17 Weeks and Counting

Since it has been so long since I have posted, I am going to break everything down by months. I don't have my calendar handy, so I am going to have to guess on specifics as far as dates and measurements go.

Month 1:

Bringing Emma home was by far the most exciting and terrifying thing I have ever done. She hated being dressed to go home, and she hated her car seat. Every time the car would stop, she would cry. I cried, too, because I hated seeing her upset. We won't even discuss the affect my hormones were having on my sanity. My mom (Grammy), my sister (Auntie Sam), my sister's boyfriend (Uncle Larry) and my mom's mom (Cracker) were waiting at the house for us. My family was a source of help we could not have done without. At the very least, they kept me from killing poor Paul. He probably wasn't even doing anything wrong, but the first few days (and eventually the first couple of months) I blamed everything on my dear husband. Emma slept a lot, and I barely slept at all. I was so worried something was going to happen to her while I slept. Thankfully, the only thing that happened while I slept was Emma woke up to be fed. Nursing was very hard for both of us in the beginning. We were both too lazy to do it right. After a couple of weeks, we figured it out, and it's still going well. Emma went to her first pediatric appointment when she was about four days old. She had already gained a few ounces above her birth weight. My fears of starving my child were put to rest. At one month, Emma had gained two pounds. She was definitely not starving! Since she started out so skinny, her rapid weight gain was a good thing. By the end of the first month, I was beginning to loosen up a little bit, and we were finally starting to really bond. I was still having painful symptoms from the complications I had experienced, but they were getting better, and I was able to carry Emma and be on my feet a bit more. Soon, I would have to go back to work, and I was dreading it for several reasons. I would miss Emma horribly since we were just getting to really know each other, and I was not sure how well I would be able to deal with my bleeding and pain while at work. Emma also went on her first road trips during her first month. We went to Flagstaff, AZ to visit my family and Colorado Springs to visit Paul's family. Emma did very well, and we quickly learned what to bring with us and what could be left at home. Emma was still mostly sleeping in bed with us at this point, so that was pretty easy. Grammy got her a My Little Lamb chair, and she started sleeping in it the for the next few weeks.

Month 2:

This was a month of firsts for Emma, and I know every month henceforth would be similar. First off, we got some money we were not expecting, and I was able to stay home for a few more months. This was a god send. I needed to be home due to my complications, and now I could afford to do so. The best part? I GET TO BE HOME WITH MY LITTLE LADY!!!!! I will have to go back to work eventually, but I will deal with that when it happens. We may end up getting transferred at the end of the summer, so it was better for me to just quit my job and let them find some one else. I will start looking for a new job in August if we do not move. During this month, Emma started sleeping in longer stretches. She gained another two pounds and was 22.5 inches at the beginning of her second month. She is still a long, skinny little girl. And the most beautiful baby I have ever known. We went on our first "back road" road trip to Silverton, CO. Emma loved the bouncy roads, and therefore slept through most of her first 4-wheel excursion. Emma had her first series of shots. She cried... I cried... and Daddy was informed that he is expected to come to every one of her appointments from now on more moral support, if nothing else. The shots gave Emma a bit of a fever, and I decided to give her Tylenol before our next appointment to nip that in the bud for the next time. We bought some toys Emma didn't like, but in time she learned to love them. The best was her Baby Einstein floor gym. At first she just laid on it and watched her friend Ocho the Octopus (we named all of her "friends"). After a little while, she figured out how to hit Ocho, though it was sporadic. Then... she learned to LOVE Ocho and SMILE at him. Not only did she smile at Ocho, but she smiled at us! We are not sure when gas grins turned into real smiles. The first time we really noticed it was when Paul had come home late from work. Emma was lying down while I was getting ready for bed. Paul went over to her (I could see the whole thing form where I was) and said "hello". Emma looked right at him and gave him the most beautiful smile. It was the first of billions of heart warming smiles. Paul and I laughed and thought it was the most amazing thing we had ever seen. As the days went by, Emma got better at punching Ocho, and she even started to grab at him and shake him once she caught him. Emma was very grumpy and cried a lot during the first part of her second month. I began to realize that she was not sleeping longer than 15 minutes or so, and I figured she was not getting enough sleep. How she slept the best changed from day to day. Sometimes she liked her Lamb chair and the next day she might like one of her swings the best. She began taking longer naps, and her mood rapidly improved. Emma also started sleeping longer at night. She would sleep from about 8pm to midnight, eat, sleep from 12:30am to 4am, eat, and sleep until about 7:30 or 8am. At that time, I thought 7:30 was early. As her time between late night meals lengthened, the time she woke up in the morning got earlier. Around the end of the month, Emma was up and ready to play at 5:30-6am. It was at this time I decided to revise her schedule.

Month 3:

Our third month will be coming to and end on Monday. Time is flying by. Emma is getting bigger, but she is still skinny. She is a non-stop mover. Once she learned how to grab and shake things, she wanted to grab everything. Sometimes she shakes her friends a little too vigorously, which leads to flying toys. She has started to look for them when they fall, and that is a milestone only a parent can recognize! We were having a hard time with tummy time, because our little lady has quite a temper and hated being on her belly. She would kick her feet and scream and never even attempt to figure out what to go about it. The one day, she just rolled. Like it was nothing at all. Now we have a hard time with tummy time, because Emma rolls the instant she is put down on her tummy. I will find other ways to strengthen her arms. It is cute to watch Emma roll, as her arms play not part. She pulls her feet under her tummy and kicks. Silly but very effective! Soon after she figured out how to roll, Emma discovered her toes, and she LOVES them. Out of all her toys, her toes are her favorite. She grabs them and swings her feet all over the place. I a hoping all this fun will lead to laughing soon. She giggles, but much prefers to pant when she is having fun. Emma loves to chew on everything (especially her hands!) and most objects she gets a hold of are covered in slobber. Daily squats and sit-ups are giving Emma some very impressive muscles. She loves to hold on to my fingers and sit up then stand up. Standing must make Emma feel very proud, because she does it often and always with a smile. She hold herself up while standing and just needs my fingers for balance. She will even take a few steps sometimes. All the sit-ups are also helping Emma learn how to sit. She has been using her Bumbo since she was four weeks old, so she is able to keep her back and head pretty straight. Balance is what she has to work on the most. She can sit in my lap without much help from me. As she starts to lean to the side, I help her get back to the middle. All toe toe grabbing is going to help Emma learn to roll over whether she means to or not. As she crunches her head to her toe and brings her legs to her head, she sometimes tips over to her side. She doesn't even realize that is the hardest part! I am pretty sure month 4 will be a month of rolling all over the house. As a Mommy Milestone, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Now I just have to lose the 10 pounds I wanted to lose before I found out I was pregnant. I am beginning to look for a job. We have not heard anything about the position Paul applied for in Williams, AZ. I was so sure he would get it, but I guess it was just wishful thinking. The only part about going back to work that stresses me out, is finding someone to watch Emma. As of today, I have no leads on anyone I trust to watch her. I am going to quickly move from that topic, or I will go on about it and all the "what-ifs" forever. I have been slowly getting Emma used to her crib. She takes most of her naps there and really enjoys it. She usually wakes up laughing. Last night was Emma's first night in her crib. I slept on the floor, and was actually VERY happy and comfortable. The only reason I didn't get more sleep than I did was I had a hard time falling asleep, because I was thinking about work and some one to watch Emma. She woke up twice to eat, but I think she may be growing. We are supposed to talk about starting cereal next week at her 4 month appointment, and I think it's time. All this wiggling around and growing is making her super hungry, and I don't think I am enough anymore! I forgot to mention that we bought Emma a Baby Einstein Jumper, which she hated at first. Over the past few weeks, She has discovered that she likes it more and more. She will only stay in it for about 10 minutes at the most, but she is still learning what to do with it. Her favorite toy as of yesterday (besides her toes) is a little doll. I say little, but it is almost half as big as Emma is. She has rattles, plastic rings to chew on a d a crinkly dress. Emma loves her! I could go on all day about everything Emma does, but I think I have covered the basics. I am not sure when I will be able to get back online. In the mean time, please cross your fingers about the Williams job, and at the very least pray that I can find some one to watch Emma who will love her and treat her well. Emma is my life and I cannot even fathom something happening to her or for her to be mistreated.