The last week

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated everyone on Punkin and the goings on of the Barnetts. Every day I think of more things I want to share about Allison because she is getting to the age where her personality is really showing through. I've made a mental list so lets see if I can get them all in here.

For the last five weeks I've been taking a photography class at "Quad-C" every Wednesday. Jackie, my mother-in-law, has been nice enough to watch Allison while I attempt to master the art of photography. This past Wednesday there was some oddly cool weather, and I MAY have gone a bit overboard trying to make sure that punkin stayed warm. I just couldn't help myself. How cute is she in those jeans and her sweatshirt?? Doesn't she just look thrilled? I love this picture!


Allison also had her 4 month well-visit this week. Of course, that means shots and an unhappy baby. I made Frank go with me because I can't stand the shots. I have cried every time so far. As expected, she cried right along with me. But the good news is they only had to prick her twice instead of four times because two of the shots had just been combined! Where was that little advancement two months ago??? Oh well, I'm grateful that it's here now! We had a lot of time to kill while we waited for the doctor so I whipped out the point-and-shoot that I usually have in my purse. We were also updated on her stats. She weighs 14.5lbs and is 24.5 inches tall!



Allison has also finally rolled over! Jackie told me two weeks ago that she found her in her crib laying on her stomach, but it hadn't happened since so I figured it was just a fluke. However, since Thursday she has done it twice! The timing was hilarious too... right before we noticed her on her tummy we were discussing how we thought she would roll over when she was 6 weeks old b/c she always got SO CLOSE - then nothing. We were also busy comparing her to another baby we know who is a rolling-over-pro and is a month younger than her. She must have overheard us and whipped out her competitive side, because when we turned around we saw this... !!! She seemed pretty content so I ran for the camera before turning her back to look at her fish.

Allison is also quite the talker. She babbles constantly - mostly "g" sounds that she makes in the back of her throat. We left her in the church nursery for the first time last Sunday because the Sunday before that she was singing along quite loudly during praise and worship, but then wanted to keep singing during the announcements as well. It's always an embarrassing exit, so we opted for the nursery the following week. The nice lady that watched her informed us that she sang the whole time she was there, too.

I've also recently noticed a budding little attitude from my baby. Contrary to popular patterns of thought, I actually do wake Allison up from her naps so that she eats on time and therefore stays on schedule. Most days that goes great, but some days I feel like a have a teenager on my hands. I try to wake her up slowly - first by talking to her, then I take her blanket off, I pat her tummy, and finally I pick her up. However, despite my gentle ways, if she is cranky she will thrash her head from side to side while keeping both hands in front of her face as if to tell me to "go away". When I pick her up I give her a hug and ask her how she slept. Most days, I get a smile, but on the cranky days she responds with a powerful "EHH!" followed by a very dramatic throwing of her head onto my shoulder. Of course, once she sees that milk is in the deal she's over it, but still! Talking back at 4 months? Who would have thought?

By the way - the hands in front of her face is definitely a trend with her. She sleeps on her left side with her left thumb in her mouth, and her right arm over her face. We know when she does this that she is serious about sleeping. She will actually try to accomplish this position when she's in her carrier, which is sad because it just doesn't work.


Here she is again with her hands in front of her face. This pose showed up about a week ago, but she has been doing it ever since. I simply can't keep her hands off of her face while she eats. If they aren't over her eyes, she is fighting to get her thumb in her mouth along with the bottle. She doesn't give up either. The whole time she eats she is focused on her thumb!


For a final update, Allison is now eating mostly formula - which I don't like. Ever since she started sleeping through the night my milk supply has steadily decreased. I started by supplementing just one bottle of formula every day, and now she's up to 3 or 4. To make matters worse, I got VERY sick yesterday so I didn't nurse her at all. I found the energy to pump once, but only got 5oz after 13 hours!! I found that shocking since I used to get closer to 7oz after only 3 hours. Anyway, someone told me about an herbal pill to take that has Fenugreek in it, so I'm giving that a shot. We'll see how it goes. My two main complaints about formula is that 1) it's expensive, 2) it stinks! I think it smells like bird food. Not to be gross, and I never thought I would be the type to blog about poop, but I have to tell you that it smells WAY worse now! The first time her diaper reflected the change in food it left both me AND Allison gagging. I'm not kidding when I say that she looked very uncomfortable on the changing table that day. Just to thoroughly get my point across - HOURS after I changed that diaper I picked up the pants she had been wearing and caught a whiff of something foul. I examined them to make sure that her diaper hadn't leaked, and I discovered that they were clean minus the disgusting smell that had permeated the fabric.


I'm very proud of you if you made it this far. I'll try to break it down into smaller chunks next time.