Tag Archives: Emma

Emma’s 4 Month Stats

21 Aug

Here are Emma’s stats from her 4-month appointment:

Weight: 14 lb 10.5 oz (55.68 percentile)

Height: 24.5″ (47.17 percentile)

Head circumference: 16.54″ (84 percentile)

Baby girl has a big head! But she’s still cute.

20130811_100633She ended up getting a little bit of diarrhea and irritability from her shots. She had a really bad night of sleep after her appointment – woke up several times, and then wouldn’t let me put her back down starting at 4 am. So I had a very early morning. It was a triple whammy because Travis was gone on a work trip AND I had to work. The diarrhea cleared up after a day or so, and she went back to sleeping well at night after that first night. But I am going to schedule her appointments for Fridays from now on, so that I can be with her for those fussy days and not have to go to work on 5 hours of sleep.

Also somewhat strange, since her appointment, Emma has been really upset in the mornings at daycare. She’ll cry on and off for hours no matter what Charlotte does to calm her, until she wears herself out and takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. I feel so bad! But both me and Charlotte are at a loss for what the cause could be. When she’s with me, she seems to want a little bit more attention and gets bored faster but she’s not that much fussier. Anyway, I’m hoping it gets better. I can’t stand being at work when I know my little girl is upset!

Well, gotta go pick up my little sweetheart!

 

Tags: , , ,

Back to Work: How It’s Going

10 Aug

I’ve made it through 2 weeks of being back at work so far (a total of 6 days) and like I mentioned in my last post, things are going really well so far.

My two main concerns going into this change were: 1) being able to pump enough milk and 2) Emma taking good enough naps to not ruin her night sleep. I’m happy to report that both of those things are going as well as I had hoped!

First, milk. My work has a mother’s room that is only about a 1-minute walk from my office, which is great. It has 2 tables, a bunch of outlets, a fridge, microwave, cabinets, and a sink. I pump 3 times a day (usually around 10, 1 and 4) for a total of about 15 minutes. With the walk, setup, cleanup and pumping time, it probably takes about 20 minutes total. I’m paid hourly now that I’m only part-time, so I go in 30 minutes early to offset the time I spend pumping (and I figure I get at least an on-the-clock 15 minute break by law so I think it’s working out ok). I don’t have a laptop so sometimes I bring work that I can easily print off (like emails or presentations to review) but most of the time, I just count it as non-work time and read blogs or a book. (I’m currently reading Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan. If you like his stand-up comedy, you’d like the book!)

I had discussed my fears about not having enough milk with one of my friends who had gone back part-time after having her kids and she suggested I take a Go-Lacta Malunggay supplement. She said that it had helped her produce so much extra milk, she actually became engorged. So I figured, what the heck, it’s worth a shot. You can take 2-3 capsules 3 times a day but I’m only taking 1 a day, since I wanted to avoid having WAY too much milk. And I think it’s working. Each time I pump, I get 4 oz, sometimes 5 (total). Before I started taking the supplement, I was pumping only about 3 each time. Regardless of the explanation, I’m relieved that milk hasn’t been an issue so far.

So I bring my breast pump in a bag, and 3 empty bottles in a bottle cooler over to the mother’s room for my first pumping, and I leave them there until my last pumping. I use the 3 bottles I fill each day for the next day. I have been freezing the bottles from Thursday since I thought the milk could only be in the fridge for 72 hours before using or freezing, but I just read that 5 days is acceptable, so I guess I might just leave them in the fridge from now on.

Anyway, I ended up buying a pumping bra and I’m very glad that I did. Not only is it nice to have both hands free while pumping, it has been nice for modesty too, since there is almost always another woman in the mother’s room pumping too.

Second, naps. Emma has taken probably only 5 or 6 naps longer than 45 minutes on her own for me in her life. But at Charlotte’s house, she’ll take at least nap longer than an hour a day, sometimes two. Sometimes she even sleeps 2 hours! I’m really glad for both Charlotte and Emma’s sake that she’s napping so well – but I wish she would nap like that for me too! I asked Charlotte what she does to get her to nap like that, and one of her ideas was that I put her down for naps too early – she waits until Emma is ready to crack, whereas I had just been watching the clock and putting her down when it was ‘time.’

I’ve been trying Charlotte’s strategy the past couple of days and I will say that Emma goes down MUCH easier than before. For one of her naps today, I literally swaddled her and she fell asleep. No bouncing, no pacifier. It was amazing. I figured that since the timing was so perfect, she would sleep for a while. Nope. She woke up after about 35 minutes. Wah wah. But I’ll keep trying. Emma is not predictable in any sense, so maybe it’ll work tomorrow.

As far as my emotions about leaving Emma, I am definitely sad each morning when I drop her off, and I look at her picture a lot while I’m at work. But I have enjoyed being back at work a lot more than I expected. Things are crazy busy so it’s been a little stressful, but I love having adult responsibilities, doing something I’m good at, and having time to just sit and focus on what I’m doing, instead of feeling rushed or being interrupted. I also appreciate and enjoy Emma more during the evenings and on the days I’m home. So for now, this was definitely the right choice for us.

Luckily, Emma hasn’t yet had a bad night of sleeping on a ‘work night’ so I’m sure that’ll add some drama into the mix when she does. That is always the most daunting and scary part to me about Travis traveling for work (which he is doing every 2-3 weeks right now). Even though he no longer gets up at night to help with Emma (unless she’s waking up every hour or 2 and I know she isn’t hungry, which is rare), it’s just nice to know that he’s there – probably because he can watch her in the morning while I go back to bed for a few hours – like I did this morning. But overall, God has been VERY gracious to me while Travis is gone because there have only been a few times when I felt at the end of my rope. Emma has saved all her fussiness for when daddy’s back home. 😉

Tags: , , ,

Emma Grace: 4 Months

7 Aug

Our little Emma is 4 months old today (17.5 weeks)! She goes for her 4-month checkup next Monday, so I don’t have any stats yet. But I can definitely tell that she’s growing!

1002112_597445353619124_228706925_n

She has started wearing some 3-6 months clothes, and has started growing out of her smaller 3 month clothes. We still swaddle her for all of her naps and sleeping at night. Sometimes we swaddle her with one arm out because she LOVES sucking on her hands. In the next month or so, I think we’re going to start transitioning her to sleeping in her crib and being unswaddled. I’ve already started putting her down for naps in her crib sometimes. It has gone decently well. She seems to wake up a little bit sooner than when she’s in her Rock N Play but not too bad.

Speaking of naps, Emma still regularly sleeps for only 45 minutes when she’s put down – though she has taken longer naps at daycare, which is good! I think maybe we’re putting her down before she’s really tired and that’s why she doesn’t sleep longer? Every once in a while, though, she surprises us with a 1.5-2 hour nap on her own. I still hold her for at least one nap every day, just so she’ll sleep (and because now that I’m back to work, I want that time with her!). But I know she benefits from taking naps on her own too, so I put her down for naps too.

Night sleep continues to be great. Bedtime is between 8:30 and 9:30 every night and she sleeps until between 5:00 and 6:30 every morning. If she wakes up around 5, she’ll go back to sleep for a few hours. If she wakes up closer to 6:30, she’s up for the day (I mean, for 1.5 hours until she needs to take a nap). Emma can now stay awake for 1.5 – 2 hours between naps and be in a good mood almost the whole time.

1072261_603040393059620_1545140901_o

She drools almost constantly and in just the past week and a half, she has started talking a LOT – and very loud! Here’s a video of her squealing. How cute is she?!?

She’s also started making motions like she wants to roll over, both when she’s on her belly and on her back. She hasn’t quite figured it out yet but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. Here’s a video of her squirming and making her attempts at rolling over.

1094631_604771679553158_1727249714_o

She seems to like her playmat less at this age, and hasn’t been a huge fan of walks lately, but she does enjoy tolerate her carseat better and still LOVES her Bumbo seat. I’m going to start looking around for a used jumperoo, because I think she’d like the extra stimulation.

1078946_603040189726307_314242986_o

When Emma is on her back and we hold a toy close to her chest, she can put her hands together and grab the toy. She can also hold on to a toy and bring it up to her mouth. She follows voices and objects with her eyes.

She’s still not a huge fan of tummy time but it’s slowly getting better. She has really good neck strength though, and can keep her head in line with her body when pulled up to sitting.

965364_603040129726313_1650043583_o

The big milestone for Month 4 was that Emma took her first camping trip! We went up to Jefferson Lake with our care group for our annual camping trip and stayed 2 nights in a tent. I was really dreading it before we went, having visions of Emma waking up really early and needing to be bounced outside the tent to get back to sleep. But she actually slept really well! She woke up a few times, but we got her back to sleep fairly easily. And we didn’t have to get up early at all – the first morning she slept until 7:30 and the second, until 8:15!

1082151_607427572620902_1172592550_o 1091192_607427502620909_1214236618_o

If you’re wondering how you go camping with a 4-month-old, we brought her Rock N Play along to sleep in, and at night, we bundled her up in a long-sleeve sleeper, a fleece sleepsack swaddler, and then put a doubled-up fleece blanket on top of her. I know – GAH loose blanket! But she can’t move around in her Rock N Play so it wasn’t a big deal. We also put a hat on her. She seemed to stay warm! 1097212_607427729287553_1835218033_o 1102599_607427889287537_2014112910_o 1147535_607427845954208_2056956933_oHappy 4 Months Emma Elf!

P.S. I went back to work on July 30 (3 days a week) and so far everything is going really well! Emma is doing well at daycare and I’ve been able to pump enough milk every day for 3 full meals for Emma. Work is CRAZY busy, so it’s been a little stressful, but overall, I’m happy with my decision to return to work part-time. I would definitely have a hard time leaving Emma 5 days in a row though!

Tags: , ,

Emma’s 3-Month Pictures

21 Jul

When we were back in Minnesota for the 4th of July, we had our good friend Jen from Kitestrings Photography take Emma’s 3-month pictures. I was hoping to capture Emma’s great wide smile but unfortunately, she was not in a very smiley mood during our photo shoot, due to her only taking a 10-minute nap on our way down to the Cities. We got some great pictures anyway though, thanks to Jen’s talent! These are some of my favorites:

IMG_6832 (Large)

IMG_6918 (Large)

IMG_7112bw (Large) IMG_6961bw (Large) IMG_6999 (Large) IMG_7037 (Large) IMG_7071 (Large) IMG_7073bw (Large) IMG_7078 (Large) IMG_7083 (Large) IMG_7088 (Large)

IMG_7028 (Large)

IMG_7021bw (Large)IMG_7040bw (Large)Ok, so I had a lot of favorites. If you’re in the Twin Cities area and are looking for a great outdoor photographer, check Jen out – though you might have to wait a few months because she’s 8 months pregnant with a little girl of her own!

Thanks again Jen for the great pictures!

 

Tags: , ,

Emma Grace: 3 Months

7 Jul

At 3 months (13 weeks), Emma is roughly 12.5 lbs, 25 inches long with a head circumference of 16 inches (according to my measurements since she doesn’t go back to the doctor until she’s 4 months old). At her 2-month appointment on June 10, she was 10 lbs 5.5 oz (22nd percentile), 23.5 inches long (86th percentile) with a head circumference of 15.16 inches (53rd percentile). So she’s growing well!
image
Since she’s so tall, she’s outgrown some of her 0-3 month clothes, especially when she wears cloth diapers. And because it’s finally summer and we still swaddle Emma at night and for naps, she hasn’t gotten much use out of the long-sleeved sleepers that fit her right now – and probably won’t before she’s too big for them. Sad!
image
Emma is a very smiley girl and is the happiest in the morning. I love going into her room in the morning and being greeted by her big toothless grin. She smiles a lot after her good naps too.
image
Little by little, Emma has started to like things she didn’t before. She goes longer on walks without crying or fussing – we can make it a full 20 minutes now! She’ll fall asleep in her carseat in the car (but still after she cries for 5-10 minutes) and she’s mostly stopped crying when we take her out of the bathtub. She hardly ever cries when getting her diaper changed or getting dressed.
image
In the past week, Emma has really discovered her hands. She loves to look at them and put them in her mouth. She also looks at people when they talk to her, and follows them and toys with her eyes.
image

Emma likes to make noises when she’s awake but she almost never grunts in her sleep anymore. Glad she outgrew that! She’s started to laugh in her sleep, which makes me hopeful that real laughing is just right around the corner.
image
Emma consistently sleeps 7-8 hours as her long stretch at night, except the past couple nights when she’s been going through a growth spurt. She goes down for the night around 9:30 and sleeps until about 5. After I feed her, she’ll go right back to sleep for another couple of hours. She usually is ‘up for the day’ between 6 and 7:30. We still swaddle her but she’s on the verge of outgrowing it, now that she likes her hands so much.
image
Emma still naps the best in my arms and gets really difficult when she’s overtired. But I’ve been having a hard time sitting around so much, so I’ve started alternating putting her down and holding her for naps. If I put her down (after she’s already asleep), she’ll only last about 45 minutes. I use that time for showering, laundry, cleaning, prayer/Bible study and other projects. If I hold Emma during her nap, she sleeps 1.5 – 2 hours. So I use that time to read, watch Netflix, email, blog, research things, etc. It’s working for now. And since she’s sleeping so well at night, I don’t really feel the need to change it (though going back to work might change my mind).
image
Things Emma does when she’s awake:

* Plays on her playmat, watching the blinking star that plays music and batting at the hanging toys, especially the frog
* Listens to music while mommy holds her reclined on her legs and moves her arms to the beat like she’s dancing
* Swings or sits on mommy’s lap while being read a book or her Big Picture Story Bible
* Goes on a walk around the yard or neighborhood
* Lies on her back while kicking her legs and inspecting her hands
* Attempts tummy time for a few minutes (not a big fan)
* Gets a bath or grooming (which consists of washing her sticky hands, arms, face and neck)
* Eats! She has cut her nursing time down to about 20-30 minutes (10-15 on each side)
* Watches mommy work in the kitchen or do laundry
* Takes in all the new sights and sounds when she goes shopping or to one of mommy’s friend’s houses
image
Even though Emma isn’t a big fan of tummy time, she has pretty good neck control, I think from the way I nurse her. This past week, we bought her a Bumbo seat. She likes it a lot!
image
image
But it’s a lot of work for a little girl! So she only stays in there for 5-10 minutes.

Last Tuesday, we had Emma’s 3-month pictures taken by our good friend, Jen. I can’t wait to see how they turned out in a few weeks! Emma was a little fussy during pictures but Jen said she did really well compared to some other kids she’s photographed.

And that’s Emma at 3 months!

Tags: , ,

12 Weeks Postpartum

27 Jun

It’s been 12 weeks since I gave birth to our little girl. Here’s how things are going:

Physical Recovery

I feel more and more like my old self every day. Albeit, a weaker and less fit self but it’s still nice.

With Travis traveling a lot for work now and Emma not liking her carseat a whole ton, running, and working out in general, has really taken a backseat. Hopefully I’ll figure out how to squeeze something in but I’m just trying to be patient right now – it’s only for a season. Emma and I do take a short walk every day so I’m not a total bum.

I had started to take birth control with a low dose of estrogen (Lo Loestrin) but when I went to get my prescription filled after finishing the sample pack, I discovered that our insurance didn’t cover much of it, so it would cost me almost $90 a month. Um, no. So I’m going to start taking a generic progesterone-only pill that my insurance will cover.

I still have a lot of breakouts on my face, though it does seem to be slowly getting better.

I still have the linea negra, though that is also starting to fade slowly.

And finally, I’ve started sleeping on my stomach again! I mostly sleep on my back and side still because of breast fullness but that’sbgotten a lot better than it was even a month ago. Oh how I’ve missed sleeping on my stomach!

Body Weight / Image
image
image
I haven’t lost any weight since my 6-week postpartum update, so I’m still 7-8 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. I bought a few new pairs of pants that I can wear to work, a couple pairs of shorts, and some looser tops, so I’m not feeling tons of pressure to lose the weight – and I’m pretty sure it’d be darn near impossible anyway since some of it comes from having grown 2 cup sizes (pregnancy and then breastfeeding). And though I would love to tone up my stomach, it’s just not my focus right now. I’ll get there eventually.

My eating habits haven’t been the greatest either. With Travis gone, I’ve been surviving on leftovers and easy things like cereal, bagels and toast. I do have dinner with friends on a regular basis so that helps me eat healthier meals (since they’re cooking). My plan is to cook healthy meals while Travis is home, with enough extra to give me leftovers for lunch or dinner while he’s gone. I’m also going to try to eat more fruits and veggies.

Emotional

The emotional aspect of motherhood is still hard for me. There are some days when I love being a mom and feel optimistic about the new pace of life – those days are a breath of fresh air that help rejuvenate me. But other days are a struggle. I long for the old days of freedom and ease. I feel isolated at home and totally unsure of my decisions as a mother (specifically regarding Emma’s sleep habits). I get discouraged because I don’t have time to do things like workout or cook dinner.

But I’ve been reminding myself of 2 truths for encouragement:

One, I will never again have this much time to devote to one child. I won’t be able to sit and hold Emma or her siblings for naps when she’s older and not an only child, so instead of wishing this time away so that I could do laundry or dishes, or an exercise video, I should enjoy it – it’s only temporary.

Two, the words of James: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

My main struggle is faith – am I truly trusting that this is how God wants me to spend my time? Or do I think there’s something more noble, fulfilling and worthy of my energy? Not every woman is called to be a mother, but I am. And after my calling as a wife, there is nothing more important for me than being a mother. It may look differently than I expected (and it does!) but it’s exactly what God expected and planned for me. I’m still learning how to let go of expectations and joyfully embrace the reality that God has ordained for my life. I’m sure it’ll be a lifelong lesson!

God is using parenting to teach me self-sacrifice and to find my joy and worth in Him alone. I am being shown how much of my identity and self-worth has been tied up in being productive and doing things I’m good at – or at least things I know a lot about. With those reassurances stripped away, I am completely dependent on God’s help and grace. There’s nothing like the feeling of helplessness to drive me into God’s arms. So for that, I’m thankful. And I’m praying that God would continue to help me embrace my new reality and joyfully make these sacrifices for my family, as well as give me the wisdom I so desperately need.

And that’s where I’m at 12 weeks postpartum!

Tags: , , , ,

Learning Our Parenting Style

21 Jun

I’m supposed to go back to work in 2.5 weeks. This has caused me to panic just a bit.

I feel like we’re just finally getting to know Emma. For the first 3 weeks of her life, she was pretty easygoing and slept quite a bit. Then we had the month of her crying almost all day, every day, due to her swallowing too much air during nursing. When she started feeling better, we were on vacation for 2 weeks. So we’ve really only been at home with Emma alert and happy for about 2 weeks – and Emma’s almost 3 months old!

With my return to work looming, I have been feeling pressure to get Emma on a schedule – though we have been following the routine of eat-play-sleep for several weeks, it was at different times everyday. Emma went to bed at a different time, meaning she woke up at a different time. So each day was different. Returning to work, I’ll have to leave the house at a specific time, which means getting Emma up at a specific time. And with Travis traveling for work a lot this summer, I’ll be on my own for many of the days I work. I think a schedule would also be helpful for my friend who is going to be taking care of Emma, so she doesn’t need to constantly guess what Emma wants.

The only problem is, putting her on a 3-hour schedule hasn’t been working. I’ve discovered that Emma’s maximum awake time (from the end of one nap to the beginning of the next) is about an hour and 15 minutes – and that means starting to try to get her to sleep for her nap after about an hour. She’s not awake for very long but anything longer and she gets really fussy and it takes her a very long time to fall asleep.

So she’s awake for about an hour and 15 minutes, and her naps are usually 45 minutes long if I put her down. If I think she needs a longer nap, I’ll hold her for the first 45 minutes and then put her down. She’ll usually sleep an additional 45 minutes that way, but sometimes she wakes up when I try to put her down. Sometimes I’m able to get her back to sleep for a longer nap but lately, I’ve just been feeding her after 2 hours if she’s wide awake. Emma has taken longer naps in the Baby Bjorn, but I think she’s getting to the age when she’s too interested in what’s going on around her that she has to be really tired to sleep in there now.

And we’re still rocking, bouncing, and shushing her to sleep with a pacifier and swaddle, both at bedtime and for her naps. I don’t really see a way around that yet without lots and lots of crying – and I could totally see her being one of those babies who cries so hard they throw up. I’m not ready to go there – and I’m not sure I ever will be. I’m mostly hoping that as Emma gets older, her need for that amount of help to sleep will decrease. I know there are plenty of people who would say that we’re teaching Emma to depend on props for sleep, and who knows, they might be right. But right now, we’re parenting with the philosophy of “It’s not a problem until it is.”

Otherwise, it’s easy to drive yourself crazy. I know because I’ve been driving myself crazy. I’ve read about 6 different books on how to get your baby to sleep, plus countless blogs and forum posts. I’ve been so unsure and confused as to what I think we should be doing with Emma that I’ve changed my mind probably about 100 times. I’ve been tempted to laugh/cry when I hear people say, “Do whatever you know is right for your family.” Um, that’s exactly what I don’t know and what I’m trying to figure out. Travis has been very encouraging and laidback, reminding me to just focus on one thing.

The most helpful book I read was Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. It helped me see that going from being rocked to sleep and held during naps to being put down awake and sleeping on her own for naps (she does fine at night) would be a very big and unwelcome change for Emma. So instead of overcorrecting for everything we ‘shouldn’t’ be doing (I have more thoughts on parenting shoulds that I’ll share in a later post) with Emma, we’re taking it slow – focusing first on getting her to sleep in her Rock ‘n’ Play for naps (meaning we get her to sleep and then put her in there). But again, if I can tell that she needs a longer nap or would wake up if I put her down, I just hold her. That’s why I haven’t been blogging a ton! Though I am getting pretty good at writing posts on my phone (which is what I’m doing right now).

So what’s my plan for returning to work? First, I decided to take my full allotment of FMLA leave and not return to work until July 30. This will give Emma another 3 weeks to mature and me an additional 3 weeks to figure out how best to mother her. That way, hopefully I can leave Emma with my friend without worrying about her crying all day – not fun for Emma or Charlotte. But maybe the 4-month sleep regression will make that a hard time to go back too…

Second, I’m continuing the eat-play-sleep routine on a 2 to 3 hour schedule. It has been very helpful for me personally to be ok with feeding Emma every 2 hours if that is when she wakes up. It has taken so much pressure off to not have to make her get to a certain time. And I’m not frustrated when she wakes up after 45 minutes because I expect it (though I hope that she extends her naps as she gets older).

Last, I’m going to stop worrying so much. I’m going to surround myself with similar-minded mothers – those who didn’t let their kids cry it out but can testify that they eventually grow out of whatever phase they’re in. And most of all, I’m going to trust God to guide me and give me the wisdom I need to be the mother that Emma needs and that I’m called to be. Parenting is just one more aspect of the Christian life that requires a moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit and relationship with Jesus. I don’t have to fear ‘messing it up’ with Emma because God is actively at work in our lives. This verse has been a great comfort to me recently:

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Parents – how did you decide on your parenting style?

Tags: , , , , ,

Flying with a 2 month old

10 Jun

As I’ve mentioned, almost 3 weeks ago, we flew back to Minnesota for my brother-in-law’s high school graduation. It was Emma’s first plane ride!

Since Emma and I were there for 2 weeks – weeks during which she changed a lot – the flight out was a much different experience from the flight back.

But first….

Luggage and Check-In

Southwest allows 2 free checked bags so Travis and I both checked a duffel bag (Emma’s stuff was in mine). We also checked Emma’s Rock ‘N’ Play Sleeper in the box it came in and her carseat/base, since we weren’t going to use it in the airport or on the plane. I was concerned about the carseat getting thrown around and coming tumbling down the luggage chute but the airline treated it as an oversized luggage item and covered it in plastic, so it wasn’t a big deal at all.

We didn’t bring our stroller because it’s bulky and Emma prefers the Baby Bjorn anyway. The only thing we carried on the plane was the diaper bag.

Check-in went smoothly because I had researched what we needed for Emma ahead of time – Southwest just asks for a child’s birth certificate to verify their age. I would assume that most airlines are the same but I’m not sure. They stapled Emma’s “non-ticketed lap child” boarding pass to mine.

Flight Out to Minneapolis

Emma was 7 weeks old for the flight out there and did really well.  We carried her through the airport and security in the Baby Bjorn (you can keep babies in a carrier for security – they have you go through the metal detector instead of the full body scanner and then wipe your hands for residue). She slept through pretty much all of that.

We got on the plane during family boarding and chose a window and middle seat. We flew Southwest so it was a full flight. I kept Emma in the carrier until we pulled away from the gate and then got set up to nurse her, which I did as soon as we started to take off. She nursed for about 20 minutes, we put her back in the carrier (on Travis that time) and she fell right back asleep.

Denver to Minneapolis is only a 2-hour flight so Emma was still sleeping when they announced that we were making our final descent. We quick woke her up and I started nursing her to help her ears pop with the change in altitude. I could tell that the way down bothered her a bit more than the way up had. Once we landed, I burped her and she started to cry. We put her back in the carrier and she settled down within about 5 minutes (though it seemed like longer).

I had to bounce and walk with Emma while we waited for our bags and she was kind of fussy for a few hours after that but she was just coming off her rough swallowing-lots-of-air weeks so that might’ve been the main cause.

Flight Back to Denver

Over the course of our vacation, Emma became a lot more alert. A few days before our flight back to Denver, when she was almost 9 weeks old, she started wanting to be entertained and getting bored easily. So I had a feeling the second flight wouldn’t be as smooth-sailing as the first. Fortunately, my mom flew back with me and Emma so I had help with our stuff and moral support for the flight. (Travis had flown back the previous Sunday because he had to work.)

I had planned to give Emma a bottle after discovering the challenge of nursing in a cramped airplane seat. We put her milk in a small cooler and I took the contents out for going through security, which worked fine (the 3 oz rule doesn’t apply to infant milk or formula). On takeoff, Emma took the bottle fine, but she wasn’t satisfied with it, her toys, pacifier, being bounced, rocked or even in the Baby Bjorn. So I ended up nursing her for about 15 minutes anyway. That took care of the first hour of the flight.

IMG_4783 (Large) IMG_4780 (Large)

My mom and I hoped that nursing Emma would put her to sleep but she wasn’t interested in sleeping even though she was tired. We tried her toys some more – a couple of rattles that she really likes – while she lie on her back on my lap and that kept her entertained for another 15 minutes. Then about 30 minutes before our scheduled landing (when we had started descending anyway), I nursed her again. She didn’t really settle down until I could stand up with her in the Baby Bjorn as we were deplaning. But almost as soon as we started walking around the airport, she was out.

So flying wasn’t completely without incident but it went well overall I’d say – which is good because we’re headed back to Minnesota for the 4th of July! I have to take advantage of my maternity leave while I can.

Tags: , , ,

Emma: 2 Months

7 Jun

Our little baby Emma is 2 months old today! It’s hard to believe that that much time has gone by already. I go back to work in a month. 😦

image

During our Minnesota vacation, Emma has been quite busy! She has:

* Flown on a plane for the first time
* Ridden for 6 hours in the car at once (with stops for nursing)
* Gone boating 3 times, crossing into Canadian waters
* Gone out to dinner at a restaurant
* Attended a high school graduation and open house
* Shopped at Trader Joe’s, the regular grocery store and the Apache Mall
* Gone on a long walk with Grandma K and mommy
* Been bathed 3 times in 3 different tubs/sinks
* Spent lots of time outside at the cabin
* Been held almost all daytime hours by loving relatives
* Drank many bottles of expressed breastmilk

image

At 2 months, Emma:

* Gets excited about things she can see, like the mobile on the swing my parents have, people’s faces, and noisy rattles – her little arms and legs really get going!
* Loves to lie on her back and kick or have her legs bicycled
* Smiles often
* Talks when she’s starting to get sleepy
* Is starting to want to be entertained when she’s awake
* Likes getting a bath but not getting out or having lotion put on
* Eats 4-5 oz per feeding, or nurses for 45-60 minutes
* Generally follows an eat-play-sleep routine – she nurses every 3 hours for 45-60 minutes, plays for 30-45 minutes and sleeps for 1-2 hours
* Often nurses every 2 hours in the morning
* Sleeps for 4-6 hours as her longest nighttime stretch

We don’t have Emma’s 2 month pediatrician appointment until next week so I don’t know her growth stats yet, but I’ll post them when I do.

image

Tags: , , ,

Emma is a whole new baby.

6 Jun

Greetings from Minnesota! Emma and I are spending the week at my parents’ house in Rochester – without daddy (Travis)! It’s been going well but we miss him like crazy.

Almost 2 weeks have gone by since I posted Emma’s 7 Week update and things have changed a lot in that time – for the better!

Right before we left for Minnesota 2 weeks ago, I took Emma back to the lactation consultant. A friend had pointed out the clicking she does while eating – I knew she clicked a lot, but she had done it since birth, even when latched correctly, so I had dismissed it. But since I have been trying everything and anything to help Emma be more comfortable, I figured re-visiting the lactation consultant to ask about it couldn’t hurt.

I was able to make an appointment for the same day I called and Emma cooperated by clicking while I nursed her at the lactation consultant’s office. The lady said that Emma was latched correctly, her palate was fine, she wasn’t tongue-tied, and that the clicking sounded like her way of compensating for too fast of a milk flow. She suggested nursing her in a different hold than the football hold so that the milk wouldn’t go straight down her throat. The position she suggested had me recline quite a bit and lay Emma on her stomach diagonally across my torso (like the cross-cradle hold, only more reclined). She said I could also use the scissor hold to slow down the flow of milk, break the suction to relatch Emma if she just kept clicking and to keep burping her frequently.

It took several sessions for me to get used to nursing Emma a different way, and I was tempted to not change how I was nursing her as a result, but I reminded myself that if I was willing to give up all the foods I loved (including my beloved coffee) to help Emma, why wouldn’t I be willing to change how I nurse her? So I stuck with it.

And I am so glad I did because that was the answer! After just a few feedings, Emma stopped crying after eating. Instead, she was alert and happy. She also started burping a lot more regularly. She still cries before falling asleep almost every time (because she’ll go from happy and smiling to crying in about 30 seconds) but it’s a very manageable amount of crying, and she’s alert and happy for at least 30-45 minutes before needing a nap. Several of Travis’ relatives commented that Emma didn’t seem to cry any more than a normal baby, which made me happy.

We’ve stopped giving her the acid reflux medication (we kept forgetting and I noticed that Emma was still fine) and I’ve slowly been introducing dairy back into my diet – starting with the most necessary morning cup of joe! Emma’s improvements have stayed consistent – praise the Lord!

I do have to be very mindful of how I nurse Emma now, which means no more reading or blogging during that time (I’ve tried and always ended up regretting it). And it takes her 45-60 minutes to nurse now instead of 20-30 like before. But those sacrifices are worth it to have a happy baby! And I’m sure those things will get better in time.

I’m still pumping about 2-3 oz (1-1.5 per side) before feeding Emma following her longest stretch of sleep at night, so that she’s not completely inundated – and it works out well because then I have a bottle stash built up. I also burp her 3-4 times per feeding, so that the air she swallows doesn’t get trapped under a bunch of milk.

Nighttime sleep is still a little hit or miss – some nights, she sleeps well for 5-6 hours straight but other nights, she only goes 4 hours. And after that first nighttime feeding around 3 am, she usually grunts a lot and only sleeps for another 2 hours. We try to burp and fart her but it doesn’t always seem to help.

Regardless, Emma is doing a million times better now than before. I feel like we’ve really turned a corner. I am so thankful that it was a relatively easy fix – and that we’ve finally figured it out! Thanks to all those who prayed for us.

See you tomorrow for Emma’s 2-Month update!

Tags: , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →