Yesterday we took Allyssa in for her two month checkup – yes, two months, she was actually two months old, yesterday. She was at 10 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 3/4 inches long, so she is growing. All was going well, but, as most of you know, two months is the first time they get their vaccinations. I’ll spare you the details of what she was given, but I can tell you it was done in three different shots. Both the doctor and the nurse warned us that she may be unhappy later in the day, and could run a fever from the vaccinations. We thought we were ready for that.

It’s really hard to see your baby in pain, and it actually made me cry to see her so unhappy. Although I realize that the vaccinations are very important for a developing child, I wish they could find a way to make them not so hard on the baby. Her leg was bruised at the injection site and we could tell that it was very painful for her.

We had stopped after the appointment to pick up some children’s liquid Tylenol, on the advice of the doctor and the nurse, but neither told us how much is safe to give her. The packaging only shows dosage for children 2 years of age or older, so we tried to call the hospital for advice. Laura was getting frustrated when after an hour or more, there was still no answer on the advice hot line. When your baby is in pain, and the only one who can give advice on how to sooth that pain isn’t available, it’s very upsetting to the entire family.

Laura did eventually get the advice she needed, and the medication must have helped, because as I drifted off to sleep last night, Allyssa was calm again and has slept most of the day away today. The photo above was taken only a few moments ago and you can see she seems a lot happier today.

Well, as you can see, I work way too hard during the day that when I finally get some time to spend with Allyssa, we usually nap together. This was how we spent our quality time on Monday, and I’ve been so busy since then I just finally took the time to post the photo.

For those of you that do not know, I am working on a social networking web site for network marketers, you know, those people that first sell you something then want you to join them in the business? Well, I found a business that I like and is going to help me get healthy so I can spend more time with my family. I have been taking the whole food supplement known as The Pops since April and it is really starting to make a difference in my life. But I shall spare you the details here for now – take a look at my Healthy Dad web site for all of those details. I’ll just share that since taking The Pops, I have more energy during the day and sleep better at night. Want proof? Look at the picture above.

Ok, you’ve seen another picture, now it’s time for me to get back to work.

Last night (or should I say this morning?) Allyssa completely amazed us. As usual Wednesday night she became sleepy around midnight, sleepy but not necessarily asleep. She would doze a bit and then wake up again wanting a bit to eat. She ate around 1 am as usual and then fell asleep shortly after. She was asleep by 1:15-1:30. Nothing odd there.

Thursday morning though she didn’t wake me up at 7:30 as she usually did. Instead I woke up around 8:30 and she wasn’t awake yet. The lack of visible movement made me check that she was still breathing, which of course she was. I dozed lightly for a while, then noticed the time a little after 9. She was still sleeping, an occasional sound coming from her bassinet to keep worrying down. At 10:15 the phone rang and that woke Allyssa up.

Since I was like two geysers by then, I was more than happy to have her awake and hungry. While I certainly could have used some relief before she did wake up, I really didn’t want to cut her sleeping short. She continued this pattern last night – and I am hoping it continues forever.

Allyssa is starting to establish a pattern, one that I feel is good for her and us. We had the start of a pattern in that she would typically have a feeding around 1-1:30ish and then be down for the night. Well, it wasn’t always then, but it was typically between midnight and 2:30 am.

Although, she had been doing 4 to 5 hours at night Friday night actually she slept for 6 hours! Ok, on Saturday night she didn’t sleep 6 hours, so I wasn’t sure this was working itself into a pattern, but then on Sunday night she slept 6 hours again. I liked it. I hope it continues.

Well, today we had a surprise visit. Over the Memorial Day weekend we visited my Aunt Joanne in Green Lake, and of course we left something behind, Allyssa’s pink fleece blanket. Well, on a return trip from visiting her oldest son in the Twin Cities she called and said she would stop by and drop it off. Of course, we had to get a picture…

Great Aunt Joanne with Allyssa, June 11th, 2007
Click image for larger view.

It’s kind of hard to get a picture of all three of us since one of us usually has to be behind the camera. Yes, the camera has a tripod mount, and yes, we have a tripod, and YES the camera has a timer. But who has time to get the tripod out, connect it to the camera, set the timer and get set before the damn thing goes off. No, it’s easier to just wait until someone comes along to take the picture for us. Thanks Mom.

Last night we attended a graduation party for Shay’s girlfriend Katie and were able to get a few photos of Allyssa with family and friends. You can click on any image below for a bigger view.

First we have cousin David holding her at our house before heading to the party. Can you believe he is actually smiling?

Then, a few seconds after our arrival, Aunt Angie snatched her up and wouldn’t share with anyone – not even Mom and Dad!

Well, she did finally let Cousin Cheyanne have a chance, but then again, Cheyanne is Angie’s daughter.

Next up is Grandma Karen…

and finally Cousin Heather.

So, you happy now, you have pictures.