Allison's Page


Welcome to Allison's own homepage. This is where her proud Daddy has posted lots of pictures of her and a few factual tidbits. Allison isn't programming just yet, so Daddy has to do the layout (for now).

Allison's Pictures

First Year Chronology

Allison's Birth

It's a Girl!

It was a joyful time in the Igloo in July of 1999. That was when Soonthree gave birth to our first child, Allison Baily Cochrane. Allison was born July 17, 1999, right on the due date predicted back in November '98. She weighed in at a hefty 8 pounds, 4 ounces (3.76 kg) and was 21 inches (53 cm) from head to toe. She was born with a healthy amount of black hair and looked something like both parents, with Grandmother Chivavibul's nose perhaps.

Why Allison? It's one of our favorite names. We'll see if it turns into Allie. Baily is a family name on Jack's side.

The Labor Story

Labor started around 3 AM Saturday July 17, 1999. By 9 AM the contractions were about 5 minutes apart so we headed off to Shady Grove Hospital in Rockville. Soon the contractions became quite painful, so Soonthree received an epidural anesthetic (much more effective than the breathing techniques we learned). This allowed her to get some much needed sleep. Contractions didn't quicken much, so the doctor administered contraction inducing medication and we continued to wait. Finally, by 4 PM the doctor said it was almost time to start pushing. The epidural was allowed to wear off a bit and Soonthree pushed, pushed, pushed! (with mixed success, since the epidural was still in her system). To speed things up, the doctor used forceps (a dying art). A few contractions later, little Allison was out! Mother and baby both handled labor very well. After a few stiches and a night to recover, Soonthree was feeling much better.

The Stats

Date of Birth: July 17, 1999
Time of Birth: 6:11 PM, EDT
Place of Birth: Shady Grove Hospital, Rockville, Maryland
Obstetrician: Dr. John Gschwend
Weight: 8 pounds, 4 ounces; 3.76 kg
Length: 21 inches; 53 cm
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown or Blue

Months 0 to 3

During Allison's first 3 months of life, she learned to do the most basic things - nursing, making eye contact, reaching, and smiling. It was wonderful to see her first real grins. She cried a lot during the first couple months, and often only rocking her over your shoulder to pop music would calm her down. Early on she could sleep through the night, which made up for hours of rocking. Allison started daycare at 8 weeks and quickly charmed the staff with her smile.

See our pictures of Allison from birth to age 3 months.

Months 3 to 6

During this time Allison started smiling at everyone - friends, family, and complete strangers. She was not a shy girl! Allison seemed to know she could impress people with the width of her grin. Allison continued to grow and soon became a chubby little kid. She learned to make lots of noises that scientists are still working to translate. She also learned to hold herself in a sitting position. At about 4 months we put Allison on a regular bedtime schedule and she was soon able to fall asleep without us holding her.

Allison had her first Halloween and first Christmas. She was a ladybug for Halloween and got to march in the St. James (daycare) Halloween parade, which was lots of fun for Mommy & Daddy too. Christmas was very special, and an opportunity for lots of pictures. We went to Uncle Somsak's and Uncle Dick's to open presents.

See our pictures of Allison from ages 3 to 6 months.
(Sorry, the 3 to 6 month and 6 to 9 month pictures are a bit large & fuzzy - I'm redoing these scans using new software).

Months 6 to 9

Allison is really starting to learn some tricks. First she learned to roll over. Then she found she could get into a sitting position by rolling onto her side or stomach and tucking her feet underneath. We found she could actually stay standing if we stood her up next to a chair or crib rail. Quickly she learned to pull herself into this position! This all happened in about two months. Crawling is a skill that escapes her, because she tries to walk on all fours ("bear crawl" daycare calls it) rather than use her knees and so she falls over a lot - but she can get around this way.

Vocally Allison loves to make noises that Daddy thinks sound like "dada". But they may be just forms of her favorite sounds "aguy" and "gaga". She seems able to imitate big hand motions. She learned to clap at 7 1/2 months, and now we have her imitating us when we wave. It's simply amazing how fast babies learn!

See our pictures of Allison from ages 6 to 9 months.

Months 9 to 12

For Easter we went up to Allison's grandparent's house in Bethlehem. Allison went up again to their home in June for Nana and Granddad's 50th anniversary party. Allison saw her first cousins and met several of her second cousins and great aunts and uncles for the first time.

During this period Allison went from her bear crawl all the way to walking by herself. After crawling she learned to pull herself up and before long was walking using her push-walker or while holding the furniture. A bit later she could manage to stand for a few seconds without holding onto anything. At some point she just started taking steps - first one or two, then 5 or 6, then (very quickly it seemed) across the floor! Each time that she did something (like crawling or walking) for the first time - albeit badly - she would be doing it constantly within a week or so.

Her vocabulary expanded to include a few signs - like "all gone" and "milk" and "more" (which she later replaced with the vocalization "mmmm" and ultimately "muh"). She could say words such as "ulla" ("hello") upon hearing a phone ring, "pppvvvvhhh" for "Pooh", "and "bvvvvhh" for balloon.

Soonthree has written down many of Allison's milestones - such as her first taking solid food, using a spoon, signaling "touchdown" when Dallas scores, etc. We need to collect all that info some time and post it on this site.

Finally we celebrated Allison's first birthday. She was very happy with her presents and especially with the balloon we bought for the occasion (she likes simple pleasures!). That ends Allison's first year!

See our pictures of Allison from ages 9 to 12 months. We've also posted plenty of pictures from her second year.

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