all about Alyssa . . .

I thought I'd do an update all about Alyssa. She's almost six months old now and a whopping 19 pounds - my biggest baby yet. She's 95th percentile for weight but only 50th percentile for height so she carries the weight in her double chin, her cheeks, her thighs - you get the picture. My rolly poly baby. The baby carrier is getting awkward to carry but still so convenient that I'll wait a couple more pounds before switching her to a big carseat.

She was an excellent sleeper for the first four months of life but since then she's been waking up several times at night. Sometimes I feel like a yo-yo with the amount of times I'm in and out of bed for her. But it's not her fault, the poor kid has been suffering from either a runny or stuffy nose since less than two weeks old. Sometimes she'll clear up for a day or two but then it comes right back. I even took her to the chiropractor in hopes that it would help. It did change from four times a night down to two and she really drained a lot of fluids through her nose for a week but she still hasn't cleared up completely. I also elevate her mattress in hopes this will cause less pressure. I've also tried soy formula more recently thinking this might be an allergy but so far it hasn't improved but I'll give it another week before I decide if I want to continue it or not. She was breastfed the first three months so I don't think this should fix it, but I'm willing to give it a try before I rule it out. She went to the doctor yesterday after a particularly bad night and they ruled out ear or throat infection. He also said this has gone on too long and gave me a referral to a pediatrician. Hopefully they can find some answers to her constant runny or stuffy nose. Maybe allergies? I did get a good night's sleep last night though since I tried a type of swaddle with her blankets where both arms were pinned down - it was the first time she slept more than seven hours solid in a long time. I'm definitely trying that again. But all in all, even when I do get up several times, she is very easy to get back to sleep, it's not usually a long amount of time that I'm up every time. And if I really need to, I can always catch up with a nap the following day. Most days I have all three girls sleeping from 1-3 so I'm not complaining about me here, but I am hoping to resolve this issue since it's not good for her.

But that's just one small part of what she's like. She is such a happy, enjoyable baby. She is getting so interactive now and we all love her like crazy. She gets so excited when her big sister's pay attention to her, she loves to be tickled and laughs like crazy when she is, she is so quick to crack a big smile, is very easy to get to sleep, tries to grasp the bottle during feedings, doesn't like being held too long - she would much rather be put down with toys or in her exersaucer which she LOVES, spits a lot, farts a lot, loves her soother, loves to pull her big sisters' hair, can roll from tummy to back but doesn't know what to do once she gets there, "talks" a LOT, and loves face to face attention. She is very adored and loved in our little family.