That is what the doctor said to me this weekend. "We're in the home stretch now." What a geat 6 words.
Ethan will be at 37 weeks gestational age this Friday, which is considered full term if you were to deliver at this time. He is weighing in at a hearty 4lb 10oz. He is taking the bottle at every feed. After a couple of days of showing us he can keep up with his feedings, he'll be on Brady watch. He'll have to make it 5 days in a row without a heart rate drop. This could take a while as he still has 1-2 per day, but he'll grow out of them. Can we really be almost there?
I'm having such mixed emotions. Impatience, anxiety, fear, overwhelming love. I want him home so badly, but all of a sudden I'm wondering if he's being rushed? This has been the longest 10 weeks of my life, but at the same time, can it already be time to start thinking of the next steps...life outside the NICU?
For the first time yesterday, he cried when I put him down. I was getting ready to leave, so I put him back and tucked him in and he scrunched up his cute little face and wailed. He doesn't cry often, so I was taken aback. I picked him back up and he snuggled in and stopped. Does he really understand who I am? Was he really upset I let him go or was he just trying to poop? I don't really care, my heart melted. I know I say it over and over, but every day, it becomes harder to leave him. Soon we won't have to.
I like to think Canyon knows who I am! He always cries when I put him down to go home. And yes, it's probably all of the things you said but it's nice to know that he is just happier with me. But then that makes it harder to leave him and go home!
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