And she sits!

Our little girl has decided that she can sit by herself now! I still don't leave her completely alone because she gets tired after about 10-15 minutes and then topples over. It's cute though!

Big Change

For those of you who don't already know, Adam & I are making a big change over the next few months. We have decided that I am going to stay at home with Emery, and quit my work with the American Heart Association. I never thought that I would want to be a stay at home mom, but the last three or four months back at work have been incredibly difficult for me. I absolutely hate leaving Emery and in all honesty my heart just isn't in my work anymore - and that's not fair to my employer, either.

As of December 1st (tomorrow!) I will officially go part time until the end of February. After I finish up my work closing out the Go Red Luncheon that will occur earlier that month, my employment at the American Heart Association will be over. I have spent three years there, and while it is a very stressful job it is also very rewarding, and on many levels I will miss it. However, I know that I am making the right decision to spend more time with my daughter. I know that being at home isn't for everyone, but for us it just feels right. It will be difficult, we know, but worth the sacrifice in the end.

Rolled over!!

I am so excited to report that this past Friday Emery rolled over from her stomach to her back for the first time!! I had her on her tummy and (as we all know) she HATES it...so she got really mad and rolled herself over! Of course I was the only one to see it because Adam & his friend Eric had gone to get Chinese to bring home for dinner...but thankfully she was able to repeat the performance for them when they got home. In all, she rolled about four or five times on her own. I've tried to make her do it again since Friday, but she doesn't seem too interested - she did it once this morning but that's it. She is also consistently rolling from her back to her side. I am starting to find her that way in the mornings in her crib.

Yay for Emery! She's growing so fast!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend and have eaten our fill of turkey, sweet potatoes & pumpkin pie...and have plenty of leftovers to enjoy at least for the next few days! Emery did great all day on Thursday, she didn't fuss at all and let a lot of people hold her. She even had sweet potatoes for the first time! Our co-worker Amanda & her daughter Jordyn came to spend Thanksgiving with Mandy because her husband had to work, so it was also nice to have some new faces for the holiday. Mandy & Amanda stopped by my grandmother's in the afternoon, then headed to the Alford Thanksgiving dinner that evening. Jordyn is just adorable, and it was really cool to think that next year at Thanksgiving, Emery will be running around and getting into everything too!

I just have to say that Adam & I truly have so much to be thankful for, and it's hard to even express how much we love our little family. I think that if I had to pick one thing I was most thankful for this year, I would say that I am just in awe and so appreciative of the many people that Emery has in her life who love her. I am so thankful for her grandparents, aunts & uncles (and adopted uncles), cousins and family friends who are all playing such an important role in shaping who she is. We couldn't ask for Emery to be surrounded by better people.

Here are some fun pics from the day.



Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Four Month Doctor's Appointment

Yesterday we had Emery's four-month doctor's appointment, which included shots again (boo!). She did great, however! Her two-month shots were awful, she cried for a long time and was really fussy the entire day afterwards, so I was absolutely dreading this appointment. I am pleased to report that our little girl took them like a champ, only cried for a minute and then was smiling again.

The appointment was pretty standard, and her pediatrician is very happy with her growth. She is 14 lbs (still 70th percentile) and 24 inches long (60th percentile). Her development is right on track - Dr. Christian was actually surprised at how well Emery holds her head and neck, and marveled at the fact that she is almost sitting on her own! She said that she isn't worried that Emery shows zero interest in rolling, but encouraged us to keep trying with the tummy time. Even if she isn't rolling by 6 months she won't be too worried...but I hope that isn't the case! I didn't know this, but she told us that some babies just never roll for some reason.

She also gave us the go-ahead to start solid foods. I was originally going to wait a while before beginning cereal, but my dad (who went with me to this appointment since Adam had to be in Charlottesville) was so excited about it that we stopped on the way home and bought a box. When we got home, we just gave her a teaspoon's worth for fun - and she loved it! She sucked it off the spoon and kept looking for more. It was adorable. Below is a picture from my dad's cell phone since the batteries have run out of Adam's camera! I wish the quality is better, but at least we documented her first solid food:


Adam was a little disappointed that he missed it, so we repeated the experience last night at dinnertime. Emery did even better with Adam! She seemed to really know what to do when the spoon came towards her - she opened her mouth wide and moved towards it. And rather than sucking the spoon, she actually seemed to want it put in her mouth the correct way. Adam was amazed. I know that four and a half months is still a bit early (at least in my opinion) to start on cereal - let's face it, she was doing just fine on breastmilk alone! - but she enjoyed it so much that I suppose we'll continue with it.

Unfortunately the doc didn't have a lot of advice about the napping issue...she just recommended that we try to let Emery "cry it out" and I'm really not comfortable with that. I guess we'll keep doing what we've been doing, just trying to help her sleep as much as possible during the day (which isn't much). She sleeps pretty well at night for the most part, so I am really not too worried at this point.

The good news is that yesterday afternoon she took an hour-and-a-half nap and she slept through the night! I am sure that has to do with the shots, but sleep is sleep so I'll take it!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

November Already?! & Happy 4 Months!

It is so hard to believe that it's November already. I have been back at work now for almost two months, and Emery turned four months old this past Monday! Time has just flown since July.

We've been busy this fall so far - with me back at work, Adam's cell biology class, and Emery keeping us on our toes constantly, there isn't much time to update this blog.

A few weekends ago Adam & I had a nice "date night" when we went to our friend Jomi's beautiful wedding. Adam & Jomi are old friends from his St. Mary's emergency room days, and Jomi was the one to actually suggest naming our daughter Emery! We had such a nice time, the wedding was elegant and the food was delicious. John caught the garter at our wedding and within the month he & Jomi were engaged, so we like to think we played a hand in their marriage...albeit a small one. Thanks Jomi & John for allowing us to share your special day!

Then there was the week leading up to the Heart Association's annual Heart Walk. What an experience that was! Event time is always crazy (even when it's not my own event) but having a young baby at home made things extremely hectic. I literally went almost three full days without really seeing Emery except to feed her when she woke up in the middle of the night, and that was really hard for me. Thursday and Friday I got home after she had gone to bed, and Saturday morning I was at the Heart Walk at 6am and didn't get home until about 3:00pm. I have always enjoyed the Heart Walk because it is such a fun grassroots event, but I have to admit that it just wasn't as fun for me this year. I was exhausted and also emotional being away from my little girl so much. However, it was a great event despite the fact that it was overcast & rainy, and I lived through it and somehow caught up on my sleep...eventually.

And then there was Halloween! We didn't really make a big deal out of it this year, and ended up using an cute little costume that was a gift from my friend Vicky - appropriately, it was a "Little Monster" outfit that looked absolutely adorable on our little monster! We visited the grandparents on Halloween, and then went to a costume party at my brother in-law's house the following evening. Emery's cousin Grace (who adores her) was the judge for the costume contest, and Emery won first place! I believe the judge was a bit biased. Adam and I didn't have costumes so we went as a Mom & Dad...and somehow I ended up winning 2nd place in the contest. I think that I won points for being Emery's mom! It was a cute little family party that the kids really seemed to enjoy, and Emery did a good job that night - she wasn't fussy at all and took everything pretty much in stride.

So November 3rd rolled around - Emery turned four months old! I cannot believe how fast she is growing. The picture below was taken on the morning of November 3rd, it's an awful Blackberry picture but at least it commemorates her 4 month birthday.

I think one of my favorite times of the day is when I hear her on the monitor in the morning, taking and coo'ing in her crib. I walk in to her room and she is kicking up her feet and talking to her crib mirror, and it takes her a few seconds to realize that I'm there - when she finally sees me, she gives me the biggest smile, as if she is saying "Good morning, Mommy!!" I absolutely love it and my heart melts every time.

She continues to grab and shove everything into her mouth - we have to be really careful now about what we put in reaching distance. Last night she was sitting on my lap while we were eating dinner, and before I knew it her hands were in my plate! She is starting to act like she wants to roll over, though I think we're still far from her actually accomplishing that feat. She hates to be on her tummy, so I don't think she would put herself there on purpose. She does roll from her back to her side, but once she gets there she is stuck. She is also starting to get really funny now - everything she does makes us laugh. She loves to grab our faces and try to get our noses into her mouth, she is literally laughing and squealing out loud now, and gets so excited about everything. We say a million times a day, "She is so cute!!" We are convinced that her first word will not be Mama or Dada, but "cute."

So it has been a busy few weeks but hopefully the next couple will be more low-key. Thanksgiving is looming around the corner and I know that will jump-start the hectic holiday season!

Just a few cute pics

A few weekends ago we had a nice, lazy Sunday and Adam took a few cute pics of our little girl. I just wanted to share them!

Emery is learning new things every day. She is really reaching and grabbing objects on her own now - a few nights ago she grabbed my glasses off my face! Quite a surprise at 2am when all I was trying to do was feed her without dropping her. Her personality is starting to show itself more and more. Our newest issue is that she is not only on a nap strike, which has been going on for a while, but now a hunger strike. The last week or so she doesn't seem to want to eat - and it doesn't make a difference whether I'm trying to breastfeed her or she's being bottle fed. I really think the issue is that she is so alert & aware of her surroundings now that she is just not interested in calming down to eat...she wants to look around and talk. So what does this mean? She doesn't eat well during the day so she is back to waking up multiple times a night because she is hungry! We were so spoiled when she was consistently sleeping through the night or only waking once to eat - lately it's been 3 or 4 times a night, and I have had a pretty exhuasting week. I am happy to report that last night she was up only once, but I am not getting excited yet!

As usual she is keeping us on our toes! But of course we wouldn't have it any other way (except maybe with a little more sleep). Hope everyone has a great weekend!

3 Months Old!

I'm a day late in posting (since I'm working again, it's hard for me to update this during the week!) but Emery was three months old yesterday! Below are a few pictures of her from yesterday:

This was yesterday morning in her warm jammies - she loves the giraffe toy that hangs on her bouncy chair. She's putting everything in her mouth now!

She spent the day with her PaPa (my dad) while I worked. He thought it was so funny how she could "hold" the bottle by herself. We all know that she wasn't doing it on purpose, but it was a cute photo op I guess!

Emery has just blossomed over the last month. She definitely is out of that newborn stage - she has pretty much total head control now and I know before long she'll be sitting up on her own. She sits now with just a little bit of support from us to keep her balance. She loves to sit straight up and look around, hates being laid back unless she's sleepy or being fed. She is a nosy little girl, fights sleep with the best of them because she doesn't want to miss anything! I finally broke down and bought the $40 bumbo seat and it was the greatest investment ever. She loves it because it allows her to sit up unassisted and watch everything!

She is a horrible napper - we have to make her take naps and she will rarely do more than 30 minutes at a time. She is laughing and talking constantly, which I love. She is starting to grab and hold objects with help, and it seems like very soon she'll be grabbing on her own. Of course everything goes right into her mouth! She has discovered her hands, feet & tongue and loves to explore everything.

She also loves...LOVES...the TV. I have an issue with this because Adam & I are not big TV people - but I know that it's too early to be worried about our little girl being a couch potato. I know that she loves the colors and movement, and that's ok (I guess!). It's really funny though, because she will sit right on our laps and watch the news, the debates and (with her Daddy) cartoons. It's so funny to watch her laughing and talking to the TV!

I could go on & on about her - it seems like every day it's something new. So I'll just sign off with a Happy (one day late) 3 Months, Emery!!

Corolla/Duck 2008!

Adam's beautiful cousin Ann-marie planned her wedding for September 28 in beautiful Duck, NC to be held the backyard of a beach house facing the Sound. When we got the invitation about six weeks ago, we thought no way would we take little high-maintenance Emery to someone's wedding and have THAT BABY that wouldn't stop screaming...and we didn't even want to think about driving down with her and staying in a hotel - it just sounded like way too much for us to deal with.

Fast forward a few weeks when we realized that she was really and truly growing out of her fussy stage, we decided to give it a shot. My rationale was that it was an outdoor wedding so sound carries differently, if she started fussing I could always just walk her away from the crowd and most likely it wouldn't bother anyone. Adam's parents were attending as well, so I knew I'd have lots of help. My friend Sara also was invited to Ann-marie's wedding, since they went to college together - and coincidentally, Sara and her husband had rented a beach house in Corolla for that same week! She generously invited Adam, Emery and me to stay at their beach house Friday and Saturday night (the wedding was a Sunday afternoon) so it worked out perfectly! Adam and I were so excited for Emery to see the ocean for the first time.

The drive down took us almost 5 hours, and I have to say that Emery did pretty well. I thought she would sleep the entire time - we left around 5:30pm on Friday and most of the drive was past her bedtime, but wouldn't you know our nosy little girl would NOT SLEEP. She probably slept a total of one hour, so when we arrived in Corolla around 10:30pm she was exhausted and starting to get a little fussy. However, as Adam and Zach unloaded our car (it was filled to the brim with her stuff, you would have thought we were staying for a week!) and set up the Pack 'n' Play, I nursed her and she went right to sleep. Of course we were in an unfamiliar environment so she was up every 2-4 hours, but I expected that. The second night she did the same thing - by the time the weekend was over, I was exhausted!

The beach house was beautiful! Lots of space, a pool and we even had our own bathroom downstairs. Sara cooked lots of yummy food and we walked down to the beach a few times on Saturday. Emery LOVED the beach!! The first time we walked down was early afternoon, and it was a little cloudy/windy but then the sun came out. We took lots of pictures of her with her little feet in the sand and dipping her toes in the cold water! Adam, Emery & I walked down to the beach in the early evening and I had her in the Baby Bjorn carrier - we spent maybe 45 minutes walking as it started to get dark, and Emery was so incredibly calm and content. I really think she loved the sound of the ocean, it seemed to be very soothing to her. She didn't move or make a sound the entire time we were there.

Saturday was a very relaxing day, we didn't go anywhere...we had planned to go to some of the shops nearby, but Emery finally (FINALLY) fell asleep and took about a 2 hour nap, and we were not about to wake her. She had been horrible about napping all week. Sunday Sara had to be out of the house by 10am, so we spent the morning packing, said our goodbyes, and then headed to meet up with Adam's parents. We had lunch and shopped for a while, then went over to the wedding site.

The wedding was beautiful - Ann-marie wore what looked like a hand-made linen (I think?) gown with lots of embroidery detail, and the men wore suits. The flowers were breathtaking, and I wonder if Ann-marie did them herself (she used to own a flower shop) - lots of oranges, reds, browns mixed in with cream-colored hydrangeas. Emery did great during the ceremony, she slept through it. Once it was over, though, she started getting a little cranky. I am not surprised - it had been a big weekend for her! She did let us get through dinner, but then we decided to go ahead and leave, which was disappointing. We didn't get to see any of the dancing, cake, etc...but it was getting late and there was that 4+ hour drive looming ahead of us. And boy, what a drive that was...before we even got out of NC Emery started fussing and it turned into a complete meltdown. We had to pull over twice to soothe her, and I was wondering how we were ever going to get home. She finally fell asleep for a good part of the drive.

It was a good weekend and we are so appreciative of Sara & Zach allowing us and the little girl to stay at their beach house for two nights for free - it was such a nice gesture and really saved us a lot of $$. Sara even cooked for us both nights, so we didn't even have to pay for food! Emery had a great time and we'll have to do it again next year. And congratulations to Ann-marie and her new husband Jeffrey on starting their new life together. What a beautiful wedding!!!

Below are a few pics of Emery at the beach. There are lots more on our MySpace/Facebook pages!

Back to Work

And just like that...my maternity leave is over. When I was pregnant, I thought that being home for almost three months with a newborn would seem like forever, that it would drag on and on. Everyone told me that it would go by fast, but I kept thinking "It's almost three MONTHS...I haven't been home for that long without working since I was in high school!" Well, they were right and I was wrong. I feel like I blinked and it was over. And yet...the entire thing seems like a blur! I think back to the first eight weeks or so when Emery was so incredibly fussy and high-maintenance and how if you had asked me then, I would have told you that I couldn't wait to go back to work. I craved adult interaction, a set schedule and a break from hearing her cry all day. But now I wish that I had appreciated even those really frustrating moments a little more, because obviously I can't get them back now. And the last three or four weeks when she really started interacting and turning into a fun baby are so precious to me, and I am so incredibly grateful that I had this time with her. I know that there are many people who can't spend almost 12 weeks at home with their babies, so I do know how lucky I am. I will tell you, though, that it doesn't make it any easier to make this transition.

Wednesday Sept. 17th was my first day back in the office. I have to say that it wasn't the best day of my life...leaving Emery was very difficult, even though she is staying most of the time with Lesley (my mother-in-law) so I know she is in great hands! When I got to work I found that I did not have a work station because our offices are being renovated and they have everyone crammed into one tiny space. They simply have no room for me, and I am stuck out in a hallway at a table. Yes, that's right - in a hallway. It is very distracting and I can already tell that I cannot do my job effectively there. I will need to divide my time between the office (if you can call it that!) and working from home, I believe, in order to get anything productive done. I realize that everyone is making sacrifices in order for the renovations to occur, but it was not really how I envisioned my first day back!

The other issue is that I am still breastfeeding and I am trying so hard to continue as long as I can. I do believe that it's the best thing I can do for Emery and my goal was to stick it out at least until she was 6 months old. Therefore, I am pumping at work - let me tell you, it is a pain. Especially with the renovations, there is really no convenient place for me to pump. There is a single bathroom with a lock on the door - however, that's really not an acceptable place (in my opinion) for me to handle what is essentially food for my baby. The only other option is a secure room that is used to count money - it actually is nice...it has no windows, a lock on the door, outlets, and I can continue to work in there while I pump. The only problem is that I have to work around the people who use that room, so I can't pump when I need to and I am afraid that my supply will suffer as a result. Yesterday I was unable to pump as much as Emery ate that day, so I fear I am starting down a slippery slope of dipping into my freezer supply to make up the difference, and I'll eventually have to start supplementing. I know it isn't the end of the world, but the way I see it, having to work shouldn't force me to make that decision. Again, I think that working from home a bit will help with the pumping situation until the renovations are complete.

Other than those pretty significant issues, I am happy to be back around adults and dive into my Luncheon again. It is very difficult to leave Emery in the mornings and I get very little time with her in the evenings because she tends to want to go to bed around 8:00 or even earlier. That's a big change from being with her almost 24 hours a day for the last 11 weeks, and I know that I will just have to get used to it. It is an unfortunate thing to have to work and leave your child, but many mothers do it without impacting their relationship with their baby - which is my biggest fear. I will just have to make the most of the time I have with her in the evenings and weekends.

In other news, Emery had her 2-month doctor's appointment two weeks ago and she was 11lbs, 3oz already! That is 70th percentile for her weight. She is about 23 inches long (50th percentile) - so our child continues to be short & fat. I am very pleased with her growth and so is the doctor! We are keeping her on the reflux medicine since it seems to be doing the trick.

Adam is taking another class at UVA, a cell biology course that he seems to really like. He had his first test yesterday and believes that he did pretty well! He also has a little over a month left of the season at Kings Dominion, which I feel can't get here fast enough. I really miss having him here with me on the weekends.

And now, I am off to continue getting ready for work.

2 Months Old!

Our little girl is two months old today - I can't believe it! They said that the time goes by fast, and in the midst of zero sleep and a screaming baby I really didn't believe it. As a matter of fact, I hoped that it would go by faster so I could enjoy her sleeping through the night, being a happier baby, smiling, etc. Now that she's doing all those things (ok, not really sleeping through the night) I look back and wish that I had tried to enjoy her more even during those really horrible nights and days. Even the many times we were both up crying with each other at 2am, those are moments of togetherness that are gone! I wonder if this is how I will feel for the rest of my life - that our time with her is so fleeting and wishing that I had tried to appreciate her more.

I wrote previously that Emery seems to be doing much, much better. Here on her 2 month birthday, I can happily report that it looks like this change is here to stay! It really is as if someone has flipped a switch! Something has changed in her and I have no idea what caused it - and it literally happened overnight. Our trip to Alexandria truely was a turning point for us. I feel like someone came in during the middle of the night and replaced the sleeping fussy baby with this smiley, content happy Emery! Every day that goes by I am more shocked at the change in her. We can do things with her now that we would have never dreamed of doing before (or if we did, it was very stressful). For example, last night we met Mandy for dinner and went grocery shopping. I would never have taken Emery to a restaurant, even a noisy one, without being on pins & needles and probably spending most of my time walking/bouncing her to try and ward off a meltdown. Last night, however, she took a snooze in her carseat and then woke up to look around, drool all over herself, and let Mandy hold her. I had her in the Bjorn carrier at the grocery store and she was totally content with sucking her paci and taking it all in. She didn't even fuss in her carseat on the way home, which surprised me because she should have been pretty hungry (she was, but I guess she didn't think she needed to scream about it!).

All this is to say that people told me it would get better, whatever "it" was - colic, the reflux, gas, who really knows. I knew they were right, but it seemed like it would be a lifetime away. That magical 3-month mark where everything is supposed to just fall into place was totally unobtainable at three weeks. Now, it's just four weeks away! I feel like we're definitely on the upswing!

Other updates - she is not consistently sleeping through the night, but she pretty much goes down between 9pm-10pm (sometimes earlier) and wakes up to eat between 2am-4am. At least a few times a week she'll sleep until 5am or 6am. This morning - in honor of her 2 month birthday no doubt - she didn't wake up until 6am and then after eating immediately went down again until 8:30am! That was a present for me, I think :) She is also reaching for things but can't grasp them yet. She can definitely see a lot better now, and focuses on objects and tracks them. She smiles and laughes at her mobiles - her favorite is the giraffe on her swing mobile. She will squeal and wave her arms around when she sees it! Every day she does something new and it's amazing now to see how fast she is learning and growing.

Emery has her 2-month doctor appointment this Friday, and she gets her first round of vaccinations. I am really dreading it. I can't stand to see her in pain, so I am sure it will hurt me even more than it hurts her. However, I am looking forward to seeing how much she has grown since her last appointment four weeks ago!

I go back to work 2 weeks from today. I have very mixed feelings about it - I am looking forward to adult interaction on a daily basis, having a schedule, and feeling productive. On the other hand, I am understandably very sad. It is even more upsetting that now Emery is really starting to interact with me and know me, she will start spending the majority of her time with Adam's mom. I am having fears of being replaced or not knowing my daughter anymore...I am so in tune with her right now, it scares me so much that I might lose that connection. I know that these fears are normal and I am sure that it won't be as bad, but logically I know that things are going to change in my relationship with her...and it just kills me.

That's it for now - below are a couple of pictures I took on my Blackberry this morning. I had put her in her crib to play for a few minutes while I put away her laundry, and she was giggling at her mobile and loving her crib mirror.

Happy 2 months, my big girl!!!

Labor Day Pics

After a busy few days, our Labor Day was very relaxing. Adam and I spent most of the day cleaning and watching TV, and Adam even took a nice long nap with Emery sleeping on his chest. That afternoon, we headed to great-grandmother Nanny's house for some hamburgers and hot dogs. Emery was once again a complete angel, didn't fuss at all and let Nanny & Gramps hold her for a while. Below are some adorable pictures of her in her madras pants that her cousin Kelli gave her!

Sleeping in Nanny's arms (her pants are so cute!)

Look how big she's gotten!

OK, there is no denying that she's cute!

This was actually the day taken BEFORE Labor Day, but I had to show the world that cousin Kelli has officially held Emery and survived the experience ;-)

Emery's First Train Ride

Emery went on her first train ride this past Saturday! We had plans to head up to Northern Virginia to meet up with some old friends...so smart of me to pick Labor Day Weekend to drive up I-95 with an 8-week old, right? When I realized that we very well could have quite the nightmare looming in our future (sitting in horrible traffic with a screaming baby that was hungry/wet/fussy/all of the above that you can't remove from her carseat), Adam and I decided that we'd spring for a train ticket. It was the best decision ever! I was free to nurse Emery, change her diaper, even walk her around if she got fussy (she didn't!). We had such a stress-free and relaxing time, I think that just may be the way to travel with Emery. She did great, didn't fuss at all except a tiny bit on the way home because the train was soooo cold. Once we wrapped her up, though, she was all smiles again!

We had a great time in NoVa visiting with some very old friends, some I hadn't seen since I left my old job in Alexandria over three years ago. My friend Sara did a nice job of getting everyone together. I was pretty worried about Emery getting overstimulated and screaming the entire time, but I was shocked that she didn't cry at all unless she was wet or hungry! She even tolerated being held by a lot of people she didn't know, and we were so proud of her.

It was great to see my good friend Tristina and her new little boy, Caelan. Tristina and I were pregnant "together" and she had Caelan on July 9, just six days after Emery was born. Emery and Caelan were even the same size, 7lbs 12oz! However, Caelan has left Emery in the dust...as you can see from the pictures below, he is a big boy! Emery is doing a great job of gaining weight herself, but Caelan puts her to shame. It was wonderful to finally meet him and to catch up with Tristina in person.

I fully admit that I was almost dreading the trip to Northern Virginia with Emery, because I just didn't know how she would react to the experience. However, I am so happy to report that Adam and I had a wonderful time and truly enjoyed spending the day with our happy & content daughter! I believe that we have reached a turning point with her - it seems as if overnight she has become a million times less fussy and a million times more alert & happy. She was all smiles on Saturday, and has continued to be that way over the last few days. Keep your fingers crossed that she keeps it up!

Below are a few pictures from the day (check out my MySpace or Facebook pages for more pics). Thanks again to Sara for putting together a very fun party, and for picking us up from and taking us back to the train station. We'll have to do it again very soon!!

Love to you all,
Michelle & Adam

Getting ready to leave the Staples Mill train station!

Tristina & Caelan - look how big that handome boy is!

Emery & Caelan - I can't believe they tolerated being posed for so long.

Heading home - Emery all wrapped up and hanging out on the boppy pillow.

Emery loves her Uncle Eric!

Uncle Eric came to visit last weekend and spent lots of time with Emery. She was really good for him and even let him hold her for a really long time! Below are some adorable pictures of her with her favorite uncle. When she started to get hungry, she decided that Eric's arm was pretty darn tasty!

Smiles - we have proof!

Yep, we've got proof caught on camera that Emery is indeed smiling these days! We are still convinced that she really started smiling around four weeks or so, but we weren't entirely sure until she started grinning more & more. She is still somewhat stingy with them, but if you catch her in a good mood she will talk to you and smile these huge happy grins that make us completely melt. Even if we have been having a hard day, all she has to do is flash that smile and I turn into complete mush! I love it. I have even discovered that she might have a dimple on her left cheek. We'll see!

Here are a couple of other pictures from this morning on her playmat. She has just started really enjoying looking at all the colors and objects - she was even coo'ing at them and smiling! She had a full belly so eventually she fell asleep and took a catnap.

She'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow...I can't believe how the time is flying. Before I know it, I'll be going back to work and she'll be staying with Adam's mom. I am so glad to have this time with her, no matter how hard it's been - I am going to try so hard to really appreciate the last few weeks we have left. Keep checking back for more pictures and updates!

Slept Through the Night!

Ok, Ok, I know that it's just a fluke and will probably not happen again for a while, but Emery officially slept through the night last night!!

She had her last feeding at 8:45, I put her down to sleep around 9:30 and she slept right through until 6AM! The best part is that I went to bed at 10:30 and didn't wake up again until about 4:15, so I got a good almost-six hours of sleep. I honestly don't think I have had that much uninterrupted sleep since the night before I was induced. I feel GREAT today! Of course I woke in a panic at 4:15 because I hadn't heard a peep from her and the room was completely silent (she is normally a very noisy sleeper - grunting and squirming constantly). However, she was sleeping peacefully and didn't seem to be even close to waking up. So I took the opportunity to pump since it had been over 8 hours since she had last eaten and I was incredibly uncomfortable. If she keeps doing this, I'll have a nice freezer stash stored up for when we start leaving her more!

This past Friday and Saturday nights she also had some nice long stretches of sleep - about five and six hours during that first leg of the night. I was hoping it would continue, but she blew that trend out of the water on Sunday night when she was up again every 3 hours. I guess we'll start to have some nights that are fabulous and then we'll have nights that just aren't. I never thought I would celebrate getting to "sleep in" until 6AM, but considering I have mostly been sleeping at 2-to-4 hour intervals since she was born, I am absolutely ecstatic.

The last few days have been really good - Emery has seemed to be in a good mood for most of the day, just getting a little fussy in the evenings. She is definitely smiling at us, and is starting to coo and "talk" to us more. One of her favorite spots is, ironically, the changing table - she'll just stare at us and smile & talk to us as we're changing her. I say that it's ironic because in the beginning she would scream at the top of her lungs the second we'd lay her down on the changing table! I think some of that had to do with her reflux - even though we have the pad at an incline, she was probably experiencing some reflux when we laid her down and it was painful.

Emery will be six weeks old on Thursday. I have really seen now what it means to bond with a baby - people told me when I was pregnant how important it was, but I remember thinking that it was something that happened instantly; the baby is born and she automatically knows who we are and that we'll take care of her. I've come to realize that it's really something that happens over time, and that she needed to learn who we are and trust us to address her needs and love her. It's amazing that now I can tell the difference between her pain cry, her hunger cry, her dirty diaper cry and (this one happens often) her I'm-overstimulated-and-tired cry. I really feel that spending almost every minute with her over the last six weeks has solidified our relationship and I know that the bond gets even stronger as time goes on. We love her more and more every day.

Adam and I have started spending a little more time together without her, which has been nice too. Saturday afternoon we left her with Grandma (my mom) for about an hour and went for a 2-mile run - my first run since becoming pregnant!! I did pretty well, and we're going to go again this evening as long as the weather continues to be nice. I'm trying to get this last bit of baby weight off, I have about 8 lbs to go and it seems to be the hardest to get rid of. I still can't get my wedding rings on and that is the most depressing part! I have resigned myself that I will probably have to go buy some new clothes before going back to work - since I am breastfeeding all my tops are quite snug now, and I don't think that'll change even if I do end up losing the weight!

I'll be sure to update soon and let everyone know if this sleeping through the night thing continues...I'm not getting my hopes up! Have a great week!
-Michelle

Happy One Month!

Well, I am a day late in posting, but yesterday was Emery's 1-month birthday! Wow...time sure has flown (though it should seem like it's been a lot longer since I have been awake for most of the past month!). The last four weeks have been the hardest of my life, and I say that with 100% honesty. However, they have also been the neatest, being able to watch our little girl grow, learn about her personality and her needs, and thinking about her future with us.

Adam and I are convinced that we have seen her smile several times now. I know people say "it's just gas" but NO...I don't believe it. She's responding to us in small ways, focusing on our faces and following us with her gaze. It's so touching to see her turn her head when she hears her Daddy's voice. She loves to look at the skylights in the kitchen and the spinning ceiling fan (she can't see them clearly but she can see the contrasting colors and the movement). I am so excited to see how she continues to take in the world over the next few months, and hopefully start sharing more of those smiles with us.

Her reflux is still a work in progress. As I posted earlier, the pain seems to be better under control (though it does flare up at times) but her spitting up has gotten a lot worse over the last week or so. I have to change her outfit at least three or four times a day, even though I try so hard to keep her from getting it all over herself (and me!). I've had to clean the couch a couple of times and her bouncy chair is probably due for a washing as well. I was really getting concerned because she was spitting up SO MUCH - I was unsure of how much milk she was actually keeping down. We went to the doctor this morning for a weight check and my fears are alleviated. She has gained almost another entire pound - she is 9lbs 8oz! The doctor thinks that perhaps the amount of vomit is due to the fact that she is overeating, which I really can't do anything about...I let her eat until she appears to be finished. I tried limiting how much she ate a few weeks ago and that only resulted in a very VERY fussy baby, so if she eats too much and then spits it up, so be it. I'd rather deal with the laundry than the screaming.

We still have good days and bad days. Some days she is just very unhappy and she cries most of the day - other days she can be content and quiet. I had lots of family in town this past weekend for my uncle's 50th birthday party, and my house was full of people...I thought for sure Emery would have a meltdown. However, she handled it great and only got fussy when she was hungry (which is often). We even left her with her Aunt Mandy Saturday night so we could go to my uncle's party for a few hours, and she did great! Oh, and Mandy is also convinced she got a smile out of her!

All in all, I think the best way to describe the past month is CRAZY. It's been good and bad, frustrating and wonderful. I think that might just be what parenting is all about...right?

Below is a picture of Emery after Mandy stayed with her Saturday night. She was worn out and fell asleep on Adam's chest. She's gotten big!

Happy One Month, baby girl!!

A GREAT DAY!

After my fairly negative-sounding post from yesterday, I thought I needed to share that yesterday Emery & I had a wonderful day! The last couple of weeks have been so hard because she has been incredibly unhappy due to pain from her reflux and gas...when she wasn't eating or sleeping, she was crying (or projectile vomiting). I'm not sure what happened, but I think yesterday was a breakthrough day! Perhaps her medicine for the reflux is kicking in or maybe she was just feeling a lot better for some reason. Either way, I'll take it - believe me, I needed a good day in the midst of 3 weeks of screaming. It really gave me hope that we'll have a happy baby after all, and that more good days are in our future!

Here are some pictures from yesterday that show just how content she was!

First, Aunt Deb came to visit - she was really sleepy all morning so she was happy to snooze on Debbie's shoulder for almost an hour. She has been going through a growth spurt this week, so she was awake & eating a LOT over the last few days - I think she really just needed to catch up! I love that Chessie is peeking over the couch in this picture.

Because of her reflux, she spits up ALL the time, and in large amounts. Therefore, she smells like spoiled milk (and so do I). Once she woke up from her nap on Debbie, I thought it would be a good time to give her a bath. She was already a little fussy because she had a dirty diaper so I thought - what the heck, she's already screaming, let's give her a bath. She has HATED all her baths and screams the entire time. She did scream for a few minutes, but once I gave her a pacifier...miraculously she stopped crying and was quiet the rest of the bath!! I was shocked! She even seemed to enjoy it!!

Below are some other happy pictures from the afternoon - Adam and I have discovered that sometimes Emery just doesn't want to be held, and she now likes to be on her back. Before, she absolutely hated it because of the reflux...it was painful. This is another reason why I think the meds are kicking in - she really seems to enjoy being independent from us and laying on her back, looking around and sucking on her paci. She spent some time in her crib yesterday, which was also new. She has been sleeping in her b0uncy chair because it's on more of an incline, but yesterday she was perfectly happy playing in her crib, and even started dozing in there!

I don't have any pictures, but we ended up taking her to a local Chinese restaurant last night - this was major progress for me because I have been petrified of taking her in public. No one likes a crying baby, much less a SCREAMING baby during dinner. She had such a good day, though, that we figured we'd give it a shot. Lo & behold, she fell asleep during the car ride over and slept the entire time...it was great! I got to enjoy a glass of wine, some yummy Chinese food (which I had an aversion to the entire time I was pregnant) and good company. All the while, Emery was angelically sleeping, even thwarting Grandpa's attempts to wake her up.

We ended the evening with Daddy & Emery hanging out together on the couch watching TV. I was so glad that she stayed good all evening, I was worried that even with having such a good day there was no way it was going to last. And yet she seemed content all night, and even slept in her crib for the first time last night! I tried to put her in her bouncy seat because I am still a little concerned about the reflux and the vomiting, but she really wasn't having it. She wanted to stretch out on her back - so I let her and we had a good night's sleep. Well, SHE had a good night's sleep...I was worried about her so ended up checking on her every hour or so.

I hope there are more of these days in the near future! Even if Emery is fussy this week, I now know that she can be happy and that there is an end in sight. Yesterday made me fall in love with our daughter all over again...to see her big blue eyes looking around and taking in the world without tears in them was amazing to me. I can't wait to see more of it.

Take care and hope everyone has a great week!

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

I know it's a cheesy title for this post, but I think that it really sums up the last three weeks for us! Adam & I are so in love with our little girl and I know that this time will be something that we look back on with so much fondness...but boy, has it been hard. Harder than I ever thought it could ever be.

Before becoming a mother, I thought "Heck, how difficult can it be? Babies - especially newborns - sleep all the time." Um, not necessarily...and they also eat. And poop. And cry. Cry? Try SCREAM. For hours.

Emery has been a little more high-maintenance than anticipated. She's beautiful and amazing and there are moments throughout the day when Adam & I are just in awe of what we created and what we have to look forward to with her. On the other end of the spectrum, I wouldn't call our little girl an easy baby! She definitely doesn't sleep all the time and when she is awake she unfortunately isn't very happy. She still suffers from her reflux and has developed some issues with gas that make her extremely uncomfortable. She is also now going through her three-week growth spurt which makes her even more fussy and hungry ALL the time - so she is eating every hour or so during the day, which is very hard on me since I am breastfeeding. We're trying out some medicines for the reflux and I am staying away from certain foods to help her with the gas (who knows if that'll work, but hey it's worth a shot!), and these growth spurts don't last forever...so I am hopeful that over the next few weeks life might get a bit easier.

My saving grace is that thankfully she is better at night and tends to go 3-4 hour stretches before waking up to eat. I still only average about 5-6 hours of sleep a night (not consecutively, of course) but it's better than being up every 1.5-2 hours to feed her. Again, since I am breastfeeding Adam can't really help with the nighttime feedings - and since he is back at work now (boo!) it wouldn't be fair for me to ask him to wake up at 3am anyway. Needless to say, I am very tired and it doesn't help that I have a very hard time napping during the day. Emery does take a nice long nap in the mornings, but I'm up and trying to get a few things done...before she wakes up again and wants to eat and cry the rest of the day.

I don't mean to make it sound all bad - there are amazing moments when she makes us laugh, times when she makes us completely melt, and times when we look at her and just cannot believe how lucky we are to have and raise a baby. I know that these wonderful moments we have with our daughter will outweigh the hard first couple of weeks...and people say that we won't even really remember them (I hope they're right!). We're taking it one day at a time and every day I think we make a little more progress as we learn what her needs are and what soothes her. It's really a learning experience for all three of us!

Below are a couple more pictures of Emery - I think she has changed a lot over the last few weeks! At her 2 week doctor's appointment she was already 8 lbs, 10 oz! Told you she was a hungry girl. I assume that by now she's at least close to 9 lbs, if not more.

We are truly grateful to our close family and friends who have done SO MUCH to help us out - the dinners, taking her so we can get a break for a while, and just listening to us vent and offering amazing advice and suggestions. Adam and I would not have been able to make it without your support and love.

-Michelle & Adam

Emery & I having a very interesting conversation:

She fell asleep this way and I thought it was just adorable (don't worry, I didn't leave her unattended there!):

Tiny hands - and Adam's attempt to be an artsy photographer:

Welcome Emery! Birth story & a few pictures

I am so happy to announce that Emery Elizabeth Alford was born on July 3rd, 2008 at 4:48pm, weighing 7lbs 12oz and 19 inches long. For those who are interested, I'll share a quick summary of how the birth went (no gory details, I promise!) and then post a few good pictures from the last few days.

When I went for my 38-week appointment, I was still 2cm dilated and my cervix was very thin - of course, we all knew that meant absolutely nothing as far as when I might go into labor. My doctor had mentioned previously that she didn't want me to go past July 7th, so we started talking about scheduling an induction. She gave me the option of July 3rd (before the holiday weekend) or July 7th, which also happens to be our 1-yr wedding anniversary. After talking to Adam about it, we decided to go ahead and schedule it for the 3rd since (a) our anniversary is special and we didn't want to overshadow her birthday OR our anniversary and (b) I was generally done being pregnant! We also knew that we had 2 weeks for something to happen "naturally."

Well, I obviously didn't go into labor on my own, even though at my 39 week appointment I had progressed to almost 3cm. So, it became clear that July 3rd was going to be Emery's birthday! It worked out very well in the long run - I was able to finish up a lot of things at work that needed to be done by June 30th, and the planner in me just LOVED knowing exactly what was going to happen, and when. We went in on the 2nd for pre-registration and talked to the labor & delivery nurse, who explained everything to us in detail. Even though I was sad that my body seemed to be taking its sweet time in the labor department, it was awesome to not be rushed and stressed out about the whole process.

We arrived at the hospital on July 3rd at 7:45am. I was weirdly calm about everything, which is not like me at all - I tend to worry and overanalyze everything to death, but in this case Adam was the one who was jumpy and nervous. He didn't sleep at all the night before, but I actually got some decent sleep (which is good considering what lay before me that day!). We got to the room and settled in, and Dr. Davis arrived a little before 9am. She checked me and I was a good 3cm and very thin, and she explained that according to the monitor I was having good contractions on my own every 3 minutes. I was shocked - I hadn't been feeling a thing! They started the pitocin to get those contractions going a bit stronger. I felt a little discomfort, but nothing unbearable - when the nurse came back at 10:30, I told her I'd hold out for a little while longer before getting any pain relief. She promptly turned up the pitocin. Within minutes, I was feeling strong painful contractions with very little relief in between - they were about 1-2 minutes apart and never really faded...they just kept coming back-to-back. Adam wanted to call her to ask for an epidural, but I figured I could stick it out until she came back to check on me. Of course, she took her sweet time and by the time the anesthesiologist arrived with the epidural I had been dealing with those contractions for almost an hour. Let me tell you, I have no clue how people do a medication-free birth...I have so much respect for them. The epidural was a breeze and very soon I was blissfully unaware of the contractions!

At noon I was checked and had only progressed to 4cm. They told me to try and take a nap because I needed my strength for the big event! I tried, but just couldn't sleep. Plus we had a ton of visitors in & out all day, so it was hard to really focus on sleeping! Around 2:00, I started feeling some pain through the epidural - it got so bad that I called the nurse and she checked me again...I was 10cm! I had progressed from 4 to 10 in less than 3 hours. I was absolutely shocked. They wanted me to "labor down" for a while before pushing, since she was still pretty high. They tilted my bed so that my head was lower than my feet - the nurse explained it like a lime in a Carona...you tip the bottle upside down and the lime floats to the top. It was pretty darn uncomfortable being tipped that way, and she left me there for about an hour. It must have worked though, because I was feeling a lot of pressure (but no pain). After a while she came back, we did a few pushes without Dr. Davis, and suddenly the nurse said "I think I have to call the doctor - you're ready to have her!" Dr. Davis arrived she was born minutes later. I pushed a total of about 15 minutes, which is awesome - and yes, the drugs were amazing and I felt zero pain! Yay for modern medicine.

I stayed 2 nights in the hospital and we came home Saturday the 5th. Emery has been such a joy to us, even though she has her days & nights confused and she is keeping us up all night. We are incredibly exhausted but are hopeful that she will figure it out soon...in the meantime, we have to force ourselves to nap during the day (which I especially have a problem with - I feel like I should be doing something!). She had her first pediatrician appointment on Monday, and she has gained back the weight she lost in the hospital already...she is a hungry girl and nurses GREAT. The pediatrician was really impressed at her progress - she has some reflux issues, which also adds to our misery in the middle of the night, but that should fix itself as she continues to grow. Oh, and her belly button fell off today!

On a different note, Monday the 7th was our 1-year wedding anniversary. Needless to say, celebration was minimal, but having our daughter is the best gift we could ever ask for. Adam got me an incredibly sweet card and he cleaned my bathroom...how great is he? We also watched our wedding video with Emery sleeping in Adam's arms, so overall it was an anniversary to remember.

Overall, things are going really well - even though it's a lot harder than I anticipated. Adam is off from work for 2 weeks and I am so grateful for that. I don't know what I would do without him! In addition to helping with Emery as much as he possibly can (unfortunately he just can't help out with the constant feedings!), he has really taken responsibility for the house and laundry. If it weren't for him, there would be piles of clothes everywhere and the house would be a wreck. He's such a great husband and I can tell already that he is going to be a wonderful father.

Below are some pictures of Emery from the last couple of days. I'll keep everyone updated as we continue to learn about each other! Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support over the last week - Adam & I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Love to you all!