7 Month Rave

Today is Emma Jean's 7 month birthday.....She decided to celebrate by partying all night long....... :(

We think she was gassy, ha!  Who the heck knows though.

It's so interesting to think about some of the things you go through when you have a child.  I preface this with the fact that I do know I have an amazingly easy baby 95% of the time.  We are very lucky.  But that 5% can be tough.  I think I say that all the time :)

Anyway, I must say, I have no idea how people parent on their own.  Even when DH and I are pulling our hair out in the wee hours of the morning and we want to kill each other because we have no idea what to do, at least we have each other! I just don't know if I could do it all by myself.  I am so thankful to have that support.

Emma is pretty much sitting up all by herself these days.  She falls over every now and again but, she's getting better and better everyday.  Which reminds me, we need to LOWER THE CRIB!  :)

Andddddddddd best news of all, she said her first word  (MAMA)!  She may not know what she is saying, but she is definitely saying it.

207 Days

Yesterday Emma was 207 days old.  She had only breast-milk for 206 days of her life.  She's had fruits and veggies, but never the dreaded FORMULA!

Well, yesterday, I gave her the unspeakable.  I supplemented my breast-milk with formula. You wanna know what happened?  She drank it like nothing happened and was happy go lucky like she always is.

Worst part?  I still feel guilty about it.  Why is there such a stigma?  I happen to know many people who gave formula to a baby their whole life and the baby is perfect.  I know many people who never touch the stuff and their baby is perfect too.

I think I was just worried that she would hate it, or have a bad reaction.  Now, mind you it's only day 2, but so far so good.

Best part?  LESS STRESS!  I don't have to worry with every pumping session about how much is coming out.  Obviously I'll be giving Emma every drop of BM, but if I need to add an ounce to get her really full and happy, I'll add a freakin ounce!

That's all.

Final thoughts.........I'm sharing this because it's a good thing.

My baby is almost 7 months old and I'm still breastfeeding and going strong and I am very very proud of myself for that, because IT AIN'T EASY. I'm giving myself a break and probably making Emma happier, because she gets extra food. If you've ever met my child, she isn't shy about eating.

I might be taking my first work trip next week.  100% of me doesn't want to go and just stay with Emma, but 75% of me wants to go too.  It's a strange feeling.  If I'm being really honest, the thought of a night with no chance of waking up to a crying baby or a happy baby at 5am sounds amazing. It's just 1 night.  I love her, but mommy needs her sleep.  DH is very supportive, but obviously it's scary the first time home alone, I know I was petrified myself!  We all survived and we'll keep surviving with every new adventure.

6 month update!

Age: 6 months old!

Weight & Height: 16 lbs. 6 oz.  - 26 inches. I know that is the same height as last time, but since she was in the 93rd percentile last time and closer to average this time, we chalked it up to an error last time. They measured her twice this time too.  Those babies can get squirmy on the table.

Things I enjoy: Eating!! Mommy can't keep up with all the different foods I eat and how much of them I eat.  I love everything they give me.  Particularly sweet potatoes now. They are my new favorite.  Mommy has been making my food my whole life, but she recently decided to give herself a break and I tried Sprout Organic food.  it's the "JUST" line of foods. Like Just Peas or Just Mangos.  I've only done the Just sweet potatoes, but can't wait to try the Just Peas with Mint.

Skills I've mastered: I can roll over onto my belly and I'm just about sitting up all by myself.

Looking forward to:  Rolling back to my back from the belly. It ain't easy...and mastering sitting up.

Tough Times: Normally mommy writes "not too many", but not this time.  I've been giving them a tough time at bedtime the past few nights. I have a cough and I'm probably teething.  I'm not sure if I want to eat more before I go to bed, or I just want to stay up and play a little while longer.  Mommy and Daddy pretty much do whatever I want, so I don't give them too hard of a time and I'm normally asleep around 830pm these days.

Exciting Events: I have two teeth and I just started babbling consonants!!!!!!! I say BAA BAA BAA BAA all day long and mommy and daddy LOVEEEEEEE IT! :) I also went to my first PITT game. Even though they lost, I loved it.

Looking forward to: A visit from Aunt Amanda this Saturday and you guys are gonna die when you see how cute I look in my costume.

Fun at the Zoo

My little buttercup is getting so big :)  Every morning she is now on her tummy.  I wish she could figure out how to roll back and forth instead of just to her tummy.  She'll get there :)

Last weekend we took Emma to the Zoo.  Full disclosure it was OctoBEARfest.  DH and I went to the zoo and got to sample some beer from different breweries.  They also had cheese and chocolate samples that did not disappoint.  There was a "polka" type band there as well from Wilkes-Barre and lots of people with children all around. (it's nice to know I'm not the only one who wants to take my baby to a beer tasting) haha.

Anyway,  after all that, we got to take Emma to the zoo and see new animals for the first time.  She may not have known what was going on, but I had an absolute blast pretending she did.

Next Monday is her 6 month appointment so I'll be sure to have updates on her growing.  I will say we were somewhere yesterday and a woman goes "she's only 6 months old?  she's so big!"  We'll see exactly how big she is soon enough!

Here are some pics from our adventures:

I think we had the perfect hat for the event. :)

Until next time..........

HALLELUJAH!

I thought my beautiful little girl had mysteriously turned into a monster a week ago and would never return.

She started waking up around 3 - 4am EVERY MORNING!  Then, she wasn't going to bed without a struggle EVERY NIGHT!  What happened?  What switch did I accidentally turn to make my little angel a human time bomb.  Not a time bomb for her, but a time bomb for me, because I was about to explode with exhaustion and frustration!

Then.........it happened. She went to bed right after bath time and BFing.  Then...................I HAD TO WAKE HER UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Let the angels in heaven rejoice.  I don't remember the last time my alarm actually woke me up.  And so it goes...as everyone tells you, but you don't give a hoot about when you are in the middle of it..Nothing Lasts Forever!

I honestly do realize I am spoiled with a child that "normally" goes to bed around 730 and "normally" wakes up around 5-6am.  Which is amazing, but when she isn't that amazing child, it's still hard and I still wanna go crazy.

Even if this only lasted for last night, I'll take it and know that it can happen and will happen again in time.

On another note....She's amazing :)

Emma is changing faster and faster as she gets older.  Did I mention she has 2 teeth coming in now?  Probably one of the culprits of her nighttime woes.  She rolls over from her back to her stomach like it's her job, but she's still learning the reverse, which can frustrate her.

Today I'm getting her a walker.  She tried it out at my sister's house and LOVED it.  So, should be more fun times to come.

Remember when you would make noise and hit your hand to your mouth like an indian (sorry if not politically correct).  Well, that is Emma's new trick.  The second you start patting her mouth she screams in delight and won't stop til you stop patting her mouth.

Well, I better get back to work.  Just wanted to check in.

Until next time..........

Daily Schedule

Getting on a schedule to close to impossible. Especially when you work part-time and have daycare part-time, but we are working on it.

I've probably changed her eating schedule 4 times trying to get the right mix in.

This is the current: (6 MONTHS OLD)

Wake up between 5am - 6am - Breastfeed
Breakfast  between 8 - 830am - Fruit/oatmeal mix (about half a cup) and 4 oz. bottle
Lunch between 12 - 1230pm - Veggie/oatmeal mix (about half a cup) and a 4 oz. bottle
Snack around 3pm - 6 oz bottle
Dinner - around 530pm - Veggie/oatmeal mix (about half a cup)
Bedtime - around 730pm - Breastfeed

I still let her nap when she wants which is about 3 naps give or take 1 a day.

I would love comments and suggestions about what you have done or do with your babe :)

And as always a pic to brighten your day

How Long did I sleep for???

I wish the title of my post was because I got way too much sleep..................it's not.

Emma has actually been waking up at 5am daily for the past week and since my last pump comes at about 10 pm, I've been longing for a long night's sleep.

I wonder how long I slept for, because it seems as though my daughter has grown ages overnight.  Her second tooth is coming in!!!! Right next to the first one.  :(  How sad is that.  She's getting teeth! It's cute when you say tooth, but it's big girl when you say teeth!!!!

She's also turned into grabby mcgrabberson.  This is actually cute, until she took her bowl of breakfast (pears and oatmeal) and threw them on the ground when I turned my head for one second.  That'll teach me! hahaha.  Good thing pears and oatmeal are cream colored, like our carpet.

I know I haven't done an update in a while, but I'm waiting for her 6 month appt to update weight/height etc.

Grandmom and Grandpop Moher are coming down this weekend to watch Emma while DH and I head to our friend's wedding in Fells Point.  Should be fun for all parties involved I hope.  Emma has been getting a tiny bit more attached to momma.  She still does great at daycare, so I'm hoping for no meltdowns at bedtime on Saturday.

Pitt/Navy game is coming up at the end of October too!  Emma is going to grow up a PITT fan whether she likes it or not.............

see!  I had it made special for my little princess. 

We have lots of stuff planned coming up for the next 1,000 weekends.  Weddings, football games, Aunt Amanda is coming down for a night to hang out, going to the ZOO for the first time!, Halloween (brace yourself for the cuteness that will come of that), watching mommy play field hockey, next thing you know, Thanksgiving!

Emma is 6 months old next week and I can't believe how every day just gets better and better with her.

Until next time.........

HAPPY FALL!