My Little Lady Bug

My Little Lady Bug slept in the morning, played/laughed in the afternoon, and cried/screamed her way through the evening. A well balanced day. This was the first day she seemed to spend more time awake than asleep.

She was soooo cute in her Lady Bug sandals......she is still too small for 90% of her shoes but Mommy just had to put them on her. It's a girl thing.

Funny Face

And on the 7th day the Cains rested. A very relaxing day with Baby Bella - the highlight of her day was a laugh fest she shared with big brother.

Green House Gases

Hold the phone! Quick - someone reach Al Gore. I have discovered the REAL cause of the hole in the ozone layer and the subsequent warming of the planet. Despite what you may have read or heard, it has nothing to do with industrial pollution or your precious SUV.

It is, I suspect, caused by the gases emanating from the green sludge being produced daily by millions of formula fed babies. Really, Baby Bella is contributing mightily, in her own grotesque way, to global warming.

This should come as no surprise. My brother Tim kept warning me about the green sludge diapers and the corresponding odor. "Just wait", he would say, "your world is about to change". Not that I didn't believe him but it has been 25 years since he had a little baby girl in his house. Things change. Technology improves. Right? Wrong!!!!

Baby Bella nursed exclusively for the first six weeks, and honestly, we didn't know if she had a dirty diaper unless we checked. There just wasn't an odor. Then came formula. First it was constipation and then came.....the green house gases and green sludge diapers. Now, no one has to question if she has a dirty diaper. Anyone within a six block radiance can tell you. A toxic cloud of vapors seems to have permanently settled over our residence.

This, this is my precious little Baby Bella. My gift from God. My promise child. Daddy's little princess. How? How can such vile atrocities come forth from her body? And how long does this phase last?

Part of me wants to cope my thinking this a God thing. Perhaps this is his way of testing us - maybe he is saying "Just how much do you love this little girl? OK, prove it". Honestly, if you voluntarily change more than one of these diapers then yes, you have unconditional love.

Love isn't always a beautiful process!

Hot Mama

Wow! Take of look at this blond bombshell. On a purely personal level, she's back!

Now Mommy will tell you she still has pounds to loose but come on. What is wrong with this picture? Mommy and Daddy have been on a postpartum diet - Mommy has lost 20 + pounds while Daddy has lost 12 pounds.

Pounds or no pounds, Mommy is smokin' hot. She commented the other day that we were starting to feel and act human again. Anyone who has had kids understands that comment. The first few weeks you walk around in a semi-aware state. Some call it the zombie zone.

To paraphrase a B.J. Thomas song: "I can see clearly now, the fog is gone." And Daddy like what he sees when he looks at Mommy!

Gym Membership

The family that plays together stay together. Baby Bella was kind enough to let the whole family join in on the fun as she played on her pink play gym for the first time. Daddy bought her this gym for Christmas - before she was actually born.

This was an awesome day - Baby Bella and Big Brother stayed with Daddy all day. Words don't describe how much you miss the little ones when they are away. Your heart aches for them. I slept in the rocker last evening with Baby Bella on my shoulder. Neither of us slept that much but it was great being close to her. Mommy was able to get some much deserved sleep.

Baby Bella is much easier to hang out with these days. The fussiness is on the decline, she interacts with sounds and smiles, she feeds and burps on cue....soon she will be graduating from college. If only she could change her own diaper!

Baby Bella Bottle

Baby Bella seems to be on a major growth spurt. We are now having to increase her bottle size from 4 ounces per feeding to 5 ounces. The final feeding before bedtime is a 6 ouncer laced with two teaspoons of cereal.

Yes, the Cain family is sleeping much better these days. Most nights, we only have to do one feeding during the night. She takes her last bottle at 10:00pm and usually sleeps to 4:00am. Gratefully, she immediately falls back to sleep - usually before the bottle is finished.

Mommy is still nursing some but those days seem to be numbered. Mommy and Baby Bella were awesome partners for the first six weeks but Baby Bella has gradually been telling us that the milk isn't enough for her. Now she seems to do much better with the formula so Mommy only nurses first thing in the morning and then again when she returns from work.

We are taking it day-by-day, letting Baby Bella tell us what she needs. We have learned that a full baby is a happy baby. Mommy has been great at nursing and I think she secretly hates to see that phase coming to an end.

Skyler did his first bottle and burp routine yesterday. Awesome! Mommy and Daddy tag teamed dinner while Big Brother fed Baby Bella on the stairs. Skyler was so proud, Baby Bella was so content, and dinner arrived early - it doesn't get much better than that.

We get a kick out of watching Skyler and Baby Bella stare at each other - they are developing such a bond and it does our hearts good. Skyler is very attentive and protective of his little sister. And we wouldn't have it any other way. We are blessed!

New Toes

The newness continues for Baby Bella.....Mommy polished her little precious toes for the first time. What is it about little feet like this? Everyone who meets her wants to play with her toes and kiss her feet. Sweet girl!

And a sad first for Baby Bella and the Cains. Today was the first day that we had to take Baby Bella to Ms. Vanessa - the work must go on. Everyone, including Baby Bella, not only survived but thrived. Ms. Vanessa is wonderful and Baby Bella was able to spend the whole day with BFF Ava Grace. (Ms. Vanessa is Ava Grace's Nana)

As tough as it was to leave her, it was comforting to know she was in good hands. I don't know that it will be any easier to leave her tomorrow but I know she will be fine - just look how well Ava Grace has turned out. (Yes, I know Mommy and Daddy deserved credit for that too - I'm just saying...).

Ms. Personality

Sometimes you just have to laugh! Mommy must have been doing something funny while getting Baby Bella dressed. Baby Bella has certainly been showing us her personality lately. We have concluded she is blessed with both the dry humor from the Cain side and the gallows humor from the Blythe side.

Oh my! Move over Whoopi, here comes my Baby Bella!

Workout

Baby Bella put in a good workout at the gym today. Upper body, lower body, abs - she did it all. She is continuing to lengthen her awake periods and increase her activities while awake. She is pretty good at smacking anything that hangs down low enough - she will even move your hand out of the way if you try to give her a pacifier when she isn't in the mood.

Tummy time push-ups are the latest addition to our workout. Baby Bella can't complete them just yet but she can lift herself enough to turn her head.

Great Grandma Blair

Baby Bella and Great Grandma Blair have become good buddies! Bella will lay in her lap for long periods - just looking, talking, and laughing. The two had a chance to visit today and apparently Great Grandma was telling one of her infamous funny stories. Hmmm.

What's in a Name?

Parents are funny creatures. They say "my child will never do that." and then their child does. They say "I will never do that when I'm a parent," and then they do.

Mommy and I decided two years before we conceived Baby Bella that if we were ever blessed with a little girl we would name her Isabella Reagan. We would never, we protested, call her Bella. Oh no, only the full regal name of Isabella would suit our offspring.

That declaration didn't even survive the pregnancy. Seven months in and we were already abbreviating her name to hang on the nursery wall. So what is in a name? Here are a list of things call Baby Bella on a routine basis:

Isabella

Bella

Baby Bella
Bella Boo

Boo Bear

Bella Rose

Poo Britches
Sweet Pea

Ms. Fussy Britches

A Dillard's Baby

Baby Bella made a return visit to the Dillard's Salon and Spa today. She enjoyed socializing with old friends and meeting new friends at Dillard's. Despite a little fussiness and a lot of reflux, her Dillard's friends seemed to enjoy her as well.

New Day

Ah, what a difference a day makes! Baby Bella was a better mood today (go figure). She played well, spend quality awake time, slept well and ate well. In fact, she was so agreeable that Daddy decided to venture out of the house. Yes, it is possible to run errands with an 8 week old and a 7 year old. It was liberating!

This would be a good time to catch up on a couple of firsts that were pushed aside for other detail this week. Baby Bella had her first High Chair experience. She enjoyed sitting next to the dishwasher while Mommy loaded the dishes. This the thing about Mommy - she is much more creative at ways to accomplish her task with Baby Bella along side.

Baby Bella does the Ballpark. Baby Bella accompanied Daddy and Big Brother to the baseball field to watch practice. A first for our newest family member. (the first of many trips she will take - Fall season starts in September)

Best of Times...

As I prepare to post for the past 24 hours, I find myself at somewhat of a loss for words. (Yes, that is possible for me) The primary thought that runs through my head is the Charles Dickens line: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times".

The best of times would begin Tuesday morning as we each started on our new adventure with Mommy working. Yes, despite the reflux rampage, I would include that in the best of times. The best of times would cycle through Tuesday and into Wednesday.

The worst of times actually began around 3:00pm Wednesday and continued until 8:000pm Thursday evening. I will explain.

It seems the introduction of formula caused Baby Bella to become seriously constipated. We had observed a change in diaper duty but we had been cautioned that that was a possibility so no undue worry seemed appropriate - until Wednesday at 3:00pm.

Baby Bella began to scream at 3:00pm and continued to scream until 10:00pm. This was a gut wrenching scream accompanied by knees being drawn up to the chest. She was clearly in pain and miserable. I phoned the pediatrician who said not to worry, this too shall pass. (pun intended).

Six hours later I could take no more - it wasn't that the crying was on my nerves, it was just that I couldn't stand to see her in pain any longer. It had now been a full 24 hours since she messed her diaper. Deborah and I deliberated and decided to add some Karo syrup to her bottle - this seemed to work for Skyler and Shina when they were babies. It did seem to calm her down so that she could go to sleep but it didn't result in any tangible relief.

Baby Bella finally went to sleep and woke up again at 2:30am, 4:30am, and 5:30am. She was just miserable.

Long story short, relief did not come until 8:00pm this evening. Several people told us to check her temperature with an rectal thermometer and that would start things flowing. And flow they did - it was like a sewage treatment plant in the nursery. (sorry folks, just keeping it real here). I was never so glad to see feces in all my life.

If your wondering if I changed professions - no. Mommy forced me join her for the thermometer procedure so I decided to dig out my Halloween costume and add some comedy to the situation. Mommy and Skyler were laughing hysterically - and we all needed a laugh. (the picture is being added to the blog over my objections).

The pictures belie the difficulty of the day although we did have some cute moments. Baby Bella has started trying to hold her bottle during formula feedings. Her favorite trick is to hold one our fingers while we hold the bottle. (Props to Big Brother for taking the bottle pictures. A blogger in training).

Unexpected Blessing

Wow! Baby Bella had a blessed first last evening. She slept through the night. And I do mean through the night. 8 1/2 hours!!!!!

Her first day alone with Daddy must have taken a tole on her. Mommy and Daddy awoke this morning and had to check to make sure she was OK. We actually woke her up for a change.

The pediatrician did suggest that supplementing with formula would allow her to rest for longer periods but we had not seen significant movement. She had moved from two hour feedings to three or maybe three and half. But nothing more than that. Certainly not 81/2 hours.

As we used to say in retail, "one day doesn't make a trend". But you can't blame us for hoping. I believe this is the first time Mommy has had 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in over four months.

Good timing Baby Bella. That's my girl.

D Day

This was D Day in the Cain house. Deborah was returning to Dillard's!

The day brought mixed emotions. Mommy cried her way to work - it's just not easy leaving your glorious gift. Especially when your leaving her with Daddy. I am still not sure what worried her the most - leaving Baby Bella or leaving me with two kids.

It was nice to see Mommy return this evening with a smile on her face and a bag full of breast milk. (yes, she has to pump while she is away) Perhaps in a future post I will update you on the wonders of technology as it relates to breast pumps. Who knew?

What do you do when you need to spend some time on the computer while you're watching the baby? You put her on the dining room table of course. What better place to sleep since I can see her clearly from my desk.

We have both been anxious about this day so it is nice to see it come to an end. As I post, two beautiful kids are fast asleep and my blonde bombshell is climbing into bed. All is well. Tomorrow we get the pleasure of doing it all over again - I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Bad Karma

I admit that I knew better. My mother told me. Granny Mc cautioned me. Granny Cain warned me. Even my Dad had advised against it. They all agreed that taking pleasure in the calamity of another was wrong.

So with that heritage I should have known better than to take such delight in the Baby Bella reflux demonstration that left Mommy covered. And, I guess, I should have/could have predicted the dreadful fate that was about to befall me.

My job last evening was to learn how to bathe Baby Bella. Mommy patiently supervised while I fumbled through the process - eventually removing all of the soap from the slippery little princess. No sooner had we exited the bathroom than Baby Bella hurled - all over her newly clean self, all over the giraffe hooded towel, and all over freshly showered Daddy.

Ok, this I could handle. We managed to get everyone cleaned up again and the towel found itself in the dirty clothes hamper where it was headed anyway. No harm, no foul.

I quickly slapped on a diaper and reached for her gown. But then.....as if out of spite, my newly minted treasure spewed forth yet again. This time hitting twin targets - the gown and the changing pad cover. I did what any self respecting Dad would do - I screamed for Baby Mama to come rescue me from the reflux rampage.

A quick count revealed that I was down 5 pieces of laundry in less than 15 minutes. The world was not looking like a happy place.

Then came Tuesday. Oh yeah, Monday night was nothing compared to Tuesday. Monday was the pre-game show. Tuesday was the main event. Perhaps a better analogy would be the three ring circus under the Big Tent.

Tuesday must have set a world record for reflux encounters and it started early. I decided to releive Mommy of dress duty since she was prepping for her first day back at work. The pink polo dress sounded good to me. My princess wanted to wear the pink dress, I thought. I was wrong.

I successfully completed the delicate over the head and through the arms maneuver just in time for Baby Bella to spit up on the collar and shoulder. This was no normal occurance. No, this was like Ole Faithful spewing. Yellow Stone National park had nothing on the Cain house on this particular Tuesday morning.

So we weren't going to wear the pink dress today. And as it turned out, I was not going to wear the shirt I picked out past 8:30AM. I will save you from further sordid detail but here are the casualties for the day:

Daddy - 4 shirts, 1 pair of shorts

Bella - 2 onesies, 1 dress

3 Burp Clothes

2 Blankets

1 changing pad cover

1 Towel

Today, just today, 15 pieces of laundry fell victim to the Baby Bella reflux rampage. And it was alllllll Daddy. Ok, I give up. Harm! Foul!

Draw your own conclusions. But I think it's clearly wrong to take pleasure in the calamity of another. It brings bad karma in your life.

8 wk Check Up

Baby Bella breezed through her 8 week check up this morning. The pediatrician proclaimed her the picture of health and happiness. The latter is subject to change based on diaper condition.

Baby Bella now weighs a whopping 10 lbs. 10 ozs. She is 22 1/2 inches, on her way to being a long legged wonder like Daddy and Big Brother.

Road Runner and Wiley Coyote band aids were her reward for suffering through another round of vaccinations. This round was designed to prevent rabbis, parvo, and kennel cough - uh, wait. That can't be right. Wrong family member, Winston got those on Friday. This round of shots was designed to prevent Hepatitis B, Pneumococcal, Rotavirus, and Diphtheria.

There was a discussion on the overall fussiness level and the return to two hour feedings. The pediatrician recommended we start supplementing with formula. Baby Bella is pictured above with her first bottle of liquid gold, as Mommy calls formula. Baby Bella gulped it down like a champ.

Funny moment: Mommy was trying to describe the reflux issue Baby Bella has displayed with increasing regularity. As if on cue, Baby Bella hurled a good 2 ounces of curdled breast milk - shooting well past her bib and legs - landing squarely on Mommy. Mommy looked down and then back at the nurse and said: "Need I say more?"

Cost of a Pediatrician visit: $120

Cost of New Outfit: $20

Cost of Baby Bella hurling on Mommy in Public: Priceless.

Smile On Demand

Baby Bella has learned to smile on demand. This precious photo of Baby Bella was a smile she generated because Daddy was cooing with her. Yes, "cooing" is an official word in Baby Bella land.

This is a real milestone in her young life. Not that we didn't enjoy the gas related smiles from the early days, but it does our hearts good to see her respond to us in such a cute way. I do wonder just what she is thinking when she smiles. I suspect this particular one was a thought like: "Daddy do you know how completely ridiculous you look making that face at me?"

Maybe it's a good thing we don't know for sure.

Oh Boy - Toys!

Another first for Baby Bella....she has discovered the joy of car seat toys. Things that hang and rattle are apparently all the rage for 8 week old babies. She has managed to smack the yellow giraffe that hangs down low and routinely gets vocal with both car seat toys.

Green with Envy

Home Sweet Home!

Baby Bella slept for four straight hours which allowed the fam to make it home without one single stop last evening. For the record, neither kid required a stop. Both were tired enough to sleep through the drive home.

I used to wonder what kind of crazy people drove all night. Now I know, the sane ones with kids who would indeed be crazy if they drove during the day. Apologies to all those I have offended over the years - who knew?

Baby Bella had a relaxing day as she recovered from her mountain road trip. She woke up with wide eyes and a smile. We are noticing that she is becoming much more involved and vocal. Imagine, a child of mine becoming vocal. Shocking uh?