Baby Blaha & Me

We think that Matt will be sent out to sea soon, so he's been spending even MORE time with Stella than before. I caught the two of them taking a nap toghether and I thought it was the sweetest thing I've seen. Stella has grown so much in just two months, I can't imagine how much she'll grow while her daddy is away. Hopefully we'll have a webcam setup before Matt leaves so that he can check on his little girl everyday.

As I mentioned before, Stella inherited a ton of clothes from Luisa and Stella is definitely making good use of them. Her newborn clothes are too small now, so we're on to 0-3 months. Some of the outfits are still a big big on her, so the ones that sort-of fit her happen to be Christmas themed. She's not complaining, though, because they have long sleeves and they're keeping Stella warm and cozy. Here are some pics I took of her today. She's getting big, but it's mainly her length and her cheeks that are growing! Oh, and also thanks to Luisa and her mommy for letting us borrow Luisa's swing, bouncy, co-sleeper, Dr. Brown bottles, baby Bjorn...oh, I could go on!

Stella is 40 days today and OMG has she changed our lives! She has grown so much (we estimate she weighs 9-ish pounds now) and she is smiling now; she is also one squirmy baby. Stella is staying awake a bit longer now and the 3-hour schedule is basically non-existent now. We basically just feed her when she gives us the sign. I know we should have a schedule with her but Stella has her own schedule and she's obviously the princess of this household now. Anyway, our baby is no longer able to wear newborn clothes...we sadly had to store those away and bring out the 0-3 months clothes.

Ms. Stella went out to have lunch with her grandpa Tom and grandma Elaine yesterday at the Prado in Balboa Park. She obviously had to dress up for the occasion.

It's been 35 days since Stella made her debut. Her progress has been incredible: she can now hold her head up for a few seconds; she likes tummy time; she no longer screams when we give her a bath; she's cooing a lot and also makes some funny monster sounds; and she's found her hand, so now she's eating her hand all the time. Matthew was a thumb sucker when he was a baby, so who knows if Stella will do the same. On a sad note, my little baby is almost out of her newborn clothes and the newborn diapers are almost too small. I just can't believe how fast she is growing.

Maybe it's her growth spurt; perhaps it's due to all hallow's eve; or maybe, just maybe we have upon us the strange case of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde baby. Yes, Stella is changing and growing and is becoming a very, um, how should I say this...demanding baby. She is pretty calm most of the time, she laughs and smiles, and becomes mesmerized by the ceiling fan and by her shadows, but if we are even just ONE MINUTE late in feeding her, she goes crazy. And I don't mean crying like a baby, but actually screaming and she even frowns at us as if trying to say, "What are you two doing? I'm starving ova hea!" Anyway, I guess we have to read her cues of hunger earlier and we definitely need to work on our communication. I'm thinking I'll teach her how to sign when she's 3 months and see if that will help us out in understanding each other. Hee hee. Here are some pictures with her pumpkin outfit her cousin, Luisa, gave Stella.

Yesterday my baby turned 3 weeks old. Stella has been an incredible little baby and so far this baby journey has been overwhelming, fun, tiresome, amazing and definitely a learning experience.

I can't believe how much Stella has grown in just three weeks. Her face is beginning to change and she is already shedding a little of her hair. Her eyes remain gray, so it's a mystery what color her eyes and hair will eventually turn to. Stella is already trying very hard to put her head up and we've discovered that she's an anti-swaddle baby. We're trying to keep her on a 3-hour feeding schedule, but at night she can "sometimes" go 4 hours. Stella has been a pretty good baby, so far. She only cries when she's hungry, needs to be changed or is gassy. I'm looking forward to the next three weeks and see what other amazing changes this little girl goes through.