We may or may not ever be able to make an announcement that "we're pregnant"...but we have come to understand that the blessing is the fact that however parenthood happens, it is a miracle! ....... Now we have been home with our precious blessing from Russia since August 2007. Join us on our fun and crazy ride that we call "life with this child of mine."
Monday, September 08, 2008
Vertically Challenged
For those of you that know us, you know this, but for those of you who don't know, Nathan and I are short...uh...err...vertically challenged...people.  I top out at 5'2.5" and Nathan is only a couple inches taller than I.  So given our vertically challengedness - okay, okay, our shortness...we just always figured we would have short kids.  Nothing wrong with it - but a simple lesson in genetics would probably prove that we had high chances of having children of a smaller stature.

So - when we started the adoption process - you can imagine the jokes that started about how we were going to adopt a strapping Russian boy who would tower over us by age 6.  

But when we met Iliya and began pouring over the little information we received about him, we plotted his growth on the charts and found that he wasn't even on the charts - in height or weight (though he was closer on the weight).  

In fact, when we were talking to the baby home doctor on trip one, she made sure to point out that Iliya was short for his age, but that he was otherwise healthy.  "In fact," she went on with the help of our translator - while looking Nathan & me over - "He seems that he would fit in very well to your family."

That was one of the most memorable moments of speaking with her that day.

No matter, though...many - if not most - internationally adopted children catch up pretty quickly once they come home. 

And once Iliya came home, he did seem to grow - I mean, I remember how he used to stand on his tiptoes and just barely touch the door handle.  And now, he can easily reach the door handles twist the knob to open.  It's really most noticeable, though, at night, when I hold him in the rocking chair before bedtime.  He's no longer this snugly little baby; instead, we have a hard time getting good & comfortable because he's gotten so tall.

Interestingly enough, though...today, we visited the IAC for our year follow up....and found that he has grown less than 4 inches in the past year.  His weight and head circumference have gone up well into the charts - still below 50th percentile, but that's still pretty average.  His height, though...despite 4 inches of growth - is still off the charts - and I mean not even touching the 0-1st percentile.

It's really not that big of a deal for us, but the doctor mentioned taking Iliya to the pediatric endocrinologist.  Just to see what they have to say.  She wonders if they might want to put him on a growth hormone - which I definitely have mixed feelings about.  But I think we're going to go and just see what they have to say.  Just to make sure there's nothing else at play here.  

But when it's all said & done.  There's nothing wrong with being short.  Vertically challenged.  Of smaller stature.  Whatever you want to call it...that doctor was right.  And no matter how big or small he is, that kiddo of mine fits just perfectly in this unit we call "family."


Written at Monday, September 08, 2008 by Melissa.
5 comments
5 Comments:
Blogger Maggie said...
Slugger asks me all the time how tall he's going to be. I know a lot about his birth parents, but I have no idea how tall they are. Slugger seems to think that his mom was kind of tall, but that he dad wasn't much taller than her. The last time he saw them, he was 5, though, so it's hard to say.

In a way, I think he kind of likes that his height is completely determined by his mom and dad. It's a link or a tie to them. He also likes it when I point out things we have in common, though.
6:01 AM  
Blogger Nancy said...
Hi Melissa--When we met you at the Vlad Inn, I don't remember you being vertically challenged! Maybe because I'm not much taller. :) Anyways, our Nathan grew about 4" in his first year home too. The embassy doctor told us (and we think she really believes this) that since Brian is tall, Nathan will become a product of his environment and be really tall too. We kind of scratched our heads at that one.
7:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Nothing wrong with being vertically challenged I am 4'11.75 and my 14 yr old is 5'4 lol
8:04 AM  
Blogger Ronda said...
If you remember meeting us in the Moscow airport you know we are anything but vertically challenged :-) Alexander has grown over eight inches since we've been home and Natasha has grown seven. Funny how the Russians seem to know how to match kids to families. Short or tall all our kids are amazing.

Ronda
4:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
If Iliya is going to be short then that is another way that God meant for him to be your child. He was born for you and Nathan all along. God knew what he was doing when he gave Iliya to you two.

Carolyn Nelson
Paisley, Florida
1:21 AM  
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