1 month

Happy 1 month to this beauty!

Holy cow, where has the time gone? My baby is already 1 month old! She is the sweetest little thing and we love being parents. Vivien is spoiling us like crazy because she is such a good baby. This month has been so hard but so fun! It's so amazing to get to know Vivien and her cute personality.

Vivien loves:

-The baby pics of Mom and Dad on the wall

[This is the face she always gets while looking at the pics]

-Looking at her toy princess

-Looking at her own baby picture

-Laying on her changing pad

-Green Soothie binkis

-Going on walks

 

 

[Vivien's first walk]

-Lights

-Windows

-Car rides

[Vivien's first car ride on the way home]

-Face tickles

-Grandma

-Tubby time

[After her first tub]

-Dad's singing

-Reading stories

-Sprawling out

-Black and white everything

-Vitamin D drops

-Zebra print

[She is so intruigued with zeba print]

-Snuggling/rocking

-Looking at Mom's eyes

[Staring at Mom]

-Her bouncy chair

-Looking in mirrors

Vivien does NOT love:

-Getting lotioned up

-Getting dressed

-Having a gassy belly

-Nuk binkis

-Being alone (most of the time)

-Professional photography

-Spitting up

-Babywise schedule

 

 

She is so pretty, I could (and basically do) look at her all day!

She always sneezes twice. She grabs her cheeks when she sneezes, it's so cute!

Vivien makes the CUTEST cooing/purring sounds when she sleeps. She also smiles a lot in her sleep.

 

She almost always gets the hiccups after she burps. She burps and farts like a full grown man, they're SO loud (sorry Viv haha!)

She loves to pee when she has a diaper-free bum, we have had to do SO much laundry.

She is a very alert newborn.

Vivien has had great eye control from the beginning.

She makes animal sounds all the time (monkey, lamb, kitten)

Viv rarely cries, she just does a lot of grunting. She is so happy!

 

She gets swaddled at night but prefers her arms to be out at all other times.

Viv has learned to move her head side-to-side while she is laying down.

We have to keep gloves on her 24/7 because she has super sharp nails and LOVES to have her hands by her face. Even in all of her ultrasound pictures, her hands were up next to her face.

Her neck is getting so strong, she can almost hold her head up on her own.

Her cheeks are finally getting a bit chubby. She is so dang skinny everywhere else. Such a petite little girl.

She loves sticking her tongue out. Right from the beginning she has been a little lizard.

Vivien has long skinny legs and feet, we aren't sure where she gets them!

Sometimes she looks like me, sometimes she looks more like her dad. She has my eyes, everyday I say, "You have your mother's eyes" just like Harry Potter haha!

She is getting good at eating, much faster now than at the beginning.

When she wakes up, she always does big huuuuuge stretches.

 

 

 

 

 

We love our sweet Vivien so much, she brings so much joy to our lives. I can't imagine life without her. Happy 1 month to my beautiful girl!

 

Grateful

I have so much to be grateful for, I would feel terrible if I didn't write down my thoughts and feelings about the gratitude I feel for so many people right now.

• Dr. England and his staff:

I was always afraid of going to the doctor until I started seeing Dr. England. He has a way of making you feel very comfortable. He is smart and really knows what he is doing. He delivered my baby perfectly, then really laid low after she was born, I barely even realized that he was there, I'm sure he wants moms and babies to have their bonding time without being interrupted by him, I thought that was really great of him. All of his nurses are also fabulous, they are extremely nice and made me feel more like a friend than a patient. I can't thank these people enough, I'm so happy I chose to share such a special time in my life with these people. I'm really going to miss my weekly appointments and talking to all of these amazing people.

• The nurses in the Mom and Baby Unit at Riverton Hospital

I'm pretty sure all of these women are angels in disguise. I was amazed at how helpful, kind, and knowledgeable each of them were. They did so much for me and Vivien during our stay in the hospital, even if it wasn't the most enjoyable task, they would always help with a smile on their faces. I felt comfortable asking any question and they always had answers for me. At each shift change I got a little bit emotional saying goodbye to my nurses, that's how good they all were. There was one particular nurse who I thought was the best, her name was Diana, what an amazing woman. I was crying at one point because the lactation specialist made me feel really bad, so Diana came in and talked to me for awhile and made me feel so much better and much less discouraged. I thought this was so kind of her, she had other patients to take care of but spend time helping me feel better. She was an indescribable comfort to me. Anyway, I could go on and on about these nurses. I feel so grateful to each of these women and can't thank them sufficiently, we took a couple dozen donuts and a card to the hospital yesterday for them, but that seems so insignificant compared to what they did for us. 

• My mom

My mom has been so helpful and does so much for our little family. She was there encouraging me as our baby was born. She was at the hospital at every meal bringing us food (hospital food isn't that great haha). She helps me with laundry, cleaning, holding Vivien when I need a break, she has done so much. She stayed home from our annual Lake Powell trip this week just to help us out. She is such a good grandma and loves Vivien so much. I'm so grateful for my mom, seriously there is not a better mom in the world, I love her so much and can't thank her enough. 

• Chris

Oh gosh, I don't even know where to start, Chris has been AMAZING (of course, I'm not surprised at all). He is so helpful and positive. I don't understand how I found such a perfect man, especially one who loves me back. Everything I ask him to do, he does with a smile on his face. I feel like I'm constantly asking him to do things for me but he never complains, not once. He has also been very nice about the whole post-pregnancy recovery stuff, he used to get grossed out by "girl things" but he hasn't made a single comment about some of the nasty things that come with recovery. On Wednesday, I was in so much pain I could barely walk, sit, or even move; Chris and my dad gave me a blessing, I immediately knew that everything was going to be okay. I woke up the next day feeling like a new person. I'm so grateful to have a husband who is worthy to give me a blessing and for having such strong faith. Chris also makes me feel beautiful, even though I know this isn't my prettiest time, he is constantly complimenting me. With the new baby, it would be so easy for him to focus all of his attention on her, but he is so good at giving me attention too, I really appreciate this. I'm also very grateful for the love that he has for our daughter, she is so lucky to have him as her dad.

• Heavenly Father

For blessing me and trusting me with the most perfect daughter. Vivien is so perfect, I hope I can make my Heavenly Father proud, I'm going to try my very hardest to be the best mom that I can be. I'm also so grateful that so many prayers have been answered, Vivien and I are both healthy. We went in for her first check-up on Friday, her doctor said, "She looks perfect"...what more could a mom want to hear?! I am so thankful for all of my blessings.

Thank you to all of our friends and family for your texts, calls, and fb messages, your kind words mean so much to us. I'm sorry if I haven't gotten back to you yet, life has been pretty crazy, but please know that I do appreciate your love and friendship.