11 months

Emma is 11 months old!

Here's what's new with her:

• She is pulling up to a standing position and even took a few steps.  She nows loves to pull up to standing on everything, including stairs.  

• She crawls all around her crib.  We frequently find her in a sitting position playing with her pacifiers when we go in to get her.  She also has been sleeping on her tummy.

• She crawls at lightening speed now, and always wants to be put down on the floor to explore.

• Her language is rapidly expanding as well.  She "talks" all the time now, and still says "mama", "dada", "boo", and "puppy".  

• She is still taking 2 naps a day - one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  She goes to bed around 7:30 at night and sleeps 'till about 6:30am.  

• She loves to eat and is still having three meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We are now giving her snacks.  She even signed to me the other day that she was hungry.  She also loves to hold her sippy cup.  She has whole milk at breakfast and dinner, and water at lunch/snacktime.  Sadly the breast feeding is tapering off a little.  She still likes to nurse in the morning when she first wakes up, and at night before bed.  I hope my supply keeps up as I would like to continue nursing her for a few more months.

And perhaps the most exciting news of all, I am going back to work!  I received an offer from a construction company to do Records Management, and I have accepted.  My first day is June 16, and that will also be Emma's first day at daycare.  It is bittersweet for me.  I am very excited about my new position, however I am also sad at the thought of leaving Emma.  We are doing a few test days at the daycare leading up to her first day.  Our lives, schedule, and routine are really going to change.  But we'll roll with it!  I'm excited for Emma to play with other kids her age every week day, and actually start learning some stuff.  I think it's going to be a good change for all of us.

10 months old

Emma is 10 months old!

Well, can't keep the sticker on her anymore.  She is moving and grooving!  Here is what's new with her:

• officially crawling everywhere, always on the move, wanting to explore
• doing a little downward dog yoga posing
• pulling herself up on things up to her knees
• talking a lot, saying "Mama", "Dada", and making all kinds of noises
• throwing temper tantrums when something she wants gets taken away from her
• she has a voracious appetite, eats 3 square meals a day plus still breastfeeding
• sleeping through the night!
• still taking two naps a day
• very curious about the world around her, loves to get out and see and do things
• waves "hi" at people
• gives giant open-mouth kisses
• obsessed with tiny things:  buttons, things on the floor, zippers, strings, etcetera 

Emma is such a big girl now.  My little baby is gone!  It really does go by in a blink of an eye.
School is winding down for me.  My last day of class is May 17.  So excited to be done!  I've been applying for jobs but haven't had any interviews yet.  Emma is scheduled to start daycare on June 2.  I have mixed emotions about it.  But I really do think she will love it and will have so much fun playing with all the kids and the teachers.  I will miss her at first, but I know it's best for everyone.  I don't think I could handle being a stay at home mom if I didn't have school or some kind of work outside the home.  Plus I really want Emma to experience the socialization of being in daycare.  It will be a big transition for our family but we are ready for it! 

9 months old.

9 months old.  My little baby is 9 months old.  Look at her up there!  She's huge!  Can't keep her still for pictures anymore.  Only 3 more months 'till she's a year.  I'm sure I will be a weepy mess at her birthday party.  

Well Emma has a lot going on!  She hit the 8 1/2 and 9 month mark and bam!  She was off.  Here's what's new with her:

• she is crawling!  She just randomly started doing it one morning.  Now she crawls all over the place.  All over the living room, all over Maggie's dog bed, basically wherever we put her down.
• she is officially in love with Maggie and constantly crawls over to her to pet her. Maggie is tolerating it so far.  Emma also likes to let Maggie lick her hand at dinner time, and then she laughs and laughs.  It's adorable.  I've got to get it on video.
• we transitioned her out of the Baby Merlin Magic Sleepsuit.  Randy went in to get her one morning and she had rolled in her suit, so we were done.  I put her in a Halo Sleepsack at night and the transition has been fine.  I also give her her Wub A Nub and a blankie at night.
• sleep is still going okay.  Emma is still waking up twice a night for feedings.  She also usually wakes up around 4:00am.  We let her cry at that time and put herself back to sleep.  She usually does in 20 minutes or less.  Eventually I'm going to have to stop the nighttime feedings.  I know they are just habit for her at this point.  But since I'm not working right now I don't mind getting up.  
• she says "mama" and "dada" and knows what that means!  Randy loves hearing her call him "dada".
• I am still breastfeeding her.  She loves her milk, not sure how weaning will go whenever we get around to that.  She also eats solids at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I give her real food.  She loves it!  Now that she is mobile she is hungry.  She wolfs down her dinner, and if she wants more she will smack her tray.
• We started swim lessons with her and she absolutely loves it.  She is a little fish, just like her mama.  She wasn't scared of the water at all (it helps that the pool is heated to 91 degrees).  She kicks her arms and legs, floats on her back (while I'm holding her), and even didn't mind water getting on her face.  I  hope she loves the lake just as much!  
• We started stopping at the park on our daily walks.  She is big enough to go in the baby swings now.  She loves it, and we get big smiles and giggles as we push her.  

I am super busy with school right now, it's crunch time for me with a lot of projects.  Graduation looms.  I have also started applying for jobs.  Emma is scheduled to start daycare on June 2.  Hopefully I find employment by then!

8 months old

Emma is 8 months old!

We just enjoyed a great visit with Emma's aunt, uncle, cousins, and Oma (grandma).  It's amazing how much she has changed since the last time they visited.  Now she loves to play and laugh with them.  She really bonded with her Oma, it was so sweet to see them together.  And her aunt and cousin can really make her laugh.  It's great to see Emma turning into a "real kid" instead of just a baby, if that makes sense.  Also sad.  Her babyhood is flying by.

Well as always, let's discuss Emma's sleep.  We've had some exciting developments!  I broke down and did Cry It Out sleep training with her.  I had reached my breaking point.  Emma was not getting quality sleep at night and neither was I.  I had tried everything else.  I  knew I finally just had to let her cry.  I'm doing a modified version, where I still go in and feed her twice a night.  Other than her two feedings she sleeps the whole time, 'till 7:00 or 7:30am.  Occasionally we'll hear her cry out or very rarely start crying, but I don't go in to get her when she does that.  Here's how it went down:
NIGHT ONE - went in to her room and nursed her at 10:30pm, 12:30am, and 1:30am.  After the 1:30am feeding she woke up exactly 10 minutes later.  I did not go back in.  She cried for 30 minutes.  And then slept 'till 7:30am.  I got five hours of uninterrupted sleep.  That hasn't happened to me in over 3 months.
NIGHT TWO - went in to her room and nursed her at 10:30pm, and 1:30am.  She woke up at 4:00am babbling, and then cried.  I did not go in.  She cried for 15 minutes.  And then slept 'till 7:00am.
NIGHT THREE - went in and nursed her at 10:30pm, 11:30pm, 1:30am.  She woke up at 3:30am.  I did not go back in.  She cried for much longer, about 45 minutes off and on.  She then slept 'till 7:30am.

Since then she's been waking up for her two feedings and that's it.  Randy and I used earplugs to get through the crying.  It was hard, and there were a few times where I had one leg out of the bed ready to go in.  But I knew I needed to stick with it.  And you know what?  Emma has been so much happier since then.  She is perky and playful all day.  She really needed her sleep.  What a difference it has made.

Other Emma news:

• She's still not crawling!  I'm growing a tad concerned as it seems like all the other babies her age that I know are crawling.  Emma will get up on all fours and rock back and forth, but that's it.  I just keep reminding myself she'll do it in her own time.
• She also still has no teeth!  She's been drooling A LOT and chewing on everything, but nothing has popped through.  Again, glad I don't have to deal with her biting me, but worried that none of her teeth have popped out.  All in good time
• She babbles and talks all the time
• She lifts her arms up to me when she wants to be picked up
• I make sure to say "bye bye" to her when I leave for class on Saturdays.  She and her Dad have a great day together, and she is so happy to see me when I come home
• She can lift herself up using the side of her toy box and reach in and grab a toy!  Like a big girl!

Randy recently accepted a new position and will be starting his new job soon.  He will have a few days off before he starts, and we are looking forward to having him home with us.  I am plugging along with school.  We will be purchasing a jogging stroller soon.  Looking forward to getting outside again every day, and combining Emma's afternoon nap with some exercise for me.

My sneaky ninja

Lately Emma has been on the move!  She has developed a new butt scootching move.  She leans all the way forward with her legs splayed out and scootches her butt forward.  I will put her down in the middle of the rug and step away for a minute, and when I come back she has scootched all the way across the rug to the toy she wants.  She's sneaky like a ninja though, and won't let me capture it on video.  She is also getting closer and closer to crawling.  Today at storytime she actually lifted her torso up and was on all fours.  So any day now....

Here are some other new, fun things Emma has been doing:

• talking a lot, and saying "mama" (but she doesn't know what she's saying)
• shaking her head back and forth like she is saying no (again, she doesn't know she is saying 'no', she just likes to shake her head)
• having lots of fun playing with other kids, her grandparents, and her auntie K
• exploring things on her own; she will happily play with toys on the carpet for a long time

Some not so fun things Emma has been doing:

• still waking up 3 times a night, and at least a couple times a week waking up every 2 hours
• getting super crabby at dinner time and screaming, and arching her back in her high chair, and kicking her high chair
• screaming/back-arching at bedtime.  I now have to pace back and forth in her dark nursery with her while patting her back to get her to settle down for bed.  I think she is just developing so rapidly, it's hard for her brain to slow down at bedtime

I am busy with school and taking care of the Ems.  We are eagerly looking forward to spring time and being able to go for walks outside!  Also need to start job hunting soon.  Time flies!  

7 months old

Emma is 7 months old today!  As I say every single month, TIME IS FLYING BY.  My baby is getting so big!  Here's what's new with her:

• her sleep has returned to normal after being sick, thank god.  We start bedtime at 8:20 and she's down by 8:45.  Previously I had pushed bedtime back to 8:00 but it was a struggle to get her down.  I would be in her room with her for over a half hour trying to get her down for bed.  Finally I said enough is enough.  8:20 works for my baby and that's what were sticking with.  Now that I've gone back to her original bedtime it's been a breeze.  I'm sure it will get pushed back to an earlier time as she gets older, but for now this is what works for her.  She is waking up twice a night to eat, which is not too bad.  And she's sleeping 'till 7:00am.  THAT'S RIGHT, 7:00AM.  I never thought I would see the day.  She is still sleeping in her sleepsuit at night.  However when she starts crawling and can push up to a sitting position by herself, I'm taking the sleepsuit away. Then we will lower the crib and just put her in there in her jammies at night.  Dun, dun, dun!!  I am hoping she will like the freedom of movement and being able to sleep in any position she wants?  Also going to purchase a video monitor so I can obessively watch her after we take the sleepsuit away.

• still not crawling yet but she is very, very close.  She lifts her butt all the way up in the air and pushes off with her legs.  She just can't figure out her arms and her head.  She is very good at scootching backwards though.

• She sits up and plays with toys all on her own now.  Nice little break for mommy!

• She loves reading books.

• She loves hanging out with other kids/babies and "playing" with them.

• She is eating solids at breakfast, lunch, and dinner now.  She eats a combination of purees and "regular" food.  So far she's tried cheese quesadillas, a french fry, a pickle, oranges, banana, and toast.  The only thing she doesn't like is avocado.  It's so fun trying new foods with her.  We are still breastfeeding as well.  I plan on breastfeeding her until she's 12 months old.

As for me I am enjoying my last few days of freedom before school starts up.  My first day of class is February 8.  Between school and all the activities we go to, these next 4 months will be busy, busy, busy.  It is bittersweet. Last night we toured a new daycare facility that I think we are going to put Emma in.  Yes, even though Emma's not going into daycare until this summer we have to reserve a spot now.  I can't believe I will be going back to work soon and not spending all day with my daughter.  I'm sure the daycare ladies are going to have to push me out the door as I'm hysterically sobbing on the very first day.

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!

Sleep progress

I apologize to any readers I have left, I have kind of abandoned this blog haven't I?  School got really hard and busy.  My only time to get schoolwork done is in the early morning after Emma's first feeding, when (and if) she naps, or if her Dad takes over for a while.  So all free time was devoted to getting stuff done for school.  But now I am nearing the end of the semester; hallelujah! I am looking forward to a nice long break before spring semester starts.  

I titled this blog post "Sleep progress" because I am refusing to label it as a "sleep regression". You see, Em has stopped sleeping through the night.  All of you that have children are nodding knowingly right now.  My awesome little sleeper who would go down between 8:30 and 9:00pm every night and sleep all the way through 'till 6:00 or 7:00am the next morning is gone.  She now wakes up 2 times a night for feedings.  And they are long feedings.  Like half hour or longer feedings.  So of course I spent an exorbitantly large amount of time talking about it with my mama friends and Googling it incessantly.  I spent a lot of time complaining that my "good" sleeper was gone.  I spent some time crying in her nursery at 5:00am because I was just so tired.  But I'm done with all of that (well, probably not with the crying).  Because I know that Emma is not a good or bad sleeper, she's a baby that is developing at a crazy ridiculous rate right now.  And that it won't be this way forever.  And that the reason she is waking up is because she is hungry and needs food to continue to develop.  This all started a few days after her 4 month birthday (November 1).  Since then she has hit all of these developmental milestones:

• rolling over
• blowing raspberries
• sitting up
• grabbing her toys
• shaking her head back and forth
• "screeching" and talking
• popping off the nipple because she is distracted by the world around her
• recognizing mom and dad, our voices, when we leave the room, when we come back in the room
• eating a few solids

So yeah.  That is A LOT of stuff for a wee babe in a matter of 3 weeks.  Of course she is waking up at night to eat.  I am glad that I am not working right now, because I don't know how I would be able to function at a job all day and then take care of her at night.  It's hard enough with grad school.  

One advantage of all these developments is that she is taking naps like a champ.  She takes a 30 minute morning nap and then a 2-3 hour mega nap in the afternoon.  I know this won't last and will change over time.  I am enjoying it while I can.  Currently she is napping in her car seat on the kitchen table.  

So we soldier on.  If I get a good night's sleep I feel like super mom the next day.  I get an amazing amount done and sometimes even throw in a workout**.  If it's a crap night of sleep everything is horrible and awful the next day, I can't concentrate on anything and I just want to lay in front of the tv.  Today is one of those days.  But then Emma's whole face lights up when she sees me and she gives me the biggest grin and my heart bursts and all is right with the world.

"this too shall pass"

**I took Emma to childcare at the gym again and it went ok!  I think she might be getting a little better around other people.

4 months old

   Today Emma is 4 months old!  I can't believe it.  It seems like it was just yesterday that I was crying over only sleeping 2 hours at a time and being tethered to the couch all day breastfeeding.  Now my little girl is sleeping through the night, rolling over, and just wants to play, play, play.  Sometimes I look at her and wonder who she is going to be.  I fall in love with her more and more every day.  And then there are the days when she won't stop screaming so I start screaming right along with her, or when her dad comes home and I hand her over and announce "I NEED A BREAK", or when she won't take a nap and I can't get any school work done, or when I try to leave her in childcare for 30 minutes so I can workout and attempt to lose this frigging baby weight and she cries the whole time.  Yep, it's not all sunshine and unicorns.  It's parenthood.  It's a roller coaster.  In addition to parenthood I still have this amazing husband that I love so much, and we never hang out just the two of us any more.  And then we talk about Emma all the time.  For couples that have more than one kid I don't know how you do it.  I'm looking forward to hitting up some relatives for babysitting soon so that I can go out on a date with my husband.  We agreed that we aren't allowed to talk about Emma the entire time on the date.  So....we'll probably just be sitting there in silence. Hah!

   Let's be honest, you're reading this blog post because you want to hear about Emma.  Okay!  Here's what's new with her:

• she is working really hard at rolling over.  She can roll from her tummy to her back.  She can roll from her back to her side, but hasn't managed to roll all the way yet.  If I lay her down on the floor she immediately starts to roll though, so I have to keep my eye on her at all times.  It's really cute how hard she tries to roll to her tummy, she gets so frustrated when it doesn't work.  I'm sure she'll figure it out in the next few weeks
• she is also getting better and better at sitting up.  She is still pretty wobbly and topples over, but we work at it every day.
• she LOVES looking at other babies, she screeches at them so excitedly
• I think she is starting to learn object permanence and who "mommy" is.  Twice now she has reached out for me.  I came home early from class the other night and she was so happy to see me!  
• she loves hanging out with her Dad and they have the best time together while I'm at school
• she is sucking her thumb!  great for self-soothing
• she reaches out and grabs toys now
• her giggles and laughs are the best sound in the world

   Unfortunately Emma is still having some major separation anxiety when she's not with me or her Dad.  If anyone else attempts to hold her she cries.  This includes her aunt, Nana, grandpa, people at childcare, anyone.  It's very frustrating.  Not sure what to do but just keep working at it and hopefully she will grow out of it.

   As for me I am very busy with school right now as we are approaching the end of the semester.  It's getting harder to get school work done, with Emma being so mobile now and wanting to play.  Randy is great about helping out so I can get some work done.  I just keep telling myself, I just need to pass so I can graduate. Before I know it it will be May, I will be done with school, looking for a job, and Em will be going to daycare.  Need to enjoy this time while it lasts....

3 Months Old!

Emma is 3 months old today!  Look at those chunky thighs.  As of today she weighs 12 pounds!! Here's what's new with her:

Sleep
She is still sleeping through the night, and takes a morning and afternoon nap every day.  However, she is still sleeping at night in her rock 'n play and napping out in the living room in her vibrating chair during the day. We are also still swaddling her in the Miracle Blanket at night.  The clocks ticking though, 'cause she is going to outgrow the rock 'n play soon and 6 months is the longest we can swaddle.  I am scared.  However, I have a plan!  I plan on purchasing Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit when we have to transition to the crib.  I plan on waiting as long as possible.  And I'm going to do the transition on a weekend (in case we're up all night) and just do it cold turkey.  Stay tuned.  (hopefully we can avoid it for another 2 months).

Developments
I swear Emma does something new almost every day.  She is really into her hands now and will stare at them and shove her fists into her mouth.  She likes to look at them while opening and closing them.  She's starting to reach out and grab things too, including my hair.  She can roll over on to her side, but hasn't really figured out how to roll back.  Tummy time is not her favorite, but I make her do it a little bit every day.  She has gotten so strong, we have to be really careful when she's in the boppy now because she kicks out her legs and arches backwards.  One of our favorite games to play is "wrestling", where I put her on my chest and she climbs up me.  She is talking a lot, and we always make sure to talk back with her.  Also there is lots of laughing!  One of the best things is that she recognizes us and our voices when we come in to the room now.  She gets SO excited when Randy comes home from work; it's adorable.

Feeding
Emma is taking a bottle like a champ!  She sucks them down now no problem.  She even took a bottle from her Bapa and her Nana.  Of course she always prefers the boob, but now I know she won't go hungry when I'm not around.

School and taking care of Emma is keeping me busy; the weeks are flying by.  We treasure our time with Randy on the weekends.  We are also looking forward to spending Sunday afternoons this fall with Nana, Grandpa, and Auntie K.  Before I know it the semester will be over!

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!

Checking in

It's been a while since I posted!  What can I say, we got busy.  Hurray!

Emma will be 2 months old on Sunday.  I can hardly believe it.  Time is flying by.  Here's what's new with her:

• She is still sleeping really well at night.  She has dropped one of her nightly feedings, so she is down to just one feeding during the night, usually between 4:00am and 5:00am.  I can usually get her back down after that to sleep for another couple of hours. I think our bedtime routine is working really well.  She seems to understand the "it's time to sleep" cues; with the dark room, swaddling, and white noise.  She calms right down after I swaddle her tightly in the Miracle Blanket.  She is still going down between 9:00pm and 9:30pm.  
• She has developed a new skill - sucking on her hands!  This made her fussy for a couple of days (developing new skills does that to them).  But it's cute to watch her go to town on her hand.  Calms her down.  She will also suck on her arm, or my hand as well.
• She is SO BIG.  Over 10 pounds now.  She has chunked up and has cute chubby cheeks and thighs. She is out of her newborn clothes and in the 0 - 3 month size now.
• She is getting good at independent play.  By that I mean I can set her down for a bit in her chair, the boppy, or on her activity mat and she will babble and entertain herself for a while.  Gives me a chance to get something done!
• She is taking the bottle a little bit better.  Depends on the day and her mood.  I just keep telling myself she's not going to starve and when I'm not around she will take it eventually.
• We went to a local lake for the first time (see picture below).  She had a good time except she did NOT like the water.  In her defense it was freezing.

We are headed to the cabin this weekend and I am NERVOUS.  I am worried she will not react well to being away from home and her routine, and will be up all night.  We are going to try to maintain the routine as much as possible at the cabin.  This is mainly the bedtime routine that I'm referring to - quiet time before bed, dim lights and soft talking, then white noise where she's sleeping, no lights, swaddling, and then rocking and nursing to sleep. Hopefully it goes okay!  I keep telling myself if it's horrible and I'm not getting any sleep we can just pack up and come home early.  But I'm tentatively optimistic that it will be fine.

After we get back from the cabin I start school.  I'll be in class on Wednesday nights and every other Saturday.  Randy is in charge while I'm gone!  I know it will be tough at first but in time she will adjust to being alone with him and taking the bottle for food.  I worry about Randy 'cause I know he's in for some long crying periods with her.  But every day I try to leave Emma alone with him for short amounts of time so they can both get used to it.  It breaks my heart to see both her and Randy upset, but I just keep telling myself to give it time.

Personally I'm excited to start class and develop some kind of life outside of being home with baby all the time.  In addition to actually being in class I'll be very busy with homework.  2 graduate classes = a LOT of reading, online discussions, papers, presentations, and a final exam.   Emma is also signed up for an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class once a week, and baby storytime at the library once a week.  We are a busy little family!

A day in the life

I've been wanting to do a "Day in the life" post for a while now.  I love reading them on other mom blogs.  So here is ours!  A day in the life of Emma at 6/7 weeks old:

12:00am  Emma wakes up for a feeding.  This is very unusual, as she just went to bed at 9:00pm.  She has been down to just one feeding a night.  However we had our new mama class that afternoon, which she slept through most of, and then she slept a lot when we got home.  So she was not as tired at bedtime as she usually is.  I sigh, get out of bed and go into her room to feed her.  She's back down by 12:30am.


3:45am  Emma wakes up for another feeding.  This is more typical of her nightly feeding time (it's usually between 2:00am and 3:00am).  She is really tired, so she sucks down some milk quickly and then falls right back asleep. I gratefully crawl back into bed.

6:30am  Emma is up!  And she slept 'till 6:30!  She is usually up at 6:00am on the dot.  However we asked Daddy to be a little quieter in the mornings when he gets up for work, to see if she would sleep longer.  Seems to have worked?  Who knows.  She is still sleeping in her rock 'n play, and I put the shirt I have been wearing that day in with her so she has my scent. We also swaddle her at night in the Miracle Blanket.

Diaper change after we wake up.  Randy usually does this with her in the morning.  They have a cute dad/daughter bonding session and he usually gets some smiles.

6:40am - 8:00am  Nursing time!  Emma is a champion eater.  We have a marathon nursing session in the morning.  I get set up on the couch, with my cup of coffee, phone, boppy, burp cloth, and blanket.  She chows down while I sip my coffee and check email/Facebook/Twitter.  Randy usually sits with us for a bit drinking coffee too, before he has to get ready for work.

She takes a break from feeding to play/look around a bit.

She is done feeding for now and will happily entertain herself for a little bit.  So I put her in her vibrating chair while I go make breakfast.  She coos and kicks and looks around at stuff.  I make a smoothie and we wish Daddy a good day at work.  I down my smoothie and open my laptop to get some more stuff done online while she is still happy in her chair.

8:30am  Emma starts demanding to be picked up from her chair.  She is making her "annoyed" cries/sounds.  I scoop her up and see that she has had her morning explosion!  Time for another diaper change.  After that she is back on the boob for another feeding and I am on my laptop one-handed.   I am also really hoping she'll go down for her morning nap soon so I can take a shower.

9:45am  Emma has fallen asleep while nursing but then wakes up.  This is unusual too, as she will normally go down for a 45 minute to 1 hour nap in the morning.  I am considering just putting her in her chair so I can shower.  We've got things to do!

10:00am  I put her in her chair, turn it on vibrate, tuck a blanket around her, and hope for the best.  I jump in the shower.  I contemplate shaving my legs, but I suspect that Emma is not sleeping and therefore I do not have time for this luxury.

10:15am  Thwarted!  I come back out to the living room after showering and getting dressed (yes, in 15 minutes) and Emma is not sleeping.  Again, this is unusual.  Oh well, guess we're having an off day.  I know that she will sleep in the car when we finally leave the house to run our errand.

10:15am - 11:00am  I throw her back on the boob.  She's eating a lot today, maybe it's another growth spurt?  After she's finished eating again, I change her out of her "pajamas" (which is just the onesie she wore to bed last night) and into fresh clothes.  We get packed up and ready to go run our errand for the day.

11:00am - 12:00pm  We are at Walmart.  Gross, I know.  But there is a new Walmart Super Center in Brooklyn Center off of 100N that is 5 minutes from our house, and I saw online while doing a Google search that they had some cute, cheap nursing tank tops.  Once we enter the Walmart I realize I made a mistake.  It's disorganized and I can't find the tank tops anywhere.  I get the rest of the stuff on my list and we head home.  I could have stayed out later with her but there is stuff I want to get done at home.  She sleeps the whole time.  I realize once I get back home that the nursing tanks are only available online and not in the store.  Dumb.

12:00 - 1:30pm  We are back at home and she is starting to wake up in her car seat.  I quickly heat up and wolf down some leftovers from dinner last night, as I am starving.  She fully wakes up while I am trying to eat, so I put her on one shoulder and eat with the other hand.  I pretty much only eat things that I can eat with one hand these days.  She's fussing so we sit on the couch and she nurses some more, then plays on the boppy while I do some more stuff online while talking to her/making silly noises and playing with her feet. Multi tasking is key.

1:30 - 3:00pm  I strap her in to the Baby K'tan so I can get some stuff done around the house.  I quickly fold and put away the laundry in the dryer, put in a new load, do the dishes in the sink, write a thank you card, and make and eat a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of milk (yes, hungry again).  I also put Maggie out on her tether so she can pee.  While I'm doing all these things I talk to Emma and describe what I'm doing and let her feet touch some things.  This lasts for an hour before she starts to fuss and root around.  I am convinced she is having a growth spurt.  I take her out of the K'tan and we sit back on the couch to have some quiet nursing after all that stimulation.  She then spits up most of what she ate.  Awesome.  I still want to go for a walk at some point today, play with her on her activity mat and do tummy time, and sit out on the back deck with her while I read my book and she looks at the trees.  She also needs to take an afternoon nap at some point.  Also I get a text from Randy and he is very busy at work and may be home late.  This makes us sad because Randy coming home from work is our favorite part of the day!  But of course we understand he needs to work.

3:15 - 4:15pm  She's sleepy.  I put her in her chair to nap and head downstairs to clean the cat box room.  When I'm done cleaning it she is awake again.  Le sigh.  Oh, she has pooped!  That is probably why she woke up.  I change her, and then we go in to my bedroom so I can change as I'm now covered in cat litter dust.  She happily lies on our bed and stares out the window.  I make faces at her and get her to laugh and smile.  Then we head back out to the living room where she stares entranced at the black lamp for a while.  She is really starting to notice shapes lately.  Randy texts again that he's not sure when he'll be home.  Normally at this time we would head out to the back deck, Emma would nurse and I would read a book/check my phone while we wait for Randy to get home.  Then we would all hang out together, catch up on our days, go for a family walk, make and eat dinner, and then watch some tv together.  But since he'll be late I decide to nurse Emma again for a little and then take her and Mags for a walk on my own.

4:30pm  We are off for our walk.  I've got 3 choices for carrying her - the Baby K'tan, the Ergo, or the stroller.  The K'tan is not good for long walks, and I already tossed it down in the basement to wash it.  She likes the stroller now, since I put her in it without the car seat and turn on her fan.  But since I've got Maggie with me I decide to use the Ergo so both my hands are free.  She loves it, looks around for awhile, and then dozes off.

5:00pm  We are back from our walk.  We head out to the back deck to nurse and relax.  I am pretty exhausted by this point in the day and am thinking to myself, only 4 hours 'till bedtime!  Randy is still stuck at work.  So I feed the pets and make dinner for myself (mac & cheese).  I put Emma in her bouncy chair on the kitchen table so I can bounce her while I eat.  We clean up, I grab my phone, and we head downstairs to watch some tv.  Emma will cluster feed at this time, meaning she will nurse until she passes out for bed.  I relax on the couch and watch tv.

7:30pm  Randy is finally home!  Poor guy had a rough day at work.  We chill on the couch and he gives Emma a bottle.  We are all tired but Emma is showing no sign of being ready for bed.

9:15pm  Emma finally passes out.  Randy holds her while I get "bedtime" set up.  I turn off/dim most of the lights upstairs.  I turn off the light in her room and turn the nightlight on, her box fan, and put my stinky shirt in her rock 'n play.  Then I go back downstairs to take her from Randy.  We whisper goodnight.  I take Emma into her room and shut the door.  We have a diaper change, put her in a comfy onesie, and then swaddle her in the miracle blanket.  There is no talking or interaction while this happens.  Then we sit in the rocker and nurse and rock her for a bit.  I put her down in her rock 'n play, turn off the night light, and tip toe out.

9:45pm  Good night!


So this was not a "typical" day for us, because Emma woke up for two feedings, didn't really go down for her naps, and Randy was home late.  But you get the gist!  Last night Emma was back on track.  She woke up at 4:00am for a feeding and slept 'till 6:50am.  I'll take it!  It's 8:30am and she is currently taking her morning nap while I finish this blog post.

Other news:
I have bought the 30 Day Shred, in the hopes of getting back in to shape.  I love Jillian Michaels and have done the Shred before and know that it works for me.  However I have yet to start it.  Not sure when I will find the time??
I have also submitted my resignation to my job.  For those that don't know, we have decided that I am going to stay home with Emma for the first year.  We crunched the numbers and it made more sense financially for me to stay home with her, rather than have my entire paycheck go towards daycare.  I will be staying in school and finishing my master's degree however.  I am taking 2 classes this fall, and 2 in the spring.  I will graduate in May.  I am growing concerned about when I am going to find the time to do my homework.  2 graduate level classes = a lot of work.  I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  I will probably rely on Randy to take over for chunks of time so I can get some school work done.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments!

1 month

Emma is one month old!

 What is this thing on my head?

Remove it at once!

Ah, much better.

I can't believe how fast time is going by.  We have had lots of new developments lately:

- she is sleeping much better at night.  Suddenly when we hit the 4 week mark something changed.  She seemed to figure out her days from nights.  She takes much shorter naps in the day (typically a late morning nap, an afternoon nap, and an early evening nap) each lasting about an hour or less.  At night she goes down by 9:00pm, sleeps 'till about 1:30am, wakes up for a feeding, goes back down until around 4.  I can usually feed her at that time and get her to go back down until at least 6:00am.  This makes for a somewhat well-rested and happy mom!  As she gains weight and her stomach gets bigger she should sleep for longer stretches at night.  And some magical day I will put her down at 9 and she won't wake up until 6:00am!  :)

- she is SO much more alert and active during the day.  She smiles and laughs with us, and interacts when we play with her.  We play with her toys every day.  We also try to go for a walk every day in her Ergo carrier.  She loves looking at things, out the window, at faces, basically taking everything in.  Every day she changes a little bit more!  She's also rocking at tummy time.  She lifts her head and turns it to the other side.

- the transition to her room went really well.  She is sleeping fine in there, and I sleep much better not having her in our bedroom.  She is still sleeping in her rock 'n play.  I have purchased a wedge to elevate the crib, to see if that makes her like it better.  But I've decided to not stress about her not sleeping in the crib.  We'll keep working on it, and hopefully when she is 3 or 4 months she will start sleeping in there.

- Randy took some Fridays in August off, so he can be home with us more.  We love having daddy home!  We are looking forward to a fun month of spending time together as a family.

Birth story

I wanted to get my birth story down before it all becomes a haze.  Yes, some of it is already blurry for me.  I swear, this is nature's way of ensuring that we keep propagating the species.  So here's the story of Emma being born!

I went into labor on Sunday, June 30, but I didn't know it.  Randy and I had plans of going to the beach that day.  I woke up in the basement as usual (I slept down there in the recliner due to heartburn).  I had Braxton Hicks, but that was normal.  I usually had them in the morning and then they went away.  I ignored them and Randy and I went about our day.  We got to the beach and I mentioned to Randy that I still had my Braxton Hicks and it was odd that they had not gone away yet.  He raised an eyebrow at me and asked if they were getting more painful?  I said no, and not to worry, I wasn't in labor, it was just Braxton Hicks (hah!).  I was actually in the early stages of labor at this point but I didn't know it.  So we continued hanging out at the beach.  I went out to the deep part of the lake and just let my body float, and noticed the the contractions seemed to go away when I did this.  Randy and I soaked up the sun and had lunch.  Eventually we decided to head home.  I was STILL having mild contractions and thinking they were just Braxton Hicks (denial much?).  When we got home Randy went downstairs to shower and I went out to the back deck to read my book and relax.  The contractions were beginning to hurt a little bit more, so I decided to stand up and walk around and see if that would make them go away.  WHOOSH.  As soon as I stood up my water broke and gushed onto the deck. Yep, just like in the movies!  I stood there in shock for a little bit.  I felt scared and excited at the same time.  I bent down to look at it (I know, gross), to make sure the amniotic fluid was clear.  It was.  It was show time.

I walked in to the house and called downstairs to Randy "Babe, my water just broke".  He came outside to look at it and with a big grin on his face he said this was it and should we call the doctor?  At this time my contractions were starting to become more painful.  Randy made sure I ate and drank, as we knew I would not be allowed to eat once admitted to the hospital.  Then Randy called our doctor.  When he passed the phone to me I said to the doctor, "I'm not sure if this is it".  My doc laughed and said yes, if your water broke, this is it.  She said we could labor at home for a while and go to the hospital when the pain got too bad.  I said okay and hung up, and Randy started timing the contractions.  And that's when I got on the train to Pain Town.  I honestly don't remember everything I said or did during that time.  My pain level escalated very quickly.  There was lots of moaning, cursing, and screaming.  Finally, after an hour and a half at home, I looked at Randy and said let's go.  I needed to get to the hospital and get some meds!  We grabbed our hospital bag, made sure the pets were fed, and drove to North Memorial.

Walking through the parking ramp we had to take a breather as another contraction came and went.  I honestly did not care who saw me and if I looked like a crazy person.  It hurt, A LOT.  We got up to labor and delivery and they got us in to a room to check and see how far along I was.  If they had said I was not dilated enough to admit me and that we had to go back home I think I would have lost it, it was that painful.  But luckily the nurse announced I was at 3 centimeters and they were going to admit me!  Hooray!  BRING ON THE EPIDURAL.

We told the nurse that we wanted an epidural and Randy expressed my fear that it would wear off before it was time to push.  The nurse assured us that that wouldn't happen and that she would call the anesthesiologist.  We just had to wait.  And wait.  The nurse came back in and said that the anesthesiologist was busy with another patient and it would be a little while.  Did I want some fentanyl to tide me over 'till he got there?  Yes, yes please.  She warned me that the fentanyl would only last an hour and then wear off.  I didn't care. I needed something!  Once it kicked in I felt so much better.  I could still feel the contractions but they were manageable and I was able to relax and chat with Randy and the nurses.

Well eventually the fentanyl wore off, and the anesthesiologist was not there yet.  I don't remember how long we had to wait, probably not long but it seemed forever to me.  Finally he came to our room and I remember thinking "please hurry, please hurry".  He had me hang on to Randy's shoulders as he inserted the device and medicine.  During this time I could not move, so of course a contraction hit.  I squeezed Randy's shoulders so hard and breathed through it, reminding myself that the medicine was currently being injected in to my body and it would soon be better.  And soon it was!  We had one complication where the epidural was not working on the left side of my uterus.  But the doc came back and readjusted it and then I was golden.  The nurses turned down the lights and Randy and I attempted to get some rest as we waited for me to fully dilate.

After what I thought was a relatively peaceful night (thanks to the epidural), the nurse came in in the morning to check me and announced I was at 10 centimeters.  She had me lay on my left side to "labor down" for a while and help the baby move down the birth canal.  I told her I was feeling an urge to push.  She said, okay, let's push!  I gave Randy a look of surprise because our doctor wasn't there yet.  The nurse grabbed one leg, Randy grabbed the other and I started pushing.  It did not hurt so much as there was a lot of pressure, and it took a minute for me to figure out how to push.  A little while later our doctor showed up.  At some point she said she could see the head and that there was a full head of hair!  I asked for a mirror to be wheeled in at that point so I could see.  I also told Randy to go down there and look (he didn't want to at first), so he could see her.  And there was her head!  The doctor made me hold off on pushing until I had another contraction (and that hurt, ring of fire, no joke).  Then her head was out and the rest of her little body slid out and she was here!  They put her on my chest and Randy and I kissed her and we both cried.  I pushed for about 45 minutes, which was not too bad.  They whisked Emma away to clean her up and for Randy to cut the cord.  Then they brought her back to me to try nursing, and champion eater that she is, she latched on right away.  Randy and I laughed and kissed and stared at our daughter.

After a while we were moved to a recovery room, where we spent the next 2 days enjoying our little family.