Dear Emmeline,
Hello sweet girl! How do you like this crazy family so far? More than you bargained for? Lucky for you, you’ll be smothered in love forever, so get used to the chaos.
Here’s what you’ve been up to these last eight weeks …
A Letter to Emmeline at Eight Weeks Old
You’re smiling! You have been since about five weeks, but each day it becomes more pronounced. Every time you do, we all squeal and break out our cameras, and of course, the moment we have our iPhones ready and aimed, you do that thing where your bottom lip puckers out, the only clue that you’re not happy any longer, and then you burst into full-blown pout whimper. Something tells me you’re going to hate being photographed, just like the rest of us.
You’re also cooing and making the sweetest sounds. Scarlett screams, “She’s talking to us!” and I think she just might be right. You startle easily and sneezes make you cry; but miraculously, Belly barking and Scarlett singing at the top of her lungs doesn’t seem to have any effect on you at all.
Your sister, Scarlett, adores you. She constantly squeals, “Emme! You’re so cute!” and “I love you, Emme.” She shows you off to all of her friends when we pick her up from preschool. She kisses your head like a little woodpecker. She’s so enthusiastic, I have to constantly remind her, “Be careful with your sister.” Even though, truthfully, I love it and melt every time she shows you affection. She also revels in getting to hold your bottle upright for you, and she’ll even throw away your dirty diapers in the name of being “a great big sister.” (She’s very proud of her newly minted “great big sister” status and will happily tell anyone that will listen what a great big sister she is and how her little sister is Emme, and on and on and on.)
You started tracking things with your eyes about two weeks ago. I saw you staring up at the ceiling fan in our bedroom a couple of weeks ago; your eyes wide and your mouth puckered, as if you were saying, “Ohhhhh.” I’m pretty sure the ceiling fan has become one of your favorite things to look at.
Your skin is velvety soft and the little bit of baby acne that came around 3 to 4 weeks has already mostly disappeared.
You still don’t love bath time, but you do seem to delight in being rubbed with baby lotion. You coo and smile when I rub it into your soft skin; especially on your tummy, hands, and feet.
We finally put away the newborn clothing this week, and I’ll admit, I welled up thinking that the newborn stage was coming to an end. You wear 0-3 months clothing now – though you’re swimming in it.
You have long fingers and downy hair, and your coloring seems a bit lighter brown than Scarlett’s ever was, especially in the eyebrows.
Also, you wake up every 3 to 4 hours through the night, and though we’re exhausted, you’re so sleepy and sweet late at night. You curl up on our chests, like a tiny frog, and fall asleep only being held. Once we put you down, you grunt and squirm and make your daddy extra nervous, but we’re determined to get you on some kind of sleep schedule. (It took us wayyy too long to “sleep train” Scarlett, so we have high hopes this time around.)
Just like your big sister, you have reflux. We spend most of the day holding you upright, willing you not to spit up, throw up, or hiccup. We tend to fail at all three. Thankfully, you’re still gaining weight, and becoming more and more aware every day. All I have to say is, thank goodness for baby-wearing. Right now, we’re loving the Baby K’Tan, líllébaby, and ring sling. I pretty much always have some kind of baby carrier strapped to my chest.
We’re keeping it dairy-free to keep everyone safe. Scarlett is now convinced that all babies are allergic to cow milk. I hear her whispering to you, “We can’t have milk, Baby Emme. Only grown-ups can have cow milk.”
We’re so so tired, but just like every part of raising babies, we know this too shall pass. I hear of babies who sleep through the night by six weeks old and I cry a little, but ‘ya know, I’ll miss all of this when it’s over and we’re on to the next exhausting stage. Just keep throwing one of those gummy smiles our way and we’re all good.
I love you with my whole heart, baby girl. (So do Scarlett and Daddy … and the rest of your gigantic family, who ask about you every day.)
💗
Always,
Your Mommy
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Photos by Annie Watts Photography for Glitter, Inc. (Emme was about six weeks old when we shot these, because, yeah, it totally took me two weeks to get this post up! #exhausted)
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its hard to work choked up!!
Love and miss you all so much
Emmeline has given us all so much in her 8 small weeks. Thank you Lexi for putting it into words! Love, G’ma