When people find out that we have a child in the NICU, one of the first questions I'm often asked is "how premature was he?" I usually answer "sixteen weeks" or "almost four months", and this rarely elicits a reaction. However, a common follow-up question is "how much did he weigh?" When I say "one and a quarter pounds", that's when I get the stunned looks and spontaneous exclamations of "whoa!"
Yesterday, when Christie and I were at the grocery store, we discovered a fun game that helps put things in perspective: hold a 20 oz. bottle of pop in one hand, and a full gallon of milk in the other. The pop weighs almost exactly as much as Bryce did when he was born, while the milk weighs as much as Logan did!However, Bryce is working hard to catch up to his big brother! He weighs 4 lb., 11 oz. this morning, and has been gaining about half a pound each week. In fact, at this point, there are only two things standing between Bryce and a cozy crib in Lino Lakes: his inability to take all his feedings by mouth and his eyes.
Our nascent nurser is still a star -- as long as he can stay awake. He had another great feeding on Thursday, but Christie had to stay at the hospital through two of his meals, because he slept through the first attempt! Friday was even worse; Bryce snoozed through two back-to-back feedings, so he didn't get any nursing practice yesterday. The doc says this is typical behavior, and that Bryce just needs a little more time to mature. As far as the eyes are concerned, the verdict is scheduled for 6AM on Monday; I'll do my best to post an update as soon as we know. Meanwhile, we'll continue to enjoy the relative calm of parenting an "older" preemie.UPDATE: Bryce had an outstanding Saturday -- two great feedings in the afternoon and this awesome pic that Mama snapped!
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