Chubby Chubber

Yup, that's right. My baby is finally getting chubby. At her 1-year well-child check one week ago, Hannah weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs. 10 1/2 oz. That's the 26th percentile--her highest yet. She actually gained 1 1/2 lbs in the 3 previous weeks. Amazing! Her height was in the 38th percentile, but we think she's probably taller than that. And not surprisingly, her head is maintaining its largeness--99th percentile. :)

I'm convinced that Hannah's rapid chubbing-up is mainly due to the fact that I started weaning her soon after Thanksgiving. That whole milk is really doing her some good. And frankly, it makes me a little sad to realize that my skim milk has contributed to her skinnyness all this time. Oh, well. Can't change it, so why worry about it, right?

Anyway, speaking of weaning, Hannah decided to finish weaning herself. We started slowly, cutting out one nursing every week or two. And Hannah was doing pretty well. She didn't love the change for the first couple of days, but then she would adjust. For example, when I cut out Hannah's morning nursing just over a week ago, she burst into tears at the sight of her sippy cup. Sad. But this morning, Hannah yanked the sippy cup of milk out of my hand before I could give it to her, and she guzzled the whole thing. Love it.

So, I was planning on cutting out Hannah's final nursing (night) this Sunday. But Hannah apparently had other plans. Last night, she just refused to nurse, so we gave her whole milk. And she was happy. Tonight she did the same thing. So I guess we are done, and she is weaned. I'll admit that I am a little sad. In case you hadn't noticed, I am a wee bit sentimental, and I was planning on relishing every moment of our last nursing this Sunday. Fortunately, I have done plenty of relishing this past year and this past month. I have absolutely loved nursing Hannah. Sure, it was stressful being her main source of nutrition for so many months. But it was so worth it. I loved the bonding and closeness it provided. Ever since Hannah was finally able to breathe well (2nd time in the hospital) and began to nurse well, I have been in love with nursing. I'm so glad I decided to do it, and I'm so glad I stuck it out through the stress. I love Hannah so much, and I'm so glad I was able to give to her of myself in this way.

And I'm pretty sure that knowing how much good whole milk is doing for her has made me much less sad about weaning Hannah. Ok, maybe just a little less sad. It's truly a loss for me. I'll never nurse my sweet Hannah again. But fortunately, I know there are so many more gains coming in our future together. Wow, I love that baby.

All right, it's high-time for some cute Hannah pics:

I love this shot of Hannah's gorgeous lashes.

And there's that adorable face.

Look at those chubby thighs!

I have loved watching Hannah figure out all of her new toys.

My favorite thing is to watch her kiss her baby doll. She has even started saying "baby." Super cute!

She absolutely smothers her baby with kisses. Wonder where she learned that? :)

Hannah's new favorite game is putting her toy bag on and off her head. Over and over again.

And she's very serious about it. It's hilarious.

Last but not least, cutie Hannah playing with her beloved jingle bells.

Christmas pics coming soon...