Oh Lucy-lou. You sweetest girl. The past month has been such a good one for us. Your first road trip, more frequent smiles plus some big milestones like starting to track objects and lifting your head up during tummy time! You're just a tiny little thing, but I'm already SO proud of you.
Official Stats:
Unofficial Stats: 3-6 month clothes. Size 2 diapers. Sometimes her hair looks strawberry blonde, especially in the sun.
The diagnosis of Nystagmus and Albinism are understandably HUGE parts of Lucy's life. But I didn't realize how little of an impact that it would have on our interaction with her. I'm sure that more will come later, but for now, she's just a sweet baby with a happy disposition that needs to be held and fed and who tolerates the love and attention of her siblings.
Things to remember:
-Just a few days past 3 months, Lucy started tracking! My mom was holding a bright green 7-up bottle and she started (very jerkily) to follow the movement of the bottle as it went from side to side. This was huge for us, because up to this point she really wasn't tracking anything at all. We have been praying for miracles and I feel like this was an answer to our prayers that her eyes will continue to get stronger and grow and develop.
-Lucy's first road trip! I'm not sure what kind of crazy people we are to take a barely 3 month old baby on a 10 hour road trip and back within just a couple of days, but this girl was a CHAMP! She did absolutely amazing in the car and was a champ as we dragged her around all over LA. She just really wanted to meet her Cousin-BFF, Juniper.
(Riding in the car next to Lydia and Austin in the backseat)
(Sleeping in my bed with me. We don't cosleep at home, but having her sweet body snuggled up to me in my bed on our trip was just wonderful.)
-Los Angeles Adventures: Santa Monica Pier/Beach, LA Science Center, Labrea Tar Pits, LA Temple, plus hanging out at our Air BnB.
-Lucy doesn't snuggle me all that often, but one morning after I fed her I just sat in the chair while she snuggled on my shoulder. The kids were starting their morning routines and David was getting ready for work and it was just so peaceful. Sometimes I worry about missing this baby stage with Lucy because of the decision that I've made to homeschool. I don't want the other kid's needs to become such a priority that I miss out on this stage with her. I feel like I've made a particular effort to slow down and just enjoy her. (Other things have to slide for that to happen, like cleaning my house, but I'm trying to tell myself that it's okay because I'll still have to clean next year - but I'll never get to hold my newborn Lucy again. It's okay for this to be our stage of life right now.) I'm grateful that homeschool has given me the opportunity to have slow mornings with Lucy among many other blessings.
--I went to a followup appointment with my pediatrician before Lucy's actual 4 month appointment because I just wanted to talk to someone about her diagnosis and Google just wasn't doing it for me. Dr. Foster answered lots of my questions (most of which the answer is still that we don't know much but as she grows and we observe her we will know more of where she falls on the scale of things) but one of the things that I hadn't absorbed before was the severity of the lack of pigment in her skin. We've been hyper-focused on her eyes, (which, duh) but the albinism in her skin will actually be a big part of her life, too. I had asked about when she needed to wear hats/sunscreen. Like, if we were going to be outside for 5 minutes? For an hour? Dr. Foster advised us to have her wear hats all the time, even in the house because she will need to wear them EVERY time she goes outside and she will need to be comfortable/familiar/used to the hats so she won't pull them off. He said, "When she wakes up in the morning, change her diaper, then cover her in sunscreen. Then if you're going to go outside, reapply the sunscreen. It's a daily habit that you'll need to develop." He also advised us to buy baby sunglasses for her. Wow. As a mother who only applied sunscreen to her children three times over the course of the entire summer (rashguards are the best kinds of swimming suits - but still, I'm not exaggerating on the only three times thing), that feels a little daunting. However, it's just a habit - and that's something that we can develop and incorporate into Lucy's (and our) life.
That being said, the baby sunglasses we bought online are WAY too big, and we're still looking for good hats for her. And sunglasses that fit. And also, sunscreen isn't good for babies under 6 months so we're kind of waiting on that, too. So i'm just doing my best.
-We've been working on finishing our basement and that's come with an increase in visits from both of her grandpa's. They are both so sweet with her and I'm constantly grateful for the good men they are and what wonderful grandfather's my children have been blessed with.
David is totally rocking it as a dad of four. When I saw him reading this book to the three youngest at bedtime I had to snap a picture. Also, you'll understand why I snapped the picture on the right if you've seen Dr. Who. Lydia pulled out her praying-girl porcelain doll that makes music to try to cheer Lucy up, but I walked into the room and immediately thought it looked like a weeping angel. #dontblink It freaked me out a little bit.
-She still hates sneezes, but isn't sleeping quite as good as she was. She still naps pretty well in the day, but she's waking up about 3 times a night. I don't know what to do to change the momentum of her sleep schedule, and I'm just crossing my fingers that it gets better. (That has never worked for me before, but there's a chance, right?)
-We went and bought some cute new outfits for her, because even though I have a box from Lydia - we just wanted some new things for her. I'm so glad that we had the budget to do that because we got some darling outfits that are super comfy, and those are both important. (Mostly the comfy, though.)
-She's starting to smile more and more and I can't even describe how much I love it.
-I'm still swaddling her like a hard-core burrito at nightime. But I absolutely have to double swaddle her so her arms can't get out.
-It was the primary program at church and we dressed the kids in matching outfits and it was the most darling they've ever looked in their lives. Ha. It's so sweet to watch Lydia with a little sister, she LOVES that they were able to wear matching dresses. (The picture of her kissing Lucy's head was not staged and it might be my favorite picture of my two girls that I've ever taken and possibly ever will take.)
-She's starting to get strong enough that I can prop her to sit for a few seconds at a time, and I'm getting excited for the next couple of months. Sitting makes all the difference in the world.
-Falling asleep in her dad's arms. So sleepy and sweet.
--In addition to seeing Grandparents (and Uncle Bruce) on a more regular basis while we are finishing our basement, we've also started going to WJ on Tuesday afternoons again. It's been so nice to be able to spend that time with them, and Lucy sure isn't lacking in attention. She is one loved little girl.
-Lucy is so lucy to have this dad of hers. He's truly the best of the best and it melts my heart when he comes home, says Hi to the kids, comes over to me to kiss my forehead then bends down and kisses Lucy's head, too. "Hi Lucy! How was your day??"
-She has basically hated tummy time for her whole life and who can really blame her? I've noticed that her neck is still very weak and wobbly, but she's just started picking her head up when she's laying on her tummy and I'm ridiculously proud of her!
-That cutest face. The picture was taken right after the biggest blowout in the middle of church. She was so happy. David had to go home and change his entire outfit. I'm sorry - it just had to be documented!
I decided to post these pictures all together at the end because there were just so many of them. Lucy's siblings adore her. Lydia is such a great big sister and is so thrilled to have a little sister. She holds Lucy both when she's happy and when she's crying and I just need to finish something that I'm working on. Austin is the person who can get Lucy to smile more than anyone else (although we haven't really heard a real laugh yet). Caleb lays down by her whenever he sees her and when he puts his arm over her little body you can just feel how much he loves her. He calls her "my oo-see".
Lucy Holland. We love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment