2 Months Old :)

Break out the bibs

Your baby's salivary glands have been working since she was in utero, but you may notice that she's started to drool. She's also putting everything in her mouth and producing more saliva than she can swallow.

This doesn't mean that your baby's teething just yet, though — that probably won't happen for another two weeks, at least. The vast majority of babies sprout their first tooth between 4 and 7 months of age. If your baby's an early developer, you may see her first white cap, usually one of the bottom two middle teeth, as early as 3 months. (And in rare cases, a baby's first tooth is visible at birth!)

Many parents permanently affix a bib to their baby about now to catch the drool. Just remember to take it off when your baby sleeps to prevent strangulation.

The good news is that your baby's drool coats toys and other objects with disease-preventing proteins. That's fortunate — since she'll continue to explore anything she can get her hands on.

Sleeping for longer chunks of time

If your baby's sleeping through the night (five or six hours at a stretch), you're one of the lucky few..YAY!!!. Most 10-week-old babies still wake up in the middle of the night. But even babies who aren't sleeping through the night at this stage should be sleeping and staying awake for longer intervals instead of cycling back and forth so much. Your baby will most likely have two to four long sleep periods and as many as ten hours of awake time in 24 hours.

An interesting note: Whether your baby is a night owl or a morning lark, a long sleeper or short sleeper, she'll probably stay that way throughout childhood.

Turning over a new leaf

Your baby is learning how to rock and roll — well, maybe just roll. At this age, she'll probably be able to move from her side to her back and her back to her side. The complete roll over won't come for another month or so, though, because she needs stronger neck and arm muscles for that maneuver.

Your baby's increasing mobility means that you must keep a hand on her during diaper changes. Never leave your baby unattended on a bed or any other elevated surface now that she can move around.

Remember, your baby is an individual

All babies are unique and meet milestones at their own pace. Developmental guidelines simply show what your baby has the potential to accomplish — if not right now, then soon. If your baby was premature, keep in mind that kids born early usually need a bit more time to meet their milestones. If you have any questions at all about your baby's development, ask your healthcare provider.

Baby Development 8 Weeks

Into complex designs

At this point, your baby will begin to move beyond his early preferences for bright or two-toned objects toward more detailed and complicated designs, colors, and shapes. Show your baby — and let him touch — a wider variety of objects. Good choices include plastic cookie cutters, soft balls, and stuffed animals.

Hear ye, hear ye

Your baby can differentiate familiar voices from other sounds and is becoming a better listener. He also can show you that he's in tune with his environment. Notice how he looks to see where certain noises are coming from.

An ongoing conversation (although still one-sided!) can help your baby develop his sense of place. He may even watch your mouth as you talk, fascinated by how it all works.

Note: If you have any doubt about your baby's hearing, don't hesitate to mention your concerns to your healthcare provider. Even though your baby's hearing may have already been tested, new problems can arise.

A helping hand

The chaotic first months are over and your baby's schedule is probably becoming more predictable. If you and your partner are raising your baby, it's important for both of you to get a chance to care for and bond with your baby. Make sure whichever one of you is not the primary caretaker gets regular time alone with your little one, for bathing him, changing him, and just getting tuned into his needs.

Remember, your baby is an individual

All babies are unique and meet milestones at their own pace. Developmental guidelines simply show what your baby has the potential to accomplish — if not right now, then soon. If your baby was premature, keep in mind that kids born early usually need a bit more time to meet their milestones. If you have any questions at all about your baby's development, ask your healthcare provider.

Baby Development 7 Weeks

Your 7-Week-Old Baby: Super Baby Senses

At seven weeks, your baby is delighting in new sights, sounds and touches. Here's what else your newborn is up to.

Do you learn something new every day? Your 7-week-old baby does — and then some! Around the seven-week mark, she's awake and alert more often during the day, so pencil her in for more playtime. Best ways to stimulate those senses? Provide plenty of opportunities for her to experience her surroundings through sound, sight, and touch. Small doses are best (if she's fussing or squirming, she's had enough), and simple toys are all you need. For example, now that she can track moving objects with her eyes, try slowly shifting a ball, rattle, or cloth from one side to the other as she faces you. Watch as she plays along by moving her eyes back and forth (tennis, anyone?).

Her baby blues (or browns) are becoming more discriminating these days, too. While she could once make out only bright colors and basic, two-toned patterns, she's now beginning to discern — and delight in! — more complex designs and a whole rainbow of colors. Now's the time to break out some vibrantly hued board books or give her a narrated tour of your fascinating backyard. Not only does she love the sound of your words (after all, she's been hearing them since well before she was born!), she's starting to be able to put your face to your voice, and those of other familiar folks like Daddy or Grandma. While it may not seem like it, she's listening carefully and may soon try to respond with some sounds of her own. Encourage her by chatting and cooing along in a conversational pattern. (No, you won't sound silly — you'll sound like a mom or dad!)

Baby Development 6 Weeks

Your 6-Week-Old Baby: Learning to Grab

At six weeks, your baby's getting a firm grasp on life. Here's what else your newborn is up to.

While his hands were once curled into tiny (and preciously pudgy) little fists, these days your 6-week-old baby is beginning to stretch out his fingers and test what they can do. At around six weeks, your baby is likely to find his fingers endlessly fascinating, and may spend a good chunk of time simply gazing at those magical appendages. (Hey, are these mine?) Or he might realize that sucking on a thumb (or a pinky or a pointer) is soothing — maybe even soothing enough to help him drift off to dreamland. If your little one turns out to be a thumb sucker, celebrate the fact that he's found a way to comfort himself on his own. (And pay no mind to busybodies who say it isn't good for him — at this age, it's perfectly fine.)

Also on your baby's handy agenda: getting a grip. Try putting something (like your finger or the handle of a rattle) in his palm and chances are he'll hold on — and keep on holding! He may even reach for an enticing object and try to bat at it or snatch it for his own. You can thank his ever-sharpening vision for this breakthrough — he can see better now so he's ready to try coordinating his eyes and his hands. Sure, he's got a ways to go before he smacks a ball out of the park, but when it comes to hand-eye skills, practice makes perfect (and his attempts are really cute, besides).

How can you give your little one a leg up on using his hands? For one thing, make sure he logs daily tummy time so he can get a little workout for those hands — and the arms they're attached to. (Remember: Back to sleep, tummy to play — while baby needs to be belly-down to build strength and motor skills, it's not a safe position for sleeping.) He'll likely keep his elbows tucked in now, and just lift his head enough to see the dust bunnies under the couch, but soon he'll be pushing up higher and higher until his arms are straight and he can look out into the wondrous world well beyond his blanket.

Baby Development 5 Weeks

Your 5-Week-Old Baby: Smiles, Sights, and Sounds

Was that gas — or baby's first real smile? Here's what your five-week-old infant is up to.

By five weeks of age, when the corners of your baby's mouth curl up, you can safely attribute it to an actual social smile (unless, of course, you happen to detect that telltale odor that means it's time for another diaper change). And who better to practice those first smiles on than Mom and Dad? (Yes, you!) So keep up those loving interactions with your baby (the little things that mean a lot — like talking, singing, and cooing to your baby) and all three of you will have plenty to smile about.

Something else your 5-week-old baby will smile about around now: music — whether it's you singing your way through a diaper change or the radio humming in the background. Your baby's acutely aware of other sounds too, like bells, barking dogs, vacuum cleaners, and whistles. He or she may kick with pleasure at these sounds, cry out, or quiet down to get a better listen (a lot depends on whether they're sounds that became familiar in utero). Just be sure to note which sounds calm down your baby best so you can recreate them when you need it most!

Your five-week-old is becoming increasingly alert, and may be awake up to 10 hours out of every 24 (but not all at once, and not necessarily in the daytime, unfortunately). Before long, that sleep-awake pattern will become more and more predictable (with baby taking two to three naps of two to three hours each a day). Which leaves a lot of waking hours for your bouncing baby to learn new skills (like bouncing), take in the world — and interact with Mom and Dad. And here's the best news of all: When it comes to stimulating your baby, no special toys or tapes or DVDs are necessary. Nobody does it better (or more lovingly) than you. Every time you cuddle, read, sing, hug, touch, and respond, you're giving your baby what he or she needs most to thrive.

Baby Development Week 4

Week 04 - Your New Baby

When you see your baby in the morning does she seem to be bigger than the day before? You aren't imagining things! Your little one is now capable of deep sleep, or non-REM sleep, during which the growth hormone somatotropin is released, so your baby really does grow while sleeping! She is also spending more time in lighter REM sleep, when dreams occur, so you may begin to notice your baby's body twitching, eyelids fluttering, and breathing increasing when she is dreaming.
Has your baby displayed the Moro, or startle, reflex? Babies are born with this protective reflex, which is triggered when the baby's head falls backward or changes position quickly. If your baby feels herself falling, she will extend both arms out sideways with palms up and thumbs flexed.She will then quickly bring both arms back together and cry. The Moro reflex gradually disappears around three months of age.
You may notice your baby is becoming a bit more interactive this week and will probably begin making wet, throaty noises that amuse you both. If your baby is fussing, she may now become quiet when you start talking to her.
Babies' eye color is a shifty thing! Most Caucasian babies are born with dark gray-blue eyes that can take weeks or months to reveal their true color. Many African-American, Asian, and Hispanic babies are born with dark gray-brown eyes that don't change color significantly, but some may start out with hazel eyes that get darker as they approach 6 months. After six or nine months of age, the eye color you see is probably what your baby will have for the rest of his or her life. However, some children's eye color is still changing after a few years.

Baby Development Week 3

So I missed the first two weeks, but thought it would be a nice carry over from talking about baby development in utero each week to what she can do now each week:

Your 3-Week-Old Baby: Cracking the Crying Code

Can't take the crying for another moment? Just stop, take a really deep breath, and listen closely: Your newborn baby is trying to tell you something.

Hard for an exhausted parent to believe, but not all or your newborn's cries are alike these days. Your 3-week-old baby now has different sobs to communicate different needs: short and low-pitched when hungry (accompanied by frantic finger sucking and rooting); intermittent fussiness and whimpering when bored; and continuous and whiny when uncomfortable or overtired. Learn by observation (and through trial and error) to tell them apart and respond accordingly, and you may actually be able to cut down on your baby's daily crying time. In other words, crack down on crying by cracking the crying code.

These days, your baby is also keeping busy (and keeping you busy) with lots of bodily activities, some entertaining, some not so much: spitting up (pretty soon you won't even notice that sour milk smell, or the yellow stains on all of your clothes and the formerly pristine little baby clothes), passing gas (what an adorable whoopee cushion you have!), and having explosive diaper blowouts (in case you haven't experienced one yet: they're the kind of BMs that don't stay put in the diaper).
And while older babies are known for their smooth complexions, three-week-olds definitely aren't. Among the conditions that may be keeping the skin your baby's in colorful but less-than-flawless: red zits and whiteheads (didn't expect those until middle school at least?), pink diaper rashes, flaky yellow cradle cap, and purplish mottling (not to worry — it's just a sign of your baby's immature circulation). Fortunately, all these skin imperfections are temporary (some like the pimples and mottling will go away on their own — others like diaper rash and cradle cap will respond well to treatment) — which means that clear baby skin is just around the corner (no Clearasil necessary).
On the developmental front, your baby is both more interested and more interesting. With improved concentration and focusing skills, your three-week-old is all eyes — and is using those eyes to take in his or her surroundings in a much more sophisticated way. Complex shapes will be more engaging than simple ones, so ditch the circles and bring on the zigzags. Another skill your baby's probably picked up: being able to track things as they move. Put this skill to the test by trying this experiment: Wave a scarf, soft toy, or a spinning mobile slowly around baby's head and watch as those eager little eyes follow every movement.

Baby's Cry Cartoon

Labor Humor

Thank You Cristina!

I took this picture and totally forgot to post it!! I'm sorry!! Thank you so much for making these :) I know they weren't all meant for Emilie but I'm so glad she got them anyways ;) My favorite is the white one :) :) :) I can't wait to see her in it! Thank you again!!! Oh and for the blankets that you gave me today! I already put them in the wash so they will be ready for when she comes home in a few days :)

Tomorrow is the big day :) :)

Alright so my appointment today...nothing really to report. The doc says i'm still not dilated at all. I have some fibrous tissue in a ring around my cervix, which is scar tissue. The verdict is out if it's going to prevent me from dilating or not. It could stop me from dilating which could mean a c-section in my future.

According to Bekah my L&D go to gal this roughly how the induction should go:

I call L&D at 4pm tomorrow. They tell me a time to go in, probably around 6 or they will tell me to call back at 6 :\ I've been told to just keep calling and don't give up.

When I get there I will get my first round of Cytotec, which is a pill they will insert in my you know what to soften my cervix up. The idea is that this "should" start me to dilate. It can also cause cramping and sometimes start a person's labor.

They will con't to insert pills every 4 hours depending on my progress.

In the morning at 6am if I've shown progress they will start the pitocin. Which will be increased in strength every 20 minutes. We've agreed to try pit for 8 hours and if I'm progressing then we con't if nothing then we stop and decide the next step.

With the scar tissue I've already been warned that there is a possibilty of a c-section. On my IC board many women (if they make to full term) seem to need inductions or c-sections, so I don't think this is an uncommon thing. The doc isn't even sure exactly how my cervix will behave. They could give me one dose of Cytotec and it will cause me to rip the scar tissue and then I could very quickly dilate. It's all a mystery, lol.

I'm going to try avoid a c-section if possible, for obvious reasons. But in the end as long as she gets here and is healthy and well i don't care :) I will heal.

Remember to check the blog for updates. Although most of them will probably come through e-mail so hopefully your all on the list!! (If you have never gotten one of my large group update e-mails then make sure you e-mail me tonight so I can add you to the list!!)

1 Day Left :)

I am officially 40 weeks pregnant. Never thought we would make it to here. I expected with my cervix taking the damage it did we would be having another preemie...but alas my body proved me wrong. Which really makes me wonder why with some women it's an issue and others it seems it's not. :\ I will take the good :) I think we needed some good :)

So I went to the store today :) And I love Perry's Birthday Bash icecream. They haven't had the last 3 times I've wen to buy some so I've been settling for Panda Paws with peanutbutter melted on it. Today it looked like they just restocked it so decided to take a peek. Some sales guy asked me what I kind I was looking for and went in the back and got me one :) How sweet! I love The Giant :) So I HAD to buy it :) I'm so excited, I'm going to have some for desert after I eat lunch :) hehehe





Other news. Baby Violet has an update ;) She's been home for awhile now and overall doing really well!! She's had some reflux issues but those are getting better too :) I want to share one of her latest pictures :)






As for anything in terms of how I am...nothing is happening. I don't even have much pelvic pain! Not sure where it all went??? No cramping, nothing. Emilie is still kicking around in there. And I mean seriously kicking. I know she's not supposed to have the room, but some how she makes it! On occasion she still gives me a good smack. She doesn't move as often as she used to, but it's been slowly decreasing so I'm not alarmed, it isn't a sudden change. Jason and I did got for another walk last night. My legs are sore, but nothing else really is.

40 Weeks!

Height = 19-20 in
Weight = 7-8lbs

During week 40 of pregnancy, "the bun in the oven" should be just about done. It's about time to turn this oven (you) off!

Your baby's reflexes are coordinated by the time you are 40 weeks pregnant, which means that your baby can:

• Blink
• Close his or her eyes
• Turn his or her head
• Grasp firmly
• Respond to sound, light, and touch.

At birth your baby has a total of 300 bones. Some of the bones will fuse together later, which is why an adult has only 206 bones. Fascinating, no?

2 days left!

Okay I just realized that really it's more like 3 days left since she probably won't be here until Friday, BUT once the induction is under way then it's all excitement from then on their out right ;) I know with Kaitlin I didn't really realize day or night while I was in labor.

Tried to clean today. I did pretty good :) I have some energy back today which is nice. I'm barely feeling any kind of soreness. Not sure why it's seemingly disappearing now, but I'll take it ;) I've realized we just don't have the darn room for things, lol. The nursery is being over run with storage things :\ Oh well she's going to have to share for a little while. I want to try to keep the living room clutter free so that way when people come to visit we aren't tripping over things, even though I'm sure we will be anyways, lol. You get more than 4 adults in this room and it's already too much.

I can't wait for August to come and go! I hate this heat :\ AC has been running since 9:30 am with no lights on, curtains closed, etc. It's only 4 and I'm nearing the uncomfortable mark :\ I even had BOTH ACs running for awhile since I was running all over the place and the living room is still hotter than the rest of the house :\ Annoying!

Off to watch some TV, then cook dinner.

Update from this morning....

all is calm...I went back to sleep for a few hours and woke up with nothing...so still pregnant :)

Interestingly the cramping pain seemed to felt the most when I was laying down. Somehow I just figured out how to sleep through it when I laid back down.

3 days or less left!

Checking in mighty early this morning. I've been up since 4 am with cramping type pains, enough to not let me sleep.

Not sure if today is the day or not. I'm having trouble deciding if this is from me needing to possibly poop or if it's headed for contractions. The pain does seem to change, etc. At any rate, i'm feeling SOMETHING this morning. Considering with Kaitlin it really wasn't a normal labor, etc. I'm just not sure what to call this. I haven't started timing anything yet since I'm not sure what to time. Like I said the pain seems to change.

In other news, I made another hate for miss Emilie last night. Not sure i like it. I think I need to work on making them much bigger than what I am :\ But soon enough I'll have her head to go by so I can make more :)

Don't think I'm going to bed anytime soon so off to make a cup of decaf coffee :) Did I mention that even after she comes I'm stuck with decaff? Apparently it can decrease your milk production...so if I want soda again ever I need to con't with the decaff coffee :\ But then again I'm so used to decaff...it's probably healthier, oh well the sacrafices ;)

New Belly Pic Shoot :)

This is probably the best photo out of all of them :) Definitely a favorite :)
I've been wanting to do one last naked belly shoot, so we did it today :) Some weren't the nicest pics and I definitely saw the extent of my stretch marks lol. I'm sure they aren't as bad as some get but this kiddo hsa left her mark! :)
More are in the Belly Pics Gallery if your interested.

5 Days or less :) !!!

Came home to find another package on our door step. This kiddo is going to be spoiled rotten ;) This one came from an online friend from my PPP group :) THANK YOU SANDY! I hope she is having a blast in Paris :)

Jason and I went garage sailing today. We thought it was a town wide, but it really wasn't :\ But I did get a autumn type snowsuit for 50 cents! So now she is really set for this winter :) Also got a few more hats to donate to Baby Keelan's Memory collection that I started on my IC group board.

We ate a YUMMY diner :) The Plaza Diner on the parkway is very reasonably priced and yummy!! Jason found some power adapter he was looking for. It was a good day over all :) Now while Emilie continues to have the hiccups I'm going to sort through files while watching One Tree Hill :)

No contractions to report about...

Still 6 days left ;)

I wanted to put up the super pretty pink blanket we got in the mail today :) :) Thank you Uncle Zachary, Aunt Lisa, Ashley and Jonathan :) !! It reminds me of the cat Aunt Z got Kaitlin :) Which I won't allow Emilie to play with so this ties in with it really nicely :) And you didn't even know you were doing it :) Thanks!

Jason and I went for a mile walk today on the rail trail. I made it .5 miles with really no problem...then all sorts of pains started hitting me! Worse than during the 1.6 mile walk last weekend! I however did do WAY more today so it might be just catching up with me. I cleaned our bedroom of most of the clothes on the floor. Put a bunch of clothes away. Vacuumed the entire apt. Made a play mat/larger diaper changing pad and turned a receiving blanket into a curtain. I've also been sitting on the exercise ball instead of my computer chair. My back is beginning to protest so soon I will be moving to my comfy recliner :)

Oh I want to toss this question out there to everyone who reads this :) I'm trying to come up with a list of things that have happened since I've been pregnant either in the family, news, world, etc. To do a sort of this is what happened while I was pregnant with you type thing. So anyone can think of anything please either leave a comment or e-mail me :)

6 Days or less :)

Thought I would share the pic of the tea set I got the other day :) So cute isn't it! Plus it's all fabric so i can wash it after Xavier and her play with it and get it all drool, lol. I have books too that are fabric so I can do the same thing :) (not that either can play with ALL the pieces in the this set right off, some are a little too small). I know it will be awhile before she gets to use it, but I bought it for $1.50...how could I NOT get it :)

Nothing going on today. I *think* I might have had a few contractions last night but they were weird. It was like I was getting a cramp but different. Nothing I've felt before with Kaitlin or this one. But obviously nothing came of them.

Daddy gave Emilie permission to be born this morning, lol. Every morning he's been leaving for work saying "No baby today" and then this morning he said "A baby today would be okay :)" and then told her that :) It would be so funny if I were to go into labor today, but I'm not expecting to. Jason also has a feeling she will be coming on the 27th...not sure why but that could mean a possible a kiddo Monday? I guess we'll see.

Plans tonight are to go for a walk, and I've been spending time sitting on our exercise ball which is supposed to help encourage things as well. We were so worried about her coming early, and now we can't get her out, how ironic ;)