The First Year: Four - Seven Months

Well, I thought I'd be further along than I have, but that's ok. Looks like Alyssa's first year will be in several posts. I will continue where I left off:

While Alyssa was two to four months old, we were in the process of buying our next house and selling the current one. Lucky for me, Alyssa was not yet mobile, so there were no worries keeping toys in place. The swing, well, that was her favorite thing. As a matter of fact, I believe I showed my house to prospective buyers while she was asleep in it.

Fast asleep in her swing. 4 months old.

By five months old, we had moved into our next house. Alyssa was sitting up already, with no support. All she needed was her toys and a pillow behind her (just in case) and she was set (initially we had tile throughout the entire house, so pillows came in very handy).

Around this time we noticed Alyssa had a favorite color, blue. She always gravitated to her blue toys and other blue things. So, before she could speak, she knew the word blue.

Notice the blue baby key Alyssa holds? It compliments the blue dress and those hazel blue eyes.

Two of a kind.

When Alyssa started solid foods, her digestive issues seemed better. Digestive issues? Well, she had a tendancy to spit up after nursing. At the time, I thought it was pretty normal, but when she started eating baby food, it went away. It was probably a sign of food senstitivites from foods passed from me to her. Alyssa was not a fussy baby, so it was not obvious she had any problems.

Just finished breakfast.

Alyssa continued to nurse and eat more solid foods. It was always fun and exciting to start on new kinds of food...carrots, bananas, peas, squash... her face said it all. Eventually, I actually made most of her baby food. I quickly steamed vegetables, pureed them and froze them in ice cube trays. Each cube size was enough for the particular serving of food. When Alyssa could eat beef and chicken, I did the same. Cooked the meat, pureed and froze them. It worked out very well.

First pigtails - 7 months old

Just chillin'. Notice the red shades.

The First Year: Birth - Three Months

Alyssa was born weighing only 5lbs 13oz. and was 19 ¼ inches long. We had to buy preemie clothes at first. She wore them for about the first month. As an infant, Alyssa did turn out to be a very good eater despite her little size.

The first night home from the hospital, Joey had the pleasure of feeding her.

One of my favorite pictures! A few days old.

We were told many times Alyssa looked like a doll. While at the grocery store one day, a woman actually thought I was carrying a baby doll. Looking back, Alyssa did look like a real-life doll. Maybe it was the hair.

A few weeks old.

Speaking of hair, Alyssa did not lose any after she was born. I heard it was common for babies to lose their baby hair, but Alyssa’s just kept growing and growing. I am sure it kept her head warmer than most other infants. We usually kept a baby cap on as well, but by doing that, we did not realize how curly her hair was. The cap would completely take out the curl, as you can see.

Alyssa had her first Christmas in Sierra Vista. Families from both sides were very excited to see our new addition. Here she is with Grandma Stephany.

7 weeks old.

Now, Alyssa was never really a thumb sucker. There were only a few times Alyssa managed to put her thumb into her mouth. The first time I saw this, I thought it was very sweet, so I had to take this picture.

The first thumb sighting. Two months old.

Alyssa was a very good baby. She smiled a lot, was easy going and just wide-eyed about everything. There was one thing, though, naps were short-lived. I knew it was because she was afraid of missing out on something. Alyssa took 1 - 1 ½ hour naps (short compared to my friends’ children). Oddly enough, I could rock her to sleep by putting her in her swing and running the vacuum. My house was definitely clean.

After a couple of months, we saw a pattern in the evenings. She would fuss due to gas. We felt bad for her. I started to wonder if it was the food I ate (she was breastfed). She may have been a little colicky. So, I started to feed her a teaspoon of rice cereal twice a day. She liked it and it seemed to help her gas. Although Alyssa steadily gained weight, she was small for her size. Her pediatrician figured it was probably normal with her petite genes. Other than that, Alyssa seemed to be right on track.

Curls becoming evident. Almost 3 months old.

3 ½ months old.