Hannah's 5 Month Update

Oh Hannah Banana!  Stop growing!!!

 So as you can see from the picture, she has all of a sudden gotten HUGE.  At her well visit last month they said she weighs 17 lbs  which is 90th percentile and she is 96th percentile for height.  Suddenly carrying her in the carseat carrier is hard work and it seems like her fat rolls have fat rolls now.   She is wearing a lot of 6 months clothes and some of her 6 month sleepers are even getting to be too small.  She is in size 3 diapers also.  I bought a pack by mistake and then realized they probably fit her better than size 2 after all.

She is still a very happy and easy going baby.   She loves attention from anyone and still loves to cuddle.


Sleeping

Her sleeping is still hit or miss.  She is still up several times a night (boo, hiss) but we are working on having her fall asleep at night on her own initially by putting her down when she is sleepy but not asleep.  She is doing pretty well with it.  We are also working on keeping her in her bed all night.  I wish she would sleep for longer stretches.  This coming month we will (finally!) be getting her out of the pack and play and into a crib, so I am hoping that helps.  Her napping is feast or famine.  She will either take only brief catnaps or will sleep for three straight hours.

Eating
She is doing well with eating baby foods.

 Most of the foods she has tried so far are ones I have made for her.  It's so much cheaper.  She has liked pretty much everything she tried.  To date she has eaten:

• Pears
• Bananas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Peas
• Avocado
• Peaches- she was crazy about these.  Like, she grabbed the spoon with both hands and was cramming it into her mouth. 

Milestones

Her biggest accomplishment this month is sitting up.  She is still a bit wobbly but she can hold herself steady for longer and longer periods of time.  She suddenly looks like such a big girl sitting up and playing with toys.  Of course, all of the toys go straight to her mouth.

She is babbling all the time and really experimenting using her voice.  This month she started making an excited "Eeee!" noise.  I have even heard her throwing some consonants in the mix when she is babbling to herself.

She has no teeth yet and is still drooling like crazy.  Buckets and buckets of drool.  It is my biggest laundry challenge to keep enough bibs clean for her, because she goes through so many each day.

She is able to keep herself amused for longer periods now.  If the mood strikes her right she will keep herself busy in the excersaucer or on her playmat with toys for up to 20 minutes.

Likes

• Trying to sit and stand up whenever she can.
• Her jumper.  Especially now that Grandma replaced the batteries and it is very noisy again. 
• DADDY.  She gets so excited whenever she sees him.  When I have her in the bed with me and he is still sleeping she scoots herself up to him and bats at his face, trying to wake him up and get his attention.  She gets so excited when he comes home from work and she thinks everything he says or does is HILARIOUS.
• Her toes/feet.  She is always grabbing for them, pulling off her socks and has even stuffed her toes in her mouth.

Dislikes

• Being alone or thinking she is alone
• Reclining.  She will always try to sit up now when she is in the bouncing seat or if she is not strapped into her carrier.
• She was not too crazy about bubbles either.

Ryan's Birthday

Rain cancelled baseball Friday, so Isaac was able to meet up with my brother Joe at Arnold's Go Karts. He had inherited a gift card from a coworker. Isaac had a blast with him.  I was a bit lonely at home on a Friday night with no Isaac and no Ryan.  Isaac didn't come home until after 10 o'clock!  Miss Banana happened to be up, so Joe got to squeeze in some time with her.  He calls her a meatball, which is pretty apt these days.

Saturday Isaac had a baseball game.  My dad drove in to see it and to keep me company since Ryan was working.  It was a nice spring day and afterwards he was able to come back to the house for a bit to fix something of Isaac's.

Isaac then went to spend some time with his dad and Banana and I headed into the city to see my friend Becca and her baby Wolfie (and yes, our kids have normal names like Hannah and William and we just chose to refer to them by bizarre nicknames.)  Her neighborhood was hosting the Kinetic Derby (you can read about our adventures at the Derby last year here).  We missed the actual race but there was still live music, booths, and food trucks.  We did catch this one biking away.  There were pictures on the panels that created a mini-movie as the cylinder spun. 

Then Hannah and I were off to meet Ryan at the Phillies game.  Ryan had asked to go to a rock concert for his birthday, but I feel like I am too old to be on my feet all night, listening to screaming and elbowing my way through crowds of middle schoolers.  His second choice was a Phillies game.  Baseball games are usually my personal hell, but I did it for Ryan.  I felt bad going to a MLB game without Isaac, but they had a special promotion going that if you brought a canned good you got a voucher for a free ticket.  Ryan said that he will use the vouchers to take Isaac.  We had some interesting characters around us and in true Ryan fashion he had made friends with all of them by the end of the game.  This was my favorite photo of the night.

  

 

Total photobomb for our family selfie. I could see him in the view finder, hence my cracking up but I guess Ryan didn't see him.  The ushers took a special liking to Hannah.  They arranged for the Phanavision guy to put Hannah on the big screen.  He did a close up of her little round face.  A coworker of mine was at the game and texted me that she saw us.

As usual, Hannah was ridiculously good and seemed to love looking around at all of the action. 

The next day we did church, picked up Isaac and did a soccer scrimmage.    We rounded out the weekend with a cake and candles. 

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Happy Birthday Ryan!  We love you so much!

catch up

Hannah had her four month well visit.  She did great.  The doctor confirmed what we already knew-- she is a chubby wubby-- at 17 lbs she is 90th percentile for weight and 96% for length.  The doctor feels like she is strong and was impressed at how much she was babbling.

 

She is driving me crazy at night though.  She is up over and over.  I am not sure if it is a teething thing, if it has to do with the sniffles she has had the past few days, if it is because she is really outgrowing the pack and play, or a combination of everything. Whatever the reason, it is leaving me exhausted.

Friday night we went up to Dorney Park, a local amusement park.  Ryan had got us season passes as a Christmas present.  Isaac went on his first really intense rollercoaster:

and I got to hang with this cutie:

Saturday was nonstop running around.  We had Ryan's kids with us and Allison and Isaac both had baseball games.  We watched quite a bit of Isaac's game from under the shelter of an umbrella since we were caught in a terrible downpour. 

Sunday was a lovely Mother's Day.  All of the kids trekked out to my mom's house.  I wish I would have taken some more pictures.  She had bought trays and trays of plants and flowers and we all potted planters to take home. 

We also watched some basketball, tried out the new basketball hoop dad and Joe just installed, had a lovely meal and then finished off the night with The Great Dalmuti, a new card game mom and dad introduced us to.  It was a lot of fun and I am sad to see the weekend end.

What I Have Learned About Parenting Babies (So Far)

What I Have Learned About Parenting Babies (So Far)

1. You could spend a small fortune on things for your baby.  You honestly could.  But you really don't need to.  Babies (especially tiny ones) really don't need much.  True story, when I brought Isaac home from the hospital he slept next my bed on a pillow in a laundry basket.  What they do need, you can scrounge up.  Almost everything we needed/wanted for Hannah we have been able to secure for free from church swaps, facebook yard sale sites and tons of stuff from a coworker whose kids are older: two excersaucers, a jumparoo, a high chair, two bumbo chairs, a doorway jumper, bottles, feeding supplies, burp cloths, etc.   And of course, she likes the jankety swing we found on the side of the road with a "free" sign on it much better than the nearly 200 dollar swing handed down from the coworker.  She could care less that it swings multiple directions,  plays soothing womb noises and you can plug your ipod into it.  We never got around to getting a crib mobile but she loved staring at our ceiling fan.  It's easy to get carried away when you are pushing a cart around Babies R Us or pinning amazing nurseries. Keep it simple.

2. It's okay if you don't hear the angels singing the Hallelujah chorus when you first see your baby.  Maybe it's just me.  Labor and delivery is a really intense mix of anxiety and hormones and drugs and lack of sleep and the result of it may not be an instant rush of fierce motherly love for the screaming vernix encrusted little newborn they hold up to your face.  But it will be come.  From what I understand talking candidly to my girlfriends, it's also pretty normal at some point during that first day/night home with your newborn to think to yourself, "What on earth have I done?  I just want things to go back the way they were".

3.  Breastfeeding may be natural, but it's not easy.  Breast is best.  I know this. We all know this.  I have chronicled my painful attempt at breastfeeding Hannah on the blog (three weeks of agony-- literally the most painful thing I have ever experienced). It's not as easy as the baby opens her mouth and you jam your boob in-- there is pillows and propping and positioning and baby's tiny mouth and flailing arms and suction, cracking, bleeding, cramping, leaking and engorgement....   I called the nurses in more than once as baby and I were both in tears while she was rooting around in a panic with my nipple already inside her mouth. Aside from how physically hard it is, I personally found it terrifically overwhelming to be the only person who could feed the baby, especially once Ryan went back to work after two weeks.  Cut yourself some slack if breastfeeding is not the warm, glowy, easy experience the happy lactation consultants or your well meaning girlfriend described to you when you were pregnant.  Everyone's situation is different.

4.  Don't get too caught up in what you're "supposed" to do.  For example, Ryan and I were determined we would not give Hannah a pacifier.  Everything we read said it was supposed to impede on breastfeeding progress and I had nightmarish flashbacks to Isaac still using his at almost age 3. "Not going to happen this time around.  No plastic comfort object for our little princess," we said confidently.  When  Hannah came back from the hospital nursery with one inside her little isolette on our second night, we threw it in the trashcan in self righteous anger.  Flash forward 24 hours when I made Ryan fish it out, wash it off and give it to her.  We discovered that Hannah had a very, very strong need to suck to be comforted and since we weren't offering her a pacifier, I was becoming the pacifier (see number 3-- intense pain).  Whether it's trying to decide how to get your baby to sleep, or how to feed him, or any number of things, you will find that everyone has an opinion.  Don't get caught up comparing milestones and parenting styles, but trust your gut about what is best for you and your family.

5.   It's okay to want to go to work.  And it's okay if you don't want to, too.  I had a lot of different feelings both times I returned to work after having my babies.  With Isaac, I dropped him off at daycare and expected to feel crushing guilt and found that I had an odd sense of relief as I drove into campus for my first day back.  With Hannah, it was not that easy. There have been times when I have called the sitter to check on things and have heard baby crying in the background and it was a stab to the heart.   But I don't feel guilty saying I enjoy my job and I was excited to go back.  There is something about office life that appeals to the human need to accomplish things, a need which seems to never be fulfilled on maternity leave.  Jonny's IEP-- check, it's done.  Lesson plans for the week-- check, they are complete.  Parenting a newborn is the opposite of that.  It's endless circles of laundry, rocking the baby to sleep, diapering, feeding, bathing.  It's work that never really gets done, and, honestly, is a bit monotonous and isolating.  I was desperate to talk to grown-ups both times I was on maternity leave. But on the other hand, there is a real biological need to be with your baby when they are little.   I remember I would count down the days until it was Isaac's visitation weekend with his dad, when I could finally, finally get a break.  And then after about an hour or two I would miss him terribly.  Again, to work or not to work is one of those things that everyone has an opinion to share and there is plenty of guilt to go around.  Try to minimize contact with people who are not supportive of whatever decision you reach.

6.  Just because you've done it before, doesn't mean you remember any of it.  Ryan and I already had 4 kids between us when Hannah was born.  One time the nurse in the hospital made an offhanded remark about how she didn't need to go over bathing a newborn, since we had done it before.  Both of us were like "Please!  Review it with us!".  When Hannah started drooling like crazy and my mother in law suggested it could be teething.  Ryan and I both looked at each other and shrugged.  Record things.  Write stuff down.  Snap pictures.  Read the parenting articles.  You won't remember it later.


Linking up with Molly and Carly

Always on the go

So you know you are a grown up when your weekends and spare time are no longer spent planning fun things for you and your special someone to do, but instead shuttling your child(ren) from commitment to commitment.  It seems like all I do each weekend is watch Isaac play sports.  I have most everything in the calendar in my phone, which syncs to my email and to Ryan's calendar, but I have taken to posting this on the fridge each week to give all parties a quick visual of each day.

Our days are jam-packed and we are always on the go.   I honestly don't know how moms with multiple kids in various activities don't lose their minds. It's hard enough with just one.

Anyways, here are some highlights:

Isaac continues to enjoy baseball a lot.  He is mostly in the outfield or occasionally short stop.  He is getting better each week and really looks forward to practices and games with his team the Riverdogs.  He likes to chew sunflower seeds or Big League Chew gum in the dugout to make himself feel like a pro.

I'm not going to lie, I find Little League Baseball to be mind-numbingly boring.  I think Hannah does too.  She always looks around with an expression on her face like "Oh man, we're HERE again?  Let me fuss myself to sleep now." I like to watch Isaac, of course, but the games are so slow.  They tend to start late, and go long. Yesterday Uncle Joe joined us for a game, which definitely helped pass the time for me and meant a lot to Isaac.

game face

  

 Yesterday was also team pictures which was almost a mini-crisis when we could only find one of his uniform socks.  We ended up driving to Dick's Sporting Goods ten minutes before the picture and picking up another two pack of socks.  Hopefully it was money well spent as I seem to spend an inordinate of time before each game locating baseball socks.  Isaac talked me into buying a special baseball with his picture printed on it.   I can't wait to see how they turned out.

We have also been getting back into the swing of soccer which is definitely more exciting for spectators: action packed and time bound. He had tryouts for the new season of travel and last week participated in a 4 v 4 tournament.  His team took second.

 The Philadelphia Union were there which was exciting too.
 

In non-sports related happenings we have been able to spend some time with all of Ryan's kids. For a while there is seemed like we could never coordinate schedules to take them. We had a beautiful weekend day when we played in a local park and even had a random lady ask if they were ALL ours, which made me smile.  Allison and Gabby love Hannah and are so good with her.  We have them again this coming weekend and are hoping to take them all swimming with our family membership to the YMCA.

There has been a lot going on with Isaac at school too.  My dad was able to drive in to be with Isaac on grandparent's day.  They visited the book fair together and Isaac got two books, one that he picked out that was Star Wars related and one that my dad picked out about George Washington "one of Grandpa's heroes".  Dad e-mailed me this picture of Isaac and his homeroom teacher Miss Hoyle. 

I was also pleasantly surprised to check my e-mail and find this note which couldn't have made me any prouder:

This is Mr. Lamison, Isaac’s Social Studies Teacher.  I am writing to you today to tell you what an amazing job Isaac has been doing in my class.  He has been working with great focus and attention to detail.  I am very proud of Isaac, and I wanted to take a moment to let you know. 

Have a great day,

We also managed to get over to the Art Show one evening after baseball practice.  Isaac had several pieces in the show.  

We are starting to come down the home stretch of the final marking period of school.  Soon summer will be here!

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.
• 
• 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!!!!!

Weekend Catch Up

Whoops. This is last week's weekend catch up. It was still sitting around in my drafts. Oops.

We had such a lovely Easter, I was sad to see it end.  My "spring break" ended up being only Friday due to snow makeup days.  Isaac did get Monday off too.

We started the day out with church. We tried to take some pictures outside the church but they didn't turn out so well.  It's really hard to get Hannah to look at the camera:

Her little dress and shoes were a gift from Aunt Kathy and my parents got Hannah the little cardigan.  She has mastered kicking the shoes off though, so they weren't on for too long.  Isaac looked sharp in the purple shirt I bought for him to wear to Patrick and Deb's wedding.  We tried for a second photo shoot on the front lawn when we got home and they turned out a little better:

 

That last one was probably the best of the bunch.  The kids had small Easter baskets.  Isaac was excited that his contained new soccer socks and a Phillies journal.  Hannah got a Lullaby Glow Worm.  We dyed eggs but we didn't hide them.

Ryan stopped in to visit Justin, whose birthday fell on Sunday.  He is looking so grown up these days.

After that we headed out to my parents.  They were kind enough to set up an egg hunt for Isaac and they got the kids each little presents.  Hannah got a pig toy and another pack of bibs.  Isaac got a net to practice throwing and catching.  It was perfect weather so we set up in the driveway and watched Isaac play with his new hitchback toy.  Hannah ended up nodding off. 

We had a lovely Easter dinner including the traditional bunny cake.  My dad was excited to have us try a new card game-- The Great Dalmuti.  Isaac did a great job playing the grown ups.  It was really a lot of fun.

Other weekend highlights included Hannah trying rice cereal.

 

She actually seemed to really like it and she did a great job eating from a spoon.  I am hoping to start her on some other baby foods soon, since she always seems starving.