Happy 7 months

"Woo woo!" yells mom in her high-pitched tone. "Naked baby! Naked baby!!!"

"Um, excuse me dadda, I thought I told you NOT to post naked or embarrassing photos of me on the blog?"

Oh, I'm sorry Belle, I don't recall having that conversation with you...

"Yeah, well, we're having it now - so quit it!"

My my my...such a sensitive Bella 😏

So here we are...7 months already. That's 4 months adjusted!

People ask us sometimes, "So is Belle's real birthday in February or is it in May (her initial due date)?"

Her real birthday is in February 😊. But you'd be surprised how often this comes up! And I can understand why people get confused. Belle was meant to come out in May, and we adjust her age since May, too, so I totally get it. 

Kiera was thrilled when she imagined giving birth in May. She'd often say, "May is fantastic! It'll be beautiful outside! The birthday parties in the future could be outdoors! It's going to be so lovely and wonderful..."

Umm yeah...

It was a high of -2°C (28°F) on February 17th when Belle was born 😂. I guess that's quite warm for Canadian winter standards, huh?

This was the extent of Kiera's belly. I was taking her profile shot every week or so (especially at the beginning), because I wanted to put together a time-lapse video of her growing belly. The last frame is always the mother holding the baby...

Oh, we had such excellent ideas in our heads! We had so many plans!

February/May - what's the difference, right?! 😄

I'm glad we can laugh about this now. It just goes to show how quickly time can heal. 

Look, it's Bella in a bubble! (or at least half way there...)

This Sunday's temperature was 23°C (73°F) and we had Arabella covered like winter was coming any second now. To be totally fair, though, that pesky wind can be chilly in the shade, and we have to play it safe!

While mom relaxed and had a shower, I took a stroll with Belle around our cul-de-sac. I eventually had a chat with some of our neighbours that were outside talking and supervising their kids. Some of them know our story, but most have no idea.

"How old is she?", a lady in the group asked.

"Oh, err, um, 4 months. 4 months corrected," I said. "She's a preemie, as you can probably tell by her tubes. She was actually 1 pound when she came out, and now she's 11! She's come a long way. She's our little miracle."

We all talked for a few more minutes. Everyone smiled as they looked at Bella in disbelief. I smiled, too.

"That wasn't so bad", I thought to myself as I was walking away. "But I hope I wasn't gloating too much...was I?"

And then I thought, "Why am I suddenly feeling insecure? I'm super proud of my daughter. I'm proud of all of us! She really is a miracle, and people need to know!"

Maybe I don't like making a big deal out of Arabella sometimes. Maybe I don't want preferential treatment. Or maybe I just don't like small talk 😄...I'm not sure why I felt a little bit awkward after that discussion.

Awkward or not, I realize that it's our mission to tell people about this miracle. It's our duty to spread the good news. The real truth is that we prayed, and prayed, and prayed for this miracle. And God listened. 

Arabella was blessed by the heavens, and that's something we just can't deny 😊

Happy 7 months, you little miracle you!