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August 18, 2004
Emily, 2 years, 5 months
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/j/jensem/ (new pictures added)
Once again I have found myself too busy to post as often as I'd like but I'll try to catch up as best I can now.
I'll start with TTC thoughts. I was talking with a friend of mine recently who has also been TTC as long as I have. We were talking about our daughters and sharing pictures of when they were infants. My friend made a comment of how many special moments she remembers and she's looking forward, hopefully, to those same experiences again. I had to pause for a second because, while I did have many special memories of Emily at that age, I also had a good lot of memories that I'd like to forget. Emily's first year was filled with doctor's visits, visits to specialists, orthotists, therapists, so many appointments it would be hard for me to list them all. Emily was not open to cuddles or being held. In fact, she was happiest alone, propped up in the corner of the couch with her favorite toys. She was so opposed to cuddling that I had to feed her a bottle sitting next to her while she lay on a blanket on the floor. There was the 3 months that Emily had to wear a helmet 23 hours a day to help correct her head flattening. The daily stretches to help work out her tightened neck muscle. So many "extra" worries on top of just the basic worries you would have with your first child.
I'm a little bit embarassed to list all of this because it sounds like I am complaining about my little girl. I think the only reason that I am able to write all this down is the fact that Emily has blossomed into a completely different child than she was as an infant. It seemed that the day she began walking at 22 months, she walked away from a lot of the fears that seemed to plague her daily. She began seeking me out, began cuddling with me. Emily wanted me to hold her for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and an occasional 20 minutes at at time. A week prior to the day that Emily began walking I was at yet another progress meeting with the psychologist who is in charge of Emily's Early Intervention file. The psychologist had noted some behaviors that, in her opinion, were early signs of autism. Two weeks later, when Emily had been walking for a week already, the same psychologist said she couldn't believe the difference in Emily and to forget everything she had said. I did very happily.
The reason I bring all of this up is related to some of my thoughts about TTC. I wonder if part of my desire to have a second child is maybe to have the experience of an infant who doesn't have so many "worries" attached to them. I sometimes feel like I was cheated out of a lot of the fun that comes with a baby. I don't think that all other babies are a breeze. I just think the experience would be different that what I've already experienced with Emily. I also have noticed that as the months pass and Emily overcomes all her hurdles, I begin thinking about our family with just her in it. How much joy she brings to me and Jeremy and would I be able to come to terms with a one child family? I guess I'll know when I know.
Last week I decided to give Emily a "trim" and ended up going way overboard. Emily ended up with a bob. Even though it is kind of uneven, it sure does look cute on her. I was in such a panic while cutting her hair. Emily has been up to a lot besides getting her hair chopped off by a pair of kitchen shears. Emily has finally figured out how to tip a sippy cup and drink from it. She pooped in her potty for the first time yesterday. This was a big accomplishment because prior to that she had been saving it for the tub for the past month and a half. We are FAR from being potty trained but I was excited all the same. Right now her favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Happy Birthday and Bob the Builder (Can we FITS it!!!) Her favorite phrase is.. ..."I like this (sippy cup, blanket, toy). Not that one (pointing to other same type of object). That one is YUCKY!! This one is BETTER!!" She says this ALL DAY about ANY two objects she can find. The words are funny enough but the facial expression when she says "yucky" is really funny.
This past weekend we went to visit Jeremy's parents. They just bought a new home and we hadn't seen them in a while. I love their house. It's very open and has a nice sized backyard, especially for a California backyard. Emily really seemed to enjoy her visit there also. I feel bad that we don't have a backyard for her to play in, maybe someday. She loves being outside so much. Emily was on her very best behavior the entire visit. She went down for her naps with no problem and slept through the night without a peep. My MIL wanted to see if Emily could sleep in the twin bed in her guestroom with a railing, but Emily doesn't understand beds yet. I know it sounds strange but she just doesn't get that beds are to sleep on. She's never wanted to sleep in bed with Jeremy and me. So we found the pack and play that my MIL has and put Emily in it. It was a tight fit but she didn't seem to mind.
My IL's wanted to take us out to dinner to a restaurant that they really liked on Saturday night. Jeremy and I were still a little gun shy about taking Emily since the last time we tried taking her out to breakfast it was a complete disaster. Fortunately Emily was back to her old self and was once again a good diner. She enjoyed the food and the company and even "visited" with a few toddlers who were near our table.
Now that I'm back home I have a ton of typing to do for the school that I work part time at. I should end this entry and get started on that. It's going to be a long night I think....
Jennifer
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