Saturday, September 26, 2009

14 Weeks Old

Emma has grown so much this week! As happy as I am that she's developing so much and so quickly, my little girl is growing up much too fast for her mommy's taste. This week has been a busy one. As I had mentioned before, my paraprofessional's funeral was this week. Emma did beautifully. She socialized with my co-workers for awhile and then fell fast asleep on me and slept the entire time. At the end, the woman in front of me turned around to tell me what a wonderful baby Emma was - I was so proud! It was a beautiful funeral.

We went to 2 consignment sales within one week. I didn't buy too much, just a few things I had to have. Emma snored in her sling through both.

I'm very proud to say that we've been cloth diapering consistently now for a few weeks. I had done it off and on before now, but now we're really in the swing of things. She still wears 1-2 disposable diapers at night, but that's just for my convenience ;) She has the biggest, cutest diaper butt you've ever seen. I need to take a picture of it. Unfortunately, it barely fits into pants, so we're wearing a lot of dresses and onesies! I'm really proud of our accomplishment because I was really determined to cloth diaper, but had no clue as to how well it would work or fit in with our lifestyle. I'm finding lots of little tricks. For example, when we go to my parents' house a few times a week, I take plastic grocery bags and use them as wetbags to hold the wet diapers. I've even got Brad diapering her! Can you believe it??? He's getting more and more comfortable with it. I'm shocked!

I also re-worked Emma's stroller this week so that she can use it without her carrier like a big girl. We have a travel system (carseat is also a carrier and also fits on the big stroller). She's just recently gotten enough head and upper body control to sit up in her stroller like a big girl. I had to take her snugglie (cushion that keeps her positioned) out of the carseat because she's too big for it with her cloth diaper butt (we also had to move the straps up a notch!). I put the snugglie in her stroller instead and she loves it. She tends to get a little bored in the carrier on top of the stroller because she can't see around her so this is a perfect solution.

Emma also had another accomplishment this week - she's been taking naps in her big girl crib! She's also going down to sleep in it at night because she's tending to get sleepy earlier (around 9:00) and it's too early for us to go to bed with her. We move her back to her bed in our room when we're ready to sleep - she doesn't even wake up. It's been a little sad for me to have her in her own room and I'm DEFINITELY not ready for her to be there all night, but we're getting there. As far as I'm concerned, while she's still waking up at night to nurse (although it's only once) it's much easier and makes more sense to have her in our room. She is also swaddled still and has been somehow flipping onto her belly overnight. I'm ok with that while she's next to me, but to have her like that in her crib scares me a little because of the SIDS risk. I think I may wait until she's not swaddled anymore and then make the big move. I'll let you know when it happens, but don't look for it anytime soon! Yesterday she was acting a little sleepy so I swaddled her, put her in her crib, and turned on her Dreamscape Soother. She fell asleep on her own! I'm so proud.

I think that's all - it's enough! My and Brad's fourth wedding anniversary is this Thursday. Hard to believe it's only been 4 years. Then again, this year also marks 9 years that we've been together. Wow. It's been quite a ride! This will most certainly be the best anniversary - because we have our little angel.

In her big girl crib! If you look close, you can see that big diaper butt!


Sitting up in her stroller like a big girl!



Sunday, September 20, 2009

I was big. Very, very big.

So this afternoon I was talking to Brad about how huge I felt right before Emma was born. He said, "no, you weren't THAT big." I said "yes I was!" He said, "no you weren't." Then, just now my sister-in-law sent me this picture of my mother-in-law and myself. It was taken on Father's Day just after lunch at Carrabba's Italian Restaurant. 6/21/09. I went into labor that night. Brad, here's proof. I. WAS. BIG. VERY, VERRRRRY BIG. This picture took me by complete surprise for some reason. No wonder my back hurt! I had my little 9 lb. butterball in there! All I can say is....DAMN!




13 Weeks

This has been a pretty low-key week. Emma's FINALLY over her cold now - the stuffy nose seemed like it was never going to end. We haven't done a whole lot this week. We went to a consignment sale on Thursday and I got a few winter outfits for her. I also got a Baby Bjorn. It's a baby carrier that she can sit in facing either in or out. I think she'll really like it as she gets older. I tried it tonight and it was SO funny. She's used to the sling which keeps her right up next to me, and the Bjorn leaves her sort of floating in the air in front of me. She seemed a little confused at first, but then cried when Brad took her out of it! The sling is still my favorite and definitely the best for cuddling with her while she's little, but the Bjorn will be better on my back when she gets bigger. I'll still love to cuddle her, but don't want my back to pay the price!

She's so snuggly these days. I have pretty much decided that the baby carseat/carrier is just too heavy for me. I leave it in the car and just use it as a carseat, unless I'm taking the stroller too. Whenever we go anywhere, I just pull out the sling, stick her in it, and we are good to go. She ALWAYS falls asleep in it - it's awesome! She lays in it with us stomach to stomach with her head on my chest. It's the sweetest thing in the world. She's so comfortable and I feel like she's less likely to be touched by strangers when she's in it. We went to a store a couple of weeks ago and a stranger actually touched her pacifier! She was trying to make sure it didn't fall out of her stroller, but still! Needless to say, it didn't go near her until it was boiled! No problems like that in the sling though. People don't tend to want to come that near to my chest to touch her. :)

She had her first trip to The Varsity today. She slept through it, but still! I made sure to get a hat for her - I'll get a photo-op later this week.

Emma's also learning to love her Bumbo chair. For those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about, the Bumbo is a cool little chair for babies that aren't ready to sit up yet, but have head control. It not only helps her sit up so that she can play, but it also helps strengthen her core muscles which is good because she HATES tummy time. I usually try to force her to spend some time on her tummy every day, but she always ends up hysterical.

Tomorrow she'll have the unfortunate experience of attending her first funeral. One of my paraprofessionals from last year passed away on Thursday. She had colon cancer that spread rather quickly. I'm still in disbelief. It wasn't that long ago that I brought Emma to Midvale to visit my co-workers and she held her and told me how beautiful she was. Through my pregnancy she often shared with me what she went through when she was pregnant with her son. She was hospitalized for most of her pregnancy and was able to really help me to see that what I was going through could be much worse. She was such a great person - she worked 3 jobs to support herself and her son, including owning and running her own catering business - she was an INCREDIBLE cook! Her son was her whole life as a single mom. It really goes to show you how short life is - I'll never take a moment for granted.

Here are some pictures of Emma and her new best friend. His name is Scout. He's a LeapFrog toy that Emma's Grandpa (my Dad) bought her. You hook him up to the computer and personalize him to sing songs with the child's name in it. He says "snuggle up, Emma" and she stares right at his face! She's so funny. She LOVES this toy, as you can see in the pictures. She particularly likes playing with him when she's in the bumbo so she can really see him. She's even starting to reach out and grab things - particularly Scout. Too cute! Her onesie says "Mommy's Answered Prayers." I ordered it for her as soon as I found out she was a girl - she truly is the answer to my prayers. How can you not love that smile?







Tuesday, September 15, 2009

12 Weeks

Emma turned 12 weeks old yesterday! I think she's "officially" three months on September 22nd, but I'm not really sure how that works. I DO know that I wish that I could freeze her in time the way that she is right now. She's the most precious thing in the world. She's SO sweet, has such personality, and is an angel. She smiles constantly - the biggest gummy grins I've ever seen. She wakes up in the morning with the biggest smile - it's hard not to wake up in a good mood when you have that to look forward to.

She's still struggling with this cold. It's better and she has really seemed to feel ok despite it, but it must be miserable being so congested. Luckily, the humidifier has kept everything "flowing" and I think she must be on the uphill swing now. It's just been a runny nose and congestion, so it's manageable. I have thought of taking her to the doctor, but the fear of what she could contract in just the waiting room these days is enough to make me rethink that!

She's such a mess these days. One thing that I've really learned about her and come to accept is that she wakes up like her Daddy - slowly and ON HER OWN! Here's how things go - she starts to stir. Until her eyes open I had better not touch her or try to get her to wake up! Once her eyes open I can turn on the light and turn off the fan and try to talk to her. She wakes up and goes back to sleep several times before actually being completely awake and ready to get up. Only once she looks over at me and smiles is she ready to get up. If I get her up before that.....well, let's just say it isn't pretty. Daddy says she has her Mama's temper - I think it's all her Daddy. If you wake Brad up before he is ready, you'll pay for it all day long. Looks like Emma's going to be a carbon copy!

Nothing really exciting has gone on this week. We've been laying low because of her cold. Aside from a few visits to grandparent's houses we haven't done much. I've been feeling a little bit like I might be catching her cold the last few days - not sure yet. I figure I'm pretty much a sitting duck for it though. She has my immunities from my breast milk so, if she caught this cold, I probably will too. I'm hoping I don't, but I couldn't tell you how many times she's sneezed right in my face or I've kissed all over her. Time will tell.

Patrick Swayze died yesterday. I'm pretty down in the dumps about it. As a kid, Dirty Dancing was (and still is) one of my absolute favorite movies. He was such a talented actor - such a terrible loss. It seems like all of our icons are dropping like flies these days. Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, wow. They are all dying so young. Such a shame.

Anyway, here are some pictures of this last week. Actually, the first 2 are from the week before that I just uploaded from my camera but they were so cute I had to post them. She was playing with Brad and showing off her smiling skills. The third picture is for my mom. She bought Emma these cute little "vintage" shirts that were just like what I wore to sleep in when I was a baby. The cloth diaper under her butt has nothing to do with her incontinence - it covers the seat belt in her bouncy seat so it doesn't scratch her legs!








Wednesday, September 9, 2009

11 Weeks - Lots of excitement!

Emma's had a jam packed week this week! It started out with a trip to Thomson, GA to visit my aunt, uncle, cousins, and Grandpa last Saturday. Emma had a blast. She had her first trip on a golf cart. Well, they CALLED it a gas powered golf cart, but it was much more like a four wheeler with a canopy! We took a long, bumpy ride through their pasture and saw cows and their calves, lots of ponds, and lots of cow patties. Emma fell fast asleep as soon as we started riding and slept the whole trip! She was so cute. I wish I had pictures to document the trip, but we left home with the camera but no memory chip. :(

We also celebrated labor day this past weekend. We went to Brad's parents house where we all got to meet Emma's only cousin, Lukas. They were in town from Washington state. Baby Luke was SO cute and SO big! He's 3 weeks older than Emma. They were due fairly far apart, but it ended up that he was a week overdue and Emma was 2 weeks early. The funny thing is that both babies weighed 9 lbs at birth. You'd never know they were that close in age now - he's nearly 18 lbs! Check out the pictures below - too cute.

Emma also has her first cold. :( Brad has had 2 nasty colds already this year and I think the one she has she caught from him. So far it's just a stuffy/runny nose, but it isn't fun. She's feeling pretty puny. I didn't get a smile today until she woke up from a 3 1/2 hour nap this morning. She's been a little fussy, but otherwise is being a trooper. I'm hoping and praying that this is the worst of it, but we'll see. I'm keeping her doped up with Tylenol, using a humidifier round the clock, and suctioning her little nose when she needs it. Hoping it will be over soon!

Emma hit a milestone today, despite not feeling good. She held a cloth diaper that I had been using to wipe her mouth and pulled it to her mouth to suck on intentionally! She's done things like that accidentally before, but this was very purposeful. She's so smart!

Uncle Joe, Aunt Fylicia, and cousin Lukas

Fylicia, Luke, Emma and I - check out her Mary Jane socks!

Pooped after a long visit - how much does she look like her ultrasound picture below?????


33 Week Ultrasound

My smiley girl!