I wonder if Drew feels left out of the blog? It seems like we never talk about him. Poor little guy. Tobie and I talk all the time about having Drew. We comment on the fact that if we didn’t have Drew, we would have never known what’s it’s like to have a normal full-term baby. Everything about him is different than P & C. I know you can’t compare the two pregnancies/births, but here we are, so on closer evaluation, I guess I can compare them!
Last year was so hard. Incredibly hard. To be honest, while we were going through everything, I didn’t realize how hard it was. People would always comment on how well we were handling things and how much they looked up to us. My response was always, “well, what else would we do, it’s all we know”. It wasn’t till the last month or so that I’ve pulled my head out of the sand and look back and wonder, how did we survive last year? Man it was hard! Having Drew has definitely opened our eyes on how easy he is. Now, don’t get me wrong, having one kid or a whole bushel of them is hard work, but comparably, he’s really a piece of cake. Parents of premature kids know in their minds it’s easier having a full-term kid, but until you do, you just don’t know what you are missing. While I’m so glad Drew is in our lives, I’m sad that there are so many other families that can’t get the opportunity to know what millions of people take for granted.
Okay, getting back to Drew. When he’s not crying for the boob or puking from a full feed, he’s pretty cool. He’s so alert. He watches everything nowadays. Right now he’s in his laughing and screeching phase. P & C were never like this. It’s like Drew is our first born, because everything we are experiencing with him, we never really did experience with P & C. The other night Tobie tells me before going downstairs to check out Drew in his room. I walk in the bedroom and he’s sleeping soundly in his crib. He’s bulging out of these pajamas that Cole was just wearing the other month. That blows my mind sometimes. Drew has to be pushing 18 pounds. He’s gained 1/2 a pound a week since birth. Which in turn reminds me of how hellish our life was last year with trying to feed Cole. Remember when he would take in about 7 ounces a day over 10+ feeds a day? Oh, good times. I’m sure there were people who read the blog back then and would say “what’s the big deal, he’ll feed when he’s hungry, it’s not like he’s going to starve”. Before having Drew, I would scoff at that comment, but now after seeing how Drew eats, I totally understand why people would think feeding a baby is a piece of cake.
Anyways, I had a point to all this, but I think I’ve just rambled. That’s what you get when I don’t blog all the time anymore. So rusty. So in summation your honor, premature births suck, full-term births rock, people shouldn’t take pregnancies for granted, and everyone deserves to have an uneventful pregnancy. Oh and Drew and his big brother and sister kick ass.
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Great pic of dinnertime. I love Drew’s smile. I think it’s the first one I’ve seen!
Love it! Love the ramblings…. My experiences have been far from yours, but also far from “normal” and as we think about having another one in the near future, I wonder, worry, wonder worry…etc…and I try to remind myself that you shouldn’t compare…but like you said when its all you know and your year was the hardest one of your life, its hard not to think of comparing…they say with time you look back and things look easier. I guess thats when you know you were really pushed to your limits: when you look back and it doesn’t look easier, instead you remember with great vividness how difficult things really were and how no one really understands unless they expereince it- ANYWAS- on some level I hear you- How blessed you really are with drew…and the gang of course! Thanks again for sharing- Have a great day!
hi there. frequent lurker and fellow micro preemie b/g twin mom here (my kiddos were born 5/06). totally am with you on your rambles…preemiehood sucks sometimes (and i’m one of those who doesn’t know what it’s like to have a full termer). anyway, the real reason i’m writing is we’re STILL in feeding hell. i can relate to the 7 oz over 10 feeds. how, when does it…will it…get better? how’d you get drew over the hump? solids are a no-go (STILL) with our 15 mo act/11 mo adj preemies so we fight and fight and fight…and fight…with the bottles. tips/advice?
I am so thankful for all your experiances… Both my kids were full term, but my youngest suddenly stopped eating and was getting just 9 oz of formula on some of the hottest days of the year. Without your blog, I might have pannicked. Oh wait, I did pannic. But I still felt better knowing I wasn’t alone… ( And thank god, she’s starting to eat again!!! )
When I compare my first ( immune deficiant ) child to my second ( reflux not eating not gaining failure to thrive ) child, I can see how a perfectly normal baby would be….
I enjoy reading your experience sooo much I can’t even explain. Everytime I hear a pregnant woman “wish it was over” and they are only in week 30 I cringe inside. I hate that they take for granted how good things are going in their pregnancy. If I get the chance I tell them…”you need to keep that baby in there till week 38 at least!” Anyways, talking about rambling. Thanks again for sharing your beautiful family!
Wow, what’s Cole chowing down on in that pic? Is that Denny’s mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon bits?
Val - Cole didn’t win the food challenge this week, so he’s on Big Brother Slop
“People shouldn’t take pregnancies for granted.” Amen. I speak from experience, you just don’t realize how hard it is for some people, until you are put in the situation. Great post!
So true. I’m relishing our full-term baby - it is so incredibly different than the pre-term experience. No comparison. I see our little guy doing at 5 weeks what it took 5 months for our triplets to accomplish. Which, makes me feel that our full-term baby is growing up WAY too fast.