Happy Days

Yes, sir. That is one happy baby. She got her shots on 3/13, and she has been on the go meeting and greeting people ever since. She met my co-workers Friday in the morning and then met Todd's co-workers that afternoon, and she got to ride home from work with daddy in his truck. That was lots of fun I am sure. Then on Sat. we threw her a "Free Bella" party and invited my extended family over to my parent's house since they hadn't seen her yet. And then on Sunday she went to church with us for the first time and stayed in the nursery. We didn't even make it into the church doors because people came running out to see her. And as you can see, she has enjoyed being the center of attention. She truly did love it. I don't know if she is just not old enough to be scared of all the different faces, - I know she won't start experiencing separation anxiety until around 9 months - but she loved being passed from person to person (ok, she loves being held). It just seems impossible to believe that Todd and I would have an outgoing kid. But anything is possible. We will of course keep you posted.

I'm a model you know what I mean

At the ripe old age of 7 weeks, Bella has scored a modeling gig. What's the story you ask? Well, when I went to pick up the breast pump that I purchased off Craig's List (it's like an on-line garage sale), the lady who was selling the breast pump started telling me about her business that she was just getting started. Her little girl had tons of hair, but she couldn't find any barrettes that would stay in her hair, so she created her own. Other people really liked them, and that motivated her to start mass producing them and trying to sell them. She even created her own label - Bellaziza and had just recently received a large order from Babystyle (a baby store with several store nationwide). She showed us (Todd was with me) all the barrettes, and as we were leave she handed me a few and told me good luck with the baby.

Well, when Bella came out with a full head of hair, I knew just the little barrettes to put in her hair. So when I was taking pictures for her birth announcement I stuck one of the barrettes in her hair. I decided to email the barrette lady Bella's picture to show her that we were really using the barrettes and to thank her for them. Well, she loved Bella's picture and asked if she could use her picture on the website that she was creating (http://www.bellaziza.com/), and if I would be willing to take more pictures of Bella, she would give me more barrettes. So, of course I said yes! I'm trying to get more sophisticated in my picture taking, but of course I am working with an infant and a $200 camera. Todd laughed at me when he found the halogen lamp downstairs and asked me what it was doing down there, and I said I needed it for Bella's photo shoot. A friend has recommended a photography book (How to Photograph Your Baby by Nick Kelsh), so I think I will buy that. My friend now takes beautiful pictures and even has her own business (http://www.odomnet.com/photography/), so I trust the recommendation.

Pretty in Pink

Every day it seems that Bella is interacting with us more. She is smiling more, stretching out her arms to touch things, and looking at us in an effort to try and mimic our hand movements and facial expressions. I swear when I snap my fingers she moves her right hand (she'll be a righty) in an effort to do the same. Todd thinks I may be reading too much into things. I suppose that can happen when you spend 24/7 with someone who can't talk. In fact just last night he was saying Bella didn't really do much yet and that she might even be an angry baby because she really didn't smile that often. And then as if to prove him wrong, the minute we stopped the car she had lots of smiles and grins for her daddy. Like most first time parents, we take joy in all our baby's first. Last night I took joy in Bella's first time to prove her daddy wrong.

Flying Baby

Bella has been doing great. She can support her own weight for 10-15 seconds on her own (she has to be steadied by our hands of course). She locks her little legs, and she waves her arms as if she is performing just to make us laugh. She has been grinning real big and even laughing (ok, there was no sound, but she was laughing) throughout the day, not just during her happy time in the morning. She is always real happy in the morning for some reason which we don't quite fully understand. If we laugh at her, she will start smiling. She is already a ham in training.

We have not been taking her to church yet or over to her cousin's house yet since she doesn't have her shots. Cat's brother has started the FBDC (Free Bella Dyer Campaign) and plans to have T-shirts made in protest of us holding her captive. She will have her shots in a couple of weeks, and we will feel better about having her around other kids and taking her to the church nursery.

Here are a couple of recent pictures. This one is Bella during her tummy time. She has pretty good head control now and will only head butt you once in a while.





























This one was taken a few minutes ago. She was fussing, so I changed her vantage point, and she thought that was pretty cool.

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.