I thought I should write about how it's going at our house now that we are living in the land of two kids. Generally, daily life is going better than I had imagined. I had myself prepared for a more difficult time than has been the reality. Bennett is adjusting to Vivian's presence. He spends a lot of time pointing, waving, and yelling gibberish at her. He must kiss her 20 times every day. He also tries to rock her much to hard in the bouncy chair and removes her socks constantly. He has only tried to push her away from me once. There are moments of obvious jealousy. Sometimes, he tries to get me to go with him while I'm feeding Vivian. Other times, his mood just deteriorates and meltdowns follow. But, he's two as well, so it's difficult to attribute where these fits come from.
It would make our lives much easier if Bennett could communicate more clearly. He barely says any understandable words at all, instead making his needs known by shaking his head and pointing. We had his two year appointment last week and his pediatrician wants to do a speech eval just to be on the safe side. So I'm working on getting that set up in the next couple of weeks. Bennett's two year stats were: 30 lbs 8 oz and 34 1/4 inches. Both are in the 75th percentile. It's amazing to imagine him being completely off the charts and now almost at the top!
Vivian is doing very well. She hasn't had any formula and is a very efficient nurser. I was worried about her in the beginning because she eats for very short periods of time. Like 5-8 minutes a feeding and then she's done for 1-3 hours during the day. I kept hearing that babies nurse for 20-30 minutes. She's been gaining weight nicely (11 lbs. 8 oz. today), but a mom still worries. I went to see the lactation consultant last week and we did a feed and weigh session. Vivian nursed from one side for five minutes and the other side for two. She took in 5 1/2 oz in that time. So I don't worry anymore...I just consider her a champion eater! Our nights have been getting easier. She sleeps 4-6 hours the first stretch and 2-3 the second. I definitely can't complain about that.
Vivian is a really sweet baby. Her demeanor is mostly calm. She rarely cries for more than a couple of seconds and is easy to calm. She loves to look at Mom and Dad and has begun smiling in the past week. Today she was talking up a storm. It might be cliche, but she is really a joyful addition to our family. She does hate the car seat and lets you know it for the first few minutes.
Bernie has to work on Christmas. We are going to do our celebration on Christmas Eve with some of my mom friends, their spouses, and kids. We are doing a potluck and I am looking forward to it. They have really become like my family here in Longmont.
The in-laws are coming through on their way to Phoenix at the end of the month. Then we are heading to Phoenix on Jan 15th for a 10 day vacation. It sounds like Bernie's entire family will be there. My mom is coming as well, so it should be a wild time. Hopefully, we can squeeze in a round of golf. I've been having withdrawals lately.
Hope everyone has a great holiday.
