Lucy had her 9-month doctor's visit the other day. Here are her stats:
Height: 27 1/2 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 15 lbs 5 oz (5th percentile)
Head Circumference: 44 1/2 cm (between 50th and 75th percentile)
She hasn't seemed to have grown as much compared to her
last visit but the pediatrician didn't seem concerned about it. We just have a petite little girl. It's been a little confusing for me because I think that I was a little worried about her relatively low weight at the 6-month visit that I really started to push the solids. But then Lucy backed way off of breastfeeding and I didn't want that so I decreased her solids. My understanding was that as she grew, she would maintain her breastfeeding and just add solids on top of that. I went to a
La Leche League meeting where I was greeted with the same advice as I was doing but I sometimes feel like the information is a little biased toward breastfeeding over
everything else. However, I followed their advice/my initial instinct and was actually quite lax in her meal times, sometimes skipping her solid meals if we were busy or out of the house with the expectation that she would make up for it in her breastfeeding if she were really hungry or the next time I fed her. But after this 9 month appointment, I think that I am going to be much more disciplined with her solids. It just seems like everything with a baby is trial and error, especially your first.
One thing is for sure - she is an incredibly active baby and along with her crawling, is now pulling herself up on her own and cruising. She babbles like crazy and it almost sounds like she is singing. She is very curious and loves to explore and get into
everything. She has a special fascination with the dishwasher and when I was turned away for a moment, had crawled on top of the open door. She almost jumped into the tub last night as soon as she saw Brandon filling it with water but he was able to catch her before she did. Bath time is another favorite for her. She is definitely showing a lot more interest in books and is even starting to sit still for them (for a little while at least).
Feeding time is wearisome these days as she has learned that she doesn't need to swallow and can spit the food out. Peas and green beans are the usual problems although she loves her fruits. But finger foods have been all the rage now that she has mastered the pincer grasp and she loves crackers, cheese, bananas, and pears (and that's about all I've given her so far). I kinda want to be done with the pureed baby foods and cereals and just give her finger foods so I don't have to deal with the mess.
In other news, her schedule has been very erratic for the past month it seems. So anyone who was wishing my next child was the devil child after reading
this post can rest easy - we have our problems with this one. Lucy had never been the best daytime napper but we could always count on a great 10-12 hours of fairly uninterrupted sleep each night...until December. This kinda coincided with my going to the gym where I think that Lucy picked up a cold at daycare (unless she got it at church). She had it for about a week and her cough was so bad that it would wake her up at night. Then, she cut one tooth and was up all night in pain (unlike her
first two teeth which came up pretty easy). Then she got better, then got a cold again, then cut three teeth all in one night! Then it was the holidays and we were out late at night, naps were sometimes optional, and family was in town which made for some hectic days. Lucy was waking up every night, multiple times and often just an hour or two after we would put her down for the night. We thought that once we got her back on schedule with her naps and feedings and things calmed down, she would start sleeping through the night. Well, all of those things may have contributed to her poor sleeping habits but once we thought we had addressed them all, she was sleeping worse than ever and I started to sleep
with her in the extra bed which seemed like the only way
anyone in the house was going to get sleep (even though the quality of
my sleep really suffered). We even started to let her cry it out but that just doesn't work so well at 2:00 and 3:00 AM when a minute of crying seems like an eternity. It was so unlike Lucy.
I explained my concerns to the pediatrician at Lucy's appointment but was met with a, "I think that you just need to let her cry it out - this often happens to babies that are nursed to sleep..." even though I have been nursing her to sleep forever and it never interfered with her sleeping through the night until December. But then, the culprit was discovered. The pediatrician checked Lucy's ears and exclaimed, "Oh, she has an
ear infection - in both ears!" Poor girl - mom and dad were too busy thinking up every other possible explanation about why she wasn't sleeping through the night anymore, except that one. I actually did ponder on it a bit before but came to the conclusion that it couldn't be because she was so pleasant during the day and surely, it would be more obvious. Well, we got her prescription for antibiotics and things are improving a little - hopefully,
a lot more in the next few days. We got the okay on acetaminophen for the teething pain as well, so let's cross our fingers. I don't how much longer I deal with these sleepless nights!
I don't think that she realized I was taking a picture here so she looks a little pensive...
...and like she is on drugs here...
...but there is a winner! She learning how to smile for the camera with that big, toothy grin.
This one - not so much. We'll hold off on the modeling career. But do you see that dress she is wearing - my mother made it while she was in Japan and brought it when she came out to visit. How adorable is it! And with the way Lucy is growing (not much) she'll be able to wear it for a long time.
...actually, all in the same bed...
...the hubby - giving mom a break by taking care of Lucy. He sometimes takes for granted how much work it is so I don't blame him for taking a well deserved rest...
...baby Lucy. I think that I might love her most when she is sleeping - makes your heart melt (and requires the least amount of work)...
...and last, but not least - kitties! I just wish that George were in the picture with Angel but he is anti-social (and possibly schizophrenic).
I would have thought that the easier solution would be for Brandon to sleep on the outside and for Lucy to sleep by the wall - but hey, pillows on the floor work too.
I also love how Brandon has covered himself with the blanket but not Lucy - always so thoughtful. One of my other loves is sleeping - wish I were napping here with them...but someone had to take the pictures.
A visit to the doctor yesterday confirmed that the fever wasn't caused by another ear infection but just some virus, probably a cold and even though I thought that the fever had broken that morning, it was back up to 101.9. Contagious - yes. So I guess that means I won't be babysitting my 2 month old niece this week who is sleeping 12 hours a night when my sister goes back to work (I remember when Lucy slept 12 hours a night...). Congestion and runny nose also started yesterday so pediatrician says not to be surprised if it develops into another ear infection! That would be the third one if it does. Thanks goodness we have good insurance for all these doctor visits.
The only time I can get these types of close-ups now is when Lucy is asleep.
There are actually two scratches - a small one just under her eye and then the long one across her whole cheek. I know that I'm not going to hear the end of this from all the cat haters out there but besides this one incident, they've been really good! I just hope it doesn't leave a scar!! Poor thing - first, bite marks (and it was on that exact same cheek) and now scratch marks. What next? It probably won't be the last scratches she receives from the cats (I can personally attest - the cats scratch me on accident occasionally) but hopefully, they will be the last ones she receives on her face!
No, not those two sweet, little girls (Lucy's cousins), but that fat gray cat they are petting. Angel is so relaxed...
...all playful and cute at first...
Then the claws come out!
I meant to find some cute pictures of the cats (as they were my main subject of photos before Lucy was born) but they must be on our old computer and I all I could find were my nieces from Christmas about to be eaten by my kitty. Just kidding - I know that Lucy's aunt wouldn't be too happy about that.
How beautiful and intricate is that? When I first heard about papercutting, I was like, "Huh? What's the big deal," but it really is some beautiful stuff.
She is loving the new piggy pajamas that Obaa-chan brought her from Japan.
And enjoying being Manager Lucy in the office chair...
Although being boss isn't always all fun and games - especially with crybabies like mom and dad to watch over...
But nothing spells relief from boredom like playing in the Huggies box!
Who knew that a box could be such entertainment?
"Okay Mom, I'm done and Dad isn't even playing with me - he's reading, again!"
She's beautiful and so perfect! I think that she looks just like my sister and she has a full head of thick, black hair. She made her grand debut at 5:46 AM after an epic labor and delivery and I got to witness it all. You would think that I would have taken more pictures instead of stealing this one from my brother-in-law's iPhone but I was too busy recording the birth and helping out Emily. She did it all natural without any meds and rocked the hospital down.
We ended up printing out this one above which was our favorite, but in black and white. Lucy looks so little and it wasn't even that long ago (well, she was 3 months so I guess that was 6 months ago)! And my hair was so long!! We've still yet to get it framed and hung up in our home which for anyone who has ever been to my house, knows that I'm crap at decorating (or rather, I don't decorate at all). I'm working on it though.
Oh, my squinty Asian eyes and Lucy's eating her dress....anyway, the pictures were actually taken by Heather's wedding photographer, Adriano Batti, which I'm realizing was very smart of him because he posts the pictures on his website and allows the wedding guests to view and order them from him directly which brings in a stream of revenue that he wouldn't have otherwise had from just the bride and groom (cause I'm guessing that Heather and her husband don't feel the need to have a framed picture of my family on their wall or anything...I could be wrong though.)
Here we are, starting off the story. We had very minimal costumes as they are mostly kept at Brandon's parents' home in Buffalo. So I improvised with a scarf and my nursing cover.
One of our cute little nieces was the angel while Brandon's mom and the other niece were shepherdess and sheep. Brandon's dad had narration duties.
Here we get a view of "backstage" where Brandon's brothers and nephew are waiting to make their entrance as the Wise Men.
All gathered around baby Jesus/Lucy in the "manger", worshiping her cuteness. Gifts of gold, frankincense and Hugo Boss cologne were presented.
Small audience - Grandma and Grandpa Thompson.
We finished off the production with some cast photos at the end.
Strike 1! Taylor was more interested in something else than posing for pictures...
Strike 2! Lucy wasn't happy about something and Owen was looking a little frustrated. While Olivia looked like she had just watched the Ring, Morgan looked perfectly content...
Home run! We finally got one! (Thanks Auntie Jamie for Lucy's cute outfit!)
