Ella is Eight Months Old

Ella weighs: 12lbs 10.5oz

Ella measures: 24.6inches 

Milestones this month:
-rolling over!
-giggling 
-discovering her feet
-using her hands to reach for things (bottle especially)
-gets excited when she sees familiar faces

Ella loves: 
-her fingers
-her oball and oball rattle
-looking in mirrors
-being outside 

-stroller rides
-watching any cooking happening in the kitchen
-taking naps on Mommy
-playtime and making faces with Daddy

Health and Doctors:

Ella received her flu shots and her first round of her Synagis shot. Since Ella was born so premature she automatically qualified to receive the Synagis shot which provides her with extra antibodies to protect her from RSV. She will get a shot each month of RSV season, a total of 5 shots in all. Now that we have been out of the NICU for a while, seeing my sweet baby get poked with needles is a little harder to endure. The nurse informed me that out of all the shots she receives, the Synagis shot actually burns and causes longer discomfort. Watching Ella's bright blue eyes fill up with tears followed by the saddest cry ever makes my heart hurt a little. We will see the eye doctor right before Christmas and will see the other specialists after the New Year. At Ella's 8-month appointment we got the go ahead to try and start solids.

What we have been up to:
This month was filled up with firsts for Ella. She accomplished a lot including: reaching for toys during tummy time, rolling over, scooting backwards using her legs, maintaining posture during supported sitting, and splashing her feet in the bath. She recognizes Ross, myself, and my parents. We believe her teeth have started to push up below the surface because she is drooling and chewing on everything. She has started to giggle more and more everyday. The giggling is fabulous because it instantly wipes out any memory I have of her fussiness and fits from the night before. She wants to be in the action all of the time, but still gets overstimulated from a full day of interaction. We have had to unswaddled her arms at night since she is rolling over. She wakes herself up often.

Ella celebrated her first Halloween as the cutest ghost ever. She received her first non-medical piece of mail, a Halloween card from her great-grandma.
Ella endured her first round of fall family pictures. She was less than thrilled. She even fell asleep at one point. They were the first pictures of the three of us since we brought her home in July. Ella had a couple of other outings this month. We went to get her first custom Christmas bow at Kathleen's. We took her to Lowe's where she fell asleep and we took advantage and went for a quick lunch at Whole Foods. We had lunch with one of our favorite nurses and met my teammates for happy hour. Just a few last hurrahs before we cozy up in our home for the next few months. Our first Thanksgiving Day was wonderful and filled with a lot of family and love. We are thankful every year for our family and friends, but this year that thankful feeling was amplified. Each day we stare at our precious baby in amazement recalling the events that led up to where we are today. Family and friends were there through it all. It does take a village and we are thankful for those that are in ours.