Thursday, April 28

A whole new wardrobe

Bella is growing every day. I have started to play dress up with all of her newborn clothes. Only a few premie outfits will still fit her. I am so pleased that she has grown this much. She looks very healthy. This weekend we have some friends coming to visit and I am very excited to show her off!

Today when Granny was talking to Bella, we're pretty sure we heard a little squeal. She is more active all of the time. Bella and I took a nap today and I decided she was big enough to sleep with me. We started out with a gap between us, but eventually Bella squirmed until she was right next to me. I woke up and scooted her back over a bit. It wasn't long before she was right back next to me. Moments like that are what makes long nights, headaches, cabin fever all worth it.

We took a long walk yesterday and Bella stayed awake for most of the walk. She would look around and then try and shield her eyes if the sun got in them. I would try and put a blanket so that it shielded the sun, but then she would get upset because she couldn't see. My silly girl
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Tuesday, April 26

Mirror, Mirror on the wall

Today we added a new toy to Bella's life. I placed the crib mirror in the bassinet with her. I was quite relieved to have an extra 20 minutes to myself because Bella was completely fascinated with the mirror. I even caught her smiling at herself. What a joy it is to see my little girl discover the world.

We have had a challenging past few days. Bella must be going through a growing spurt because she is eating about every hour most of the day. Occasionally she will sleep for a couple of hours. I am tired, but quite pleased that she is growing and healthy. I am trying to keep my spirits up enough to enjoy the last week before I return to work.

I am anxious to regain activity, but also anxious about being away from Bella. I have the best babysitters ofcoarse.... Granny, Aunt Laura, and Aunt Abbi! Bella is beginning to fit into all of her beautiful clothes. I am excited because she may just barely fit into a dress that I have had set aside for our first mother's day together. I feel as though somebody has given me a key and I can walk through a door and cross to the other side, I am now a grandaughter, daughter, and mother. This feeling of pride sort of makes up for the zombie feeling I have most days!

Bella is wearing Abbi's baby doll dress. My very own baby doll!

Monday, April 25


Isabella Michelle, 4 days old

Smile

I am amazed each day by Bella's development. Each day a tiny piece of who this little girl is to become is revealed. Yesterday when I went to save her from crying in her bed she smiled with happiness, thankful to be rescued. It was the most amazing feeling. This little, fragile being suddenly became a little bit stronger to me. She truly is amazing. She is starting to become more social with all of us. She is awake more. This frustrates me at times, but mostly makes me thankful that she is doing so well.

Bella has her first sort of toy that she enjoys. My friend Denise gave me a set of soft blocks. Some of the blocks have black and white designs on them. I have started placing a few of them in the pack and play with Bella when she is awake. She is completely mesmerized by them. This wonderful toys not only stimulate Bella's development, but also buy me a little extra time to get things done. Tomorrow we are going to see how Bella likes the crib mirror that I have. This will be a fun new adventure for tomorrow! (strange how boring this would have once sounded to me, but how exciting it sounds now.)