The quick summary - She's crawling and cruising. She attempted to bail out of her crib a couple of weeks ago, so we moved the mattress down to the lowest setting. She's on the quiet side, but her favorite way of communicating is through laughter...and that makes me smile. She's just starting to understand "no" and evident today when I said "no" as she reached for our dog's food...and then that bottom lip began to quiver ever so lightly and I felt a bad mommy moment.
I continue to breastfeed, and I don't know how long we'll go for. I've stopped trying to set absolutes in regards to her, because if I've learned one thing in these past nine months, it is that there are no absolutes. Our night/napping schedule is finally down after several months of sneaking into the guest bedroom with her for her 2AM feeding then remaining nuzzled in there with her until the morning. I realized the need for a change when DH asked "Am I ever going to get to sleep with you again?". So she now not only sleeps in her crib, but will put herself to sleep (for the most part). Although this is now the right choice for us, looking back, I have to admit...I don't regret those precious nights nuzzled with her.
We have been doing cloth diapers. If you are interested in doing so, give it a try. Really, piece of cake.
As for DH and I, we are slowly but surely finding our balance as a couple and as parents. I will go back teaching in the fall. I will be gone about 18 hours a week...and I would be lying if I didn't tell you that I am looking forward to it. For me, it is the perfect job for raising kids. I'm technically "full-time" this semester in pay and in title. But "full-time" at a university is roughly 20 hours a week away from home. Then I will get a month off around the holidays and have off from April 14th - Sept. 8th. I'm grateful for it. I think with our lifestyle, Alex away 16 or so days a month, the away time for me is necessary. I find myself being a better parent even when I just get a couple hours away a day. When I go 3-4 days without anyone else to hold her even for a minute, I find myself burnt out and sometimes only taking care of basic needs...not the type of parent I had hoped to be.
So what next for the blog? I think I will start blogging about parenting Little Miss Emmeline. I miss blogging. I miss my blog world friends...and I so look forward to catching up with you all in the upcoming days.
I leave you with a 7 month pic...more to follow.
5 comments:
Wow, so good to hear from you! Glad you're doing well and loving parenting. She's adorable!
Would love to hear more on the cloth diapering. You left me a comment that you love Thirsties, so they don't leak for you? Maybe it's a boy issue since they pee more up front. I'm really wanting to like them as they are so cute, but just not having any luck with them.
Yay! I am so happy to see you back and happy with exciting things to report and look forward to! She is adorable! What a little cutie!
Yay on cloth diapering too!
Christina, I've so missed hearing from you and felt such joy after reading your post. Emmeline is so beautiful - wow! I still chuckle at those crazy first few betas when you were convinced (I was more in your camp at first than the "miracle" camp) it wasn't to be. Thank goodness you humored CCRM and stayed on the meds and within a week, I remember the big beta jump in 24 hours when I thought, Hey, this might just pan out.
And boy, did it pan out!
Can't wait to hear about your adventures with the princess.
So great to hear from you all...and so great to catch up on your blogs. Lots going on!
Jill, you know, we had a big leaking problem with the Thirsties initially. Then I realized that I was folding the pre-folds wrong. The lady at the diaper place told me to fold an inch or so horizontally then fold in the sides. That horizontal fold goes in the back and has seemed to create a little catch for liquid and other stuff ;-). Maybe it would work as a catch in the front for boys? We will very occasionally get a leak, but it is usually because we didn't tuck the prefold into the Thirstie somewhere. After several night leaks, I have resorted to a disposable at night.
Re: Thirsties... I'm not using a prefold, I'm using the stay-dry insert that comes with the duo wrap, so there's no folding. I've tried and tried and they just continue to leak, bummer!
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