Lucille's First Flight

November 15, 2012 (nine weeks old)

Our traveling girl had a major milestone this past weekend - her first flight!

Bag Man

On Friday afternoon we hopped on a quick flight to visit her Korb grandparents down in Jacksonville. It was a good first trip as it was only 45 minutes total.

I carried the precious cargo

Preoccupied with our new traveling companion, on boarding, we sat on the wrong side of the asile and so had to get up and move when the seat's owner showed up. What a rookie mistake!







My biggest concern about air travel was the change in air pressure hurting her ears so I made sure to feed her during takeoff and descent as it is supposed to help with ear pressure. It must have worked as there was not even a peep from the wee one.

While a happy camper on the plane, once we landed she turned cranky quick. This was due to the fact that we landed around the time she normally goes to sleep at home. Our usual soothing techniques (pacifier, rattle, finger) did not work for long and so we had to escalate to the emergency ones like my iphone farm animal app. We finally subdued her with some live coverage of football/NASCAR on Pearce's phone - Georgia girl she is.

There wasn't too much bonding to be had that night as our main goal was to get Lucille to bed as quickly as possible. In doing so, we quickly realized all the things that we would need for our next trip. Specifically items that helped create a soothing (and practical) sleep environment, like a a night light and noise machine.

Pearce and I made due by strategically turning on lights in various adjoining rooms that would allow me to see her when I got up to nurse, but not be too bright so as not to wake her. For white noise, Pearce used an app on his phone that replicated the air filter we use in our house.

For our next trip we plan on bringing her ITouch and docking station that changes colors. This should take care of both of these problems. In the meantime I have been retraining her to enjoy the sound of pouring rain so that way it is a pleasant sleeping experience for Pearce and me too.

Lucille slept awesome in the pack and play loaned out by Susan's good friend and grandmother extraordinaire Ellen. She woke up refreshed and ready to play with the grandparents. I think they were amazed about how much she has changed since they last saw her on her birthday.

Enjoying the nice weather

Playing with Mr. Peacock

 She had a really good time in her bouncer (also loaned by Ellen). Not sure if it was because of all the attention she got or the fact that it vibrates.

After we got some good playtime and a quick walk through the neighborhood (and a nap for Lu), we headed to the Beach Club to enjoy the wonderful weather. Lucille snoozed through the whole meal. She continued snoozing as her grandmother took her on a shopping spree to some local stores and of course Target!

Lunch at the Club

Towards the end of the day Susan and Andy humored me and we headed back to the beach to take a walk and so Lucille could "see" the ocean. It was not exactly how I imagined it in my head. The weather had turned cloudy, windy, and cold. While Lucille did get to see it, it was too cold to dip her toes in it.

I love it that she is looking at the camera!

Snuggle Bug

That evening we put Lucille down to sleep so the adults could have some fun. Andy brought out his personal Craps "table" and taught me the rules. It was great fun, and while I don't understand all the rules (or at least the math involved) I look forward to playing during our next Vegas visit.

Sadly we had to head home on Sunday, but our trip down in JAX was fun while it lasted!

1st attempt at blogging by phone

Hair(less) Show by Lucille
(all pieces were made by my bonus sister Lisa Innis)


Lucille had a few more styles to show off, but ran out of patience.

Now I'll need are outfits cute enough to coordinate!

To Lucille on your Two Months Birthday,

By 6 weeks in age things got easier - not that is was ever really hard with you. But still, there was a definite shift from you being a helpless newborn to you becoming a "big(ger)" girl.






You were much less fragile due to your amazing head control. I could hold you upright to burp you and you would hold your head all by yourself. If I faced you down while holding you, you could hold your head in perfect alignment with your body. I am not sure if this is normal or not, but we thought it was pretty cool!












You got better at tummy time, but still had a ways to go.

1st bottle

We also found it much easier to sooth you in new ways (rather than just the boob). You were much more receptive to your pacifier, the swing and bouncing on the yoga ball. Mr. Moose was still your favorite. We hung him above your changing table and he could calm you down in the blink of an eye. We also tried to give you a bit of pumped milk to see if you would take a bottle. Needless to say you did!










 By 7 weeks you also fell into a routine which for someone with my (type-A) personality was much appreciated. You woke in the morning, ate a quick snack, then we went for a walk where you would nap. You would wake up when we got home, ate again and then take your longest nap of the day-sometimes for four hours! We would then have to fill you up again and have another good play session. You became much more fun to interact with - I introduced the playmat where I am pretty sure you have started swatting at things. You would have one short nap before bed and of course another feeding and then off to sleep you went.

You also are becoming more comfortable at bath time, but it is still a bit shocking for you when we first put you in.

1st nap in the crib

It was also this month that you started sleeping longer! At 8 weeks to the day you slept for nine hours. An awesome achievement for sure. Unfortunately, this has not been repeated.















I also continued to read you books and sing you nursery rhymes from the book Emme and Gigi made you. You also liked looking at black and white animal cards or really anything black and white).  I could really see you thinking about things. You would stay real still and look at me intensely. I even could get you to copy me by sticking my tongue out and you would too.













This month you also became social. We started postpartum yoga at Pierce Yoga (where we did prenatal yoga). It was there where I realized how far you had come developmentally. The first session all you wanted to do is watch the other babies and would track your head back and forth while sitting up (while I held you), watching them intently.

We also started going to a neighborhood's new mother group. Again it was so fun to see you observing the other babies. It was also nice for me to get to chat with other mothers who were going through similar experiences.

Loving your new diapers

This month we also started cloth diapering. You had a large "stash" of about 20 ridiculously adorable diapers. It took a little bit to get used to for both you and me. I tried to use the weight guide to adjust the diaper snaps. I settled in to feed you and you started wailing like I had never heard before. It took me a second to realize it was the diaper- I had put it on too tight. I had used your last weight as a guide and clearly you were bigger than that now. I felt so bad. I quickly got it off you and gave you a day to recover before using them again. It went much better the second time around.

Paging Dr. Korb

At the end of the month we celebrated Halloween at home. We dressed you up in a doctor's outfit - no pressure!

You also had an extra special visit from your great grands Gigi (Grana) and Bumpa. This visit was extra special because Gigi is your namesake!

The 1st Lucille

With Bumpa

Lucille at Two Months:


Two Month Stats

- Weight: 11 lbs 0 oz  - 37th Percentile

- Height: 24 3/8  inches - 98th Percentile

- Head: 15 1/2 inches - 79th Percentile
- Brown, maybe green?
- Lighter brown hair, with a lovely bald patch in the back

Milestones
- Opened your hands and started holding
- Track with just your eyes.
- Smiled a lot!
- New noises and squeaks, "talking" with us
- You started to have different types of cries
- Putting yourself to sleep ( a few times)
- Almost putting pacifier back in with your arm



XOXO,

Momma and Daddy

To Lucille - Month One

To Little Lu on your One Month Birthday

This past month has been the getting to know you phase. When you first got home both your dad and I weren't exactly sure what to do with you. Luckily, you were a very content baby and only seemed to fuss when you got hungry or tired. Of course maybe it wasn't so much that you were hungry, but that my way of solving any issue was with the boob. It worked, so I went with it. When I needed a break your dad would step in and implement the 5 "S"s as prescribed by Dr. Karp (the current Baby Guru for parents: Swaddle, Side-lying, Shush (very loudly), Shake (gently) and Suck.




You were a little slow to gain your birth weight back which gave me anxiety in the beginning as I didn't know if you were getting enough milk. Yet another reason to give you unrestricted access to the boob. Happily, it worked. By the time your three week checkup came you had hit your birth weight and then some. What a relief as I really didn't want to supplement with formula. At this checkup you continued to measure high on both your length and head size - you must have gotten those genes from your father.



 In between weeks two and three your belly button fell off. Well kind of. I wasn't sure at first if there was something wrong, but my gut told me it didn't look right. I assumed when the cord fell off it would look, well like a belly button. We took her to the doctor to get an expert opinion and sure enough part of it fell off, but part remained. We ended up using silver nitrate to burn the rest of it off (painless for you).

Eventually it all come off and you had a perfect looking belly button. So it took almost a full month before your first bath. The look on your face when entering the water for the first time was priceless - it was pure shock. Like, WTF?!?! But just like your mommy, you settled in quickly and seemed to enjoy it.



It wasn't until the end of the month that you started showing signs of leaving the newborn phase. (Thank goodness!) You started sleeping longer at night. You also started becoming more predictable during the day. We would get up around 8:00am, eat and then be off for our morning walk by 9:00am. You stayed awake for maybe the first five minutes and then slept for the rest of the ride. At first I could only get two miles and now I have worked up to three.

You wake up promptly on arrival home for your next feeding session and then right back into your longest nap of the day. I would usually use this time to get my errands done carting you around with no problem at all. Per ususal you would wake, want to eat. After this you liked to play. Or at least that is what I like to to think. You would sit alert as I would read you books, sing you songs, and play with Mr. Moose (tracking him back and forth). We would usually end with tummy time which you hated and made your protests be known. You would then take another nap until later in the afternoon and then the schedule became more variable.













This month you had your first visitor! Emme (grandma Jill) showed up to help me get the house back in order to sell and of course see you. She was a great help, cooking and cleaning and sometimes even holding you when you weren't demanding to be fed. She also made you a wonderful  picture book with our family members so you could learn who was who early on.

You also had your first official road trip. We went on our yearly pilgrimage to Helen where you experienced your first Oktoberfest. It was a bit of a challenge driving the 2+ hours because of the frequency of your eating, but we managed. When you started crying your dad would pull over and I  would feed you in any random parking lot while he surfed the internet on his ipad.






 Once in Helen you slept through most of our activities, but did wake up to enjoy your first "Chicken Dance" at the Fest Hall. Your dad commented that this was probably the least we had ever drank at Oktoberfest with me have 0 beers and he only having 2.








Overall, you handled the trip like a champ and true Korb (or maybe Hendryx?) I think you may already be ready for a trip to the real Oktoberfest in Germany! Okay, maybe not just yet!





This month you also went to the wedding of our good friends Jay and Theresa. You were not as passive this time around and wanted to eat rather than dance the evening away. Your dad and I did get to squeeze in a few dances towards the end of the evening while you caught some shut-eye. at the wedding, you also got to meet another future friend- another Lucille! She is the daughter to our West coast friends Heather and Buzzy.



All in all it was a really great first month together.

This picture just cracks me up...the vomit dribbling from your mouth really does make you look like you partied like a rock star.

Lucille at One Month:

One Month Stats

- Weight: 9 lbs 6 oz  - 48th Percentile

- Height: 22 7/8 inches - 99th Percentile

- Head: 14 3/4 - 84 Percentile
- Still rocking the ambiguous Slate Blue Eyes
- Lighter Brown Hair ( still not the much hair, but in the light it looks light brown)
Milestones
- Your belly button fell off.
- You started following objects back and forth with your head. Mr. Moose especially.
- You started sleeping 3 to 4 hours at night,
- You started smiling (occassionally)
- You had more alert time- although still very minimal.


XOXO,

Momma and Daddy

To Lucille - Week One

To our lovely little lady, happy week one (and two) birthday!

This week has been a whirlwind of excitement and emotions for your dad and I (and I imagine you). We have spent most of our time getting to know you and trying to make you as comfortable as possible. We started the week off in the hospital where, to-date, we had our most stressful night trying to keep you pacified. I finally got you settled in time for the first shift nurses to come in and wake you up again. Lovely.

Things got much better when we got home.


Like all newborns, at this point you basically do three things really well: eat, sleep and poop. Overall, you are not very fussy- you basically cry when you want to eat and quiet down when you are satiated. You sleep pretty well at this point. You go down between 10 and 11pm and then wake up around 2am and need a snack. You then go to sleep again until around 7am. Your dad likes to catch some shut eye with you on occasion.

Breastfeeding seemed to come to you pretty easily. Even at the hospital before my milk came in the nurses were impressed with your latch. At home we got lots of practice because you LOVE to eat. I mean all the time. You make these grunting and snorting noises when you get really excited about eating, earning you the nickname, "little piggy." My early fears of you not gaining your birth weight back quick enough were unnecessary. You take your time, but you get it done.



I have (mostly) avoided scarring up my nipples too bad in the midst of your feeding frenzy. I credit the Lanisoh's Lanolin cream that I use like an OCD person slathering it on pre and post feedings. Although you don't taste it, it does create a greasy sheen all around your mouth adding to your piggy persona. And it provided you with your first case of baby acne.







Your dad had two full weeks to hang with us which was just grand. We took you on at least one walk a day in your carriage - it looks like an old fashion pram on a jogging stroller bottom. We had to roll up a bunch of blankets and surround you so didn't roll around.









Your first real outing was to a coffee shop and then lunch in Oakhurst Village which is down the street from us. I was able to practice breastfeeding in public and learned that a heavier "cover-up" blanket is necessary on a windy day!

We also took you to the neighborhoods jazz night where you got to meet Auntie Rebecca and Uncle Ross. We enjoyed charcuterie from Aunt Meghan and Uncle Felix while you snoozed through the whole thing!




You also got to meet your best friend - Reese! At this point you two weren't too impressed with one another, but you both looked really cute in your matching car seats!

Lucille at Week One:

Week One Stats

- Weight: 7 lbs 4 oz 

- Height: 21inches

- Head: 13 inches
- Slate Blue Eyes (or whatever color it is that all babies seem to be born with)
-Brown? Hair ( you had very little of it except for a tiny mullet in the back)

Milestones
-You had very good muscle control from the very beginning including being an exceptional kicker. It  could be because you were two and a half weeks late, but I like to think its because I had you working out in utero including the Disney Princess Half Marathon with Emme.
-You look to both my and Daddy's voice and a few times you have turned your head on your own to look at one of us.
-You came out sucking your own hand/fingers in order to sooth yourself. Similarly, you could suck a pacifier from day one.


-You had a little hair, most of it concentrated in a tiny baby mullet in the back of your head. You have nice and long and lovely eyelashes and also long and not so lovely fingernails.
-You make a variety of sounds including an "eh eh eh" which means "give me a boob or I am going to loose it" and this quiver machine-gun cry which means we waited way too long to feed you. You also make the cutest little squeaks in your sleep.

We are both so in love with you and are so happy you finally came to join our family. You are the light of our life and we look forward to learning more and more about you.