Mama's or Daddy's Girl?

These are a couple of my favorite pictures so far of us with our sweet little girl! We're both trying hard to be her favorite :).

All Night Long

Emily slept for SEVEN HOURS STRAIGHT last night! I gave her a bath and put her in her pajamas, then we settled down in in her room for a big dinner. After that, I zipped her up in the Woombie, rocked her to sleep and put her in the bassinet around 9:45 pm. She didn't wake up until 4:45 am! Mick and I didn't sleep very well though--we both kept waking up to make sure she was okay :). Now that we know she can do that though, hopefully we'll all be sleeping better!

What's a little strange is that she's been sleeping a lot yesterday and today too. Every time she eats, she falls asleep before she's finished nursing, so I'm a little worried that she isn't eating enough, but she seems perfectly content. I can't imagine that she'd sleep this well if she was hungry. Funny that one thing improves and we find something else to worry about!

9 Weeks Old: What's Happening

It's amazing how much Emily changes and grows each week! She seems to be becoming a better listener because she'll have conversations now--when Mick or I talk to her, she responds with the sweetest little sounds. It's the most beautiful music we've ever heard! We just know she'll be laughing any day now, because some of her noises sound like the start of a laugh.

She's really becoming aware of everything around her--this week, Gracie and Bella started barking when Mick pulled in the driveway, and Emily was actually startled enough to quit nursing and stick out her bottom lip like she wanted to cry. She quickly realized everything was okay though, and went right back to having dinner :).

Sleeping is gradually getting better--the first time she wakes up after going to bed is usually 1:45 or 2 am. We're still working on getting her to bed early though. She's really tired by 7:30 or 8 pm most nights, but by the time Mick gets home, we rush to eat dinner, feed Emily and get her settled down and in the Woombie so we can sneak her in the bassinet, it's more like 9:30 or 10 pm by the time she's sleeping. She is still having trouble falling asleep on her own at night, so we can't just put her down and walk away. We'll get there though!

This is one of my favorite pictures yet--she just looks so incredibly relaxed. We had friends over for dinner and grilled out last night, and this was her pre-dinner nap with Daddy.

Breakthrough!

I have hesitated to post this for the past few days, not wanting to ruin our streak of good luck by bragging, but now I just can't wait any longer. I think we've had a breakthrough in our sleeping saga...Emily has slept on her own in the bassinet for the past THREE NIGHTS! Mick had bought a smaller bassinet that actually fits in our bed, hoping that would make the transition a little easier--but she wouldn't have anything to do with it until this week. We've gradually gotten her used to it, but we think the trick was the Woombie! Tricia and Natalie recommended this, and it has been fantastic. It's the same idea as swaddling, but zips up the front and is made of stretchy fabric so Emily can still move her arms and legs around in it--she just can't startle herself awake with those flying arms. Our next step will be moving her to the bigger bassinet so she's not in our bed anymore. That might be a bigger challenge!

Two Month Checkup

Emily had her two-month checkup with Dr. Bramwell today, and she's doing fantastic! She's up to 9 lbs, 9.6 oz and 21 1/4 inches. We can tell she's growing because she's actually fitting into some of her 3 month clothes now. She can still wear the newborn sizes, but they're getting a little snug. It's nice to be able to expand the choices a little since we received so many sweet little 3 month outfits at the baby shower! Emily looks so cute in all of these little girly dresses and sunsuits.

I've struggled a lot with the vaccination decision--we thought about an alternative schedule, and just didn't know what was the right thing to do. I've read a lot about it and seen a lot of different opinions on TV, but we ultimately decided to go with the doctor's recommended "normal" schedule. That meant that Emily got three shots in her thighs and one oral vaccine today (a combination of six different vaccines that she'll have to repeat at 4 and 6 months). It was hard to watch someone hurt this sweet little girl that we've done nothing but try to protect over the last two months! Definitely a lot more difficult than I expected--for Mick and me, not necessarily for her. She did turn bright red and cry, but was fine once we picked her up and held her. I, on the other hand, was still crying as I tried to get her dressed and buckled into the carseat! She slept all day long after we got home, which is expected, but far from our tyical day!

8 Weeks Old: What's Happening

I can hardly believe it's been two months since little Emily made her debut! She's getting so much bigger and has the sweetest personality. She's definitely a snuggler, and sometimes just wants to be held--which does make it difficult to get anything done, but also makes me sad when I think about only having 4 more weeks at home with her! I'm just trying to cherish every second I have with her while she's this little because it's already going by too fast.

Emily does have the sweetest smile, and will even flash it mid-cry if you do just the right thing! She's such a curious little thing too--we're wondering if she sometimes fights sleep just so she can keep an eye on everything going on around her. She still isn't much of a daytime sleeper; I can usually get her to nap "unassisted" in the mornings long enough to take a shower and brush my teeth, but by the time I've dried my hair, she's waking up. She can fall asleep on her own, but 30 minutes is her maximum nap time before she wants to be held again. Nighttime is typically much better for sleep--she's ready for bed by around 9pm, and almost always goes until about 1am before waking up to eat again. Once in a while, she'll even go 5 hours! After that one long stretch, she'll wake up every 3 hours like clockwork.

We're still working on getting her to sleep on anything other than her mama at night, and we're making a little progress, but still not where we need to be quite yet. We bought a mobile and she loves it, but the music and movement only lasted about 3 minutes before you had to wind it up again, so we bought a different one that plays up to 20 minutes and has a remote control! The box says it's so you don't disturb the baby, but we all know it's to make it easier on us :). If it works and helps her fall asleep on her own, it will be worth the two mobiles.

Another thing Emily is trying to do is stand up--of course, we know she isn't really going to stand up, but she's bearing weight on her feet if she's in your lap (and sometimes even when I'm putting her in the Moby wrap). She's also getting stronger with her head and arms, and we think she'll be pushing up in no time when she's on her tummy!

Good News

Most of you know that the pediatrician who saw Emily in the hospital felt a hip click, which he said could be an indicator of hip dysplasia. This would potentially turn into a significant problem as she got older and started to crawl and walk. They check the severity with ultrasounds, but like to wait to do them until babies are at least 6 weeks old, so we've been double diapering her since she was born, hoping to keep her legs in kind of a squat position, which helps her hips grow at the correct angles. Today was Emily's much anticipated hip ultrasound!

The great news is that her hips are showing a lot of improvement! The doctor said her right hip is perfectly normal, and her left is about 4 degrees from perfect. Rather than putting her in a harness that she'd have to wear 24 hours a day for the next 6-12 weeks, he said he recommended giving her another 4 weeks to see if they continued to improve. We'll go back for another ultrasound then, and will know the verdict! The cool thing is that two of the things she's been doing (and we've been trying to change) are turning out to be the most beneficial for her hips. Her position while she's sleeping (on my chest every night with her legs bent up under her), and her position in the Moby wrap have both been helping her over the past 7 weeks! So maybe everything really does happen for a reason :).

7 Weeks: What's Happening

It seems like Emily is visibly growing every day. She's more awake and alert during the day, and loves to play on the changing table. She always responds with smiles when you talk to her or tickle her, and is starting to make a lot of really sweet sounds, other than crying! She's now able to really focus on toys and and follow things that we'll hold up or move back and forth in front of her. She also seems to like watching the ceiling fans, and we bought a mobile that she's fascinated with this week. She's getting really strong, and holding her head up like a pro!
When she's fussy, she seems to enjoy a change of scenery--she loves going outside, and will normally get very quiet and wide-eyed when we walk in the front or back yard. It's been turning into a typical Georgia summer, so I try to get her out in the mornings or early evenings, when it's not quite so hot. Gracie and Bella enjoy having some company when they go outside too :).

Daddy's Smitten

By far, Emily's fussiest time of the day is in the evenings, from about 6-9pm. Mick has been frustrated since that's usually the only time he really gets to see her and sometimes it seems like she cries the whole time. It's been easy for him to get discouraged and feel like she doesn't like him--when the reality is that he sometimes just doesn't have the stamina at the end of the day to wait her out.

Tonight, he won and this was the result. I think Emily and Daddy are both in love. So sweet!

Bath Time

Emily is really starting to enjoy bath time, which is such a relief since she wasn't crazy about the first few. Today, she smiled the whole time, and never cried--even when I washed her hair (usually her least favorite part).

I just love the way she smells after she's all clean and I put lotion on her :).

Sweetest Mother's Day Gift

By far, the best gift on Mother's Day is just being a mother to this sweet little girl. Every day, she gets more fun and playful, and she's such a snuggle bug!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

6 Weeks Old: What's Happening

I had a hard time deciding which picture to post this week, but decided on this one because it shows so much personality :). Emily now has a very happy, smiley, active time every morning on her changing table, and it's so much fun to play with her. She definitely recognizes us, and will move her eyes or her whole head back and forth to look at our faces and smile when we talk to her. It's amazing how fast she's growing!

We went back to Northside for our last visit with the lactation nurse on Friday, and Emily is up to 9 lbs! We rented a baby scale for the next week that will allow us to weigh her daily, and even before and after each feeding, to see how much she's gaining. She's typically eating between 2.5-3 oz when she's breastfeeding (every 2.5-3 hours), and we give her one 4 oz bottle in the evening so Mick has a chance to feed her. That 4 oz has been helping her sleep at night--a couple of times she's gone 5 hours before waking up hungry at night! It's been very nice.

We're still working on getting her to sleep by herself--she has gone up to an hour when she's swaddled, but not consistently. Sometimes 10 minutes is all we can get her to sleep once we put her down. With only 6 weeks left before I go back to work though, I know we still have a lot of work to do!

Five Weeks Old: What's Happening

This week, we've really been getting in a lot of tummy time, and Emily can hold her head up for short periods at a time--of course, I can never get the camera quite fast enough to capture one yet. She's great at turning her head side to side when she's on her tummy, and if you put your hand below her feet, she'll try to scoot across the floor. It's very sweet :).

She's also using that sweet smile a little more often, and in response to us talking to her or playing--not just accidentally or in her sleep anymore. One day, I'll also catch that with the camera!

She has also started sleeping longer at night sometimes--she'll often go for a 4 hour stretch before waking up to eat again. She usually will go right back to sleep in the middle of the night after she eats, which is very nice for Mommy :). Now if we could just get her to sleep anywhere except on top of me, we'd be making progress.

Mom & Me

Tuesday, I went to the Mom & Me breastfeeding support group offered through Northside. The lactation consultant I met with last week is the person who leads it, and there were about 20 moms there with their babies. The group is specifically for babies from newborns through 6 months old, but there were a couple who were a little older.

It was a great opportunity to meet people exactly like me who are having the exact same challenges, and to meet some who had babies a little older and could answer questions or share experiences about when they went through the same thing.

Emily was extremely well behaved, and even met a couple of potential future boyfriends :). The group meets twice a month, and we'll definitely plan on going back!

Self Soothing

I hate that this picture is blurry, but I was so
excited when Mick said Emily was sucking her thumb, I guess I couldn't hold the camera still. I'm quite sure this was an accident on her part, but still nice to think about the day she'll be able to soothe herself instead of crying for us to find her pacifier for her when she drops it!

One Month Checkup

Emily had a visit with the pediatrician today for her one month checkup. It's truly unbelievable to think it's already been a month since she was born! This picture is her ready to go to the doctor--she's so much bigger and fills out that carseat so much more than she did four weeks ago!

The pediatrician said she's perfect! Her hips are actually feeling better and tighter, so we continue to be optimistic about the ultrasound on May 17. She's grown over an inch (is 21 inches now) and weighs 8 lbs, 6.5 oz.

She'll go back to the doctor in a month, and will have her first shot then :(. We are not looking forward to that visit.

Birth Announcement

Here's a picture of the birth announcement we made to send out to family and friends.

Four Weeks Old: What's Happening

Your baby can probably focus on and track moving objects now. Try giving her new skills a workout by slowly passing a toy in front of her face or by having a little "staring contest" during which you walk slowly back and forth in front of her. Watch how her eyes lock with yours and follow along with your movement. This skill is a building block for hand-eye coordination, which will come later. Your baby may gurgle, coo, grunt, and hum to express her feelings. A few babies also begin squealing and laughing. Be sure to coo and gurgle back, and talk to your baby face to face. She'll enjoy holding your gaze now. If you have things to do, your baby will still enjoy hearing your voice from across the room. And don't feel silly about using baby talk — babies are particularly attuned to this high-pitched, drawn-out way of communicating, which can actually teach your baby about the structure and function of language.

Something's Wrong Here...

I remember reading that the noise level in the womb is about like a vacuum cleaner, and that babies are sometimes soothed by this. I decided to test the theory, and it apparently is true. Every time I turn on the vacuum cleaner, Emily goes to sleep! This morning, she just wanted to be held and wouldn't stay content in her bassinet. Since the floor needed to be vacuumed anyway, I killed two birds with one stone.

The problem is that either Emily really is soothed by this, or she's trying to give me a hint that there's entirely too much dog hair on the floor. In case you're wondering--yes, the vacuum cleaner is sitting in the middle of the floor (turned on) while I post this :).

Making Progress

We've really had some challenges in the breastfeeding department, and I was close to the point where I was ready to give up on trying. By the time I fed Emily, got her to sleep, pumped and ran to the kitchen for something to eat or drink, it was time to start the whole routine over. She was consistently eating every two hours, and I was pumping every 3-4 hours to keep up with her feedings. I was exhausted and frustrated, but really wanted her to have breastmilk instead of formula, so we were sticking with it.

Yesterday, I finally decided to make an appointment with a lactation consultant at Northside. We met with one in the hospital and she was terrific, but I wasn't having the same challenges then that I am now. Luckily, they had a cancellation for this morning at 9:00 AM, and I took it. I was a little worried about getting organized enough to leave the house in rush hour traffic and make it by 9:00, but Mick was a huge help, and we pulled it off (we were even early!).

The consultant we met with was awesome. She weighed Emily before we started (by the way, our little piglet is up to 8 lbs, 6.5 oz) and then after we finished to see how much milk she was taking in. It took us a while, but she had about 2.5 oz total (to put it in perspective, she normally eats 3 oz at a typical feeding), and never really got frustrated. I was elated when we left, and came home with a plan to try breastfeeding for two of her feedings today and tomorrow, and then increase to three. We came home this afternoon and she breastfed for a solid 30 minutes, and seemed so content and happy when we were done. It was such a relief to know that it's not too late for us to catch on to this!

The consultant also gave us some other resources--there's a Mom & Me Breastfeeding Support Group that meets every other Tuesday, so we'll go to that next week (Mick said it sounded like AA for Breastfeeding). She has us scheduled for an appointment to check Emily's tongue--she said her frenulum is really tight and that she might be considered tongue-tied. This would explain some of her breastfeeding challenges, as well as her difficulty with holding onto a pacifier. That appointment is next week--it's an easy fix if they decide she needs anything fixed. In the meantime, we have some exercises to do before each feeding to get her to stretch her tongue.

All in all, it was a great day and we're making progress!