Ellie Update

She is our jabbering, giggling, wiggling, toothless wonder.
At 7 months (8.11.09) she was 26 in (33 percentile) and weighed 12.4 lbs, which dropped her below the oneth percentile (is 'oneth' a word?). Of course this stressed me out for a few days. I knew she was little, but I had felt like feeding had been going really well. I turned to my baby feeding bible (Child of Mine by Ellyn Satter) and, as always, Sister Satter calmed my anxieties and made me feel like a good mother again. I can only give her good, consistent meals, that is all I can control. She is so active and looks rosy-cheeked healthy. It's only when you sit her next to her butter-balled peers that you realize she's an ity-bity.
We go back in to the doctor next week and if she is still dropping off the growth curves they may do some blood test to rule out any metabolic issues. At this point I really believe she is healthy and growing well. I don't think it is a fair comparison to put these little SGA babies on the same growth curve as babies born a healthy weight.

Ellie loves Annie. She squeals and flaps her arms the minute she sees her dog each morning. When I put Ellie on the ground she wiggles and scoots furiously to try and catch Annie. Not quite a cruiser yet, but takes a few cautious crawling steps here and there. Her all-arms army crawl is still her preferred mode of transportation.
She is not one to sit contently. She takes no interest in TV and in church she is constantly crawling over our laps and shoulders, flirting with whomever will return her smiles. She can make it through "Brown Bear, Brown Bear." She smiles at me when I start to read it and then wacks each animal with her hand as we turn the pages. Any other book is usually too long and after a page or two she starts to arch her back, or eat the book. However, today I wanted to read some Dr. Suess. So, I sat her down and gave her "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," and started to read "Fox in Socks." A couple of pages into the book, I realized she was reading her book. She was looking at the pictures and just jabbering away. It was a cute moment and I got to read a new book.
Brian is always on a mission to find out what will make her laugh. It is usually by accident that we discover a new method. For example, Brian got a new phone and was taking her picture with it. The 'click' of the camera threw her into fits of giggles. The video below is after a dozen or so pictures had already been taken. Before the picture is taken you can see her doing her scrunched-up face (it's one of my favorite expressions of hers).