Sense to Save: Other Blog

Vivienne’s 4-month checkup

Hah! Right after a post talking about how I don’t blog about Vivienne much, here’s one about her.

We just got back from the pediatrician for her 4-month visit. She’s hitting all her milestones and all is well. Her weight is 16 lbs. 14 oz. So um…later today she will probably be 17 pounds. Whoa! 25″ long.

She still doesn’t nurse for very long at a time. Maybe less than 10 minutes? I don’t know. And I don’t know how many times it is per day, but it seems like every few hours or so, and still maybe once at night. I don’t keep track, but clearly she’s growing fine. She won’t nurse if she doesn’t want to, and you cannot overfeed a breastfed baby.

She’s been rolling from her back to her tummy for about a month, and can sometimes get back onto her back without help, but usually her arm is in the way and she hasn’t figured out what to do with it yet. She can hold her head up well while on her belly and shows good muscle strength.

Johnny rolled in the opposite way first (from his belly to his back). All babies do things their own way!

Vivienne is a smiley, social baby who loves to watch and see what we’re doing. She loves to make eye contact and smile and coo right back at you. She’s always got her eyes on Johnny. He’s a pretty entertaining fellow to watch.

She’s wearing 9-month clothes now. I just switched her clothes out the other day. Aww. She wears disposable diapers overnight and for the next pack I buy, they will be size 4s. I only bought one jumbo pack of 3s and I guess it lasted about a month? But now they are getting really small on her. Sheesh!

Oh, and Shane went to change her diaper recently and couldn’t find hers, so she put her in one of Johnny’s size 5s and it was big, but not too big. Good to know she can share if she needs to. Geez.

She likes to grab toys and bring them to her mouth, and she likes munching on her Sophie Giraffe, teething links and her hands.

She’s pretty content to play on the floor most of the time, so long as she can see what her brother is up to. I had her on the floor one night recently while I was cleaning up a bit, and she fell asleep! Hah!

Overall, she’s such a fun, sweet little girl and we’re so glad she’s a part of our family. I know she will become even more playful as the months tick by and we’re looking forward to seeing what she’ll do next.

Here’s a picture of Vivienne from a few days ago. She loves to stand, and so I thought I’d prop her in the corner to see if she’d stay there. She held her balance for quite some time while we snapped pictures (with Shane very close by to catch her, of course). And when she was done with that, she sorta lowered slowly and sat.

Why I don’t blog as much about Vivienne

I blogged my pregnancy week-by-week with my firstborn. I had time on my hands. When he was born, I usually updated every week, or at least every month. Again, more time!

I even logged some of his firsts in our little baby calendar (but I did miss some).

This time, with Vivienne? Not so much.

I didn’t blog much through my pregnancy with her. And I haven’t been writing down her milestones and stats as much.

So to catch up a little, she’s been rolling from back-to-belly since late March around her 3-month-mark, can sometimes roll a complete revolution, is really smiley and happy and loves watching Johnny do things. She doesn’t like being worn in the sling too much, but she will tolerate the “explore” position in my Baby K’tan for awhile. She wants to be able to see and move around. She likes munching on her hands and toys and checking things out. Oh, and she’s sleeping fairly well — I think we’re only up once or twice per night.

We put her in the umbrella stroller earlier this week while we wandered around the game preserve at the park. I was surprised that she could handle that stroller, but she did it just fine! And yesterday, she wore a white onesie that her brother wore at 7.5 months.

Anyway.

All of her milestones and new tricks are just as precious to me as they were with her brother. In a way, maybe they’re even more precious, because we have first-hand experience seeing just how fast they can grow from newborn to toddler. I think we’re enjoying these early months even more this time.

I’ve been keeping busy with the kids and life and miscellany, and I think that’s why I haven’t blogged about her nearly as much. I haven’t been blogging about Johnny now much, either, you may have noticed.

It’s nothing negative against the kids at all. She isn’t being slighted. She isn’t missing out because she’s the second baby. Heck, she has it better than Johnny did, because Shane and I have WAY more experience and confidence. And, she has plenty of attention from her loving brother.

Mostly, I think it’s just a reality of having two little kids. You’re busier! Duh!

So my dear Vivienne, when you’re old enough to read this and wonder why you don’t have a baby book — it’s because we are so busy enjoying you, we aren’t pausing to sit down and write down the exact day you rolled over or smiled at us for the first time. We hope you’ll understand.

This post is a part of a new blog carnival by my friend, Jessie, at Vanderbilt Wife. Join the “Why I…” here!