15-Month Appointment & St Lucy's Day Celebration

Lucy's 15-month check-up was today. She is now 31.75 inches long (87%) and 22 lbs., 6 oz. (67%). She's not as comparatively huge as she was at her last appointment, but she's a healthy-sized girl. They also retested her lead levels, and they were normal this time. I think it helps that she's not putting things in her mouth as often. She got three shots. She was not happy about anything that happened after we got into the exam room. I think she remembers past visits. She fought being measured. She batted away stethoscopes. She writhed as they gave her the shots. Fortunately, Matt was with us this time and helped hang onto her as she fought. I'm not sure I could have handled her alone. She's fine now, napping peacefully. We go again in three months. She did get her first prescription today, an ointment for the eczema on her face. She has been a very healthy child so far.

We held a small "name day" party last Saturday, Dec. 13, which is St. Lucia's Day. The day is a big deal in some countries like Sweden, which has various traditions. One tradition is that a girl wears an evergreen crown with lighted candles on it. Last year I made one for Lucy out of a little wreath and a string of battery-powered lights from Dollar Tree. It's pretty cool for a $2 crown, and it still works, so we used it again this year. The crown with lights is part of the St. Lucia legend. St. Lucia (who may or may not be a real person) was taking supplies to Christians hiding in the catacombs. She needed to take a lamp to light her way, but she wanted to carry two armfuls of supplies. Her solution was a crown that lit her way and freed up her hands. I love this story. Lucia wanted to help with both hands, and so she invented head-wear to solve her problem. I'd love for my Lucy to be someone who wants to help with both hands and is open to solving problems creatively. Here are some pictures from our celebration.

St. Lucia's Day - 2013

St. Lucia's Day - 2014

She rode on the kitchen cart. It was one of her favorite activities.

She also liked playing with the battery-powered candles on the tables.

Candles in and out of the holders like little puzzle pieces.

And she let Susie play with her, too.

How We Sleep Now

Sleep has been an issue for us for most of Lucy's life, but it's getting much, much better. When we had company for Thanksgiving, Lucy and I slept with Matt in our big bed. I slept so much better in the big bed that I became determined to sleep there all the time. And for the most part it's worked. I put Lucy to sleep on a mattress on the floor of her room. Sometimes she nurses to sleep, and sometimes she plays after nursing and then puts herself to sleep. I then go to bed in my room. If she wakes, she talks or cries, and I go see what she needs. I typically get her back to sleep with just cuddling. Recently, she's had a cold, and cuddles don't cut it, so she's nursed in the middle of the night once or twice. The other day she slept 8 hours straight! I gave her a little milk, and she slept a few more hours. It was wonderful. I had an entire night of sleep in a comfortable bed and then got some things done before she got up in the morning. It has taken a long time, but I'm pretty glad that I didn't torture her or me with "cry-it-out sleep training." It might work for some people, but I think she and I are too sensitive for that method. She just needed to grow into a new sleep habit. She's now able to get up and find me when she needs me, so she's not as afraid for me to leave her alone in her bed. We've still got a ways to go before she's where I want her to be, but I'm enjoying the recent success and sleep.

Found'em!

Fact #1: I have been naming body parts for Lucy for months, and I've tried to get her to point to her nose or mouth or eyes, but she's never been interested in demonstrating her knowledge of anatomy.

Fact #2: Lucy's hair is now long enough that it covers her face if it's not pulled back.

This morning, instead of putting Lucy's hair in a ponytail, I used a barette. Eventually, the barette fell out. When I saw her face was covered with hair, I said, "Your hair fell down. Where are your eyes?" She ran up to me, pointed at her eyes and said "eyes." I hugged her and laughed in delight. Matt was there to witness it, too. I've now started to wonder if she wouldn't point to her nose when I've asked in the past because it wasn't hidden and didn't need to be found. If a body part really needs to be found, however, she'll find it.

Her other cuteness today was calling a puzzle a "puzzuzzle." She was repeating what I said and not using the word for herself, but now  know she knows how to say it. She already knew what the word meant, so now she's all set to use it.