Closing In On Four Pounds

I have to tell ya...my dad may be right again.  He told me he predicts Joshua will be 4 lbs by April 1st.  I said no way.  Well...tonight he weighs 1775 g or 3 lbs 14.6 oz.  He has one more day to gain less than an ounce and a half, and he's on track to do just that.  My dad also predicted a birth weight of 2 lbs 5 oz, despite the ultrasound prediction of 2 lbs 0 oz.  Pretty impressive.  If my memory is correct, I think he even guessed Jeremiah's birth weight right on at 8 lbs 4 oz.  Go Gus!

Tomorrow when we go in to see Joshua, we should see his whole left foot, free of the catheter.  They plan to pull the PICC line out late tonight and stop the TPN (total parenteral nutrition, feeding through his vein).  That's a big milestone.  He is up to 24 mL of breast milk every 3 hours, and he's doing well on that.  They are also adding some nutrition to the milk to increase the calories.  The next step is to start "nippling," or feeding through a bottle, and then work on breastfeeding.  We're making good progress! 

Tonight I boxed up all my maternity clothes and organized my regular clothes.  It was a little sad, mourning the pregnancy that ended too soon.  I didn't even get a chance to wear most of those clothes.  With Jeremiah, I got such a kick out of showing off my baby bump.  I loved being pregnant.  It's interesting how different pregnancies can be.  Several nurses have asked me about my first pregnancy, and they are always shocked Jeremiah was overdue when they look at Joshua. 

Last week I overheard two pregnant women talking, and they were whining about how they are so miserable being fat and pregnant, and one said, "I just can't wait to get this baby out!"  I know she didn't mean she seriously wanted a preemie, but I felt a twinge of jealousy.  I had to walk away because I was close to telling her to be thankful that she has her baby with her 24/7, he's healthy and developing normally, and her family isn't split up commuting to the NICU every day.  Then I got over it. I need to quit being so overly sensitive about things.  It's probably more normal than not for a pregnant woman to complain, and I do remember carrying nearly 50 extra pounds wasn't all that comfortable at the end of the pregnancy.  I'm sure I have also been guilty of inadvertantly being insensitive to people around me without realizing what circumstances they are going through.