November Memories

Got a little behind on the blog post, so here I am in April 2013 updating our blog for November 2012.  Better late than never!

In any event, November was a pretty quiet month for the Harvey family.  We played lots of Candy Land -- Virginia's first board game -- and finally helped Miss V transition from the crib to her very first big girl bed.  We hosted our usual Yale-Harvard game viewing party, and Yale disappointed us again by losing in standard fashion.  And we spent a quiet Thanksgiving at GayGay & PopPop's house.

No Sleep Til Brooklyn!

Virginia has been making life difficult for our nanny this week by not taking all of her naps. Yesterday, she skipped out on her afternoon nap, so I put her down to sleep a little early for bed and let her sleep in an extra half hour this morning. Well, that extra night sleep translated into failing to take her morning nap today! I know we are still several months away from transitioning her down to one nap, so we'll have to hang in there for now. It remains to be seen how she will behave for me on Friday when I'm at home.

Despite her lack of sleep today, Kim sent this photo that shows Virginia was basking in the glory of nap-skipping. She was thrilled to get to stay up and play like a big kid!

Good Morning Sunshine!

One of our favorite things is watching Virginia wake up in the mornings. Below is a video we took while in Connecticut of her arms popping out of her swaddle.

Unfortunately, the swaddle is now officially gone. Because Virginia can now roll over, it is dangerous to have her arms pinned. Last night, we attempted our first no swaddle night . . . I was up about every 15 minutes getting her back to sleep. Her ability to wave her arms kept waking her up. Hopefully things will improve soon - I want my uninterrupted 8 hour stretch of sleep back!

Sleeping Beauty, Part II

I would never have believed that a 10 1/2 week old baby could sleep a 9 hour stretch, but apparently Virginia can!  She had her last feeding last night at 9:30 pm and slept until 6:30 am.  We were AMAZED...  I hope this trend continues!

Sleeping Beauty

I am SO lucky to have a baby who is a champion sleeper.  We have really not had any sleep struggles - we just swaddle her up, put her in her bassinet (sometimes with the pacifier if she is super energetic), and walk away.  No crying, no fussing!  By the time we walk back again 10-15 minutes later, she is sleeping peacefully for the night.  

Last night, Virginia went 7 hours and 20 minutes between her nighttime feedings - a new record and pretty impressive for 9 1/2 weeks.  She started doing a 6 hour stretch several weeks ago, and it is encouraging to see that she is starting to lengthen it.  Thomas gave her a bottle at 10 pm, we put her down at 10:30 and she then slept until 5:20 am!  It was actually daylight already when I got up to feed her.   The best part is that she goes right back down after I feed her and sleeps another 3+ hours.

The next challenge - naps!   She naps very well in her bouncy seat, but doesn't really like naps flat on her back.  We are hesitant to swaddle her for naps, since she associates the swaddle so well with sleeping through the night.  So, we may just keep using the bouncy seat for the next few weeks until she loses her startle reflex and can sleep flat without needing a swaddle.

Some recent photos of Virginia this week:

Gaining Weight and Sleeping Lots!

The last few weeks with Virginia have been full of lots of development.  We've had lots of challenges on the eating front, I'm happy to report that Virginia is now gaining weight like a champ.  The doctor checked her last week and she had gained a whopping 7 ounces in 7 days!  We checked her again at a baby store that has an accurate baby scale yesterday, and she had gained an additional 6 ounces during the 7 days after her last doctor's appointment.  Since our pediatrician wants her to gain 4-7 ounces a week, we are happily now in the clear.  Virginia's tummy and cheeks are now very round and totally cute. 

Even thought eating has been a challenge, I'm relieved that sleeping has not been.  Since she was 4 1/2 weeks, Virginia has been consistently going SIX HOURS between nighttime feedings.  That means that I'm getting about 5+ hours of uninterrupted sleep, usually between midnight and 5 am.  Amazing!  She's proving to be a champion sleeper. 

Virginia now smiles a ton.  Yesterday, she smiled at herself in the mirror in our hallway.  And she has also started her first baby babbles and coos.  It is nice to hear something other than a grunt come out of her mouth!

Here's a photo of Virginia in her favorite place in the house - the bouncy seat (a gift from Maribeth Lambert).  Virginia is proving to be a very independent baby who is not thrilled with the idea of being held all day.  She likes to be sitting up so she can survey the world.  My mom says that I was the same way... she thinks that I have given birth to myself!

Helping Dad draft posts for BabyHarvey.com:

Bathtime is not so fun:
The end of bathtime is much more fun - wrapped up and warm in the hooded towel (Thanks Aunt Judy and Uncle Chuck!):