One Day at a Time

 I continue to learn and be amazed at Emma's growth and development everyday.  She just passed the 6 week mark and while there are days I worry she's not growing and developing "normally", there are also days that I look at her and think she's a lady ahead of her time! Here's a brief update of what she's been up to the last couple of weeks.

Emma meeting her great grandfather, also known as BOP.  Bop is 98 years old and he just stopped in on his way from New York back to Florida! 

Morning naptime in our house isn't just for Emma.

All tuckered out after smiling for the camera with her professional photo session.

Emma meeting her Grandma Margaret Ann from California.

Her first "fast food" experience was taking her bottle in the backseat of the car while Mommy had to run several errands. It was a Happy Meal!

This little lady continues to capture the heart of everyone who meets her, and she fills my heart with great joy and gratitude everyday!  

What I've Learned in a Week

These days I have a plethora of topics I want to write about; motherhood, sleep ( or lack there of), Emma's daily signs of growth, caring for a premature baby, and the list continues. However,  I only have time to write a little, so I'm going to attempt to combine some of these topics in What I've Learned In a Week!

I love to learn new things, and I'm usually pretty proactive about learning on my own, however when Emma arrived early, I really didn't have any time to "learn" about the days ahead.  While I was pregnant I did read some books, but I was reading to learn about what was going on inside my body with that sweet little girl, not what would happen once she arrived.  Mistake #1.  If you are pregnant or plan to become so, I would encourage you to skip ahead and read about life after delivery too!  So here are some things I've learned in a week... some this week, last week, and two weeks ago!

1. Mother's Instinct is serious. Trust it.
2. More babies are born premature than you hear about.
3. The hospital should give you some education about premature babies and what to expect.  Not just have you watch the video on back sleeping and purple cry.
4. Doctors don't always have answers, but they will do as many procedures as they can to find one.
5. Breastfeeding is not my thing.
6. Hemangiomas are totally common, just this week I learned 2 of my friends' babies had them. (Thanks for scaring me Doc!)
7. I like and need routine and structure in my days.  Trying to get a newborn on one is hard work when you don't know what day of the week it is and what time it is.
8. Babies can get over-scheduled, even though all they do is sleep through an activity.
9. I was wrong about not wanting some of the items in the Baby Store, I now see how some of these things are helpful. (Not that I've run out to buy any of them though.)
10. I miss DirectTV only for the Today Show and news in the mornings.  (We got rid of it and installed a Roku device about a month ago. I don't watch much TV these days, never really have, but I do miss some news with my coffee in the morning. I feel very out of touch with what's going on in the world. Guess I will need to find time to look it up on line.)

And last but not least, I have learned each week that my love for Emma and Kevin grows stronger everyday. Each day Kevin shows me a side of him I've yet to see, and I see Emma change right before my eyes. Our life was really good before, and nobody could've told me it could be better. But it is!