bathtime fun

Allison really enjoys taking a bath. She seems to really like the warm water and she acts as if she could stay in her bath forever and be perfectly happy. Lately she has even begun to splash around in the water by kicking her legs. We are pleased that bath time is not a struggle but is actually a fun time for all of us.

look how big i am!

Allison had her 2 month check up on Monday. This included her immunizations. She did very well considering she was receiving 3 shots. She only cried while they were giving her the shot and stopped as soon as she was picked up. But she has definitely grown over the past month:

Weight - 11 lb. 4oz. (50-75%)
Length - 21 3/4 in. (25-50%)
Head - 15 in. (25-50%)

We are also participating in a research study with Arkansas Children's Hospital. It is comparing breastfed versus formula fed versus soy formula fed babies. They track the babies growth and development as well as their nutrition until they are six years old. We had our first visit on Monday. We have to go once a month until she is a year old and then, once a year until she is six.

The first visit went pretty well. First, we had a consultation to make sure that we understood everything that we were getting ourselves into, and after that, they asked me a lot of questions about what I eat, and I had to give a detailed description about what I had eaten for the last 24 hours. Then they took all of Allison's measurements.

Next, they have a machine that measures her body composition (it's very high tech) - they call it the "pea pod" (see photo above). She went into this little clear tube that has warm air blowing through it for 2 minutes. She seemed to enjoy the warm air and was calm the whole time.

The last thing that she had to do was the brain lab. In the brain lab, she wore a cap that had lots of sensors on it that measures her brain waves, and then they introduce different stimuli to her to see if she is understanding them. I knew about this going into the study but never thought that the cap would be so scary looking (see artistic rendering below). Allison did not like it at all, and the hardest thing was that she has to be quiet and somewhat still (but not asleep) for each test.

It's kind of a lot to go through every month, but the greatest part of the study is that we get free diapers for a year, so we are happy to help out with the study.

old friends

Aren't they cute?

sleeping beauty

Allison went to sleep Wednesday night at 10 pm. We woke up to her becoming restless (this is what she does before the full fledge cry), and while we were trying to decide who was going to get up with her, we realized it was getting to be light outside. We looked at the clock and it was 6 am. 8 hours! Allison had slept for 8 whole hours. It was fantastic to get a full night of uninterrupted sleep. While we know that this is not yet going to happen every night (last night she only slept 5 hours), this gives us hope that more restful nights are to come!

update

Well we made it through the first month with Allison. We can't believe it's been a month since she was born, but then sometimes it has seemed like a year. She was not the happiest of babies for the first month. She was rarely happy during her waking hours – always grunting, fussing, turning red, kicking her legs and flailing her arms, etc. We thought perhaps she had colic or reflux or some kind of stomach problems. Her 1 month check-up was on Monday, and we had made my list of questions about these problems for the doctor. He quickly dismissed all of them with the response of, “Babies cry.” While this somewhat made us feel like idiots (of course we knew that), We are thankful that Allison is okay. Here are a few stats from her appointment:

Weight – 9lbs. 9oz.
Height – 20 5/8”
Head – 14 5/8”

But we are glad to announce that Allison has been a completely different baby this week. No more fussiness and grunting. She has even been sleeping in her bassinet on her back (she previously slept in her car seat). While she used to not let us put her down very much during the day, this week she has been playing on her Baby Einstein play mat for long stretches every day with no fussiness. She even slept 6 hours straight one night! So, hopefully this is a sign of good things to come from baby Allison.

more photos

We can hardly believe that Allison Grace is almost a month old already! She has already changed so much from those first pictures we took just a few short weeks ago.

Last week we took some great naked baby photos of Allison in some natural light. If you would like to see more from this series, you can view them on our Yahoo! Photos Page by clicking on Allison Grace Photo Shoot. There is also a link on the right hand side of this page under "more photos" called "family photos" that will take you to the same page. We will keep the Yahoo! page updated with Allison's most recent photos, so if you're ever wondering what Allison looks like at any given point in her young life, they will be available there for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

for all you picture fiends

allison's first week

One week ago today, Allison Grace made her first appearance in the world of light. It's been fast in that it doesn't seem like it was a week ago, but the nights were definitely long. We were discharged from the hospital on Saturday afternoon only to be re-admitted on Monday due to a bit of jaundice and dehydration. Allison was placed under an ultraviolet light and fed as often as possible. After her jaundice faded and she was rehydrated, we were able to return home on Wednesday. We are so thankful for our beautiful, healthy little baby girl! And we are looking forward to the many years of growing to come.

she's arrived!

Allison Grace Cleveland was born January 12, 2006 at 12:06 PM.

She weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 19 inches long.

a recent picture

This is our most recent picture sans bébé.

christmas is coming soon

This is our puppy, Cosmo, and he's ready for Christmas!

allison grace's first picture

This is our daughter's first picture taken in August '05.