Seven Months!

Elodie is 7 months old today! It has been a pretty good month and I'm amazed at all of the things she started doing right after she turned 6 months. Remember how I said she was delayed across the board on the ASQ-3? Well, if we had waited just a week or two for her 6-month appointment, she would have been within the "typical" range in both problem-solving and personal-social! So take that silly questionnaire! We had a brief visit from my dad this month but I neglected to take any pictures. Other than that it's been mostly business as usual. I still need to schedule her ophthalmology follow-up, but I've been more focused on her upcoming g-tube surgery. Provided that neither she nor I come down with whatever little stomach bug Brian and Noah have had, her surgery should take place on Wednesday. Keep fingers crossed we both stay healthy and her surgery goes smoothly! I can't wait to be done with the NG tube and I would hate to postpone the surgery.

I really don't know how much Elodie currently weighs, but I'm guessing she's over 14 pounds. We switched her up to size 2 diapers this month, and although they're a bit big, her size 1s were getting snug and she kept having yucky leaks. Elodie is wearing 6 month clothing, although 3-6 month pants still work. She is wearing a few hand-me-down sleepers from Noah that are 6-9 months that also fit. Feeding continues to go pretty well. She is eating about 19 ounces per day now, and takes her reflux meds (omeprazole) twice a day. She spits up a little with every meal and when it doesn't actually make it out of her mouth, she coughs and chokes on it. If it weren't for that I would still feel really skeptical about her aspirating, but yes, she definitely does. Thankfully she's not a huge barfer or we would have to consider getting a nissen fundoplication performed along with her g-tube. I am still pumping away so she is still getting all breast milk fortified with formula, and yes, we are still on the 27 calorie recipe. Elodie continues to sleep well. We stopped swaddling her this month, and just like her brother, she decided that sleeping on her side is where it's at. Her naps may have shortened just a bit, or it's just a complete coincidence, but she seems to fall asleep and stay asleep better through the night without the swaddle. She still takes three naps per day, with the morning being the longest and the evening being the shortest. 

Brunch on the deck yesterday morning. The weather has been gorgeous!

Elodie continues to receive early intervention services through our county. She will be due for her 6 month progress review sometime next month or early May. Her occupational therapist left on maternity leave at the beginning of February so we have another woman filling in. Both have been great and I feel like we've seen so much progress. Our biggest focus right now is working on building up Elodie's core strength to help her with sitting independently. She's not there yet, but she is so motivated! She constantly pulls herself up to a sitting position when she's reclined, but she doesn't yet put her hands down to balance herself. Occasionally she can sit by herself for 5-10 seconds before she topples over. She loves to sit in our laps and in her knock-off bumbo seat. She also loves her jumperoo! Just this month she finally got strong enough to lean forward and play with all of the toys on it. It's been so much fun watching her starting to really interact with her world, and not just passively take things in!

Part of her core strengthening exercises are to work on grabbing her feet. Well wouldn't you know, just after turning 6 months she started grabbing her feet during a diaper change. And now it's all the time! One day she even succeeded in getting her big toe in her mouth. So cute!

As I said in the neurology update, Elodie has also begun reaching for things in front of her while sitting or standing. She's not always the most coordinated when it comes to actually getting what she wants, but she usually succeeds. And when she does, everything obviously goes straight to her mouth! She loves to suck on my hands. They are better than any toy!

Elodie also began passing toys back and forth from hand to hand. That was a skill that she picked up and mastered really fast! 

Aside from all of that, I think some of the most exciting changes we saw this month came in her social and communicative development. Elodie now loves to look at herself in the mirror, and smiles and squeals at herself. She even reaches out to touch the baby in the mirror. This felt like such a big step to me, because before she would barely even look at herself. I was far more interesting! She also began exploring consonant sounds. She will make an "mmm" sound when frustrated or hungry, but our favorite new skill is repeating "da da da." There is really nothing cuter than listening to a baby babble! I love it, and my heart nearly bursts each time I hear her jabbering away. I completely forget that she's anything but a cute, chubby, happy little baby girl! 

Elodie and Noah continue to adore each other. They are so stinking cute together! She loves to watch Noah and he loves to make her giggle. It's such a joy to watch the two of them interact! I continue to feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to have both of them in my life, and each day I thank God and the universe for Elodie's remarkable health and happy spirit. I wished on countless stars for this girl. I'm so glad she came true!

I love you.