I decided to start doing this once a month, to update everyone with how Ella is doing. It's amazing how fast things change, and how quickly she is growing.
Growing
At Ella's 12 month check up she weighed in at ...
22 lbs, 12 oz
And measured...
30 inches tall
She is roughly around the 75% percentile for both categories. The doctor is happy with her growth and agrees with me that she is perfect. :)
Sleeping
This was very relatable for the first several months... I am so glad those days are over!
We are sleeping so much better now! Ella went through several rough patches with her sleep. I really felt like a total failure, and always felt like whenever she wasn't sleeping it's because something was hurting. I know now that she was just a baby and that's what babies do... they keep you up. Now, I am relieved to say she sleeps like a champ. She goes to bed around 7-7:30 and sleeps until 6:30 the next day. Sometimes she surprises us and sleeps in a bit later. She takes 2 naps during the day, usually 1 hr each. Yesterday we let her take a longer second nap and kept her up later so we could go out when I got done with work and she did great.
Eating
(A typical Ella meal)
We are down to only 2 bottles per day. My goal is to be done with bottles as soon as possible, as I know prolonged bottle use or nursing leads to tooth decay. She gets roughly 16 oz of milk per day. Ella is a good little eater, but has developed a palate for carbohydrates and junk food.... I wonder where she gets that from? We make her separate meals right now, as our lunches are usually just salads or soup, and dinners tend to be too seasoned for her.
For breakfast, she has some sort of combo of scrambled eggs, fruit, toast, bagels with nut butter, flax seed waffle, or protein pancakes. I try to start her day off with a mix of protein, carbs and fats.
Lunch time is usually 2 different veggies, some form of protein (usually chicken, tofu or fish) and either noodles, rice or pasta. Pasta is her favorite part of her meal, so we have to offer it last. Although I will say, Ella will destroy a sheet of tofu, no questions asked. That girl LOVES tofu.
In the afternoon I offer her a snack with a cup of milk. Usually a fruit/veggie puree packet with some crackers. Sometimes a yogurt if she will eat it.
Dinner is a lot like lunch. Veggies, protein, pasta/rice with fruit for dessert! Sometimes she sneaks a few bites of whatever I am eating at dinner too.
Moving
Ella crawls like a champ, finally! She now does this sort of crawl/scoot where she keeps one leg folded and drags it. She can pull herself up into standing position easily, and is starting to "cruise" along furniture. She still can't stand independently, so I think walking will be a few months away still.
Playing
Ella plays well independently, but likes having someone playing with her also. She has many toys that she loves, but her favorite thing to do is to just play with whatever is around the house. She loves taking pens out of my pen container and throwing them on the floor. She loves flipping through her books and ripping them off her book shelf. Her newest thing is taking two objects and banging them together... She loves doing that. Hahaha. I ordered her some new toys and have prepared some newer activities for her, so it will be fun to see how she responds.
Learning
Ella still only says Momma and Dadda. She makes a new other noises, like "nnnnnnn" but I still don't know what it means. It may be her noise for pacifier, because I call it her "num num" but I can't be sure. She babbles a TON but it makes absolutely no sense right now. Ella has learned how to wave hello and goodbye, how to give a high five and understands SO much of what we say. When she is eating, if I tell her to "drink her water" she picks up her sippy cup and drinks. If I tell her to "give me her baby," she will. If I say, "give Dadda the baby," she responds by handing Michael her baby doll. It's amazing. I love seeing that she understands us.
Behaving
Ella is starting to throw some mini fits, and I don't dig it. She hates being strapped in her car seat and stroller. (Even though she LOVES going out and going for walks.) She just doesn't like being restricted. She arches her back and tries to do everything she physically can to NOT get in the car seat. It's exhausting. She has fits when we change her diaper or get her dressed (if it's interrupting her play time.) I sort of hope that stage ends fast...
It's really true what they say, they do grow up so fast. I will update you all again next month!
xoxo
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