Hannah 4 Month Update

We are continuing to see more and more glimpses of this little girl's personality.  She has recently learned how to purposely blow spit bubbles and blow raspberries and she is quite proud of herself for that accomplishment.  Of course, she has her moments but for the most part she is a happy and easy baby, content to tag along for whatever activities the family has on the agenda.

Sleeping
Hannah's sleeping has been hit or miss lately.   If she had her way she would be cosleeping between me and Ryan at all times.  Cosleeping was way out of Ryan's comfort zone when we first brought Hannah home, but now he is like Hannah's little advocate:  "Aw, can't she sleep in the bed with us?  Look how happy she is." When she is in her pack and play she prefers to sleep on her stomach with her bum up high in the air.  She is doing some longer stretches at night from about 10-4 but she prefers short catnaps during the day. It doesn't help that she often has to nap on the go due to our crazy schedules.  Every time I think we are settling into a good sleep rhythm she changes it up and starts getting up every couple of hours again.  I am pretty exhausted still.

 

Eating

Poor Hannah still seems to be teething but no teeth have come through yet.  She continues to drool like a faucet and between that and spit up is going through 4-7 bibs a day.  If the mood strikes her, she will hold her own bottle, but she is not doing this consistently.

One of our biggest milestones within the past week or so was introducing some baby foods.  It is on the earlier side but I have been bottle feeding her on demand and girlfriend demands a LOT.  It was starting to seem like formula just wasn't enough. We started with rice cereal which was a hit and she seemed to be fuller and more happy.  She did great eating from the spoon and seemed to really like it.

Since then we have sampled peas, bananas ("cannibalism!" Isaac declared), and some homemade pear puree and she has gobbled everything down.

As far as other milestones, she is getting pretty good at rolling from her tummy to her back.  She is also starting to sit up a lot better with support.  Sometimes she will tripod sit for a short period of time before she topples over.  She is tolerating tummy time a lot better and will do a mini-push up and look around at the world.  She is starting to push with her legs in a crawling motion but she hasn't scooted very far yet.  She is also becoming more and more coordinated with her hands.  She is reaching for things with more intention now and even grabbing at things that catch her eye, including fistfuls of mommy's hair.

Likes:

• Daddy.  She cracks up at almost anything he says directly to her.  He really spends a lot of time each day playing with her and she eats up his attention.  I would have to say he is her favorite person in the whole wide world.
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• Isaac.  Isaac is a close second on her list of favorite people. They have a really adorable relationship.  She cracks up at his silly faces.  When she is crying in the car, she just needs to know that he is nearby in the backseat and that will usually calm her. I LOVE to see how much they love each other.
• Random kids TV programs.  Not that we are encouraging TV watching but sometimes we will turn on Sprout while she is in her swing and we are getting ready in the mornings and she seems to watch it and enjoy it.
• All food that she has tried so far. I think she actually likes peas the best.
• Peek-a-boo.
• Cuddling.  I hope she never outgrows her love of snuggles.
• Putting things into her mouth.  Hands, toys, bib, blankets-- it all is very purposely stuffed into her mouth to be sucked on.

Dislikes:

• Hiccups.  They make her cry and she gets them all the time.
• Having the sun in her eyes.
• Wearing shoes and socks.  She rubs her feet together until she pops them off.  
• Thinking she is alone.  When no one is in sight she panics.   

I love you so much Hannah Banana!!!!!