Our First Race!

9/27/08

Our family participated in the San Dimas 5K/1 Mile Walk Run which was held to benefit the San Dimas youth recreation programs. First, Susy ran the 5K on her own which started at 7:30 a.m.
Later, at 8:30 a.m., Ben and Vivian met Susy at the 1 mile start and we jogged for most of the event. We received a ribbon and a free healthy breakfast (oatmeal, apples and milk) for participating.

Vivian is 2 months old

9/9/08

This month was a big month for Vivian Marie Rowley. She achieved a couple of very important milestones. The first being that she started sleeping through the night! It happened on Thursday, August 21, 2008 when we put her down by midnight and she stayed fast asleep until 7:00 a.m. She continued to sleep about 7 hours per night until August 27th when she surprised us by sleeping a full 10 hours! To this day, Vivian sleeps 7-10 hours every night and now has a regular sleep schedule/routine. We owe this accomplishment, in part, to the advice given to us in one of our books called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Weissbluth (thank you Lisa!) and also due to her genes--Rowleys are good sleepers :)

Her second milestone was achieved on Saturday, August 30, 2008 when Vivian flashed us her first toothless grin. We were so excited to finally see a smile that had not been caused by gas!

Vivian is 1 month old

8/9/08

This month Vivian started holding her head up without help.
She is sleeping between 3 and 5 hours at a time and enjoys
sitting in her "happy chair".

The Arboretum: Our First Family Outing

8/21/08

This was the day that we all went on our first day trip together. We chose the L.A. Arboretum because we enjoy being out in nature and thought that Vivian would like the same. She liked looking at all of the plants and flowers, and especially enjoyed listening to the sound of the waterfalls.
Coincidentally, this was the first night that baby Vivi slept the whole night through! She slept 7 hours straight and since then has been sleeping 7-10 hours every night. Vivian was about 1 1/2 months when she started sleeping through the night; and what a blessing it's been!

Vivian weeks 1-4 (newborn shots)

8/6/08 Week #4

Vivian's got a BIG appetite! In the first couple of weeks she was eating about 2 ounces per sitting, now she has gone up to 4 and 5 ounces. Not to mention that she is eating at least every 2 hours. She has gained about 1 pound.



7/30/08 Week #3

Here she is looking really cute and posing for the camera. She is finally fitting into her onesies (which used to fit her too big!) She likes to have her arms free when she sleeps thus swaddling her has gone out the window. We have achieved success on the latch-on and nursing her has been a dream this past week. Thank goodness mommy (and baby) did not give up!

7/23/08 Week #2

Vivian recognizes mommy's voice and touch according to her grandma Lenore. She likes the dark & light contrast of my hair and skin, and seems to calm down when I pick her up. "Lizard skin" (as I call it) started to appear this week as layers of her dermis have been coming off. Also, she started getting cradle cap this week. This is when little layers of skin start coming off of her scalp; it almost looks like fish scales! She continues to get many visitors and people who meet her say that she is very alert for her age.



7/16/08
Week #1

Vivian is one week old! She loves "tummy time" with daddy and enjoys skin-to-skin with mommy. Breastfeeding has been a challenge as Vivian clamps on really hard so we are seeing a lactation consultant who is helping us to get her to pull out her tongue. In the meantime, I bought a breast pump(to supplement with the nursing) so Ben and I take turns on the feeding and diaper changing; it's a team effort.

7/9/08 Baby Vivian has arrived!

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 6:31 a.m.

After a 45 hour labor and a slew of visitors (mostly from the Rowley tribe), baby Vivian arrived. Wide eyed and inquisitive, she weighed in at 7 pounds .06 ounces and measured 20 inches in length.
Her long and dainty fingers and toes suggest that she will be tall. She has her father's blue eyes and pug nose, and her mother's small ears and rosy lips.
Her name-Vivian-means "full of life".