Lucy at 13 Weeks

Weight: Guessing somewhere between 12 and 13

Medical Issues:  Still some hives, but we think we figured out the case -- apparently my binge eating of peanut butter sandwiches was the culprit! I'm praying she doesn't have a nut allergy, and it's more of a sensitivity.  

I'm also going to come to terms that she's teething. My mom said I was teething at 3 months. She's been drooling and eating her hands the past few weeks, so I'm sure that's the case. Unfortunately she can't hold on to things yet, so all those teething toys we have aren't going to make much of a difference. 

Sleep:  She suffered a regression this week -- waking up once before her usual early morning wakeup. I attributed it to a growth spurt, but was reminded that it could be a bit of reverse cycling or shakeup in her life now that I'm back to work. We're slowly inching back to 7-8 hour stretches again, but I'll probably ruin once we move her to her room. We were going to do it this weekend, but chickened out!

Clothes: Between 0-3 and 3-6 months, which seems on target for her age! 

Social:
Dinners out, Target, mall, hospital. She gets the occasional visit from a friend or family member. 

Crying:
A little bit fussier now -- could be the teething thing. 

Milestones:  Her senses seemed to be in overload right now. She jumps with sharp movements and loud noises when she didn't used to. She no longer wakes up for the day crying in hunger. She peeks around and when I bend down to greet her she burst into the biggest smiles! We're working on motor skills by trying to get her to hold a rattle. 

Lucy at 12 Weeks

Weight: Anything I put here is a complete guess, so we'll just wait until her 4 month appointment...

Medical Issues:   She has had some hives springing up all over the past few days, and we're not sure where it's coming from. Fortunately they don't seem to bother her. 

Sleep:  She is still doing 7-8 hour stretches, which is pretty nice considering I have to get up and be presentable for 8 hours a day now. She's still sleeping in the Rock N Play in our room and swaddled. Her naps are fewer and shorter, but it's probably the adjustment to daycare. 

Clothes: 0n the brink of 0-3 and 3-6. Ahhh, where is my little girl going?? 

Social:
Daycare, so lots of socialization. Hopefully the other snot monsters keep their distance.

Crying:
Not much crying at all this week. When we hang out in the evenings she's pretty chill and smiley.

Milestones:  Big week -- I'm back at work full-time and she's in daycare in the afternoons. It was absolutely terrifying to drop her off with complete strangers, especially considering we've never even let her grandparents babysit. But it seems to be going well overall. The three of us are all adjusting to a big change. I miss her tons while I'm at work, but it's good to feel like "me" again. 

Lucy at 11 Weeks

Weight: Guessing a little over 12 lbs.

Medical Issues:   Still a bit gassy, but it's slowed down a lot. 

Sleep:  With the exception of a 4 and 6 hour night, she's averaging 7-8 hour stretches each night. She wakes up around 5 or 6. I nurse her in bed and put her back until she wakes up again between 7:30-8:30 and then starts her day with her dad. She's still a little all over the place with daytime napping, but she generally takes around 3-4 catnaps a day. 

I attempted her first nap in her crib. She stared at me and all around the room for a good 20 minutes before dozing off. She slept around 25 minutes, which I thought was decent considering it was her first time sleeping on a flat surface since the NICU.

Clothes: 0-3. But I did put a 3-6 month sleeper on her one night and it almost fit. Ahh, where is time going?! We also moved her into size 2 diapers.

Social:
Dinners out, Target, mall, hospital. She gets the occasional visit from a friend or family member. 

Crying:
Same old.  Mainly cries when hungry, overtired, or gassy. She screams when we take her out of the bathtub. She used to cry through every diaper change and now it's her most smiley time! 

Milestones:  She loves being sung to! She's not grabbing for toys yet, but she now likes chewing on her fist.  She smiles when we smile at her. And she loves to "talk", especially to her daddy. 

Lucy at 10 Weeks

Weight: 11 lbs 11 ounces

Medical Issues:   Still a bit gassy, but it's slowed down a lot. 

Sleep:  The day she turned 10 weeks old she slept 8 hours! That seems like leaps and bounds above weeks 2-4 when we'd get 1-2 hour increments. I never thought I'd see an 8 hour stretch EVER. She's still pretty catnappy. Her naps range from 10 minutes to 90 minutes - generally around 45 minutes. I'm assuming her afternoons in daycare will help get her on more of a schedule. 

Clothes: 0-3. I may hit up some consignment stores to get some "daycare" clothes. She doesn't have a huge wardrobe of clothes I'm okay with being ruined, and I'd like to keep her in sleepers at daycare to make it easier on my husband and fewer articles of clothing to be lost at daycare. 

I keep finding things I forgot I had. Even though I can't imagine where she'd wear some of it out in the real world, we have fun playing dress up and taking photos. :)

Social:
Dinners out, Target, mall, hospital. She gets the occasional visit from a friend or family member. 

Crying:
Same old.  Mainly cries when hungry, overtired, or gassy. She screams when we take her out of the bathtub. She used to cry through every diaper change and now it's her most smiley time! 

Milestones:  First New Year (though she and Mommy slept through it), first shots (she had very little side effects and I didn't even cry during it.). 

Lucy at 9 Weeks

Weight: Somewhere around 11 lbs

Medical Issues:   She is still suffering from some gas here and there. Because I'm still supplementing with formula, we've been trying some different kinds to figure out what works best for her. I really believe the fenugreek herbal supplement I was taking for milk production was causing her really painful gas, so I stopped immediately and she's been a lot better. 

Sleep:  She's still pretty much a catnpapper during the day (mainly naps in her Snugabunny swing), and her first good stretch of the night is around 5-7 hours. Because she was out late three nights over Christmas, her schedule was thrown off and gave us only 4-5 hour stretches for a few nights. 

Clothes: 0-3.  Trying to get as many outfits in as possible because I have a feeling this size will be short lived, even though she just started filling them out.

Social:
The usual -- visits to the hospital, Target, mall, Christmas parties

Crying:
Same old.  Mainly cries when hungry, overtired, or gassy.

Milestones:  First Christmas! She's becoming overall more alert and interactive. Loves "talking" with Mom and Dad. 

2 Months

Dear Lucy,
You're two months old now! While you're still so new, it feels like your birth happened years ago. It took a bit, but we've finally settled into a new normal. Admittedly the first few weeks were incredibly tough; I had a hard time understanding everything and my life was completely flipped upside down. I had so many paralyzing fears about you... how to keep you safe and happy while at the same time retaining a little bit of myself. But we made it through!

You are my everything. All the decisions I make are based around you. It's humbling to put someone else completely above yourself, but there's nothing I wouldn't do to make sure your needs come first.

You are a lot more interactive than you were a month ago -- you are great at making eye contact, tracking, holding your head up, putting weight on your legs, and the best of all -- SMILES and COOS! I absolutely live for your smiles. My heart melts each time you flash that gummy little grin. You love to eat, look at lights, listen to music, enjoy car rides and shopping, and bounce around on Mommy's lap. You even like diaper changes now! And I think you like bath time too, though you won't admit to us. You dislike all your recent indigestion, tummy time, being harnessed into your car seat, and having your nose suctioned. Recently we have discovered you are really happy when being held by men!

You're growing pretty fast now. I already miss your curled up newborn lump would feel against me, but now it almost feels like you're hugging me when I hold you, which is equally awesome.

You're a decent sleeper for being two months old, but I selfishly wish you'd progress a little more, especially as I head back to work this week. I am very nervous to not be with you every minute of the day, but I know you and Daddy will have lots of fun in the morning and then you'll get to meet new people at daycare in the afternoons. I am going to miss you with every ounce of me. We haven't been separated for 11 months. But I hope that it will make our times together even more special.

I love you so much, Buggy Lu!!

Lucy at 8 Weeks

Weight: A little over 11 pounds

Medical Issues:    I think she may have a touch of cradle cap on the top of her head. She gets so dry and flaky there. She also had some really painful gas episodes this week -- screaming her little head off for 15-20 minutes at a time. I've attributed the cause as the fenugreek herbal supplement I was taking to up my milk production. So needless to say, I've stopped taking it. I'm still working on overcoming some breastfeeding problems. Hopeful to have it semi figured out by the time I return to work January 3. 

Sleep:  Lots of patterns emerging the past two weeks. She's down for the night around 10 pm and sleeps anywhere between 4-6.5 hours for her first stretch. It gets shorter each stretch after that, with the final one being SO noisy. If she'd take a decent nap, they would be around 12:30 pm, 2 pm, 5 pm and 7 pm. 

I'd love to try transitioning her to her crib, but I'm really afraid it's going to be a huge flop. 

Clothes: 0-3.  Trying to get as many outfits in as possible because I have a feeling this size will be short lived, even though she just started filling them out.

Social:
Trips to the hospital for various appointments and to visit my coworkers. Also our work Christmas party.

Baby Gear Love:
Target Scented Wipes -- They have a great scent, aren't overly wet, and are a soft cloth material. Plus they're cheap!

Crying:
Same old.  Mainly cries when hungry, overtired, or gassy.

Milestones:  Tried out the Bumbo just to see how she'd react. While she has great head control, she seems too wobbly. We'll keep trying it for a minute or so at a time. She's also started to lick while rooting. Before she'd just kind of open mouth whatever she was rooting on. We're excited to have our first Christmas with her! Granted she won't know what's going on, but it will mean a lot to us.