Old habits die hard

Another day, another new outfit. That's the life of a Bella, I suppose 😄

Mom organized Arabella's wardrobe this morning. This is all ready to wear, ready to go, and in two months it'll likely never be seen again. Oh, that's the life of a Bella alright!

This damsel has two entire drawers full of onesies and pajamas alone! The closet is slowly expanding (I'm beginning to notice), and at this rate a dad like me will eventually drown in the pretty stuff. 

"Umm...stop exaggerating, dad."

Kiera and I are constantly cleaning and organizing, though, and we nearly have the place just the way we want it. We've essentially modified our main floor into "Bella's Place" 😊

We haven't made drastic changes, actually, but we've opened up our living space a little more. We found that it was important to be able to freely walk around with Belle, so we put away some chairs and adjusted some furniture. It meant less tripping hazards. Because wherever Belle goes, so too does her oxygen tubing (I think she has about 40 feet worth), and you'd be surprised how often it often gets caught on corners and edges. So we say the more open space, the better!

I can't wait until she goes cordless 😄

Every day we work on her head, neck and shoulder strength. They say that for a 3-4 month old baby you should aim for about 20 minutes of tummy time per day. Trying to keep her hands and elbows inside seems to be the hardest part!

Arabella still hasn't been able to finish an entire bottle since last week 😕. She'll take nearly half of her feed in 10 minutes, and then she'll do this...

At that point we'll give her a break. She won't suck and she refuses the nipple, so we'll wait to see if she wakes up again. She'll usually jolt herself awake in a matter of minutes, but she rarely takes more than a few extra swigs of the bottle afterwards. It all depends, but that's typically how it goes.

Bella's stuck in her ways sometimes, but at least she's predictable 😉

The good thing is that we know she can tolerate an entire feed by mouth (or via the gravity bag) in less than 30 minutes. To us she's really come a long way, and we'll continue to be patient with her bottle feeding. It's all we can do anyway!

"Naked baby!" is usually what Kiera yells when undressing Arabella. "Naked baby!"

Bella had a poop explosion today, which is always fun, isn't it? Actually, I must admit that we're still quite happy when we see her bodily functions working in good order. It's the weirdest thing. 

I guess old NICU habits die hard if we're still celebrating little things like that. Three cheers for poops and finished bottles! Three cheers for life at home with mom and dad, and to life overall! 💗

We have so much to be thankful for every single day!