New steps (not the walking kind)

So first bad news. I can't find my camera. I thought I packed it to bring to my family reunion in Idaho but when we arrived in Idaho there was no camera to be found. The point is, no pictures to post because I have no camera. I am not convinced it is lost, I just think I haven't found it yet. By the way if you don't know me well I am really good at losing things :( The first step is admitting you have a problem right?

Next good news! My sister gave birth to Cash on the 8th of this month. He was born at 8:08PM. Get it? August (8) 8th at 8:08! Cool right? Anyways he is our first boy! 5 girls in a row and finally a boy. He is as cute as a button. It was amazing I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw him. I thought maybe all babies look like girls a little. NO, he looked like an adorable boy! Just as cute as the others but a BOY. Anyway he is a Price baby which comes with some eating issues. But, he seems to be progressing quickly. I think he will be a normal nursing baby soon. Plus Ami is looking awesome!!!

Next, kinda bad news. So there is no really difference with Elle's eating that I really noticed, but maybe it has been slowly progressing enough that I haven't noticed. Anyway Elle is simply refusing her bottle after random amounts. She could eat 1 oz, or 4 oz or 0 oz. Either way she will refuse to eat. She is a smart cookie and does not prefer anything with formula. I try mixing milk in any kind of food and she just knows. Anywho I was e-mailing Elle's doctor to ask for some advice. I was just wondering if I should give Elle water when she doesn't take a bottle in order to keep her hydrated. Well apparently I spooked the doctor and she had Elle come in that day. We went in yesterday for a weight check and Elle's weight is 14 lbs. 14 oz. (by the way her last weight check a couple weeks ago was 14 lbs. 7 oz I think). So all though she is small her weight is okay because she is still steadily progressing. She follows the growth curve. Which I thought she was. I feed her until she is full it just is not with as much formula as I know she should be having. I mean Cash has had more formula than her some days.

The plan: So the new guess is that Elle may be becoming allergic to milk. Elle's doctor has only seen a baby refuse milk like this one other time and it was with a baby allergic to milk. So Elle had her blood drawn (for the second time by the way) to check for any allergies and a whole work up. Just to check for any new developments. I also need to start soy and hope for improvement.

Next step: Elle's doctor (Dr. Price) thinks she should get as many minds looking at Elle as possible. Elle is going to a oral feeding clinic evaluation with a panel of doctors. I think they are going to watch a feeding and try to interpret what is going on. Also as you may recall I was told to call the GI doctor back when Elle is 10 months if there is no improvement, so I am going to call to schedule an appointment with him again.

Most important: I realize in these little up dates that I have to mention Elle's health but I want to mostly emphasize how awesome she is. In these rough little times I feel like all I get to talk about is this eating stuff but Elle is incredible. She is the sweetest little girl ever. Every morning when I take her out of her crib she literally hugs me. She lays her head on my shoulder and squeezes me. Sometimes she even pats me on my back. She also does this adorable thing I call "Kissy Monster". She grabs your neck (or hair if you're so lucky) and pulls you in while she closes her eyes and opens her mouth as big as she can. She is persistent, she pulls hard and often gets a good lick in. She also has been more consistent with waving. I worry walking is coming sooner than I am ready. She is standing all the time. I noticed the other day that she is able to transfer her hands from one object to another without falling now. She can pull herself up with one hand and lean against something so she can use both her hands. The other funny thing she does is stick toys in her mouth and then crawl with the toy dangling out of her mouth. In the end Elle is awesome, adorable and super sweet. These little hiccups are nothing compared to how incredibly awesome she is.