Allison - The First Month

Believe it or not, it's been one month since Allison made her grand entrance into our lives. She's becoming more alert and stronger by the day. Despite what seems to be an increasingly more troublesome reflux problem, she is thriving and steadily gaining weight. Big brother Peyton captivates her attention and I'm amazed at how his presence and voice draws her gaze. Almost from day one she has smirked and smiled and recently has started to coo, gurgle and giggle. While I wish I could report that her sleeping is getting better, it is not. Allison continues to sleep better during the day than night, preferring the loud noises and disturbances of her big brother to the quiet and calming sounds of night noise. We were able to get a couple of two-hour stretches of rest while she slept in her car seat for the first few weeks (the horizontal position of her crib mattress, even at an incline produces gagging, coughing, moaning and spitting results), but the past few days have become worse for both sleep and the reflux. I've passed the long night hours sitting in a chair holding Allie upright so she could snooze away in peace, while I closed my eyes just long enough to miss an hour or two of clock watching (barely).

Despite the reflux, at her 1-month wellness check today at the doctor's office, Allison was complimented on her growth and development. She's steadily gaining weight and now, at 1-month weighs a solid 8 pounds, 11 ounces, which is still a few ounces shy of what big brother Peyton weighed on the day he was born (8 lbs. 14 oz.)! Allison was declared to be healthy and happy and I couldn't ask for a better report from the doctor (unless in included a sure fast way to get more sleep).

Peyton adores his little sister, but is still adjusting to life with her here. When she is asleep he wants to (and often does) wake her only to be disappointed that while awake she isn't nearly as much fun as he hoped she would be, to which he usually responds, "No! I don't want her to do that," Unfortunately, "that" is of course exactly what babies do: cry, fuss, poop, pee, eat, all of which take my attention. He is, however, doting and is far more interested in her than me. Peyton wants to check in on her at all times of the day. First thing in the morning he asks, "Is Allison awake?" and at the end of the night he is much more concerned about kissing her before bed, than me. He has been very curious and interested in helping to care for many of her needs from diapering, to bathing. When she cries, it concerns him. Peyton has taken on the responsibility of alerting me when she cries (as if I can't hear it) and informing me of her needs such as, "Mom! She pooped again," or my favorite, (I can't remember the exact words he used but it's something like this), "Mom, she wants the nipple," (who taught him this by the way?).

Yes, I may have a bit of baby envy, as I fear that my status, at least in the eyes of my toddler, has been reduced from top Momma to bottom of the family pool. Perhaps, the 3 weeks prior to Allie's birth, when I was unavailable to meet Peyton's needs and the past 4 weeks of sleep deprivation and infant devotion have taken their toll on our relationship. I look forward to filling all those empty promises I've been making to him to spend more quality time in the weeks to come. We did reach one remarkably important milestone this week, however, that seemed to put a smile on the face of both Peyton and myself. I can once again do a somersault because I don't, as Peyton pointed out, "have a baby in my tummy anymore," which he then decided meant that I could "wrestle" and "play hard," once again! Now, if only I could muster up a bit of energy and a lot more time for this little dude.

Here are some of my favorite photos from our first month with Allison: