Countdown to Christmas

Mike and I can't wait for Luciana's 1st Christmas. We're so excited! We're a little behind on all of the prep work though. We just got our tree last week and decorated it on Wed. We also just sent out our Christmas cards (sorry if you get yours after the holiday... It's the thought that counts right) :) Things definitely take a lot longer and a lot more planning with a little one but it's SO worth every minute.
We took Lucy to see Santa Claus over the weekend which was great. She absolutely loved him and got to tell him all of the things she wants for Christmas. Mike and I have tried not to buy her too many things but we find that on every outing, somehow we come back with another gift for her - baby toys are just to fun to buy!!

We also went to Ari's 1st birthday party this past weekend which was a lot of fun. They had a woman from a place called Music Together who led the kids in songs and dancing and Luciana had a blast. I'm looking into signing her up for a class but it's been hard to find anything on the weekends - so let me know if you hear of anything.

Here are some photos from this weekend and a few from her 'photo shoot'.




Laughing about 'tummy time'


Hanging out with a Christmas Reindeer


Telling Santa what she wants for Christmas


Making sure he heard everything


So cute I can't stand it!!!!!!

Food time!!

Luciana has been able to have a few foods now so we've been having a lot of fun with that. She got to start out with rice cereal which she loved but apparently her system did not... She became quite "backed up" so we had to stop that. We're actually on a little bit of a hold on all food (outside of nursing) because we want to make sure she's ready to process it.
She still has the occasional jar of pears or prunes though. Here's how her first experience with prunes went.... We had to share!

The Raspberry Era

Raspberry's are all the rage in our house right now! Not to be outdone, of course, by spit bubbles which go hand-in-hand with the raspberry's. Lucy's favorite new game is to do both of these things over and over. Then Mike and I crack up (and maybe do some back to her) which she thinks is hilarious and makes her do them even more. It's a vicious circle that we all think is too fun to break!!
I'll try to post a video of it soon - They're hard to get on film because she's still very suspicious of the video camera. We'll have to 'secretly' record them. :)

Back to work

Monday was Luciana's 1st day of "school". Here's a quick pic before the tears started (mine, not hers).
It's been really hard for me so far but I keep hearing it will get easier. It better, or else I'll be driving out to St. Clair Shores twice a day to bring her to my sisters house!!

My last week home :(

This is my last week home with Luciana. Starting Monday I'll be back at work.

I've been crying a little bit everyday as "D-Day" approaches. I do have to say though, I love her daycare and I'm really glad that we found it. It's in between our work and our house and only a few blocks from each (which means I can make frequent lunch visits). I'll be going up there tomorrow so I can sit in the room with the teachers and get a feel for what Lucy will be doing all day. I'm not going to 'talk' about it anymore for now because it makes me to sad....

On a happier note - Mike's cousin Jason got married this past weekend and we had so much fun seeing everyone! The wedding was so beautiful (although, you'll have to take my word for it since apparently we forget to take pictures). Luciana did great on the car rides there and back (it was in Buffalo, NY). She even got to visit Niagara Falls with Mike and I and her uncle David. Below are a few pictures we did remember to take!





Luciana and Papa Catalano at Jason and Erin's rehearsal dinner



David cutting Mikes food while Luciana is sleeping - What a great uncle!!!



Ordering room service :)



Hanging out in the hotel with some friends



Luciana showing off more of her travels at the Hard Rock



The family at the falls



Me and Lucy at the falls



The brothers at Niagara

Our busy weekend

Luciana had her 1st official photo shoot on Saturday. We had them done by a friend of ours who has a photography business she runs out of her home. Even though Luciana was tired (the photo shoot was at 11:00 am and she had been awake since 7:00am) and was still getting over her cold, she did a great job! I think we were able to capture quite a few smiles.

We'll get all of the photos on Monday but here are a few we got to see early.







After the photo shoot, it was home for a quick change of clothes and a meal then it was off to my sisters house for our nephew Cameron's 3rd birthday party. Luciana was a out like a light from the drive there but then was accidentally woken up by her Papa Eberhardt so she was a little bit fussy (and Papa Eberhardt was then charged with calming her down) :) Other than that she had a great time and even got her 1st birthday party goody bag filled with toys and a book (thanks Aunt Nichole). She loves parties and has had a pretty full social calendar lately!!

Time Flies...

Luciana had her two month checkup today (although technically she's almost 10 weeks already)! She's 12lbs, 10oz (80th percentile) and 23.25 inches (75th percentile).

I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. She loves smiling now and does it most of the time. She also loves to mimic Mike and I so we are constantly making faces and noises with her which she repeats and smiles.
She eats more and more every day and is developing several healthy rolls because of it! Sometimes we think new rolls are appearing right in front of our eyes :)

She's a really happy baby (unless she's hungry and I'm not moving fast enough - note the rolls comment) :)
Smiling, cooing and watching everything around her - every day is something new and I can't wait for the next.

Here are some pics I've been meaning to post.



Sleeping with her blanket from her Great-Grandma Chubb


Up close with the camera


Smiling


She can sleep in any position


Sticking her tounge out

She's great at traveling (so far) :)

Over Labor Day, Mike, Luciana and I took the train to WI for our friend Vik's wedding. We had to leave our house at 6 am on Sat, travel a total of 9 hours on the train, walk to our hotel and then change and go to the Sangeet (which is kind of like a rehearsal dinner for an Indian wedding). Then there was the ceremony and reception on Sunday and the long ride back on Monday. She did fantastic! Slept, ate and played on both train rides and hardly even became fussy. Mike and I were so proud of her. Hopefully her great travel mode will continue for Jason's wedding in October...

Here are a few pics from our trip.



We're on a train??


Are you serious?


Playing on the hotel bed


At the ceremony


Sitting with daddy on the train home


Going fast on the train ride home


Cracking up with mommy

Our first seperation

Mike and I went out for the first time without Luciana this past Saturday for my friend Allison's wedding. It was REALLY hard for me! My mom watched her and I knew everything would be fine but I was so sad to be away from her. We were able to make it out the door by 5:30 and didn't get back home until 10:30 - I was very proud of myself for being able to make it that long :)

I'm trying to build up to being able to put her in daycare once I go back to work but I still cry when I think about having to do it...

Luciana and I also went to my sisters house this week to visit her and her family and we went to Kelly Services to visit with, well, the entire building! She did great during both outings and I'm getting a lot better at remembering everything to bring on an outing!!

Here's her 6 week old pic - she's almost the same size as her bear now!

A few new pics

Here are some of our favorite recent pictures (although she's so cute, we love all of the 1,000's of pics we've taken so far!).

Enjoy!

One month checkup

Today was Luciana's one month doctors appointment (technically, she's 4 weeks and 6 days old!). Everything went really well and even though I didn't think she was going to get a shot, which she did, that went well too (harder for me then her).

Her doctor, Dr. Peltz, said that everything looked perfect! She does have pretty bad acid reflux that we need to watch to make sure it does not get any worse but that's about it. Of course I immediately went to the store and bought a wedge for her crib to help elevate it and relieve some of her reflux. I'm sure I'll be buying more products in the near future - if they make it and it has a chance of helping her feel better, I'll be spending money on it. I guess that's what you do when you're a mom - anything for your baby! :)

She's in the 50th percentile for both her weight and her length which is great - 9lbs 5oz (up over 2lbs from birth) and 21.25 inches (up 1.75 inches from birth).

Three Weeks Old

Today is Luciana's three week birthday! I feel as if she's always been with us and couldn't imagine a day without her.

Three weeks have brought a lot of changes. She's not quite fitting into most of her newborn clothes anymore (we've moved on to the 0-3 month size) and her eating and sleeping patterns are becoming more regular. She's already moved from only wanting to sleep while she's being held, to being able to sleep in her bassinet, her crib and her swing. She sleeps about 3 hours at a time now and is eating like a champ! I can't wait to see what her stats are at her next doctors appointment.

Here are some more photos - she's already changing so much from when she was first born but she still looks just like her daddy! :)

Weee......

Looking around in her crib

Folding arms with Papa Eberhardt

Meeting new friends and cousins

Luciana has had many visitors lately and she's been able to meet lots of new friends. She's also been able to spend time with her cousins.


With her cousins Mackenzie and Cameron -






With her cousin Addison -


With her new friend Ari -




With her new friend Griffin -

1st Bath

Luciana's 1st bath had some crying but she was a big fan of getting cozy after it was done!

Small set back

Luciana had her 1st doctor visit on Monday with her pediatrician. It didn't go as smooth as we hoped. Her jaundice seemed to be worse then when we left the hospital (which they told us might happen due to her bruising from delivery) so Dr. Peltz sent us to the Beaumont lab to have her blood drawn. By the way - she cries horribly when you change her diaper but stick a needle in her foot to draw blood and she'll probably sleep right through it :)

The doctor called us about an hour later to tell us that her levels were way to high (19.1) and that she needed to be admitted to the hospital. Mike and I were very worried and had our overnight bag packed and were off in about 5 minutes. When we got there they told us that she would need to be put under a special light all night (this was around 2pm) and that they would continue to monitor her levels. If they got to high (around 24) it would be threatening and they would need to do a transfusion.
Her blood work from when we first got there was done about 2 hours after her initial blood work and the results came back even higher at 20.9.
I sent Mike home so he could get some much needed sleep (no sense in both of being up all night) and I stayed in the hospital with Luciana not sleeping at all because I didn't want to leave her bedside.
Eventually, after hours under the lights and several feedings (which also helps her body get rid of what it needed to) her number took a huge drop down to 14! Then in the morning her number was even lower and we were able to get discharged. So once again, we are trying to settle into a routine with our new family.

Here are some pics of her stay in the hospital, the glasses were glued onto her head because the lights could not be in her eyes at all. She looked so sad but also super cute! Although, even when she's crying, I can't believe how sweet and cute she is :)

She's Here!!!!

Luciana Marie Catalano was born on July 2, 2009 at 11:15 pm
7lbs, 3oz
19.5 inches

My water broke at 2:00 am so it was a very long day but obviously worth every minute! Here are some pics of our little angel...