Hannah – 5 Months

Stats

Weight: 14.5 lbs
Diaper Size: Size 2 in Huggies
Clothes: 6-month outfits; 9-month sleepers.

Personality

We are completely in love with Sister Bear’s sweet, happy demeanor! We thought we might be in for a rough road when she was a newborn, but she has morphed into a happy baby who is an absolute delight to be around. She adds so much joy to our family!

She is still opinionated and knows what she wants and when she wants it. But as time has progressed we’ve become pretty well-versed in understanding her cues and anticipating her needs.

And while not “personality”, this month she has started to resemble L.J. more and more. There is no question these two are siblings!

Playtime

Playtime has commenced! Hannah really enjoys playing with her toys. She has four clear favorites: her princess doll, Sophie the Giraffe, a plush turtle with a mirror and this weird heart-shaped thing that has a bunch of things dangling from it. The heart is her current favorite!

Actually, I take that back. Her favorite “toy” is her big brother. She loves L.J. and is endlessly entertained by him. She thinks he is hilarious, and he is still the only person who can make her belly laugh. It makes my heart so happy to see their bond forming. L.J. is just as big a fan of Hannah and she is of him, and often refers to her as “Hannah Bear.” All the feels!

She continues to enjoy her piano play mat and has also warmed up to our other play mat. She likes the Baby Einstein activity jumper, too.

She still enjoys snoozing in her blue bouncer, but is no longer content to lounge there and watch what’s going on around her. They key with Hannah is “up” – she wants to be sitting up and she wants to be high enough up to feel like she’s part of what is going on.

Developmentally, she can now roll over both ways. She can search for and grab a desired toy, has excellent head control and can be comfortably carried on my hip without bobbing around like a cork. She is nowhere close to sitting independently; she’s still like a ragdoll if you try to sit her up on the floor.

Eating

We switched to Enfamil Gentlease on the cusp of 5 months. We are eagerly awaiting her reaction to the change; it will be wonderful if it works. It’s less expensive and smells a whole lot better!

Her reflux medicine dosage was upped and we’re still giving her a daily probiotic. Her formula intake was also upped; she’s been taking 5 ounces at a feeding now. Still every 2-2.5 hours!

She’s tried food a couple times – sweet potatoes and baby oatmeal. Liked the potatoes, not so much the oatmeal. We’ll pick back up with food once she’s back to normal with her bottle feeds. Her doctor said that she’s ready to start food because she has good head control, is showing interest and it will hopefully help her reflux.

Sleeping

The crib was relatively short-lived. She’s back in our room in the Rock ‘n Play. She’s a great sleeper! She goes to bed at 8 and sleeps until close to 7 the next morning, interrupted with a 10 p.m. feeding.

She set her own bedtime and is pretty particular about it. She will start to squirm and fuss, but as soon as you put her down she quiets almost instantly and falls right to sleep. Pretty much perfect!

Milestones/Firsts

First time swimming, first taste of food (sweet potatoes), first baby sitter, first x-ray and first ER/hospital visit.

Letter to Hannah

Dear Hannah,

I’ve written this a lot because it’s true: you are such a joy! You bring so much light into our lives and the lives of those who know you.

Five months is the age of curiosity. Your head is on a constant swivel, always interested to learn and see what’s going on around you. You love to sit up and look all around!

Your first best friend is your brother. How you adore him! He can entertain you better than anyone and you think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

You definitely know and often want your mommy and I can’t begin to tell you how much I love that! You are still my little snuggle bear, even though right now you prefer to take the world in perched on my hip!

I love you so much, sweet girl.

Love,
Mommy