Our First 6 Weeks As A New Family

Our first two weeks as a family was very tiring. I don't need to explain that one too much. As a newborn, Vivian ate and slept on her own time. I think I nursed her while I was asleep at least a few times. We were also lucky enough to have the support of my Grandma Dot, Grandpa Ron and Dad. It was extremely helpful to have their emotional and moral support as a couple learning how to be a family of three. Bonus, I didn't have to cook for two weeks. Just as we were getting in a groove, on the day of Vivian's 2 week check-up we packed up and left for our new home, Las Vegas. It took 2 and half days and Vivian did wonderfully. She let us drive for 3 hours at a time with a 1 hour break in between. We arrived just in time to celebrate my birthday!

Because Derrick took extra time off to get us moved, he worked for 17 days straight to make up for it. Poor guy was exhausted and Vivian and I missed him on the weekends. While he was at work, Vivian and I slowly unpacked the boxes and tried to get the house situated between feedings, tummy time and getting to sleep. We also had a visit from my mom and Grandma Elaine. They were a tremendous help with getting the rest of the house in order. We celebrated Vivian's 1 month birthday with some cute pictures. Hopefully you've received your announcement featuring 2 of my favorite pictures from the photo session. If not, and you would like one, email me a note (dcncwulf@hotmail.com).

Now today Vivian is 6 weeks old and my how she has grown! Physically and mentally. It's been a rewarding 6 weeks yet tiring - of course.

Babies do four things: eat, sleep, potty and grow. Here's how Vivian and the family are handling all four.

Eat:
Breastfeeding is going well. Initially it was extremely painful and Vivian was very eager to get some grub but we have both learned how to do it without pain and without such gusto. She is eating on demand which is really helping my figure. ;) I took a leap today and decided to try on my pre-pregnancy jeans. Good news for me (and Derrick) - they fit. Not exactly like they used to but I wore them all day. I also have enough liquid gold (milk) to feed a couple of babies. Because of this blessing, I have been able to pump quite a bit of milk. It's great to have something to use later down the road but it is also great because Derrick has had the opportunity to feed her in the evenings. At 4 weeks we introduced her to the bottle and she took to it quite well. It's nice that Vivian and Derrick can have that bonding time and I get a short break.


Sleep:
Sleeping has it's good days and bad days but most nights are great. For a little over a week now, Vivian has been sleeping 8-10 hours at night with only one wake-up to eat! How wonderful. Of course this means that we are getting sleep but it also means that I should be well rested to handle the minimal sleep she does during the day. Not so much. I'm not going to lie. It's exhausting when she doesn't want to sleep more than 4 hours during the day in half-hour to 45-minute increments. I try swaddling, rocking, walking, sucking, swinging, etc. Sometimes it takes an hour to get her to sleep for 30 minutes. Bedtime however is a little better. It still takes about an hour to get her to sleep but she sleeps for a long time. We are very glad that she knows day from night and that our bedtime routine is sinking in. Now to work on the naps or just getting her to not take so long to fall asleep. We have started to introduce a new routine for falling asleep but feel free to leave a comment or email me (dcncwulf@hotmail.com) with any suggestions.

Potty:
Vivian has no problem in the potty department. Now that we are settled we are going to start using cloth diapers. We bought three different brands to test out Bum Genius, Fuzzi Bunz and Rumparooz. We tried them all a couple of times but each time we choose a different favorite. If you have used either of these brands, please let me know about your experience. I will definitely report back on our progress as we choose the best one for us and get accustomed to them.

Grow:
My oh my, how the little ones grow! Where do I even begin on this one. Vivian has reached several milestones and accomplished so much.
* Vivian is mastering tummy-time and has started to hold up her head even in an
upright position and push push push with her feet to scoot on the floor (when
pushing against our hands).

* Vivian is making eye contact with us and loves to stare at contrasting colors.
She especially likes looking at the sunlight coming through the brown curtains
in the living room. It's funny to just watch her stare like she sees something
we don't.
* Vivian thinks her mommy and daddy are funny. She has started smiling and
laughing at us for no reason in particular - just because we look funny I
guess. It's too cute!

* Vivian has started having conversations. Her coos are so sweet and I swear she
is saying 'mommy' but Derrick thinks she is saying 'daddy'. Whichever it is,
it's adorable! :)
* At her 1 month check-up last week, Vivian had grown 1 inch and gained 2 pounds,
up to 9 pounds 10 ounces. Our baby girl is a little bean sprout.



We are now settled in our new home and I am loving the warmth that Las Vegas provides. I hear Fall here is gorgeous. Feel free to give us a call if you're in town, we would love for you to meet Vivian!