Emma Jewel Newsletter Vol. 17 (5/4/2004)

Miss Emma is just so precious.  We are very happy parents.

She has went for her first checkup.  She got a very good report.  
As of April 29th, she is 
now 5 pounds 12 ounces, which is up 4 ounces from her birth
weight.  Babies always loose weight after being born.  She had
lost down from 5 pounds 8 ounces to 4 pound 15 ounces by the time
we had left the hospital.  Now, she is 4 ounces past her birth
weight.  The doctor said babies usually take two weeks to even gain
back to their birth weight.  So, we took it as a good sign she was 
gaining so well.

We'll still be keeping her under wraps for a bit.  Sometimes 
preemies have trouble adjusting to this world full of germs.  But,
we are hoping, as time passes, that we will be able to take her
on tour: The Emma Dixon's "Joy Bringer" Tour 2004.

Everyone keeps asking us which one of us she looks like.  She is
changing everyday.  So far, we think she looks like both of us. :)
We have established that she got her Daddy's hiccups and her Momma's
multiple sneezing.

Momma and Daddy have already forgotten what sleep is.  We get it
in little shots.  Although, the past couple of nights, Miss Emma has
slept very well.  Daddy had a good talking to her on one particularly
fussy night and explained to her that we would all feel better if
she would go to sleep.  :)  So far, the talk seems to be working.

Our first few days home, I was concerned because she just seemed to
cry so much.  Of course, I started re-reading all my "new baby" 
books for some sort of clue.  The consensus was that the first week,
babies sleep 18 hours a day and cry 4.  That only leaves 2 hours
that they are awake and happy.  That seemed to describe Emma to a T.

I would definetly say her fussing has diminished.  I think she is
finally starting to trust us.  She knows now that we will do 
everything we can to figure out what is wrong and fix it.  :)  She 
is even a bit more patient around feeding time.  There are starting
to be levels to her crying.  Everything isn't a major emergency now.
So, that is helping us to figure out right away what to do.  

I also read a study that said fussy babies tend to have higher IQ's.
I was ready to get her tested for Mensa those first couple of days.
:)

Although, we haven't officially taken Miss Emma anywhere.  We have
taken her on several car rides.  We've had to run errands, and we
take her with us.  Just one of us stays in the car with her while
the other runs in to take care of business.  We've discovered that
she REALLY likes taking naps while riding in the car.

Daddy has had to go back to work.  But, he is doing a reduced 
schedule so he can be with Momma and Miss Emma all he can.  He's 
even getting to work from home some, too, which makes all of us
happier all the way around.

Hope everyone is doing well.  More Emma news to come.

Momma Kay