7 Months

Yesterday my sweet Emma turned 7 months old. How did that happen? This month was the fastest yet. That fact scares the pee out of me.


That said, I'm really loving this age. And Emma in general. She is fantastic. In the last month she's gone from being a crabby, high-maintenance, sickly, serious, occasionally fun newborn to being a happy, fun, and joyful baby. She is an absolute love. You needn't work hard to get her to smile anymore--she is an easy happy face most of the time, enlarging her fan club everywhere she goes.

She's weighing in at a whopping 15 pounds 14.9 ounces. Baby gained some weight! Woo hoo! We've finally doubled her birth weight. Yay!

In the area of skills, she is getting closer to crawling. She can also stand holding onto furniture and walk with a pair of grown-up hands to help. She's becoming a better eater (usually). And the crunches have made a major comeback.

Of course the question on everyone's minds (or just mine? who cares): does she sleep? Well, drum roll please...YES! Well, better than before anyway. Which is a resounding YES around here. We decided to buckle down and transition her to her crib this weekend. We've tried it a few times, and it's always been an overwhelming failure. Screaming galore, puke everywhere. But this time she seemed ready. She seems to have turned a corner with her reflux, and she is illness-free. Who knows how long that will last? So we decided to go for it. I know that in the Mom Community there are passionate wars about sleep training. About everything really. Which is stupid. Being a mom is hard enough--do we really need to add judgment on top of it? But I could care less. I'm a firm believer in the Whatever Works for your Family method. We tried all the gentle, no-cry sleep solutions with Ben. They only pissed him off more. The whole "pick him up when he cries then put him down when he calms" ad infinitum thing doesn't work when he doesn't stop crying. I tried. Oh I tried. But he would have none of it. I spent weeks of "gentle" sleep training, and they were most assuredly NOT tear-free. For anyone. So I let him cry it out. And it was over in two days. He slept deeply in his crib, all night long, ever after. (Rest assured, he has no attachment issues, and our relationship is as perfect as it could get.) I know that in the so-called Mom Wars I could get barbecued for letting my kids cry it out. But I could care less.

All the same, I wasn't going to let Emma cry it out. She seemed a little too...um, spirited? I figured that given her track record, she would probably cry it out for a month. But then Matt and I found ourselves realizing that we've been doing the no-cry sleep training. For seven months. And she cries. Oh she cries. So this weekend we decided to hunker down and endure the three days of Hell.

It didn't even take three days. On day two she cried for 5 minutes. On day 3 she went down without a peep.

As an added bonus, on the second night she woke up a few times because she'd rolled over onto her stomach and couldn't push herself back over because of the swaddling. So now she's not just in her crib, but unswaddled as well.

So yesterday I was walking around like I was some kind of queen. It was the happiest morning ever. And part of why I was all smiley was because it just seemed so funny to me. I never had to do any of this with Ben, and the fact that we're weaning Emma off a cradle and swaddling at seven months is laughable. But this was honestly the first time she's ever really been ready.

Ben's new name for Emma is Smooshie. I love it. And I love Smooshie. She's an obstinate and picky one. But I love her.

Happy 7 months, Smooshie!!!

Outdoor Adventures: Goathill Junction

It happened. We finally went on an adventure. A couple of weekends ago, we really had no plans. So I emailed my beloved husband on Friday afternoon, and I gave him three choices for an adventure. Saturday came around, and I don't really remember why, but we were having an "off" morning. So we opted for a smaller adventure and went to ride the train at Fairview Park.

The Journey: Piece of cake. We live close by, but even if you don't, it's not far from a few freeways and easy to find.

The Price: Free!

The Highlights: It's at a park, so it doesn't just have to be about riding the train. Also--the train ride itself is quite long. Emma and I didn't ride (you can't hold kids), so for us the long wait was kind of boring. But it wasn't about us, so that's fine. I like that it was a long ride because that means it's actually worth doing. It's also a fun, random, and easy adventure. It's good to have a few of those in your pocket for days when you need to get the littles out of the house but you don't have the time, money, or energy for a major adventure.

The Downsides: It only happens the second Saturday of the month, and only if the weather permits. So...this isn't something you can do just anytime. Also, because it happens so infrequently, the line is pretty long. Fortunately for Ben the line took place in a big pile of rocks for him to play with. Also, since Emma and I weren't riding, Matt and Ben were alone, and they ended up being able to skip the second half of the line because they had a random spot on the train for just two, and apparently there were only large parties in front of them.


Yay! Something fun!

Soccer Mom

Lately we have been finding ourselves deep in the "school-aged child" life. Ben is officially a little boy these days. My baby is most assuredly not a baby anymore. Sob. Except that he still loves to cuddle. Do you think he will still want to do that when he's fifteen? Is that creepy and weird? Shut up, I love him. And Emma's not a cuddler.

Anyway, some of my mom friends and I wanted to put our kiddos in soccer, but we didn't want to pay up the butthole for them to stand in a field and pick their noses while some teenager in droopy pants stands around saying, "okay, uh, kick the ball or something." (Because I'm assuming that that's what city parks and rec sports programs are like. Because I'm super knowledgeable about it.) Since my friends and I all had babies at the same time, we decided to start our own soccer team at a local park (yep--my friends and I have enough three/four-year-olds to form a soccer team). So every Friday afternoon at 4 (well, 4:15 for the Millers, because Matt some people can't get their butt out of work on time) we meet at a park. A couple dads herd the cats teach the kids soccer while the moms sit on a blanket with their babies (yep--a bunch of us had another baby around the same time) and see who's getting the least amount of sleep and talk about deep and meaningful grown-up things like boobs, poop, boogers, and cloth diapers.

Yes, it's as awesome as it sounds. And it's free.

Ben is excited he scored a goal. Don't worry about the fact that all the other kids are doing something else.

Let's play "Find Ben"

Little pals

Let's play "Which Direction Is Ben Facing?"

 

 

ha! Poor Ben.

Closing Duck Duck Goose

 

Also in the realm of Big Boy Evidence? Ben's first invitation to a birthday party for a school friend. You know, the kind that's at the bounce house party place, and everyone in the class got an invite? Ben is so excited about the bounce house party. I'm so excited that I never have to throw a party and invite his entire class (raise your hand if you suddenly love the summer birthday thing). We all win, here.

Good Morning

You know those mornings when your baby wakes up at 5, so you nurse her then go back to bed, but then your husband gets up to shower, and you realize the towels are still in the dryer, which is in the garage, which requires a trip outside, and at that point you're pretty much awake, so you get up? Then you get the towels, fold them, then take a long shower and shave, because you don't really remember the last time you shaved, because you have small children and don't have time to waste on luxurious and frivolous things like shaving? Then you make some coffee and toast and get pretty excited because you can't remember the last time you had a warm breakfast because your son always gets up before God, so you never end up being able to eat breakfast, even though sometimes you try, but then it ends up getting cold because you have to parent? So you quietly make your toast and coffee, thrilled because you might actually get some quiet alone time before the kids up, which is a healing unguent for your tattered introvert soul, but then you drop your knife in the sink, which wakes up the baby? So you swear a little bit, then go in to the baby, hoping that maybe you can give her the pacifier and steal a few more minutes of Me Time, but she grins up at you, and you know she's wide awake, and that it will never happen? So you sigh and get the baby then put her in her jumpy thing and pray the boy doesn't wake up? Then minutes later he does? So your perfect morning is gone forever?

Me too.

But these two are SO FREAKING CUTE, so I'm okay with spending some time with them this morning before we're off to school. Early. We're going to school early. But still. Fun Family Time.

I miss hot toast and coffee.

Half a Year

(For the record, I started writing this post two weeks ago.)

Two weeks ago Miss Emma Bug turn six months. She's now officially in the second half of her first year. How about I freak out a little bit. Out of control. I think all her health issues have sort of prolonged the newborn haze. She's still swaddled, still in her cradled, still not sleeping through the night. So I think that those things have kind of made it feel like she's still a fragile newborn. But really, she's decidedly not. She sits up, plays with her brother, makes all kinds of noises, eats three meals a day (veeeeery small ones, but still), and judges entertains us all.

Speaking of food, even though she’s not a fan of eating it, she’s started getting a little feisty at the table. She reaches over and tries to grab her bowl. If I’m not quick, it ends up…well, I’m sure you can guess.

She’s really trying hard to crawl these days. But she’s got the patience of a…something that has no patience—it’s 6am, my brain is mush. (Who am I kidding? I don’t sleep. My brain is always mush.) So she gets frustrated fairly quickly. Actually, this pretty much applies across the board—her majesty already has the OC Instant Gratification bug. She can backwards scoot on her butt across a slick surface and roll, so she can get somewhere if she really wants to. But probably not to her intended destination.

Her favorite activities are playing naked, sucking on her toes, playing with her keys, and watching her brother. She’s a generally serious little princess, but when you earn those smiles and laughs (yes, earn—it takes work), it’s like the sun just rose in the living room. One sure way to bring on the joy: Ben. No one can make her smile and laugh and squeal quite like he can. And I’m okay with that.  What often makes her smile all big is Ben crying. True story. I’ll tell you what, though. Once I get her smiling and laughing it’s kind of like a drug. I just keep doing whatever I did over and over and over again until she’s ready to barf from joy and laughter. Because it’s just so dang cute.

She’s getting really good with her hands. She can pick things up, pass them between her hands, and put things where she wants them (pretty much just her mouth). If she sees something she wants that’s out of reach, she tries hard to get it. Usually this ends with her tipping forward on her face. She’s been standing since she was a month old, but now she’s getting really good at pulling herself up (usually just by holding on to my stationary hands—she’s too little to really reach up and get a good grip on any furniture). And in the last week or so she’s been starting to walk (a little drunkenly) while holding onto my hands. She loves her toys, and she’s figured out all the ones with levers and buttons and whatever. Pretty smart, this one.

At her six month appointment she was a petite 14 pounds 15 ounces and 25 inches (20th percentile). I know, I know. You take a look at those cheeks and think I’m lying. But I’m not. She’s got chipmunk cheeks, semi-rolly thighs, and kind of beefy arms. But she’s got a slim little waist. So back off random ladies at Target.

And of course, the question on everyone’s mind…what’s the deal with her issues. Well, there are a few things we know and a few we don’t. It looks like the reflux, for the moment, is under control. And we did recently discover she’s got some wheezing. Without any other symptoms, this probably means asthma. For now she gets breathing treatments when she gets the Crazy Cough and/or wheezes. We’ll wait until she’s older to really commit to a diagnosis there. As for the night waking, we’ve ruled out a dairy allergy (I gave up dairy and we started her on Unicorn Formula, and it changed nothing) and serious intestinal issues. Mostly because if either were the culprit, her days would suck as bad as the nights, and they just don’t. She’s great during the day. Which leads us to…sleep training. The doctor (and Matt and I) are beginning to suspect that all of the issues that have kept her up at night for the last six months (the ear infections, reflux, constipation, gas, coughing, etc.) have created a night-waking habit. The health problems have been resolved, but the waking continues. So now we’re working on “teaching self-soothing”. That’s another post for another day.

So that’s our girl. Now it’s 6:11am, and she just sneezed herself (and her brother) awake. The joys of room-sharing. So I must go.

We love you, Emma bug! Happy Half Birthday!