Happy One Year, Ellie!

Ellie is one year, again! Today is one year from her due date, meaning that at her young age we can only expect her to be like a 12 month old, and she's actually mostly behind that. But she makes up for it in cuteness!





She's finally getting some hair! These little piggies didn't stay in very long at all, since one of her main modes of transportation is rolling, and you couldn't see them from the front of her head, but it's progress!

I had to take her back to the hospital she was born in (all the pediatric specialists are there) to see a nutritionist, to try and get her to gain weight. In the two months from October to December, she gained 7 oz (not good). At the nutritionist she had gained 12 oz in just the first two weeks of December. I'm still a little skeptical about that, we'll see what she weighs at her pediatrician appointment this week! This statue of Ronald McDonald is by the pediatric specialist offices, and by the Ronald McDonald rooms inside the hospital (different from the Ronald McDonald House, at a location a mile from this hospital). I stayed in these rooms a couple of times (and in the House for three weeks).

As far as eating goes, Ellie really doesn't like it. Really. And the more you try and get her to eat, the less she likes it. This picture was taken after a meal - I feed her still, no self-feeding (except crackers occasionally). This shows what the battle looks like. She's like an octopus, guarding her mouth with what seems like eight arms, with a high pitched squeal and head dodging to go with it. I can usually convince her to eat, but it's really not a pleasant task. Even more unpleasant when it comes right back up. We're working on that.....hopefully the doctor will listen to the nutritionist and the therapist who both say she has reflux, since he doesn't seem to believe me. While gaining weight is a huge part of feeding her, she also needs to become a little more age-appropriate at some point, her eating skills are probably that of a 6-8 month old (oddly enough, she's the weight of a 6 month old, and the height of an 8 month old.....).

As far as physical development, I don't know her age, the score we got from the therapist is a number that I have no idea what it represents. But she can sit, and get down from sitting (but not up to sitting), she can roll, she can pull herself forward on her tummy, she can get on her hands and knees, just doesn't know it can get her someplace. She has the mechanics of how to pull up to stand, but needs to get stronger to really be able to do it herself. And yesterday, for the first time, she was on her knees, not hanging on! It only lasted a minute, before she lost her balance, but it was a good start! Her fine motor skills are probably behind, too, but nobody is concerned about that! She is finally, in the last week or so, discovering the rest of the house outside the living room. She's realized she can leave the room to explore! I guess we'll need to baby proof one of these days :). Thankfully our baby gate is good and strong, as she has tested that with her kicking many times.

Her speech was tested, along with her oral-motor skills. Last month (at 11 months adjusted age)her speech was at an average of 12 months! Hooray! She's ahead of the game on something. The SLP didn't see any problems with her oral-motor skills, either, meaning she can eat, she just doesn't want to, and can't keep half of it in.

We sure are happy to have Ellie around, even with her eating troubles.....she's a sweet little girl, and really quite happy most of the time. Her brothers adore her, and she loves them! We're pleased with how well she is doing after her early start. She's truly a blessing.