2 Months

My baby girl is 2 months old.  I still can't believe it.  She is growing right before my eyes.  We took her to the doctor yesterday for her check up and she is now 23 inches long and 11 pounds 2 ounces.  She can no longer fit in 3 month old clothes because she is so dang long.  I also had to take out her infant support pads in her car seat.  Thanks Becky for the heads up on the weight limit for those things.  She seems to fit more comfortably now. 

She also got her first full round of shots.  I must say that was her least favorite part of the doctor visit.  She was all giggles, coos and smiles until the nurse brought out those dreadful needles.  You know they need their shots but you just cringe when your baby's face turns bright red and screams at the top of her lungs.  I just had to cradle her in my arms and sing to her to calm her down.  I feel bad for my mom who had to watch her the rest of the day because she was fussy and if you slightly grazed her leg she would scream.  Poor Baby.

Spencer and I went to her daycare later in the day and got her all squared away to start on Tuesday.  I know I'm going to cry when I drop her off.  I did fine leaving her with Grandma but leaving her with strangers is going to be hard.  Her teacher is very nice and her room is brightly decorated with tons of toys.  I know she will love it but will I?  I'll update you next week with how it all goes. 

Have a safe and fun 4th of July!

Meadow wanted to be in the photo

Got Milk?

I do.  I have lots of milk.  Milk in the fridge, milk in the freezer, milk in the deep freezer.  I have more milk than I care to think about.  I know many women would love to have an abundant supply of milk and I wish I appreciated the fact that I do.  Hooking my hooters up to a suck machine is not the most enjoyable task of my day.  I know it saves money, is good for the baby, is good for me, etc but I'm so ready for this little one to be eating solid foods and not my nipps.

I'm not a huge fan of pumping at work.  Having to get my gear prepared, head to a secluded, windowless room and pump my juices dry is just a hassle.  I know women do it all the time but I totally understand why they give up at 4 or 6 months...I will probably jump on that bandwagon. 

It's also difficult trying to make sure you drink enough, eat enough and sleep enough to get everything done in one day.  It was one thing if I was up all night before with her because I could cat nap during the day. Now I'm gone from the house from 7am-6pm and have a few hours to cook dinner, feed Viv, work out, try to clean something (Meadow's hair makes one messy house) and prepare lunches and bottles for the next day...and actually spend time with my baby.  Viv is sleeping pretty good but I'm still up for 2-3 hours during the night feeding, soothing or staring at the ceiling like a zombie. There is no time to catch up on sleep.

Miss Vivian in her crib last night.  She cracks me up.

Insomnia

It's amazing what I'm able to accomplish each day with such little sleep.  I actually think I'm more productive with less sleep (don't tell Spencer I said that). Since I'm up at 2am every morning and can't run the vacuum I'm usually surfing the net or browsing through old photos on the computer.  I came across my baby photos and started comparing them to Vivian.  Do you think there is a resemblance?

We do look pretty much alike.  I'm curious how much she will look like me as she gets older.  I have a feeling no matter what though, she is going to be a beautiful little girl.

Memorial Weekend

We survived our first road trip with the baby.  The drive to the ranch is usually a little over an hour and half so I made sure we timed her feeding just right so she would sleep in the car all the way there.  I don't think I could have planned it any better because we got caught in traffic and it took us 3 hours to get there.  She didn't wake up until I got out of the car to open the gate at the ranch.

Vivian had a great time hanging out with family. I can't wait to take her back out there.  We got a little side tracked and didn't get to introduce Viv to her cow Velma so we will make sure we do that next visit.  I was able to get some much needed rest as Sherrie watched her all night on Saturday.  Vivian did great too...she is such a good baby.

Not very excited about her bath but boy did she need it.

Resting with daddy

Not quite sure what Panda is doing here so we will move right along

She loves her grandpa

Getting her grub on with Grandma

Chillin with great grandpa

She sure is a daddy's girl

We then went to Lana's on Sunday and grilled.  Spencer wanted to baptize her in the water which I quickly put a stop to but I did let him dip her toes into the water.  She didn't care for it too much but I'm sure that will change as she gets older.

Unhappy face

Lana holding our little bundle

1 Month

Yesterday Spencer and I took Vivian to her 1 month check up.  I still can't believe she is a month old.  She was so good at the doctor.  She barely cried when they gave her her Hep B shot...I'm sure that won't happen next time but I have my fingers crossed.  She is now weighing in at 10 lbs 2 oz and is 21 3/4".  I can't believe how much she has grown.  I thought maybe she had gained too much weight so I checked my baby book and at my 1 month check up I weighed 10 lbs 4 oz.  She is the exact same length as me at that age.  It's nice to have all of my birth and growth information to compare to her.

She is perfect!

Miss Vivian has rocked my world in ways I never thought possible.  She has made me more sensitive, alert, protective and vulnerable than I thought I could be.  I know I'm her mom but she really is the perfect baby.  She eats vigorously every 4 to 5 hours, sleeps through everything and has a smile that can warm anyone's heart.

She had her two week checkup this morning and is weighing in at 8lbs 14oz.  I was concerned at first at how long she was sleeping in between feedings but knowing that she is gaining weight successfully will hopefully ease my mind.  The doctor said she is in the 50 percentile for her weight and height which is average.  She was well behaved at the doctors office.  The nurse practitioner said she was a perfect and beautiful baby.  She even showed her off to another nurse in the hallway when we went to weigh her.

I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful baby and caring husband.  I must be doing something right.

When we got home she was so snug in her car seat I just left her there to continue sleeping.  She is so cute.

Look at that belly!

She has arrived

I can't believe she is finally here.  Many months of planning can't prepare you for the way you feel the moment they put your precious baby in your arms.  She is absolutely perfect in every way.  I can't begin to describe the way I feel when I simply look at her let alone hold her.

We went to the hospital on Thursday night at 9pm for our scheduled inducement.  They hooked me up to the machines and saw that I was already having contractions on my own.  I have a feeling she was going to make her debut whether we liked it or not.  I didn't feel any of the contractions...yet.  I was still only 2cm dilated so they inserted a pill to help soften my cervix.  Nurses came to check on me every hour or so to see what changes were being made.  At 2:30 in the morning one of the nurses began to roll me over and my water broke.  What a weird feeling that is.  I completely soaked the sheets.  30 minutes later I started to feel the contractions.  Props to all the women out there who bare through labor with no drugs but I can tell you it's not for me.  I was crying, wailing, grasping Spencer's hands so tight trying to fight through the pain.  The nurses then called my doc to get my permission to administer the epidural right away.  Right away means an hour and half later.  I started to feel ten times better by 5am.  The only thing that kept me focused during those few hours of contractions was the royal wedding.

By 10am I was dilated to a 5 and figured it wouldn't be until the evening that I would begin pushing.  I told Spencer to get out of the hospital for a bit and have lunch with his parents.  He got back just before 1pm and the nurse came in and checked on me and I had dilated to a 10.  I couldn't believe how quickly I jumped from a 5 to a 10 in just 3 hours.  20 minutes later I started pushing and 40 minutes after that she was here.

Vivian Grey Mitchell was born April 29th at 2:02pm weighing 8lbs and 10oz and was 21and 1/4" long.