Sharp Family

Sharp Family

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Continually Learning


It's funny how much you think you know about being a parent until you actually become one. Mike and I continue to be amazed at all of the things that we worry about now that we never realized would be a concern. For example, how much food Emma is eating, how much sleep she is getting, how to wrap her up good enough to actually get her to sleep, how many bowel movements she is having, Oh No is she getting teeth, is she still breathing when she is sleeping so quietly, and on and on. Well I am happy to report that we continue to find things that worry us, but we are also finding some things that have really helped. There are also many things that I wish I would've known or had 4 months ago. So after struggling to get Emma to sleep in her crib lying down my sister in law suggested that we double swaddle her which has really helped for awhile, but she has become so strong that she just wriggles herself out of it. So we decided to invest in a swaddling blanket for her and it has been working so well so far. Also, we had a couple from our ward come over for dinner on Monday and they have a daughter who is the same age as Emma who has been sleeping through the night since she was 4 weeks old. She sleeps for 11 hours. How awesome would that be. Emma slept for 8 1/2 hours one night but that must have been a fluke because she usually averages 4-5 hours before waking up. I guess the key to their success has been "Baby Wise". I heard about this book before I had Emma, but never read it. We are seriously going to be looking into it now and hopefully it won't be too late. She had sure gotten into some bad habits and it would be wonderful if she could fall to sleep on her own. Sorry to all of those who are bored by all of this baby talk, but as a stay at home mom this is what I think about and have to talk about. Anyway we went to Emma's doctor on Monday and she is doing so well. She now weighs 13 lbs!!! I can't believe how chubby she is getting. She is also in the 50th percentile for weight and height when compared to most 4 month olds. This is really great since her gestational age is really 3 months. The doctor says she is developmentally on target for the 4 month range which is so great to hear. She had to get some yucky shots, but she did pretty well. Well Emma just woke up from her nap and so I better end this and go get her. (So I just went to get her up from her nap and wouldn't you know it she managed to get herself out of her swaddling blanket as well. Hmm I guess we'll continue to learn by trial and error:)

6 comments:

EmWJ said...

You both look darling!

Mandos said...

That is what most of parenting is.. Trial and error. Just when you think you got it figured out you have another child and none of the tricks you learned work with that one. So it's back to square one!

I love the picture of the two of you together!

Tina said...

I agree with Mandos. And sometimes you figure it out on the one and then it stops working and you have to try something else. My SIL just had her first baby and she is calling me all the time with her worries and asking me when my kids did things...I have to tell her I don't know, they are all so different and every kid will be. I also say take what others say and what you read with a grain of salt and go with your gut, and what you feel comfortable with. Don't let them stress you out.

LOve Love the picture of you guys. YOu look great. I miss you.

Ashley said...

You look great in that pic Amy!! My sister swears by Babywise - she has 2 boys, one's a great sleeper, the other hates his naps & sleeping, but both of them were sleeping 11-12 hours through the night by 8-12 weeks because of Babywise and her sticking to it - she says it's hard at first but so worth it in the end. They've slept awesome ever since. I found it for 50cents at a garage sale and need to start reading that ASAP. I have a feeling I'll be in that worry category really really soon ;).

Currency Expert said...

Amy, I know you are breast feeding, but we tried supplementing some formula with a little rice cereal in the formula just before bedtime. It helped them sleep through the night

tkfonzie said...

Such a cute girl and what a pretty Mommy:). We miss you guys!