I think that we took this yesterday (or maybe it was Sunday?). She fell asleep in the bouncer again, and I wanted to get a picture of how big her hands are getting.
This was her outfit today. The daycare ladies LOVED the little bunny feet!!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
14 Weeks Old - Pictures
I think that we took this yesterday (or maybe it was Sunday?). She fell asleep in the bouncer again, and I wanted to get a picture of how big her hands are getting.
This was her outfit today. The daycare ladies LOVED the little bunny feet!!
Still Sick...
So not much of an update again. We're ALL so sick! :( Poor Emma... she's not as bad as the first cold she got, but Daddy & I are feeling terrible. I can't breathe through my nose at all. Luckily, tomorrow is my "Friday" of the week and hopefully we can all spend the weekend recuperating. And enjoying this very spring-like weather we're having!
I do have pictures, and I think even a video to upload, so hopefully you'll get to see my little sweet pea again soon! We also have a huge thank you to send to Grandma and Grandpa Lewis for the two packages that arrived today, and to Aunt Ann who also sent a package! She's going to be spoiled for Easter. :)
I do have pictures, and I think even a video to upload, so hopefully you'll get to see my little sweet pea again soon! We also have a huge thank you to send to Grandma and Grandpa Lewis for the two packages that arrived today, and to Aunt Ann who also sent a package! She's going to be spoiled for Easter. :)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Snotty Cold #2
It's sooooo exciting! (can you hear the sarcasm?)
So Daddy brought home a cold/flu bug from campus. It started with body aches, headache and low-grade temp, then went into a sore throat, and now a drippy nose. Poor Emma... she hasn't felt great all weekend. She was a trooper during day care though! She ate ALL of her first 3 bottles (2.5 oz in each) and got 1/2 oz out of the last one before Mommy got there to feed her from the tap.
I can't believe she's already 14 weeks old today. I definitely need to take some more pictures and get them posted ASAP.
So Daddy brought home a cold/flu bug from campus. It started with body aches, headache and low-grade temp, then went into a sore throat, and now a drippy nose. Poor Emma... she hasn't felt great all weekend. She was a trooper during day care though! She ate ALL of her first 3 bottles (2.5 oz in each) and got 1/2 oz out of the last one before Mommy got there to feed her from the tap.
I can't believe she's already 14 weeks old today. I definitely need to take some more pictures and get them posted ASAP.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Sleep
I guess it's time I blog about Emma's sleep patterns and our success/failure at getting this organized. We're having some struggles in this area too. Like tonight, when I tried to transfer her to the bouncer after she fell asleep so I could eat supper with both hands, and she woke up, and then it took 2 hours to get her back to sleep fully.
Naps:
*Emma falls asleep best when being held by someone, especially if she is being rocked or walked around. She'll fight a nap about 50% of the time, but we generally can tell when she really needs to nap. We're averaging 4 naps a day, with one of those naps being her "big" nap of about 2 hours.
*She will ONLY do her big nap if she is face-down on someone's chest, whether that is Mommy or Daddy. She will sleep deeper on Mommy with skin-to-skin contact.
*One time she slept 2 1/2 hours at daycare, but she was in a reclining swing the entire time. She has napped in the swing here at home, but only for about 45 minutes (it's an upright swing).
*Once she has fallen asleep, she can be transferred to a bouncer or the bassinet (in the boppy, sitting somewhat upright and partly swaddled) but again will only sleep for about 45 minutes.
Nighttime:
*There is a SMALL window of easy falling asleep. She'll get drowsy between 6-6:30 and if we can get her to sleep then (or shortly thereafter), she'll stay asleep for the most part. If she wakes up or won't fall asleep, then we're fighting to get her to sleep until 8 or 9pm.
*She will ONLY fall asleep if she is on someone, again, face-down, chest-to-chest contact. Occasionally I can get her to fall asleep reclining in my arms if I have nursed her to sleep.
*She falls asleep easiest on the nights she gets a bath (2 nights/week right now), but we also don't bathe her until 7pm usually because Daddy wants to watch the evening national news. So it's a little bit of a battle to keep her awake on those nights to give her the bath, and then calm her down post-bath so she can relax and sleep (usually nursing works to do that).
*She can be transferred to the bouncer or bassinet, but only if her nighttime noise bear is going and it is mostly dark in the room. She will only stay there for as long as the bear is making noise (45 minutes) and if we can get the bear to re-start before she notices. We've never succeeded in keeping her in those places for more than 2 cycles of the bear before she gets squirmy.
*Once we transfer her to the bed with Mommy, she is really asleep for the night. She dream-nurses, which is nice since I immediately wake up when I hear her hunger cues and I can latch her on and let her nurse without waking up. Much of the time, I can tell when she's doing her "I'm wet, change me" dance and Daddy can change her without waking up. If she does wake up from a diaper change, it takes nighttime noise bear and a lot of patting her to get her back to sleep, which she usually will do within 1/2 hour or so. (Mommy is awake during both the nursing and the patting back to sleep, which means sometimes I'm up for an hour during these times).
*There have been a few nights where she's slept for 10 hours, through both the diaper changes and the dream feeds. She is one happy, chipper baby in those mornings!
*She will really NOT sleep past 10 hours. So if she falls asleep at 6:30, we're getting up between 4:30 and 5am. Occasionally we can get her sleeping through to 5:30am.
I need to get "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and read that, at many people's recommendations. But in the short term (when am I going to have time to read? Seriously? I haven't even made it through the first chapter of "Babyproofing Your Marriage" and I've had it for 10 days), I just don't know what to do. On one hand, I feel really good because we know exactly what to do to get her to sleep (rocking, being chest-down on one of us, patting, nighttime noise bear) and her night-time ritual is fairly predictable. On the other hand, I don't get anything done other than be on the laptop in the evenings. Whomever is not holding her is responsible for laundry, dishes, putting away supper, etc., etc. Eventually I want her to learn to fall asleep on her own, in something other than our arms.
First things first, we need to really figure out if she does have reflux or something similar that makes it so difficult for her to stay asleep when on her back. After that, we'll figure out how to help her sleep better. Only one more month to go until that "magic" 4-month mark where she's supposed to sleep a little longer without needing feeding.
Naps:
*Emma falls asleep best when being held by someone, especially if she is being rocked or walked around. She'll fight a nap about 50% of the time, but we generally can tell when she really needs to nap. We're averaging 4 naps a day, with one of those naps being her "big" nap of about 2 hours.
*She will ONLY do her big nap if she is face-down on someone's chest, whether that is Mommy or Daddy. She will sleep deeper on Mommy with skin-to-skin contact.
*One time she slept 2 1/2 hours at daycare, but she was in a reclining swing the entire time. She has napped in the swing here at home, but only for about 45 minutes (it's an upright swing).
*Once she has fallen asleep, she can be transferred to a bouncer or the bassinet (in the boppy, sitting somewhat upright and partly swaddled) but again will only sleep for about 45 minutes.
Nighttime:
*There is a SMALL window of easy falling asleep. She'll get drowsy between 6-6:30 and if we can get her to sleep then (or shortly thereafter), she'll stay asleep for the most part. If she wakes up or won't fall asleep, then we're fighting to get her to sleep until 8 or 9pm.
*She will ONLY fall asleep if she is on someone, again, face-down, chest-to-chest contact. Occasionally I can get her to fall asleep reclining in my arms if I have nursed her to sleep.
*She falls asleep easiest on the nights she gets a bath (2 nights/week right now), but we also don't bathe her until 7pm usually because Daddy wants to watch the evening national news. So it's a little bit of a battle to keep her awake on those nights to give her the bath, and then calm her down post-bath so she can relax and sleep (usually nursing works to do that).
*She can be transferred to the bouncer or bassinet, but only if her nighttime noise bear is going and it is mostly dark in the room. She will only stay there for as long as the bear is making noise (45 minutes) and if we can get the bear to re-start before she notices. We've never succeeded in keeping her in those places for more than 2 cycles of the bear before she gets squirmy.
*Once we transfer her to the bed with Mommy, she is really asleep for the night. She dream-nurses, which is nice since I immediately wake up when I hear her hunger cues and I can latch her on and let her nurse without waking up. Much of the time, I can tell when she's doing her "I'm wet, change me" dance and Daddy can change her without waking up. If she does wake up from a diaper change, it takes nighttime noise bear and a lot of patting her to get her back to sleep, which she usually will do within 1/2 hour or so. (Mommy is awake during both the nursing and the patting back to sleep, which means sometimes I'm up for an hour during these times).
*There have been a few nights where she's slept for 10 hours, through both the diaper changes and the dream feeds. She is one happy, chipper baby in those mornings!
*She will really NOT sleep past 10 hours. So if she falls asleep at 6:30, we're getting up between 4:30 and 5am. Occasionally we can get her sleeping through to 5:30am.
I need to get "The No Cry Sleep Solution" and read that, at many people's recommendations. But in the short term (when am I going to have time to read? Seriously? I haven't even made it through the first chapter of "Babyproofing Your Marriage" and I've had it for 10 days), I just don't know what to do. On one hand, I feel really good because we know exactly what to do to get her to sleep (rocking, being chest-down on one of us, patting, nighttime noise bear) and her night-time ritual is fairly predictable. On the other hand, I don't get anything done other than be on the laptop in the evenings. Whomever is not holding her is responsible for laundry, dishes, putting away supper, etc., etc. Eventually I want her to learn to fall asleep on her own, in something other than our arms.
First things first, we need to really figure out if she does have reflux or something similar that makes it so difficult for her to stay asleep when on her back. After that, we'll figure out how to help her sleep better. Only one more month to go until that "magic" 4-month mark where she's supposed to sleep a little longer without needing feeding.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Mommy's Day
Today was MY day with Emma, and we had a great time! She does sleep much better with me (maybe because I co-sleep with her?) and so she took 2 short naps this morning (45 min and 75 min), and then got a BIG nap this afternoon from 1-3:30. Of course, she was on Mommy and I slept too. I almost feel rested right now.
I found a boppy and 2 covers on Crai.gs List for $20, so we picked it up yesterday. Our hope is that maybe we can use that to help her nap, because she really hates being flat on her back. Her preferred position to sleep is either on her tummy (and on Mommy) or on her side, so we'll see. I put her in it and we took a picture, she was talking to us at the time.
This is the first time she's worn this outfit too, and I absolutely love it. You can't see it in the picture, but the pants have little bear feet on them. Just adorable!
My baby is 3 months, 5 days old today. She's growing up too fast!
I found a boppy and 2 covers on Crai.gs List for $20, so we picked it up yesterday. Our hope is that maybe we can use that to help her nap, because she really hates being flat on her back. Her preferred position to sleep is either on her tummy (and on Mommy) or on her side, so we'll see. I put her in it and we took a picture, she was talking to us at the time.
This is the first time she's worn this outfit too, and I absolutely love it. You can't see it in the picture, but the pants have little bear feet on them. Just adorable!
My baby is 3 months, 5 days old today. She's growing up too fast!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Another Worry
We went to weigh Emma today, and she was only 11 lbs, 11 oz. She's 3 months and 4 days old. At 2 months, 3 days old, she was 10 lbs, 7 oz. She really should have gained more weight. :( Now, I know that we've had a week of her not eating at daycare (and she didn't eat great for Daddy today) but that little bit worries me.
*sigh*
Oh... and my middle-of-the-night insomnia is back. I was up from 2-4am and even though I'm completely exhausted, I couldn't sleep. I really hope that goes away asap!
*sigh*
Oh... and my middle-of-the-night insomnia is back. I was up from 2-4am and even though I'm completely exhausted, I couldn't sleep. I really hope that goes away asap!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
A WHOLE Bottle!
Emma ate an entire bottle at daycare today. I prepare each bottle to have about 2 1/2 oz of breast milk in them, and she'd been leaving an ounce, or an ounce and a half in each. Today, on her last bottle of the day, she ate the WHOLE thing. (Then came home and an hour later, nursed again, LOL!)
The daycare folks have figured out how to help her eat (she needs a quiet environment) and are doing a fabulous job with her. I'm so proud of how she is adjusting.
Now we just have to get her sleeping better there. Again we just had 1/2 hr to 45 minute naps at daycare, and here at 7:30pm, she's out for the night. She isn't sleeping in a crib here at home yet, so we knew that would be an issue, but she's really not even sleeping in the swing or bouncer for them either. We'll get there.... the daycare provider had some good suggestions about how to help her feel more comfortable in the crib that we'll be trying this weekend.
Oh -- and on a side note, Mommy has done 25 clinical hours in 3 days. So that means seeing people face-to-face for 25 hours, PLUS my notes. I'm one tired Momma!
The daycare folks have figured out how to help her eat (she needs a quiet environment) and are doing a fabulous job with her. I'm so proud of how she is adjusting.
Now we just have to get her sleeping better there. Again we just had 1/2 hr to 45 minute naps at daycare, and here at 7:30pm, she's out for the night. She isn't sleeping in a crib here at home yet, so we knew that would be an issue, but she's really not even sleeping in the swing or bouncer for them either. We'll get there.... the daycare provider had some good suggestions about how to help her feel more comfortable in the crib that we'll be trying this weekend.
Oh -- and on a side note, Mommy has done 25 clinical hours in 3 days. So that means seeing people face-to-face for 25 hours, PLUS my notes. I'm one tired Momma!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
First Week
While Emma is sacked out on my chest, I'll try to do a brief update.
This was the BIG week. And boy, did I go back to a full schedule. We've been dropping Emma off at daycare at 7:30am, and I haven't been able to pick her up until 5:30pm. Both nights I've had to sit and do paperwork after I got home, and I haven't even finished Monday's yet.
On Monday, she did well at daycare. She took about 1 oz at each feeding (at least she's eating from the bottle) and had a good 2 1/2 hour nap. Today, not so well... still eating around 1oz at each feeding, but she didn't nap longer than 45 minutes, so she was cranky. We got her to sleep around 7pm but she's still restless.
I like being back at work but it's frustrating. I'm completely exhausted -- she ate every 1.5 to 2 hours last night -- and I feel overwhelmed by the fact that I get to see my daughter awake for maybe 2 hours total. I don't want to go into details, but I'm struggling in so many ways. People keep telling me it will get better. I really hope they're right.
In any case, here are a few pictures.
On Sunday (her 3 month birthday), we went out to take some family pictures. I've been wanting to do that for some time, but we've been SO busy. We finally just made time, and here are a few of the pictures. Some of the others turned out gorgeous, but I will wait for Joe to edit them and upload some to the blog.
And here's Mommy and Emma, on the first morning I went back to work. Not a great picture, but I wanted to take a "first morning" picture. :)
This was the BIG week. And boy, did I go back to a full schedule. We've been dropping Emma off at daycare at 7:30am, and I haven't been able to pick her up until 5:30pm. Both nights I've had to sit and do paperwork after I got home, and I haven't even finished Monday's yet.
On Monday, she did well at daycare. She took about 1 oz at each feeding (at least she's eating from the bottle) and had a good 2 1/2 hour nap. Today, not so well... still eating around 1oz at each feeding, but she didn't nap longer than 45 minutes, so she was cranky. We got her to sleep around 7pm but she's still restless.
I like being back at work but it's frustrating. I'm completely exhausted -- she ate every 1.5 to 2 hours last night -- and I feel overwhelmed by the fact that I get to see my daughter awake for maybe 2 hours total. I don't want to go into details, but I'm struggling in so many ways. People keep telling me it will get better. I really hope they're right.
In any case, here are a few pictures.
On Sunday (her 3 month birthday), we went out to take some family pictures. I've been wanting to do that for some time, but we've been SO busy. We finally just made time, and here are a few of the pictures. Some of the others turned out gorgeous, but I will wait for Joe to edit them and upload some to the blog.
And here's Mommy and Emma, on the first morning I went back to work. Not a great picture, but I wanted to take a "first morning" picture. :)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Happy 3 Months Old
Pictures forthcoming.... Mommy is preparing to go back to work "full time" tomorrow and Emma does not want to sleep tonight!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
One Year Ago Today...
I started the cycle that Emma was conceived on.
I remember how devastated I was that we hadn't conceived on our $1500+ cycle, with multiple eggs and great IUI. I remember thinking that just one year prior to that moment, I was waiting to miscarry our second baby.
What a difference a year makes.
I remember how devastated I was that we hadn't conceived on our $1500+ cycle, with multiple eggs and great IUI. I remember thinking that just one year prior to that moment, I was waiting to miscarry our second baby.
What a difference a year makes.
Happy Spring!
Today we..
*Filed our Federal (getting a refund! Yay for a child deduction!) and State (owe them $$ -- BOO) taxes
*Are making poultry stock from scratch
*Are making bread from scratch
*Took several naps
*Played BY OURSELVES in the play mat for 30 minutes!
We won't share how bad of a night it was before.... all the "bad" fades away in light of our good day. But I will share this video from 5 days ago, Emma was getting her diaper change and was in a talky and playing mood.
*Filed our Federal (getting a refund! Yay for a child deduction!) and State (owe them $$ -- BOO) taxes
*Are making poultry stock from scratch
*Are making bread from scratch
*Took several naps
*Played BY OURSELVES in the play mat for 30 minutes!
We won't share how bad of a night it was before.... all the "bad" fades away in light of our good day. But I will share this video from 5 days ago, Emma was getting her diaper change and was in a talky and playing mood.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Big Day (Again)
Yesterday was Daddy's "trial" day and I think it went ok, although she wouldn't take the bottle from him (even though she had previously). My theory is that she was just so shaken by her day at daycare that it carried over into yesterday. I thoroughly enjoyed work, since Wednesday is my favorite facility, but it took me until 9pm last night to finish my paperwork.
So today was just a Mommy & Emma day, and went to the OPA office to visit the staff, and then dropped by another facility to visit the social worker and some of the residents. Emma, as always, was a big hit. She just adores getting smiles and although she got fussy towards the end, she did really well. We changed 3 diapers while we were out and breastfed twice.
She was eating about every hour today, I think catching up from yesterday. When we got home, we had to change clothes (because of spitup) and then we took a nap together. She was wearing her new outfit that my friend Joe from California sent, and then she got her new crochet blanket from Great-Aunt Janie! It's so super-soft and just a perfect color... we love it.
Emma is "talking" more and more each day. It is amazing to watch her develop and her world expand. She's had many a conversation with Daddy, and is giving more frequent smiles. When she is smiling and cooing at me, my whole world melts away and it's just her and I -- I'm so amazed by this little girl of mine. I still can't believe I'm a mother. Seems so strange to say that, but very awesome.
So today was just a Mommy & Emma day, and went to the OPA office to visit the staff, and then dropped by another facility to visit the social worker and some of the residents. Emma, as always, was a big hit. She just adores getting smiles and although she got fussy towards the end, she did really well. We changed 3 diapers while we were out and breastfed twice.
She was eating about every hour today, I think catching up from yesterday. When we got home, we had to change clothes (because of spitup) and then we took a nap together. She was wearing her new outfit that my friend Joe from California sent, and then she got her new crochet blanket from Great-Aunt Janie! It's so super-soft and just a perfect color... we love it.
Emma is "talking" more and more each day. It is amazing to watch her develop and her world expand. She's had many a conversation with Daddy, and is giving more frequent smiles. When she is smiling and cooing at me, my whole world melts away and it's just her and I -- I'm so amazed by this little girl of mine. I still can't believe I'm a mother. Seems so strange to say that, but very awesome.
Emma is Cooing
She's doing it much better, but this is all I could capture last night on the video (it's dark because it was getting close to bedtime and we had the lights turned down). It absolutely melts my heart to have her "talking" to me.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Recent Pictures
Here she is at 11 weeks, 6 days... I also took video from this day that I'll post later.
I call this her "Ernie" outfit -- it bears a very close resemblance to what Ernie from Sesame Street wears. She kept giving me odd looks as I was snapping away, this is the best shot! :)
I call this her "Ernie" outfit -- it bears a very close resemblance to what Ernie from Sesame Street wears. She kept giving me odd looks as I was snapping away, this is the best shot! :)
First Day at Daycare
Well, we survived.
Emma apparently did pretty well. She took four naps, all less than an hour long (which might possibly be a problem since she usually has at least one 2-hour nap... but maybe not so much, maybe she'll crash tonight?). She did NOT eat from the bottle, maybe 2 oz the entire time. So around 2:30, I ran over and fed her from the tap so she at least had something in her belly. She's already eaten two big meals since she got home at 5:30, and is now asleep on my chest. According to the staff she didn't cry a lot, but was very clingy. Strangely enough, each time I went there, she had somewhat of a shell-shocked look on her face -- she didn't smile to see me, or even react. She just looked.... overwhelmed. That made me feel really sad.
Momma did ... ok. I cried all the way to daycare, cried while we were there, and cried on my way from there to work. When I was actively working, I did well and was feeling good, but when I was writing notes or pumping, I was very sad. I pumped twice at work and got about 4 oz at each pumping, and then didn't have to pump since I fed her and then fed her after I picked her up. Pumping wasn't too bad, but we'll see how it goes -- it's strange to interrupt my clinical day to go set everything up, get myself in "nursing" mode by looking at pictures, and then clean up and go back to work.
In any case, we survived the trial day and I think she'll do ok when she goes there more often and gets to know the providers. Tomorrow is Daddy's trial day with her, and we'll see how that goes.
If I have the energy, I'll download some pictures and video I took on Monday and post those tonight. If I don't have the energy, I'll do it later on this week. I'm one very tired Mommy.
Emma apparently did pretty well. She took four naps, all less than an hour long (which might possibly be a problem since she usually has at least one 2-hour nap... but maybe not so much, maybe she'll crash tonight?). She did NOT eat from the bottle, maybe 2 oz the entire time. So around 2:30, I ran over and fed her from the tap so she at least had something in her belly. She's already eaten two big meals since she got home at 5:30, and is now asleep on my chest. According to the staff she didn't cry a lot, but was very clingy. Strangely enough, each time I went there, she had somewhat of a shell-shocked look on her face -- she didn't smile to see me, or even react. She just looked.... overwhelmed. That made me feel really sad.
Momma did ... ok. I cried all the way to daycare, cried while we were there, and cried on my way from there to work. When I was actively working, I did well and was feeling good, but when I was writing notes or pumping, I was very sad. I pumped twice at work and got about 4 oz at each pumping, and then didn't have to pump since I fed her and then fed her after I picked her up. Pumping wasn't too bad, but we'll see how it goes -- it's strange to interrupt my clinical day to go set everything up, get myself in "nursing" mode by looking at pictures, and then clean up and go back to work.
In any case, we survived the trial day and I think she'll do ok when she goes there more often and gets to know the providers. Tomorrow is Daddy's trial day with her, and we'll see how that goes.
If I have the energy, I'll download some pictures and video I took on Monday and post those tonight. If I don't have the energy, I'll do it later on this week. I'm one very tired Mommy.
Monday, March 15, 2010
12 Weeks
I don't have time for much of an update tonight, as we're gearing up for the first "trial" day at daycare tomorrow and my first day back at work. It's been alternatively an awesome day (she is cooing with more frequency) and a horrible day (non-stop crying). I've gotten on average 4 hours of sleep the last 4 nights, and today no nap. I don't know how I'm going to work like this, but I guess I'll find out -- there is no alternative.
I did take some adorable video of her on her play mat, but won't have time to upload that for a few days. It's likely I won't be able to do the daily updates I've done during maternity leave, but I'll try to update every few days.
I did take some adorable video of her on her play mat, but won't have time to upload that for a few days. It's likely I won't be able to do the daily updates I've done during maternity leave, but I'll try to update every few days.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Black & White "Kitty"
This is a non-Emma-related post, but I thought I'd share the video we took of our black and white "kitty" that's been visiting the back yard. I've actually seen it crawl under the cantilever and we definitely smelled it one evening, so I think we'll have to call pest control to take care of the "kitty."
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Here Comes Trouble
Friday, March 12, 2010
It's Friday
Not that it means much, but it's my last "official" Friday on maternity leave. I'm very sad about that, although I am looking forward to seeing some of my clients again. Some random things, good and bad.
* I've been up since 4:45 am with no nap.
* I have over 200 oz of breastmilk frozen in the freezer.
* Emma and I sat on the front porch and she can track cars going up and down the street with her eyes and follows them with her entire head.
* Our new play-yard got here and it's a huge hit.
* We have a skunk who has shown up in the back yard the last 3 nights. At least I know what's digging up the yard now.
* I've been up since 4:45 am with no nap.
* I have over 200 oz of breastmilk frozen in the freezer.
* Emma and I sat on the front porch and she can track cars going up and down the street with her eyes and follows them with her entire head.
* Our new play-yard got here and it's a huge hit.
* We have a skunk who has shown up in the back yard the last 3 nights. At least I know what's digging up the yard now.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
11w 2d Pictures
While she's taking her mid-morning nap on my chest, I thought I'd take some time to post pictures and the videos. Yesterday was really an eventful day -- between the nap with Daddy, the bottle, and then her sleeping in the bouncer in the evening! She slept for 1 1/2 hours in the bouncer before she got too restless and had a wet diaper, and then we transferred her to the bed with Mommy. I actually got to read a book, eat a snack with BOTH hands, and have a minute to do some work on the computer. Don't get me wrong... I *love* holding her, but I just don't have that much stamina!
Our goal is to work up to her sleeping without one of us right there, which seems to work best if we rock her to sleep first and have her rain-sound bear right next to her. Eventually we'll get to having her self-soothe to sleep, but I keep reminding myself just ONE thing at a time!
Asleep on Daddy.... such a sweet picture. I love them both SO much!
Close-up of my sleeping angel!
And after her nap, watching the dancing bear. I kept trying to capture the smile she was giving the bear, but she was too fast for me! I think this might be the last time she gets to wear the dress you gave us Auntie Mims... she's getting too big for it! :(
Our goal is to work up to her sleeping without one of us right there, which seems to work best if we rock her to sleep first and have her rain-sound bear right next to her. Eventually we'll get to having her self-soothe to sleep, but I keep reminding myself just ONE thing at a time!
Asleep on Daddy.... such a sweet picture. I love them both SO much!
Close-up of my sleeping angel!
And after her nap, watching the dancing bear. I kept trying to capture the smile she was giving the bear, but she was too fast for me! I think this might be the last time she gets to wear the dress you gave us Auntie Mims... she's getting too big for it! :(
New Videos at 11w 2d
We took both of these videos yesterday.
This first one is Daddy & Emma playing with the mirror. He calls it her "stalker baby" since that baby follows Emma around to every mirror in the house! :)
This is when I put Emma in her bouncer after she and Daddy's nap (pictures forthcoming), and was playing some music for her. I had the bear "dance" for her and for a long time she was really entertained by it. Of course, by the time I remembered to take video, she was getting a little tired of it!
This first one is Daddy & Emma playing with the mirror. He calls it her "stalker baby" since that baby follows Emma around to every mirror in the house! :)
This is when I put Emma in her bouncer after she and Daddy's nap (pictures forthcoming), and was playing some music for her. I had the bear "dance" for her and for a long time she was really entertained by it. Of course, by the time I remembered to take video, she was getting a little tired of it!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tonight's One Thing
Has been accomplished... it only took about an hour of soothing before she was in a deep enough sleep for me to get out of the chair without her waking up, but I've got her in the bouncer asleep right now. It's not the bassinet, but it'll do for the moment. Long enough for me to pee, get a drink, and do a blog update.
We had a nice milestone in that she napped with Daddy today AND then took a bottle from him! I'm just sad and thrilled at the same time. Sad because she's able and willing to take the bottle, but thrilled that my little girl will be able to let others feed her the milk Mommy makes for her.
It was also such a nice day that I took her outside and we walked around the house several times, and then we walked up the block a bit with her in my arms. I feel like she got a better perspective of "The World" from my arms than from down in her stroller. And she seemed to enjoy "The Outside" very much! It was nice seeing the sun and being out in it for a while.
I also took an adorable video of her playing in the mirror with Daddy today that I need to upload later, but for the moment I'm going to read a book and just relax. And maybe eat a late snack with both hands. :)
We had a nice milestone in that she napped with Daddy today AND then took a bottle from him! I'm just sad and thrilled at the same time. Sad because she's able and willing to take the bottle, but thrilled that my little girl will be able to let others feed her the milk Mommy makes for her.
It was also such a nice day that I took her outside and we walked around the house several times, and then we walked up the block a bit with her in my arms. I feel like she got a better perspective of "The World" from my arms than from down in her stroller. And she seemed to enjoy "The Outside" very much! It was nice seeing the sun and being out in it for a while.
I also took an adorable video of her playing in the mirror with Daddy today that I need to upload later, but for the moment I'm going to read a book and just relax. And maybe eat a late snack with both hands. :)
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
11 Weeks!
A short update before bed...
Emma had another big day today. She visited another one of Mommy's facilities, and met a LOT of the staff and some of the residents. For the most part, it was a great visit -- she smiled at people, only fussed a little, and captured the hearts of everyone.
After changing her and feeding her there, she fell asleep... so I went and picked up Daddy, and we had lunch at the park and walked around with the stroller for a while. It was 60 degrees and sunny out! I think it helped all of us tremendously. Mommy & Emma also had a nap when we got home, which helped even more.
As I get closer to going back to work, it's very likely I won't be able to do daily posts but I will try to keep updates and pictures going for everyone. I'll definitely do the milestone posts!
Here we are yesterday, on our 11 week birthday, watching the fan (again!). She's a fan fan!
Emma had another big day today. She visited another one of Mommy's facilities, and met a LOT of the staff and some of the residents. For the most part, it was a great visit -- she smiled at people, only fussed a little, and captured the hearts of everyone.
After changing her and feeding her there, she fell asleep... so I went and picked up Daddy, and we had lunch at the park and walked around with the stroller for a while. It was 60 degrees and sunny out! I think it helped all of us tremendously. Mommy & Emma also had a nap when we got home, which helped even more.
As I get closer to going back to work, it's very likely I won't be able to do daily posts but I will try to keep updates and pictures going for everyone. I'll definitely do the milestone posts!
Here we are yesterday, on our 11 week birthday, watching the fan (again!). She's a fan fan!
Monday, March 8, 2010
The Rankin/Bass Smile
For those of you who grew up in the 70's, you'll remember the Rankin/Bass claymation specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Emma has a smile where she'll open up her mouth super-wide and squint her eyes, and she looks *just* like one of those characters! I can't find a picture for reference, but here's the video I captured of the smile.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Huge Day!
We had some great things happen today -- I haven't had time to upload pictures, but will try to do so tomorrow.
* She found her thumb today! It was accidental, but I was holding her and she was sooooo quiet, and when I looked down, she had her thumb in her mouth. It was adorable.
* She figured out how her fists work today, and is grabbing with probably 50% accuracy. She'll typically hook things with her thumb and then curl her fingers around them.
* She's been grabbing her hands, and almost getting her fingers together.
* She recognizes the difference between the word "kiss" and "kick." There's a funny story I'll tell later, and maybe take a video.
* She had yellow poo! Not sure if it's because she's finally done with the virus, or the fact that Mommy has eaten squash (butternut, acorn, and spaghetti .... all roasted in the oven, so very tasty!) for 4 days in a row, OR if it's because we finally gave her some vitamin drops.
It's amazing to watch her processing things, and you can see the light in her eyes as things "click." She makes me so happy. :)
* She found her thumb today! It was accidental, but I was holding her and she was sooooo quiet, and when I looked down, she had her thumb in her mouth. It was adorable.
* She figured out how her fists work today, and is grabbing with probably 50% accuracy. She'll typically hook things with her thumb and then curl her fingers around them.
* She's been grabbing her hands, and almost getting her fingers together.
* She recognizes the difference between the word "kiss" and "kick." There's a funny story I'll tell later, and maybe take a video.
* She had yellow poo! Not sure if it's because she's finally done with the virus, or the fact that Mommy has eaten squash (butternut, acorn, and spaghetti .... all roasted in the oven, so very tasty!) for 4 days in a row, OR if it's because we finally gave her some vitamin drops.
It's amazing to watch her processing things, and you can see the light in her eyes as things "click." She makes me so happy. :)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Shhhhhhh.....
We're on 30 minutes of being asleep by ourselves in the bassinet.... crossing my fingers it lasts for at least 45 more minutes.
Oh crud, I may have jinxed myself. She's squirming.
Oh crud, I may have jinxed myself. She's squirming.
Deep Breath
It was NOT a good night or morning....
* We tried to put her in her bassinet for the first portion of last night. She must have suspected something was up because she wouldn't fall asleep while being rocked like she normally does, and she was very fussy. It took until 8:30 and Daddy rocking her before she fell asleep, then we transferred her into the bassinet -- she lasted there for 10 minutes before she woke up and was crying. It took until 9pm to get her to sleep again.
* After an initial 2.5 hours of sleep, she was up almost every hour, squirming and whimpering. Then she'd let out a big fart, and immediately start to cry. It sounded like it really hurt her. It took a long time of patting her and cuddling to get her to calm down and go back to sleep. So none of us got a good night of rest.
* The first thing Mommy discovered when we got out of bed this morning is that Aunt Flo decided to come for her first post-partum visit. 10 weeks, 5 days after delivery, AND I'm breastfeeding! I had no tell-tale dip in my supply (thank goodness) but I should have noticed when my skin did it's normal thing and I've been extra moody lately.
* Then we decided to try the bottle. OMG, I hate bottle feeding. She was giving the hunger cues, so we got the bottle of breastmilk out of the fridge and started heating it up. It took FOREVER to heat it up! By the time it was ready, she was practically hysterical. But she ate 1.5 ounces of breast milk from the bottle for Mommy, so at least I know she'll take it.
Ironically enough, she fell asleep at the bottle, so I laid her down in her crib and thought I'd go get breakfast. 5 minutes later she was up and crying, so I picked her up and breastfed her, and she ate readily, then fell right back asleep and is now out on my chest, poor thing. Just too much going on. I'm happy that she takes right to the breast after a bottle though.
I foresee a nap in everyone's future today!
* We tried to put her in her bassinet for the first portion of last night. She must have suspected something was up because she wouldn't fall asleep while being rocked like she normally does, and she was very fussy. It took until 8:30 and Daddy rocking her before she fell asleep, then we transferred her into the bassinet -- she lasted there for 10 minutes before she woke up and was crying. It took until 9pm to get her to sleep again.
* After an initial 2.5 hours of sleep, she was up almost every hour, squirming and whimpering. Then she'd let out a big fart, and immediately start to cry. It sounded like it really hurt her. It took a long time of patting her and cuddling to get her to calm down and go back to sleep. So none of us got a good night of rest.
* The first thing Mommy discovered when we got out of bed this morning is that Aunt Flo decided to come for her first post-partum visit. 10 weeks, 5 days after delivery, AND I'm breastfeeding! I had no tell-tale dip in my supply (thank goodness) but I should have noticed when my skin did it's normal thing and I've been extra moody lately.
* Then we decided to try the bottle. OMG, I hate bottle feeding. She was giving the hunger cues, so we got the bottle of breastmilk out of the fridge and started heating it up. It took FOREVER to heat it up! By the time it was ready, she was practically hysterical. But she ate 1.5 ounces of breast milk from the bottle for Mommy, so at least I know she'll take it.
Ironically enough, she fell asleep at the bottle, so I laid her down in her crib and thought I'd go get breakfast. 5 minutes later she was up and crying, so I picked her up and breastfed her, and she ate readily, then fell right back asleep and is now out on my chest, poor thing. Just too much going on. I'm happy that she takes right to the breast after a bottle though.
I foresee a nap in everyone's future today!
Friday, March 5, 2010
At 10 weeks, 4 days...
We're doing ok! She's still eating every 2-3 hours, and last night towards morning, she was eating every hour! But Joe came in and helped for a while, so I got a little more sleep. We all took a nap this morning, which also helped.
Yesterday we went to visit one of Mommy's facilities, and spent a couple of hours visiting. We had such a nice time, and Emma really enjoyed the staff.
Here she is, right before we left. She's wearing the lovely bonnet that Steph knit for her!
With Martha, one of the social workers.... right after I snapped the picture, apparently she gave the hugest smile!
And this morning, resting in Daddy's arms, watching the fan. She loves watching that fan!
Just a couple of random things.... we've tried the bottle a couple of times today, and she's really not taken to it. I guess we keep trying and trying and trying. I'm still secretly proud of her for not wanting to take it, but I know she eventually *has* to.
I've decided to stay in my current position, and stay focused on the clinical work I do. I WILL make it work, no matter how difficult it may be. Joe and I will figure out a way to coordinate schedules and daycare, and we'll survive.
I'm desperately in love with my little girl. I love waking up in the morning (or the middle of the night) and having her snuggled next to me. I love being able to provide her with all her nourishment and comfort her when she is upset. I know myself well enough to know the struggle that is ahead of me with daycare and pumping and such, but I will manage.
And last, but probably not least, I reserved three books at the library to hopefully pick up in the next few days -- two on post-partum depression and one on making a marriage work with a baby. I'm hoping to find some insights and positive things in each to help me. I don't know if I'd call what I'm feeling PPD or PPA (anxiety) or just normal mommy feelings, but I know that I need to keep reaching out for whatever help I can get so we can get through the next month!
Yesterday we went to visit one of Mommy's facilities, and spent a couple of hours visiting. We had such a nice time, and Emma really enjoyed the staff.
Here she is, right before we left. She's wearing the lovely bonnet that Steph knit for her!
With Martha, one of the social workers.... right after I snapped the picture, apparently she gave the hugest smile!
And this morning, resting in Daddy's arms, watching the fan. She loves watching that fan!
Just a couple of random things.... we've tried the bottle a couple of times today, and she's really not taken to it. I guess we keep trying and trying and trying. I'm still secretly proud of her for not wanting to take it, but I know she eventually *has* to.
I've decided to stay in my current position, and stay focused on the clinical work I do. I WILL make it work, no matter how difficult it may be. Joe and I will figure out a way to coordinate schedules and daycare, and we'll survive.
I'm desperately in love with my little girl. I love waking up in the morning (or the middle of the night) and having her snuggled next to me. I love being able to provide her with all her nourishment and comfort her when she is upset. I know myself well enough to know the struggle that is ahead of me with daycare and pumping and such, but I will manage.
And last, but probably not least, I reserved three books at the library to hopefully pick up in the next few days -- two on post-partum depression and one on making a marriage work with a baby. I'm hoping to find some insights and positive things in each to help me. I don't know if I'd call what I'm feeling PPD or PPA (anxiety) or just normal mommy feelings, but I know that I need to keep reaching out for whatever help I can get so we can get through the next month!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
*Yawn*
It was a busy day! Mommy didn't get a lot of sleep last night (barely at all, in fact) and then we went and visited one of my work facilities to visit with the staff, and then I had a doctor's appointment and went to the office for a couple of hours to start the transition back to work. There's a long post coming about all that, but for the moment I'm just going to check email and then go to bed early!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Routine Day
We've had a run-of-the-mill day today, I think. She had a great night.... slept from 8pm to 7am, needed a diaper change at 10:30pm, 2:45am, 3:15am (she had a post-BF poo), and 5am. She ate during all those times too. I actually got some good sleep in between the BF and diaper changes.
Today we took our mini-nap from 8:30 to 9, then the BIG nap from 10:30 to 1:30 (wow!), and then she had a couple of cat naps. We didn't get our second big nap until just now -- she's been down since about 5:15pm on my chest and I plan on rousing her around 6:15 so I can change a diaper and eat.
We're still counting down to our first day away from each other... I'm still very anxious about the whole situation, but everyone I've talked to has been very supportive. I just know it'll be hard, but it'll get better.
Here she is during her mini-nap! She loves all her Aunties!!
Today we took our mini-nap from 8:30 to 9, then the BIG nap from 10:30 to 1:30 (wow!), and then she had a couple of cat naps. We didn't get our second big nap until just now -- she's been down since about 5:15pm on my chest and I plan on rousing her around 6:15 so I can change a diaper and eat.
We're still counting down to our first day away from each other... I'm still very anxious about the whole situation, but everyone I've talked to has been very supportive. I just know it'll be hard, but it'll get better.
Here she is during her mini-nap! She loves all her Aunties!!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Swing
Thank goodness for it, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten anything done this morning. I feel guilty about using it because she cries initially, then gets a very sad & disappointed look on her face, and then she falls asleep (which throws off our nap schedule), but when Joe is in bed, I've got to have some way to get things done. But while she's been swinging, I got breakfast made, all the dishes done, bills paid and in the mailbox, pumped 8oz of breastmilk, updated my vita and sent it out, and responded to student emails. I should try to nap -- I couldn't fall asleep last night, despite how tired I was, so it was after midnight when I finally did ... she was up at 2, 4, and 5:30 to eat and after the 5:30 feeding and diaper change, she was WIDE awake again.
Here's a video of the sweet pea in her swing.... I've stopped it swinging for the time being, so I think she'll wake up pretty soon and then hopefully stay up until her 10am nap.
Here's a video of the sweet pea in her swing.... I've stopped it swinging for the time being, so I think she'll wake up pretty soon and then hopefully stay up until her 10am nap.
Monday, March 1, 2010
What a Difference...
a year makes! One year ago today, we had our IUI on our most expensive infertility cycle to date (injectables) and I was feeling hopeful, only to have my hopes dashed just two weeks later. Today I am holding my little girl in my arms, and feeling blessed to have her.
Unfortunately, I'm struggling a lot with my emotions right now. On one hand, I want her to be able to sleep and play without me so that she'll transition well to day care, but on the other hand, I really love being able to be there for her and provide her all the love and care she needs. I cried tonight when she fell asleep in the swing, rather than in my arms. Stupid, right? As we get closer and closer to the time I need to return to work and she goes to someone else during the day, I get sadder and more anxious. I know I'll adjust, but it just seems so difficult right now. :(
Unfortunately, I'm struggling a lot with my emotions right now. On one hand, I want her to be able to sleep and play without me so that she'll transition well to day care, but on the other hand, I really love being able to be there for her and provide her all the love and care she needs. I cried tonight when she fell asleep in the swing, rather than in my arms. Stupid, right? As we get closer and closer to the time I need to return to work and she goes to someone else during the day, I get sadder and more anxious. I know I'll adjust, but it just seems so difficult right now. :(
Daddy
Just FYI -- I've given Joe administrative privileges on my blog.spot account, so he will be able to post pictures and his thoughts on Emma over there.
Strange Night
I've been up since 4am, and once again, everyone else in the house is asleep except me. Although Daddy did come and help out at 5:30 so I could get some sleep, I just couldn't. However, I feel like we had a breakthrough last night! As normal, she fell asleep on Mommy around 7:30 and she slept there until we transferred her to bed around 10:45. She got a diaper change at that point, a TRIPLE-stuffed diaper! Yes, it had two microfiber inserts plus a hemp insert on top. She roused at 1am, 3:30am, 5am and 6am to eat (she usually goes every 2-3 hours, so not sure what was going on with that) but was not wet enough to wake up or squirm for her diaper to be changed.
At 6:15am, she finally needed to be changed and boy, was that diaper heavy! Yes, we actually weighed it -- the triple-stuffed diaper itself weighed 6.5 oz, the soaked diaper weighed 13oz!! And yet her skin stayed mostly dry. I am so impressed.
Daddy watched her while I ate breakfast and pumped, and then they both went back to bed. She's napping in her crib (YAY!!) and he's in bed. I got 7.5 oz out of both breasts this morning, which puts me at officially 100.5 oz of breastmilk in the freezer. I'm so happy about that! I should try to take a nap while everyone else is asleep, but I thought I'd update here and then try to nap a little later. I am completely exhausted.
Between 4am and 5:30am, I did a lot of thinking again. I thought a lot about Emma's namesake -- her Great-Grandma Emma, and how I wish they could have met. Grammy (as we called her) was a neat person, but died in the 80's. She would have turned 98 this year, if she were still alive.
I also thought about how conflicted I feel about some things with our Emma. I'm SO proud of breastfeeding and cloth diapering our child, but I feel so confused about the co-sleeping. On one hand, I love co-sleeping... I love cuddling with her, and being able to immediately feed her when she needs it, and comforting her when she's restless. But I think I really need my space in bed, and to sleep in a position where I'm not worried about squishing her, and I also am someone uncomfortable because all the "experts" say that co-sleeping is a bad thing (despite most of the Moms I've talked to saying they've co-slept at one point or another). I fear that when she starts day care in 2 weeks, she's not going to nap or take a bottle there and just scream bloody murder the entire time she's away from Mommy. It's just going to break my heart.
*sigh* We'll figure it out eventually. My little angel is 10 weeks old today. It does not seem possible that she's already this old!
At 6:15am, she finally needed to be changed and boy, was that diaper heavy! Yes, we actually weighed it -- the triple-stuffed diaper itself weighed 6.5 oz, the soaked diaper weighed 13oz!! And yet her skin stayed mostly dry. I am so impressed.
Daddy watched her while I ate breakfast and pumped, and then they both went back to bed. She's napping in her crib (YAY!!) and he's in bed. I got 7.5 oz out of both breasts this morning, which puts me at officially 100.5 oz of breastmilk in the freezer. I'm so happy about that! I should try to take a nap while everyone else is asleep, but I thought I'd update here and then try to nap a little later. I am completely exhausted.
Between 4am and 5:30am, I did a lot of thinking again. I thought a lot about Emma's namesake -- her Great-Grandma Emma, and how I wish they could have met. Grammy (as we called her) was a neat person, but died in the 80's. She would have turned 98 this year, if she were still alive.
I also thought about how conflicted I feel about some things with our Emma. I'm SO proud of breastfeeding and cloth diapering our child, but I feel so confused about the co-sleeping. On one hand, I love co-sleeping... I love cuddling with her, and being able to immediately feed her when she needs it, and comforting her when she's restless. But I think I really need my space in bed, and to sleep in a position where I'm not worried about squishing her, and I also am someone uncomfortable because all the "experts" say that co-sleeping is a bad thing (despite most of the Moms I've talked to saying they've co-slept at one point or another). I fear that when she starts day care in 2 weeks, she's not going to nap or take a bottle there and just scream bloody murder the entire time she's away from Mommy. It's just going to break my heart.
*sigh* We'll figure it out eventually. My little angel is 10 weeks old today. It does not seem possible that she's already this old!
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