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Archive for the ‘Bella-isms’ Category

Instantly, I Get Competitive

Posted in Bella-isms, Rookie Behavior on November 13, 2011| 4 Comments »

Of course Keith and I (and her grandparents) think Bella is the best, brightest and most gorgeous baby alive. Who wouldn’t? Just LOOK at her. Duh.

See? Sitting.

So it’s a funny conversational “dance” when you talk to other mothers with children about the same age. You compare notes, complain about the post-mommy body changes, basically have comrades that share your woes. But then the topics move to the babies and the gloves come off. It’s a tit-for-tat, one-upping conversation about whose baby has mastered the baby-basics soonest, fastest, best. The books tell you not to compare, because all babies develop at different rates, but WE DO. We can’t help it.

I really didn’t notice it too clearly until yesterday when I was talking to the makeup lady in the mall, who has a baby one month older than Bella. Keith even saw the challenge being extended in my direction. She proudly relayed that her baby rolls over. Yeah, so does Bella. Her baby sleeps through the night. Big deal, Bella’s been doing that since she was 3 weeks old. Her baby sits up like a gorilla. Yep, check, we got that too! Her baby has a tooth and is starting to talk. What? Wait. Liar.

Fair warning to those that do not know me. I’m very competitive and think my angel ROCKS. A very proud Mama Bear, so you won’t win this battle with me. Bella is BEST at everything, of course. And I will tell her that for the rest of her life, so she has unfettered self-esteem. However, we HAVE immediately begun “talking” lessons with Einstein, so Bella learns to say “DaDa” in the event that I run into the makeup lady again next weekend. Game ON.

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Nighttime and Daytime Clothing. And Smothering.

Posted in Bella-isms, Rookie Behavior, Tools of the Trade on November 4, 2011| 2 Comments »

I look at myself as a very doting, loving extremely neat and clean mother.  I actually brag that I think my daughter has the cleanest booty in Broward County.  And I love making Bella look adorable at all times, dressing and undressing her several times during the day – cue the OUTFIT CHANGE!  Not just for pictures, mind you, there could be a very good reason.  Like throw up.  No girl wants to hang out in a onesie with vomit on it.  Trust me.  No matter what your age.

Daytime Clothing

That brings me to the “ease of clothing change” factor.  No one told me that the best outfits for infants are ones with snaps.  And lots of them!  Top to bottom, back to front.  That way you can open the whole outfit up, lay baby on top of it and then snap her into it, rather than having to SHOVE her into it.  Invariably, being snap-challenged, I get all the way to the top or bottom and realize I missed one along the way and I have to start all over again!  Another thing I learned is that footed outfits are great for newborns.  Nothing like having to chase a sock around the house all day.  Socks NEVER stay on babies.  Unless you get the 80s retro tube-sock kind that we put on Bella.  Yeah, she looked cool!  Maybe there is a million dollar invention waiting to be discovered in there somewhere, but in the meantime, I used the footed outfits most of the time.

Anyway, I digress.  Bella is 4+ months old now, so she has both “daytime” and nighttime” outfits.  And believe it or not, they ARE different.  Our nanny was not happy that I was leaving Bella in her pajamas all day.  She felt that she should be properly DRESSED during the day.  Daytime mostly consists of “real” clothing like dresses, tank tops, jeans, t-shirts.  And nighttime is still footy pajamas!  CUTE footy pajamas! 

However, the clothing that emulates “real” clothing often doesn’t have a lot of my beloved snaps.  Every morning when I try to dress Bella, I have to pull some kind of clothing over her head.  And every morning, on cue, she screams at the top of her lungs.  It starts as a low squeal and if I cannot get her hands through the armholes fast enough, she ends up howling like a wolf.  I find each day I treat it like a self-test to see how fast I can dress her to avoid the tantrum.  Keith can clearly hear the “Bella’s getting dressed” time from across the house.  It’s very strange.  I have no idea what gets her so upset.  I know she trusts me, she definitely can breathe, she even looks pretty darn ADORABLE when I am done.  So, I am left to wonder, does she hate the daytime clothing or does she think I am trying to smother her ?

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How Much is Too Much?

Posted in Bella-isms, Rookie Behavior on October 26, 2011| 4 Comments »

I LOVE PICTURES. Is anyone surprised by this ? Hardly. I have been accused in the past of being an over-sharer, but honestly I say “whatever.”

Hey Bella - Say CHEESE !

In this greatly expanded world, our friends and relatives are located across the United States and even on several different continents. Things like email and Facebook have really helped us stay in closer touch, even if there is no time to pick up the phone and make a call. I love how I can see real-time pictures from my mother, vacationing in Italy, within moments of her capturing them. It shrinks our vast world and binds us all a little closer together. Or at least I think so.

Now that Bella is in the picture, I feel compelled to capture every little moment of her life. I don’t want it to go by too quickly and lord knows I don’t want to miss a thing. Not a smile, a moment in the bath, a toe grab, a crawl. You get the picture. Literally. So, fairly regularly (OK, I admit EVERY MORNING), I send the “photo of the day” to our family members and also post it on Facebook. Cute outfits, cute poses, she’s just so darn CUTE! And I am not biased! It lets her grandparents and aunts/uncles/cousins see how our newest addition is progressing.

But, the other day, I was wondering… although I could look at Bella 24/7/365 and take pictures and videos of her constantly, did everyone else feel the same? Or, perhaps were they having Bella-overload? Did they find the impulse to hit DELETE as soon as they saw an email or text from me without even opening it? Or, like me, do they love to see that drooly, smiling face every morning? When it comes to photos and sharing, how much is too much?

I know there is no set definition or answer to that question. I know no one will tell me that they don’t want any more pictures of Bella. I also know no one has enthusiastically said “send more, I don’t get enough.” So, I will err on the side of assuming I am sending the PERFECT amount of Bella-Spam until I am told otherwise. With that… Hey Bella, say CHEESE !

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We have become “THOSE” people!

Posted in Bella-isms, Firsts on October 21, 2011| 2 Comments »

US at the Happiest Place on Earth

“BB”, which is affectionately known as “Before Bella“, Keith and I would be out places and wonder “WHY ON EARTH would someone bring a newborn to Disney World?” or perhaps “WHY ON EARTH do those people have that young child out with them at a fancy restaurant – haven’t they heard of babysitters?” or even “WHY ON EARTH would our friends have to cancel on a fun night out and blame it on babysitter issues?”  This week, we confirmed it… We have become THOSE PEOPLE!

This past weekend, we took Bella to Disney World and brought her onto It’s a Small World.  She absolutely loved it.  All the colors, the brightly painted dolls and figurines and all the movement.  At least I think she loved it.  She was definitely smiling… Or pooping… But, either way, WE enjoyed the experience WITH her.  Seeing her curiously staring at all the new things was just so precious. I took a ton of pictures to capture the memory (probably completely annoying to the people on the ride in the row behind us, but whatever).  So, yes, we are “those” people.. and now I kind of understand why.

After spending the full day at the theme park, we decided to go out and get some “real” food at one of the fancy restaurants on Disney property.  Bella was sleeping in her stroller, so we moved one of the chairs away from the table and parked her on one side.  It was probably 10:30pm before we were done eating.  We got several sneery looks from people in the restaurant.  You know they were thinking  1)  that baby better not cry and 2) thank god those people didn’t sit next to us!   Our angel was perfect, slept all the way through dinner without a peep.  We were out-of-town, had no nanny and we were HUNGRY.  So, we took her.  Apparently we have become “those” people, too.

On to tonight.  All of our friends are going to a Halloween costume party, adults only, no kids.  A really, really fun costume party that we will be missing.  Why?  Because we do NOT have a babysitter.  I always thought it was a cop-out when friends would use that excuse.  I also always told them to duct-tape their kids to a chair and come anyway, but, that’s “BB” also.  I now realize that we have finally, fully become THOSE people.  The ones that have to sit home on the couch, babysitter-less, while their friends have fun without them.  We will have a wonderful, quiet night at home.  Me, Bella, Keith and Louie.  We love each other’s company.  Plus, we have another party tomorrow night… and we HAVE a babysitter !

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Baby Farts… Are Cute !

Posted in Bella-isms on October 11, 2011| 1 Comment »

When we were in the hospital for the few days after Bella’s birth, they gave us a special formula for “gassy and fussy” babies.  At first, I was a little insulted, as I thought “they don’t even know Bella, how would they know if she was fussy OR gassy.”  Apparently, (new moms listen up), two things are true:  1)  hospitals are given formula by a manufacturer for marketing purposes and that becomes the formula that ALL babies get and 2)  ALL babies really are fussy AND gassy !

The nurses taught us to burp Bella midway through the bottles, so she didn’t get too much accumulation of air in her belly.  And, obviously, the gas only has two directions to go – UP or DOWN.  She would let loose these monster burps that would make any beer-drinking-frat-boy proud!  We always assumed we did a good job of ridding our precious little Princess of her “gas”…  Apparently NOT.  It is AMAZING the noises that come out of both ends of this teeny tiny little girl.  She even out-farts the dog !  Most of the time she smiles or giggles afterwards or looks quizzically, like “did that really come from me ?”  (nice work, practicing her cover-ups for the future).  Everywhere we go, if people hear our musical child let something loose, they giggle and think she’s adorable.  If an adult person made these same sounds in public, people would look in horror and disgust. 

So, I guess baby farts really are CUTE.  But, at what age do you think it goes from adorable to horrible to be fussy and gassy ?

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She Drools !

Posted in Bella-isms on October 6, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I will preface this post with some background about me.  I am a clean freak, somewhat germaphobic actually.  I don’t like dogs that shed or slobber and I cringe at the thought of a child’s snotty nose or baby vomit.  Very maternal and loving, right ?

So, when Bella came home from the hospital, I was proud to say, my daughter measured “DRY” on the Drool Meter.  Needless to say, I was thrilled!  Or did I speak too soon ?  Bella also had an immature esophagus, which means the process of clamping down and keeping food INSIDE her belly was a little weak (very common for a baby born 3 weeks early).  We began to get daily milk showers after a meal.  Keith and I refer to them affectionately as “wardrobe malfunctions”, because inevitably one of us AND Bella would end up naked. running through the house with the baby after shedding milk-filled clothing !  I guess when it’s your own kid, it’s not AS gag-worthy, but it’s still stinky and pretty gross.  I’m learning.

Fast forward a few months and my big girl’s esophagus is fully functional!  Such a proud moment for me. HA !  But, that was NOT the end of the DROOL !!!!   For such a little, delicate girl, who looks like a china doll, it amazes me that she is capable of producing almost as much drool as a Saint Bernard on a hot summer day.  She and her clothing are constantly drenched.  Our nanny says she is teething..  and “excessive drool” IS a symptom (according to Dr. Internet).  But, how would I really know if she is teething until I  actually see a tooth ?  I read on BabyCenter about “tooth buds” under the gumline.  I can barely see to put makeup on, much less see if there is an infinitely small white bump BELOW her gums while her big tongue is in my way, constantly trying to lick me!!  I’ll take their word..  And it’s good to know this is a temporary condition, otherwise someday she will have a hard time getting a date! 

I have actually learned to LOVE Bella’s drool, because it’s HERS.  It’s soft and doesn’t smell.  I love kissing her on her pretty little shiny wet lips!  Children apparently get all of their baby teeth by the time they are 2 years old.  So, here’s a toast to 2 more years of teething and baby drool !

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Hello Bella, Nice to Meet YOU !

Posted in Bella-isms on October 3, 2011| 1 Comment »

I am so excited to start writing!! Every day since we brought Bella home from the hospital I have thought that I wanted to record all the interesting things I have learned, the funny things she does and exactly how it is being a new mommy… The great, the good and the gooey! So, prepare to laugh as we share our lives with everyone out there in webland!

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