Update

Well, I just thought that after that terribly sad post I should give a little update.... For the last few days we've been trying a new eating routine... we feed Elisa solids, nurse her, and then offer her soy formula. And guess what? She's been sucking down the formula! I guess that she hasn't been getting enough milk, and most of the time I didn't even suspect that she was still hungry!

There had been a few times when I thought that she was still hungry after nursing... but she wouldn't eat any more solid food, so I figured she wasn't that hungry. And most of the time she seemed perfectly content. Even now, she'll get done nursing and want to get down and play, and I think to myself, "Oh, she's not hungry, she's not going to drink any formula." And then she'll amaze me by drinking 6 oz! Wow.

Of course I have mixed feelings about it. Mostly I just feel so relieved and glad that she's getting enough calories now. But I also feel a ton of other emotions: fear (what if her slow weight gain has long term effects?), inadequacy (why can't I produce enough milk?), guilt (I should have known), and the list goes on.

So, anyway... that's the update. Thanks for your comments, phone calls, and prayers. I really doubt that there's anything seriously wrong with her. I think that she was just not getting enough milk. Hopefully it will just be a matter of time until she's chubby as can be. I'm not sure when I hear back about the blood and urine tests... but I'm not concerned about it. I think that just this simple change in diet will fix it!

9 Month Check Up

I had a terrible trip to the doctor today.... It started with them telling me that my appointment had been cancelled, and ended with them drawing Elisa's blood.
Here's the abbreviated version: Today Elisa had her 9 month well-baby check up. She was 28 inches. But she only weighed 15 lbs. 5 oz. which is below the 5th percentile for weight. (And since she started out in the 75th percentile we can't use the excuse of "Oh she's just a small baby.") Her growth curve has definitely started going down. Now before this the doctor has never seemed that concerned, so I've tried to quell my fears and tell myself that every mom worries about her child gaining weight and that nothing's wrong. But today the doctor used the dreaded words, "failure to thrive."
Also to add to this problem, we had to get 5 shots today - yes 5! They have a vaccine that has them all together in "one poke" as the doctor says. But they were out of it, and he didn't think that they would have it again for months. And since Elisa is already behind on her shot schedule, I decided to just do it. But it was TERRIBLE! Poor Elisa. She was just laying there screaming and I had to hold her as the nurse poked her again and again in her little thighs. Then, as if that wasn't enough, I had to take her to get blood drawn to make sure that this failure to thrive thing isn't anything serious.
Anyway, by the time I got home I was a wreck and Elisa wasn't too happy either. Greg greeted us at the door and listened and commiserated with me - so that helped. But wow, what an afternoon.
So, pray that Elisa will start to gain weight, and that this problem won't be anything serious. It probably isn't anything serious... we're just gonna start trying a few different ways to get more food into her. But please pray... Thanks.

Bang Bang Bang

I realized I haven't put any videos up lately for the grandparents. Elisa is so much more stable on her feet. I can't believe how much more she can do, even just in the last few months. She can pull herself to standing, and even let go of whatever she's holding onto and stand for a second on her own. She can crawl, and she's getting to be so much fun. I feel like her little personality is coming out.

She's curious, but she still needs a safety net. The epitome of this is that she always wants to be held facing out. She doesn't want to snuggle; she wants to see what's going on around her, but she still wants me holding her (or at least nearby).

She's fun-loving and playful (she squeals whenever Greg plays "I'm gonna get you" and I just love making her smile).

She's determined. If she sees us eating an apple she will pull ferociously at the apple until it's in her mouth.

She loves to dance and loves music. At church on Sunday she "sang" along with everyone. And sometimes at home we have family dance parties and she loves it!

She's thoughtful. She will furrow her little brow when she is in a new situation or sees a new person, as if to say, "And what is this?"

I love her so much. She is starting to come out of her extremely needy phase (although it's still there a little bit - I guess I'm getting used to it). She's asleep right now, but I just want to snuggle and hug her. Oh well, I guess I'll wait 'til morning. For now I'll just watch this video and think about how cute she is.

My morning

Good morning Mom! It's such a beautiful day and I'm such a happy girl.
What do you mean, it's not time to play?
Okay, I'm all dressed for church.
Now can I play with the camera?

Bop It!

I just thought this was too cute... I found this keychain Bop It and decided it was just the right size for Leesi. So funny.

Food Network Obsession

Okay, so now that we live on campus we have cable tv. It's the first time in my life I've had cable... but sadly, we don't get the Food Network (or HGTV). When we were in Portland staying with Wanda over the summer I LOVED watching the Food Network. I found that it inspired me to want to cook good food. Now that I'm back at home in my own kitchen I'm trying to keep that inspiration alive. I checked out a Food Network cookbook we have in the library and found a recipe for Bow Ties with Pesto, Feta & Cherry Tomatoes. So we tried it the other day. And I must say, it was quite yummy. Here's a picture of how it turned out.

If you want to try it click here for the recipe. (Yep, Click right on the word "here")

Grosgrain Blog 2

So one of the things I don't like about my current blog template is that links don't appear to be links... unless your mouse is right over them. So in the post below you need to click on the word "here" to go to the Grosgrain Blog site. It should work just fine for you. I'm definitely going to be changing my template soon.

Grosgrain Blog

I found this site the other day... and just had to post a link to it. It's a mom who sews the cutest little outfits for her girls and then gives them away. She gives them away in drawings off her blog each week. So check it out here

Fussy baby - fussy mom

Wow... I know I haven't posted many pictures of Elisa lately... sorry. It's just that she's been so fussy. Sometimes she won't let me set her down even for a moment without tears of protest. First I thought it was because she had a little cold; then I thought it was because she was teething; now I've given up on hypothesizing and just decided to call it a phase. Each month I've been trying to take a picture of her laying on a plain background... just to show how she's growing and what she looks like each month. I tried to take her 8 month picture a couple weeks ago and this is what I got...

She was saying, "MOM, WHY ARE YOU LAYING ME DOWN? I DON'T LIKE IT! I DON'T LIKE IT! PICK ME UP, MOM. I NEED YOU! PLEEEEEEEEEEASE PICK ME UP!"

I told Greg that those were actually perfect 8 month pictures... because they show exactly what she's like right now. He just laughed. I guess he thought I was joking. I sometimes get really frustrated by her neediness and her crying. But as I've thought about it, I've decided to enjoy even this fussy/needy period. After all, everything goes by so quickly with kids... I better cherish these moments when she desperately "needs" me. She'll certainly outgrow her need for mom at some point... and that will be a very sad day.

Anyway, I did finally get one picture that is passable. Her eyes are a little red, but other than that it's okay.

Aw, what a cutie! She's doing so much more than she was doing even last month. She crawls now, although she still doesn't go very fast or seem very interested in crawling. What she really loves to do is pull herself to standing and play standing up. This can be a real problem in the bathtub... which doesn't provide the most traction. Just last night she tried to stand, slipped, and ended up with a faceful of water.

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

So I have a new favorite series right now: the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. In the books you follow Mma Ramotswe as she sets up and runs her own detective agency. It is different than a regular mystery genre book in that the main point of the story is not necessarily the cases that she is solving. Instead you are just following along her day to day life and the lives of the other characters in the books. It takes place in Botswana and the author, having lived in Africa for some time, has an air of credibility. They are not necessarily "page-turner/can't put them down books"; they are just wholesome and sweet with characters that grow along with the series. It took me a little while to get into the first book... but once I did, I couldn't stop. I'd highly recommend them. Also, I listened to some of these books on audio and the reader is phenomenal... I'd highly recommend that also.