Friday, July 29, 2011

Hannah Page Seiter

Hannah joined our family on Friday June 17th! She weighed 9 lbs 12 oz and was 21.5 inches long! She is such a joy and a blessing to us! She was a stubborn little girl and although my water broke on Wednesday the 15th, she really wanted to hang out until her due date! So she arrived at 5:42am on her due date. Matt jokes that she is a rule follower like her mama! We couldn't be more thrilled to have a daughter and the past 7 weeks have changed our lives forever!!! Hannah has had a busy first 7 weeks of life, having already been to 4 states and met almost all of her aunts and uncles, and all of her cousins. At the hospital, Hannah met most of her grandparents. My dad was missing but flew in a few days later. The first week we had my parents in town helping out and giving Hannah lots of love. She went out to her first dinner that week and to our pleasant surprise slept through the whole thing! Then in her second week of life she joined Mommy and Daddy on an anniversary dinner date to Maggianos. Again, Hannah was perfect!
Proud Mama after 30 long hours of being in the hospital

Lots of sleeping in those first few days!

We're scratching our heads too Hannah (at how we got such a wonderful and beautiful little girl!)

Then at 3 weeks old Daddy had to go out of town for work, so my mom, sister, and 3 nieces came for a visit. It was so fun to have them here! Abby, Caroline, and Molly Ryan are awesome cousins and did a great job holding Hannah. Of course I always love hanging out with my mom and sister and was just so glad they came. We ventured out to the Children's Museum and I'm so excited about Hannah growing up with such an awesome place to go!!!
Caroline is holding Hannah, and then Abby is holding Molly Ryan

At 4 weeks, we drove to Cincinnati, Ohio for a Cardinals game. Hannah had her first hotel experience and her first Major League Baseball experience. We had a great time!

Then at 5 weeks, we drove through Illinois to St. Louis to meet all of the Seiter relatives! We had such a wonderful weekend. Hannah was a bit overwhelmed with all of the love she was getting, and was a bit cranky. So we felt bad that everyone had to see her like that, but we still had a good time. We also learned that Hannah doesn't do very well if mommy eats asparagus, so on Saturday her tummy was upset all day. We had a bar-b-q shower to welcome Hannah and introduce her to family and friends. It was so awesome to see so many people that we love and to show off our sweet little girl! We are so thankful for Matt's family to putting together such an awesome event!! We were also celebrating because on the day we arrived in St Louis, Matt's older brother Jon proprosed to Andrea! We can't wait for Andrea to officially join the family!!
Cousin Aaron holding Hannah, and in the back is cousin Elizabeth, Grandpa, and cousin Andrew

Cousin Timothy

morning cuddle with Uncle Jon

Aunt Julie and cousin Sophie

Now we are at 7.5 weeks and she has been smiling very regularly for the past few weeks .....usually right after she has eaten, and mostly in the morning. It is so fun to see her sweet smile! She is a very strong girl and can already hold her head up very well and push her head and chest up while having tummy time. She sleeps about 6 hours at night and even gave us an 8.5 hour night!! She has started taking naps during the day in her crib, but only lasts for about 30 minutes, so we are still working on that! Since birth she has loved to sit out on the front porch and listen to the cars go by. It has been so hot the past few weeks that we can only spend time out there in the morning, but this week we've had a break in the temperature and are enjoying lots of walks and time outside! At her 4 week doctor appt, she had gained 1.5 lbs and was weighing in at 11 lbs 4 oz, and had grown an inch at 22.5 inches long! She is getting very close to outgrowing all of her 0-3 clothes!!
Happy Girl!

I'll try to update more frequently with Hannah's developments and adventures!!!