Sunday, November 08, 2009

More facts about Hannah

Here are a few more facts about my sweet baby girl that I want to remember so will capture them here:

- She's wearing 9 mos. clothes and they fit her well. I have some 6 mos clothes with me and the summer stuff fit in Changsha and it didn't matter if the pants turned into capris but now that we're back in Beijing it's much cooler so her little legs must be covered. I brought 8 pairs of tights for her and am so thankful that I did as she's needed them most days. I've only been told off by one Chinese Grandma so far, letting me know that I didn't have enough layers on her. I just smiled, said thank you....and then took her picture to capture the moment! :o)

- When I first met XiaoFen 6 days ago she didn't really do much with her hands. When a toy was held out to her she didn't really know what to do. Now she holds toys, shakes them and truly plays with them. She also uses her soft little hands to run through mommy's hair or place on her cheek. Ok....she also uses them to scratch me occasionally and pull my hair but we're gently working on that and I wouldn't change it for anything. At least she is using them and I'm thrilled.

- My baby girl is long. She was 27" at 6 1/2 months but I'm not sure how tall she is now. When she is around the other babies about her age she seems longer than some. Also, I think she's about 17 1/2 lbs. Not sure how accurate this is as it's with me stepping on the scale alone and then again with her.

- When my sweeties is hot at night she will kick, kick, kick until the blankets are off her. Of course, when mommy gets up to check her she covers her up again. I keep a variety of weighted blankets near the crib and eventually throughout the night we seem to find something that we're both happy with. She....something just right and me....something she'll keep on as the room can be chilly at times.

- In some ways Hannah is much like your typical baby who spent her first days in an orphanage and others she is very different. Firstly, she drinks bottles slowly. Thankfully she is finally drinking (took 4 days before she really began to eat or drink much) but she takes her time. An average 8oz. bottle will take 30 mins to drink....and I love it!! 30 mins of holding her, snuggling her, whispering into her ears that I love her and making wonderful eye contact with one another. So thankful for this precious time that we share together numerous times throughout the day.

- XiaoFen has a beautiful gummy grin with no teeth to speak of yet. I'm guessing it won't be long but for now she's all gums. I feed her little snacks of Gerber Puffs that I break into teeny, tiny pieces and also bits of rice and watermelon from my fingers. She'll take a spoon but finger feeding seems most effective and enjoyable for both of us.

- Hannah is a cuddler and snuggler and has taken to her baby carrier really well! She spends hours each day in the Baby Bjorn and little bits in the sling. I also brought a Baby Hawk but she's a little bit too tiny for it yet so we'll wait and grow into that one. At breakfast today for the very first time I put her in the stoller for a bit and left her with mom and dad for a couple of minutes while I went to get food. Those from our group that saw me teased me as it was the first time they hadn't seen her strapped to me. :o) She enjoyed herself and before we knew it she was in the carrier again and we were off for the day! I am SO thankful for the carriers as it's healthy for both of us. My back sometimes aches but it's a good pain and I wouldn't change it for anything!!

- Hannah loves to be naked!! Whenever her diaper is being changed or after her bath she does this adorable little dance! Here's a video of it taken just a couple of hours ago.

That's all for today but I'm sure I'll have more 'Hannah Facts' in the future.

31 comments:

  1. Great facts.. Love it..
    Love the video.. Hannah is toooo cute..
    She is sooo small..
    Have a great day..
    Hugs..

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  2. that video will be so fun to watch in a few years.
    how lucky are you to have gotten her so young and to not have missed this sweet babyness

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  3. What a cute video! She seems so tiny! (My girls are almost 3 and 6.)

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  4. WOW...what a little chatterbox!!! (Like her mother!) And LOVE the dancing!!!!!! (Like her mother???)

    Thanks for more Hannah Happenings!!!

    Hugs,
    Joy

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  5. No you have a partner for life...to chat! Mine was just like that and she hasn't stopped yet! You are in for a treat. She is the cutest and so precious. The dance is hilarious, keep this ritual everyday, in no time she will dance when you say dance and will shrtly wave goodbye. They are such quick learners.

    Simply pure joy, enjoy!
    Marie-Claude

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  6. She is sooooooooooooo cute! More importantly, she looks so very healthy. She is doing things that "normal" babies do, like pulling her feet to her chest. The only reason I say that is because we adopted out daughter at 10 months and she wasn't doing those things. A friend who is an OT picked up on it and she ended up getting OT and speech therapy. It looks like your girl is developing very well!

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  7. Soooooo precious! I was glad to hear her jibber jabber as I couldn't hear it on the other videos.
    She does look like such a healthy well developed little girl. Bright, inquisitive and obviously teaching Mommy everyday about just how smart she is!
    What a way to spend your 51st wedding anniversary by the way. A new granddaughter and a trip to the Great Wall. Wow!
    Will await tomorrow's news.

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  8. babbling in chinese~ I love it!!

    She is beautiful and sweet!

    Safe and happy travels.

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  9. She is just perfect! I was so happy watching the video and hearing her cute little babbles! So lucky to have her so young! I am jealous!!
    Yes, your back and arms are getting a work out! But you are doing so well!

    Alyzabeth's Mommy

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  10. Wow! She is smart! You can just tell! She already understands you-"dancing". You are doing a great job with her. As I said before- a true natural.

    Loving your blog!

    Lisa in Denver

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  11. OMG the dance is too funny, sweetest thing ever! I can not believe how completely relaxed she is with you after such a short time, you clearly are a natural! And the chatter!!! OMG that is beautiful to hear, I think your baby girl must have been very well taken care of.

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  12. Precious video!!! I love it. That is great that she is making progress so quickly.

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  13. What an adorable video! Wow she does not sound tiny at all if she is nearly 18lbs! That is great! She looks very tall to me as well. My girl was 16 lbs at 11mths (when we met her). She is now 3.8 months and 31 lbs. Time flies!

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  14. Great video! What a happy little girl! Looks like you got some competition in the talking department there Mommy! :)

    I wasn't the only one that enjoyed it . . . Denver sat on my lap and quietly (with a big grin on his face) watched the whole thing.

    k

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  15. She is just the cutest!! I love her little conversation!

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  16. Wow Catherine! Your little Hannah is so lovely! It's so nice to keep checking in every few days and seeing how you two are both adjusting.

    So happy for all of you.

    Tracey
    Ontario, Canada
    LID Apr 11, 2006 - still waiting

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  17. I love the video, she is SOOO cute! What a little ham! I love how much she talked through out the entire thing, funny girl!

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  18. Okay, I can't stand it, I have to post. I've been trying to hold off so as not to flood you with comments when you are too wonderfully busy to read them.

    Hannah looks so healthy and happy. The video of her dancing is by far one of the cutest things I've ever seen! You are very, very, very blessed!

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  19. So sweet! I love listening to her babbling.

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  20. Oh, my. She is just too sweet! I love that you have these moments with her. She's SO little! Looks like you have a chatterbox on your hands! My little Caroline talks ALL the time. ALL the time. ALL the time. Even when she's worn my ears out, I love to hear her little voice.

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  21. oh my gosh - so cute to hear her chatter!!!! My Sophie used to wiggle like that when we laid her down - we used to tell her to do the "wiggle wiggle" - it looked like she was trying to bellydance! Well, it ends up that she has a nasty case of eczema/dry skin, so now we wonder if she was really trying to scratch her back!!! But Sophie was laughing the whole time, so I don't think it was too tortuous!!!

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  22. Too cute!!! LOVE the baby chatter!!! So sweet!

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  23. Love the video! She is just too precious! Mia was jabbering "mamamamamamama" when we got her. haha

    Mia will not sleep with a blanket on her either. I don't think they probably did that in the SWI. I think they just bundled them up super well and forgot the blanket on top!
    On the bottle issue... are you sure she is a slow drinker or not able to suck? The reason I ask is because I thought this about Mia too but after I analyzed her sucking habits further (I'm a speech pathologist so it comes naturally!) I realized that she didn't have a mature suck. She wasn't getting a good suction with her lips on the nipple of the bottle. When I made her nipple hole bigger she could drink better. It didn't take long for her suck to get better and soon she was drinking from a regular nipple. Just something to consider. But it may be that she just IS a slow drinker.
    Certainly the time holding her is priceless either way! :)
    Enjoy the rest of your time in China. It goes by so quickly. We were so sad to go home!!

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  24. Oh that is the sweetest video of your love! She is a great dancer and talker! =)

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  25. Okay that's the cutest dance ever!! Love her little conversation with you and all the wonderful facts!!

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  26. Hello, I found your blog on Rumor Queen. I also follow the Salsa Twins blog. I am waiting with a LID 4/10/06 and I just wanted to tell you how much joy your blog has brought me. I love the detail you give. You have a wonderful keepsake. I also love the joy you write about. I look forward to when it's our turn. Congratulations and praying for safe travels! I love the little video. Your Hannah is beautiful.

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