Vivienne at Five Months

Dear Vivienne,

How are you five months old already??

All of the things that once seemed so far off—the six-month milestone for breastfeeding, starting solids, etc.—are just a mere few weeks away. I feel like I blinked and five months went by. How did you grow so fast from a tiny, squishy baby to the solid, adorable chunk of cute that you are today? I will forever feel like you and your sister are getting way too big, way too fast. Slow down a little bit, mmkay?

We had a very, very busy month—which is why your letter is a few days late this time. (I’m sorry.) Thanksgiving gave way to Christmas and then to the New Year and suddenly I’m like, Wait. It’s January? It’s 2014? (Yes. And already a week into 2014, thankyouverymuch.)

If I had one word to describe you this month, it would be: DELICIOUS.

I can’t get enough of you. You smile and giggle and coo and stare. You grab and roll and pull. You’re gaining more and more control over those chubby little hands. You’ve started to explore the world through touch, through taste. You received some toys for Christmas, and thank goodness, because you really do need them now. They are lifesavers when we’re in restaurants, or just hanging out in the family room at home. You want things to keep you busy, and if you’re bored, you sure do let us know it.

Your voice. You’ve discovered it. Boy, have you discovered it. I’m sitting here trying to think of the last time I’ve really heard you cry, because well, you don’t really cry anymore… you yell.

We’re in the midst of a stretch of really good nights with you. You’ve been sleeping through more often than not. You’re still somewhat inconsistent—the week of Christmas, we had to get up in the middle of the night and do a lot of pacifier replacements and such—but I know you’re capable of doing it, which makes me believe that one day, you really will sleep through ALL of the time. When you wake up, though—whether that’s at 6 a.m. (yawn), 7 a.m. (nice!), or in the case of this morning, FIVE A.M. (ouch)—you let us know by squawking. Or roaring? Loudly and repeatedly. You sound like a baby dinosaur. When I heard you at 5 a.m. this morning, I practically jumped out of bed and ran down the hallway to quiet you because I didn’t want you to wake up Nora! An hour, a feeding, and six trips into your room later, you were sleeping again. If your sister had done that at 5 a.m., I probably would’ve thrown a pillow over my head for an hour and let her continue squawking. You’re a tad bit more spoiled given the circumstances, my sweet second daughter.

You’re still nursing like a champ, and draining your bottles without issue. You get seemingly angry at me during some bedtimes, as if by then the milk is not flowing as rapidly and freely as you’d like it to. One night last week, I had to give you a bottle because you absolutely threw a fit after just a couple minutes of nursing. What gives?!

You’re showing a huge interest in real food. You stare us down while we eat, and you follow with your eyes as we lift food from our plates to our mouths. I’m not feeling in any hurry to start you on food, but the reality is that time is going to be here very soon, so I better start preparing. I’m trying to decide if I’m going to try you out with some oatmeal and a little banana or applesauce like I did with your sister, or if I’ll skip that for now and try something like avocado. I guess we’ll just give something a try and see how you do!

Sometimes, you just want to be alone. Or at least that’s how it seems. You’re beginning to show some signs of independence. You sometimes fuss (or squawk!) and move all around to let us know you want to be put down on the floor, or in your jumperoo. You “yell” at me after nursing at bedtime some nights, letting me know that no, you don’t actually want to be rocked to sleep—you want to go to bed in your crib.

You hate wearing hats. You don’t seem to like sleeping on your belly. You are being tough about giving up the swaddle. You still don’t like your car seat if it’s not moving.

You love people’s faces. You’ll stare when people talk to you, and if you’re close enough, you’ll touch and grab noses, lips, cheeks and hair to get a feel for it all. One morning over the weekend, I was nursing you in bed, resting with my eyes closed, and I kept having to pull your fingers out of my nose. :) You love your big sister. You pay close attention when she talks, sometimes smiling, sometimes just studying. And god does she love you! Last night, on the way home from daycare, she was telling me about how a pair of sisters at Mary’s were fighting over a toy, so Mary took it away. I asked her if she is going to fight with you when you get bigger, and she said, “No, Mommy! I not fight with Biddienne. She my sissy!” That’s her current pronunciation of your name. And I’m going to hold her to this statement when you’re ages 6 and 3. And hell, when you’re 16 and 13, too.

Oh! You’ve “found” Tessa. I’ve caught you following her across the room with your eyes, a slight little smile on your face. I remember when Nora first discovered her, too, so it is fun to see you have the same fascination.

At your 4-month doctor’s appointment on December 11, you were 13 lbs., 2 oz. You’re wearing 3-6 month clothes now, for the most part. Speaking of clothing, you have more clothes than you could ever possibly need, thanks to hand-me-downs from your sister and all of our generous family members at Christmas. Your first Christmas was special, of course, but you really had no idea what was going on. Nora had fun opening all of your gifts for you, though!

You’re figuring out the rolling thing. You can roll both ways, but sometimes still get “stuck” one way or the other. Last weekend, I had my first experience putting you down, walking away for a few minutes, and then coming back to find you in a completely different spot from where I left you. I guess you finally figured out how to connect a couple of rolls to get from Point A to Point B.

When you’re not squawking at us and it’s not bedtime, you’re a very happy girl. It’s so easy to make you smile these days, and the giggles warm my heart. You are such a blessing, and I am so thankful you’re ours.

XOXO,
Mommy