Little Weight Gain

Miss Priss has not gained "signficant" weight so says the Dietician. But that's ok since she grew nearly 2 INCHES. Yeah you heard me, 29 days and nearly 2 full inches in height!! I don't care she only gained 1/2 a pound. She's growing and that's all that matters to us. I am so close to just telling all these doctors to bite me and stop going. I believe in my heart Emery is growing just fine. Yes she small, but shoot she talks more than most kids her age, she is trying to say her ABC's, she tries to count and seriously she is only 19 months old! And no she isn't eating a ton and still not eating much meat products. But it's ok...right? Of course you never want to do anything to potentionaly hurt your child. You don't want to stop going to Doctors if they say you need to go. But geeze, can't they look at the whole picture and not just her weight? Anyway. It's Halloween and Emery has costumes coming out the wazoo! So far she has been 3 different Disney characters and has worn her Halloween PJs. WHAT? She's freaking cute! I love to dress her up! Plus it's dress up. What little girl doesn't like dress up clothes?! Tomorrow night is Trick or Treating. We cannot wait. For the last month we have tried to get her to say "Trick or Treat"...it comes out more like "tickrteet".

Eating just not so healthy!

Since our visit to the GI we were sent off to a Dietician to find out what to do so we can help Emery with weight gain. We are shooting for 800-900 calories a day to help her gain weight and catch up. Slowly she is getting better with eating. It's not an easy job as a parent to watch your child not eat and then have no idea on how to fix the situation. Emery is now allowing us to put food into her mouth but still refuses a lot of meats and mixed foods. Textures and complex flavors are not her favorite. She does not just eat because she is hungry. You have to constantly remind her to eat or put it in her mouth. However we have been supplementing with caloric drinks and fast food. Yes icky fast food. But if I can get in the calories I am doing whatever I can. Today I tried ice cream mixed with Oreos. She took a few bites but didn't want more, however she wanted to eat french fries...so I let her! I never realized how hard some things would be with having a child. I know I am not the only one that feels like there is just never enough time to spend with them, you cannot teach them enough and that you can love all you want but you still want to give more of yourself to them, then you even have to offer. Emery is slowly starting to put two and three words together. She says things like "I stuck" "Daddy work" "Sammy no, get" and she realizes that things need to be cleaned up and that flowers can be picked and sniffed! She loves to play "side" outside as often as possible and still doesn't like school when I drop her off. Though I am getting more and more use to her being away for the day. She is learning her colors and her letters and numbers too. While they aren't all in order she is learning that there are songs and how to count things. We are anticipating our upcoming trips back home to Louisiana to see our family and then the holidays! And after that we are taking our Princess home to her Castle at Disney! I sure hope things with Emery's eating get better soon and that she catches up to her growth curve. I think even I am tired of worrying about her weight and what she puts in her mouth!

GI Dr and Silly Baby

We took Miss Priss to the GI doctor today. He feels like she doesn't need a battery of tests to figure out that nothing is really wrong with her. He would like for her to see a Dietitian for her lack of caloric intake and possibly see if they can help with what she is eating and learning to eat new and more foods. GI feels she is probably just a small baby. Whew. The weird things were the Pedi had her at 18lbs 13 oz yesterday and today the GI has her at 19lbs 4oz. The Pedi has her at below the 1% for weight the GI has her at 10% for weight. Makes me wonder if my Pedi is up to date on things and how badly their scale is off! (I would rather it be that far under for my weight not my childs!) Emery played with the GI Drs wood sticks (you know the kind they stick down your throat to check you out) and was running around his office almost naked (diaper only) then freaked out when he tried to touch her with his scope! So tomorrow I will call the Dietitian and get set up with them and then back to the GI in 3 months to recheck weight and make sure she is still hitting milestones. GI will call the Pedi to discuss the differences in weight and charts. Can't wait to hear from the Pedi...um yeah, my scale is off! Have I mentioned Emery is in LOVE with Alice in Wonderland? She will watch the cartoon version over and over again...but get this, she also likes the Tim Burton version too! Which I think is slightly freaky...but hey if it makes her happy! Ok off to cook dinner, I wonder if I can get Prissy to eat shrimp?

Nearly 18 months

Emery is very close to 18 months old...just a few days shy of it in fact. And today was her 18 month Doctor visit. After months of being told we were borderline with her being under weight we were officially diagnosed Failure to Thrive today. Emery is 30 1/4 inches tall and 18 lbs 13 oz for weight. She has fallen to below the 1% for weight and 17% for height. And yes I know we are small people and she comes from small families however the Pediatrician feels she can no longer ignore her being small and now Emery must go to a GI specialist to verify everything. I feel like a Failure as a parent. Trying my best to have her eat healthy and not rely on junk food for filling up. But maybe I should have been concentrating on getting empty calories into her rather than focusing on her eating healthy? Maybe I should have given her more sugar filled fruit juices and junk food than offering Organic foods and milks and making sure she enjoyed water more than soda! What else could I have done? Also last weekend before I did any research on the subject (which is so not like me) I sprayed her with Insect Spray that contains DEET. And of course while trying to avoid West Nile by spraying her down with horrible insect repellant Emery turned and I sprayed her in her eye! I ran with her to the bathroom and dumped water in her eye while screaming for the Mr. and trying to call poison control on my cell phone. Mr. researched it on the internet and poison control reassured me it was nothing major. Just rinse it out and let her cry. But geeze...Worst Mom in the World award goes to this Mom right here. So after a week of calling poison control, trying to force her to eat, tears and fights and 2 shots I am already ready to call this week a failure!

A whole month?

I am terrible blogger. I must get better at this! Let's see what's up in Emery's world... We joined a Mom & Me play group and we are doing lots of play dates. So far we have taken Mommy and me photos.

Gone to the indoor playgym and learned that Emery can now climb and slide on her own...and also that she likes to escape and hates to be told no! We went to the Inflatable jump gym and found out that she doesn't have much fear of heights!

And summer is coming to an end and so did Emery's swimming lessons. She really doesn't have fear of water, more the fear of having to get out! LOL! She will walk into a pool on her own so you have to watch every move she makes. She also learned to lay on her back, a friend of her's taught her how to do it. And she go go goes!

Em is running, jumping and sliding...she is swimming and laughing and crying. She is growing in leaps and bounds and talking with words here and there. Her little attitude is fierce and headstrong, but she can be sweet and loving at the sametime. On other fronts, I am cooking up a storm. Learning to use new ingredients and making my own breads and desserts. Now if Emery would just learn to like food. She doesn't eat a whole lot and no meat! We have a Dr. apt for her 18 month check up in a few days and we are hoping she makes weight! Just keep trying and that's what we do. That's all for now...Emery's PK1 starts next week, so I am sure I will have much more to say when that happens!

School, attitude and Tantrums

I've realized upon reading back over Emery's first few months that she has always been demanding. But only recently I have come to the conclusion that she is strong willed and head strong (is that the samething?) Her tantrums are super dramatic. She throws things, rams her head into whatever is close and cries with a passion. She will hit, bite and kick. She pushes things away and says "noh, noh, noh". Can you say Drama Queen? Yep that's mine! And we never know when it's going to happen and sometimes we have no idea even why it happens. If this is any indication of what she will be like as a teen we are totally done for already! On other news fronts...Emery will be starting "school" in Sept. She will be going to a program that is 1 day a week. I really think she needs to be around other people for longer periods of time. I mean we do play dates, swim class, activities and story time..but it's just not enough for her to get use to other people. As I was talking about earlier, I am positive Drama Queen will have serious meltdown the first couple of times I leave her. I am also positive I will also have serious meltdowns when I leave her too! Swim lessons are progressing slowly. Emery still won't let go of me and cries when she is taken away to go under. However she does go under and kicks and stays there for 5 seconds. She enjoys the water, just not the being not able to pinch me the whole class or flash everyone by pulling down my top. Also Monster, Inc has become her favorite thing to watch. In fact she sort of looks like "boo" the little girl in the movie. She also adores Mickey and Minnie Mouse and plays with her stuffies often. She has also started to play with a doll and I am thinking it is time to get her a good doll that has bottles and stuff.

Walking and Talking

I know it's been a while since I updated Miss Priss's blog about her progress. Sorry we've been in and out of town and I've had a horrible cold to deal with over the past week. But I'm back to update whoever reads this about how Emery is doing with her self! The past two or three weeks Emery has been walking on her own. She looks like a little chicken when she walks. She holds her arms up by her shoulders and tucks her hands into her armpits. She attempts to run rather than walk and falls often. Gee, wonder where she got that from? I mean we all know it's me because I am about the clumsiest person on the planet! She shuffles her little feet and walks slightly bow legged. It's adorable! Emery says quite a few words when prompted and sometimes when she is just sitting around she will blurt something out. She tried to have a converstation with just about anyone, but you can't make out much of what she says. However she does say it with conviction. "blah, blah...wah, dah, dah...duck" Also when she gets mad or frustrated she thinks it's ok to just throw things. No matter how many times she is told not to throw or has things taken away she still does it. And let me tell you, this little girl has an arm! She could be a Football Quarterback with an arm like that! She still loves to sleep and we cannot get down to 1 nap a day. We still have 2 naps a day, which was wonderful for me today and yesterday since I am sick and could sleep with her! Emery must have her sound machine and her own bed to sleep. She will not sleep with us in a big bed and will wake up if you forget her sound machine. While not a bad thing for everyday life, it is hard when you travel and she won't sleep in a big bed or without her machine (cause we have to bring it with us along with a pack n play). Last week we were able to book our Walt Disney World Trip for January! I cannot wait to take Emery. We booked some of our places to eat and Miss Priss's 1st haircut on Main Street! I am planning every moment and hoping for the best. I really hope we are down to one nap by then!

Talking and Walking

Miss Emmie is toddling around the house now. She doesn't fully walk all the time, but she does walk way more than a few weeks ago. However it is nothing like I heard, "one day she will just stand up and walk", "maybe she will just start running" and my favorite "it will be on her time". Well it is on her time, do NOT demand Emery to do anything. She will let you know that she will not do it and it will be followed with a no, no, NO! She has a mind of her own and is very head strong. Which we have known for quite a while if you've been reading about her in this blog! So it's steps here and there and she still doesn't know what to do with her arms so they fly all over the place while she bounces around. Then she falls on her booty and crawls again. But she is doing it. Her own way. Slower than I hoped for but still happening! Like Mother, Like Daughter. Emery is a talker. She will babble up a storm when she wants something or wants to "tell" us something. Though most of the time you will have no idea what she is saying. But it's ok and she makes hysterical faces like she means business! She does speak words though. We have Mom (not momma unless she hurts herself), Daddeeee (oh does she LOVE Daddy!), Dahg (Sammy the Wonder Mutt, Dog), Fow-leer (Flower), Duck, Most animal sounds including Alligator and Crawfish (do you know an alligator sounds like a snake and the crawfish screams as performed by Emery), Gott dit (got it), Choose (shoes), Scoks (socks), Sh-it (sit, yes super funny), Bubble, Ball, Ba-Looon (balloon), Dellie (Ellie the Elephant), Ti (Tiger), Bundy (bunny), Mi (mimi), Pop (Poppa), dub wue (love you) and more that I am forgetting I am sure. She signs a lot of words too...Momma, Daddy, more, eat, drink, milk, please (oh she says pwease), Thank you (she say tank wue), signs for Grandparents, bird, tv (yes OMG! But its video she doesn't know the difference yet), Together (due to the song the more we get together) and more! So she is a communicator. Probally why it took so long for her to walk! She has too much to say. We are slowly dropping down to 1 nap a day. And by 7:30pm, she is freaking out and ready for bed. Now if only that 1 nap would be 2-3 hours and not 1...that would help Momma a lot! She does however still sleep 12 hours at night. So it's great at night! We joined a Mommy & Me play group and hope to have many play dates coming up soon! Since we are losing some our best friends to another city. This makes me so sad. I hate that we all have to move away. It's been hard to have this happen in my life and I hate for Emery to have to lose friends (well not lose but have them move away). Since I grew up with my whole family and friends never more than 20 mins away, I cannot imagine Emery's life with family and friends so far away. But c'est la vie...this is the life we are handed and we will deal with it the best we can! Lastly more travel coming up...back to Louisiana to visit family and friends. I am so ready for some great seafood and relaxing in our family's homes and arms!

Walking...what the heck?

Seriously little one? You attempted to walk this whole time and then bamn you stop? I don't understand! Emery will take a step or two and then when she falls she gives up. It's so darn frustrating. I sometimes wish she had an older sibling so she could see someone all the time walking around. It seems that when she is around it for a long time she will start trying again. Gerrr! News on the homefront...Emery's 15 month apointment was last week. She is 18lbs and 1 oz and 29.5 inches long. So she is still small for her age and they are worried about her weight. We are attempting to pack in the calories for her while maintaing a healthy real food eating "diet". Basically we are trying to avoid as much processed food as possible and trying to eat local, fresh and/or organic foods. If I could find a good meat supplier I would be much closer to my goal! Anyway, so I am making her food and giving her some processed additions and she still isn't really getting much in. She just isn't a big eater and I don't know what to do! I am always offering her milk and snacks and plates of food. I wonder if I should ask the Dr about something that would increase her appatite? Next up is trips back home to visit the family and friends and I cannot wait! Now come on Emery ... WALK WALK WALK!

The Beach and Walking

Our first trip to the beach was this past weekend. Emery flew on a plane (AGAIN! I swear the child is going to need a passport soon) to the beach with us. We had a great condo with our family! The first day we took Emery down to the sand and water (the Gulf). She was going to have NONE of it. She cried and whined the whole time in the sand, didn't want to touch it and was freaking out if you even put her near it. Then off to the water, she grabbed ahold of us like she was going to float away without pinching us! She cried, she screamed, she even tried climbing up us! I totally thought this is not going to be a good vacation! She didn't want to go to anyone, she just wasn't having any of it!

Day 2...at first she was like, oh no not this again! Then she settled into playing in the sand with her cousins, and in about 20 mins she was swimming in the sand. It was everywhere and she was LOVING it!

We took her off to the water and put her in a little floating chair thing and she laid back, like she had been doing it her whole life! Loved it. Moving her little legs and feet, splashing the water, floating and enjoying herself. And that was the rest of the time we were there! She loved it. Her hair became a little lighter and her tan a little darker (but not a lot because that sunblock really blocks the sun!) Grampy got her a little chair to sit in and by the end of the trip she was climbing up into it and laying back like the big people with us, just chilling! She saw parasailing and called it balloons, airplanes and said plane and boats vrooommm. The best part is that she started "walking" or "toddling". She can stand up on her own now and take 4-6 wobble steps and fall down. But she pulls herself back up and does it again until she gets tired! My baby is growing up, slowly but surely! She came home with a runny nose and fever, but seemed to wake up this morning feeling better! So far so good. It was a beautiful trip with blue skies, turquoise water and white sand. Lots of family and good food. Can't wait to go back!