Ally's First Month

The first month with a newborn is so hard to describe. For me, it's been almost 6 years since I've had a baby, and man how much you forget but how quickly it all comes back to you. The first few weeks are what I like to call the newborn survival phase. I feel crazy, sleeping is crazy, crying is crazy, and the family schedule is crazy. And if you know me at all, crazy is not my thing.

The postpartum hormones are indescribable. I even woke up in the middle of the night once convinced I was choking on an ear plug (even though they both were still in my ears...and yes I was wearing earplugs as my newborn was screaming in my face). And no one seems to tell you this, but nursing is hard. You have to really stay committed to it to see it through. For us, baby items are extremely expensive so I'm doing what I can to help out with the expenses...so I'm nursing and using cloth diapers. I'll let you know in a few months how all that is going.

But then there are the indescribable sweet moments like this one:


Ally at 3am. I love just sitting there and looking at her

And she has changed so much every week!

Ally: 1 week old

Ally: 2 weeks old

Ally: 3 weeks old

Ally: 4 weeks old
Thanksgiving Day

She is such a joy and a precious addition to our family. No she was not a surprise for us...she was planned and of course the Lord has the days of her life all planned out for her. That's such a neat thought as we look at our little Costa Rican baby. Things start falling into place a little bit after a month so that's nice. We still weren't on a good schedule yet, but that usually happens about the second month for us. Here's a snapshot of that first month:

She loves sleeping in the Boppy. She doesn't like to sleep flat because she keeps spitting up all the time. And she loves to snuggle down in a blanket. Our house gets really cold at night since we don't have heat, so she likes her blankets.

This was her working with Daddy on the balcony

And then there's the dynamic of Jack and Ally. He loves to hold her whenever he can. I try to wait until she is in a good mood so he can just hold her and they watch tv together. He is begging to walk around while holding her, but that's not happening. 

They definitely love each other

His favorite thing is to give her a pacifier (chupeta in Spanish) and brush her hair. She falls asleep right away. And I love that when she gets fussy he calls me and says "Mom, Ally wants to be feed".

And wow...the dynamic of Emma and Ally. Hard to describe. Emma is amazing with her and is a complete natural. She will probably have 10 kids herself. She loves to carry her, kiss her, put her down for naps, change her diaper and dress her. She says it's like her very own Bitty Baby doll. Ally LOVES her.

My three sweet kids at Thanksgiving

Kids giving her a bath before church

This was her first bath done by daddy and photographed by Emma. Ally hated it at the moment, but she loves her baths now.

Daddy and Ally. Such a sweet bond. He is always taking her from me and cuddling with her.


I see him walking around the house with her curled under his chin constantly. And he hates to hear her cry. He is always scooping her up every time we hear a peep coming from her room. So spoiled.

It's amazing how much more laid-back we are this time around. I think we know just how fast this time passes and we want to enjoy every minute of it.

So fun having the three of them. I never thought I would have 3 kids, but it's really great.

And this is me most of the time. She loves this sling or the Moby wrap. Our stroller is difficult to fit in our car and it's hard to use on the terrible sidewalks. So I carry her most of the time.

People stop us everywhere and want to see her because she's so tiny. That's the word we hear the most. So we call her our "Tiny T". Some of the comments I get the most are "she's so white", "look at her blond hair", "you need to get her out of the sun", "be careful it's supposed to rain", "you know it's really windy today", "it's really cold outside right?", and "where's her hat". I even had a sunhat on her one day and a lady told me that was not okay because it didn't cover her ears (because it was windy). I am also surprised how many strangers ask me if I'm nursing her. I'm not really sure why they care. It is sweet though when old ladies stop me on the street and remind me of what a blessing she is.

She is indeed.