November 28

Emmaline is sick.... again! We just finished a 3 week course of antibiotics to deal with a (possible) sinus infection that caused nasal drainage and a bad cough from August - October. And less than a week later, she started coughing again on Thanksgiving day. By Friday night it was a barking cough and she had spiked a fever. She didn't sleep at all that night and refused to take her morning nap on Saturday. (Barely got a tiny nap that afternoon.) She seemed better during the day Saturday, but by 5pm the fever was back and she was very pathetic. *The picture is from Saturday evening. She just moped around and would lay her head down on the futon or the black box and whimper. Saturday night was rough, but not as bad as Friday. She actually slept off and on. She woke up at 4 and screamed and cried for 30 minutes. Just when Dan was ready to put her in the car and go to the ER, I was finally able to calm her down and she slept for another hour or so. Same thing today - seemed fine most of the day and then around 5pm her temp was up to 101.8. She laid down on the floor for about 20 minutes - not really moving, not talking, just laid there. I finally got her to crawl up in my lap and she sat there for another 20-30 minutes. At that point we called the on-call doctor for some advice. (We did try to take her to the doctor Saturday morning, but they were all booked so we have an appointment tomorrow afternoon.) The doctor agreed with my home diagnosis of croup and called in a prescription for a steriod to help with her breathing. So far she has been sleeping for a couple hours. We'll see how the rest of the night goes. We're still not sure whether or not to send her to daycare in the morning. I think she should be past any infectious time frame and she seems fine during the day.

On a much more positive note. She has been such a joy lately. She started nodding her head 'yes' and 'no'. She has been dancing all over the place, and not just bending her knees. She does a little shuffle and throws her hands in the air. She almost falls down just about every time. It's so precious! We've been letting her play with utensils during meals again lately and she started using the fork on her own. She can identify her toes, belly, and nose when we ask. She knows the difference between the 2 cats and can point at the right one in a picture when we say its name. Britney actually lets Emma pet her now and Emma has really learned to be gentle (although sometimes she just gets too excited and shrieks, which scares the cat off). She is still waving and blowing kisses and playing peek-a-boo. She is also very good at following directions (I've asked her to go to her room and bring me a book, put her clothes in the hamper, put her toys away, etc). At daycare, they said she's the only baby who actually helps pick toys up when they're done playing. She also does a little sign when we say "bath" and instead of doing the correct sign for "more" - she claps her hands together.

We had a good Thanksgiving (despite coming down with the cough). We went to a friend's house in West Virginia. Their daughter is a few weeks older than Emma. We met them through the Baby Signs class this summer and now they also go to the Little Gym on the weekends with us. It was very relaxing and fun to watch the girls play together. *I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that we didn't pass the germs onto their daughter.

I also gave her another hair cut this weekend. It's pretty jagged, but at least I didn't cut the bangs as short as the last time. It looks a little boyish, but I was going nuts because her hair was constantly sticking out in every possible direction. She has a lot of hair, but it's very thin (like mine) and there is just no way to tame it at awkward lengths. I would eventually like her to have longer hair, but for now we will continue sporting a bowl cut. Thankfully, she's pretty darn adorable regardless of what her hair looks like!

November 13

It was so much easier to title my posts when I was just putting week numbers. Now I spend like 5 minutes trying to think of something clever to put as a title and get frustrated because everything I think of sounds stupid. Instead, I'm just going to put the date from now on.

I think we may be near the end of nursing. I stopped pumping during the day after her birthday and she's been taking 2 bottles (1/2 thawed breast milk, 1/2 whole milk) instead. But I've still been nursing at bedtime and in the morning. Tonight she refused to nurse. She would start, but then bite me and roll off my lap. We've gone through biting phases before and it was always related to ear infections or teething (usually a combination of both). I pushed through those times because she still needed to nurse and I was determined not to have to use formula. Part of me thinks this is probably teething related since she has been a complete crab for the last week or so. She has one molar (took about 6 weeks to come in) and I'm wondering if another one is coming in. I have tried to reach in and feel, but that always ends painfully. Last time I thought I might have felt a little point before I was chomped. The dilemma comes from knowing that she doesn't have to nurse anymore. Tonight we just went ahead and gave her a bottle with a couple ounces of whole milk. (I hate giving whole milk in a bottle, but she still refuses to drink it from a sippy cup even though she will drink water from a sippy.) I'm going to try to nurse her in the morning and again tomorrow at bed. I hate that I feel so guilty even thinking about dropping those feedings. I've nursed her for over 13 months. I should feel proud, but instead I feel like I'm being selfish for giving it up just because I don't want to be bit.

On other notes - Emmaline's cough is FINALLY gone! She still has 1 more week to go on her antibiotic, but it definitely seems to be doing the trick. She spiked a fever about 10 days after her 12 month vaccinations and had the injection site was red and swollen for several days. We called the doctor and she said to keep an eye on it, but not to worry unless it got worse. Luckily, that passed quickly. Separation anxiety has arrived. Over the past week she has started clinging to me and crying whenever I try to drop her off at daycare. She was doing so well in the Wobbler room in the beginning and she still seems to enjoy it during the day, but mornings have been tough. I think she really misses Miss Lisa from the nursery. She was filling in for the Wobbler room for a few mornings and then when she disappeared the fits started. It may be a coincidence, but I think it's connected.

Not sure if I mentioned it in a previous post, but Emmaline has started blowing kisses. It's awesome! The other morning I went in to change her diaper before nursing her when she woke up and she laid there blowing kisses the whole time. What a way to start a day! I am anxious to be able to start blogging about all the things she is saying. I worry that her speech is already delayed. She still says 'dada' and occasionally says 'mama' (usually just when she is really sleepy or doesn't feel well), but that's about it and even those aren't really consistent. She jabbers a lot, but no real words. Most of the development charts that I've seen say that by 12 months they should have 2 words in addition to mama and dada.

Pictures for the week are her laughing during dinner the other night (covered in black beans) and her crying about something yesterday morning.