I Think It's Working!!!

Knock on wood...but I think our new system of putting Emily down to sleep may be working. We have been putting her in her crib awake and letting her put herself to sleep instead of rocking her. Friday night she cried for about 5 minutes, then went to sleep. During Saturday's naps and Saturday night she cried for about 10 minutes and then went to sleep. Her nap schedule today (Sunday) was a little out of whack because we were at a family birthday party, but we just put her in bed and she didn't cry at all! She just laid there awake for about 10 minutes and she was asleep when I just went in and checked. I really hopes this continues!!! It sounds silly, but I am pretty proud of myself! I set a parenting goal and accomplished it without caving into what was easiest!

Oh, we also took her to get her picture made with the Easter Bunny - I will post it later. The picture really didn't turn out too well because she was too busy trying to look up at the Easter Bunny to even worry about smiling for the camera!

7 Months Already

I just can't believe our little girl is already 7 months old. It seems like just yesterday that we were still in the hospital trying to change her diaper, terrified we would damage her cord. Things sure have changed since then. I am still not 100% confident in my role as a Mommy, but I am giving it my all. There are so many things that I am so excited to do with her and teach her. I just cannot wait to start a family tradition of going to Huber's Orchard to pick out our Halloween pumpkins, taking her to the Louisville Science Museum to make those giant bubbles and huge domino exhibits that I remember from my own childhood, spending a sunny Saturday at the zoo and promising her a trip to the giftshop for a treat if she is good, building sandcastles on the beach at Destin. But as much as I am looking forward to all those things, I am really trying to remind myself to enjoy this stage too. The nights that she wakes every hour for her pacifier are some of the most trying times I have ever been through, but all those little smiles, gurgles and laughs make it all worth it. Sometimes I worry I am not being the best mother I can be - in all honesty I have never been accused of being a patient person. Nor have I ever been accused of being overly friendly or affectionate. But I am really trying to work on that. I don't ever want her to have any unpleasant childhood memories to look back on. I know that no one is perfect, but doesn't my little girl deserve perfect? Either way, I know she deserves the best I can provide and sometimes I just don't feel like I am up to par. However, now that I really think about it, maybe I don't want her to grow up thinking she has a perfect mother. Instead, I want her to grow up knowing that even when Mommy makes mistakes, she is always trying her hardest. Even when Mommy doesn't remember to count to 10 before speaking her mind, she is really trying to do right by her. Someday I will print all of this out and give it to her to read so she will never have any doubt how much I love her. Hopefully, when she reads it, she will know without a doubt in her mind that no matter what else I may do in my lifetime, she is what I will always be the most proud of. So even though it will be years before she can read and understand this - To my Chunky Monkey - I love you more than anything in this world.

She Sleeps!!!!!

I feel like I should knock on wood before announcing this, but....Emily slept until 6:30am this morning!!!!! I am so excited! Really, really hope this is a new trend!

6 Month Check-up

Emily went for her sixth month check-up on Friday, 2/27/09. She has grown so much - I am especially pleased to see that her height has finally caught up to her weight! She is 26 and 3/4" long, weighs 18 and a half lbs and has ahead circumference of 18". The doctor said he was very pleased at her progress and gave us a few pointers on her feeding schedule. Along this journey of parenthood we have had several things to figure out, but the most difficult by far is the feeding schedule. We started out feeding her too much formula, then we were not feeding her enough. I think we have it nailed down now though. Dr. Joe said that as long as she was getting between 28-32 oz. of formula and a few feedings of cereal and baby food a day, she is fine. We asked about her spitting up so much, but he said that since she was so healthy, we really shouldn't worry about it. We also had concerns about the "pacie" that she uses, since she still uses that same one that she came home from the hospital with! So we tried to change it out with a orthodontic pacie. But she was having none of it. As soon as we put it in her mouth, she would yank it out and actually throw it! But, he said it was fine to let her keep using that one for now. Sometimes I feel like we still have so much to learn, but we are trying to just take it a day at a time.

At the appointment, she got another three shots. It really kills me to watch her be in pain, but she was really so brave! She only cried for a second. I know it is only a shot, but it is so hard to have to watch someone hurt my little baby girl!

Emily still only has her two lower, middle teeth. It is so cute when she does a wide-mouth grin and you can see them poking up. We are trying to get her used to us brushing them, but she doesn't care for it much. The faces she makes when we try to poke that little bitty toothbrush in her mouth is just too funny!

She is also sleeping sooo much better. We still kind of have a hard time keeping her up until 8:30, but when we do, she will normally sleep until about 5:30. Now, if we could just get her on a nap schedule...

We also took Emly for her first Easter pictures on Saturday. They turned out sooooooooo cute - be sure to check them out on here!

Well, I guess that is about all we have to report for now....stay tuned!