6 weeks and we have a Coo

Our little Princess is 6 weeks old today. She is growing and moving and shaking. She is totally starting to change, with her cute little double chin and her long body. She is almost as long as the WonderMutt Sammy! Though he has plenty of pounds on her! Poor Sammy he needs to lose another pound or two, I really need to take him for a walk.
Emery is starting to sleep longer during the night, for the past two nights its been about 4-4.5 hours at a time. Which really has helped out Mommy. I really needed to catch up on my sleep too. She is also starting to have better awake times, it use to be eat, cry, "play", cry, eat, sleep. Now we are getting about 10-20 mins of play time wihtout crying and today we got a COO out of her! It was so cute. I want to see her smile for real!
She got to do alot this weekend by visiting some friends of ours and seeing our friends Mother, who loves her so much (just like another Grandparent), and we love that, the more people that love her the better.
Easter was beautiful for Emery. She recieved lots of gifts by the mail and got to wear her pretty Lavender dress and bonnett that her Mimi sent to her. She was a very pretty girl in her dress. And yes we got lots of pictures! Many of her gifts were books, and we love books...I try to read to her at least once if not twice a day, I want her to love books as much as her Father and I do.
We haven't had another roll over yet...booo I am so ready for her roll over all the time!
She still loves the outside swing with Mom and Dad, the naked baby time in the bathroom and the bath. She is getting better on the new formula too...it seems to be helping her not hurt so much. So that's good.
Ok off to fix her bottles and take care of Miss Priss!

EarPiece Be GONE!

Yay...Emery's EarWell Earpiece came off today at the Drs office! Now we just are waiting for it to completly harden and we will be done. Right now all she has left is her ear is taped to hold its form and that comes off in a week! It looks really good and we are so happy to have it off!

Silent Reflux, poor baby!

Yesterday Miss Emery was diagonised with Silent Reflux or Slight Reflux. Basically its where she doesn't spit up all the time, instead she has her formula sitting in her tiny esphogus all the time and so she gags on it and swallows it back down. Leaving her in pain from the burning and the indigestion. We actually went into the Dr just to see why she wasn't pooping and it turned into this! So formula swtich we go, to the expensive, non powdered formula. Nothing is too good for this little girl!

Should take up to two weeks before we start seeing a difference, so we will see what happens. And oh get this it can constipate her! The whole reason we went in to see the Dr! And they are all babies can go up to 10 days without a poop...Not my child! That isn't normal and shouldn't be the norm for infants. Figure out something new Formula companies! (yes I know breastmilk is best and too bad I can't give it to her anymore)

So here we go off to get new formula and a bottle warmer (since it has to be refriderated after opening the ready to feed bottle)

5 weeks

First thing I noticed this morning on the 5 week of Emery's birth is that she looks bigger! I can't believe it. I think she may finally be a newborn size. Though she still isn't fitting into her newborn clothes completly. She isn't long enough. However she is starting to fit into her bounce chair and swing. Again still a little small for them but getting close!

The cutest thing that happened today...while putting her down for a nap she was falling asleep and a huge grin came out. She has a beautiful smile. I know it was unintentional, but its so pretty and I can't wait for her to smile at either me or her Daddy.

Still having short times sleeping. She is offically (for the most part) on a 3 hour schedule. As I talked about in my last post. Last night she slept in her bassinet for the whole night. But as soon as the sun came up (even though our bedroom is dark there is still a little light that comes from behind the curtains) she was awake. So we layed in bed together till she fell back asleep and then woke up together to start our day.

Emery has shown a little of her personality...she is a DIVA, if you aren't holding her how she wants to be held she will cry, if you don't feed her fast enough she cries, Miss Priss.

Ahh here shes goes...time to pick her up.

The art of a schedule or rather what does baby want.

We've been told by different people at different times, the best thing for a baby is to have a schedule. Baby sleeps, baby plays, baby eats, baby takes a bath, baby gets changed, etc. Now how that schedule comes to be is told to us in many forms...there is Happiest Baby, SLEEP, Babywise, Ferberize, Parent directed, baby lead, co-sharing, co-sleeping, attachement theory, your fun old wives tales and of course the just let the baby tell you when they want it.
So now we've tried them. We really have. I don't know if maybe we just got a fussy baby or maybe we aren't doing something right or maybe she's just too young for any of it. All I know is I can't wait until she sleeps.
I hear from my parents "you know they don't write the book on babies, we just had to go with what we figured out". But they do write the books, and they have for years. But they don't write the book for YOUR baby. Every baby is different.
So here we go. Emery will be 5 weeks tomorrow. She on average is on a 3 hour schedule.
She wakes up (screams),
eats about 2 oz (sometimes she pushes out the bottle and cries like she's hurting?), gets burped (sometimes she burps sometimes she doesn't?)
goes into milk coma,
gets woken up with a diaper change (screams),
gets to "play" (on her mat looking up at her toys from her back, she basically stares off into space not even looking at the toys while we take her hands and slap the toys with them and turn her head to look at them OR tummy time this can be blood curdling screams while she attempts to lift her head and inchworm her way off the blanket or its nothing and she just lays there like a rock),
then we read to her or dance with her or put her in the bouncy chair or the swing,
Next is being swaddled
then she gets another oz of food (she won't eat 3 oz at once yet)
Then she gets rocked or if she's fallen asleep she gets put down.
Here is a kicker about an hour into her sleep she wakes up (screaming) and we have to soothe her back to sleep or if its really bad she has to be picked up and its time to eat again, bringing the whole schedule off and now onto a new schedule.
When do you eat, sleep, brush your teeth, shower yourself? How do parents get thru this time? When do you get a smile or some sort of interaction?
Look I am not unappreciative of my baby girl. I love her more than I can even describe. But these books do nothing for me. They give me tips and tricks that sometimes work sometimes don't work. People tell me what they did for their child, sometimes works sometimes doesn't work. Schedules...they may work for you, but they aren't yet working for me. And Lord knows in a few months I am sure I will be saying schedule and this worked for us, that didn't work. But again every baby is different.
But if someone could tell me...when am I going to get 5 hours of sleep...or even 8 hours?
Oh and don't knock it...but co-sleeping...I love being next to my baby all night. I don't care if we are making it a habit (by the way you can't spoil or make a habit in a newborn, at least they say until they are 4 months old) even if she sleeps with us till she's a teenager, I don't care...I love her, I love her breathe, I love her grunts, I love her smell and her warmth and I love that if she cries I am right there to reasure her that nothing is going to happen to her that she is safe and taken care of and I can quickly figure out what she needs and get it for her.
Advise..I'll take it, leave it on the blog, email me, text me, facebook me...I don't care. What can we do to get more hours of sleep out of her? What do you use? Did you follow a method? When does it get easier?
Oh and a second miracle...I don't know about that yet...

1 month old...already

I can't believe its been a month since our little miracle was born. Emery is growing up slowly but surely. I can't feel when I hold her (and I hold her alot, she perfers to be held often) that she is gaining weight. My arm is starting to feel tighter! Good work out holding and burping and bouncing a baby.
In the past month we've had good days and bad days, good sleep and bad sleep, good eating and not so great eating...but wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!
What Emery has been up to this month..
She is slowly becoming less crying and more content awake time
Loves the swing in the backyard in the late afternoons
Adores being naked on the carpet in the bathroom for Bath time. She can lay there for an hour and just be happy. Then the bath, she loves the warm water and having both Mommy and Daddy doting on her during her time in the bath.
While tummy time is not her favorite, yesterday on her 1 month birthday, she actually lifted her head straight up and then turned from her tummy to her back..TWICE! I was so proud I had to call her Dad and tell him.
Nap time, well this one is tough..she will start to fall asleep and so we put her down and then she wakes up two or three times, screaming, and we have to soothe her back to sleep to have a complete nap.
Her favorite "toys" range from day to day. Sometimes its her swing, sometimes her bouncy chair, sometimes her pacifier, most times its Mommy.
Emery LOVES to hear her Daddy's voice, when she hears it she usally stops whats she's doing and just stares. I think she is going to be a major Daddy's girl!
We are still on "house arrest" until she goes back to the Dr. on May 17th. The Mr. is going with us because Mommy is a needle phobe and so there is no way I can be alone with her getting her 1st sets of shots. Poor baby girl. I am dreading this day but anticipating it because then we will know if everything is ok and that she is big enough and healthy enough to go out and be touched and loved on by our family and friends! We can't wait to get her out and introduce her to the world!
During the day and wake time, Emery and I dance to songs I grew up with, play on the blanket on the floor for tummy time, read stories, swing outside and sometimes we will take a ride somewhere (but she is covered up if we get out the car so no one can see her).
Next week we have another apt for her ear, hoping that we get the news that we are close to end with her EarWell ear piece. We are so ready to have that off for her!
I think that's it for this post. Long but well worth it to document Emery's life.

4 Week Check In

Let's get to the good stuff...what happened in the last week with our baby girl!
On Wed. she coo'd for the 1st time, now it hasn't happened since and it was only once but whoo hoo...we have progress.
Emery is not always happy about tummy time but she is moving her little legs all around (Mr calls her his little inchworm) and she lifts her head and moves it from side to side. She does hold her head up when you sit her up for a min or so.
And can we say, we have gotten another hour of sleep in. Sat night for the 1st time we went 4 hours between feedings. Now she isn't staying completly asleep, she moves and makes noise and cries, and Mommy picks her up and lays her on my chest and then she sleeps better. But we are getting into a better routine. So here is what we have, during the day its about 2.5-3 hours between feedings. She wakes up, eats all but about an oz to 1/2 oz of her bottle, stays awake (has a little tummy time or a swing in the backyard, or time in her chair looking around) we get a bit of fussiness here and there (and boy can this girl shriek when she isn't happy)and then she gets a little cranky again so I give her the rest of the bottle and she calms down gets sleepy and is put down in her crib. She typically gets 2 hours of sleep at a time during the day, although today its been 1.5 hours. Time is a changing!
Ohhh and bath time, Emery LOVES a nice warm bath, and for some reason the bathroom itself is soothing to her. She will not fuss on the bath rug on her tummy, gets neeked and then floats in the tub for a bit. We have her on a sponge with a incline piece under it. She hates being taken out and will let you know with a scream, till you wrap her up in her towel and get her close to where the heater is.
Emery's ear is forming very well according to the Dr. She got a new ear piece this week and still has about 4-6 weeks left of it getting its shape corrected. I know she is ready to have it off and we are ready for that too. When she realizes its there she tugs at it. And it can't get wet so we have to keep her head to the other side all the time.
Some of my favorite moments have been: when i put my nose to her mouth she gums my nose, its like her little kiss. When she "smiles" (its gas I know she has no idea she is doing it) and we get to see her dimple (a dimple, I thought the Dr messed up and gave me the wrong baby, but come to find out the Mr's Grandmother had dimples and one of his sisters' has dimples so its the right kid). When she catches my eye and actually looks at me. Knowing my smell calms her.
We got out the house this week and the Mr got more plants for the gardens. He is doing such a great job with the outside of our house. We even have a small veggie and herb garden going. I am so proud of him. Even though he wants me to help, knowing I may kill everything just by touching the plants!
I made an awesome crawfish etouffee this weekend. I finally am starting to cook again...now if I could just get the house clean! I will get there I know. Right now just getting a shower is an achievement...and a bath, that's a luxuery.
I can't believe tomorrow we will have had our little miracle out of Momma's tummy for 4 weeks and that later this week she will be a month old. Emery is beautiful and I can't wait to see what her personality will be like, and what color eyes she will have and just to be a part of her life.
I am doing ok, still a little sore from the csection. Its only the interior part that hurts and its not a steady pain but occassional. I am tired, but that's from lack of sleep. I don't have a lot of time for friends and family and talking on the phone. I try my best to keep up with my facebook (so that everyone knows what's going on) and this blog once a week. If I have time to do it on my phone I will update that way also. I know this is all going to get better and easier as she gets older. I can't wait to be release by Emery's Dr so we can go out and see our family and friends and introduce her to the world!

Happy 3 Weeks!

Today Emery is 3 weeks old. We've had our ups and downs. From the lack of sleep, to trying to establish a schedule. Things I have learned so far, never say I want to do this exclusivly...ie I want to breastfeed only, I want the baby to sleep in her crib/bassinet only. Those get thrown out the window when you are sleep deprived and your nerves can't handle another scream.
Our Emery...well her little personality, she doesn't just wake up all cute and grunt for food, she goes from sleeping to screaming in a split second and there is no calming her down until you get a bottle in her mouth. Our night "schedule" is coming together...the closet door stays open with the light on, so that we don't have to turn the big light on when she wakes. She wakes up about every 2.5-3 hours,I grab the pre filled bottles, mix the formula (yes I am no longer breastfeeding), add in a couple of drops of gas drops, mix it up, I pick her up out the bassinet, unswaddle her, stick the changing pad under her bottom, grab a clean diaper, a wipe, change as quick as possible, she screams the whole time..then boom we sit up, prop up the bottle into her mouth and she starts sucking it down. About 1/2 way thru I break the suction and try to burp her, after a few mins I lay her down and swaddle her back up, stick back in the bottle and let her finish it off, only to try and burp her again and then when she passes out (burping her puts her to sleep) I lay her back down in the bassinet and try to fall asleep knowing I will be up in another 2 hours or so to do it again.
Emery has her good days, where she sticks to a 3 hour schedule and she is happy...then there are days like today where no matter what you do she won't sleep, she's grouchy and she screams half the day. I also found today that she likes to take a bath with me in the tub. That way she can float around and be held and be warm the whole time. And speaking of saying I won't do that..I said I would not put my child on her stomach to sleep. All the SIDS horror stories you hear...but I did it and now she's sleeping...of course she is in the bassinet right beside me and i am watching her every move. Just to make sure she is ok...and I wouldn't do it at night while I am sleeping...but hey anything to make sure she sleeps and isn't screaming!

I realized upon reading back on this blog that I don't need to do a baby album because I have this blog to give to my daughter to tell her all about her life!

We have Roll Over

I've been told that this should be the happiest time of our lives. Don't get me wrong we are happy, I am happy. But this is rough. We were working on a good 3 hour schedule for a couple of days. It was becoming habit. Then all of a sudden here we are and every hour baby is up. And not just a little cry here and there but screaming like she's being poisoned. Gas maybe? Doesn't like the formula? Not swaddled tight enough? Too tight? To hot? To cold? Needs a diaper change? Indigestion? Reflux? Believe me I continue to ask myself all of these questions. She is consolable. If you pick her up, pat her back, rock her or let her sleep on you. So since we are just trying to survive that's what we do. Anything to help her not to cry. Her cries pierce my heart. I'll do anything to take away her pain, her sadness.
Due in part to the lack of sleep, I am feeling quite out of sorts. I am sad, stressed, I worry all the time, I watch the video mointer just to make sure she's ok, I can't sleep, I'm nervous, when I do sleep I wake up with a start not knowing how long I've been down and if she's not crying I put my hand on her to feel her breathe. Yep I've lost it.
But the other 50% of me is so happy. I stare at her all the time. Taking in her beauty, her "smiles", just waiting to see her dimple, hoping to catch a glimpse of a personality. I dream about her future and what she will be like. I take in her scent and kiss her all the time, even when she is screaming. I want her to feel all of my love all of the time.
I've been thrown up on, had to clean poop off my hand, peed on, and my neck and nose have been gnawed on. And I love it.
Today, tonight Emery was laying in her crib and her Father watched as she "rolled" over onto her stomach for the first time. Nearly 3 weeks old. She is one special little girl!