My baby rolled over!!

My Luci just rolled over from her tummy to her back! No crying...just a look of surprise! Although she did start crying when I ran for the camcorder & tried to get her to do it again. She was having none of that...the roll tired her out so much she promptly went right down for a nap!

2 months!!

So close to rolling over...she can get her upper body over, but not those legs!
So exhausting trying to roll over!! Time to rest :)
She likes the lady bug now that we know what she says...buzzz...buzzz...then lands on her nose!
She wants that ladybug!!
Before the doctor this morning...good thing she didn't know what was about to come!

Miss Luci is officially 2 months old today...and went to the doctor accordingly to receive the first dose of vaccines. Poor Luci endured 4 shots and an oral vaccine...her mom felt like crying just as much as she did. Lots of tears were shed & the scared, pained look on her little face just broke my heart. It took about 5 minutes to get her calmed down, and she fell asleep in the car on the way home. We gave her Infant Tylenol so hopefully she won't get to achy, but we are still expecting diarrhea and maybe a fever. Poor Luci.

Our giant baby continues to grow at record pace...weighing in at 13lbs 12oz and stretching 24.5 inches long. She is off the charts huge!! Her head is 16 inches and is in the 90th percentile, so head, height & weight are all proportional. Dr. Bhakta says all looks well!!

Feeling better...I think!

Feeling at least a little better! Feeling not so well...
The morning of the doctor appointment...still a little sluggish...
Talking to her 'friends' yesterday morning!

Well Luci seems to be feeling a bit better, although not 100% based on her diapers & spit up. She is more alert & is getting back to her perky self, although not with the consistency that there was before the virus. Luci's Grandma & Grandpa Pierse are back again while Clay is away for a few days with the Navy. We are very glad they are here!

As predicted, now that Luci is starting to feel better she is not sleeping quite as well at night. She generally is down to one night feeding around 4am or 5am, but often wakes up around 2am or 3am for some paci time. Usually the paci buys me at least 30 minutes and is hopefully teaching her that she doesn't get food every time she wakes up. After the 4/5am feeding she goes back down until 7/8am and then we start our day with another feeding, followed by Luci talking to her 'friends' while I put my contacts in & brush my teeth!

Luci's first virus

She found her fist!! She worked really really hard for days...it took some crossed eyes and bonks to the head, but mission accomplished!! Look at this giant baby! 7 weeks old and filling out this 6M dress!
A little arm chub never hurt anybody...
The ladybug doesn't interest her much...I think it is because I don't know what the ladybug says? Anybody know what the ladybug says?


Miss Luci is a bit under the weather this week...it started on Tuesday and got worse on Wednesday, then stayed kind of the same on Thursday. I think she is on the mend, but based on my description of "she's just not herself" Dr. Brooke thought we should see the doctor and I was relieved for some justification to go. We went to the doctor this morning and he thinks she probably has contracted her first virus. She is basically behaving how I thought she would before I met her...all sleepy & still & quiet. If you've met Miss Luci you know that is not her typical MO. She usually kicks so furiously I ask her if she's riding her bike to town (if you were a 'country kid' from Iowa you'd know what I was talking about ;), and she just has lots of spunk. I told Clay she's been acting like someone took the fight out of her. I miss my spunky Luci! Dr. Bhakta said to keep her comfortable...to let her sleep when she wants to sleep, and to feed her often. So that is what we will do!

That being said, she is a healthy 13lbs and really fills out her 6M gear (see photos). The miracle blanket continues to work miracles...the first two nights she only got up once, and since then she's slept anywhere from 7 to 9 hours straight!! Let's hope it is blanket induced sleep and not virus induced sleep...I'm loving sleeping through the night (with the exception of waking up & checking on her several times, in addition to the 4:30am pump). We've been getting out the door for a 7AM walk most mornings before the heat sets in...it has been lovely!

The Amazing Miracle Blanket

Per my sweet husband and my longtime roommate Jen, I am THE person infomercials are made for. I want to buy pretty much anything they are selling on those stinkin shows...good thing we have DVR now so I'm never at a loss for something to watch. So you might be thinking...The Amazing Miracle Blanket? Sounds like a scam. As Clay keeps telling me...the secret to happy children and good parenting will not be found in a 'thing'. BUT...I am always looking for some 'thing' to make my life easier and to make Luci happier.

So last Wednesday we were telling my wonderful friend Amanda about how Luci doesn't sleep more than 3 hours ever, and we were thinking that perhaps it is because she startles herself & kicks out of the swaddle. At that point she told us about 'The Amazing Miracle Blanket'...the what we said? We were skeptical...so she pulled out her PC and showed us the website. Sure enough...infomercial baby was happy as a clam at the end of the product demo video...happy enough I ran home & ordered one (okay, two...what if she spits up on one at night?) . It arrived on Saturday, but I didn't get the mail until Sunday. So I tried it last night...and sure enough...she slept from 9:30p to 3:00a!! And she wasn't even totally up at 3a, but I woke up & realized it was 3a and I was super worried because we normally get up between 12:45a and 1:30a. I ran right in & saw that she was squirming a bit so I just woke her up to eat. Woohoo!! Then she slept from 4:00a to 7:10a!!! That is the most consecutive sleep I've gotten since she was born! So...I'm praying this wasn't a one night fluke...I'm praying this truly is The Amazing Miracle Blanket...

I'll try to add a photo of her in the blanket tonight...in the meantime if you are curious....
http://www.miracleblanket.com/instructions.htm

A routine...but not a schedule

Look at this crazy hair!! This is during the battle of the burp...poor little strained face...
Playtime in the chair...
Playtime on the play mat!

So (knock on wood) I think we are getting to be on a bit of a routine finally! It can be a 2.5 or 3.5 hour routine depending on the length of her nap. It starts with each feeding...which can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour depending on the burp beast. Then we do a little playtime...she might hang out on the play mat, or in her chair, or on my knees, or in her boppy (but never in the swing...she's not into it so far), and then she starts to get fussy. Once the fussiness hits she gets swaddled up and the paci goes in the mouth. Usually she fusses for a bit longer, and before you know it the eyes are half mast and the sleeping with one eye open begins. The girl thinks her parents are pretty interesting because she fights sleep the whole way...she must think she'll miss out on something! After 10 - 30 minutes of this half masting she finally gives in and sleeps anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours. Once she's up we change the diaper and the the cycle begins again with a feeding as long as it has been at least 2.5 hours since she last started eating...which is almost always the case.

Now a schedule would be great because then I'd know she wakes up every morning at 7am, and is in bed by 9pm, or something like that. Then Amanda & I would be on our way to Old Town Spring at the moment because I'd know when she eats & we'd have planned accordingly. Instead we had planned to go at 1:30...assuming Luci would eat at 1pm...but she's still sleeping! Which is a blessing...I certainly can't complain about her sleeping...so for now I'm just going to be thankful for a somewhat more predictable routine!

Things to remember at 5 1/2 weeks

Look at this nose...look familiar Aunt Brooke & Uncle Ben??
What a sweet face...
Soooo sweet....

Luci's nicknames include Luci Bird, Luci Belle (per Grandma Rosonke), Sweet Baby (per Grandma Pierse), Luci Pea, Squirmy Wormy, Squirmis Von Wormis (can you guess who came up with that one?) and LRPy...(per Great Grandpa Halvorson...her initials + y). **And I forgot two of the favorites! Monkey toes & froggy feet!!

The sound of a hungry/mad cry is something like...elllaaaaaa....elllaaaaaaa....elllaaaaaa...

When she is in pain she clenches her fists, kicks like it is her job, and her poor little face turns bright red. Tears are often shed.

Lengthwise her 3 month sleepers are to small...she fills out the legs in the 6 month sleepers already...I think I'm going to have to look for some long/tall sleepers! The 3 month pants are more like capri pants/bermuda shorts.

She loves the mobile (thank you Lawrence family) over her crib...I ask her if she wants to look at her friends and then I put her in the crib. She'll often hang out & kick for 30 minutes or more!

She likes the pacifier, but still has trouble keeping it in her mouth. When she finds her fingers or arms she sucks on them.

The hair on the top of her head is falling out...she has the old man bald on top, but hair in a ring around her head look going on. It is still pretty dark, but some days looks a bit red. I have no idea how the color of hair can change, but it does seem to.

Her eyelashes are getting darker & more noticeable.

She still has a little patch of hair on the side of each ear. Like the same hair that is on top of her head!

She knows her mama. On Saturday Clay, Nigel (he was in town for the day!) & I hung out at our friends' house while my mom watched Luci. She cried and cried until I came home & held her, and then she was content. Then I'd give her back to my mom & she'd cry again. So she either knows her mama or she can smell milk & she likes it!

She startles very easily. If the sticky part of the diaper is ripped to quickly (& loudly) she cries.

She loves white noise...the noise maker from Grandpa Pierse & the Sleep Sheep from Erica & Michael are our two most helpful baby gear items.

She also really enjoys the bouncy chair that vibrates, and her Baby Einstein play mat from Jen & Paul. She loves to look at the star with lights on the play mat. BTW - all of this gear requires a TON of batteries...we've spent more on batteries in the last month than I have in the last 10 years.

She is NOT a big fan of the Maya Sling...maybe I just don't know how to put her in there so she's comfortable?

She often sucks down milk so fast that she chokes...at which point I ask her if there are bones in her milk, and then proceed to tell her that Milkbones are for dogs! She's not nearly as amused as I am...you have to do things to keep yourself amused at 4am...