On the road and in need of some sleeping advice!

On the road...

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend. Emma and I are heading to see the family who live about 4 hours away - sans hubby. This will be the first time I've driven that far alone with the little one. Hubby is going to be living it up with friends in NYC for a bachelors weekend. I have no problem at all with him going but I told him that I hope he appreciates being able to just up and do something like that. Being a baby's food source definitely limits that flexibility!

And in need of sleeping advice...

Emma is a good napper during the day and a good sleeper at night. She usually gives us a 7-8 hours stretch at night. Last night she went from 12:10am-9am!

It is the stretch from about 8pm-12am that I don't really know what to do with. She won't sleep much and is pretty/really fussy during this time. We try to start her bedtime routine - bath, snuggling, swaddling, etc - and then put her down about 8 or 8:30pm. We may get an hour or so out of her and then she wakes up crying. But it isn't time to eat yet. What do I do with her??? Any suggestions??? (She is on a pretty set routine of eating every 3 hours, which usually puts her last feeding of the day around 11pm or 11:30pm.)

Two Months

Emma is 2 months old today. Wow! Time flies when you are having fun (and trying to figure out how in the world to be a parent!). She's brought such joy and excitement and sense of completeness to our lives. It is so much fun seeing her change every day and trying to figure out her little personality.

She had her 2 month check-up today, which included a round of vaccines. I sure wish I could erase from my mind the utter look of shock on her face when the nurse stuck her in the legs. It just broke my heart! I've never seen her little face turn so red from the screaming afterward. Thankfully it only lasted a few seconds. But I think that is probably the first real pain she has ever felt in her life (though who knows what the birthing process felt like for her???).

The good news is that the little spout is growing, growing, growing. She is up 9oz from just 10 days ago when we took her in for her reflux (Dr. said they like to see 0.5 - 1.0 oz increase each day). She is 23rd percentile for weight [9lb 10oz; was 10th percentile at 2 weeks] and 50th for length [22 1/4"; was 20th percentile at 2 weeks].

Here are some new pictures in honor of her 2 month birthday...

Reading with Mommy


A Family Portrait


Bumbo Time!

Fun on the playmat

Are you looking at me?

Here's another video...mostly because I'm too lazy to come up with something interesting to write about.

But I do like this video a lot of Emma following me around the room. I may be biased, but I think she's awfully smart :)

And P.S., I love my Flip video camera. Very easy to use and I'm thrilled to be able to capture forever all the little things.

Lunchtime...

I promise, we do adequately feed the child!

Does this hat make my head look big?

Here's a picture from a few days ago when Emma and I went for a little walk. It was kind of chilly out but the sun was shining, hence the big hat.

I have a bunch of sunhats for her, but they are all ridiculously big for her little pea head. And I'm really paranoid about her getting sun burnt...any advice on sunblock solutions at such a young age?

We took Emma to the pediatrician on Monday because she has been spitting up profusely after each feeding. And I don't mean just a little dribble...I mean projectile fun! And sometimes up to 5 times. Plus she is super fussy after (and sometimes during) a feeding. Even pulling off the nipple to scream.

The doctor thinks it is probably GERD (aka severe reflux) and put her on Zantac to start with. I go back next week for her two month appointment and they will assess the effectiveness then and, if necessary, put her on Previcid instead. I haven't noticed much of a difference so far with the Zantac. We are also giving her Mylanta in hopes of calming down her tummy.

My biggest concern is that the severe spitting up would impact her growth, but apparently, and thank goodness, it hasn't. She was 10th percentile in weight at 2 weeks, and now, at 7 weeks, she was up to the 25th percentile. Good girl! She is 9lb 1oz and 21 inches long.

Belated One Month

Emma has already passed the 6 week milestone so clearly I'm a little late commenting on her at one month. But, alas, that is what I must do.

I can't remember who recommended these Picky Sticky stickers from Etsy that go on onesies. Was it Sam and Anna's mamma? THANK YOU to whomever it was. They are super cute.

I had my 6 week check-up yesterday and am cleared for all activity. I went for my first run yesterday post-baby. Boy, I ached in areas I never knew I had - guess bones get moved all around. I have a 1/2 marathon in September and the Army 10-Miler in October, so I better get over it fast! Running used to be fun to me...yesterday, it was just a pain in the...well, I'll spare you the details.

And, P.S., it is almost 10am right now and Emma is still asleep from her last feeding at 4:30am. Good girl :) But, I'll admit, she's in the carseat. Please don't tell anyone!