The more we talk with parents whose children are a bit older than Bella, the more we realize that you forget what it's like to have a newborn. So I'll try to capture as many of the little things as I can still remember about our first (almost) five months of parenthood.
* At 9:45 a.m. on May 2, Bella roll herself over from back to belly for the first time. Since then, she's ben doing it regularly each day. Sems like she turns to her side, bows her belly out big time, and does some kicking to make the magic happen.
* Since sometime in April she's been able to mimic me when I say "hello." We start with "hey", shich she reproduces as a monsyllabic "ah" and then go to "hello," which she repeats as "ha-a." Still no luck with "o" and "m" sounds, though we work on them everyday. She watches my lips and mouth intently when I say things or make sounds and she tried to hard to mimic them. It's totally sweet.
* There is nothing quite as sweet or satisfying as watching your child's arm and hand slowly fall limp to her side signalling that she is finaly asleep.
* When you think your child is finally asleep, give her an extra few minutes to make sure she's really asleep. I learned this the hard way several times, when - after the hand fell limp - I tried to walk away or roll out of bed only to have her wake back up and start over from square one.
* A bottle is an amazing thing. Your child can be screaming her head off like she hasn't eaten in days and never will again, and as soon as that bottle it put to her lips - everything is OK. She may whimper a little bit, but once she starts sucking, it's all good.
* She poops when she's eating usually. She'll be sucking a bottle contently, then pause, look determined, and then it happens. When she's done, she returns to business as usual with the bottle.
* Starting in month four she began grabbing the toys the toys that hung from her playmat. First it was the monkey, then the giraffe, then the parrot (whose wings crinkle when you touch them), and now it's the elephant that vibrates when you pull a string on his back. She also enjoys sucking on a teething ring from Tiffany's that Mack and Merrill got her, this gree and yellow plastic rattle, and any piece of fabric she can get her hands on. She's basically become very grabby.
* On May 13, she was able to grab both her feet at the same time.
* If she sees the TV screen - even the reflection of it in a glass picture frame - she's entranced and wants to watch it. Ditto for the computer screen. But we try not to let her see/watch either.
* She loves to see herself in the mirror, and on May 11 laughed at her own reflection for the first time.
* Beginning in May, Bella pretty much loves to stand up with her parents holding her under her arms. She always smiles when dad beatboxes a beat for her to groove to. Current hits on the stereo include Fela Kuti's "Zombie," Donovan's "Mountain Song," and side A of Paul McCartney's Ram LP.
* She looks absolutely adorable in a sunhat.
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