Cousin Oliver has joined us!

Hi, Uncle Jared!

Another exciting week has happened. The biggest news of this week is that I have a new cousin - Oliver Ronald Matthews. He was born on a Thursday, like me. He was born at the QMC, like me. Also, like me, he has to stay in for a few days so the lovely doctors and nurses can make sure he's nice and well before he comes home. Because of this I haven't been able to meet him yet, but Mummy and Daddy have. They can't believe how small and light he is compared to me. I suddenly feel all grown up.

I need to back up a bit here. On Monday this week Mummy and I went to visit Daddy at work for lunch. It was a last minute thing where we decided to go to the M&S Café. I'm told the food was delicious, though I didn't get any directly, only some of Mummy's Jacket Potato vicariously after the fact. After that we happened to meet Auntie Sarah, who just happened to be in town. I got to spend a bit of time with her before we headed home.

Tuesday was a big adventure. I went to Melton Mowbray Farmers Marker. I got to see a sheep auction and we helped Grampy and Mamma buy chicken feed. We also had a good old wander around the town (including the charity shops).

On Wednesday I met up with Harry (and his mum Hannah) again. 

He's copying me.

I enjoy spending time with him. He just kind of gets it, y'know. He's only a week older than me, but he had plenty of advice to give. Such as better ways of sucking on my fist.

 Thursday - this was the day Oliver was born. I didn't meet him, like I said, but he is definitely nearly as cute as I am. I'm going to have some competition.

On Friday Mummy and Grampy had to go to Daddy's work for sight tests. This was fun as I got to see dad earlier in the day than normal, and also he was able to show me off to lots of his colleagues whilst I was there. They all said I was cute, adorable, gorgeous and lots of other things like that. Mummy and Daddy agreed profusely.

Yesterday Daddy didn't have to go to work because his holiday started. It was fun spending a Saturday with Daddy for once. We did a bit of shopping in Nottingham for holiday supplies when we go to Wales next week. Then we came home and chilled for the rest of the day. On Netflix we got to watch "Anastasia", which Daddy has seen lots of times whilst he was a missionary in Russia. He found out Mummy had never seen it before, which meant he really wanted to show it to her. I didn't catch all of it because I fell asleep. It's tough staying awake for an entire film. (Daddy says I get that from Mummy.)

Today was church, which I also managed to sleep through for the most part. Eventually I'll have to learn to stay awake, but whilst it's socially acceptable for me to sleep a lot during the day I'm going to make the most of it.

Well, that's my week in brief. Next week's email will be exciting as I'll get to tell you all about my first holiday!

Until next week!

Another Week in the Life of Lucy

Hey, Uncle Jared!

A week has passed yet again. I'm now the grand old age of 5 weeks and 3 days. I feel very like I've learned a lot in this past week of my life. I've become more adept at following people by turning my head. I can hold my head up and support myself using my arms a little. Daddy has also been showing me how to fist bump, see: 

Backing up a bit - on Monday Jim and Jade came to visit with their baby Emily. Last time they met I was still in Mummy's tummy. Apparently that doesn't count, so this was my first official visit with her. She is nearly twice my age, but I expect that gap to close as time progresses. Anyway, we all had a good old catch up, with plenty of humorous observations and anecdotes about parenthood (and babyhood) exchanged. We then went for a trip round Asda, bought picnic food and went to somewhere called Wayne Manor. Apparently it's a big deal, but I don't yet understand the concept of films, let alone why The Dark Knight Rises is so cool, so I didn't quite get the significance. As far as I was concerned I was just sleeping and being fed outdoors in the sunshine for once. Daddy also got stung by a wasp whilst trying to defend me from it. What a hero!

Rocking Daddy's sunglasses!

On Tuesday I met another baby. It was Mummy's friend from university Hannah's baby, Harry. He is only a week older than me (to the day) but he must be half as heavy again as I am! It was yet another trip to Costa where I missed out on loyalty points. After that we took a trip to Thornton's with Mamma Cardy and had some ice cream. Well, I had mine vicariously through Mummy, but you get the idea.

Wednesday morning I had quite a fussy morning, feeding a lot and making noise. After we dropped Daddy off at work we went to meet Laura, who is Mummy's friend from work. By this point I had calmed down and so Laura got to enjoy plenty of cuddles with me whilst I was docile. She then treated me to some nice (belated) birthday presents from Next. (She had also bought me some preemptive birthday presents as well, I found out. Basically, I'm getting inundated with clothes. Every time I get dressed I'm spoiled for choice!)

That evening we had the home teachers come and visit. They shared a lovely message about the Hope of Eternal Families. They said I get to be Mummy and Daddy's daughter forever, which is a lovely thought, as I quite enjoy being a daughter. I give some lovely smiles on occasion to prove it. (I don't go giving them all the time, though. I don't want to spoil my parents, or devalue my smiles. Don't tell them that though.)

Big news from Thursday - my birth was registered! I've now officially been born! Y'know, because the 22 hours of labour didn't count until we'd signed a bit of paper. The lady asked a whole load of questions about me, Mummy and Daddy, including how to spell my name properly, and then printed out a certificate. So I now have proof that I was born, in case there was any doubt about it. It now also means I am also paid a wage of £20 a week. For some reason they call it Child Benefit rather than a wage, but it feels nice to contributing to the household income so no one can accuse me of being a freeloader.

My second favourite outfit, after the Supergirl one.

On Friday I had to get up quite early (or be gotten up quite early) so Mummy could get to the dentist. She broke a tooth whilst pregnant with me but couldn't have any treatment until after I had been born. Luckily for Mummy I qualify her for free dental work until my first birthday. (Again, I'm no freeloader.) Auntie Sarah was looking after me whilst Mummy was in the room getting checked out, and afterwards we all had a big old girly catch up with Mamma Cardy, Auntie Dee, Aunite Emily and Cousin Lilly at Attenborough Nature Reserve. We (they) had some paninis, we (they) and a walk around and we (I) got to see ducks, swans and geese for the very first time! How exciting! That evening we had our first family date night - we went to the local Flaming Grill pub. It is quite literally the fanciest meal I've ever been out for. I didn't actually order anything of the menu, but Mummy and Daddy had some nice food there. I can't wait until my digestive system is developed enough for a Chicken New Yorker or Pulled Pork Nachos. It looks and smells delicious.

On Saturday we dropped Daddy off at work in the morning,. He was going to be late getting the bus because he'd been looking after me whilst getting ready, so I felt I owed it to him. We went for a quick wander around The Range from there, before I decided it would be a good time to want a feed and nappy change. Later on that day we decided to pick Daddy up from work, so we went into Nottingham early and I suggested to Mummy that we pick up some milkshakes from Shakeaway to surprise Daddy with. (I shared mine with Mummy, by which I mean I let her have mine first so I could have it later.) I fell asleep to the sound of the running water in the Market Square fountains whilst we waited. I find it to be very relaxing, even with the extra noise of all the people on the beach behind it. Daddy was pleasantly surprised to see us, and even got to show me off to some of his colleagues as they left work as well.

Today at church I spent most of my time with extended family. Nanny and Grandad Dann came to see us, and between them and Mamma Cardy and Auntie Saz I spent very little time with my parents. I also spent very little time awake, so I've been napping/feeding on and off all afternoon. We even took a walk around the local park in an effort to help me fall asleep, but I ended up more awake when we got home than when we left. That kind of backfired on them.

This was Grandad Dann's creative posing.

And that beings me up to now, writing this email. What a long and exhausting week! We've got one more week at home then we're off on holiday! We've booked a caravan at a site in North Wales for a few nights. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Well, that's all for now. I'll write to you again next week!

I'm a month old!

Originally send 28/8/16. I'm a little late posting this, but then I am new to this whole blogging thing. And to life in general, for that matter.

Uncle Jared, I'm a month old today! I've never been a month old before. It's exciting. I'm celebrating by vomiting more often than usual. In fact, when Daddy was changing my nappy for me earlier I vomited, and then whilst he was cleaning that up I decided to wee all over the changing mat. And then I sneezed as well! It was so much fun - Daddy didn't know which mess to clean up first! (I'm actually just pandering to the female stereotype of wanting to change my outfit a lot. Because I can't physically do it myself, or ask for help, I do it by ruining whatever I do have on instead.)

(Me being sick on Mummy earlier this week.)

We had a kind of 1 month birthday celebration for me last night where Mummy, Daddy, Nanny, Grandad, Auntie Becca and Uncle Mark all came round and had Chinese. (I didn't get any though, which seems just a bit unfair.) I did get lots of cuddles all round Daddy's family, though, and I'll eventually get to try Mummy's chicken in black bean sauce vicariously when I feed, I guess.

On Monday I got to have a stroll into Stapleford with mum. I got into my nice spacious pram (much more spacious than my car seat) and mum introduced me to the joys of charity shop shopping. It's Mummy's favourite past time, and she gets some great bargains, such as a cool little chair cushion for me to sit in. Not yet, as I'm still only learning to move my head around, but give me a couple more weeks and I'll be sat up, in my chair-cushion, holding my head like no body's business. A couple of weeks after that I plan to be walking. Then I'll focus on running, so I'll be doing marathons by next year. Aim high, Daddy told me.

I met some of Mummy's work friends on Friday. I got to meet three other babies (well, I say babies, they're about a year old, so far too old to be considered babies). I got lots of cuddles and "Oohs" and "Aahs" whilst mummy caught up with her colleagues. In the afternoon I got to have a trip to Costa, where Mummy met up with her friend Emma for a catch up. It's becoming something of a regular occurence so I'm thinking of getting a Costa loyalty card now so I can start racking up the points.

(Punching Daddy for no real reason)

Something cool that happened this week - I got fed by Daddy! His feeding was a little bit different than how Mummy does it, but it has the same end result, so I'm happy. He's going to start doing it more regularly, which is about time. Nice that he's finally pulling his weight instead of leaving Mummy to do all the feeding. Lazy old man...

Well, the highlight of the week is definitely my new favourite outfit. It was the Wetherills who let us know about it. (I'm meeting them tomorrow, by the way). We saw it online and Daddy ordered it. Then Mummy took me to ASDA the next day to pick it up whilst Daddy was at work, do when he came home he got to see it. And here it is!

How awesome is that? I'm quite happy having a tutu instead of a cape.

Anyway, I'll leave you with this picture here. It's me at a few days old and Mummy and Daddy when they were only a few days old as well (that was a looooong time ago, by the way). Can you guess who's who?

Love you, Uncle Jared!

-Lucy

XxOoOxX

Windy Week

It's time to write to Uncle Jared again! How exciting! (Originally sent on 21/08/16)

Today is a special day for Mummy and Daddy, it's 6 years since they got married. That's a long time. They showed me a DVD of their wedding. It looked like a really fun day. I also got to see you in it. I also got to hear your voice. It's the next best thing to getting to meet you, I guess.

So, normally Mummy and Daddy celebrate by going away for a few days or having a nice meal out (or both) but because I'm still small and dependant on Mummy a lot they didn't go away this year. They decided to have a nice picnic at the park after church instead. The weather decided otherwise, and kept raining on and off, so they just had an indoor picnic instead. It wasn't as glamorous as some of their previous anniversary celebrations, but Daddy said he was so happy to have an anniversary with all three of us together, which was nice to hear. (We are planning on having a family holiday in September when Daddy has a week off work, so I'll get to travel a bit at that point.)

Well, let's back up a bit. What have I been up to this week? On Monday I had a shopping trip around IKEA, B&Q and Babies'R'Us. I slept the whole way through, except for waking up briefly in the IKEA restaurant to feed as well. (I didn't want to feel left out whilst Mummy and Daddy enjoyed their meatballs and mash.) I know mum and dad want me to get into a routine, but it don't think the routine involves me sleeping the entire afternoon and then being restless all evening. I could be wrong though.

Another highlight of this week - projectile poo! You've probably heard of projectile vomiting, right? Well, imagine a similar principle out the other end. Daddy was half-way through changing my nappy when I passed a bit of gas (not an unusual occurence, in all honesty) and Daddy thought that was the end of it. Then I passed a load of poo really quickly. I got poo over the changing mat. I got poo over the floor. I even got poo on wall next to where the table is. Oh, and over Daddy's hand as well. He was a bit disgusted initially but overall found it hilarious. He was laughing as he found more and more spots of poo to clean up with the 1001 spray.

From Monday onwards I was becoming increasingly restless, not feeding for long or sleeping very well, so I had a trip to see the doctor on Thursday morning. Turns out I have trapped wind, which the doctor suggested some medicine for. It's orange flavoured, which for you might sound alright, but I'm not used to flavours yet. The first time Mummy gave it to me I cried, but I'm getting better with it now. And I'm trumping a lot easier as well. (Daddy is a bit put out that I get applauded for burping and trumping, but when he does it Mummy tells him off.)

On Saturday I had a trip to the hospital to visit my cousin Lilly. She'd been in since Monday because she had an operation to help her feel better. It was a windy day, and it took my breath away every time I was in the wind. Mummy made sure I was wrapped up warm in plenty of layers. Whilst on the tram there I had plenty of people cooing over me. Mum got a bit confused getting off the tram and walked all the way round from the back of the hospital to the entrance at the front of the hospital to walk all the way in to where Lilly was. It could have been a much shorter trip if she'd gone straight in from the tram stop. It was nostalgic being back at the QMC. Seems like a lifetime ago I was last there. Lilly was very happy to see me and kept wanting to hold me. However she's still not strong enough and I'm still too delicate so they just let her stroke me for now.

On Friday night Daddy's friends James and Emma came round with their little girl Alice. She's nearly 2, and she was excited to see me as well. She also got to stroke me a bit, and kept saying "Beh-bee", which is a really weird pronunciation of "Lucy", but there you go.

And last but not least, here's a picture of me dressed as a mermaid. Daddy had a muslin cloth to hand and a spark of inspiration. I think it's the best costume I've ever worn.

Until next week!
Love,
Nibling Lucy
X

Bonding with mum and dad

So I got to spend a bit of quality time with mum and dad recently. I mean, I always spend time with mum, and dad has been known to make an appearance, maybe change a nappy or two for me, whenever he's not at work.

Anyway, over the past few days I've been having some bad wind. Apparently I have been "colic", which is a fancy work meaning "I cry a lot". So, any time spent with mummy and daddy recently was either me sleeping, or me crying in their faces. I don't think they counted that as quality time. Mummy managed to get me some medicine, which tastes yucky but has been helping me feel better. I've been able to sleep more and then spend time awake which doesn't involve me crying.

Today I had a bit of a bad wind session, which had me crying pretty badly, but it was able to pass (with a resounding trump) and then I immediately settled down, at which point I looked at dad. He had been holding me for the past half hour whilst I was crying, but when I had finished I looked at him and smiled. I also made noises at him when he said things to me, which made him really excited for some reason. I think he thinks I am trying to talk to him. He even told mummy I'd said my first word. It was more of a sound than a word, but he's claiming it anyway. I also made lots of eye contact with him and with Mummy as was able to follow them round by moving my neck as they moved around me. They were very proud of me.

They were also very tired as this took place between 1:30-2:30 in the morning. I still don't understand the concept of socially acceptable hours yet, apparently.

Homecoming Week

This is the second email I sent to my Uncle Jared, which talks about my final few days in hospital and my first few days at home. (Originally sent 7/8/16)

Hi Uncle Jared.

Wow, it seems like almost a lifetime ago that I last wrote to you. In fact, it was most of my life ago. I'm about 3 times the age I was when I last wrote to you. Crazy stuff.

Anyway, let me catch you up on what's been happening since last Sunday. Well, on Monday I got a hearing test at the hospital. It's something they do for all new babies, and dad was very interested as it kind of overlaps with what he does for work testing adult's hearing. I know I look skeptical about the whole thing, but I scored 8/8 so they're very happy that my ears are working okay.

On Tuesday I had my first bath. The lovely nurses showed mum and dad how to give me a bath. Again, I know I look a bit annoyed in the pictures, but I had a good old scrub up for the first time in my life. (Those are cotton balls, not bath bubbles, in the picture just so you know.)

So, on Tuesday afternoon they finally let me go home! They finished all my medication and all my check ups, and sent me off with Mummy and Daddy. Mummy's family had even gone to the house and put up some decorations for us.

Over the next few days we've had family and friends visiting, whilst Mummy and Daddy adjust to life with me, but without a team of medical professionals around them 24/7. They've changed plenty of nappies, woken up lots of times in the night and have both been vomited on at least once each. It's part and parcel of raising a tiny human like myself, I guess.

On Thursday, Emma Wilsher (who did Mummy and Daddy's wedding photography) did a photo shoot for me. Emma was getting some training for herself, so she did the session for free. I've attached the first picture she has given us. I'm adorable, aren't I? The next few pictures will be sent over in a few weeks time. I'm excited to see them.

On Saturday I got to meet my cousin Lilly for the first time. We went round to Mamma and Grampy Cardy's for a bit, and Auntie Emily came round with Lilly!
(I'm starting to realise I don't smile much in photos.) Lilly was happy to see me. She kept smiling and holding her arms out for me. I think we're going to be great friends growing up, along with cousin Oliver (from Auntie Dee and Uncle Scott) when he joins us in a few weeks.

Today was my first time going to church. I was so excited I feel asleep in the car seat before I even got in the car, slept the whole way through sacrament meeting, and only woke up once we got home. You can see the dress I wore today. You couldn't see it much when I was in the car seat though. Actually, I'll include a picture of me in my car seat. And I'm smiling as well! I generally  cry loads when I'm being put in the car seat, but I'm normally asleep within the first 5 minutes of any car journey.

So, it's been an exciting week for me. Lots of people have visited me, or got to meet me at church (even though I was asleep) and I've still got lots more people to meet, including you.

Daddy goes back to work on Wednesday, so I'm going to make the most of the next 2 days with him. I'll let you know all about it in my next email.

Until next week!
-Lucy

My birthday

This blog is being passed over to my daughter so she can post about her experiences of teaching me how to Dad. I've only been a dad for less than 3 weeks, but she has been my daughter for her entire life, so it's safe to say that she is better qualified for this than I am.

This post is adapted from an email sent to her Uncle Jared, who is currently abroad serving as a missionary for our church in Guam (a small Pacific island). It details her journey into this world and her first few days after that. Lucy was born on Thursday 28th July, and the email was sent on Sunday 31st July.

-----

Hello, Uncle Jared, my name is Lucy Katya Dann, and I am your neice!

Apparently you already know that I was a bit late coming into the world. Turns out I was nearly 2 weeks late! Mummy went to be induced on Wednesday morning at 10am. Within a few hours I could tell she was having contraction pains. They sent us home (well, to Mamma and Grampy Cardy's house) to let these build up.
After a few hours the contractions were happening every 2-3 minutes, and were lasting about a minute each. We called the hospital and they told us to come back in as it was time for them to keep a closer eye on things. This was about 7pm.

So Mummy and Daddy and Mamma Cardy were all there with the midwife and we were trying to help me get out. It took another 13 hours! We were up all night whilst Mummy's contractions got stronger and stronger. Both Daddy and Mamma were struggling to stay awake for so long and kept going for quick walks outside the room to wake themselves up. (Staying awake wasn't tough for Mummy - she was in too much pain to feel sleepy.)

At about 8am on Thursday the midwife decided that I needed help to get out. Mummy had been pushing for a while and my heart rate was a bit too high. So they got some doctors in to help. They used a fancy suction cup thing called a "ventouse" (von-toos) on my head to pull whilst mummy pushed. I came out very quickly after a couple more pushes. It was 8:52am on Thursday 28th of July. I was 7lbs 7.5oz (which is more than I would have been if I'd been born on time, that's for sure).

Mummy had a bit of an injury right at the end of giving birth and had to go to surgery to get some stitches done. The surgery team did a great job of looking after her. Meanwhile Daddy and Mamma did a good job of snuggling with me whilst calling my other extended family with the news.

Then we had visitors come round and start seeing me. Firstly Auntie Sarah and Grampy Cardy came round. Then Auntie Deanna and Uncle Scott. I had lots of nice snuggles with them. At this point Daddy and Mamma were soooo tired that Grampy drove them home so they could have an afternoon power nap. Whilst they were gone the doctors were checking me over and thought I might have a few problems with my breathing, so they took me to a special Neonatal Ward so the lovely doctors and nurses there could look after me closely.

They kept me on a monitor for a while and did a few tests. They found out I have an infection of some type and straight away they put me on antibiotics to help make me better. And they managed to do all this in the few hours Daddy was gone for his nap! When Daddy came back in was in my incubator being kept warm and having a bit of extra oxygen to help. Nanny and Grandad Dann and Uncle Mat, Auntie Emily and Cousin Lilly also came along in the evening to see me.

The next day the doctors came round and saw that I was doing better and so they didn't need to monitor me so closely. I got put into a cot and moved to part of the ward where my family can interact with me more. Mummy was able to start feeding me, and more family were able to come round for snuggles. I got lots of presents, especially from Auntie Becca and Uncle Mark when they came down on Saturday. We got to have a 3-generation photo! (I'm excited for you to join in the next family photo.)

So at the moment Mummy and Daddy get to stay in a special room with me on the Neonatal unit. The nurses are all amazing people who are really helping me get better and also helping Mummy and Daddy learn how to be parents by feeding me, changing my nappies and helping keep me settled. They're very tired but they really do love me lots and lots and lots.

I'll keep you updated with what I'm doing until you get home. At the moment I'll probably be here at the QMC until Tuesday when the Doctors hope I can go to my home. I'm feeling better every day and I keep feeding more and more (I'll maybe be as big as Daddy one day.) I look forward to seeing you!

I love you Uncle Jared!
-Nibling Lucy