Emma: 2 months

As we were driving back from Emma's two month checkup this morning, I found myself wondering how it has been two months already! There are days where it seems like it has gone so fast and then moments where it feels like she has been a part of our family forever. 

I did this picture before I found out that witching hour is actually colic. Either way, she is the crabbiest
at night and I still consider that her witching hour.

Her doctor's appointment went well and she (mom and dad too) survived her first shots. I am glad I listened to a friend that said to bring a bottle with as it will settle her down a bit afterwards. Matt stood with her as I couldn't bring myself to do it, instead I sat and watched her cry in pain and I think that might have been worse. Heartbreaking! Emma was 24 inches in length (97th percentile) and 10 pounds and 9.5 ounces (30th percentile) in weight. We definitely have a long and lean baby girl. We talked to our doctor about her unconsolable crying at night and then off and on during the day and she said that is colic. I always assumed it was witching hour, but she said that is usually just fussy, not all out crying and screaming. She gave us some great tips, some of which we already do, and reassurance that she will outgrow it. Our only frustration with the visit was the fact that it didn't seem like she knew we were there a couple weeks ago with concerns about her stomach and diarrhea. She told me I could go back to having milk products, but then when I mention the fact that she had blood in her stools, she acted like she didn't know that and told me to continue eliminating milk products. Do they not look at charts?

The last month has been busy and hectic. Matt is back in the swing of sports season with football and before we know it, basketball season will be here. With Matt so busy with work, we really do value our time as a family when he is home. We made a five day trip to Minnesota and a quick trip to the Quad Cities. Other than that and some stomach issues, we have been enjoying family time and all the smiles, talks, cuddles and play time. It has definitely been a challenging month as evenings she is at her worst and it seems like it is never going to end. But having those smiles from her and just watching her sleep is reassurance in itself. She will outgrow this and we will look back and laugh at all.

Love this moment

Emma's First Road Trip

Emma made her first road trip this last week to "God's country" (Minnesota) to visit and meet family and friends

We left on Wednesday late morning after feeding Emma and packing nearly the entire house. She was asleep by the time we got on I-35 and slept most of the way minus about a total of 30 minutes of crying. We are so lucky that she loves being in the car and sleeps well in her car seat. Knock on wood that continues for future trips!

We spent Wednesday night just north of the cities with the Huntley's and that was also our first experience of sleeping in the same room as Emma. Let me tell you, that girl moves and talks a lot while sleeping. I bet I got out of bed 20 times because I thought she was awake. Nope, still sleeping. I think it might have been the worst night of sleep I have gotten since she was born. 

We headed Thursday morning to Litchfield and Emma slept most of the way other than a 10 minute bout of crying during a torrential down pour in St. Cloud. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with family and getting in time with grandma and grandpa. Thursday night was the second night in a row of Emma going to bed WAY past her bedtime. I thought we had difficulty getting her to sleep at home, but boy being away is even worse. I cried Thursday night being so delirious and wondering if we traveled for too long and too early with her. Friday included a drive around Litchfield so Matt could show Emma his old stomping grounds, a visit to great grandma's, dinner with friends and time with aunt Stacy and uncle Chad.

Saturday we had an "open house" of sorts so family could stop by and meet Emma. She met lots of people and definitely had her fair share of being passed around! 

Four generations

Our time in Litchfield came to an end on Sunday and it was sad to go as we won't get to make it back there until April or May when Matt is done with men's basketball. By that time Emma will be crawling and moving around like crazy! 

We ended our trip to Minnesota with a stop to see Jamie, Emily, Avery and Levi. We always love whenever we get together with them as there are always a lot of laughs and they are such great role models as to the type of parents we hope to be for Emma. We were lucky that Emma slept all the way from Eagan to the Ames exit! Emily joked with us that maybe she would sleep the whole way and I laughed and said probably not. Looks like I was wrong!

Levi was clearly not impressed that all the attention is on the girls. 

Sick Baby

Poor Emma hasn't been herself lately and we are getting closer to some answers. Last Friday she started not feeling well and having terrible diarrhea. I thought I would see how it goes over the weekend and call the pediatrician's office first thing Monday morning. Monday came and it wasn't getting any better, actually it appeared to be getting worse. After not hearing from them until Tuesday, they told me that she probably has a stomach bug as it is going around and to see how it goes the next couple days. It was so hard to just wait it out as she was clearly miserable: screaming at night, clinching her fists in pain, puffy eyes and just super clingy. We were just waiting it out and hoping this bug would be done soon. It definitely wasn't getting better as yesterday she had five dirty diapers in the matter of five hours and two of which that had blood present. Called the pediatrician again and they wanted to see her. She was such a trooper and clinged to her daddy throughout the whole visit. They weighed her at 10lbs 2.5oz, so they weren't concerned yet about her losing weight. They sent us home with a kit to take some samples from her to bring back to get tested for a few different things. In the meantime, they asked for me to stop eating all milk protein products in case it ends up being an intolerance to what I eat. We should know more next week and hoping she gets better soon. Her poor eyes are so red and puffy from all the crying and not sleeping during the day because of not feeling well. As hard as the nights have been this week, it absolutely kills Matt and I seeing her like this and it just pulls at our heartstrings.

Emma {Newborn Pictures}

Emma made her modeling debut at one week old with a photoshoot with Cristi at Lemon Tree Photography. She did absolutely great during the four hour shoot. Cristi does her newborn sessions in her home and warned us that she sets her thermostat at 81 degrees so that the babies are sleepy and she is then able to mold them into different poses. It was toasty, but the pictures turned out beautiful. We were sent then link to a preview in the early morning a couple weeks ago after a rough night with Emma and I just cried at how amazing they turned out and how they couldn't have come at a better time. It's easy to get frustrated and run down, but looking at pictures and these memories puts everything into perspective and reminds me how blessed I am to be her mommy. 

Her headband was my wedding garter

Wagon was my grandma's that my mom now has