Ben Franklin said that.*
It's not unusual for kids from orphanages to experience a growth spurt after they come home with their new family. It's probably due in part to getting better nutrition and in part easing into a lower-stress environment. Like other orphanage kids, Elena was tiny when she was in the baby house: below the third percentile in height and weight when compared to other kids here age. The orphanage kids will often "catch up" once they're out of the orphanage environment.
And that's exactly what Elena's done. We measured Elena recently, and in the ten months since we got home from Russia, she's grown over four inches taller. That's pretty substantial for a 2-3 year old, and it makes her taller relative to the kids in her age group, too. Now she's more like the 25th percentile: still smallish, but not quite so far out on the tail on the normal distributution.
Experiencing a growth spurt really isn't surprising, as those of you with kids know. But it's sometimes surprising when you recognize just how much they've grown.
Now that I'm paying attention, that extra four inches is actually pretty significant. Elena can clearly reach things she couldn't before, and the extra height puts her eye level just above the table top rather than just below.
Today she wore a dress that she hasn't worn for some time. It's one of the first dresses we bought her, and we brought it to Russia. Here's Elena's wearing it in Moscow (at Patriarch's Ponds):
And here she is wearing the same dress this morning:
Note the location of the hemline in each picture: last September it was well under her kneecap, today it's well above the knee.
*He didn't, actually. I made it up.
It's not unusual for kids from orphanages to experience a growth spurt after they come home with their new family. It's probably due in part to getting better nutrition and in part easing into a lower-stress environment. Like other orphanage kids, Elena was tiny when she was in the baby house: below the third percentile in height and weight when compared to other kids here age. The orphanage kids will often "catch up" once they're out of the orphanage environment.
And that's exactly what Elena's done. We measured Elena recently, and in the ten months since we got home from Russia, she's grown over four inches taller. That's pretty substantial for a 2-3 year old, and it makes her taller relative to the kids in her age group, too. Now she's more like the 25th percentile: still smallish, but not quite so far out on the tail on the normal distributution.
Experiencing a growth spurt really isn't surprising, as those of you with kids know. But it's sometimes surprising when you recognize just how much they've grown.
Now that I'm paying attention, that extra four inches is actually pretty significant. Elena can clearly reach things she couldn't before, and the extra height puts her eye level just above the table top rather than just below.
Today she wore a dress that she hasn't worn for some time. It's one of the first dresses we bought her, and we brought it to Russia. Here's Elena's wearing it in Moscow (at Patriarch's Ponds):
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| Moscow, Russia, September 2011: Elena's somewhat mismatched due to laundry limitations. |
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| Detroit, Michigan, July 2012 |
*He didn't, actually. I made it up.
Hey T and Andy, so nice to read your blog. I was just thinking of you all this week and glad you are doing well. Elena sure has grown a lot! She is a real cutie! Sometimes it seems like these kids grow in their sleep and wake up taller the next day! I measure my kids on the doorpost and in one three month period this spring they both grew an inch. Hopefully I will be back in Michigan long enough for a visit one of these days. Sure would love to see you guys!
ReplyDeleteLove, Ang