Week 15

Sleep troubles are gone! We finally caved in Tuesday morning and took her back to the doctor. I had been hesitant to go because we had just been there Thursday and she was fine. Thank goodness we went because she had another ear infection! By that point a top center tooth and a bottom side tooth had finally cut through. We can see the other top center and it looks like it's cut through, but I don't really feel it yet. By Tuesday night she only woke up a few times and then Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday she slept through the night! Last night she woke up at 3:30 so I nursed her and she went right back out. I think it also helped that we put up some black-out curtains in her bedroom. She's slept until 6:30 or 7 a few times instead of 5:30 like most days this summer. We definitely weren't happy that she had another ear infection, but it was a relief to know that there was a specific (curable) cause for the sleep problems we'd had. They gave her zithromax this round and she has already completed it. We go back Tuesday morning for a follow-up.

It has been so nice to have our happy baby back. I know we have more teeth on the way, but I am enjoying the days until then. This week has been a bit of a roller coaster so it was good to be sleeping. My sister's tumor is back. We don't have many answers right now, mostly questions. We do know that she will need to start chemo soon. I spent most of the week doing work stuff (meeting Monday, Wednesday and Thursday doing professional development). We took Emma to the town pool on Friday and again this evening because temps were in the 90s (Friday had a heat index of 100). Friday we also had an earthquake! Being my usual nerdy self I even marked it on Emma's calendar: "baby's 1st earthquake". They don't make a sticker for that one - so I had to write it in. :) It was a 3.7 around Rockville, MD. The largest on record for the area. I didn't feel anything, but Emma woke up right around the time it happened!


We've tried a lot of new foods this week. We thought we discovered a food she didn't like (cottage cheese) but she was interested in it tonight. She didn't like the yogurt this morning either, but I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep offering it. I'd been looking for a yogurt for a while, but needed whole milk yogurt and everything in the store was low-fat. Finally found the Yo-Baby brand! Her tummy was doing really well this week, but I'm afraid she's starting to have problems again. I think we'll start back with the daily prune juice for now. I'd really like to make her pancakes soon, but the recipe requires banana and I don't want to go down that path until I think she can handle it.


We got her a Playskool Walk 'n' Ride (shown in the picture). I've been trying to get a video of her with it because she pretty much takes of running, but every time I try she gets distracted either by the cats or by the camera and stops. She is getting really good at cruising. It is hilarious to watch her weave in and out and all around the kitchen tables, chairs & high chair while we eat dinner. It's nice that she is entertained and we can actually eat a meal though!

Week 13

This week started with the return part of our vacation. We did the same routine on the ride back (drive for several hours, stop and play for an hour or so). She continued getting a bottle of prune juice daily even though we didn't see any results for an entire week. Since then she has become very regular and doesn't seem to be in pain.

New foods this week include mushrooms (portobello) and plums. She ate 2 entire plums by herself this afternoon! We have stopped giving any kind of grain/cereal until her digestive system is ready. Other foods we have lined up for her this next week include - chicken, peach, kiwi, mango, more plums, green beans, and orange/red/green bell peppers. Not sure if each colored bell pepper is supposed to be introduced separately, but oh well. It's not like we've ever followed that 3-5 day wait rule too well anyway.

Recent developments include crawling over things, climbing up things, walking holding on to the edge of something (or holding on to 1 finger), she can stand on her own for a couple seconds before she plops onto her rear, she loves giving high-fives, and started waving today!

I thought she would have like 4 new teeth by this point, but she still just has her bottom 2 and the vampire fangs up top. The bottom side teeth are visible, but just under the gum and haven't cut through yet. The top center have been felt on two separate occasions, but seem to disappear after we feel it. Not sure what's up with that. She has been fussy lately at home and her sleep pattern is all messed up. She is waking between 5 and 9 times a night!!!! Needless to say, Dan & I are exhausted.

I woke up this morning feeling horrible, my entire body ached, I was getting hot/cold flashes, and was throwing up. I stayed in bed most of the morning and then took a hot bath. Felt better after that and was finally able to get moving. I know some of the upper body stiffness was from the gym yesterday. Dan and I are really trying to get back on track. We went 3 times last week! We're trying to take advantage of the time when Emma is at daycare during the week (we're on part time during the summer; 9-2) and use it to run errands, clean the house, go to the gym, and have some time to just hang out with each other. The gym also offers a kid center and will watch her for $1 while we work out. The only problem is that I don't trust them very much. Their swing is broken (understandable after I saw a 9 year old sitting in it!) and their pack'n'play has a giant hole in it. When we went in to pick her up after our work out yesterday, the girl was holding her in her lap while texting. Granted, I do that all the time, but she's my child. It just seems a little sketch, so we only use that as a last resort. Anyway, I'm still feeling okay this afternoon and have a massage scheduled tomorrow morning. Definitely looking forward to that, although it means that Dan will be watching Emma on his own since daycare is closed for the holiday weekend.

We had planned on taking her to the town pool today, but that got cancelled after I woke up feeling so awful. We are hoping to go tomorrow. (And we're sending in our registration for swim lessons that start at the end of the month.) I'm not a fan of wearing a bathing suit - especially in a public area where I know I'll see students, and I really don't like the sun/outdoors but I will suck it up since Emma loves the water so much! Who knows, maybe I'll even get a little color on my legs this year.