5 1/2 Months

Emma has been very stable the last couple of weeks - we had a GI appointment this week and we are going to start slowly taking down her reflux meds. We're starting this week with decreasing her nighttime dose from 15mg to 7.5mg of Prevacid and keeping the morning dose at 15mg. If she does well, we'll try decreasing the morning to 7.5mg as well in a few weeks. She is gaining weight at a normal pace now and is right below 15lbs and very long at 26.5" That's only 1 inch shorter than Will was at 5 mos, so pretty long for a girl! She is very happy and smiles so much. She mostly loves to be with people, especially her family. Emma has really been developing a love for Daddy and wants him to hold her when he gets home from work. It's a nice development because she was such a mama's girl from birth (not that I minded the attention). She is still on the same basic schedule, but takes a shorter morning nap (1-2hrs) and a long afternoon nap (3-4hrs) and then a little bitty nap before dinner most days - sometimes she won't do that one! She wants to be a big kid like her brother I think. She goes to bed at 7 or 7:30 and usually sleeps until about 8am.

Will is such a comedian these days. He always wants to make people laugh. He tells jokes and makes funny faces. He says the sweetest things too. I can tell that he has a soft heart for me and his baby sister especially. Daddy is his wrestling buddy and portable jungle gym, and they are loving the same movies and tv shows. Will even requested to watch The Hobbit today. When I asked him if he liked Gollum, he said "He's my precious." Very funny - with the Gollum voice and everything. Will is also so smart. He amazes me. He was reading my feeding chart I keep for Emma. He was reading the numbers out loud, then stopped and asked me why one of the squares was blank because all the others in the row had been filled in. He brings me books and asks me "Can I help you read it?" While I read, he also points his finger to the words on the page as I read them, and copies what I say. He can pick his name out on the page and can read all his capital letters and most lower case ones now too. I'm excited for when we can afford to send him to pre-school because I know he will enjoy learning even more. He is so bright. He still can't draw a lick, but we have plenty of time for that later :o)

5 Months Old

Emma is 5 months old today! The last 2 weeks have gone much better than the previous month. Emma is now eating 4 times a day, nursing in the morning around 8am and in the afternoon around 4pm, and having a 5oz milk + 5Tb cereal bottle around 12pm, and a 6-7oz milk + 6-7Tb cereal bottle around 7pm. She goes to bed about 7:30pm and sleeps until 7:30-8am. Such a change from just a few weeks ago! Having the right meds and the thickened feedings have really helped her feel so much better. We are going to her Peds ENT next week and we'll do a weight check. We think she's getting chubbier every day and are hoping she's still gaining weight well (we're guessing about 14lbs, we'll see :o)). Emma is able to stay awake longer stretches now and enjoys the Jumperoo, the exersaucer, Bumbo seat and just being held and cuddled - especially sitting with Daddy, although she is a mama's girl when she's upset, hungry or tired. She is taking 3 naps during the day. Usually 2 hrs in the morning, 2-3 hrs in the afternoon, and 1 hr in the evening around 5-6pm. She is very alert and interactive. She is usually happy even if she misses her nap, which is a change from Will, who turned into a gremlin without his naps! She is a great joy and we love her to pieces!

Happy Halloween 2010

Halloween was fun this year because Will as old enough to be pretty excited about it. For the last week or more, he's been asking me about when he gets to put on his costume, trick or treat and have a "Halloween party." Yesterday, we walked across the street to the pumpkin patch at the college. We picked out a pumpking and Will rode the kiddy train, then we walked back home. Today after his nap, we carved the pumpkin (which started out Thomas and became a face because it was taking too dang long and we couldn't find out pumpkin carving set!), then put on our costumes to trick or treat. Will was Thomas, Emma was a monkey (Will's costume from his 1st Halloween), and I was a princess. We started to go around our neighborhood at 6pm, but no one was out! We tried 3 houses and not a single one even answered the door. At the last house, the person saw us through the front window, then proceed to turn around and turn off all the lights! So we called our neighbors from our old house and they said everyone was out - so we drove over to our old street and did trick or treating there. Will got pretty scared by the haunted house, but besides that he had a great time and enjoyed getting candy. We came home to hand out candy - and we only had ONE set of trick or treaters! We knew we lived in a quiet neighborhood (mostly retired folks) but sheesh! There's only 3 houses on our street, so maybe that's why no one came. Oh well, lots of leftover candy for us!



And an update on Emma: she is doing very well with 30mg Prevacid + thickened feedings. Per the GI doc, I'm trying to do two or three 5-7oz bottles a day of pumped milk with 1 Tb cereal/oz of milk, then nursing the rest of the day. It's kind of a pain to pump so much, but it's helped her reflux so much that she's back to sleeping 9-10hrs straight at night. She hadn't been able to do that since she was 13 wks (7 wks ago!) so we're thrilled. She is happier, growing very well, and just doing so much better.

Emma 4 Months & Will Potty Training

Emma is 4 months old today. She had a ENT appointment and weight check today because her reflux is acting up again. She hasn't been eating well this week, so she only gained 2 oz since last Wednesday, putting her just under 12 and half pounds (25%), but 25" (85%)! This mommy's opinion is she needs her meds upped after gaining over 2lbs since they prescribed it, but we have to wait to see the Peds GI, hopefully next week. In other areas, Emma is doing very well. She sits well supported and can almost pull herself all the way up to the sitting position from her back - pretty early, probably because she is so light. She started eating rice cereal a few times a week off a spoon and does very well with that. She giggles and laughs and talks, but all in her own way - you can definitely tell what she is doing, but the vocal cord paralysis is very apparent when she's being verbal. But it's also adorable and even Will tries to copy her and smiles when she's "talking." She loves to hit hanging toys, chew on teething rings, watch TV (yeah, yeah, I know it's "bad"), and most of watch her big brother Will and talk to her mommy. She's the happiest when she's watching things happen around her and loves to stare at people and smiles so big. Emma is a sweet, brave girl and I love her fiercely, as does her dad and big brother.

This week Will started potty training - he's been at it for 3 days and has only had 1 accident! I think that must be some kind of record, but I'm biased of course. I think it's like walking - he didn't want to walk alone until he was 15 months, but once he started, he didn't do all the falling down that most toddlers do, just started walking one day and didn't stop. He's a big helper for me during the day with Emma. He lets the dogs in and out for the potty, feeds them, gets things for the baby, and frequently tells me, "I'm so proud of you too Mommy." He also lets me nap some mornings when Emma has had a bad night, which is wonderful and something you can't do with all 3 year olds! This is a hard time in our lives with Emma's difficulties, Jered's dad being so ill, and Jered being gone so much, but it makes me appreciate what a wonderful gift God has given me in my family. If Will wasn't such a good boy, Emma so sweet tempered, and Jered so supportive, I think I would have stuck my head in the sand weeks ago!

Fire Station Open House

We went to the Chula Vista Fire Station open house this morning with some families from church. It was really fun, especially for Will. He got to dress up like a fireman and run with a fire hose, climb in a fire engine and ambulance, ride in a fire engine "wagon," build a toy boat with Jered, and watch a helicopter landing and a pretend rescue mission.