Hannah Pictures!

Here are some recent pictures of our growing baby Hannah! She is developing quite the personality! She smiles all the time and communicates like she really understands what is going on. Yesterday Hannah was sitting in her bouncer in front of me and I called her name twice and she looked over at me. Then while she was looking at me I said "Hannah, you know your name don't you." And she nodded her head like she was saying "Yes mommy I do!" It was so precious. Grandma was there too, so I have a witness :-) She also has a little attitude sometimes. A few days ago I was blow drying my hair and Grandma Geri brought Hannah in to see me. I wasn't looking at her so she peeked up over Grandma's shoulder, looked right at me and made this loud "Maaaaaah" sound. I looked at her and smiled and a few seconds later when I looked away she made the same sound. Apparently she likes to be center of attention, which isn't a problem because everyone adores and loves her. Here are some recent pictures of her...I can't believe she is 8 weeks old!

It is so hard to catch her beautiful smile on camera, but I caught the end of it!
Isn't she gorgeous!?



Our sleeping angel.
All bundled up and ready for church!

She looks beautiful in this sweater and hat that Jakes Aunt Kaye knitted for her.
Bath time is her favorite! This picture captivates her total relaxation while being pampered.
She absolutely loves our Christmas tree...so we have yet to take it down ;) We wanted to get a picture of her with it.
Her smiles make my heart skip a beat. Check out that hair!!! I have yet to figure out how to tame it down, but its sure fun!

Christmas 2008 (yeah yeah, so I'm a little behind on posting)

For Hannah's first Christmas we went home to California to celebrate with my family. It was my brother David's first Christmas home from his 2 year mission in Mexico, so it was a lot of fun to spend the Holiday's with him again. We were only able to fly home for about 5 days, but it was very relaxing. Jake and I were nervous about taking a 3 week old on a plane, but she did remarkably well! She slept the whole time, on all 4 flights! What a great traveler! While in Cali we ate ALOT, watched a bunch of movies, shopped till we dropped, went out to dinner, saw old friends, and mostly just spent time as a family at home. Here are some fun pictures from our trip!

Taking a nap with mommy
We found this dress at Walmart and I just had to have it! She looked adorable as Mrs. Claus
Hannah loves being pampered with back rubs.
Nieces opening Christmas presents
Uncle David holding his baby Hannah
Justin and his family came over to spend Christmas day together.
David loves snuggling with Baby Hannah
We went out to lunch with my good friends from High School, Melissa and Melissa.Auntie Melissa holding Hannah for the first time.
Hazel held her too!
Hannah loves her Grandma Geri.


For New Years we flew to Jake's home in Idaho. Which was also a very relaxing trip. We ate yummy food, watched movies, did some shopping, got together with extended family, and had fun spending time with family. Here are some pictures from that trip!


All bundled up to go shopping!Hannah and Great Grandma Bonnie

Hannah and Great Aunt Jeanie

Baby Updates

1 Month Old!

At one month you changed so much! By 4 weeks old you gave me your first smile, which warmed my heart to the rim. You became much more interactive and developed quite the grip! You still hum in your sleep, which is music to my ears when I'm not trying to sleep :-) You love bathtime and cry when we take you out of the tub. Your legs have gained so much strength! You love to stand up and be a "big girl". In your bouncer you surprised us last week when you batted at the toy hanging in front of you for a few minutes and loved watching it swing back and forth. You also have developed quite the voice. When you are awake you enjoy having conversations with us and sometimes you even repeat sounds! The other morning grandma was talking to you and asked if you were going to make good choices all your life and you said what sounded to us like "of course". It was adorable. Another example was when I asked if you were a hungry hungry hippo and you made a sound that sounded like "hippo". You are a shining light in your parent's lives. Thank you for all the joy you bring to those around you.

Favorite things:
The Christmas Tree (which is why we still have it up)
Bathtime
Nursing
Grandma Geri
Daddy
Talking
Staring at the mobile on your swing
Playing with the toys on your bouncer
Standing up
Music

One Sick Family

So much has happened since my last post that I don't really know where to start. I guess I will start with why I haven't posted in so long.....Well......When we got back from going home for the Holiday's Jake returned with a nasty case of what we believe was gastroenteritis brought on by the rotavirus. And despite sanitizing everything he touched, Hannah came down with it as well. In adults it lasts 24-48 hours, but in our little girl it lasted almost 2 weeks. The poor thing had diarrhea, vomiting, a head cold and worried her parents sick. We took 3 trips to the pediatrician and they kept telling us to keep doing what we were doing and keep her hydrated. Every time the doctor told us the same thing I wanted to kick him in the shin until he gave me some magic pill to cure my sick little girl. Hannah handled it like a trooper and still had the energy to smile at me despite what she must have been going through. Even though she was sick, everytime we went to the doctor she managed to gain some weight! We joked that she must be the only person to ever gain weight with gastroenteritis. Due to the frequent short feedings, I got mastitis a few days ago. Wow, is that painful. I'm just so thankful that Hannah was feeling better and that my mom was in town to help because I was down for about 24 hours. I have had what many would call a crash course in motherhood. I have never worried so much in my life. But I am so thankful that she is finally recovered and I can rest a little easier at night without worrying about her getting dehydated. I am also extremely grateful for my Heavenly Father, who I turned to often for guidance and support during this hard time. I know He gave my daughter the strength she needed to be healthy again.

And here is a picture of her during her favorite time, bathtime!!!! You can see she gained a few rolls since my last post :-)

2 Week Check Up

Hannah had her 2 week check up this morning. Here are her stats:

Weight: 9 lbs 8 oz, 75th percentile
Height: 21 inches, 75th percentile
Head: 75th percentile

Basically our girl is perfectly healthy and well proportioned! It was heart-breaking to watch the nurse prick her heel to get a blood sample...but Hannah handled it like a trooper! Jake would have liked to punch the nurse in the face, but he restrained himself :-)

2 Weeks Old!

Our little girl is 2 weeks old today!! She is growing up so fast! I was reminded of this when on Dec 15th she lost her umbilical cord. Now she can bathe like a big girl :-) She has been such a joy to have in our lives. One of the most amazing things has been to watch Jake take on his role as dad. He absolutely loves his little girl and hates to leave her to go to work every morning. He is really good about helping me with everything I need and gladly changes her messy diapers without being asked. I love watching him interact with her. He enjoys making up songs for her and slow dancing with her in his arms. I'm so grateful to have him as the father of our beautiful child.

Here are some of Hannah's favorite things:

Spending time with daddy
Looking at the Christmas tree
Nursing
Swinging in her cradle swing
Being held
Sleeping
Being kissed

I've been meaning to post some pictures of her from a week ago. So here they are!

Hannah and Grandpa Ron
Such a little angel
Her first smile caught on camera!
Her first sponge bath at home
All bundled up in her cute little robe
He loves his girl!

This one makes my heart melt: Hannah clutching on tight to her daddy's hand
I love this picture. She is so beautiful!
Hannah and her Uncle David meeting for the first time.
Hannah with Grandma Geri and Uncle DavidShe loves her Uncle David

Hannah's Birth

I decided I better write a summary of my labor experience before I forget what transpired :) I had scheduled an induction for Dec 5th after coming to the realization that she just might not want to come out on her own. However, that changed on December 3rd.

At midnight I woke up with strong contractions. I woke Jake up and told him they were becoming uncomfortable and he said "really?" and quickly fell back asleep. My mom (who was a labor and delivery nurse and now a maternal/child public health nurse) had been staying with us for a while to help with the birth, so I then went to her room and told her about the contractions. She coaxed me through breathing patterns and timed the contractions which were 5 minutes apart and lasting 45-60 seconds. Jake woke up and finally realized what was going on. He then became really excited and nervous. Here is a quick example, Jake said "I'm gonna go pack a hospital bag!" and quickly left the room. Not a minute later he came back to the room and said "What do I pack?!" It was adorable. At 2:30am my water broke and 15 minutes later we were off to the hospital.

So it turns out that contractions are not the most pleasant thing in the world. That's an understatement, they hurt like crazy. So upon arriving at the hospital I requested an epidural and by about 4am I was a happy camper again. Epidurals are amazing. Within 10 minutes the Dr. asked if I had any feeling and I said that I wasn't sure. He then informed me that I was in the middle of a contraction and I said "Oh, well I guess it is working". Labor from that point on was actually a wonderful experience. We became worried when after contractions Hannah's heart beat would decelerate and be slow to recover. But with a change in position it normalized, which made us all rest a little easier.

By 11am I was fully dialated and ready to push. My friend Megan, who recently had an adorable baby girl, suggested that I use a mirror to help me see what was going on and push more efficiently. That was the best advice ever because as soon as I saw the top of her head nothing mattered but getting her out. 45 minutes later (at 11:51am) our beautiful baby girl, Hannah Joell Pollard, entered the world.

Now for the best part, the pictures!