babies keep ya on your toes! We celebrated the wonderful night sleep by going on a hour long walk in the BEAUTIFUL weather! I even got a little sunburned! So that's it for now! I'm booking our trip to Kansas today! Woohoo, Five weeks til I meet my nieces!!!!! Upcoming posts: *Day in the life of a 16 week old :) *Infantile Eczema and our experience :( *Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit :) *My review of The Wonder Weeks: How to stimulate your baby's mental development and help him turn his 10 predictable, great, fussy phases into magical leaps forward Here are some pix! And I might note-anytime V has socks on her hands is to protect her face; even when her nails are super short she can do some damage if her skin is inflammed

15 weeks!

Little one was 15 weeks yesterday. I am almost finished with the main portion of her baby book. I printed a ton of pix off of shutterfly and have had lots of fun putting it together. I have my babybook and it's been fun to look back at it and compare Vivi's milestones with mine. I hope one day she will enjoy looking back on hers! :) I have a feeling April will be a big month for her. She is rolling side to side, and with a little help rolled from tummy to back...so I'm assuming the full rollover (back to front and back) will be coming anytime now. Although this milestone is looming, we have no plans to stop swaddling for naps/bedtime. She has such a strong reflex that she whaps herself in the face...infact two nights in a row I had a lovely 3am wakeup call due to ms. houdini! :) So, doubleswaddle is in affect! Another milestone I am dying to hear is LAUGHING!!!!!!!! I cannot wait to hear her little laugh. She making sweet little noices and will mimic the motorboat sound which is hilarious...but the laugh, I'm so excited for that! :) We had a checkup yesterday and she is a biggg girl! She is 95th% for Height and 85th% for weight! It's funny, I didn't have too much discomfort (other than the norm) while pregnant and carrying extra weight, but when I hold her (14#) oh man my midback kills me! I need to work on keeping my shoulderblades down and back otherwise I'm sore everyday! Other note on weight, I am down 30# in 15 weeks! Which really blows my mind to be honest. With PCOS going into pregnancy (and the additional weight I gained prior...possibly due to the clomid) I feared I would pack on the pounds. Then, after Vivi I assumed I would have a hard time dropping the weight, because--sheesh---losing weight was NEVER easy for me. But here I am, under my prepregnancy weight, and having done nothing but a random strength training 1-2X a week and walking MAYBE 3-4 times a week. I eat as much as is neccessary to keep my milk supply and energy levels up. I feel GREAT! I guess once again I am just amazed by the human body! Pretty fantastic! Alright, next week I'll post the day in the life of a 16 week old (not to be confused with A 4 month old...she's not 4 months until April 19th, if you wanna get technical! :) ) Oh, LASTLY!!! My nieces: THE TWINS!!! RUBY AND MADY!! LOVE THEM cannot wait to meet them soon!!!!

If I wrote a baby book....

..I would subtitle it:
"This MAY not work for you because EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT: But Good luck!"
:) I say that in jest, but REALLY!!!!!! I have gotten great tidbits from every baby book I own, BUT I have not followed any one to a T. I hope all moms give themselves some slack because honestly, what works one day may not work the other. What works for child #1 may be different for child #2. This all seems so obvious outside looking in--but when you're in the thick of it (and sleep deprived) it doesn't! Basically, I have the utmost respect for mothers. Period.
Ok, now back to the topic at hand---Ready for some rambling?!?!
My friend Ashley and I were talking about Sleep. Who knew the topic of sleep could be so important...oh so very very very important! :) Anyway, she was asking more about the EAS routine/schedule. It's been a little over a week since we've tried implementing it and I am very impressed. I said in my last post that I was mistaking her fatigue for hunger. After about 75-90 mins of being awake and playing *this INCLUDES nursing time* she starts to fuss and turn her head away. Well, up until now, I would feed her again. Because nursing made the fussing stop, right?! It did, but then I was WONDERING why we were nursing every 2 hours when "the books" say it should be closer to 3 hour. Well, low and behold, three hours is just about EXACTLY how long we go now, because of EAS. I also find she eats so much more efficently. Her nursing sessions are about 15 mins. during the day (longer @ night) when they used to be like 25 mins. because she would just take her time.
Another thing I have found with Vivian is that there is a correlation between her wake time and how long it takes to put her down. For instance, if she is up a little over an hour, she is very easy to put down...if she's up for 2 hours or so, it takes 15 mins. to get her down...now if she's up 4+ hours, look out you're in for the long run....I'm not joking, poor babe, if we miss her signs or are out and about (and she only gets a catnap) she takes a long time to settle down due to overtiredness....So basically we're still learning. Everyday is a little different and I truly appreciate the ability to be home with her and find what works for us!
Here are some pix from when my mom (vivian's MIMI) was here-(The one with her Dad shows how LONG she is! and the 2nd one is with her namesake Yiayia Vivian) As much as I LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEE visits from my family, it's always bittersweet because I think of how AWESOME it would be if we got to see them everyday....maybe someday?!?