Letter to Emery (8 weeks)

Dear Emery,

You are nearly 8 weeks old now! I can't believe how big you're getting; you're almost 10 pounds by now. Much has happened since I last wrote.

As you can see...the double chin is coming in nicely :)

First of all, you made your first road trip to Nyssa! With two feeding stops, our trip only took about 8 hours instead of 6.5 (I believe your dad took advantage of being the driver and made up for lost time if you know what I mean). Your dad left us in good hands with the Jensen family for the week while he flew around the country trying to decide where to go to Physical Therapy School. How nice it was to just hand you over to Grandma and Grandpa on a couple of those mornings and get an extra hour of sleep!

Your Easter outfit! Headband made by me and
adorable bunny gown from Grandma Hoyt

In Nyssa, you learned a new skill---smiling! You're still working on it a bit, but it's definitely there and makes my day to see it. Hopefully one of these days I'll catch it with a camera. You also got to meet your Baxter great-grandparents!

Emery and Baxter Great-Grandparents

Your family sure loves you lots! It was especially fun to watch Uncle Nate (who's almost 5 years old now) interact with you. He was convinced that petting your head was comparable to petting his fluffy kitty, Zurk. He said things like "I just looooove Emery," and "I think that Emery thinks I'm her best friend." Luckily, we convinced Nate and Grandma J to make the drive back to Utah with us. Not only did Grandma drive the whole way, she also succeeded in reaching Nate's McDonalds chicken nuggets daily quota, stopping for all my bathroom breaks, and making sure we were getting you fed. We even stopped in Burley and met your Jensen great-grandparents! I wish I would've gotten a picture. Hopefully you get to see them again when you aren't as fussy :). Great-grandma Jensen gave us one of my favorite books: Love You Forever. Both me and your dad read the book to you last night (dad did the reading parts, I did the singing parts).

We borrowed this cute flower from Aunt Mallory while she was at school :)

Love this little face :)

This past Sunday, your dad and I made an attempt at taking you to church. You and I were both bathed, dressed, and ready to go (which is no small feat), but 1:00 sacrament meeting just happened to fall at your feeding time...so you ended up being hungry and we spent the hour feeding in the car. I'll let you know in the future how attempt #2 goes!

One thing that you've been struggling with the past few weeks is feeding. You've been super fussy and grumpy and it takes about an hour to get you to eat for only 10 minutes or so. It's been a frustrating experience for both of us! This week, I went to the lactation clinic to see if they could help us, and it turns out I have a LOT of milk  (which I was definitely aware of) and a pretty hefty let-down reflex (sorry if that's TMI). No wonder you've been fuming mad---you've essentially been trying to drink from a fire hose! We got some help and are doing a little bit better. We also visited the pediatrician and got some Prevacid for you because it seems like you've been having some reflux that makes you uncomfortable. I really hope that you start eating better, because right now it's virtually impossible to nurse you in public. Since you and I will likely be making a plane ride to Georgia in a month, this is kind of stressing me out.

Today your dad and I tried to ask how you felt about living in Georgia for at least the next two years, but you didn't seem to respond much, so we're assuming it's okay :) A plus for you is that you will get your very own room! You won't have to sleep in the living room/kitchen area or nap on mom and dad's bed :)

Well, time continues to go by quickly and I'm still amazed at how much there is to learn as a mom! I'm hoping you start sleeping more at night and eating better. Keep smiling away :)

Love,

Mom