Happy First Birthday, Emma!

This very night, one year ago, I started feeling stronger contractions. They were consistant for awhile and then were not at all. So, by midnight, I decided to go to bed. I told Kevin, who was working in the dining room, that this could be the night!

Sure enough, about an hour later, I woke up with much stronger contrations. We called my parents shortly there after and told them to hurry over to stay with Lea. Immediatley after hanging up the phone, we knew we didn't have much time (my folks live 30 min away). So, we called a friend to hurry over. Amie got there and we rushed to the hospital.

By now, it was a little after 2am. As I sat in the waiting room, Kevin was checking me into the hospital nearby. My contractions were very strong and about a minute apart. When the front receptionist noticed, she immediatley called to get me a room. Nurses showed up with a wheelchair, but I wanted to walk. I got about halfway to the room (which was very close) and had to stop for a huge contraction. I could see the door to my room.... like I said, it was close, but it seemed so far away! I made it to the doorway and another strong contraction hit me. I told the nurses I needed to push! They were calm and told me to get on the bed so they could "check" me. Just as I was about to sit on the bed, I felt like I needed to pee. So, I went to the restrooom.... no pee. I slowly made it back to the bed and climbed up. It was very uncomfortable sitting. Just as a nurse was about to "check" me, my water broke and I was pushing!

Kevin didn't even get me checked into the hospital and my midwife hadn't even arrived. After a few pushes, Emma was born!

Emma Margaret born on May 1st at 2:49am

(Here's the original birth story that tells what happened right after she was born. And, some update posts about her while we were still at the hospital are here and here.)

Emma has quite possibly completed our family... she is such a beautiful blessing!

Happy Birthday to our little cuddle bunny!!

6 months old

Miss Emma is 6 months old now. I can not believe it! I'm going to rattle off some random facts about her because, since she is a terrible sleeper, my brain isn't always functioning at 100% these days.

• She's been to the pediatrician four times in the past month (once b/c I thought she had an ear infection (she didn't), twice b/c of this terrible cold that she can not get rid of and again for a double pink eye infection!).

• She weighs a little over 14 lbs (her actual 6 mo well check isn't for another week).

• She is a very quiet baby...in terms of "talking". She doesn't talk much and when she does, it's pretty quiet. Sometimes she blows "raspberries".

• Did I mention that she doesn't sleep well? She doesn't. She only sleeps in 2 to 4 hour stretches (4 hours on a good night). It's exhausting. We've just started to "sleep train" her this week. It's so hard but it HAS to be done. I am loosing my mind and have no motivation. It's not fair to myself or our family. Wish us luck!

• Emma is a very hard baby to nurse. She only nurses for 5 min a time, therefore she is always hungry. There's nothing I can do about it...you can't force a baby to nurse longer! lol

• We just started giving her some baby cereal last week. The first attempt failed. She clenched her lips together and would not try a bite. The second day, she just stuck her tongue out to taste it. By the third day, though, she was taking small bites. This weekend we are going to give her some avocado. :)

• She has a tooth coming in! Front & center on the bottom. Lea only had two teeth on her first birthday, so this is early to us.

• Emma is sitting up on her own very well. She doesn't need any support anymore...however if she gets startled or excited )or just reaches too far for something), she will topple over.

• Emma has a lot more hair than Lea did at this age. It seems thicker and darker than Lea's. Emma still has blue eyes, too. (Lea's eyes are hazel)

Lea and Emma love to play together. Emma is so happy to just watch Lea and Lea loves the attention. No one can make Emma laugh out loud and giggle like Lea can! I love watching their friendship grow.

Oh, those blue eyes!

A tiny tooth!

She loves teething on cold celery.

My girls (all three!) cuddling on the sofa on a cold morning. :)

 

Yum!



Four Months Old

Our little peanut is four months old. She has changed SO much in this short amount of time. It's hard to believe how much more she will be changing in the very near future.

I just don't have fat babies...

and that's ok.

Unless said baby gains weight so slowly that they begin sliding down the growth chart.

That's our little Emma! For the past several weeks, we have been taking her to the pediatrician for weight checks. She is gaining weight, but very slowly.

Here's her percentiles since she was born...

2 weeks - 60th %
1 month - 50th %
2 months - 25th %
3 months - 15th %
3 1/2 months - 10th %

She should be gaining around an ounce a day. She actually gains an average of barely half an ounce a day.

So, since we aren't sure if it's her just not eating enough or if it's me not making enough, we have a new game plan. I am to nurse Emma, at least, every three hours AROUND THE CLOCK. That's right. Our sweet little Emma, who was sleeping so well at night (sometimes over 10 hours straight...which could be part of our problem!), now has to be "disturbed" to nurse twice every night. (I say "disturbed" because she doesn't actually wake up. She just eats in her sleep.) While that is nice and all for Emma... it means that mommy (me!) will not be getting any more sleep for awhile. :( I've done this for only three days and I am already so exhausted. I know I need to be careful and take care of myself but, honestly, I would not feel comfortable giving my baby formula until I can truthfully say that I have done EVERYTHING possible to make breastfeeding work...

and that's exactly what I am doing right now.

I am working hard and praying hard that we can get this under control and things will be back to normal soon.

Sleeping and Dance

Last night we decided to let Emma try sleeping in her own room for the first time. She's been sleeping in a little crib by my bed for the last four months (Lea slept in it for three months). Well, since Emma has been sleeping so well (from about 8pm to 5am) we thought it was time for her to move upstairs.



This crib has been in the family for decades.
My father and uncle slept in it, my cousins slept in it, my brother and I slept in it
and now my children have slept in it!



Emma slept in her own room from 8:30 pm to 6:15 am!!!

Today was Lea's first dance class. She has been so excited about it...reading Angelina Ballerina books all last week. We went shopping and picked out her ballet shoes, tap shoes, tights and leotard. She was ready!

It was an hour long class (about 40 min of ballet and 20 of tap). I was worried if she (and the others) could stay focused that long... but she did great! She really liked it. They will actually have a dance recital on Mother's Day weekend. I can't wait! :)

Best Friends

Looks like Lea might have a new best friendship blooming...

Lea "reading" a book to Emma while I was cleaning around the house.

Lea helping give Emma her first bottle!
(Emma, by the way, sucked it down without one single dribble.)

Two Months!

Emma had her two month well check last Friday. She weighs 10 pounds 3 ounces (about the 25th percentile) and she is 23 inches long (about the 75th percentile). Just like Lea! Our babies are long and lean... go figure. ;)

Emma smiles a lot and loves to look at herself in a mirror. She has also started to make throaty noises when you talk to her, just within the last few weeks. And she really likes to suck on her fist. Other than that, she sleeps and eats! She does stay awake a lot these days. I'm trying to watch her sleep patterns...and it does seem like she is falling into a pattern. She sleeps at night for about 6 hours before waking to nurse. Then she sleeps another hour or two before waking for the morning. She usually takes a long morning nap, an early afternoon nap and an evening nap. During the day, she goes about every four (sometimes five) hours between eating!

The pediatrician said it's possible that her eyes will stay blue. Wouldn't that be cool? Only time will tell...

My Girls!

I decorated these large, wooden letters to put on the girls' bedroom doors. I simply Mod Podged torn pieces of scrapbook paper onto them. I love how they turned out...very "shabby chic". :)

Before we hang them, though, I took the opportunity to use them as cute photo props...

Look at how Emma smiles at Lea! She locks her eyes on Lea all the time. :)

I LOVE this face!!!



1 Month

Our little peanut had her one month well check. The pediatrician said she's perfect! She weighs 9 lbs 5oz and is 22 inches long (that's the 50th percentile and 75th percentile respectively). Her head circumference is in the 50th percentile... Lea's was always in the 25th!

We're still having a little difficulty with her reflux. She has the same issues that Lea had... she doesn't spit up a lot; it's more like heartburn for her. After nursing for about 10 minutes, she screams, arches her back and makes a little squeaking noise in the back of her throat. She is only happy if she's completely upright. So, we tried infant Zantac... that didn't help. Now we are trying infant Prilosec... I'm praying it will start to help any day now. While she has been gaining weight, it's a slow gain. We need her to start feeling better so she can eat more and gain more weight.

Lea is doing fabulous with Emma. Seriously... she is so gentle and sweet with her. She loves to help, especially with giving Emma a bath! Emma has started smiling a bit, too. Lea is on cloud 9 when Emma smiles at her!

We've been busy the past couple of weeks. My brother and sister-in-law just moved here from New Mexico so we're looking forward to seeing a lot more of them. We've had some fun family outings and Lea had her first dentist appointment. She did fabulous. She let the dental hygienist brush her teeth, scrape them a little and paint on a fluoride treatment. Then, the dentist checked all her teeth and said they look great. :)

Lea helping give Emma a bath.

My girls!

"Roller coaster" fun with mommy!

She loved the spinning barrel with daddy!

Dinosaurs at the museum.

Ready for her check up!

Hanging out with Emma.

A Strong Girl

Our little Emma is so strong... she has been holding her own head up since she was a day old. Two of her favorite places to be is on Daddy's shoulder and Mommy's chest. In both places, she holds her head up high so she can look around!

And one of her favorite things to look at is our picture wall. I guess it's the bold black and white colors that attract her. She can stare at that wall for quite some time!

 Some friends came to visit recently and they brought Lea a big sister present. She got a new tiera with a matching necklace, ring and ear rings (her very first!). She was on cloud nine!

 Lea really is a great big sister. She is a huge help... fetching a pacifier, burp cloth, blanket... what ever I need help with, she is quick to assist. She loves to give Emma kisses on the nose and the top of her head and about every couple of days, she asks to hold Emma...

Tonight we were finally able to give Emma her first real bath (her umbilical cord stump fell off last night). Of course, Lea was ready to help!

We are loving life with two fabulous, little girls!!! :)

Sisters

Two Weeks

Emma is now two weeks old. It's already hard to remember life without her! At her well check yesterday, we found out that she weighs almost 9 pounds (60th percentile) and is also in the 60th percentile for height. The pediatrician said she looks perfect! Emma sleeps very well at night. She typically nurses around 10:30pm, 2:30am and 6:30am. Kevin is still a huge help, even though he is back at work. He helps with Emma's midnight diaper change and with Lea's breakfast every day.

Going to her doctor appointment was my first outing with both girls by myself. Lea was really a big helper and was so well behaved. After the appointment, we got smoothies at McDonald's and then after a 30 minute camp-out in the parking lot at Walmart (I nursed Emma), we ran some errands. I was proud of myself...and my kids...for doing so well. :)

Lea is still doing pretty well with this big change in her life. She does have one or two random melt-downs every day... and when I say melt-down, I mean M E L T - D O W N. It's always over something super trivial and usually happens when I am nursing Emma. It breaks my heart! I'm praying she gets over it soon. I make a pretty big effort to give Lea personal attention every day but, in her eyes, I am sure it seems like ALL my attention goes to Emma. Lea is very gentle with Emma. She loves to help me get burp clothes, pacifiers and blankies. Any time she hears Emma cry, she has to rush over to her to "help".

So, we're doing well. It's a big transition for all of us to go from one kid to two. We constantly remind each other that we need to calm down and take things day by day. These days will be in the distant past sooner than we realize. It's hard to believe that this Christmas we will have a three year old and an 8 month old! :)

More Cuteness

I don't have the brain power right now to write a long post about how we're doing. Maybe it has something to do with the new family member that has us up every few hours, every night. ;) We are doing well, though. Emma is showing signs of having the same sleeping patterns that Lea had when she was a baby... fingers crossed because Lea has always been a great sleeper. Emma nurses around 11pm, 2pm and then 7am. Not too bad for a one week old! During the day, however, she wants to nurse every hour. Seriously.

Emma had her first check up on Saturday morning. When we left the hospital, she weighed 8 lbs 3 oz... at her check up (two days later), she weighed 8 lbs 4 oz. The pediatrician said an ounce in two days was great. She's showing some signs of acid reflux so we're keeping an eye on that. Lea had it, too...not the kind that made her spit up all the time but the kind that gave her heartburn. We're praying Emma doesn't have it. It makes nursing quite difficult.

Kevin goes back to work tomorrow morning. I'm a little nervous. Lots of friends and family are visiting this week, though, so that should help.

Here are some pics from the past couple days...

Emma meeting her cousins.

Emma meeting her Aunt Sarah and Uncle Dave

Mommy enjoying some Emma sunggles.