My baby boy

Life has sure been crazy these past nine or so months. Oscar came home from the hospital on January 11, yes, the same day David Bowie died. Definitely no coincidence.

Crazy to me how he's grown. He now weighs right around 13 lbs and is almost 24 inches long. He seems huge. I was at my friend's house the other day with her and her 8-lb twins. Oscar looks gigantic compared to them. It's difficult to remember just how small he was, the size of a squirrel at first, maybe even smaller, and then a small puppy, and then a bag of rice, etc. His growth is astounding to me.

Oscar smiles now, he giggles, he holds his head up (for the most part), and sometimes (rarely) he remembers he knows how to roll from tummy to back. He eats a ton, he sleeps through the night, he LOVES being held and being with people.

We've been taking him to church for almost two months, and he does great. He basically sleeps the whole time in our solly baby wrap. If he's not asleep, he is very content to people watch.

Jeff and I are amazed by him, his growth and his health. He is a very healthy boy. Every doctor we've seen has commented on how rare he is, to be born at 26 weeks and have no problems. None at all. His only doctor is his pediatrician. We haven't had to see any specialists since his first month home, before he came off home oxygen.

Some things haven't worked out like we planned. I thought we'd co-sleep, and that was awful for us. I thought we'd nurse, but it was causing me a lot of anxiety to not know how much he was eating (so I'm still pumping, which is another story). I thought I'd never give my baby formula, but like many moms of micro preemies I don't make enough milk for him, and he had tons of formula in the NICU to help him grow. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that life hasn't looked like we'd planned, but it doesn't really matter. We have a healthy, happy, sweet, calm baby boy who loves being alive.

I never knew my heart was capable of this kind of love. But oh, I am so glad it is.