Emma's 9 Month Pics

Emma's 9 Month/ Easter/ Spring pictures. She was such a good girl. Such a BIG girl!! It was such a hassle dealing with the company we went through, but at least we have some cute pictures to take away with us. I think that has more to do with my adorable daughter than the skill level of the photographer, but oh well!!

 

Milestones--they just keep coming!

Emma is doing so much now. I can't believe we are about to hit 9 months tomorrow.  NINE MONTHS?!?!? There's no way. But there it is.

Her vocabulary is getting so big!! She now says: "Mama", "Dada", "num-num", "Ba" (bottle), "Uh-oh", "Moh" (more), and "Whoa!" Her favorite right now is "Whoa!" She says it when she pulls herself up, when she gets her toy, when she plops on her butt after standing on her own for a while.

Not only does she *say* Mama and Dada, but I think she honestly knows what they mean. For instance, every morning I hear "Mama. Mama." coming from her monitor. That's because I am usually the one to go get her from her crib. But when she wants to play it's "Dada. Dada" because he gets to play with her more. Last night she was "walking" (holding onto the couch as she went back and forth) between me and her daddy. When she got to him, she'd say "Dada" and he would pick her up and play. Then she'd try to crawl over him, he'd set her down, she'd walk over to me, and say "Mama" until I picked her up. So I think she gets it.

In case you missed it: Yes. Emma is trying to walk now! She easily lifts herself up by pulling herself using couches or tables. Then she holds onto them and walks around. Or she will hold our hands and walk that way. I am in awe every time I see her do this. Mainly because the "most recent" reference I have is when we went to her dad's great-granny's birthday back in January. There was a one year old there who was just starting to do these things. So it seems like Emma is a whole 3 months ahead of schedule!!!

I can't believe  how big my baby is getting. She is such a little girl. She loves girly-princess things. She likes to dance and "sing." She loves Luke Bryan & Elvis, too!!

We took Spring/Easter/9 Month pics yesterday. I'll post some of those next.

Seriously God? Just stop now

I'm done. I can't take anymore losses. In Emma's VERY short life, she has lost so many people already. At two and a half months she lost 2 great-grandmas. My Mamaw Pearl and her Daddy's stepdad's mom. This past January she lost her great-grandpa Stan. And today she lost her great-grandpa: my Pappy.

This morning started out so good too! That's what is surreal. I mean, we woke up. I made her Daddy a full breakfast of oatmeal and eggs; normally he gets oatmeal and a protein shake because we are strapped for time. I packed his lunch. Then we got to sit and talk for about 20 minutes before he left. Right as he was about to leave, Emma woke up. I brought her down and she saw her Daddy and started flailing her arms and laughing, and had the biggest smile ever. She gave him the biggest hug and laid her head on his chest. When I went to take her so he could leave, she started bawling and clutching at him. It was the cutest sight ever.

Anyways, fast forward 45 minutes. I get a text from my dad telling me to call him ASAP. Honestly, I know when I saw "Text Message: Dad" pop up on the screen. I prayed I was wrong, but I knew. Then I called... and he could barely choke out the words. I broke down immediately. I just kept saying "But I talked to him two days ago. I talked to him two days ago!"

See, Wednesday night I was getting dinner and called my Grammy and talked to her. At the end of the call she said my Pappy wanted to talk to me. He asked when we were going to come see him. I told him with my new job I was going to have to work out the schedule with my boss and Emma's daddy was going to have to take his vacation days, but we were planning on going to see them next month--when the weather got nicer. He said that would be nice. Then he told  me a few stories (he was such a story-teller) and we ended the call. I went home that night and told Emma's Daddy we needed to start thinking about taking that trip next month.

Too Late.
Always too late.

I'm so mad. I can't help it. I'm mad at God for taking all these people away from my daughter. With all the terrible, horrible, good for nothings out there---WHY TAKE THESE PEOPLE???? These were good people. People who loved their families. People who made us laugh and smile and want to go see them again.

I'm so MAD!! I'm mad that Emma will NEVER get to make memories with these people. Am I sad for myself? Of course. I'm human and selfish. BUT. I am so sad and mad and frustrated for my daughter. She will NEVER EVER have memories with these amazing people. At least I have memories with them. Why take that chance away from her???


***
If there is one good thing to be taken from this, it's: At least Emma got to spend some time with each of these people before they left us. She saw each of them once. Only once. But at least I will have the memories of each of those visits. Memories and stories to share with her as she grows.

"Dada," "Mama," and so much more

When Emma was born, everyone always said how fast time would fly and how she would be doing this or that before I knew it. At first that wasn't really the case. I mean, she rolled from belly to back pretty fast, but I honestly feel like I was able to savor all those moments with her. They were spread out pretty well. Now though, it's like we hit a new milestone everyday!

• She's Talking! Her first word was "Dada." Of course this was after a very long night where Mommy was up with her the entire night. haha Now she not only babbles and "gaga's" but she will throw in real words. She even said her first sentence: "Mama...numnum." Hungry? haha

• She has this little "trick" that she learned. At first we would put our hands over our mouths and make the "Whoo-whoo" sound like little Indians. This cracked her up. Then her Daddy showed her she could do it herself. She is so proud of herself whenever she does it. And she will just randomly start doing it and will keep on for EVER!

• She is crawling up a storm! She started crawling one day right after I started working. Now she is a monster ARMY crawler. She is fast and determined.

  

• She is eating "big people" food. She loves when we go to Target and get a pretzel to split. She gets a scrambled egg for breakfast. She gets a little "baby bagel" sometimes. She gets softened/cooked carrots, chicken, tortillas.... We are trying her out on everything a little at a time.
• I mentioned that Emma is crawling. I guess I should also mention she is trying to WALK!! One day I was at home with her and we were playing around. She had received a Sit-To-Stand Walker for Christmas, so I stood her up and put her hands on it. She stood there just upright and like a big girl for a while. Then she tried to take a step and fell. (I caught her; it's ok! lol) That same night, her Daddy did the same thing. Only this time she started walking no problem!! 

After that, she learned that she can pull herself up with the couch.  Now she can "walk" around the couch while holding on. I kind of always figured she wouldn't be much of a crawler and go right to walking. Looks like I was right!

I think that's about it for now. I kept meaning to finish this post but there's just always something going on nowadays. With work and Emma and everything else, our days are full!! Anyways. Time to wrap this up! Have a great day!

It's a whole new ball game!

Okay, I am SEVERELY delayed in reporting on the new things going on with Emma. I wanted to make sure I finished up my little mini-series uninterrupted and that put this on hold. But here we go:

• Emma can crawl!! She started crawling on Wednesday, February 5th. Her Nonna was watching her and I guess they were practicing or doing tummy time or something like that. Anyways, I was pulling into their driveway when I got a text from my boyfriend. It was video of Emma crawling to a little duck. I immediately ran into their house and made Emma crawl again! haha  

•  Emma got the flu. We noticed on Monday of last week that she was a little less active than normal, but didn't think too much of it. No, that's sort of a lie. She basically refused to sleep that night without me holding her--which meant I got ZERO sleep. (Not good when you have to go to work and you are still new). So I actually took her temperature and it was fine. So the next day I took it again and nothing. I dropped her off with her Nonna and Grandpa. Later that afternoon I get a text saying she tested positive for the flu. MAN did I feel terrible. But, I did everything I was supposed to do. And she seemed fine, not fever, no throwing up, none of that. And even after she tested positive for the flu, she still didn't ACT like she had it. She was really clinging, but that was the only real indicator she didn't feel all that great.

• Emma is so in tuned to what is going on around her. She now looks for things when she drops them. And she remembers things. Like the doctor. Now Emma only sees her doctor when we take her for her shots--so not all that often. BUT, she had to go see her that Tuesday she got the flu. And--from what I've been told--Emma remembered the doc and did not like her! haha. They tell me she was playful with the Assistant and Tech person but when the doc walked in-BAM! Baby girl shifted and grabbed ahold of Nonna's hair and wouldn't let go. She wanted NOTHING to do with the doc!

• We are having some very fun moments with her. She is so smart that she puts things together now in her mind. Like her bottle. She knows that when Mommy makes her bottle, I add water to a clear container, then a powder; shake and give it to her. Thing is: Matt makes his morning protein shakes the same way! And it's vanilla flavored! So whenever Emma sees Daddy make his morning shake, she gets all piffy! haha She starts "yelling" and batting her hands on the high chair. Her eyes start to bulge out even!

• She is "talking" up a storm now!! She just babbles away. Telling us all about her day. What she wants. What she doesn't want. You just know there's a story going on and she's trying to get it out as best she can. I simply cannot wait to hear the stories she's got to tell. As smart as she is, I can bet there will be a few doozies in our future!

I have gone back to work. It's only part-time, and it's in the city; but I really am enjoying it. 3 days a week I get to go and interact with adults who aren't family. (My sister works there, but that's only one out of 10 or so people. As opposed to the vice versa being true when I am at home! lol) Anyways, I am doing what I was doing at the other office, but I get to take on a little more responsibility too. It's nice working with a smaller office and feeling like you are appreciated. Sure, there's stress to do a good job and go above what they are expecting, but that's true of all jobs. And yes, I have 3 long days (when you factor in the drive time). But it's only 3 days a week. I get 4-day weekends with my baby and my boyfriend every week.

I think Emma will be walking in the new few weeks, but not yet. Seriously. She now puts her hands on the ground and "walks them up" until she's in an inverted V. Then she's like: "Ummm, what do I do now?" haha It's really funny. And kind of sad. Because she's JUST learned to crawl and now she wants to WALK? Already?

Okay, well that wraps up this post. Sorry it took so long. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the groove of things (or into a new groove with work and all) and can do better about posting.

G'NIGHT!

Staying Organized: Mommy Must Haves

Alright. FINALLY wrapping up this little mini-series. I swear, when I started this, I had no clue it would take me this long to post 5 little (okay, maybe not so little) blogs about things I've learned and really wanted to share to my mommy and mommy-to-be friends. But as it wraps up, I am kinda sad to see it end. Okay, maybe only a teeny bit but still. I have a ton of things I wanted to post about that don't go with the series and which I was holding off on until I finished this. And this post is the one post I started off wanting to write but felt it needed to be saved for last.

Okay, stalling over. Now here we go. And these are basically in order of Greatness. Just so you know.

Mommy Must Haves: Seriously, go buy these things NOW!

There were a few things I tell every new mom to put on her registry before she puts anything on there. They are what I call my "lifesavers." These are the things that made life bearable when Emma was semi-colicky, not sleeping, brand new and we were still adjusting to being parents. These are the things that will save your sanity. And that's only a slight exaggeration.

#1-Rock N Play

When I found out I was pregnant with Emma, every one of my mommy-friends had recommendations. But this was the one common  thing. The ONE THING they ALL said I had to have. It was the first thing I put on my registry. And it really did save me many a night. And day too, honestly. We used this with Emma up until she was four and a half months probably. We had to stop when she could half-turn her body, grab the top, and almost pull herself out of it. Even then I kept it in out living room for a few more months-as a just in case for Emma and naptime.

My boyfriend's cousin just had a little girl about 2 weeks ago. She was telling me how her daughter wasn't sleeping that great. How she would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. Then she said the magic words: "She hates her crib." So, of course I asked if she had one of these. She said no and I was like "WHAM! There's your problem! Get one of those and she will sleep great." Check in a week later and all is well! :) So yeah, get one of these ASAP!

#2-Activity "Things"

Activity "Things." You might not think to get the jumperoo right away, but I say do it. If nothing else, you can utilize my Double Duty theory and use the links that come with it on the playmat you DO think to get right away for tummy time. Yeah, neither of those come with very many links, so you can double up early on. Emma was playing on her play mat all the time. But she hated tummy time, so she made herself roll from belly to back incredibly early. And she loved the jumperoo from the second we put her in it.

Oh, and while you're at it, just go ahead and spend the $4 on the extra links. Babies love these. Even if you double-duty the ones on the play/activity things, spending 4bucks on an additional 20 is completely understandable and worth it. 

#3-Customized Closet

You may not think spending $100-$400 on something for a BABY is smart. And normally I would agree with you. But this is an investment! Your baby's clothes are going to get bigger and bulkier. Things they need when they come home from the hospital are not the things they will need at 3 months, or 6 months, or a year, or 2 years, or 5 years, or 10 years, or 18 years--and then they head off to college and you can use that closet for other things and then it really will need to be rearranged. A customized closet is an easy way to make sure you can store the things you need now in a way that will make sense for now. And later, you can change it up for maybe an additional $15 for an extra shelf or whatever. So do it, Draw out how you want it to look, go to the nearest "construction" store, and pick out what you need to make it work. And make changes as needed.

#4-Baby Carrier

 

I don't care if you are one of those "earth mothers" or an urban mama on the go. Get one of these! Moby, Ergo, Baby K'Tan. Whatever. Get one. Done.

Seriously. Go get one! Emma was a little colicky in the beginning. This was because we had her on the wrong supplemental formula which was wreaking havoc on her belly and we didn't know it at the time. But it doesn't matter that you know WHY your baby won't stop crying. Just put them in one of these and... SAVED!! You can go about your day and comfort your baby. HEAVEN!

#5-Sleeping Arrangements

These are major decisions you have to make. I knew immediately I wanted a crib that turned into a toddler bed and then would turn into a "big girl" bed. I totally didn't want to spend that kind of money on a bed she would only be in for a little while and then spend that money again (and then some) on yet another bed later on. The one we ended up getting her turns into a Full for later on. 

Next is the Pack N Play. Now, they have all these ridiculously fancy ones with hide-away spaces for storage (kinda cool), or a little removable bassinet thing, or changing station. All fun doo-hickeys. I didn't want all that. Mainly because--well, where are you going to store all those extras once the baby is too big for them? No thanks. I wanted a simple place to lay her down when she was fussy or when we were at someone's place. Emma actually slept in her PNP by our bed for the two months between her RNP and when we transitioned to the crib in her own room. By the time she was 6 months, she was at the weight limit for the top-net thing. Basically, she can't be elevated because she weighs more than 15lbs. Anyway...

Another big thing I required? A detachable mobile. We don't use the Pack N Play as much now that she is in her crib. But we DO still use the mobile. From the beginning I would take the mobile off and put it on other things for her. I put it on her jumperoo, her highchair...even the Rock N Play. It gave her something to look at and play with. Hate to be redundant, but...DOUBLE DUTY!

And then there's the Boppy. This thing is amazing. You can nurse with it. Give the baby a bottle with it. Lay the baby in it to take a nap. Use it yourself. Just make sure you get an extra slipcover for when Baby decides to spit up all over it!

#6-Bottle Basics

    

 

There are so many bottle options, it is definitely daunting. But do your homework. Figure out what you need. What you want. What you are going to use them for. Etc. Bottles are just for formula, as off as that sounds. Here's what I knew. I knew the pump I got with my insurance was a Medela one. So I figured I would ask for or get the Medela bottles. I figured "Well they will for sure work with the pump I have, so I shouldn't have any issues with going from the pump to the bottle." And I was right. The attachment was made for the Medela bottles. And it's not like they were bad bottles that I got. They weren't. But there were things I didn't think about. Things I should have. See, we had about 20 bottles. Half were  5oz bottles and half were 9oz bottles. I knew we would need the small bottles at first. BUT I didn't think about the nipple size. I didn't know there were LEVELS to them. And Medela didn't put the newborn size ones on the small bottles. It seems like they should, but they didn't and we ran into issues with them. Now we have a few different kinds. And they are all good for what they are designed for. I love that Tommee Tippees are interchangeable and I can use the handles or whatnot with her Tommee Tippee sippy cups. I have Playtex VentAir which are good for those feedings right before nap or bedtime. We have the Phillips Avent for when she is getting a large feeding, maybe even with rice cereal or oatmeal cereal. And we have the fun, cutesy, design ones just because I like her to have super girly bottles sometimes. 

I got a bottle sterilizer when Emma was first born. And I loved it. It made making sure her bottles were clean easy. I knew the ones in there were ready to give to Emma. BUT you can't really use them for the bigger bottles. Eh. That kinda stinks. BUT I will say this. I now can use the base to help me thaw out chicken and other frozen meats. haha Our sink doesn't have a stopper so I put the meat in there with the super hot water and BAM! Making sure I get the most out of my money! haha

I also went out and got a thing to go in the dishwasher to help me clean her bottles and stuff. It has a separator so I can differentiate somewhat. I and put her binkies in there. Straws on the side. Things like that. It makes cleaning her bottles easy again. I just break them apart and put the pieces in their "designated" areas. 

#7-Anything else I missed?

 A travel system. This comes with a car seat, a base, and a stroller that the car seat attaches to. There are a lot of options out there, so you just have to figure out what you want. I knew I didn't want one of those 3-wheeled ones. I like the four wheels. These things are designed to grow with the baby. I love the one we got. It is a little girly (Pink roses and the Eiffel Tower....yeah!). But our options were limited. The brand I wanted had 3 options: Pink, blue, or black. With Emma due in July, I did NOT want an all black stroller.



The Baby Bullett. I mentioned this in Feeding Post. So I won't bore you with all its redeeming qualities. But it has a lot. And if you get the set, it comes with the spatulas, and storage containers, and info booklets, and recipes... Very good deal.

 This was a life saver when I was pregnant. Towards the end I was miserable. My back hurt. My legs hurt. My neck hurt because I couldn't get it on the pillow just right. Sleeping was impossible! Then I received one of these. I couldn't believe how easy it became to get a good night's sleep. I still have mine in my closet. Just in case I have a night where I have trouble sleeping again. Or if I just want to cuddle up on the couch or in bed and watch a movie. Or if I want to put it on the side of the bed so she can't roll off when we are playing. *I put this on one edge and our two pillows on the other. Then she can roll and play to her heart's content and I don't have to hover; but actually get to relax and play with her.

So this is my list of Mommy Must Haves. And the end of my series. I hope you all enjoyed it. I hope you learned something or were able to take something away from it.

Share your thoughts. I'd love to hear what ideas or suggestions you all have. Thank you!

And. Goodnight!