Oldie - 5/7/09

I wrote Embree a few letters in the past just for fun. Here is one from 5/7/09:
In just a few days you will be 4 months old, and I still can’t believe it! You have grown so fast just in the last month! I wanted to write you and keep track of everything that is going on with us, but you haven’t really given me a chance. You LOVE me so much! You want my attention every second, and I hate to disappoint you!

Since I’m so behind, let’s just start at the beginning… You were due January 31st, 2009. I put on A LOT of weight with you, so the doctor thought that you would be a really big baby. That scared the crap out of me! It scared me more when you were born, though, and were SO tiny. You were done being in my belly on the 12th of January. At 7pm, January 11th, I started cramping and then went into full-blown labor within five hours. You arrived in record time.

After no time of pushing, you arrived and started crying when they measured and weighed you. The doctor was so matter-of-fact when he said you were too small and would have to go to NICU. But first they let me hold you. And you immediately stopped crying. You just stared at me with your navy blue/brown eyes for fifteen minutes. No crying. We were just so interested in each other. When they took you to NICU, your daddy went with you. And just thinking about how that felt still makes me cry. I was amazed at how much I could miss you after only seeing you for fifteen minutes. Now I’m crying!

The six days that you were in NICU were incredibly hard on our emotions, but it all paid off. You were, of course, the prettiest baby ever and everybody noticed! So many people wanted to meet you – already Miss Popular! I cried so hard when I had to leave the hospital without you. A very kind nurse tried to console me while your daddy went to get the car. It was so sad. On the positive side, we did learn a lot while you were in NICU about how to feed you, burb you, change you, etc. It was like a crash course.

You had colic. It was terrible. I don’t even want to talk very much about it because you are so different now. You are absolutely joyous and I am going to try to forget about the two months when you made my life so difficult. You couldn’t help it, and it has only made me stronger.

Four days ago, you rolled over for the first time. You don’t love being on your tummy, so you were crying after a few minutes of tummy-time. I was testing myself to see how long I could sit beside you and let you cry without making everything better. You just got so pissed off and with a burst of anger, rolled onto your back. Surprised at your own strength, you stopped crying for a little bit.

These days, you are a joy to be around. You only cry when you are hungry, tired, when you have a dirty diaper, or when I make you play on your tummy for more than 5 minutes. You are incredibly alert. You just love to look around and be apart of what your daddy and I are doing. We are spoiling you rotten because you are such a freaking sweetheart, it is hard not to!

The doctor said you were the most defiant 4 month old he’s ever met, which is saying a lot since he has 7 children... and he’s a pediatirician!!