Day 23

Luciana had herself a very long night last night... She woke up about 6 times, so it took the two of us a while to get with it today! :/

Baby girl slept a lot today, and went on a walk to a really cute park we found today not far from Fairview Park. She stayed tucked under her blanket in the double stroller the girls ride in. She likes the stroller-- always relaxes her!

Here are a few pics of Luciana: with her big sis Penelope pushing her on her swing, and asleep on her Daddy. Goodnight! (Fingers crossed we get some sleep tonight!!) 

Day 22

(Yesterday's missed post)

Today Luciana had her first professional photo shoot! She wasn't in the best of moods, though, and we didn't get many great shots of her. :/ It wasn't her fault-- she was just hungry, and even though she had just eaten, she wanted milk!! She looked cute in her peach jacket and brown pants, though, and she got to visit JC Penny on Black Friday! 

Here's a pic of our angel.... Goodnight.

Day 21

Our baby is 3 weeks old! :) I have to say, though, time is NOT flying at night. We are having a great time with Luciana, it's just nighttime that is still difficult. Poor baby is waking up 5-6 times on a bad night, and 2-3 on really good nights. I love nursing her and bonding, though... And since I'm nursing on demand so that she'll gain weight, we are bonding LOTS! :) Lets hope she has a good night tonight!! 

Today is Thanksgiving, and we went over to Mana's to visit-- Luciana slept the whe time! She's never awake for visitors during the day, she is usually too tired from being up all night! We were home in time for Penelope's afternoon nap, and we were all beat by that time!! We are so thankful for our happy, healthy children, and for each other. We are thankful for our families outside our home, too... :)

Here's our baby sleeping like a log right before we freaked out when I spotted a SPIDER dropping out of nowhere trying to land on poor Luciana. :/ Yeah... It's Fall, and those jerky bugs just wanna be inside where it's warm. NOT cool.

Happy Thanksgiving. Goodnight. 

Day 20

Our little Luciana had her first bike ride today! :) This afternoon, we loaded up both girls into the bicycle trailers and rode over to Rite Aid for diapers. She seemed to like it very much. I think she likes the motion of the bike or from the stroller on a walk... And thank goodness, because we love getting out after dinner! :)

Oh, earlier in the day while Penelope & Daddy were at swim class, Luciana had a visit from Mana, Aunt Holly & Lily-- too bad she was asleep the whole time! :/ Maybe she'll be awake some on Thanksgiving. 

I don't have any pics of Luciana from today-- I'll try again tomorrow. ;) Night!

Day 19

Almost 3 weeks old... Already time is flying, our girl is growing and changing so much! We can now tell that she definitely has Daddy's dimple-- one on her lower right cheek, and she is smiling now!!!! Imagine that, a 3 week old baby smiling when Mama or Daddy coo at her! It's really nice to see that she is becoming her own little person... I wonder what she'll be like? We are so blessed to have her, we are so happy she's the sweet little angel she is. :)

Today Luciana was awake a bit more, but she is still sleeping lots. Her cloth diapering is going well-- they just need to be changed more often, making it sort of tricky when there are two babies to change... Often. :/ Still, we're going to give it a real try. They do seem more gentle on the little butts! :)

Here's a pic of Luciana and Mama... Night!

Day 18

Our baby girl went to her two week well check at her pediatrician a office today-- we found out she weighs 6 lbs, 10 oz now, almost her birth weight. :) Dr. Lau said she's doing great, and that we can stop the formula supplementation now: yippee! :) It was a good doctor visit. Later this evening, we went to the park, and little Luciana slept the whole way there and back! :) She's been awake more during the day, though, so that's nice. We think she's slowly getting day and night straight, meaning she's sleeping a little more at night, and we love that! 

Another cool thing that happened today: Luciana is now a cloth diapered baby! We were gifted 6 months of diaper service, delivered and laundered, so we tried it. We have only put two diapers on her so far, so we'll see how it goes. It looks huge on her, but I think it should work out good. :)

That's it for today. Here is a pic of our baby at Dr. Lau's, and of her sleeping, looking like an angel.  Goodnight!

Day 17

Luciana was awake for lots of our day today! :) She's usually asleep most of the day, which is normal, but today she was so alert and alive! We took a walk to Fairview Park, and she was asleep for that, I think she likes being in the stroller. This evening while Mama took a bath, Luciana hung out with Papa, and I heard she was awake for most of that time-- we can only hope she is adjusting to day and night! 

Tomorrow we have our 2 week appointment with Dr. Lau & we'll see how much weight she's gained. I'm guessing she's at least back at her birth weight: 6 lbs., 12 oz. 

Here's a couple pics from today. Night!

Day 16

Out sweet baby girl had her usual night: up a lot, and then finally asleep once morning comes. :/ Thankfully Penelope slept in this morning allowing all of us to sleep until 7:30! We all sure did need it. 

Luciana hung out while the rest of her family cooked a huge meal, listened to music, danced and basically were loud while she was right there in the room. She slept. She slept through all the noise you'd imagine a one year old would make! Ah, it's a mystery. I guess the child likes the noise, I guess it's calming. :)

We are settled in bed for the night... Fingers crossed we get through it with some sleep!! ;) oh, and since no pics from today, I'll be sure to have lots tomorrow. Goodnight.

Day 15

Luciana slept most of the day today-- we had a very long night last night. She woke up lots, and around 3 or 4, she just wanted to be awake.... I, on the other hand, did not. :/ We had a few errands to run today, and Luciana came right along without fuss. That's the thing-- she'll be asleep all day making it super easy to take her anywhere, and we don't have to worry about fits of crying and what not. 

We received a double stroller as a gift, and it came by Fed Ex today! Daddy put it together & we took it for a spin ... Girls like it, yippee!! :)

Well, I hope Luciana really wants to sleep tonight... Goodnight. 

Day 14

Yay! Officially 2 weeks old! Luciana got her birth certificate today, we had to drive to Santa Ana to get it. Besides that, nothing out of the ordinary happened for Luciana. Lots of sleeping, nursing, dirty diapers and two onesie changes due to some out of the diaper peeing!!! :/

Here's a pic of our beautiful angel....

Night!

Day 13

Our baby is almost two weeks old! I can't believe how fast it's gone already, and how much progress Luciana had made in those days. She had a little trouble nursing, and now is nursing like a pro, and sleeping is also way better. In her first days, she was up every 45 minutes to an hour-- all night. Now she sleeps in 2-3 hour blocks, and gives Mama & Daddy some much needed rest! :) We were zombies until very recently, and now we are ALL feeling better. 

Today Luciana got some new pajamas, onesies and pants in her teeny tiny size.  I think she'll be pretty small for at least a few more weeks, so at least I'm not washing her two outfits every day! 

In other news, Luciana is as sweet and pretty as ever, and is doing really well here at home. We are all getting into a good routine at home, and are happy with one more sweetheart here! 

Here's a pic of Luciana, how she's sleeping now at 9:31 pm... Goodnight. 

Day 12

Luciana had herself another good day. :) She slept okay, only waking up in the early morning hours a little more than a few times. :/ She wakes for milk, and usually goes back to sleep, so I won't complain. 

She was good during our company, too... What a good little baby! 

That's all, this Mama is EXHAUSTED. Goodnight! 

Day 11

Luciana had a good day today. She slept, ate & had about 15 dirty diapers! But, two cool things happened, her umbilical cord stump fell off, and she had her first bath at home! :) I had just been saying to Thomas that I couldn't wait for her umbilical cord to fall off, too, so it's funny it did today. :) As for her bath (kitchen sink, reclining mesh chair) she pretty much hated it until the warm water completely calmed her... She is so cute! 

That's all. Daddy took a couple pics of us cuddling this morning, and a few others. G'night!

Day 10

Wow... Only 10 days that we've known our sweet angel, but our love for her is enormous!!! How can we love someone so much, in just 10 days? ;) She is such a sweet little thing, just 6 lbs. Luciana has brought so much more love into our lives, it's amazing. 

Well, our first night alone (Daddy worked last night) wasn't bad! My baby girl only woke up twice!!!! Now, all the other nights she's woken up almost every 45 minutes to an hour, no joke, so this was a real treat! I slept. I slept! We all woke up today feeling great, and I'm just so grateful. Luciana is doing well, and as of now, she's really just sleeping all day. We keep her in her Moses basket out in the sitting room with the daylight, noise & people so she can begin to recognize day is for being awake, and night is for sleeping. We'll keep it up, and she'll get it soon! 

This morning, Daddy and Luciana fell asleep on the couch.... I had to take a pic. That's all for today. Goodnight!

Day 9

Well, today was our first day, just girls. Daddy had to work, so we winged it! I must say, I was pretty used to the way Daddy takes Penelope for an early morning walk so Luciana and I could rest more... We just all got up early with P! It wasn't so bad, though. Penelope visited Mana early afternoon today, so Luciana and I had some down time together today. She's still sleeping most of the day, and I was pretty busy with Penelope that I just let her sleep. We are just in hopes that she'll work that day/night thing out herself... Soon. Real soon! 

Luciana is doing real well, health wise. She's nursing better, and is a real sweet little thing, when you can catch her awake! She's also a trooper, what with Miss Penelope's famous high-pitched screams. Good thing! 

That's all for today. Here's a cute pic of our angel baby... Goodnight! ;)

Day 8

Luciana had another long, tearful night last night. :/ She woke up and began to cry right when Daddy & I got settled into bed. It's weird, it's like she knows we are trying to sleep and she's totally against it! ;) Anyway, we were super tired this morning, so when Daddy & Penelope went on their morning walk (trip to the park) we slept more. Miss Luciana decided she'd finally really sleep once I got up for the day. And that's how it goes......

We were homebodies today, just enjoying time together, we even took a short walk around the block. Mama is still healing from surgery, so we take it slow. 

Luciana is doing well at home, besides the sleeping situation-- and that's not even a problem, she doesn't realize day is for being awake and night is for sleeping. She'll get it soon. We have been trying to keep Luciana in whatever room(s) we're in during daytime so she'll hear noises and see sunlight, and realize its daytime... Awake time. She heard Penelope yelling and carrying on all day. We hope she will become accustomed to noise and activity around her.

Anyway. Our day was a good one-- ZERO complaints in regards to my beautiful fam. None. :)

Here is a couple pics of Luciana in her Moses basket-- what she sleeps in, mostly, and how we have it positioned on our bed. Goodnight!

Day 7

Wow! A week old today! Well, today was a good day-- we are all learning how to live together, and it can be downright LOUD  and messy around here! But, the most important thing is that we are all happy Luciana is home finally.

Luciana went to see Dr. Lau today to weigh in, and see if she has reached her birth weight yet. She hasn't, and in fact she's lost an ounce. But, we are still okay-- we'll supplement a bit until her 2 week appointment, and then reassess. Everything else is great! Healthy baby. 

That's really all we have for today, folks! Goodnight!! ;)

Day 6

Today was a very busy day for Luciana: wake up (after waking up every hour last night) at 7ish, nurse, sleep, cry, sleep, check out the binkie, have her diaper changed, sleep.... It's really just the crying, sleeping and drinking milk that has our girl so busy. Today, however, Luciana is having difficulty nursing. She just isn't doing so well with her latch (by the way: owwwwch to bad latches), and then she gets frustrated because she's hungry, and begins to wail. It's frustrating for us all. We will go to see her pediatrician again tomorrow to check her weight, and since she hasn't really been eating so well, I anticipate we'll be recommended formula supplement. For weight gain, as she's only 6 lbs., so tiny!! 

This evening, Luciana had her first walk around our neighborhood-- and guess who slept the entire walk? Yep, you got it, our Luciana!! :/

That's really all for today. Goodnight.

Day 5

Day 5 of life... She is still so new, so tiny and seems so fragile! We took her to her 1st pediatrician appointment at noon, and she did great. She had a touch of jaundice, so we had to go for a blood test somewhere different, but everything is okay, according to the results. Miss Luciana is tiny, she lost 12 ounces so ce birth, so we have to try and fatten her up before the doctor recommends formula supplement. We go back for her in. 2 days to check on her weight.

Later, baby girl just slept slept slept. Daddy & I exchanged many a worried look, meaning: "no sleep tonight". It's now 11:16 pm, and we are just ragged... We hope she gets day and night straight real soon!!!! 

Luciana is doing well... Oh! She's only fitting into preemie clothing right now. Yes, our beauty is TINY! :) We love her more each day. Goodnight.

Day 4

Today is Luciana's fourth day in this world, and she is doing great. She is nursing very well, sleeping great during the day despite the noisy house, and is seeming to focus her eyes a little more to look at us. Good job, Luciana!! :) We had a very long night, as Luciana was waking every so often to eat or cry... Mostly she just wanted to be held, and after a certain point, Daddy took over the holding duties, and let Mama sleep! What a good Daddy. He also took over this morning, when Penelope woke up-- got her ready & took her on a long morning walk. Love it. :) 

Luciana isn't recognizing nighttime is for sleeping and daytime is when you're awake, but since she's new here, we're cutting her some slack. She is sleeping with us in our bed (for the first few weeks, or until we think she's ready to be on her own in her room) and she is in a sleeper, which is kind of a bedroll with little walls making her safe from one of us rolling onto her. She's right in the middle. :) Luciana is also now exclusively breastfed. We were supplementing with formula at first, but now she's nursing well enough to sustain her and help her gain her birth weight back-- we hope!! Tomorrow is her first pediatrician appointment, and we'll see how her weight fares. I think she may be getting a few shots, so that's the pits! :/ 

That's the story for our new angel for now. More tomorrow!! :) Here she is in her sleeper on Mommy & Daddy's bed, and then her in her Moses basket earlier this evening. Goodnight. :)

Day 3

(From yesterday... Today's post will be published tonight!)

Well, today is a great day-- we were released from the hospital and went home!! Yippee! I guess since Mama was healing just fine, and baby Luciana is doing so great, they saw no reason to keep us. We were checked by my OB and Luciana's pediatrician early, had already signed most of our discharge paperwork the previous night, and were packed to go by 11am. All the last minute checks were done, and we were all home together by noon. Penelope was happy to see us, but didn't seem overly interested in Luciana! :) Daddy picked Penelope up to look at the baby, P just waved, and then wanted to keep playing. :) She had a ton of fun with her aunt and cousin, so we were relieved to know she was okay that whole time. 

Luciana's first day home was good. She slept most of the day, and by the time Mommy & Daddy were ready for bed, Luciana was just waking up for the day. :/ She wasn't awake as much as the previous night, but enough to make us ragged!! She's got her days and nights confused still, and that's ok, she'll get it soon enough. ;) 

Our angel... We are so happy to have her home, and happy that she's healthy and sweet.

More later!! 

Day 2

Well! Today was a busy day for our sweet girl. She had to take and pass a bunch of tests and screenings, like for jaundice, hearing, and more. She did well on everything! Since we hadn't gotten any sleep last night, we decided that after we had a visit from Penelope, Aunt Anita & Anabella, we'd try to get some sleep. We loved seeing our visitors, and Penelope seemed like she was doing amazingly well at home without us!! We were so relieved to not have to worry. Well, after they left, Luciana visited the nice ladies in the nursery for a few hours while Mommy & Daddy got a short nap... Much needed! Turns out we made the right decision with that, because Luciana didn't sleep again the second night! :/ We know she just has her days and nights confused, but it's not her fault!! :)

Later, we all hung out in our hospital room, and we even took a walk around the mothers & babies floor. That's when we got our idea of asking if we could be released early, and decided we'd try. 

Sigh... It's been exhausting, but we are just head over heels for this little sweet thing, and love her so much! Here's a pic of Luciana with Mama and then with Daddy. Goodnight! (..we hope!!!)

Day 1

(Since Luciana, Daddy & I were in the hospital & unable to create a blog there, I'm starting this a couple days late. I'm going to write as if it were one and two days ago.)

Well, today we finally got to meet our sweet angel, Luciana Mary. Luciana is a name Daddy & I thought of verrrry late in my pregnancy. We just loved how pretty it sounded, and Mary is my late maternal grandmother. 

We came to the hospital at 7am, and by 9:31am, I was on the operating table and hearing Luciana cry for the first time! :) We were so happy to know she had no problems, and was 100% healthy. We were all able to go to recovery together, and that's where Mama's pain quadrupled, at least... I didn't really get too much quality time with Luciana while my pain level was so high, so we really didn't get to bond until evening. That's the big drawback to having a c-section-- your recovery time is so much longer, and is more intense, from what I gather. We were all so tired from such a long day, so by the time I was feeling semi-human, it was nighttime. We had a visit from Mana, and then we all tried to get some sleep. Well, Miss Luciana put the kibosh on any kind of sleep for us! She decided that since she slept all day, she'd stay up all night, just to keep us on our toes! :/ By the time 6am rolled around, we were tired of even trying, so we just woke up when breakfast was delivered shortly after. What a first day for Luciana!! 

Our baby girl was born today, making it one of the most special days we'll have together... We are so happy to finally see her sweet face, and kiss her chubby cheeks! Thank God for another sweet angel, whom we love to the moon and back. :)

More tomorrow, goodnight.