Rice cereal, side rolls, sitting, and standing...oh my!

Boy o' boy has our Hannah tried to hit every milestone she possibly could these past couple of weeks.  Let's start with the rice cereal!

So, after taking our pediatrician's advice, reading every article in my books and on the internet, and listening to some friends... we decided to start Hannah on solids.  I am sure she was ready for it... she kept wanting to nurse every 2-2.5 hours and was getting up in the middle of the night to eat, so she clearly needed  some sort of supplement.  Babies her age should be eating 3-4 hours and not during the night at all.  I thought for sure it was a growth spurt since I've read babies will cluster feed all day/night during one... but those only last a couple days.  This has been a couple weeks!  Plus, since she was never a good breastfeeder... I needed something else to give her.  So, we did it!  I went out and went to the baby food aisle, which was so strange for me...but exciting.  I had no idea what the heck I was looking at since there was 100 different kind of cereals.  I went with the Earth's Best organic whole grain rice cereal.  I read that it's the best!  Side note:  so cheap, too...$2.50!  For some reason, I was expecting it to be $5 or something.  I couldn't wait to feed it to her when Matt got home.  That night, I put her in her brand new high chair and put some toys on her tray.  She loved it!!!  I sat down in front of her and gave her the first spoonful...oh boy.  The biggest look of disgust!!!  She gave me the biggest pout I have ever seen and cried and cried...I had to hold her for 10 minutes just to get her to calm down.  HORRIBLE!   Needless to say, I was so disappointed.  But, I knew I had the next day to try again... and thankfully, she ate the whole bowl and loved it!!  She is on her fourth day of eating it and it's my favorite activity with her because she is too cute with it.  She opens her mouth for it now and makes a chipmunk face! Every night she eats the entire bowl...she is still working on swallowing it instead of pushing it out with her tongue, but she is figuring it out very quickly. Next week I might try a banana or avocado.  We shall see!

About a month ago, Hannah rolled over from her belly to her back.  It was so exciting and she was so proud of herself...she gave me the biggest smile after it happened!  But, of course, she wouldn't do it again because she hates "tummy time".  She wouldn't stay on her tummy long enough to practice her rolls!  Lately, I have been putting her down on her belly more and more because she can tolerate it longer now that she can push up on her arms and keep her head up.  I plop a toy in front of her and she is good for 5-10 minutes. The other day I laid her down on the carpet and walked away for just a second (Hilo had her pacifier...).  When I came in she was rocking back and forth...and there she went!!  From belly to back...rolled over.  I squealed with delight and told her she was a good girl and in return got a big smile.  I kept trying to get her to do it again so I could videotape it...but nope, she fussed and was done.  She is also working desperately on rolling from her back to her belly. Anytime I lay her down she instantly rolls onto her side but gets stuck on her arm.  Hopefully she figures it out soon!

She is also getting really good at sitting up.  She is a supported sitter right now, but every once in awhile she can support herself, which is so cute!  She sits straight up and keeps her head  up. She looks like such a big girl!  We can't wait for her to sit up on her own...makes life just a little bit easier :)

Also, the standing up... she is obsessed!  Anytime you have her sitting in your lap she starts arching her back so that she is standing.  Once you have her up, she loves it!!  The funny thing is, her feet are still turned in from birth so she looks a little silly....

What's next... walking? talking? a wedding???

Enjoy some pictures from our rice cereal experience. I didn't get a good picture the first night since she was so upset...but these were all from the 2nd night:)  Look forward to some upcoming posts:  Hannah's baptism and Hannah turns 5 months old!

First bite... not too sure what to think of it!

Of course he has to be there...

Starting to like it!