Just because I am asked, and I know there are other singles who wonder about adoption... I bring you MY thoughts on being a single parent. Keep in mind thus far I have had a fairly "easy" baby. I have to say in allot of ways I don't think it's as hard as people think.
The things that I long for the most are...
1. Simply another body. I would LOVE to be able to run a quick errand when she is asleep. Or say hey can you hand me this or that just really simple things. It would also be REALLY nice for me to be able to be on-call at night and not take her to a babysitter.
2. A cameraman. Sounds odd, but sometimes she is being so darn cute and I would love to say "get the camera" only I can't leave. Now that she sits independently it isn't quite as hard, but many times I can't leave her unattended, or hold both the camera and her.
3. Someone to "share" her cuteness with. Sure I can call my friends or family and tell them about the cute things she does, but it still isn't quite the same as having someone else there to enjoy her.
Basically that is my list. Not too bad if you ask me! There are also advantages to single parenting.
I make ALL the decisions. Discipline, what is okay for her to do, to eat etc. There is never a debate as to who is going to change her, bathe her, feed her, whatever. It is me. I don't think twice about it. I know it's my "job" and it has never bothered me.
So all in all. If you are single and considering adoption, DO IT! It's not as hard as I would have thought!
Today we had Ella's nine month appointment. We also switched doctors and I cannot say how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! We are a little late, but we go every 28 days for synagis so I coordinated our visits. Ella is 14 pounds 11 ounces and 24 1/2 inches long. Today's measurements put her in the 18% for head size, 2% for weight and 0% for height. We'll start with the bad news because there is far less of it. 
Her height- We decided not to go too far in depth into our conversation today but the Dr. promised me he would be sending me the best most qualified endocrinologist there is. Really not a good way to start a sentence. Basically her height is starting to follow a normal child's curve, it just hasn't quite gotten on the actual chart yet. Eventually we want her to have a normal curve but she has too much catch up right now to slow down. We will lay low over the next year (they can't give hormones until 2) and see how things go but will likely be looking in to HGH or "growth hormones" next year. For everything else WONDERFUL reviews! She is projected to be between 6-8 weeks delayed for her real age, which is amazing. That also means she AHEAD of her adjusted age! We also get to ditch her iron supplements which is nice.
At her appointment I asked her doctor (very hesitantly) how he felt about ear piercing. He actually encouraged me to do it. He didn't have to tell me twice! We went directly from the doctors office to the mall. When we got there she was asleep so I browsed until she woke, then it was off to Piercing Pagoda. They had tons of really cute high quality earrings. I decided to get her plain diamonds since they have to be in so long, but I also bought her purple flowers and pink butterflies. I should have taken a video of her looking at all of the pretties. She was beyond excited by all that sparkle. So in the chair we went. The lady there had a really hard time getting the marks on which made me nervous. It wasn't her, it was the fact that Ella really wanted to either help, bounce, or kick her but she did a great job. I'm sure it wasn't easy as Ella has tiny earlobes. Once they were marked..click...click cried for maybe 10-20 seconds then gave the girl her saddest face with her lip out. She then went on smiling and having fun. Nothing really phases that girl! She still hasn't touched them or shown me that she notices they are even there. She laughed when I cleaned them this morning. I think it kind of tickled. 
