More Firsts

I totally forgot to mention that Emma has been going to the cradle roll class on Sunday mornings for 3 weeks now & she is doing really good. I know I waited a while before I took her but I wanted her to be able to sit in the seat by herself + I wanted her post up period to over before I took her too. Also they have been remodeling the church building & the class room wasn't set up until right before Memorial Day. Last night she went to Wednesday night class for the first time & guess who is the teacher, me. Its been a long time since I taught cradle role & Morgan came for the first time last night too. We had a great time.

Emma started eating baby food over the weekend for the first time & she didn't really like it, or it may have been what I gave her. I fed her green beans & looking back on it now I probably should have started off with something like applesauce, but I didn't. She never liked the green beans but she did better a few days later when she tried peaches. Today I gave her applesauce & she loved it.

Emma is also close to waving & sitting up on her own. When you wave she will raise her arm with her hand open but her hand & fingers don't move yet. As for her sitting up, she does really good as long as she has her boppy to support her but occassionally still falls on her face.

Here is Uncle Shawn holding Emma for the first time. Yes you read that correctly, the first time. He has been scared to hold her & he lives in the DC area so he isn't here but every few months.

Look at this face. I am feeding her green beans & she doesn't like them at all. I am hoping she will warm up to them next time.

Firsts

Yesterday Emma went to her cardiologist for a follow-up appointment & it went very well. She has gained back all her weight & then some so she is now 14 1bs, 2 oz. Dr. O said he was a little over eager & took her off the Lasix too soon & that she will probably be on it for a couple more months than she can come off it completely.

After he appointment we went shopping for cousin Caroline's birthday & I put Emma in the "big girl" part of the stroller. If you are familiar with travel system stroller you are aware how you can put the car seat on top of the stroller which is normally what we do but I thought I would give the "big girl" seat a try. Well Emma wasn't in favor of it at all, she whimpered the whole time. I actually ended up carrying her most of the time we were shopping until she got tired & I just laid her down & she went to sleep (that part was great).

Another first this week was her high chair. She used it for the first time & seems to really like it, although she is easily destracted in it. She is constantly watching to see where Spencer is & what he is doing.

Then we got down her Jumeroo from the storage room this week. She seemed to be getting bored with the toys she had. Let me just say she loves it. It is a gently used from a friend I used to work with who also gave us Emma's swing & walker which also has come in handy.

Here is a few pictures of her firsts from the week.

Trying out the high chair for the first time.

Enjoying her jumperoo

Pool Time

Today we took Emma swimming for the first time with cousin Morgan & Beverly. The babies had a great time. I really thought Emma would cry, especially since she didn't have a very good afternoon nap but we stayed & played for about an hour. We are looking forward to more playtime at the pool this summer with her cousins. Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

Emma checking out her new car float.

Morgan in her float

The babies having a chat but Morgan decided to put her finger in Emma's mouth.

Emma trying out Morgan's float

Morgan in Emma's car float

Poor Daddy

Chris came home from work on Tuesday sick with the crud. He tried to go to urgent care after work but they close at 6pm, so he went first thing Wed. morning. They told him it was probably a bacterial infection & gave him a Z-pac & cough syrup so he could get some sleep (he didn't sleep at all Tues night). Being the stubborn man he tends to be sometimes he went to work after his doctor appointment on Wed only to come home at lunch time because he felt so bad. If you know Chris you are aware that he is hardly ever sick & if he is its usually only for a 24 hour period. Its as if his body hits a reject button & magically he is all better the next day, but not this time. He is full blown sick this time. He has the sore throat, chest & nasal congestion + a bad cough. He went back to work on Thursday but he still felt terrible, see what I mean, stubborn. The doctor told him to keep his distance from me & Emma to keep us from catching it so he has been sleeping on the couch & talking to us from across the room. It is killing him staying away from Emma but he doesn't want her sick.

So due to Chris being sick I have been doing all the nightly feeding all by myself & man am I tired. We wake Emma up twice during the night at 11pm & 3am & Chris normally does the 11pm feeding so I can get some rest but since he has been sick he hasn't been doing the feedings this week. Plus Chris normally does all the nightly feedings on the weekends so I can get a break but he is still sick & I had to do them last night. He is starting to sound better but he still doesn't feel all that great. I can definitely tell you he isn't happy about being sick at all. He told me the other day he would rather have a broken limb then be sick & I told him he hasn't experienced what its really like to be sick in a very long & this is what being sick is like for normal people. Feel better soon Daddy.

7 months old

Sunday Emma turned 7 months old & we are having a hard time believing she is that old already. She getting really close to sitting on her own. She can do it for a minute or so then topples over sideways or on her face, which of course makes her mad. We are still doing tummy time with her to strengthen her neck & arm muscles & she is doing much better. The past few days she has turned over from her tummy to her back several times. She is doing much better at eating her cereal especially since I started making it a little thicker. She seems to be responding really well to being back on the Lasix. Infact she is eating more than she was when she was on the Lasix a few weeks ago. She is up to eating 23 oz of formula a day.

Here are a couple pictures we took today. I wish we had taken some yesterday, she wore hand-me-down clothes from her cousins Kaylee & Caroline to church for morning & evening services.

This is Emma practicing sitting & playing on her Boppy & her quilt from Mimi. Note the background with Spencers toys all over the floor. He insists on dumping them out of the basket. (Sorry its a little blurry)

Us playing with Emma's piano & practicing sitting. Chris noticed as soon as he came home we were dressed in the same colors, not intentional. Whats up with my goofy smile.

Time for Emma to go nite-nite so we are ready books. This books plays "Lullaby & Good Night" when you push the blue star in the corner & then moon lights up. Its one of her favorites. Spencer had to come listen too.

Back on Meds

Over the last 2 weeks we noticed Emma's feeding starting to decline & her desire to eat was declining as well. Then over the weekend we notice her retraction on her throat again. Dr. O, her cardiologist told us to be on the look out for these signs plus some others & if they occurred to give him a call. Well I called this morning after struggling with her to eat a bottle & her cereal then the nurse had me come in this afternoon.

One of the first things they always check is her weight & unfortunately she has lost 8 oz since she was there 2 weeks ago. When Dr. O came in he asked when things started to change & it was almost right after he took her off of the Lasix so he put her back on it. Her respirations were higher than they should be so her little body was burning too much calories again. They also did an echo/ultra sound while we were there & the band still looked good she just needs the Lasix help her body not work as hard.

We go back for a follow up in 2 weeks & Dr. O was very glad we came in. I was hesitant & thought maybe I was being an over protective mother but he reassured me I did the right thing, especially since we found out she had lost weight. He also told me we need to continue waking her up at night to eat which we were hoping to stop but he said we need to get her back on track first.

This is Emma taking a bath yesterday before church. Her Daddy couldn't resist. Look at those big blue eyes.