In sickness and in health

Last week Emma came down with her first real illness.  It was terrifying and exhausting, but I am happy to say we are all on the mend now.  Let me break it down for you:

Tuesday night last week:  Randy and I decide to order Chinese for dinner.  As I'm getting ready to put Emma down to bed I say to him, "my stomach doesn't feel good".  Shortly after I get Emma down for the night I am violently vomiting in the bathroom (sorry not sorry).  At first I think it's food poisoning.  I soon realize as I continue to get sick that it's something else.

Wednesday:  Randy stays home from work to help out.  I am weak and miserable and need him to take over with Emma for a while so I can sleep.  He takes her to a playdate.  I lie in the recliner in front of the tv and sleep and generally feel like I am dying.  Randy and Emma come back from the playdate that afternoon.  As I'm holding Emma on my lap she coughs and projectile vomit comes shooting out of her.  I attempt to nurse her.  Vomit, vomit everywhere.  I get really scared and start crying.  Randy was calm (or pretending to be) and we call the nurses line.  Get in to see the doc and the doc is like, oh, it's a gastro intestinal virus, aka norovirus.  Nothing you can do but let it run it's course.  Awesome.

Thursday:  Emma and I are starting to feel a tad better.  And then Randy gets struck down.  Vomit everywhere, again.

It has taken a whole week to recover from this virus.  And now on top of it Emma has a little cold.  Really?! To say this has been exhausting is an understatement. Emma has (understandably) been super fussy.  Her sleep is totally off with her waking multiple times a night.  And guess what?  You don't get to call in sick when you're a mom.  Still gotta show up, even when you are recovering as well.  It's the saddest thing in the world for your baby to be sick.  I just want everyone to be well and back to normal!  Also I would like to sleep.  I would always like to sleep.

In other news, I made some changes to my school schedule for the upcoming semester.  I'll be taking two classes on Saturday, back to back.  This works out much better for everyone.  I won't be home late on a weeknight, forcing Randy to either do bedtime by himself or keep Emma up.  And Emma is much less crabby pants during the daytime.  Randy will have fun daddy/daughter bonding time while I'm at class.  I'm sure they'll enjoy their Saturdays together.

4 months 'till I'm done with school.  4 months 'till I (hopefully) find a job and go back to work.  4 months 'till Em goes to daycare.  4 months to hold my little girl and make memories.

6 MONTHS OLD

Emma is 6 months old today!  How quickly this day has come.  I really do think time speeds up once you have kids.  Look at that chunk a monk up there.  She is my world.

Well I'm proud to say I made it though this semester, with a brand new baby no less.  I received an A- in both of my classes!  One more semester to go and I'm done with grad school.  I will be graduating this May.  I am so, so, grateful that I have this year at home with Em.  I don't think I would have ever finished my degree otherwise.  And it's so great to watch Emma grow and change every day.  I'm also very lucky to be able to breastfeed her for the entire year.  I'm not sure if I would have continued breastfeeding if I had gone back to work.  As hard as it is sometimes being a stay at home mom, these past 6 months have been the most amazing time of my life.  It still blows my mind that we made this little girl, and I am able to feed her with my own body.  Science is amazing!  I am also astounded almost daily at my capacity to love.  There is no way to describe the love you feel for your own child.  It humbles me.

Enough with the mushy stuff!  Here's what's new with Em:

•  she is eating solid food for lunch and dinner now.  Breastmilk is still her main form of nutrition.  However this little girl loves to eat.  She gets really excited at "mealtime". She loves sitting at the table in her high chair with mom and dad and having "dinner" with us.  Her favorites so far are pears and carrots.  

• no crawling yet, but I think we are getting close.  She moves her legs, and then her arms, in a crawling fashion.  But she can't figure out how to do both at the same time, and lift her torso.

• she sits up like a champ, all the time.  In fact she hates laying down now and always wants to be sitting like a big girl

• she "talks" a lot too, constantly babbling and screeching and making sounds at us

• she grabs her toys, my hair, my phone, anything within reach.  She is very strong and loves to grab things and explore them and put them in her mouth

• she loves to bounce and will jump in her jumparoo or johnny jump up for a long time

• she is very interested in both the cat and the dog.  When either of the pets comes in to the room Emma kicks her legs and flaps her arms and makes screeching excited sounds.  Can't wait 'till toddlerhood, the pets are in for a world of pain.  

• sleeping is going okay.  Some nights she sleeps the whole night.  Some nights she still wakes up for 1 or 2 feedings.  But on the whole it's not too bad.  She's also forming a solid nap schedule for herself.  She takes a big nap in the afternoon, so we have to make sure all activities are done in the morning and we are home or in the car by noon or 1:00.  I'm learning to schedule things around nap time now.  

• She loves her daddy, and her Nana and Grandpa and Auntie K.  We've gone out a couple times now and they have babysat.  She does okay, still cries and has meltdowns, but is getting better.

• she is long and chubby, and all her 6 month clothes are too short for her.  We're in 6-9 month size clothes now!

I'm enjoying being on winter break from school and spending lots of time with family.  Classes start up again in February and we will be busy, busy, busy.  Until then we plan on having lots of fun adventures!