Vivian at 15 Months Old

Vivi just had her 15 month appointment and weighs 22lbs 6oz (65th percentile) and 30.75 inches (53rd percentile) definitely one of the biggest any of our kids have been at this age! Honestly, I was a little worried she wasn't gaining weight because she can't have dairy. The usual foods like mac and cheese, grilled cheese and  yogurt that our kids always enjoyed at this age she can't have and of course not having a big bottle or sippy cup of milk a few times a day like most kids have, she can't. I've tried oat and almond milk she just pushes it away. I am still breastfeeding Vivian whenever she wants during the day she just signs to nurse and always right before bed. At night she sleeps from 6/6:30pm to 6am with no wake ups and then she naps once during the day around 11/11:30am with Brooks. 

In her 12 month post I  mentioned that we did a blood test to find out more about her allergies the results said she was now only allergic to milk and no longer had a peanut or avocado allergy. Per her allergists directions I gave Vivian a little bit of peanut butter with her morning oatmeal and she immediately broke out in hives around her mouth and shortly after her whole body was covered in the hives. At her check up yesterday Vivians pediatrician said those blood tests can be wrong unfortunately and it's best to go off of her reaction and its obvious she's allergic to peanuts. 

Vivian is walking all over the place she's so fast! It's hard to keep up with her! Vivi is constantly learning new words and can say Dada, Mama, woof woof, Bye, Hi, Wawa and Mwah! 

In other news we are moving! ... Again! 

We are moving back to where we moved from luckily we were only short term renting this house because our hearts stayed where our old home is! I have been homeschooling our kids for the past few months and now that our older four are fully vaccinated we feel as comfortable as we are going to about sending them back in person. I am excited for them and for Brooks and Vivian to get more alone time with me!

Happy Holidays! 

Vivian at 12 Months Old

August 24, 2020
5:06PM

OUR VIVI GRACE IS ONE!

 When I found out I was pregnant with her it was January 2020 before COVID. She has brought so much light to such a dark time, I'm so thankful for the joy she brings our family every single day. 

This past year has been SO special having everyone home. I know it has been hard on so many families, but I have decided to look at the positives and that we have been able to all soak up every moment of our first year as a family of eight!

I could tell Vivian was going to be a calm little one when she was growing in my belly. I worried while I was pregnant with her not only because Vivian is our rainbow baby (baby after a miscarriage), but because she hardly ever kicked. If it weren't for her daily hiccups, I wouldn't have even noticed her growing in there! 

When Vivian was born she was an itty bitty 4 pound 10 ounce baby. I can proudly say she's now weighs a over 20lbs. I am still breastfeeding her around 5-6 times in 24 hours. I try to give her 3 meals a day with one snack, but she isn't always interested. With Viv's allergies we have been very slow to give her foods, but her favorites are almond milk vanilla yogurt, spaghetti with meatballs, broccoli with grilled chicken, breastmilk popsicles and apple sauce. No new teeth this month just her two front bottom ones, but I feel like her tops two will be cutting through any day! 

Vivi got a blood test done last week to see how bad her allergies are and if she has outgrown any. The results are that she no longer has a peanut allergy, since the skin test was positive the allergist recommended holding off giving it to her until March. The same goes for avocado the blood test was negative, but the skin test was positive so to hold off. We also tested for shellfish since Oliver has a allergy to them and it was negative, but since she has not been exposed to shellfish yet that might be why it was negative according to her allergist your body usually needs to build up a response before having a reaction. The huge one we wanted her to have outgrown was milk which unfortunately was positive for skin and blood.

Rose has wanted a baby sister since she could talk and it truly fills my heart to be able to watch their bond together. They are currently sharing a room and Rose is thrilled about it, though the different bed times and wake up times is a little tough. 

Current schedule is:

6am wake up

9am nap

1pm nap

630/7 bedtime

Weight: 20lbs 9oz (60th percentile)

Height: 28.5 inches (25th percentile)

Clothing size: 12-18 month

Eyes: Hazel

Hair: Light brown and straight

Teeth: Botton two center and top two are coming soon

We are so happy you're here Vivi Grace. Happiest birthday to you, our sweet baby girl. 

Beautiful captures by Katy Hayes Photography

Vivian at 11 Months Old

WE MOVED! We now live about 45 minutes from our old house. It’s been a very busy week, but I really want to keep up with these monthly Vivi updates.

Literally the day after I posted Vivian’s 10 month update she got two teeth! We were on vacation at the beach and she didn’t sleep well, nursed a bunch and was so clingy for about a week during this time. 

Vivi has been pulling herself up on everything! New this month Vivian says “no” by shaking her head, wawa, more and all done (sign language.) She loves to dance! Vivian will clap and move her body whenever she hears any song. 

Just this past week she’s been eating a solid meal a day. Her favorites are chicken and cashew cheese and meatballs with sauce. We luckily haven’t had anymore allergic reactions and she will be going next month for a blood test to see the extent of her allergies to peanut, dairy and avocado. 

I’m still nursing Vivian around 5-6 times in 24 hours. I’ve read online mothers nurse as little as twice a day (only morning and night) to every 2-3 hours during the day so I think it just varies for each baby. Vivian with her allergies hasn’t eaten many solids until now so it was important I kept up nursing her often. I’m waiting for this allergy test before deciding when to wean. 

Viv naps twice a day around 9am and around 1pm though there have been a few days she will just take one long nap mid day. 

When I weighed her about two weeks ago she was 19lbs! I can’t believe our little Vivi girl is turning 1 year next month!! I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been able to think about it, but I know when things settle down in the coming weeks I’ll get emotional about it! 

Vivian at 10 Months Old

This past month has FLOWN BY. We have been looking at houses and even put in a few offers, but unfortunately haven’t had any luck! Our four oldest kids who did virtual learning all last year ended school mid June. Between having them out of school all day, a toddler and Vivian who is all over the place, while house hunting/packing needless to say we are very busy over here! 

Vivian is doing well though and her eczema has really cleared up this past month. I’d like to say she’s tried a bunch of new foods, but we really haven’t besides kiwi (which she didn’t really care for.) I’m nursing her on demand still with usually one wake up at night. It’s hard to believe our baby girl was only 4lbs 10oz at birth. Vivian now has gained over 14 pounds weighing 18 and a half pounds!!! I’m so proud that our nursing journey has gone so well and she’s healthy. 

Viv is crawling very fast and loves to explore everything. She never stays in one place too long and I've caught her pulling herself up to a stand a few times. Vivian loves to yell and babble and doesn't have any teeth yet. I can't believe in just two short months we will have a one year old. This year has gone so fast and at times slow. When I think back to bringing her home from the hospital it feels like forever ago, but yesterday all at the same time.  We love her so much! 

Happy 10 months Vivi! 

Vivian at 9 Months Old

 It’s been a fun month for our family we listed our house and accepted an offer. During the tours and open house we surprised our kids with another beach trip! We really just wanted something exciting to do to while also avoiding having to clean the house a hundred times and it was Matt’s 32nd birthday so we wanted to do something special for that as well.

Although she missed her crib Vivian had a great time at the beach enjoyed attempting to eat the sand all day and even had her first donut! If you ever visit Bethany Beach in Delaware I highly recommend Sandy Pony Donuts. Their gluten free donuts are also dairy free (they even use a separate fryer so there is no cross contamination!) 

Vivian is waking up once a night most nights and naps twice a day, but sometimes three times. Earlier this month she had an allergic reaction to what we believe was banana. Hives quickly covered her arms and around her mouth got pink as well as her stomach. She is still breastfeeding on demand.

New this month Vivian is clapping, clicking with her tongue, dancing and she’s been waving for a little while now! Still no teeth and lots of drool. Vivi can say Dada, Mama and loves to babble. 

Now off to find a house!!! 

Vivian at 8 Months Old

Our sweet little Vivi Grace is now 8 months old! This past month Vivian has really warmed up to solid foods and now eats one puree "meal" and one BLW "meal" a day which is always peanut, avocado and dairy free since she is allergic. Vivian has had sweet potato, apples, pears, cashew butter, almond butter, pancakes, walnut butter, eggs, chicken (disliked), carrots, peas, banana, spinach, kale and oatmeal. We luckily haven't had anymore allergic reactions, but I have been very slow with introducing new foods. I have avoided shellfish which is something Oliver is allergic to and I'm kicking myself for not having the allergist check when we did Vivian's testing.  I also give Viv a straw sippy cup with an ounce or so of water that she loves to sip throughout the day.

Vivian's skin is SUPER sensitive and dry. Even just wiping her up after meals her skin gets all irritated and pink. One week this month Vivian had a huge flare up with he face eczema and it was bleeding. I am not sure what caused it, but it healed after a few days of putting breastmilk on it and making sure we put mittens on her hands during naps so she couldn't itch it!

Day 1 vs Day 3 

Vivi naps two or three times a day one morning nap around 8am, midday nap and one late afternoon nap around 3pm. If she has a long nap midday she won't take a late afternoon nap. A few nights this month Vivian has slept 9pm -530am which has been AMAZING, but usually still does her one wake up around midnight which I do feel she needs! With her bedtime being around 6/6:30pm I wouldn't expect her to sleep 12 straight hours at her age. 

Vivian is still breastfeeding and it's going really well though having all the kids home still doing virtual learning causes her to be distracted and snack a lot more than getting a full feeding in. I like to feed her in her room with the lights off as much as possible.

This month brought a lot more babbling and high pitch shrieks along with Vivian's first word Dada this makes her no less of a Mama's girl though and everyone in the family will agree to that haha. The way she lights up when she sees me makes my heart melt. We all just adore her SO much! Viv brings so much joy to our lives. 

Vivian at 7 Months Old

 Vivian is officially 7 months old and this past month a lot has happened!

After Vivian's 6 month appointment I gave her a tiny bit of peanut butter since her pediatrician recommended doing so. Soon after she started throwing up! Vivian threw up three or so times and then she stopped. I called the on call doctor and they said that if the throwing up continues, she starts swelling or breaking out in hives or struggling to breathe to take her to the hospital. The rest of the night she acted normal and nursed as usual. 

The next day I gave her avocado.  Since she had it once before, I thought it was a safe food. Again she started throwing up, but this time she threw up about 15 times in 30 minutes. It was absolutely heartbreaking to watch her struggling between gags. Vivian started looking very pale and her throw up turned from breastmilk/avocado to full on thick mucus that she was choking on trying to get it out. Matt and I decided it would be best to take her to the urgent care. 

Matt stayed home with our other kids while I rushed her alone and terrified in the dark, throwing up in her carseat to the closest children’s urgent care! They gave her Zofran so her little body could have a break from throwing up and after a little monitoring I was able to take her back home. I watched her like a hawk all night. Vivian nursed well and slept normally. 

I took Vivi ASAP to an allergist where she got a skin test done to see if it was in fact an allergic reaction. The results came back that she is allergic to dairy, peanuts and avocado. 

I’ve been nervous to start up solids again after her allergic reaction, but I’m relieved to have some answers and to slowly start trying new foods. We also now have an epipen! 

When I gave her her first taste of food since her episode she wouldn’t even open her mouth as if she remembered what had happened. Vivi has slowly started getting better about foods and prefers to feed herself which is obviously messy, but whatever works, right?! 

So far she has had oatmeal, apple, spinach, egg, sweet potato, banana, strawberry and kale. 

If I had to say one was her favorite I’d go with sweet potato, but she really makes a yuck face for all of them haha. 

Obviously, Vivian being allergic to dairy isn’t ideal especially the closer she gets to a year when most babies switch from breastmilk/formula to cows milks, but I’ve done some research and think I might just keep nursing her throughout her second year when having cows milk won’t be so important. Really I’ll just cross that bridge when it comes. Other nondairy options are oat milk or almond! 

Also, I’d like to mention I had been having dairy during my pregnancy and since she was born while nursing without any issues! I’ve also had peanut butter at first we thought that might be the cause to her eczema, but after eliminating dairy and peanuts from my diet for a few weeks I haven’t seen that much of a change so I don’t know if I’ll avoid it any longer. 

Vivian had her first road trip this past week and her first beach trip! She was really good in the car considering she hasn’t been in it much since we don’t ever go anywhere. 

She’s such a sweetheart and lights up when she gets any attention from her siblings. 

Vivian loves being held, grabbing at everything, sitting, being in the carrier, rolling right out of tummy time, jolly jumper, baths and nursing. 

Vivian at 6 Months Old

You can find Rose’s six month update here and Trent’s six month update here

You’d think by baby number six I’d know by now, but my gosh babies grow fast! I feel like these past six months have flown by some where between the sleepless nights and the long days at home time has snuck by.

As hard as it is right now in the world I’m so thankful to be home with my family and enjoy all of these special moments together. I don’t have to be sad that Matt has missed her first roll or laugh, he’s been there for it all and so have all five of Vivian’s siblings and it’s been such a joy, she’s been a joy and our light during this hard time!

Vivian now rolls right out of tummy time! She’s not a fan of being on her tummy and never has been. Vivi can sit unassisted for few minutes.

As for eating this month she has gotten so distracted while nursing Vivian will whip her head around to any sound and just about take my nipple off with it. Ouch!

Last week we gave Vivian her first taste of real food. It was a mashed up slice of avocado mixed with breastmilk, she loved it! I have also given her some spinach purée that I made. I’m hoping to introduce more in the coming weeks, but I’m also in no rush! 

Vivian's schedule looks similar to this everyday:

6am wake up

8am-9am nap

11am-12pm nap

2pm-330pm nap

6pm bedtime

2 wake ups

Nurses around 8 times in 24 hours!

A few of Vivi's favorite toys are:

Haakaa Silicone Toothbrush

Baby Paper

Skip Hop Activity Center

BabyBjorn Bouncer and Toy Bar

Vivian has developed some pretty bad eczema this past month mostly on her stomach. I’m still trying different products to help it nothing has been a miracle cream yet. I’ve tried all of these and they work well for just normal dry winter sensitive skin, but none have cleared up her awful eczema.

Vivian loves to be held, cuddled, baths, nursing, bouncing, grabbing things, watching her siblings. Whenever I pick up Vivi from her crib she always rubs her face into my neck, it’s so sweet.

Dislikes, the car (the few rides she been in it she’s screamed), pacifiers, tummy time, being awake for longer than two hours during the day.

Weight: A little over 15lbs 

Hair: Light brown with a few golden strands 

Eyes: Hazel 

Here’s to hoping these next six months go slower than the past six and are spent more outside!

Rose and Vivian both at half a year!!! I don't think they look much alike in my opinion Vivi looks most like Landon and Trent. What do you think?