July 30, 2006
(40 Weeks 1 Day Old)
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Attention passengers. This is your Captain speaking... |
Waking up after a long flight. |
On July 21st Emma turned 9 months old. She has come a long way both physically and developmentally while on the road to achieving this remarkable milestone. The same holds true for her parents who have tried hard to adapt to the newest addition to their family. We have read books, performed research on the internet, and interviewed countless friends and family members in order to derive a set of rules and guidelines by which to navigate the turbulent waters of parenthood while creating a solid foundation where our little rose can grow. This is a dynamic process and we are not experts by any stretch of the imagination. We realize there is no right or wrong way to raise a child and we have and will continue to make mistakes along the way. Emma challenges our theories and strategies every day and we our forced to make decisions on whether to stay the course or try an alternative approach. Sleeping is one such example. We have tried to be consistent with her sleeping habits for nine months now. Her first nap is at 10:30AM, her second at 2:00PM and bedtime is at 9:00PM. Despite our consistency, Emma hates to sleep and will fight us to the death every time we try to put her to bed. Don't get me wrong, throughout the day a halo hovers above her head, but when night falls, the horns come out and the strength of our collective will is put to the test and stretched beyond its elastic limit. For nine months now we have vowed to be consistent with her sleeping habits and never to let her sleep with us in our bed. Experts suggest that this be avoided to prevent the incorporation of bad habits that will be hard to break down the road. Despite our most valiant efforts and best intentions, I am here to proclaim publicly, openly, and shamelessly that Emma has won! She has broken us, shattered our beliefs, and bent our will. In the last three weeks we have let Emma decide when she is tired and where she sleeps (which is typically in the shape of a snow angel right smack in the middle of our bed with Elena and I balancing precariously and uncomfortably on the edge of the bed). The advantage to this arrangement, which Emma declares as the most desirable configuration for all involved, is that Emma will sleep a bit more soundly and provide her mother and me with a little more shut-eye. Something that has grown more and more precious with each passing day as Emma's constant waking during the night (at 3:00AM and 5:00AM) has caused the institutionalization of her Mother's last wit, leaving a delusional and wild-eyed psychotic zombie in its place. Even with these new sleeping arrangements the consecutive days of sleep loss that Elena has endured is evident. The other day before leaving to work I stopped by to visit my wife and daughter who lay sleeping together in our guest room bed, to give my beautiful wife a kiss and wish her a wonderful day. She looked at me with with a panicked look of exhaustion and terror suggesting that the night did not go well. I realized at that moment that I could not have Elena bare the burden of the night shift all week anymore. Sleep deprivation is way too debilitating and had reached the point to where she could no longer hide its effects. Against Elena's wishes I have now committed myself to taking the night shift on Wednesdays (in addition to my current Friday and Saturday night shift), in an attempt to provide her with an opportunity to regroup during the week. I wish I could take more of this burden from her but given the situation, this will have to do for now. I just wish I would have thought about it sooner. My hats off to all you Mother's out there. It is clear you don't get enough respect for the work that you do. With or without support from a significant other, it is the hardest job on the planet. One only realizes this when they attempt to fill that role for any length of time.
Aside from Emma turning 9 months old, Elena has achieved a remarkable milestone of her own. She has now completed nine months of breastfeeding to which I am honored to bestow upon her the distinguished recognition of the Sapphire ribbon which I will now proudly display at the top of the page from this and every day forward. She is truly my hero.
In June we celebrated my 37th Birthday and on July 13th Elena and I celebrated ten years of marriage. To commemorate these momentous events we traveled to North Carolina for a little R&R. On our arrival we stormed the cockpit for a quick photo-op.
Emma also had her nine month checkup where they performed a blood and urine test. She is healthy and "well padded" according to her Pediatrician. Emma is now able to effortlessly turn over to her back when placed on her tummy. Her little chicken wing no longer gets in the way. When provided with two index fingers to grasp on to, Emma will sit herself up and then stand. She is still toothless but has been given the green light for table foods by her Doctor. I tried giving her a Gerber sweet potato puff the other day and she swallowed it whole, began choking, and threw up. I almost had a heart-attack myself. I think I will hold off on solid foods like that until her little snaggle teeth come in. For the record, Emma has tried the following "big people" food so far:
- ice cream (vanilla and chocolate)
- pudding
- bread
Elena and Emma have started Gymboree again. Emma is now in the six to ten month class. At this point the majority of kids her age are crawling like bugs and some are starting to walk. Emma still has no interest in crawling but took her first assisted steps in Gymboree class this week. She has continued to practice walking at home with us and will probably walk before she crawls. If I haven't mentioned it before, Emma is an independent sitter and will even lean forward to reach her toys when sitting on the floor.
Emma also celebrated her first Independence Day this July 4th. We viewed the local fireworks, as we do every year, from the comfort of our backyard. Emma was a trooper and didn't even flinch throughout the show. I held her tight on my lap to comfort her just in case. I was honored to be her rock.
Emma was a little disappointed when the fireworks ended. She kinda wanted a little more.
Emma showing off her "Belly Meat". We have a little song we sing to her before we attack. It is called "Belly Meat" and it goes something like this:
"Belly Meat... Belly Meat... Emma's got good Belly Meat.
Belly Meat... Belly Meat... Mom & Dad's Favorite treat."
And then we start munching on her belly. She likes that song as is evident by her squealed laughter.
I know, I know, you are laughing at us now but tonight, when you go to bed, I dare you to get that song out of your head.
