VivaVienna

she wears it well, no?
(thanks gramma Vu for the bday dress-up clothes)


and is a multi-tasker:
(thanks katie, uncle khanh & uncle dwight for the bday cash/gift cards= fun toys below)

Potty Marathon

Vienna is about 90% potty trained. she has gone w/out diapers for the last two weeks, only wears them during naps and at night. she hasnt had an accident in the last few days, even when we were at the circus-- thank goodness for the portable potty.

but boy, was it a potty MARATHON. before starting, she shouldnt be resistant (unlike laurel, who we'll get to later), have the muscle ability to 'hold and stop' and communicate the need to go. at 21 months, Vienna was capable and momma was ready, mainly because she didnt want a battle of the wills with a 2-3+ yr old later.

1st lap- get her to recognize her bodily functions. going w/out pants really drives this point home quick but get ready for a (royal) mess. the poor elmo chairs have been peed on three times (good thing he fits in the washer). the worse poop was in the corner of the toy box (yuck)-- but remember everything is wash/steam-cleanable---even the carpet. it took her about 3 days before it 'clicked', with us constantly on guard, making she made it to the potty on time-- keeping the potty assessible helps. and yes, we didnt go out during these 3 days, other than the backyard--cause no diapers meant no more diapers (or pull-ups, which i think are the same as diapers). the first lap is the hardest, most exhausting and intense. they dont call it training for nothing.

2nd lap- get her to go IN the potty. lots of incentives for sitting on the potty: videos, books and candy---see elmo's sitting on his potty-- at one point, she sat on the potty for an hour. load her up w/liquids and eventually she went. celebrate and made it a game. we did the potty dance, high fives and let her flush and say 'bye-bye pee-pee'.

3rd lap- establish her pattern. i learn vienna has a decent size bladder. she can drink a gallon but will only go about every hr. only towards the end of the day, she will go about every 1/2 hour. so i set a timer and made sure she sat on the potty when it went off.

4th lap- she will go potty on her own. once she got into the groove of goin in the potty and not wetting her pants---that was our constant mantra 'go pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty, not in your pants'. she communicates by, pulling on her pants or just sitting on the potty. she can say pee-pee and poo-poo, but most times she doesnt. which is fine as long as there are no more accidents.

final lap- transition her to the big potty. i've slowly started moving the potty closer and closer to the bathroom down the hall. next step is getting her to go in the big potty (with elmo insert), so goin out she can use the regular public bathrooms. as for the night time training, when she starts waking up dry, is a good indication to start.

As for Laurel, she did great the first 3 days, but by the 4th she didnt want anything to do with the potty. she would run away and pee in the corner. she threw fits when we sat her on it-- even with candy bribes and the girl has a super sweet tooth. so i backed off. i'm hoping she might feel some peer pressure when she sees all the attention Vienna is getting. which i think is the explanation for the last post, Laurel stripping so she can join in the fun again (-:

and speaking of the circus, here are some pics. it was a bit of a disappointment. obnoxiously loud, we had great seats (3rd row), but the sound was almost unbearable. the animal acts were fun, but the rest of the show was a blur of 'fillers'- dancing, goofy antics. and it was a tad long for the girls, who were gettin restless mid-way. i think next yr, we'll ck out the big apple circus instead (and bring some ear plugs!)

Who loves Elmo?

someone's got a crush on elmo.




in their elmo chairs watching one of their seasame street video collections. classic and still good.

(notice laurel 'lounging', one day she's gonna topple over.)

Not always fun and games around here

it was a loooooooong week with Vienna. she's been:

1) fighting sitting in the high chair
2) fighting her morning naps (even when she's wearily rubbing her eyes)
3) having hysterical separation anxiety where ONLY momma's allowed to hold and comfort her

Some days, even when I hold her, it would still take a good 1/2 hour for her to calm down.

Some days, I put in their fav videos (seasame street or signing time) to distract and calm her.

Some days, I offer her a lollipop to make her feel better.

Some days, she just cries herself exhausted, like she did here.



is this what they call 'you're not the boss of me' toddler-independence?

here's a short (not complete) video of one 'episode'. this one isnt too bad, she didnt try to topple out of her chair. might want to turn the volume down a bit.



It's a new week, and it's been calmer....so far.... Please let it be over!

Update on Nutritionst Appt

look at that cute body---our own little elf.
well, the nutritionist visit was pretty much a waste of time. she thought we were doing all that we could by loading on the high calorie, high fat foods. the only advice she had was, to add ice cream to her diet and peanut butter if there werent any known food allergies.
of course, she said not to worry too much, since vienna has always been low in the charts vs taking a nose dive off it ---or they would classify her as 'failure to thrive'. thank goodness she is at least growing, just up not out (it's all going to her little pot belly :-)

Pics of the day

Vienna 'reading' quietly.

Vienna's joining cirque du soleil.

Pretty in Pink (Eyes)

Vienna got her first real illness, pink eyes. And from the nanny---of all people---my bet was on another kid!

Here she is in good spirits even with gloob all over her itchy eyes.

We didnt even have to bring her in for a dr's visit (and shell out the $25 after-hrs co-pay). They diagnosed her over the phone---green, crusty eye pus needs little explanation. Within an hour, we had the antibiotics on and working its powers. Now after 2days, we're out of the contagion period and Laurel (and us) is bacterial free. Kaiser ROCKS.

Actually, both girls havent had ANY infections or fevers in their first yr. Only Laurel would get a runny nose whenever she's exposed to large crowds (mostly at parties). Ppl like to touch and hold her, she gives off the 'cuddles me' vipe, hehehe. Cant even credit the immunity-wonders of breast milk since momma nursed for a grand total of about 2weeks, must be good genes and low germs exposure (knocking on wood)!

Below the girls are hanging out in the sandbox at Radcliffe Park this past Sunday. Our first time to this park. It pretty much has everything from toddler (low to the ground) to big kid playgrounds, covered pavilion with grills and a huge sand box. The bathrooms are a bit of a hike, but other than that, its a great park ....hmmm, could be next yr's bday party spot.

Last but not least, Happy 3rd Bday Lotus! We had a nice (Dora the Explorer) celebration at gramma D's house on Saturday. Urgh, no pics thou, cause i forgot to bring the camera.

Our 3rd family bday party in a row, the girls are becoming social belles.

Bummer

So I had my bubble burst last week. I did a search for 'Vienna' on Amazon just to make sure the girls' list was searchable, and lo and behold, there were pages (and pages) of the name Vienna.

Here I thought I was being original by naming her after the city (of Virgina and Austria).

In Eric's words, 'Hello, the (European) city has been around for thousands of years'. Still....I've never heard of anyone named Vienna before. Well, at least it's not a common name!

On the upside, I did find our niece's wishlist under Deterding/Virginia. Lotus (speaking of unique names) was born the day after Anna, so her bday was also last weekend. Perfect timing!

Oh what a night

Vienna was a tad fussy last night. She woke up, crying a couple times. We rocked her back to sleep; then around 1AM, she would wake up every few minutes.

We tried the baby motrin and orajel, guessing it must be teething. We tried the swing. She used to love the swing, letting it lull her back to sleep, but now she fights being strapped in.

We even let her sleep with me, thinking she might be comforted (co-sleeping is a very rare 'treat' around here since momma needs/likes her space) but nope, she just tossed and turned, whimpering.

She was like this about a month ago and only after the bottle did she settle down--they both stopped taking the bottle throughout the night when they hit 12lbs (at 3-4mos), which is enough sustainable body fat, instead they have their paci & bears for comfort.
So by 2AM, gave her the bottle and she drank 6oz on the first gulp. Then out like a light and not a peep after.

And this morning, she drank her regular 7AM, 7oz breakfast bottle. Chalk it up to a growth spurt!

Baby Faces

It's funny how babies hate having their faces touched (wipe their noses, forgetaboutit).

This was my THIRD attempt at smearing Neosporin on Vienna's cheek for her scratch (bad, bad cat) before I asked Eric to video tape her antics. So she's calmer (ha!).

THe world is her CRAWL-DOM

Vienna started crawling this week (at about 81/2 months). She pushes off on both knees and does an inch worm-kinda crawl. But she's def mobile and enjoys conquering all the new territory.

So we baby proofed last night--bye bye coffee table and hello gates. I'll post a video of her travels later on today.

As for Laurel, she's SO close. She's doing what Vienna did before, moving backwards instead of forward by pushing on her hands and forearms. And she's up on all fours rocking, so any day now.

Things are gonna get interesting around here. We better warn the cat (-:

To start the video, hit the play button twice.

FEARRRR This!

How sad (and funny :-) is this picture? My MIL thinks I should send it to one of those 'name this caption' contest...hehehhe.

In so many words, Red, our cat got loose in the back yard (basically on one acre with trees and high grass) for three days. After numerous searches, he was nowhere to be found.

We left food on the deck in hopes he would be drawn to the kitchen light and stop by for a morsel. We knew he was still back there, since we set up a wireless camera out by the food bowl and on the second night he did visit around midnight. Luckily, on the third night, when he came up (he only comes up at night since he's a scary cat---even loud voices freak him out), Eric spotted and was able to nab him.

Poor, poor thing. In just three nights, he basically got his a## kicked---he is very much a house cat! Some animal, prob another cat, bit the behind out of his hiney. The vet cleaned him up and prescribed some antibiotics. And the Elizabethan collar since he would lick and clean the wounds, which made it fester more. Two weeks later, the wounds have healed nicely. Now it no longer looks like he's been molested ... hehehehe, sorry.

As for Vienna, she has torticollis. Which basically means she has the tendency to tilt (left) and turn (right) her head. This is probably due to the fact she was twin A, lying on the bottom in the womb. Without too much room, her head was prob squished badly (not to mention, have you seen the size of her sister who was on top :-)

Vienna sees a PT for stretches to keep her neck muscles from getting too tight (in bad cases, the cure is neck surgery to relax the muscles). And since she turns to the right, even in sleep, she has two flat spots in the back of her head--- not very pretty at all. In extreme cases, if the head is too flat, it can hinder brain development and size.

Since, she's a small girl (even in head size) and since insurance was going to pay for it all, we opted for her to have the helmet (no, that isnt a $3,000 bike helmet)---- and I tend to lean 'proactive vs reactive' philosophy or help now vs too little too late. The helmet basically allows her to grow where needed, to round out her head.

Amazingly, in just about two weeks, there is already some difference. Since she started at 6mos, she has to wear it for 2 1/2 months--23 hours a day, taken off only for baths. (Baby heads fuse in about a year, after that, it is not treatable---otherwise, just hope hair will cover it all AND dont look too closely!) It doesnt bother her at all, almost like wearing a shirt---it weighs only 6oz. We cant wait to see her pretty, round head in 2 months!

Bye now from our two space cadets!

Bye Bye Colic

When the girls were born, Laurel came home with us first since Vienna was jaundice. She also needed to be monitored. Basically during one of her feedings, she stopped breathing, so to assure there weren't any really complications, they kept her in the NICU for one day. Boy, was she not happy, she cried and cried. Everytime we visited, we could see dried tear tracks on her face. We knew she wasn't uncomfortable, since the baby right next to her incubator was lounging and bathing in the infralight. That was the first sign of Vienna's personality...

The first night with Laurel was a dream, she eats, burps, poops and sleeps like clockwork. To this day, she just wants and needs her pacifier. She'll play alittle, watch the mobile and put herself to sleep, sucking on her paci.

Then Vienna came home. She wasn't colic right away, not until 2 weeks later. But she was still a more fussy, touchy baby. Changing her diaper was a sporting event!

Once the colic started, it felt like a 2-3 hour marathon, mentally and physically exhausting. Eric would have to take the girls outside in the stroller since Vienna loved looking at the trees which calmed her down. Or I would walk her up and down Easie Street. We would also rock her in the bathroom with the vent blasting. Sometimes she would be fed in there since she would be so riled up and wouldnt eat. They say babies cry from colic due to gas discomfort (she would burb 2-3 times after a meal) and an immature nervous system, so crying helps them block out the world.

On top of her colic and gas pains, poor Vienna has had excezema (which cleared up in the about 2 weeks), slight cradle cap, aka baby dandruff, on her forehead (even though she barely has any hair). She also originally tested positive for cystic fibrosis. But was negative on the retest---but of course, since asians rarely carry the gene.

And when she was born, the doctor had to turn her, which made her face uneven. It's slowly getting better and barely noticeable, along with the giant dent on her head from clearing my pelvic bone. Its not always fun being the older sister!

And we wont mention her weight percentile.

Now this week, we're bringing her in to the physical therapist. She has the tendency to tilt her head and neck to the left---and hopefully this hasnt cramped up a nerve. I'm pretty sure this is how she slept in the womb, since during the late sonograms, they had to measure her head circumference in my pelvic area. She must have been smooshed!

Happily, at two months her colic went away. She's gotten bigger and is able to handle the gas. No more evening screaming bouts, but her strong personality is still intact. Even in the womb we called Vienna the 'wiggler' since she was never still, always kicking away.

But you know, we wouldnt have Vienna any other way. One of the nurses at the hospital noticed how fiesty she was and made the comment, 'she's gonna be the one stealing cars'. Too funny! Never a dull moment with our Vienna.