New Pictures

This week has been a great week. We have seen a few changes in Bella that are pretty cool. For one, she has been a lot less fussier which is a blessing. She is smiling more, mostly in the morning, and she is making cute little baby girl noises. Of her 3 distinct cries (I'm hungry, I'm bored, and I'm in pain) we have not heard the last one since we made the feeding changes. She went to sleep with out crying and without the aid of a pacifier for the first time last night. We think she is about 10lbs now, so that might be helping her sleep longer. Twice this week she went 6 hours between feedings, and she might have slept longer than that if I didn't wake her up to feed her. Her little stump fell out, so she is now getting tub baths. She really enjoyed her first one last Wed night. Catherine said she hung her little arms over the tub and just lounged in the warm water smiling contently like a lady of luxury. Last night's bath was not quite that relaxed, but she did enjoy it after she was in the water for a little while. She still has no interest in her rubber ducky though. Here are some recent pictures. The bath one and crazy hair pictures were taken last night. The one with Bella and Cat was taken this past Sunday.

Update

Bella has been doing great. We have been using the rice flakes in her cereal, and that has helped make it thick enough to help her spit up less. We have also been keeping her upright for 30min after feeding her. These things along with the 0.7ml of medicine we give her every 8hrs has helped make her a pretty happy baby. She has started smiling this week and responding to facial expressions which is pretty cool. It's not gas either... From an elevated position she can flip from her back to her stomach. She is very squirmy still. Here are some photos from the last couple of days. The top one was from bath time last night. She still tries to eat the water sometimes, and she doesn't like her rubber ducky too much yet. Her stump fell out yesterday also, so she is about to graduate from the sponge bath. The bottom picture was take on this past Fri. She is smiling because daddy is holding her :)

My baby's fussiness has a first name and it's spelled G.E.R.D.

Well, I'm spending my Valentine's Day hanging out with my new sweetheart (see above), and I can truly say that she has become a little sweetheart - all parental bias aside. She no longer seems to be in pain. She can sit without crying or squirming or making faces. She doesn't scream if she isn't fed immediately after waking up. In fact she will even lay in her crib AWAKE until she nods off. True story. Que milagro! What's the difference you ask? We have discovered that not only does she have an allergy to cow's milk, but she also has GERD or acid reflux. On Monday I took her to the doctor, and I told the doctor of my suspension. When I told the doctor that I thought she had reflux, she took me at my word. No lectures consisting of the phrases, "you don't know that for sure", "that's the way babies are", or "welcome to parenthood; get used to it". No, she listened; checked my baby out; and gave us a plan of action. Thank you doctor for giving me the sweetest Valentine's Day present of all: a happy baby.

Getting to know you

"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you. Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me. " I'd say that about sums up where we are right now. Daddy has gone back to work this week, and Bella and I seem to have a different experience every day. Sometimes she's mild manner Bruce Banner (see picture above), and then like a flash she can turn into the Hulk (a lady never lets her most unflattering side be captured by a camera). And I'm left scratching my head wondering what offense I have committed and trying the rest of the day of recreate the magic that we once had. Was the milk too hot, too cold? Is she too hot or too cold? Was she up too long last time? Does she not like the stroller ride? My response is always the same when I ask her. Silence met with some grunting and squirminess. So we'll see what questions are raised today. One thing I have learned this week: the Hulk...he mostly comes at night, mostly.

1st Doc appointment this week

Bella had her first doctor's appointment this week. She has a stomach issue that we need to figure out, but other than that she's great. She is in the 50th percentile for her weight with 8lb 8oz. She is in the 90th percentile for her length at 21.5 inches. She is only in the 20th percentile for her head circumference. So she is a tall thin peanut head right now :) She is sleeping 4 hours at a time during the night and going right back to sleep after her feedings which has been nice. {Editor's note: She only falls right back to sleep when her daddy feeds her. For the early morning feed she is wide awake.}. Her doctor said that 10lb is the magic number where they start to sleep longer in between feedings. We cannot wait :), and we shouldn't have to wait too long since she is a good eater and fast approaching 10 lbs.


Here are a couple of recent photos