Hannah – 11 Weeks

Four firsts for Hannah this week:

• First laugh!
• First Easter!
• First time going to church
• Switched to Size 2 bottle nipples. (Still a little fast, but the Size 1’s were frustrating her)

I was reviewing her paperwork for school the other day, and one of the pages asks us to list out her daily schedule. I’m pretty sure “eats constantly and naps selectively” isn’t what they’re looking for…

Napping

Hannah has taken a longer nap each day for the past few days. Big accomplishment! Each time has been in her swing with very specific conditions: swing set to Level 2, Raffi in her mouth, snugged up with a light blanket, and put down very sleepy. Whatever on the demands; we’re finally making some headway.

Eating

Hannah is past ready to move up to four ounces at a feeding. Unfortunately, she has no interest most of the time. The result is a formula baby that eats like a breastfed baby. Her daily feeding schedule right now is as follows:

4ish – 4 ounce bottle
Between 7 & 8 – A light snack, please – 2ish ounces
10ish – FEED ME NOW OR I MIGHT DIE! – 4 ounces
12:30-1 – 3 ounces
3:30-4 – 3 ounces
6ish – 3 ounces
8-8:30 – 3 ounces
10:00 – 1.5-3 ounces

She’s pretty consistent with three hours in between feeds during the afternoon; mornings and evenings it’s more often two hours in between. Some days she cluster feeds all evening, which is fine. (She sleeps even better!)

We can’t push the four ounces on her, so for now we just deal with constant eating. If we coax her to “top off her tank” the tank runneth over even more than usual.

She’s a serious spitter! It’s not uncommon for Sister Bear to go through three or four outfits a day. If someone asks to hold her, I’m like, “Sure! And here’s a bath towel. You’re going to thank me momentarily.”

Help for Other Parents:

Have a super-spitter? Here are four of our must-haves:

• Dr. Brown’s Bottles help Hannah immensely. Worth the investment and extra cleaning time!
• Aden & Anais burpy bibs. Love these.
• Bathroom hand towels (larger “tip towels”) make great burp cloths (thanks Mom!!!)
• Green Sprouts bibs are the best bibs ever for babies! They’re large, soft, stay fastened and have a waterproof lining in the middle (she’s wearing one above)