10 Months Old

Ok so this blog jumps from 11 Weeks to 10 Months. Finally work has unblocked this site, and once again I can start updating on a more regular basis.

Emma turned 10 months old yesterday. What the heck happened? It feels like I just gave birth a few weeks ago. Babies really do grow quickly!

Emma now has 4 teeth, the bottom two are all the way in and the top two have just cut through with in the last 5 days. She is standing up hanging on to things but does let go and can stand on her own for a short period of time. She loves her toys that she can push and walk around with.

Emma loves music as soon as she hears anything that can possibly sound like a song she starts dancing and smiling. She is the happiest baby ever!! CJ and I have really been blessed with such a good baby. (Which we are very lucky for, if you ask either of our moms, apparently CJ and I were the fussiest babies and we had issues like colic and projectile vommiting and so forth).

We have also been trying to teach Emma sign language. So far she has learn how to sign "more". We practice with her at meal time and she signs "more" when she wants more food. She usually smiles and laughs as she is doing it, I think she loves being able to communicate with us.

Emma loves playing peak-a-boo. She loves it so much, just the other day at mom's house she took off her bib and placed it over her head and just stayed like that until I said "where's Emma?" and she pulled down the bib and said "Boo". She loves the game and cracks up everytime, it never fails, even if she is crying.

We have also enrolled Emma in swimming lessons. Her first session was at the YMCA in Hagerstown, but we missed half of the classes due to our vacation in FL, Snow and Sickness. This time we were able to enroll Emma in the classes at Shepherd College. Which is even better because it's just a few minutes from the house and on Saturdays. They actually do more instruction at Shepherd College than they did at the Y. Emma was able to get onto a kickboard, and "surf" all over the pool. Mimi went with us since Daddy had to work, but Mimi got an awesome pic on her phone of Emma "surfing." Emma also went underwater 3 times at the end of class. Without crying, she is such a waterbaby.

This weekend, I am going away overnight and it will be my first night without Emma since she was in the NICU. I am really going to miss her. Uncle Adam and Aunt Hailey are going to spend time with her while CJ is at work, and I know she will love being with them. I just hope she isn't bad for them, and I hope I don't blow up their phone too much.

We are starting to plan her 1st brithday party, which will be here before I know it. I just can't believe how quick time flies, it seems like while I was pregnant time just stood still and then once Emma was born time just flew by.

Here are some pictures, Enjoy until next week (or two) I will post more.

9 MONTHS OLD




8 MONTHS OLD




7 MONTHS OLD




6 MONTHS OLD




5 MONTHS OLD





4 MONTHS OLD

11 Weeks

Our Baby Girl will be 11 weeks old tomorrow. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown by. Since we do not have the internet at home (and work blocked this website), it is hard for me to update this site but I am going to try my best.

So an update on Emma’s health, she came home from the NICU on May 21, 2010 she was one day shy of two weeks old. She has been so healthy and happy since she came home from the hospital. She just had her two month check up on Tuesday July 13, 2010 and she weighed 11 pounds and 5 oz and she is 21 ½ “ long. My baby is growing like a weed! We still aren’t sure if she has a milk allergy or not. The doctor is letting us try different formula now. This formula we can at least get in the store. We started out by giving her 1oz of the new formula mixed in with her current formula. Right now we are up to half and half (2 oz of each). I assume if she does well on this new formula, maybe they will let us try regular Similac, but we will see. Her next appointment isn’t until she is 4 months old and the appointment is on September 8, 2010.

As far as me, I am slowly getting my strength back in my arms. My right shoulder and neck are only sore when I am on the computer too long or if I sit too long in a position or in a chair without a back (like a picnic table). My body started to feel better once the doctor found out I had a kidney infection and put me on the appropriate antibiotic. It’s a shame that I was in the hospital for 3 or 4 days and they did several CAT scans and MRI’s but never thought to do a simple urine test. Overall I feel 100% and happy that I can care for my daughter on my own (except the occasional call to Mom to ask for advice but hey isn’t that what Mom’s are for).

And then there is CJ. CJ has been an incredible dad and husband through all of this and he really stepped up to the plate when I was unable to. I am a firm believer that good things happen to good people. During all of this CJ was finally offered a position with WSSC. He has been trying to get a job there for about 2 years. The job pays him a lot more than his other job, better benefits and OT and other monetary pay that his former job didn’t offer him. I feel like this couldn’t come at a better time. He has been with WSSC now for a month and he likes it a lot. He will soon start shift work but the schedule is a lot better than what it was with Frederick County.

Now back to our pride and joy. Emma just recently started to smile. She mostly does it during the day and late afternoon, I think she is too tired to smile in the evening. Emma loves to take baths, so we took her swimming for the first time on Sunday. Overall I think she enjoyed it but it was during nap time so she fell asleep on me while in the pool. We also took Emma to the Burkittsville Carnival this week, and she loved that too. I was surprised she stayed awake the whole time but she enjoyed people watching. She wanted to sit up when I gave her a bottle so she could see everything that was going on. She also enjoyed all of the lights from the rides and booths.


Here are a few pics for your enjoyment. I will try to get pics and video up this weekend.

Love,

The Sklarews



One Month Old





Two Months Old





Tommy & Emma (Emma’s Boyfriend, he is 1month older than her)





She is Totally Rockin’ those glasses





Big Smiles







Looking at herself





This is the “Mom seriously enough with the pictures” look





First Time Swimming





Hanging out poolside





My Little Love Bug

Major Milestone

Last night CJ, Emma and I were all well enough to stay at our own house by ourselfs. Emma slept in her own crib that Gummy and Poppy Sklarew bought for her. CJ and I took turns getting up with her for her feedings which worked out great because we each were able to get some sleep. Emma is lucky to have a Daddy like CJ and I am lucky to have a husband like CJ. He is so involved with the day to day activities and duties of taking care of Emma, which helps me so much. Soon I will post many of Emmma's pictures now that I am feeling well.

Another milestone,....I fit into my regular jeans, lol. (it's nice to be out of maternity clothes)

Thanks for everyone who has kept us in their thoughts and prayers it has meant so much to us and we love you all.

With Good News there's always Bad News

Good News-Emma drank an entire bottle of breast milk at her 2:30pm feeding and didn't need to use her feeding tube (obvisouly you now know my milk finally came in and she defiantly perfers it over formula, Thank God because they have her on probabley the most expensive formula)


Bad News- My muscle pain got very bad earlier this morning and I had no option but to go to the ER and get medication (after a ton of blood work and a CT scan). So I won't be able to give Emma any breast milk until my medication is over in 5 days.

But things are looking good and hopefully my muscle problems will be shortly over and Emma will be inhaling her bottles. This has just been a very hard situtation on CJ and me, but we finally feel like things are slowly getting better, so we are starting to feel better also. Please continue to pray for us and Thanks to everyone for everything, We Love you all!!

Our Bundle of Joy..Prayers needed

For those that dont know Emma arrived 5 weeks early. She was born on May 8,2010 at 10:51pm she weight-6lbs and 4oz and she is 18.5" long. Because she was born early she is in the NICU at FMH. She is trying to fight off an infection and we are trying to get her on good formula until my milk comes in. Emma, CJ and I need your prayers as it is very difficult to leave her there every day, though we know she is in good hands. I have also pulled a muscle in my neck, shoulder and arms, which is making it hard for me to hold Emma and it breaks my heart. So We apploigze if we havent returned anyones phone calls but we are glad to know everyone is thinking about us. We will keep everyone posted. Thanks for everyone who has been helping us. We love you all

It's Been a while...

...since I have been able to post much, but I will try to catch up on everything. The post below is a slide show from my baby shower that was on April 11, 2010

Here is Emma's 3D ultrasound that was done on April 13, I was 31 Weeks and 3 days pregnant



On Friday April 30, 2010, I was excatly 34 Weeks pregnant and here are pics mom took of me.







Also, yesterday (May 3, 2010) CJ and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary

Thats about all for now, but I will be back soon and update more frequently and pictures of the nursery soon.