Lucy Holland.
We had some big news this week, learned some things that will affect you for the rest of your life. But we want you to know that all of that is secondary to YOU. You are special to us for so many reasons and on so many levels. You will always be, first and foremost, our little girl who holds our hearts in her hands. We love and adore you. We will be by your side through any obstacles that come, cheering you on as you become the brave, powerful, compassionate woman you are meant to be.
Stats:
Weight: 12.1 lbs (21%)
Size 0-3 months clothes, size 1 diapers, soft & feathery blonde eyelashes.
The biggest thing from this month was that Lucy was officially diagnosed with Albinism and Nystagmus. We are working on a post where we are writing about it in detail, but for the purposes of this post: we noticed that Lucy wasn't tracking objects or making eye contact with us and mentioned it to our pediatrician. I know that babies all develop differently, but I knew in my heart that there was something deeper going on. We went to an ophthalmologist and he diagnosed her but wasn't sure exactly how it will affect her throughout her life- other than it will significantly affect her. There is a large range of visual impact from "has glasses but functions with a normal life" to "is completely blind and has many limitations". It has been amazing because even though there is much uncertainty and not a little sadness we have felt such overwhelming peace. This is part of Lucy's journey. It's part of our journey. Lucy will have a beautiful and happy life no matter what happens. She is surrounded by people that love her, adore her, support her. What a blessing that we have the means and ability to provide for any needs that she might have. Medical, emotional, physical - and most importantly- spiritual. The next three months will be pretty key, because at six months they will have a better idea of the visual impact this will have, so we are praying for a miracle. That our Lucy will be blessed. That her eyes will strengthen, that she will land on the lesser-impacted side of the wide range of possibilities that are in her future.
These conditions will have an impact on her life. Probably a significant impact. But my prayer is that this will bless and strengthen her and all those around her. That we will be able to hold fast to our faith and our peace and that we will be strong as we push forward with happiness and confidence in our Savior, Jesus Christ. That Lucy will never have cause to doubt the Goodness of God or the love of her family.
Other things to remember about this month:
-I saw Lucy smile for the first time! Both grandma's said that they say her smile last month, but I think they were stretching to call it a "smile". Because of her decreased vision, other developmental milestones will probably be delayed. If you can't see very well, you don't get the same visual cues to start smiling (crawling, walking, etc...) But seeing Lucy's whole face light up with a giant gummy smile makes my heart sieze up in my chest and my breath catch in my throat. It is hard to draw out of her and it only lasts for a moment. It is the best, happiest smile - and then it disappears. A fleeting moment of joy. But this happy girl makes those around her smile all day long and I can be patient for her smiles to become more frequent.
-Lucy has an extended stretching routine that she goes through after she wakes up in the morning. She still sleeps swaddled very tightly (usually with two blankets) and when I unwrap her in the morning she takes about five minutes to slowly stretch all of her little muscles. She stretches her hands up above her head and pulls her legs up tight above her tummy then she pushes her hands and legs down and out, lengthening out the other way. She takes time to stretch each of her shoulders and her neck. It's the cutest thing to watch as she works out all of the tightness in her body.
-We all love our Lucy-Loo and constantly take turns snuggling with her.
-Lucy is the best little tag-along. Some adventures that we've been on this month:
-Plein Air painting in Big Cottonwood Canyon with mom.
-Marshmallow cooking up AF canyon with Melissa and Blake.
-Butterfly Biosphere for a Homeschool Fieldtrip.
-Hanging out in the shade while the kids went swimming at the swimming pool.
-The Renchers house for Labor Day. (Where we finalized our plans for an extended family vacation to Nauvoo!) + snuggling with Uncle Bruce
-And the Love Letters Museum in SLC
-Lucy's only waking up about once each night. She goes to bed about 9:30 and wakes up about 7:30. She's a dream.
-She's pretty happy throughout the day, with her hardest time from 4:30-8:00
-She hates sneezes and cries whenever I sneeze (which is a problem because it's allergy season and I sneeze a lot).
-One of my favorite outfits of hers is the red velvet jumper (in the pictures right above this). Interestingly, Lucy has had maybe 5 diaper blowouts in her entire life. 4 of them have been in this outfit, and twice she's peed on it while I was changing her diaper. Maybe she doesn't love it as much as I do.
-She still only likes David to hold her forward in his arms, resting her back against his chest - but she really likes him to hold her. One time she was extra fussy and I had been working for 45 minutes to settle her - changing her diaper, trying to feed her, wrapping her up. I finally went to David (who was helping the other kids) and asked him to hold her and she calmed down immediately and was happy as a little peach in his arms until she fell asleep.
-This is a funny thing to write about, but it's a huge (okay, not huge - let's try "small but frequent") part of our life. Lucy gets the biggest boogers high up in her nasal cavity and about once a day I have to suck them out. They are seriously as big as the nail on my pinky finger - big and hard and dry. If I don't suck them out, it makes it harder for her to breathe while she's sleeping. I need to pull out the humidifier and see if that helps, but at this point it's only once a day and it doesn't seem to bother her otherwise - it's just a funny (and weird) thing about this stage.
-She's still not tracking objects, but she is starting to coo and interact verbally. It's the sweetest thing.
-Nicknames: the kids all call her Luce, I call her Lucy-Loo, Lucy-Goose, or My Lucy-love, David sometimes calls her Lucy-Goosey.
Some more pictures of our sweet girl:
These two pictures of the kids and I gathered around Lucy on our bed are some of my favorites taken this month. It just gives such a good picture of what life is like for this little girl. (Especially because David was snuggled up on the other side of the bed before standing to take this picture.) All of us surrounding her, loving her. This is what I want our family to be like, slow, intentional, close-knit, together. Right now, in five years, in 15 years. Do you think my babies will still lay like this with me when they are teenagers? All the more reason to snuggle my Lucy now and fill her so full of love that she can't help but ooze it for the rest of her life.
We love you Lucy-Goose. It's hard to write with words just how much, but just know it is SO so much.
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