The Happenings of Emmersyn

Boy oh boy it has been an exciting week for Emmersyn! I think part of her not sleeping through the nigh on vacation nonsense was because her little mind was just too busy working on perfecting new things!

For starters - The girl loves her hands. They are her best friend. She'll just go to town on them!

She is now interested in toys. She'll reach for & grab at them and put them straight to her mouth. She loves the teethers when they're cold - But not frozen. And she loves those links. We got 2 packs of them & it's a good thing!

Along with her hands, are her feet. She discovered those while we were gone and now they are constantly up in the air if she is on her back. And if her hands are busy with toys or in her mouth? They're holding onto them feets!

She also loves when daddy gets her 'feets'.

She found her voice, too. She's been 'talking' for a while now. . . But now she is a little chatter box. On our trip she started this thing where it sounds like she's faking crying, but it's just her listening to her own voice. She'll go on and on for a couple minutes with no breaks. Since we've been home she realized that she can scream and squeal. Thankfully, it isn't often and it isn't horribly loud. It's still quite cute. . .We'll see how long the cuteness last, though. ;)

Here's a video of her talking:

For the past month or so, we've been randomly trying to give her rice cereal via spoon. She gets it in her bottles because of her reflux so I figured there was no harm in it. She never was ready, though. Or never seemed to like it. When we got home, I decided to try Oatmeal cereal. And she loves it. We did just cereal for a few days - And yesterday I added in bananas. Which she LOVES. I let her taste a little bit on the spoon 1st and she loved it. Now she gets it mixed into her cereal and she chows down. We'll probably stick with just bananas for a week or two, and then switch over to applesauce. 

One of her first bites of Oatmeal cereal.

I let her have a few bites of just bananas and this was her reaction. She was like giving a dog peanut butter, as bad as that sounds. It's the only way I can describe it. She kept sticking her tongue in and out.

At the end of vacation, she started holding her bottle! She doesn't do it every time. . . In fact, she rarely does it now. I am trying not to push it on her, since she isn't quiet 4 months (but will be soon!). We didn't really do much to 'teach' her. She just started putting her hands up to the bottle and grabbing onto my hand. So I started putting my hand at the end of the bottle and she'd grab on. Sometimes, as long as she isn't ZOMG HUNGRY you can put the bottle in front of her face pointed down and she'll grab onto it and put it in her mouth. She gets the concept, completely. If we pull it out of her mouth and leave it in front of her, she'll open her mouth, grab onto your hand and pull it towards her face. The few times she's held it on her own, she's pulled it out and tried to put it back into her mouth on her own. It's super cute! Now when ever she lets me, I'll put her hands up to the bottle and help place her fingers. . .  But I am not pushing it.

The most exciting thing that's happened since we got home, though, is that she is ROLLING!! Belly to back. Tummy time is still rare, because of her reflux. But we still try when we can (it's easier since she goes 4 hours between feedings, I do tummy time about 3 hours after a bottle). And the other day, she just rolled. And now? When ever I put her on her belly, she rolls right on to her back!

I was so excited!

Emmersyn is also napping in her own crib, in her room now! She's done pretty well. . . I am not ready to switch her at night, though. I don't know when I will be. But I am so proud of her and she looks like such a big girl sleeping in her own room!

I think I got all get milestones covered. It's been an exciting week!

I'm still getting things back in order from vacation. We came home to a wrecked house. How in the heck do 2 cats make such a mess in 12 days?! I swear we thought we left 2 teenage kids at the house! I got right to cleaning when we got home and the day after. It feels GREAT to have a clean house, though. I still need to get DH's & my suitcase unpacked and then get both bedrooms in order. We threw everything in Em's room when we got home.

We're (read: I'm) also working on getting Emmersyn on a schedule, even if we can only work on a morning routine. Right now it's looking like this:

5:00am: Wake up and feed (5/6oz) & change Em.

5:40am: DH gets up for work

6:00am: Take him to work

We're usually home by 7 - 7:30 at the latest. And we go back to bed together.

9:00/9:30am: Wake up!

Go out to the kitchen and make Emmersyn a 4oz bottle

Get her medicine

Make her cereal w/ fruit

Get coffee going

Feed Em her bottle 1st and then what ever she'll eat of the oatmeal & fruit

10:00am: Get my coffee and breakfast

Emmersyn then hangs out in her highchair at the table with me. Talking to me & the fan and playing with her links. If she gets antsy, I'll put some Mickey Mouse on for her. 

After I eat she goes in her jumperoo and I wash bottles and clean up from breakfast. 

I will then either shower [with her] or get some cleaning done.

11:00/11:30am: Start nap time routine.

Swaddle, paci and rock.

I'm still playing with her nap time routine and trying to figure out how long she'll sleep for. Friday she didn't go down until 12:30 and only slept for 30 minutes. Saturday it only took 10-15 minutes to get her down and she slept for 30 minutes. 

While she's napping, I will do my work out. 

When she wakes up, she'll have another 5-6oz bottle.

After that it's all up in the air. DH's work schedule is different every day. He could get off at 1 one day, and 3-4 the next. It's frustrating. But once he starts driving himself to/from work (I am hoping by Aug but not holding my breath), we'll work on an afternoon routine. Yesterday I got him to get a ride since he got off RIGHT as I got her down for that 1st nap after an hour & a half struggle. I put her back down at 3 with no fuss and she slept for 2 hours! So yeah. . . We're still figuring it out.

As for me. . . I was 5lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight. And then on vacation, I gained 5lbs. 5lbs in 10 days. Disgusting! So I bought a work out DVD and am gonna attempt to work out 5-6 days a week and hope to loose 10lbs. Once I get rid of these 10lbs, then I'll go from there. I deff wanna tone up. I am trying to eat better. BUt it's hard, I have a HORRIBLE sweet tooth!

Anyways. . . That's all the fun & exciting news for here. I now hope to get back into the land of Meme's!