Yesterday (Saturday), Henry weighed 11 lbs 7 ozs. We went for our walk in the morning. Grandma came over in the afternoon. Jeff and I went to a party at Nick and Janice's house, right across the street from us. They are our neighbors with the horses. It was a party filled with neighbors. We met a few people we hadn't met before. Jeff brought some Henry pictures to show everyone.
People were disappointed that we didn't bring Henry. And everyone's always surprised when we say that we might not be able to have people over for two years. Fortunately, no one said anything dumb like, "Oh, you are just being overprotective." Or my personal favorite, "Aren't you glad that you didn't have to deal with the back pain of having a 9 lb baby?" These remarks (or variations of them) are quite commonly told to the preemie mom. Yes, someone (an assistant at one of Henry's doctor's offices incidentally) said me the latter. I've also had a few variations on that theme said to me as well. To date, I have refrained from replying, "Why yes. Staying in the NICU for 109 days, facing death a few times, watching my son cry as he got poked by yet another needle, going home without my son each night, watching other babies die in the NICU, wondering about my child's future and whether he'll be able to lead an independent life, etc. was soooo much easier than the inconvenience of a couple months of back pain." I'm always a bit relieved to have a social interaction where something stupid like that isn't said. When I haven't had much sleep, my patience (not my strong suit to begin with) tends to wear thin.
Anyway, we had a wonderful time with the neighbors. They were all delightful. When Jeff and I got back, Henry was watching "Pirates of the Caribbean" with my mom (my mom is a Johnny Depp fan). I think our plan of keeping him away from the television until he is two is out the window. By the time we got back to the house, it was too late to walk the dogs (second evening walk missed). Grandpa came over in the evening. Henry slept quite a bit, while Grandpa was over.
I took a nap. Got up around midnight. Alas, the breast milk pump was calling my name. Jeff suggested that I go back to bed. At some point, he put Henry in the crib, and Henry slept for two hours straight! I can't remember whether it was before or after the two hour marathon snooze-fest, but at some point, I got up again because it was too quiet. Turned out that Jeff was giving Henry a bottle, and they were just being quiet. I love it when Jeff is giving Henry a bottle, and Henry sees me and then gives me a huge smile.
In the morning (Sunday), we went for our walk. We came back and weighed Henry at 11 lbs 10 ozs. We then came over to my parents' house, which is where we are now. Jeff dropped off some gifts at the NICU for Henry's primary nurses and associates. I worked on an encyclopedia entry. Took the dogs for a walk. Am about to edit the encyclopedia entry now. Jeff is currently taking a nap. Henry has slept for a good part of the day. He has arisen for his bottles but then promptly crashes. I suspect that he's going to have a lot of energy tonight.
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