The Rodda 3: Seven Months!

First of all, if you’ve noticed less hair on my head, there is a really good explanation for that. Hannah always has a few hairs she’s hanging on to. Always. At any given moment, I can find a hair entangled in her fingers or on her clothes. I find my hair in the most random places. I think she’s starting a collection. Or she’s jealous of my long locks. She’ll have some long strawberry blond hair before too long. I already tuck a few pieces behind her ears J

Hannah’s been grabbing hair for awhile now, but this month she’s pretty fascinated by it. She also grabs noses and mouths. She grabs at ANYTHING within a reasonable range. She’ll nearly hop out of her Bumbo seat trying to reach things. She’ll roll from side to side and make her body do a 180 turn in her crib to get to something. Her nimble fingers are becoming experts at sticking a dangling pacifier back in her month, too. That’s a very handy skill!

Hannah will sit on her own for up to two minutes. We’ve gotten out some new toys to entice her to sit up, but her preferred posture is still laying or standing (with support). She also has no interest in rolling over to her tummy. She’s not really a tummy gal.

It seems each week Hannah develops a new sound that she repeats over and over. A couple of weeks ago it was a very robust “ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya-ya.” With a little imagination, you could hear some of the “ya’s” actually as “ba’s,” “ga’s,” or “da’s.” I’ve heard the “m” sound when she screeched “mayyyyyy” one day. Her other noise is a really guttural “wahhhhhh.” I choke when I try to imitate it because it’s so deep in the throat. I bet Steven Tyler could though. She’s pretty chatty when she’s really happy.

There are some of her infant things I miss. She used to be able to sleep in my arms for long naps. I would allow it some days, but others I would fight to have her nap in her crib because ultimately that’s where I want her to learn to nap. She hasn’t fallen asleep in my arms for over a month. I miss that! She doesn’t put up any fight with her naps now. When we get home from our morning routine (church, work, gym, or Saturday morning outing), she’s ready to crash. That nap is usually 45 minutes to an hour and a half. That might be all the nap she has for the day though. If I want her to sleep again, we’ll go to the big bed and take a nap together. That’s one benefit of not having a roller! Those naps will end soon, too. I try to seize every little moment. She’s changing quickly!

She’s still the expert sleeper at night. Bed time seems to be creeping up earlier and earlier. She’s often tired around 6:30 or 7:00. Wake time has also been creeping up earlier. Up until this month, my alarm clock would usually wake up me in the mornings for work. Now Hannah has assumed that role. She averages 6:30am. And she’s really to roll for the day! I haven’t heard that alarm clock in awhile. The cries get me out of bed much faster than that clock anyway!

Hannah’s mastered the eating of “solid” foods that past 10 days or so. The first few weeks were messy! Now Hannah’s a fairly neat eater. I’ve learned she really only tries to grab the spoon when she wants me to stop. Her diet consists of rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato, bananas, carrots, and prunes. Oh, she doesn’t like the prunes. But, really, who does? We’re bumping her up to eating 2 times a day now that she has the hang of it. She gets excited about it! Know how I can tell she’s hungry? She swoops in like a vulture and starts gnawing my neck, shoulder, arm, or nose. That’s a pretty obvious cue! Speaking of gnawing, no teeth yet, but Hannah’s poor fingers! She’ll get them so wet with saliva they start to prune up! Can’t get her to chew on a fancy teething ring. Those fingers are just so accessible!

Hannah continues to be easy to take along on our trips and daily adventures. We traveled to Florida for a Rodda family funeral and to the Smokies for a Richmond family vacation this month. If she gets fussy, I just sit in the back and entertain her a bit. Hannah still loves her play gym, exersaucer, and walks. She doesn’t have a particular attachment to any kind of toy. What she loves more than anything else is my exaggerated facial expressions, silly dancing, loud singing, and most recently, beat boxing. She loves interaction!

If you’re lucky enough to hold Hannah for awhile, you’re likely to get a “Hannah hug.” She’ll put her arms around your shoulder and neck and rub her face against your chest. So sweet. Definitely a favorite of mine!