Week 11

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I think we had an enjoyable day. Emmaline woke up around 6 as usual. We were able to get her to take a nap around 8:15. She slept for about 45 minutes and then we got dressed and went to church. We went up to Target to print off some pictures since I'm trying to update the scrapbook. I know I'll have a lot to add after our trip to Cape Cod next week for K's wedding and want to be caught up with months 6-8 beforehand. After a long afternoon nap, Emma and Dan did some grocery shopping. We all had dinner together (Emma had puffs, kiwi, and banana; we had frozen pizza). The kiwi was new and she seemed to really enjoy it! She was absolutely covered in the black seeds afterwards. They were suck in her neck folds, between her fingers, in her hair, and all over her face. Such a mess! We tried pureed peas earlier this week and she didn't seem to thrilled about those. Because of the long late-afternoon nap it took almost an hour to get her to sleep tonight. Nursing was also a pain (literally) because she is getting more teeth and was chomping down again. Luckily, this was the first biting all week.

Speaking of teeth. Emma has cut 3 teeth this week and I have a feeling that 1 (if not 3) more can be expected very soon. I think that is going to make for a difficult vacation, but we'll take some tylenol (generic brand, not the icky stuff that has been recalled even though we have a brand new bottle of that). We could tell that she was getting another one this weekend because she tugged on her ear more and has been chewing on her tongue with it hanging out. I thought it would be the bottom side teeth, but finally thought to feel her top gum tonight and discovered that a center one has already cut. I think I mentioned last Sunday that we felt a top side tooth. By Wednesday we could see the opposite tooth as well. I'm glad that the center tooth is coming in, because I was worried that she would look like a jack-o-lantern. So far, her teeth have arrived in pairs so I think we should see or feel the other center tooth within 2 days.

Yesterday we went to our first Baby Signs class. We learned food signs (eat, drink, cereal, milk, all done, and more). We had a good time other than the car ride. Looking back now I blame the tooth, but she was a little monster. I rode in the back seat with her the whole way back (about 45 minutes) and she was very unhappy. I am praying that she is better on our trip this week since she will be in the car about 5 hours for 4 days (2 days there, visit for 3 days, 2 days back). I don't know how we are going to fit everything in the car for such a long trip. We were planning on taking the travel swing, but there's no way to fit that. We bought an umbrella stroller because her other stroller won't fit with luggage. The pack'n'play has to go even though we know she won't sleep in it. With all the crawling she is doing, we need some way to contain her occasionally. She is also pulling herself up and learning to climb things. She is already taking steps if she's holding on to something (table edge, crib rail, hands, etc).

Few random things- Tuesday was officially our last day at work for the school year. I had a job interview that afternoon for a different position within the district. I went to the dentist on Wednesday for my fillings and a cleaning. My experiences with this dentist haven't been horrible and I may actually go on a regular basis (cleanings twice a year and yearly exams). Dan had his exam on Thursday - he doesn't have any cavities though. Dan & I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on Friday. It was nice to be able to drop her off at daycare and spend a day together. That same day we also said goodbye to the doctor who delivered Emma. She finished her residency at our family practice so we took Emma up there after we picked her up from daycare and let her see the doctor. We are going to continue going to the same practice, but will probably keep seeing the nurse practitioner there. She is really nice, adores Emma, and is easy to schedule with.

Week 10

What a week! Emma still has her cold and it led to an ear infection. She's spent most of the week being too congested to nurse (which led to a lot of biting) so I had to pump more often and stick with bottles for several days. We went ahead and cut out solids so she would still get enough milk. Nighttime has been particularly rough for us. Emma still wakes up once during the night, but instead of just eating and going right back out she has been up for 1-3 hours at a time. It's exhausting. We went back to the doctor and they started her on an antibiotic. We were able to get a powder form of probiotics for infants at the local health food store and started her on that too (mixed with her juice or breastmilk). We went ahead and gave her some puffs, mango and chicken tonight since we've had the mango all week and didn't want it to go bad. (The picture is from last weekend - somehow Dan missed the spot of peaches on her nose during bathtime.)

Being sick hasn't stopped Emma from learning new 'tricks'. Today she officially pulled herself up to a standing position. She is picking up speed with her crawling and loves splashing in the kitties' water bowls (and trying to grab the cat food). We also finally felt the sharp point of another tooth this morning. It's not one of the central top teeth though, it's on the right side.

Week 9

More firsts: Emma figured out how to go from the crawling position to sitting up on her own. She is now working on pulling herself up from the sitting position. She loves standing up (with help) and seems to get more balance every day. Her new favorite sound to say is "na-na-na-na". Yesterday we took Emma to the mall for the first time. She had a blast riding around in the stroller. We went in search of a dress for her to wear at the wedding later this month (3 weeks from today) and found a ton of other cute clothes for her too. As long as she doesn't have a major growth spurt anytime soon, she is now set for summer.

We also took Emma to the doctor yesterday because she has had a very runny nose and bad cough since Wednesday. (Thank you very much sick babies @ daycare.) She was sounding wheezy so we wanted to have her checked out. Lungs are clear and ears look good. If she's not improving by this Wednesday or Thursday we'll take her back. Dr. wants to make sure all the congestion doesn't lead to an ear infection. She's fussy off and on, but mostly her happy self.

The school year is wrapping up. Only 4 1/2 days left with students. My testing is finished (did pretty well overall, couple disappointments) and Dan's test is tomorrow. I'm looking forward to this year being over. I'm not looking forward to having larger class size next year, but ready for a fresh start. Also looking forward to a summer break! We are heading up to Cape Cod for the wedding this month and flying out to Las Vegas in August to see family.

I guess the solids are going alright. Emma's favorite vegetable is currently carrot and her favorite fruit is mango. She still gags when she bites off too much or shoves a whole piece in her mouth. It totally freaks me out and Dan has to deal with it. Tonight was one of the those nights where I want to just stop with the real solids and stick with purees, but Dan keeps us going. He does well being the voice of reason when it comes to stuff like this. He's been a great supporter when it comes to breastfeeding. I remember all the times I sat in tears telling him that I was giving up and we were switching to formula. And here we are, 8 months on Tuesday and still never used a drop of formula. I'm not enjoying this biting phase, although it seems like she only bites on Saturdays - no clue what's up with that. But it's just something else we'll work through. It isn't nearly as painful as mastitis or thrush and doesn't crush me heart like a nursing strike (although I do hate how sad she looks when I tell her 'no biting').

Week 8 (+1)

I decided to do a "bonus" post today in honor of the 3-day weekend! We took Emmaline to the park today and she loved the swing. It was a very hot/humid day so we didn't spend too much time. Back at home she finally started crawling so that was definitely the highlight of the day. After that we took a trip up to Walmart and bought another safety gate to block off the downstairs hallway (already have one to block of the top of the stairs). Emma also almost pulled herself up in the crib today. Luckily she can only do that from a sitting position so far. We will probably drop the mattress down a notch next weekend.

We enjoyed some juicy watermelon this evening (Emma & I, not Dan - he hates watermelon) and then she had some pureed green beans. I used the crinkle cutter to slice up the watermelon into little strips. That seems to help her grasp slippery foods. She also managed to eat more puffs than she has before.

Oh yeah, no more biting! :)

Week 8

Emmaline's rash seems to be gone. I still think it was some kind of reaction to the high chair. We've been feeding her fully-clothed for the past week. Tonight we gave her vitamins again so we will see if anything shows up tomorrow. Next weekend, if all goes well, we will introduce some food with apple again to rule out both of those as the cause.

Emma's fussiness was also gone during the week (although it has returned this weekend). Still no upper tooth, but I think that I feel a little bump on the gum. If you zoom in on the picture this week, you should be able to see her bottom teeth! It's been a struggle to actually get a clear picture of them. The picture was taken at Aubrey's 1st birthday party. No cake for Emma, but she did get to have some diluted prune juice in her sippy cup. We first gave it to her in a bottle at day care this week and we were told that she absolutely loved it!

The mango continued to be a big hit this week (for Emma AND mommy). She ate almost every piece that we gave her. A few tiny pieces ended up on the floor, but most of it made it to the mouth. She's not too interested in the puffs yet and most of those are tossed on the ground for the cats to sniff. Tonight she had butternut squash again. It was very squishy and she actually played around with it for a while. She mixed some of it up with the puffs. I also gave her a few bites of the chicken I had for dinner. It was really cute to see her holding it in her fist and chewing on it with her 2 teeth. The not-so-nice development with her teeth is that yesterday she starting biting me (while nursing). She did it 3x while I was feeding her before bed and once during the 3:30am feeding. She only does it on the left side! I shouldn't be surprised because we almost always have issues with that side. I tend to get mastitis on the right side, but everything else has happened to the left.

Emma continues to be right on the brink of crawling. For the past month we keep saying "one more week". Yesterday she managed to crawl a little, but would move an inch or so and then plop back down on her belly. We've decided that she needs to do more than that for us to make it official. It's so strange how there are things that I can't wait for her to be grown-up enough to do, but at the same time I want her to stay a little baby too! I am so anxious for that top tooth to pop in (mostly to end this fussiness), but I also miss her gummy grin. I want her to start crawling, but I miss the little lump that could lay still in bed with me on weekend mornings instead of rolling around kicking me in the back and poking my eyes.

Week 7

Emma had a variety of food this week: at the beginning of the week (Sunday, Monday) and at the end (Saturday). All the in-between days were too chaotic. It did give us a chance to eliminate some things to see if we can figure out where the rash is coming from. We eliminated her vitamins, apples, and have tried to keep her off the carpet. The carpet one is quite difficult since she doesn't like to stay on the blankets we put on the floor. We thought it was working, because the rash was starting to clear up. But it returned tonight! I'm now thinking that the culprit is her high-chair. The new plan is to feed her with clothes on and put a blanket down over the chair. It's going to mean messier laundry.

Over the past few days, Emma has been a little monster. Evenings have been especially rough, she wants to be held every second and cries when you move away from her at all. With Dan being away at soccer most nights, it made for a very worn-out mommy! I've noticed that she's tugging on her ears again (they were clear on Monday at the doctor's so I don't think it's an infection + no fever) and today she was sucking on her top lip. The last time she sucked on her lip was right before she sprouted the bottom teeth. I'm thinking that the top tooth might appear soon and explain this extreme fussiness. I miss my easy-going baby!

Today we introduced mango - it seemed to be a hit. She literally sucked down a couple slices (and terrified me). We also gave her a few rice puffs to start working on her pincher grasp. She managed to eat 1 and learned how to pick the others up and fling them on the floor. Part of me feels bad that she doesn't "eat" anything at daycare. I'm a bit surprised that the ladies have never asked me about food since Emma is the only baby who still only gets bottles (she's also the youngest, but not by much). Perhaps when she figures out the puffs, she can at least have those as a snack during the day. I wouldn't mind them giving her purees, but I want her to still use the spoon herself and that leads to a HUGE mess (as evidenced by the photo this week).

On a sad note, my aunt Bonnie lost her battle with cancer this week. She had gone downhill fast and was in a lot of pain. The family will miss her, but we are glad that she is no longer suffering. Dan's aunt Mary was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They operated on Monday and determined that it is a cancerous glioblastoma. The prognosis is 3 months without treatment, 1-3 years with treatment. It reminds me of how lucky we are that my sister is alive and well 9 years after they found her glioma (her prognosis was 5 years). It also makes me extremely thankful that the clusters they found on my brain a few years ago are "not of clinical significance".

Week 6

Another busy week has come and gone. I think we did a little better this week about giving Emma solids, but it still wasn't close to a daily event. We have 1 more week of soccer -- possibly 3 away games -- so that's going to be tough, but then it's over. After that the students start state testing. That lasts for 2 weeks and then there is 1 week before the end of the year. I keep saying that we will get more consistent about feeding her once school is over, but in all honesty this summer is going to be pretty busy too.

We didn't introduce any new solids this week - stuck with usuals like avocado and butternut squash - but we did introduce new flavors via puree form (continued with the chicken from last weekend and gave blueberry today). Emma is a great eater. Her accuracy with the spoon keeps improving, but she is still so messy that I wonder if we will ever be able to send food with her to daycare to eat during the day! A bib does help some, but she seriously requires a bath after every 'meal'.

She starting developing a rash last Sunday evening (don't remember if I mentioned in the post last week). It started as just a couple spots on her thighs. By Monday it was all over her tummy and the back of the neck. Dan took her to the doctor and she said contact dermatitis and to use some benadryl cream. Each day it has been different - it'll get better in one place and worse in another. Yesterday her thighs were fine and belly was a mess. Today the neck and belly look better, but it's back on her thighs and now on her upper arms too. The benadryl cream didn't seem to make a difference (it doesn't appear to be itchy). We've tried powder thinking it was heat related and aquaphor lotion thinking it was dry-skin or eczema. We've had her sleep in just a diaper with the a/c and a fan blowing (still thinking it was heat related) and nothing. We stopped using the diapers we had switched to last weekend and went back to the Huggies. Rewashed all her clothes and sheets with the same detergent we've always used. Haven't changed soaps. Stopped giving the chicken which was the only new food introduced around that time. No sign of bug bites. We are clueless about the cause. We tried to go back to the doctor yesterday, but they were booked. Not sure we can get in this week without taking time off of work.

On a happier note, we had a wonderful (but short) visit from a friend from college and her son (he's 2). I am proud to take credit for her son, since I introduced her & her husband our sophomore year. They were like Dan & me in the sense that they thought they didn't want children. Life had different plans for them and now they have a wonderful (and extremely handsome) little boy. Emma was able to interact with him a little more than the last time we saw thing (around New Years), but neither were too interested. He was fascinated with the cats, which was very entertaining.

Latest developments: Emma can now get up on her knees in the crawling position and rocks. She has started clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth. Last night she was sitting and almost pulled herself up to a standing position. I got very excited and think I startled her. Those two bottom teeth continue to push their way up. Oh, we learned that she liked to dump over the toy bucket at daycare and she has started pulling things down at home. She also has a little romance at daycare with the lone boy in the nursery (there are 5 or 6 girls and 1 boy). We've been told that they hold hands and kiss on each other. Dan wasn't sure how to take that news - he knows he's in for it when she grows up. :)