I have been meaning to share some of the true colors of Emily for some time now, but it never seemed to fit with any other post. So I will devote a whole post to it :)
Oh where do I begin...Let me start by saying how much I LOVE my little girl. I would not want to change anything and I really do look forward to seeing how this personality of hers develops.
I do not know how to describe Emily best, but she is a stubborn, strong willed, attention seeking, little princess.
She chooses not to sleep during the day (unless she is being held) and just recently started sleeping for about 4 hours at night. To fall asleep at night she has to hold my hand. She refuses to sleep in any sort of bed and sleeps in a little sleep chair/bassinet next to our bed. During the day I have tried to nurse her to sleep, use the swing, and many many other things. But she just will not sleep. Today I put her in the swing, gave her her paci, and let her hold onto me. I would slip my hand out and get half way across the room before she would start to scream. And this is no try and let her cry it out crying...it is full blown screaming with huge tears and trouble catching her breath. She goes from happy to pout lip to this scream, we have no escalation from fussy to crying to screaming in this house. Her only indication is the lip and then you have about 20 seconds to make her world right or you are in for it.
Emily will fake cough to get your attention, that pretty much sums it all up. This started when she was about 2 months old (maybe a bit younger). If you are holding her (if she allows that) and you are not looking right at her or talking to her she starts to fake cough to get your attention. When this works she smiles at you and coos. She loves to get her way. She is still VERY picky with who can hold her and for how long. She will be just fine with someone and then that lip comes out at random times. Once back with Mommy she is fine.
If you take something away from her, she lets out a little yell. She does this same sound when the cats walk away from her or my parents dog is not within reach. She will also do this sound when I take a little too long to get ready for her to nurse. She will take a few big gulps to wet her mouth and then pull away look right at me and do a yell/grunt sound just so that I know she is not pleased with the service she is getting.
I have been holding her while she has been sleeping for about 30 min. She woke half way through this and I put her in her jumperoo (she LOVES it) but she just now started to "cough" at me...I look every time what if she really was having trouble, and each time she smiles at me and puts her arms up to be picked up... I do after the third time since I can see the lip...she is now happy, throwing everything off my desk...the jumperoo is still "singing" and she looks over at it often, I know she is missing the fun but she will not admit it...
Remember this is a spunky little 12lb almost 6 mo old girl...
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Long overdue :)
Well I have been meaning to post something about our transition to cloth diapers for some time, and well I just have not had time :) A little over a month ago I bought our first cloth diaper, and I LOVE them!
Paul had always wanted to do cloth from before Emily was even here, but his idea of cloth was the old pre folds with pins and I did not know if I was up for that. I had been interested in doing cloth, we already do cloth napkins, use rags and sponges instead of paper towels when we can, cloth sandwich/snack bags ( www.snacktaxi.com/ )and when I remember my reusable bags I bring those to the grocery store as well. After spending years educating the youth about ways to help the environment as a wildlife educator in the summers at a camp I really do try to make a conscious decision about things that effect my carbon foot print. And I am proud to say I believe Paul and I have a smaller one than most households. We recycle everything we can and only have one trash can of garbage every other week.
Well when disposable diapers entered our lives our trash doubled! That means we were adding about 30-40 gallons of diapers to the landfill every WEEK! And that is just our house, imagine all the little kids you see around, and think how that adds up. Now you have to remember that was a newborn so they are changed more often and Emily has very sensitive skin so I changed her even more frequently. So we may of had a few more diapers than some, but not much.
I had seen these "fancy" cloth diapers working as a nurse, and was very interested in using them but Paul and I could not come to agreement, see these "fancy" cloth are about $20 per diaper and the up front cost was holding us back. But when I figured the cost of prefolds and covers you are not saving much. While we discussed it (for many months) Amanda (my sister) started the transition to cloth using these "fancy" diapers. Paul said see how your sister likes them in a few months. And I think we all know how the story ends.
Well now our stash of cloth is up to 11 diapers, that does not seem like many and I have to do laundry alot, but it has already decreased the amount of disposable diapers by at least half. We do disposable over night and while the diapers are being washed and dried. In the near future with our slowly growing supply of cloth I should be able to do cloth full time with needing to wash daily. I think with 4 or 5 more I would be able to get by with daily laundry.
Besides the environmental benefits I have noticed some other pluses as well. Emily had a chronic red bottom and an eczema patch, that has all cleared since the switch. No pre rinsing with breastfeeding, just toss them in the wash and they clean up nice. I do not have a single stained diaper! And who does not love a cute little cloth diaper bottom!
Paul had always wanted to do cloth from before Emily was even here, but his idea of cloth was the old pre folds with pins and I did not know if I was up for that. I had been interested in doing cloth, we already do cloth napkins, use rags and sponges instead of paper towels when we can, cloth sandwich/snack bags ( www.snacktaxi.com/ )and when I remember my reusable bags I bring those to the grocery store as well. After spending years educating the youth about ways to help the environment as a wildlife educator in the summers at a camp I really do try to make a conscious decision about things that effect my carbon foot print. And I am proud to say I believe Paul and I have a smaller one than most households. We recycle everything we can and only have one trash can of garbage every other week.
Well when disposable diapers entered our lives our trash doubled! That means we were adding about 30-40 gallons of diapers to the landfill every WEEK! And that is just our house, imagine all the little kids you see around, and think how that adds up. Now you have to remember that was a newborn so they are changed more often and Emily has very sensitive skin so I changed her even more frequently. So we may of had a few more diapers than some, but not much.
I had seen these "fancy" cloth diapers working as a nurse, and was very interested in using them but Paul and I could not come to agreement, see these "fancy" cloth are about $20 per diaper and the up front cost was holding us back. But when I figured the cost of prefolds and covers you are not saving much. While we discussed it (for many months) Amanda (my sister) started the transition to cloth using these "fancy" diapers. Paul said see how your sister likes them in a few months. And I think we all know how the story ends.
Well now our stash of cloth is up to 11 diapers, that does not seem like many and I have to do laundry alot, but it has already decreased the amount of disposable diapers by at least half. We do disposable over night and while the diapers are being washed and dried. In the near future with our slowly growing supply of cloth I should be able to do cloth full time with needing to wash daily. I think with 4 or 5 more I would be able to get by with daily laundry.
Besides the environmental benefits I have noticed some other pluses as well. Emily had a chronic red bottom and an eczema patch, that has all cleared since the switch. No pre rinsing with breastfeeding, just toss them in the wash and they clean up nice. I do not have a single stained diaper! And who does not love a cute little cloth diaper bottom!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Just Pictures
Sitting up all by herself, and happy about being able to do so!
Sitting and sputtering :)
Yes another bath picture! Emily LOVES bath time, and Paul got out a rubber ducky for the first time last weekend and she thought that was great fun to have a toy in the bath :)
You have to be fast to get a Tummy time picture these days, she rolls over as soon as she can to get off her tummy.
Mid scream, it is so fun to sit up and even more fun to sit up and scream at the same time! I know you would not believe me if I told you she had been a very very unhappy baby for a few hours about 5 min prior to this picture...
FEET!! Emily has found a new "toy" She loves to be naked and play with her feet and suck on her toes...most evenings she is fussy and last night she was very fussy, I got her undressed and layed her on the bed and this was the result. Instant happy baby!
5 Months Already
A big thank you to Paul first for making it possible for me to spend a weekend in Dubuque, IA with my friends scrapbooking at our annual Cabin Fever retreat. I met the girls in Dubuque last Friday night, and returned home Sunday afternoon. This is an annual retreat that I have been going to for three years now, it is full of talking, eating, oh yeah and scrapbooking. It is hosted by a Creative Memories consultant that one of my friends knows. It is so much fun, and I did not know if I would be able to attend this year so I was very excited when it all worked out. Paul and Emily spent the weekend together (I don't know if Emily was totally thrilled about being away from me and having to take a bottle), with some help from my parents. I had so much fun, but missed them both. It is nice to be back home after much needed girl time!
Emily is 5 months old now, I don't know where the time has gone! She is getting so big, and doing new things every day. This is a really fun age.
Emily can roll over from tummy to back, and when on her back she can get up onto her sides but no back to tummy rolling yet. She does it consistently now and rolls over pretty quick after being put on her tummy, she never really liked tummy time :) Emily will sit very well with support and will sit by herself well for about 30-60 seconds before falling over. She has learned to scream! And she loves that she can be that loud, some afternoons all she does is scream and scream...She loves to spit and sputter and has found her feet as well. Everything goes into her mouth these days including her toes! She is playing with toys more and more and will transfer them from hand to hand and up to her mouth. She is getting really good at manging her pacifier (still one of her favorite things) she will take it out and play with it and put it back in her mouth.
She just started to sleep at night without being swaddled, but still in her sleep chair. She will sleep for 3-4 hrs. in a stretch. I try every few nights to put her in her pack n play, but she does not want anything to do with it. I hope after her room is all ready and her crib is up, she will like it enough to sleep in it :) We still need the swing some nights, otherwise nobody would be sleeping.
Emily gets excited when she sees certain things during the day, sometimes I have no idea what she found so entertaining and I just wish I could know what she was thinking. She really likes the cats these days as well. We have two cats, one shy and timid cat and one outgoing, loud, obnoxious cat. I was worried about how they would adjust to her but they are doing great. We just started letting them be around her and our outgoing cat has no problem with her. He will let her pull his fur, whiskers, ears, and tail. He just comes back for more and more Emily "love". The other cat will tolerate her but as soon as she starts loving him too much he is gone...She is still very well supervised when around the cats, because they are cats and I will never fully trust them.
Here are some recent pictures to share.
Well I am unable to post pictures at this time, usually I am able to just insert an image and it is not letting me. I will make a call to my sister who as most of you know is much better about blogging than I am and see what I need to do....
Emily is 5 months old now, I don't know where the time has gone! She is getting so big, and doing new things every day. This is a really fun age.
Emily can roll over from tummy to back, and when on her back she can get up onto her sides but no back to tummy rolling yet. She does it consistently now and rolls over pretty quick after being put on her tummy, she never really liked tummy time :) Emily will sit very well with support and will sit by herself well for about 30-60 seconds before falling over. She has learned to scream! And she loves that she can be that loud, some afternoons all she does is scream and scream...She loves to spit and sputter and has found her feet as well. Everything goes into her mouth these days including her toes! She is playing with toys more and more and will transfer them from hand to hand and up to her mouth. She is getting really good at manging her pacifier (still one of her favorite things) she will take it out and play with it and put it back in her mouth.
She just started to sleep at night without being swaddled, but still in her sleep chair. She will sleep for 3-4 hrs. in a stretch. I try every few nights to put her in her pack n play, but she does not want anything to do with it. I hope after her room is all ready and her crib is up, she will like it enough to sleep in it :) We still need the swing some nights, otherwise nobody would be sleeping.
Emily gets excited when she sees certain things during the day, sometimes I have no idea what she found so entertaining and I just wish I could know what she was thinking. She really likes the cats these days as well. We have two cats, one shy and timid cat and one outgoing, loud, obnoxious cat. I was worried about how they would adjust to her but they are doing great. We just started letting them be around her and our outgoing cat has no problem with her. He will let her pull his fur, whiskers, ears, and tail. He just comes back for more and more Emily "love". The other cat will tolerate her but as soon as she starts loving him too much he is gone...She is still very well supervised when around the cats, because they are cats and I will never fully trust them.
Here are some recent pictures to share.
Well I am unable to post pictures at this time, usually I am able to just insert an image and it is not letting me. I will make a call to my sister who as most of you know is much better about blogging than I am and see what I need to do....
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Quick note and Pics :)
Today we are snowed in, we have had some other large snow falls this winter but this one tops them all. It started Monday and covered the ground with about 3 inches of snow, then took a little break until starting back up again Tuesday (yesterday) early afternoon and finally stopped late this morning. I don't know what the official snow fall amount is but it is over 12 inches. And the main issue is all the drifting snow, many roads are closed along with most businesses and schools. Paul and I are enjoying the snow day together and had a list of things we wanted to get done, painting trim and putting together Emily's crib along with some other little things around the house but we have done none of those things and instead are all cozy on the couch watching TV/movies on netflix together! I am glad that we have a warm home and still have power, many others that were hit by the same storm do not have power and it is VERY cold out.
Emily and I continue to enjoy most everyday together and recently we made Valentines one day and tried to take some pics to put with her card, they are cute but not what I envisioned... We tried rice cereal for the first time (and has had it once since), which Emily really likes. I have had more photography clients and have been lucky to be able to schedule them so Paul went late to work or came home early or on the weekend. But my sister is available if needed :)
All these pics are from the last few weeks, Emily is 3-4 months in them. She is growing so much, and really starting to show her personality over the last few weeks. My sister calls her a little diva, and as much as I don't want to admit it - I think maybe she is. I just say she is opinionated :) Just this morning though I started to change my mind...wondering can she already be manipulating me?? She was laying on our bed, I was sitting and watching the news. She was playing with a rattle in her hand and would try to get my attention back only on her every once in awhile, while playing she hit herself in the head - not hard she is only 4 months. She was fine, I don't even know if she realized exactly what she did. But I said to her "oh no, you are ok" in a calm way, just to reassure her that it was fine because she was looking at me with a puzzled look on her face. Once she realized that she did in fact do something that bottom lip came out (about 30-45 sec. after the incident) so far and her face got all sad looking and she looked like she was going to scream, i picked her right up and we avoided any tears because she was all giggles and smiles as soon as I picked her up...What a diva - it really did cross my mind that since she got some reaction, she knew how to get a bigger one and was going for it :)
Emily and I continue to enjoy most everyday together and recently we made Valentines one day and tried to take some pics to put with her card, they are cute but not what I envisioned... We tried rice cereal for the first time (and has had it once since), which Emily really likes. I have had more photography clients and have been lucky to be able to schedule them so Paul went late to work or came home early or on the weekend. But my sister is available if needed :)
All these pics are from the last few weeks, Emily is 3-4 months in them. She is growing so much, and really starting to show her personality over the last few weeks. My sister calls her a little diva, and as much as I don't want to admit it - I think maybe she is. I just say she is opinionated :) Just this morning though I started to change my mind...wondering can she already be manipulating me?? She was laying on our bed, I was sitting and watching the news. She was playing with a rattle in her hand and would try to get my attention back only on her every once in awhile, while playing she hit herself in the head - not hard she is only 4 months. She was fine, I don't even know if she realized exactly what she did. But I said to her "oh no, you are ok" in a calm way, just to reassure her that it was fine because she was looking at me with a puzzled look on her face. Once she realized that she did in fact do something that bottom lip came out (about 30-45 sec. after the incident) so far and her face got all sad looking and she looked like she was going to scream, i picked her right up and we avoided any tears because she was all giggles and smiles as soon as I picked her up...What a diva - it really did cross my mind that since she got some reaction, she knew how to get a bigger one and was going for it :)
Reading with Daddy
Still loving bath time
Fun in the jumperoo
Rice cereal for the first time :)
Making our Valentines Day cards...and using finger paint for the first time - what fun we had :)
Trying to get a cuteValentines pic to send with our cards...my vision was just not happening but still cute and fun!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Our Project
As some of you know Paul and I have been doing some remodeling in our home. This project was much needed, so though it may seem like I am complaining, I am very grateful for the remodel and very very very grateful for those of you who helped make it happen (Mom, Dad, Brandon).
Almost exactly one year ago, Paul and I found out we were expecting our first child. Now we needed make a safe place for baby in our home. A little background for those who have never seen our house. Nobody really knows how old our home is, records do not date back that far. The first recording of homes (in our area) started in 1900, so that is the date on our homes legal documents. We have been told that the original part of our home dates back the the 1860's, needless to say many changes have been made to the home over the years, but its last face lift was in the 70's. Our home still has a huge lump of coal in the basement, from an old heating system. I think its cool, so it will remain part of the house. And when we were tearing out plaster and some wood work it was all done with square nails! But back to the remodel, after talking about what needed to be done to have a safe environment for baby, 11 months ago (almost to the day) Paul started in on the project while I was away at a scrapbooking retreat with some friends. To make a long story short after realizing what was all involved in remodeling a really old house and all the surprises that are found along the way our project got scaled back and we hired some help.
Today while Emily took a nap (a way too short nap) I continued to paint. We spent all last weekend painting and now I have almost all the roller painting done, some small area remains and then we just have to go back and get all the edges, corners, around doors/windows, and small spaces with a brush...that's the time consuming tedious work that I am not a fan of. But it's so nice to have the end in sight of a very long project. This Friday we are having the flooring installed, so our goal is to have all the painting done by then. We just have to finish up the walls and then paint the trim in the bed rooms, entry, and bathroom. After all is done, we will have new electrical in the entire area, drywall in Emily's room (plaster was all removed), sound barrier and drywall on all ceilings (over existing plaster), new trim, new flooring, new front door, new light fixtures, and all new bathroom fixtures.
I am looking forward to the day that it is all done, and we can sit back and relax for a short period until we clean it all up (yay no more construction dust all over) and get it all set up and decorated. I will have to admit I was hoping things would have moved along more quickly - mainly because you cant paint when you are pregnant :)
Other news, Emily is now 4 months old! I can not believe how quickly time has gone. I have really tired to enjoy every second with her knowing that little ones grow up way to fast. Emily had a good check up, she is now 11 lbs. 9 oz. (12%) and 24 inches long (just over 50%), she is growing well. She did not like her vaccines though! She had a little fever for about a day but was so fussy and just not herself for 1-2 days and decided sleep was totally optional those days and she just wanted mommy snuggle time. I have decided that though I miss sleep and will welcome it back with open arms one day, i need to cherish every moment of snuggle time because it will come to and end at some point! At 4 months Emily is talking more and more every day, and has started to make some more coo sounds, and squeal and laugh more. She has not rolled over any more except the one day almost a month ago. She sits pretty well with some support, she is reaching and grasping toys and holding onto them better and starting to shake a rattle. She still loves bath time, books, her pacifier, and to be swaddled. She has not really gained anymore "skills" since about a month ago, just getting better at her existing skills. She has been going through a growth spurt, or something, for the last 2-3 weeks. She has been waking to eat an extra 1-2 times at night and eating every 1-2 hours during the day. It will be nice to have some extra time to get things done, but I am glad that I am at home the majority of the time to give her what she needs.
I have started to schedule my first clients for my photography business, I am very excited to be starting this new adventure. I still have lots to learn, but feel that I am ready to get started and will continue to learn along the way. My first client was suppose to be this past weekend but due to a sick child they had to re schedule, so my first client is now this Thursday morning!
I wanted to post some recent pictures, but my camera is in the other room and I'm writing this blog with a sleeping child in my arms so I am not going to get up and fetch it. I will post some pictures later.
Almost exactly one year ago, Paul and I found out we were expecting our first child. Now we needed make a safe place for baby in our home. A little background for those who have never seen our house. Nobody really knows how old our home is, records do not date back that far. The first recording of homes (in our area) started in 1900, so that is the date on our homes legal documents. We have been told that the original part of our home dates back the the 1860's, needless to say many changes have been made to the home over the years, but its last face lift was in the 70's. Our home still has a huge lump of coal in the basement, from an old heating system. I think its cool, so it will remain part of the house. And when we were tearing out plaster and some wood work it was all done with square nails! But back to the remodel, after talking about what needed to be done to have a safe environment for baby, 11 months ago (almost to the day) Paul started in on the project while I was away at a scrapbooking retreat with some friends. To make a long story short after realizing what was all involved in remodeling a really old house and all the surprises that are found along the way our project got scaled back and we hired some help.
Today while Emily took a nap (a way too short nap) I continued to paint. We spent all last weekend painting and now I have almost all the roller painting done, some small area remains and then we just have to go back and get all the edges, corners, around doors/windows, and small spaces with a brush...that's the time consuming tedious work that I am not a fan of. But it's so nice to have the end in sight of a very long project. This Friday we are having the flooring installed, so our goal is to have all the painting done by then. We just have to finish up the walls and then paint the trim in the bed rooms, entry, and bathroom. After all is done, we will have new electrical in the entire area, drywall in Emily's room (plaster was all removed), sound barrier and drywall on all ceilings (over existing plaster), new trim, new flooring, new front door, new light fixtures, and all new bathroom fixtures.
I am looking forward to the day that it is all done, and we can sit back and relax for a short period until we clean it all up (yay no more construction dust all over) and get it all set up and decorated. I will have to admit I was hoping things would have moved along more quickly - mainly because you cant paint when you are pregnant :)
Other news, Emily is now 4 months old! I can not believe how quickly time has gone. I have really tired to enjoy every second with her knowing that little ones grow up way to fast. Emily had a good check up, she is now 11 lbs. 9 oz. (12%) and 24 inches long (just over 50%), she is growing well. She did not like her vaccines though! She had a little fever for about a day but was so fussy and just not herself for 1-2 days and decided sleep was totally optional those days and she just wanted mommy snuggle time. I have decided that though I miss sleep and will welcome it back with open arms one day, i need to cherish every moment of snuggle time because it will come to and end at some point! At 4 months Emily is talking more and more every day, and has started to make some more coo sounds, and squeal and laugh more. She has not rolled over any more except the one day almost a month ago. She sits pretty well with some support, she is reaching and grasping toys and holding onto them better and starting to shake a rattle. She still loves bath time, books, her pacifier, and to be swaddled. She has not really gained anymore "skills" since about a month ago, just getting better at her existing skills. She has been going through a growth spurt, or something, for the last 2-3 weeks. She has been waking to eat an extra 1-2 times at night and eating every 1-2 hours during the day. It will be nice to have some extra time to get things done, but I am glad that I am at home the majority of the time to give her what she needs.
I have started to schedule my first clients for my photography business, I am very excited to be starting this new adventure. I still have lots to learn, but feel that I am ready to get started and will continue to learn along the way. My first client was suppose to be this past weekend but due to a sick child they had to re schedule, so my first client is now this Thursday morning!
I wanted to post some recent pictures, but my camera is in the other room and I'm writing this blog with a sleeping child in my arms so I am not going to get up and fetch it. I will post some pictures later.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Blessed
Well I started this post about a week ago, I am sorry it has taken so long to finish up and publish.
Many of you already know, but I wanted to post an update about little Emily. All her tests that were done as a follow up after her recent UTI came back normal!! I feel so very blessed! On the 29th (of Dec.) we took Emily to Mercy Hospital here in town and she had a renal ultrasound done to look at her kidneys and bladder and make sure everything was formed normal. She then had a VCUG (Voiding Cystourethrogram) to look for urine refluxing out of the bladder up to the kidneys. Everything was normal. Emily did a great job, she was such a big girl and cooperated for the doctor. He was able to get a good look at everything, and was very impressed by her! The most difficult part of the day was when I was told I could not accompany Emily during the VCUG, only one parent could be in the room and they recommended Paul go back with her. It was VERY hard to be waiting in the hall not knowing what was going on and I could hear her crying. Paul said that she was a trooper for the test and did not mind it at all, she was crying after it was over because they were not letting her sit up right away (Emily thinks she is bigger than she really is sometimes). So for now we do not know what caused the UTI, and just have to hope it was a fluke and she does not get another one. After talking to her pediatrician she said we would just have to wait and see, if Emily did for some reason get another UTI she would most likely start Emily on a daily antibiotic to prevent any other infections (the treatment for urinary reflux) to be one the safe side and then repeat the test in a year. Usually the reflux is something kids out grow at some point anyways. She also said that if a child has the reflux it is something that is always present, so it would have shown up on the VCUG. I felt much better after talking to her. I am sure this is something we can put past us, it bothers me that I don't know what caused the infection, but I am glad that everything is normal and working as it should. Afterall the most important thing is that Emily is healthy and her kidneys are working as they should.
We are loving every second of being parents, and I can't believe it has been three months already. Emily is our little princess and she is figuring that out already :) She finds ways to get all the attention back on her if someone dares to direct attention away from her. It is amazing watching her little personality develop. Oh I love her :)
Fun in the hotel pool :)
Some pictures from the last few weeks.
First time in the snow, we had about 8inches that fell on Christmas Eve. This was taken the day after Christmas. Emily made her first snow angel with some help from her Daddy :)
Some more pictures from the hospital
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