43 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emily's been sick the past week, so I'm once again verrrrrry late with her weekly update!  Pretend today is 3/21 instead of 3/28 {even though I'd still be 2 days late!}

Before Little Missy came down with another cold, she was doing pretty well with her night sleep!  Falling asleep pretty consistency around 8pm, with about 5 minutes or so of cuddle rocking.  And on the night of her 42 week birthday, she slept almost 7 hours straight!  Woohoo!!!  Of course, the old adage "This too shall pass" applies just as easily to the positive things in babyhood as to the difficult things.  Such is life.  ;)

This week I attempted to get Emily to try sliced apples for the first time, but she wasn't interested when I presented them to her in her high chair.  She took one lick and the tiniest bite ever, and was done.  Funny enough, when Emily saw Mommy eating the apple off the core later on she wanted to take a bite too!  So, I held it up to her mouth and she smiled biiiiig, while taking the smallest baby bite you could possible imagine.  I think she was more amused by the fact that she was eating it like Mommy was, than the actual taste of the apple.  I don’t even know that she bit off any chunks!  But she definitely was proud of herself!

Other new foods this week included: Daddy's homemade waffles, mashed potatoes, grapes in her mesh feeder, and “real” peas, corn & carrot bits!  Unfortunately, she wasn't a fan of most of those foods, but at least she tried them!  She liked the peas and ate several of them, as well as one or two corn kernels, but did not like the carrots.  She ended up gagging on them and then that was the end of that meal!

Emily experienced her second trip to the grocery store.  She was sooooo good the entire time! She sat in the cart with her cart cover, holding on to a bag of pita chips that Shep had given her to distract her.  She quietly and curiously looked at people and items as we strolled up and down the aisles.  As we got to the checkout line, I complimented her saying she was such a good girl.  Of course I must have jinxed it, because a minute later she was wrinkling up the tabloids and grabbing all the tic tacs next to the register like a maniac.  She also tried to grab the pen stylus attached to the credit machine, and stood up in the cart, despite being strapped in!  What a silly goose.  Now I know not to compliment her behavior on future outings until we're actually finished with the outing.  ;)

And in bigger news, Emily got another new tooth on March 15!!!  When we woke up, I checked her mouth and the top left lateral incisor was sticking through!  Emily didn’t even wake up more than usual the prior night, so I was pretty surprised to feel that sharp new addition to her adorable little mouth when I checked -- what a champ!!

Emily celebrated her first St. Patty's Day this week and also met another new baby friend and played with some old friends when we hosted a Baby Sign Language group!

It was a happy 43 week birthday for sure!

 

42 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at that big toothy grin!

To celebrate her 42 week birthday, Emily slept for almost 7 hours straight!!!!!!!  Almost.  She did wake up for about 3 minutes an hour after being put down, which took the total time of the sleep stretch down to 6 hours and 14 minutes, but that's still really good for her!  This mama was proud.  :)

AND, in other big milestone news, guess who got her second top tooth?!?!  Yep!  Emily's right central incisor finally started to cut through on March 9.  I felt like it had been coming forever, and now it's finally here!  Unfortunately that hasn't given her much reprieve in the discomfort department as far as I can see, because she's had a couple clingy / cranky days.  But luckily it's nothing a little extra TLC {and teething remedies} can't help cure!  My poor baby.  In fact, Emily's so crafty that she's invented her own teething remedy.  It's called "licking or pressing her mouth against anything that's cold".  See Exhibit A:

 

She is also extra fascinated this week with looking out the window.  Shep guessed maybe it's because she's tired of being inside so much due to the cold weather, but she does it even if we've just been outside for a long walk, so I'm not sure that cabin fever is the reason.  She pulls the curtain aside and stands there staring and sometimes banging on the window.  Never mind a penny for a thought -- I'd trade all the money in my bank account to be able to know what this smart, spunky little lady is thinking in that beautiful head of hers...

Emily loooooooves to look at books.  She can sit for 5 minutes at a time, entertaining herself, flipping through her books -- looking intently at the photos and text.  We officially have a little book worm on our hands!

This weekend Emily lost an hour of sleep thanks to Daylight Savings Time {like she needs any encouragement in that department...}.  She also visited Connecticut for the first time, and met several more family friends!

Just like our last road trip, she did great in the car on the way there -- sleeping a total of nearly 1.5 hours in the car -- but didn't fare so well the next day while coming home.  Ah, well, 1 out of 2 ain't bad!!

Emily tried crinkle-cut steamed carrots for the first time and was not a fan.  She eats pureed carrots pretty regularly and likes them, so I think it was the texture.  This girl has eyes for food, and chews very well, but doesn't really love the actuality of swallowing the solid foods.  But she is trying new things and making progress, so I'm proud!

In other news, last Monday was *hopefully* Emily's last day on Prevacid!  We tried weaning her off it back in September, but we ended up having to put her back on it because the reflux got worse a few weeks later.  But, since she's much older now and hasn't had that many reflux symptoms lately, we're hoping this is really the end of her need for meds.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Hopefully the snow storm that started out the week will be her LAST of this year!  I can't wait for spring to arrive, though it's funny to think that this will be Em's SECOND spring!  Yikes!!

40 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 40th, Em!!!  This week has been a busy one for you!

On Friday, you attended a baby music class for the first time!  It was entertaining to watch you listen to the music and look at all the other babies.  There is one song where the music instructor incorporates all of the babies' names into a song, and each of the babies faces lit up when they heard their names being sung.  You looked a little confused as to how this stranger knew your name.  You were crawling all over the place, playing with all the different musical instruments and tried to take the teacher’s bag and papers!  You did have fun singing and dancing though.  :)

On Saturday you took what might have been your first standing step!!  You were on your play mat and Daddy was sitting on the couch.  He said you might have took a step to get closer to him, but I only saw you out of the corner of my eye so I can’t say for sure. ;)

On Sunday you turned 9 months old!  To celebrate the momentous occasion, you tried stage 3 purees for the first time -- chicken with stars!  It didn't seem like you loved the little chunks, but you tolerated them and ate it up!

On Monday, you finally cut your first top tooth!  We've been waiting for that bugger to come out for a while.  You also possibly took 3 steps towards me -- or maybe just fell/fumbled, I couldn't tell -- while I was sitting on the floor in the living playing with you!!  You took a 1 hour & 2 minute nap in your crib on Monday morning!!!  {Mommy & Daddy were both shocked!}  Also on Monday, you tried pasta (plain rotini) for the first time!  You put it into your mouth and chewed it, but didn't really seem too impressed. Monday marked 39 weeks & 4 days since you're birth, so you've officially been out in the world longer than you were cooking in Mommy's tummy!

You tried pureed beef for the first time on Wednesday, and also tried a stage 3 chicken casserole puree on Tuesday!  You didn't love the beef, but I was able to water it down with some winter squash for you.  The chicken casserole was a no-go....you don't want the thicker/textured purees yet, and that's okay -- at least you tried it!  :)  

You've been making a lot of "ma" sounds this week.

You played with your stuffed monkey instead of crying when you woke up on Thursday morning!

All in all it was a fun-filled week!!!

7 Months Young!!!!!!!

Last Monday, Emily turned 7 months old!  Whoever invented the adage "the days are long, but the years are short" was sorely mistaken.  The days, weeks and months just keep flying by!!!  My itty bitty baby girl is more than half a year old!

All About Emily:

• Measures 18 pounds, 3 ounces and 28 inches long; head measures 42 cm around.
• Still wearing size 3 diapers.
• Wearing mostly 6 months/some 9 months clothing and mostly 9 months footie pjs.
• Over the past month, has started pulling on/caressing the front of her own hair when she's nursing and tired.  I guess that's her way of trying to go to sleep?  It is the most adorable thing to see..... it just melts by heart and brings a smile to my face!  She has also on a few occasions tried to eat my hair when she's really tired.  This girl has a thing for hair!
• Speaking of hair, hers is really coming in!  It's beautifully blonde, and oh so soft.
• Learned how to sit unsupported, sit up on her own from a laying position, crawl and pull herself up onto her knees while holding onto something all last month!  She also got her first tooth this past month and has her second tooth on the way in!
• Is eating solids!!!  Emily eats oatmeal for breakfast every morning, and eats a veggie or fruit for dinner too!  So far she's tried sweet potatoes, butternut squash, avocado, carrots, peaches, pears, winter squash and sweet peas.  She's still a very messy eater, but she's getting better at it every day!  She immediately shoves her hands into her mouth after each bite of food, and she tries to grab the spoon away from us when we feed her!
• Still won't drink from a bottle and takes very limited sips of water from her sippy cup.  She mostly chews on her sippy cup or throws it on the floor.  She has gotten a few sips of water from her sippy cup on occasion and acts startled (not in a good way) each time it happens!
• Has mastered the art of throwing things off the side of her high chair to watch them fall!  Gotta love babies exploring "cause and effect"!  :)
• We've started teaching her a couple hand signs --- "milk", "food", "more", and "all done".  It's hard to tell if she fully understands what we're doing but I'm willing to bet she's going to surprise us one day really soon and sign on her own!
• Typically still waking up 1-2 times a night to eat.  She also babbles when about to go to sleep.  She surprised us a couple times this past month with some 6-6.5 stretches of sleep at night, and 2 nights of falling back asleep ON HER OWN IN HER CRIB two nights in a row {while I shushed her from the other side of the room for a few minutes}.  But now she's back into the throws of teething and all sleep has gone far out the window.  ;)
• Has gross smelly poop now that she's eating solids!  Ewwww...
• Had to slightly increase her Prevacid dosage earlier this month once she surpassed 18 pounds and started spitting up a lot more, even with the solid foods.  On this new dosage though her reflux seems to really be under control though -- knock on wood!
• Prefers to "sit spin" (basically, spin around on her bum while sitting, or do sit-kneel-sit scooting sequences) instead of crawling to get around her play mat.  She sits up as soon as she wakes up, and prefers to be sitting or kneeling on her play mat.  She also tries to get up on her knees, but hasn't quite gotten the hang of that trick.
• Has the CUTEST little baby smirk smile.  She did it a bunch before her first tooth came in, then stopped for a little while but is now doing it again now that her second tooth is cutting through.  She also makes blowing sounds with her mouth a lot while she's teething.
• Moves her feet like she's doing an Irish jig when you hold her up in the air under her arms and move her from side to side.
• Is able to pick up objects with one hand and pass them to her other hand.  Her finger control is getting better and she frequently spreads her fingers apart.  She loves pulling my hair, grabbing our lips, and sticking her fingers up our noses.  She isn't quite able to pinch things with her thumb and pointer finger yet, but I'm sure in the next month or so she'll have that pincher action down!
• Recognizes her name when it's called.
• Insists on trying to roll off her changing table at every. single. diaper change.
• Still loves reading books, but is now a lot more calm when being read to.  She focuses on the photos in the books and can sit quietly {for a little while anyway!}.
• Babbles repetitive syllables, uses her voice to express joy or displeasure, and responds to changes in the tone of our voices when we talk to her.
• Tries to put EVERYTHING in her mouth!
• Loves taking her socks off and playing with her feet.
• Laughs hysterically when we do silly play time and squeals with delights when we pretend to eat her belly.
• Loves to jump and has a blast in her jumperoo or jumping with help from Mommy or Daddy!  She also loves being {pretend} tossed up in the air, climbing up the torso of whoever is holding her, and scratching her nails against her crib sheet.
• Has recently learned how to play catch and gets very excited when she catches her ball!
• Has a wide open-mouth smile that is bright as the sun in summer!  The happiness on her face when she sees one of us walk in the room is worth all the sleepless nights in the world.

First Tooth!

If all Emily wants for Christmas is her 2 front teeth, then consider her wish list half-granted!  That's right, ladies and gents, Baby Em got her first bottom central incisor!

And if things weren't going into her mouth often enough BEFORE, well they definitely are now!!!  Milestone cards, her fingers, my fingers, washcloths, her bib, her toys, her clothes, my shoulder, my chin..... it's all fair game!!!

As you know, I've been saying for a long time now -- approximately 3 months to be more specific -- that Emily was teething.  Well, last Thursday/Friday I finally started to feel her little tooth cut through her gum.  Over the weekend it cut through a bit more and was a bit more sharp, and on Monday it was sharp enough that when she bit my finger it left a little dent!  But it wasn't until yesterday/today that you could easily see the tooth.  It's tiny, but visible!  Poor babe had a heck of a time sleeping late last week and over the weekend, but I'm hoping now that it's fully broken through it will be a bit less painful for her.

I tried to get a photo of her little chomper, but it turns out that's like getting a photo of a leprechaun riding on a unicorn running under a double rainbow over a pot of gold.

This is the best I could do.  :)

And if you look realllllllly hard at the center of her bottom gums, you can sort of see it in this photo...

Well, there you have it!  All the anticipation and now we've experienced sitting up, crawling & a first tooth all in one week!  The trifecta is complete.  You can now return to your regularly-scheduled programming.  ;)  I'm going to hit the sack so I can snuggle with my baby girl tonight when her crawling practice and pearly white wakes her up!

From what I've read, teeth usually come in pairs, so perhaps Baby Girl might have 2 front teeth by Christmas after all.  Stay tuned!

27 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 27 Week Birthday to Emily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This little turkey is finally starting to cut her first tooth!  Trust me, I'm in no hurry for Emily to grow up any faster than she already is.... but I feel like she's been teething for 3 months already and hope when the tooth finally pops out she will get a little relief!  Between the soreness of her gums and the non-stop drool that causes chapped skin on her chin {despite my applying cream several times daily!}, she could use a little break I'm sure.  I know I've been saying for weeks, even months, that her first tooth is imminent, but as of Tuesday I can actually feel the sharp little edge in her gums so it really should be any day now.

Crawling could also be any day now!  She lifted up her right arm several times in a row the other day while she was up on all fours, so she's definitely getting closer!

Emily tried sweet potatoes {which she looooooves!} and avocado {which she doesn't} this week!

I *think* she's finally getting past her 6 month growth spurt / mental leap.  For the past few weeks she's been extra fussy, waking up screaming multiple times a night, and impossible to put down in her crib for naps or nighttime even if she's fast asleep.  The second you lay her down, her eyes pop open and the crying starts.  The other night I sat up holding her for 3 hours because each time I put her down she woke up and immediately started screaming.  Shep thought she was having nightmares.  I think it was either her teeth or the mental development she's been going through {known as "wonder weeks"}.  Either way, she's been a little bit easier to put down {*knock on wood*} the past day or so, so hopefully the worst is behind us!  Of course I probably just jinxed myself.  Shep and I have been practicing our ninja moves though just in case!  Escaping a sleeping baby really should be an Olympic sport!  If you haven't seen this video, it's pretty funny, and oh so true!!!

Our little butterball has her 6 month wellness visit next week, which means she'll get measured and receive some more vaccines, including her flu shot.  Hopefully they won't be too painful for her this time around!

26 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emily turned 26 weeks young on Thursday, and was super excited about it!

This week has been filled with smiles galore, a couple bumps, drooling, gnawing on Sophie, not enough sleep, and lots of almost-crawling going on!  Not only is she up on all fours, but she rocks back and forth too!  She is sooooo close.  Now I'm wondering what will come first -- a tooth, crawling or sitting up by herself!  It's anyone's guess!

22 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{Let's pretend this post is timely instead of a few days late -- we were having trouble with our internet connection so I wasn't able to upload the photos from my camera until now!}

This was a double birthday week for Emily!  On Wednesday, she turned 5 months old!  Then on Thursday, she turned 22 weeks old!  {Are you keeping up???}  Yes, those both count as birthdays.  And yes, I'm still counting her age in weeks.

To celebrate her 22 week birthday, Emily gave me a hickey on my face next to my chin.  A big one.  One that's very obvious, is hard to cover up even with makeup, and looks ridiculous.  But how could I possibly be mad at THIS face?!?!?!

I just can't.  :)  Poor girl is still teething like crazy and needed something to suck on to ease the tension I guess.  My face was the closest thing to her mouth at the time, so there you have it.  I knew that motherhood would bring new experiences every day, but this is an interesting one for the memory book!  ;)

Over the past week or so I've noticed Emily interlacing her fingers together like in the top photo above.  I guess maybe it is a new skill she's working on.... finger dexterity!  She also still tries to grab her toes at every opportunity:

Here she is in her big girl stroller!  I am tempted to rename her "She who is always tired but never sleeps":

Emily is VERY excited for her first Halloween and to show off her adorable costume!  We are keeping it a surprise until Friday, but believe me when I tell you she looks DELICIOUS in it!!!

20 Weeks Young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, hello there!

Someone had her 20-week-birthday yesterday!

Emily is so active and rolls around so much when we lay her down on her back that it's becoming increasingly difficult to get any good weekly photos of her!  I think I took between 20-30 shots of her yesterday and this was one of the only ones where she is looking at the camera and her body isn't contorted into a half-roll.  ;)  She's such a cutie pie.

I realllllly don't want to jinx myself, but I *think* that she may finally be exiting the 4 month wakeful period.  The past 3 nights, she's slept much better, falling asleep around 8pm and waking up between 1-2am and then again at 6am to eat.  It feels like a vacation compared to the days a couple weeks ago where she was up EVERY. SIXTY. MINUTES.

Starting this week, Emily also has been sleeping in the bassinet of her pack-n-play full-time.  I used to put her down in the Rock n Play for the first part of the night because she slept better in it, but she got very squirmy and kept trying to roll over in it the past week or so.  Then, just in the past few days she figured out how to push herself up on her legs with her feet pressed against the bottom of the seat, so we haven't been using it the past few days.  It is the cutest thing though.... as soon as I lay her down on her back in the bassinet she immediately rolls onto her side, and then half the time immediately rolls onto her tummy.  She initially has a bit of a hard time getting comfy on her tummy, trying to stick her butt up into the air but not quite knowing yet how to tuck her knees underneath her.  With a little help or pat on the back though, she settles in and then has been sleeping pretty well on her side or tummy.  Of course I was a nervous wreck the first few nights she was doing it, checking on her to make sure her face wasn't planted into the mattress every time I heard her move around.  But she's been sleeping a lot better now, which is a relief.  Once we get back into a regular sleep routine, we'll try to tackle sleeping in her crib!

Emily has gotten very introspective this week.  Perhaps it's part of her current "wonder week" mental leap, but it's been adorable to see her awake yet calm, just looking out at the world, either in her stroller or sitting with me at home, with an expression on her face like she's thinking.  She's typically so active and easily excited that it was a little jarring at first to see her just sitting still in the stroller during a walk.  I think her brain is just processing even more information, and she is learning to focus more on objects instead of squirming around non-stop all the time.  I've noticed she also jumps or flinches every time Shep or I sneeze or blow our nose.  I'm not sure why she is more sensitive to this now than she used to be.... perhaps she's just more in tune with her hearing?  She also has been audibly laughing a bit more, which is just the most beautiful sound to my ears.

Another new habit Emily developed this week is tucking her bottom lip into her mouth.  Though her face looks ADORABLE when she does this, I wish she'd stop because the skin above her chin is getting all chapped from being sucked on.  I've been applying a tiny bit of lanolin ointment to it which I think has helped.... hopefully this is just a passing phase though.

Emily has been doing pretty well with teething after an initial rough start, but it seems to be getting a little worse again.  She has been biting down on my finger HARD, poor thing.  For an infant, she's surprisingly adept at grabbing my finger and navigating it directly into her little mouth.  And not in a gentle haphazard way either, no siree.... She does it with purpose and with strength!!!  She's also been a little more fussy than normal because of the teething I think, because I notice her getting fussy or clingy she is trying to shove her hands or any other close object into her mouth passionately.  Her toys don't stand a chance -- they all get covered in drool numerous times a day.  ;)

Exhibit A:

That flower didn't stand a chance.

She has tried biting down on me while feeding a couple times too, which hurt like heck.  When she did this I just unlatched her and said "no" while making eye contact.  Hopefully she learns that it is not funny to bite mommy while eating before the teeth come in!

13 Weeks New!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's her last day as a "newborn" and our once-little baby is getting sooooo big!  Just look at her!!!  Such a doll.

Even though it's a bit on the early side, I am pretty sure Emily is teething.  For the past week, she wants to shove anything and everything she can get her hands on into her mouth.  Exhibit A:

In fact, she's been shoving her entire hand in her mouth to the point where she gags herself.  Poor sweetie.  She can't quite figure out yet how to use the teething toys she has, but wet washcloths and my knuckles seem to be doing the trick.

Those beautiful blue eyes absolutely take my breath away . . .

She also hasn't been sleeping as well as she previously was.  It is tough watching her struggle with her discomfort, waking up in the night and from her naps the past few days with little whimpers.  Even though she's uncomfortable, between her reflux and gum soreness, she's still at heart such a happy little girl.

Even if a bit tired . . .