11 1/2 weeks

Little Em is 11 1/2 weeks old!  Here's what's new with her:

• She's over 11 pounds now, getting close to 12
• Her head and neck control is phenomenal.  When I hold her on my shoulder she always holds her head up and looks around.  She can also go into full "cobra" pose while doing tummy time on her mat.
• She has started drooling a lot and now loves to suck and gum things, including her pacifier.  Perhaps she's an early teether?
• Emma is taking the bottle like a champ!  She sucks them down now.  I don't know how it happened, I think something just clicked for her.  Maybe because she's older?  I think it really helped that we gave her a bottle every day so that she got used to it.  She won't drink breastmilk out of the bottle, only formula.  She's a real boob snob.
• She's been "talking" a lot with us and we always talk back.  Working on language skills! In addition to "talking" she loves to laugh.  
• Randy is doing a great job of taking care of her while I'm at school.  It was rough at first but has got much better.  Last night when Randy came home from work she was so happy to see him!  They are having lots of daddy daughter moments together.

In typical Megan fashion, I've got her signed up for a bunch of classes.  On Wednesdays we go to our Beyond Newborn class at Amma, Thursdays is our ECFE class, and Friday is baby storytime at the library and lunch with Daddy afterwards.  Emma really enjoys all of it; she wants to see everything and be out doing stuff.  I truly think she gets bored at home with me all day!  Plus it's hard to be a one man entertainment center all the time.

Personally I've been busy with school and trying to be an active stay at home mom.  I miss the structure of work, but getting to be with Emma every day is a blessing.  If I had kept working I would be going back this week and she would be in daycare.  I would miss so much!  I really am grateful to have this year to spend with her and watch her grow.

We've got family coming up in a couple of weeks for the Hawkeye Gopher game.  It's going to be great!  Can't wait to see everyone.  I already bought a Halloween costume for the Ems, even though she won't be trick or treating.  And in November we are headed down to Iowa for Thanksgiving.  Looking forward to spending time with family then too.  Christmas of course will be all about Emma this year.  We will be in town as we want Emma to have her first Christmas in her own house.  Looking forward to a busy and fun Fall.

2 months old

Emma is 2 months old!  I know I say this often, but time is really going by so fast.  Here's what's new with her:

- she is talking a LOT. We don't know what she is saying but we always engage in conversation with her.  This helps her language skills down the road
- she loves to play.  It's so fun for Randy and I to interact with her.  When we play with her she smiles and laughs.
- she is still sleeping well at night. She goes to bed around 9:00pm, wakes up at 4:00am for a feeding, and then goes back to sleep until 6:30am.
- she is so strong!  She can roll on to her side, hold her head up, and support her weight on her chubby little legs.  One of our favorite games is for me to hold her under her armpits whiles she stands on my stomach.

We took Emma up to the cabin for the first time over Labor Day weekend.  This was also our first time traveling with her.  She did great!  She slept the whole way in the car, only waking up when we stopped for gas and groceries.   I changed her and nursed her when we stopped, and she would be out again as soon as we got back on the road.  She loved being at the cabin, looking at all the trees and feeling the breeze on her skin.  I was worried about nighttime but she slept fairly well.  We only had one bad night, and I think that happened because she was over stimulated and did not have enough quiet time before bed.  It was great to spend time with family and relax at the cabin.  However it was also really nice to be back at home and in our routine.

This week school starts for me.  I will be in class on Wednesday night and Saturday morning.  Randy will be taking care of Emma while I'm in class.  I have been pumping in preparation for this, so he will have at least one full bottle of breastmilk to give her.  If she eats all of that then we supplement with formula.  I just keep telling myself she's not going to starve and she will be okay even if she's crying.  Randy is amazing and I know that he will get into his own routine with her.  I'll be sure to report back to update you all on how it's going!