Monday, August 25, 2014

Baby Girl Emma: Month Seven

This update is ridiculously overdue, and will be followed by her 8-month update, as she is already less than 4 months away from the big O-N-E.  To that, I say a big W-T-F, where did the time go?


 What's new? A TOOTH!  Emma surprised the hell out of me when one morning, she brought my hand to her mouth and showed me the sharpest little tooth poking out!  Her first tooth appeared on her bottom right side.

Stats: No doctor's appt this month, but Emma is probably around 21 pounds.
Hair: Still rocking the light reddish brown.
 
Eyes: STILL BLUE.  Never thought I'd have a blue eyed baby, but I don't know if these eyes are changing colors!

Clothes: 9-month clothes fit perfectly for pretty much everything.  She has a pair of 12-month jeans in her drawer and 2 12-month bathing suits.

 
Sleep: She's a rockstar.  She sleeps 7pm-6am and rarely wakes MOTN anymore.  When she does, it is usually a minute or two of fussing before getting comfortable again.  Even going to bed is pretty seamless now, rarely a cry - lots of moving around in crib some nights, but minimal fussing.  Naps are another story - she is a cat napper.

Feeding: Emma started to really eat solids this month, and by the end of her 7-month, we were doing two "meals" a day in addition to nursing (mornings, evenings, and weekends) and bottles.

 
Likes: Sitting up, playing with her little shape toys, going for walks in her stroller

Dislikes: NAPPING.
Mama Update: I finally started feeling like I really have the hang of this thing now.  I don't second guess every little thing I'm doing anymore (just every other, probably).

Milestones:

7.8.14: Scooting backwards!

7.10.14: First tooth!  Bottom right.  The second tooth, bottom left, came just a few days later!

 
Looking Forward To: More summer fun in the sun!! Pool time, river trip, and more!

Nicknames: Chicken, Chicken Girl, Angel Baby, Angel Girl
 

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Baby Girl Emma: Month Six

 

What's new? I know I say this every month, but each month is more fun than the last!  Emma is now so interested in the world around her, it is truly a joy to spend our days with this little girl.

Stats: Emma was just under 18 pounds at her six month visit.  I'll come back and update this with her exact stats!

Hair: Emma's hair is still reddish and brown.  It is a very unique hair color and she gets compliments from strangers on it all the time.


Eyes: Big blue eyes! 

Clothes: Still squeezing into some 6-month, but lots of 6-9 and 9 month clothes already.

Sleep: By the beginning of Emma's six month, she was down to only one dream feed, and usually one short lived fussing wake-up a night.  I started to wean the dream feed around 5 1/2 months, and by just after six months, she was sleeping 7pm-6am.

Feeding: Emma will be starting solids soon!  We plan to do a mix of table food and purees to begin.  Avocado will be her first food!

Likes: Emma loves to "dance" in her Exersaucer/Jumper, sit up on the couch and play, and she loves her Marina the Mermaid toy.

Dislikes: Being overly tired - she is really such a good baby, most of her fussiness is related to her being sleepy.

Mama Update: Mama is doing great!  I finally feel like I sort of know what I'm doing.  I am, by no means, an expert - but if feels good to not be so completely green.

Milestones:

5.21.14: Rolled, back-to-belly, for the first time!

6.15.14: First time in the pool!

Looking Forward To: Starting food, and our family vacation with my parents and sisters next month!

Nicknames: Chicken, Chicken Girl, Angel Baby, Sweet Girl

Friday, June 6, 2014

Baby Girl Emma: Month Five


 
Would you readers be so kind as to vote for Emma in the Parents Choice Cover Photo Contest?  She is currently in 7th place!  We are so close, and would love Stress Case readers support! Vote HERE!
 
What's new? Emma is such a sweet soul.  She is always smiling, laughing, and looking at people.  She likes to watch TV (a little too much), but likes to watch people talk even more.  I can't believe she's been in our lives for almost half a year already!

Stats: No pediatrician appointment this month, but I think she's probably around 18 pounds.

 
Hair: Staying auburn, but she's losing hair!  Makes me so sad to see my little lady's bald spots!

Eyes: Still a blue-eyed girl - I think she might be keeping these stunners!  Who knows.

 
Clothes: She fits perfectly in her 6-month clothes, and even some 6-9 month and 9 month!

 
Sleep: We did sleep training a few days after her 4-month "birthday", at the suggestion of our pediatrician and one of the neurologist sleep specialists I happen to work with (we used the book, Sleep Easy Solution).  It wasn't fun, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined and Emma's nighttime sleep is pretty awesome now.  She goes down at 7, currently has an 11pm dream feed, and then up at 6am.  Naps are a whole different beast...

 
Feeding: Emma still loves to eat, and I marvel at what a 180 breastfeeding did.  I went from literally wanting to count down the days until she would turn 1, to enjoying it and feeling so strongly about it.  More to come on that!

Likes: Playmat, sitting up in her Bebepod seat, hanging out in the kitchen in her high chair while Mommy cooks/does dishes/makes bottles, walks in her stroller

Dislikes: She doesn't seem to love facing forward in her stroller yet.  I'm wondering if maybe once she really masters sitting up on her own she'll be a little more comfortable.
Mama Update: Doing good!  I hate that I don't get to see her very often during the week, but love spending all weekend with her.  An earlier bedtime has also done wonders for our marriage (we actually have alone adult time again)!

 


Milestones:

First time sleeping through the night (except for dream feeds) - thank you, Sleep Easy Solution!

Looking Forward To: Father's Day!  We will be taking Emma in the pool for the first time!  Also looking forward to (and simaltaneously terrified of...) starting solids after she turns 6 months!

Nicknames: Chicken, Chicken Girl, Angel Baby, Sweet Girl

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Baby Girl Emma: Month Four

  So super overdue, but have to share!  5 Month update coming soon, already!


What's new? Every month with Emma is more fun than the last.  She is so alert and interested in the world now.  She smiles huge when I pick her up from my Dad's house on Mondays and Wednesdays after work, which makes me so happy.  She has started grabbing for toys, and especially loves the star rings on her playmat that hang from the elephant.  She definitely knows who her Mommy and Daddy are, cause she is always staring at us when someone else holds her.

Stats: 15 lb, 9oz (75% percentile!  She was in the 5th when she was born!); 24 inches (27% percentile...Emma is short and round apparently, good thing she's cute!)


Hair: Getting more and more red, but still not as red as her Daddy's.

Eyes: They have lightened a little around the pupils, but still blue.

Clothes: She still fits in most of her 3-month clothes, but the onesies and pants are a little on the snug side.  6-month onesies fit great for the most part, pants and other outfits a little loose.  I anticipate she'll be in 6-months through the majority of the summer, because her growth has definitely slowed down a little bit, as expected at this age.  I have so many darling outfits for her in 6-month size, I'm excited to put her in them over the summer!

Sleep: This month was all over the place.  There were weeks she slept 2-hour stretches the entire night, and weeks she did a great long stretch at the beginning.  By the end of the month, she seems to be back to a 5 to 6-hour stretch at the beginning of the night, but we'll see what next week holds for us.

Feeding: Breastfeeding has changed so drastically.  I actually enjoy it now, as it is our time together to snuggle and it can calm her down easily sometimes.  Since I went back to work when Emma was 3 1/2 months old, I've been pumping so she can stay on exclusively breastmilk.  Currently pumping three times a day, and bringing home more than she needs, so stockpiling a little bit each day.

Likes: Watching TV (like mother, like daughter), being held in a sitting straight up position, holding on to blankets or her skirts (her holding on to the bottom hem of her skirts and dresses with both hands is maybe the cutest thing I've ever seen)

Dislikes: Being left alone, staying in one position for too long


Mama Update: Being back at work has proven to be both harder and better than I thought.  I really underestimated how much I missed my job, and I hate that it feels taboo to say that.  Like it means I don't love my daughter as much, if I also love my work?  I don't know, I am glad to be back because I enjoy it and it makes my time with Emma more special.  It also helps that Emma gets to spend time with family while I'm at work, instead of going to daycare.  I do miss my girl, though, and plan to take days off here and there just to spend time with her.

Milestones:
3.24.14: First giggle fit, laughing at Daddy playing with her in our bed.

3.26.14: Rolled, tummy-to-back, for the first time!

Looking Forward To: Going in the pool for the first time in a couple months, and some fun days I'm taking off to spend with my girl in May!

Nicknames: Chicken Girl, Little Love, Buns, Bunzo, Angel

Quotable Tuesdays


Friday, April 11, 2014

A Trip

When Emma was 11 weeks old, she took her first flight!  Gardening Mom, Sister Swimmer, little Em and myself trecked across the country all the way to Delaware for my first traveling-with-a-baby experience (Sister Singer had to stay for her classes).
I had always thought traveling with a baby was a little silly, but color me ignorant when we found out that my step-Grandmother (though she's never seemed like a step anything to me) was sick and I couldn't imagine not going to see her with Emma while on my maternity leave.  Between her diagnosis and booking our flights was only a few days, and to be honest, it's a good thing we moved so quickly becuse in the weeks that would pass between booking the trip and actually going on the trip, I mustered up quite a lot of anxiety over the entire thing.

I envisioned turbulence and a flying baby (yes, I flew with her on my lap).  I had nightmares of her screaming the entire flight.  I thought maybe she would enter a growth spurt, and be fussy the entire trip.


What really happened?  Our flights were smooth sailing, she slept almost the entirety of both 5+ hours flights with very short stints of crying when she was hungry, and she was generally a happy baby most of the trip.  Except for the nights.  She really worked me good those nights, waking up almost hourly every night.  Something she didn't even do as a brand-new baby home from the hospital.  Without my Handsome Husband to help out, I was one tired mama.  But alas, I survived.

My little snow baby
 
 
She did have one fun surprise for me in the Philadelphia airport while we waited to board our homeward bound flight.  Mid-breastfeeding, she had a total poopspolsion all.  over.  me.  It soaked out her diaper, through her onesie, through the blanket she was sitting on, and onto my jeans.  Imagine my horror when I realized what had happened.  Luckily I found a "family" restroom, and went to work cleaning us up.  I patted my own back for thinking ahead with not only spare clothes for little miss Em, but a spare outfit for me, too!  I got her naked, and myself changed, and not a moment later did she spit up everywhere.  I was eternally grateful to the Spit Up Gods for having her do it at the best possible moment (if there is ever a great moment for spit up, that is), while she was naked.  Cleaned that mess up, turned around to grab a fresh diaper, and what the fuh, she is lying in a puddle of her own pee.  Seeing that she had sufficiently emptied her body of, well...everything, I picked her up and cleaned up yet another mess of bodily fluids (the joys of motherhood).  Finally, it seemed, I got her dressed and we were on our way.  It was not funny at the time, but gives me a chuckle now that I'm removed from the situation.  In the moment though, I wondered what I did in a previous life to deserve that kind of torture.

In the end, I am so glad we made the trip.  There were difficulties, but it was easier than I thought (especially the flying part!), and Emma got to meet family that it may have been years before she'd gotten a chance to meet otherwise.  My Grandmother's health seems to be improving, so we hope there are lots of visits to come!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

How Long Will I Love You?

How long will I love you?
As long as stars are above you, and longer if I can.
 
 
How long will I need you?
As long as the seasons need to follow their plan.
 
 
How long will I be with you?
As long as the sea is bound to wash upon the sand.
 
 
How long will I want you?
As long as you want me to, and longer by far.
 
 
How long will I hold you?
As long as your father told you, as long as you can.
 
 
How long will I give to you?
As long as I live through you, however long you say.
 
 
How long will I love you?
As long as stars are above you, and longer if I may.


Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Baby Girl Emma: Month Three


What's new? Emma is such a joy to be around (okay most of the time...)!  She smiles so much, and is so interested in the world around her.  She has started getting interested in the television, and being very vocal at night - "chatting" away for hours, sometimes!

Stats: No doctor's appointment this month for official stats, but she is about 13 1/2 pounds.



Hair: Her hair is definitely a bit more red, but looks much more red in photos than in person.  It has more of a red hue when in the light, and looks almost completely brown at night or in low lighting.

Eyes: Still blue and gorgeous!  They have actually gotten a bit lighter, so I'm really interested to see how the color will change.

Clothes: Emma is fitting perfectly in most 3-month clothes.  I just washed and put away all her 6-month clothes, as I think some of them may start fitting and I want to get the most use out of all these adorable outfits!

Sleep: Right at the beginning of her third month, Emma started waking up only once at night.  We went on a trip shortly after, and during that she slept awful at night.  Once we got home, she got a little better, but by the end of Month Three, she is waking up multiple times a night again.  I am hoping this is a short regression, as it is making me very nervous for going back to work in just weeks.  She naps really well most days, and while she takes good naps in the car and stroller, I find she is most well-rested on days where she gets at least one or two long naps at home.  She naps in her swing most often, and still sleeps in the pack and play in our room at night.


Feeding: After her two month shots, Emma had a few days where she was eating significantly less than previously, but since her weight gain had been exemplary, I let her choose when she wanted to eat by telling me with hunger cues.  There were a few days were she only ate 6 times in a 24-hour-period (she was eating 8-10 most days prior to that).  After a few days, she went back to her average 2 1/2-3 hours between feedings during the day.  Her fussiness while eating has greatly improved, and we are doing great with breastfeeding.  My supply dipped shortly after our trip - I think it was due to stress, being off our schedule, and a growth spurt.  Things seem to be back to normal now.

Likes: Lying on her back looking at the ceiling fan, tummy time for short periods of time with the boppy, the lambs on her swing (she likes to talk with them!), watching Mommy throw the O-ball rattle in the air in front of her

Dislikes: Apparently sleeping at night is not on her list of things to do as we wrap this month up!!  She has has given up the pacifier except for some select days, and is not loving being cradled like a baby in the crook of your arm anymore unless she is very tired.

Mama Update: Feeling good!  I am starting to really want to work out, but am terrified of it affecting my milk supply.  When I experienced a small dip, I realized how incredibly important it is to me for Emma to keep receiving exclusively breast milk, and it might be worth it for me to wait on working out at all until I am not as concerned.  I may start with jogging just a few days a week, and see if it poses an issue.

Milestones:

Huge improvement in head control - by the end of our vacation, Emma was holding her head up like a champ!

Looking Forward To: Passover and Easter!  I ordered her personalized Easter basket last weekend, and can't wait to fill it up with goodies.  We are also opening a savings account for little lady, and I plan to use all holidays as an excuse to deposit a little extra.

Nicknames: Angel Baby, Princess, Shmemma, Chicken Girl

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