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.