Lucy's First Rotation Around the Sun

We kept our darling gal alive for an entire year. It has been, hands down, the most amazing year of my life and my gratitude and respect for mother/parenthood grows every day. In terms of development, this will likely be Lucy's most growingest year of her whole life and it has been fascinating to be a part of her growth and learning.

We transitioned Lucy out of childcare and into the hands of Joanna, the most wonderful, caring and thoughtful nanny our family could have ever imagined. She speaks to Lucy exclusively in Spanish and has made a tremendously positive impact on all three of our lives. I no longer have to schlep Lucy to campus, schlep her home, schlep clean clothing, schlep bottles. There is so much less schlepping that I spent 7 days in two weeks biking to the rock climbing gym, working out, climbing, showering (yes, right after a workout!!!) and then doing work at the gym. I have time to exercise, guilt free, and spend less time away from Lucy than I was before. While Jim and I are cognizant of the need for socialize for Lucy, we are astounded by the amount of growth she made in just a few

weeks with "Yo Nana," as we are lovingly calling her. Joanna is taking her to an activity each day, for her sanity as much as Lucy's development, and she will get tons of socialization when she starts back up at school in the fall. I don't know how we functioned without Joanna. Sadly, she is far too talented and bright to be a nanny forever, but we are soaking in as much of her as we can until we have to send her to more exciting adventures.

P.S. Joanna thrives on adventure and learning new things. She has taken up rock climbing with us. Yes, that is right, a nanny who adores our daughter and also enjoys going climbing with us at the gym and outdoors. I will never know how we got so lucky, but we are grateful to have her in our family each and every day.


At one year old, Lulabee is really into animals. She has animal sounds for cow, pig,, lion, duck, cat, gallina (hen, but she only responds for the Spanish word :-) and rat. She has mastered the signs for more, eat and milk and will use them whether she is being spoken to Spanish or English. Walking has entered her radar and she is pulling up and standing on everything. She has an adorable move where she lets go with her hands, put them out for balance and makes a conscious effort to do "standing work." As with most things she does, she came up with this move on her own. Jim made her a walking contraption, showed her what to do twice, and she was off and cruising after that. She has started to doing "ta-da!" and putting her hands out to the sides when she accomplishes something she worked hard on. Her stamina continues to grow and she is willing to work at difficult tasks for longer and longer periods of time. My parents got her a bike for her birthday and she thinks this is the best thing that has ever happened to her (besides milkies). She loves to ride around. Ideally this happens outside, but when it is raining she is happy to be pushed around our 980 square foot apartment, an activity that is much more interesting for her as the rider than us as the pusher.

Lucy has taken a strong interest in climbing. Everything. Humans. Stairs. Slides. Playgrounds. Curbs.
Everything. It really is amazing to watch her instincts to climb everything. She tends to be tentative at the start of something new, but once she assesses the environment as safe and comfortable, she cannot be stopped. I am working VERY hard on not interfering with her thought process and attempts to explore until she asks for help. I stay near by to reassure her that I am there to support her, but only when asked to support. I have the tendency to jump in, inundate her with as much vocabulary as possible and really, just get in her way. She is adventurous, confident but not overly so and trusts in the world.

She waves to everyone everywhere we go...you would think she was the president walking through Costco. Before we know it she will be offering to give her autograph out while raspberry covered hands and wide-mouthed, wet kisses for all. She is oh-so loving, sooo, sooo loving and is generous with all of that love. It absolutely breaks my heart when someone ignores her or won't wave back (yes, this happens, even to a small human). I want to punch them in the face and tell them they might her feelings and they better, at least, give her a little wave, but surely they can muster up a smile to go with it. But I don't. Because I know she is going to have her feelings hurt. I know it is not my job to protect her, but to prepare her so be strong when things hurt. The Mama Bear instinct is strong and it takes an immense amount of effort act with thought first and emotion second.

One of her new favorite activities is getting into boxes and baskets and buckets. It is an absolute bonus if someone is willing to push her around the apartment in one. Lucky for Loulabee, Joanna is willing to push her around in any baby holding device she can crawl into.

I am happy/sad/happy/sentimental/sad/happy to report that my sweet baby girl is weaning herself from the nursies. We had a turning point a couple of weeks ago when she had milk and sat up to ask for food when she was finished nursing. Milk is no longer a meal for her. It is for comfort, for thirst and for time with mama. I am longer a source of nutrition for her. She doesn't need my milk any more. She can have it for as long as I produce it and as long as wants it, but it is clear that she isn't drinking nearly as much nearly as often. In fact, I am done pumping (unless the dreaded clogged ducts reappear as she weans. This past week provided me with one on each side and it is dreadfully painful). I realized just tonight that I am talking up being done with the activity that has kept us bonded from the beginning of her life outside of my body. I used my body to grow her and then continued using it to sustain her life. That is powerful and emotional. I do not know life as a mom without breastfeeding and the transition away from it feels a bit unnatural. I am sure when she is 16 it will be a distant and fond memory, but her first time latching is so vivid and clear in mind that it is nearly impossible for me to picture being her mom without this part of our relationship. I am not sorry to say adios to the pump, to the bottles, to the flanges and the valves. And, I have a few hundred ounces stored up in the freezer so she won't even need cows milk (or whatever milk we land on) for a while yet. I mean, she is drinking milk out of a sippy cup already! It is time to pack up the bottles and guide her into this new stage of toddlerhood.

Recently Jim asked to decrease his support staff role from 70% to more like 60% and has taken over bed time as a result of his request. To my amazement, but not surprise, she only cries when I leave the room and only for a few minutes. She sits up from bedtime nursies and calls for Daga to come get her, although she is always sad when he actually appears. It is as if she says to us, "I am ready to sleep. Mama isn't good at helping me with this. I need Daga to help me." She went from crying for 45 minutes the first time to crying for the first one-three minutes a couple of weeks later. He thinks he is god's gift to fatherhood and bedtime and I am grateful that Lucy is learning to take comfort in her dad. I can see the difference in their relationship during the day time now that he has taken this active role in the evenings. It soaks up some of his climbing time, but I get a couple of things done around the house and then slip in next to her. Next up...night weaning for more then 2-4 hours of sleep at a time.

We haven't been to her one year well-baby visit (amazing how time can relax a person. If I had been

this late to her two month check-up I would have turned her over to CPS as I failed as the most neglectful mom in the world. I know realize our baby really has NEVER been neglected-thanks Jeff). We go at the end of this week. We did decide to give a flu shot based on Joan's recommendation. Babies with the flu are babies in the hospital. I am not interested. While a flu shot is not a guarantee, it is a first line of defense. I don't know how we will decide in the coming years, but for now it feels like a good decision. She weighed 19 pounds when she got the first shot and we are thinking she is probably around 22 at this point. This morning she was standing up at the window sill in the kitchen and could see straight out on flat feet. He head is taller than the garbage can. She is starting to look like a toddler and not a baby, although she will as be my Baby Lucy.