Our Baby is Growing Up

Emily has been learning how to feed herself with a spoon. She has her own special big girl silverware that's shaped perfectly for her little hands and she's doing very well. She gets the biggest smile on her face when she gets it right and we clap and cheer for her, then she smiles even more. She loves to show off.




I've been brushing Emily's teeth with the Baby Orajel tooth and gum cleaner for a long time, but now that she has so many teeth we've begun brushing with a big girl tooth brush. This big girl toothbrush, however, is the tiniest toothbrush I've ever seen! It's so cute! I was afraid that this would be a difficult task, and that she would kick up a fuss about it but she loves it! She really likes her toothpaste so she doesn't fight the toothbrush in her mouth. I brush my teeth first and let her watch all the steps then I do hers. After I've brushed them really well I let her do it herself; mostly she's sucking up every last bit of toothpaste she can get (there's not much to begin with because I use such a small amount).




Emily and I have been working on learning parts of her body. She's still in the learning process, but I can tell she's comprehending what I'm teaching her. She knows her nose really well. This week we've been working on recognizing hands and feet. Once she gets those we'll move on to eyes and ears, etc. She's in such a fun stage right now. She's just a little sponge soaking up everything she can and it is very rewarding to watch her learn.

I need your help! Emily has begun having Night Terrors. She has had atleast one every night the past 3 nights. I didn't realize until last night that that's what was happening until last night. She wakes up shortly after falling asleep and screams bloody murder and she sounds absolutely terrified when she does it. When this happens nothing will console her. I try to rock her, sing to her, give her a sippy cup or her bear but she won't take them; nothing helps. Her eyes will be open the whole time but she won't look at you. These episodes last anywhere from 5-20 minutes and it's really scary. The first time it happened was on Sunday during her afternoon nap. We were at Grandma and Grandpa Monk's and she woke up screaming and screaming but nothing helped. We thought she was in pain from teething or something and I didn't think anything more of it. But last night after she'd calmed down I researched our problem for a few hours. And, indeed she has night terrors. I guess they're genetic, and my little brother had them for years. I never thought they would occur in such a young child, but I guess this is the age that they often appear. Dr. Sears, my hero, suggests on his website to keep track of what time she falls asleep and what time she has the episode. Do this for several nights to be able to predict what time she will have one. Then for seven nights in a row wake her up 15 minutes before an episode will start. Get her fully awake and out of bed for atleast five minutes. I guess interrupting the sleep cycle prevents a night terror from occuring. So, tonight we begin. If any of you mothers out there have experienced this and have any other suggestions please let me know-I'd love the advice!