Emma Merchant, model child

Over Thanksgiving I sent Emma instructions to eat up on our nation's day of sanctioned overeating. All the cool kids gain weight over the holidays, I explained. Diane e-mailed today with the following update and adorable photos:

Emma listened to you! She is up to about 2 lbs. ~12-13 oz. She has been really stable. They took her off synthroid (Anne notes: thyroid medication they thought would help her gain weight) last week but have now put her back on it since she lost a few grams over the past few days (nothing serious, I think). She is just looking better and better. She likes to suck on a pacifier (one of the pictures shows me holding it in her mouth). She is getting cheeks! I saw her trying to lift her head today while she was laying on her belly. I couldn't believe it. She is so strong. Another one of the pictures shows her with her thumb in her mouth. She likes sucking on it. Basically all that is on the agenda for Emma these days is growing her ( as our doc likes to say ). She really listens to us when we talk and sing to her. Very responsive. We get a new attending doc on Thursday and what I hear is that he is a mover and a shaker when it comes to doing things so there may be talk of the CPAP again! Wait and see...