caracas!

nicolas was an angel on the plane. really. he slept and was fine considering we ended up with a 9 hour layover in Atlanta ( thanks Delta!) the damn pilot showed up 3 hours late.

but things are nice and warm here - blue sky and green tropical plants
we are off to the beach tomorrow and will stay there for 5 days or so. i will try to post photos later.

i have taken some fine long naps and feel rested (finally).we have eaten well and have had lots of attention from all the venezuelans.

nicolas is surrounded by women all the time and he loves it

more later

ps - my server went down and i lost some photos

Winter ills + peace

Nicolas with his new sweater made by grandma :-)

These past few weeks have been filled with Christmas rushing to get all things done and prepare for our holiday. Nicolas and Me and Martha have been stricken with the dreaded stomach bug which wiped out the lost continent of Atlantis (kidding it just wiped us out - but man it could've wiped out Atlantis ok?)

ugh and ugh. I've been inhaling gatorade to rehydrate.


Nicolas is standing on all things immobile and some that are mobile (to his surprise) - some bumps here and there. All normal we suppose but tough to see. He has a cool habit of walking a kitchen chair around the kitchen - and if i weren't so sick and overworked i would've posted a video clip. so there. maybe i will soon. by then he could be walking on his own for all i know.

peace be with you all :-)

eric + martha + nicolas

birthday, halloween and more

FAO Schwartz

NEWFall photo gallery

yes I have been slacking. so here's whats new.

Nicolas is now holding himself up in the crib and happy to do so. He turned one. (thanks to all for the gifts and cards - we are late with the thank you notes). We had a party for him and he was dressed like a space shuttle pilot. He did NOT eat any cake and cried when we sang "happy birthday" to him. On halloween he was dressed as a SNOW monkey and helped us answer the door.

We all went to Rochester NY, two weekends ago where I gave a presentation on web design. And we were in NYC this past weekend were I met Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson (at a risd event) and also - in another celebrity related event - John Cusack walked right by us up near central park (man he's tall).

Thats all for now. look at the pictures.


Nicolas on his b-birthday


Nicolas on a swing in Washington Square Park


Nicolas on Halloween


Nicolas trying to get out. :-)

poor updating

i have been lazy. with this blog and nuts with other things. but i will make an effort tonight.

daycare for nicolas + crawling

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO - Nicolas crawls forward
(he's been going backwards for awhile so it's big deal ok?)
View it!!!

hola - long time no posting busy busy. And now that he's moving he's a lot more to handle. :-) Yes Nicolas moves now - and he's picking up speed. So now we have to really keep our eyes on him and watch where he goes. He also shakes his head "no" but we aren't quite sure he really understands "no" yet.

And he's really keen on grabbing stuff and proving the theory of gravity over and over again.

He seems to have adjusted to daycare. We haven't though. It's hard to leave him there - but then the staff always says that he's having a great time -- and it seems that when we leave him he's excited to be playing with all the toys there. He's not even sympathy crying much and they all say that's a good sign. The staff also said he's pretty independent and that makes us feel better.

It's coming up on his birthday soon and time is flying by. Man oh man. We can't believe it.

like a wildfire

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

I can't believe that 15 days have gone by since my last post.
Wow -- how the fall is rushing by.

I wish I could report that we were enjoying ourselves with it - but we have been swamped with work. It's good to have it - and we need to focus on it while we can. They are some exciting projects really -- but leaving us little time to go apple picking and other such fun treks.

This past week Nicolas spent his first day at daycare. And then immediately got sick, and then so did I, my mom and martha. It spreads like a wild fire. And that has made us all grumpy and my lawn is looking very neglected.

Last weekend Martha's neighbors from caracas were here in RI to settle their son into New England Tech and we ate brunch at 20 water street (photo above). Nothing fancy there breakfast-wise but a great view on a nice day. I hope this cold passes quickly and we all recover to enjoy the cool days soon.

FIRST CRACKER!!!

This is a special report: nicolas has eaten a cracker ALL BY HIMSELF!
We were doing yard work and nicolas was hanging out with us and martha went to get a cracker for herself and casually gave one to nicolas for him to hold. AND HE ATE IT!
VIEW IT NOW

the big apple

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)

Well it's been a while since I've posted and the hurricane and our governments lame response to it has sapped most of my energy. It sickens me to realize how utterly helpless we really are. How unprepared we are as a nation to cope with this sort of emergency. How thoughtless the people in charge truly are. How the emperor slept while Rome burned.

Martha and I are lucky that we were not in New Orleans as we were last year, check out our photos of what was a remarkable city. Maybe they will rebuild it and Nicolas will be able to see it someday.

ON A HAPPIER NOTE -- we spent those last few days of Martha's sister Mabe's visit getting some good things in. His first day on the beach and his first trip to NYC. We even went to the Apple store (see above) where Nicolas selected his first Mac and Ipod. I told him if he is reeeaaallly good for 10 years then I will consider it.

He's beginning to make new sounds this week -figuring out how to use his tongue. We have to raise the bar on the crib now as he has attempted escape too many times now. I am going to be babyproofing very soon i suspect.
:-)

the world is his oyster...er...crepe

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)


Nicolas is now 15 lbs. Early Intervention came by to weigh him and measure him and although he's small he's doing fine. He's about to eat a crepe (clearly marked as his) that his Tia Mabe made for him (see photo above). :-) In addition, he has migrated to more solids - eating bananas and pears and rice cereal and sweet potatoes and carrots. His favorite seems to be pears so far.

Last weekend we went to Rockport, MA and walked around with him. We ate some lobsters in front of him and he didn't seem to mind at all. This week we went into the Discovery store in Faneuil Hall and he really enjoyed it. I think it was the first toy store he's seen and with all the noises and bright colors he was very excited by it all. We played with an electronic drum machine and a remote control dinosaur and crocodile.

Nicolas is sitting up alot now so we splurged and bought this stacking toy which he loves. :-)

TIA MABE!!! POWER TO THE NIÑOS!!!

More Photos: New PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)

Martha's sister Mabe (pronounced mah-bey) arrived last week and she has been spoiling him like mad. We don't know the outcome of all this over attention but I am sure he will be impacted for life. :-) So far we have been taking small daytrips to Boston and Mystic and etc. It's good to be able to get around and show him the world - some of which he's slept through.

This week we noticed that Nicolas is now getting more adept at crawling (still backwards mostly), flipping over on his belly and rolling onto his back, and sitting up wherever -which he likes alot. This morning we found him in his crib - climbing the side halfway up- he had switched on his Tiny Love mobile (courtesy of Sarah, Paul and Simon) and was very pleased with himself.

everything within reach

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (August 3,2005)


...now belongs to Nicolas.

Yes lately he's been grabbing things and touching anything that comes into range. I think it's because he makes them real by touching them. Like he's got magic powers or something. Which he does. Really. I mean to him its all magical I think.

My cousin Chris (that's Dr. Matarese to you) came to visit this past weekend to eat some seafood and see how he's doing - so we went to Newport to walk around and to Starbucks where Nicolas ordered a Mocha Frappuccino and some chocolate covered graham crackers - hee hee...well no...not yet. He's still content with a little white milky filled bottle. My mom is trying to get him to eat more solid foods but we are happy to have things take their sweet time. It seems like the whole experience is on high speed anyhow - Nicolas is now sleeping in his own room and in his own crib and that marks the end of a chapter that will not repeat.

Ah life... no wonder I'm downing Mocha Frappuccino.

:-)

and the livin's easy....

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

NEW VIDEO CLIP! (July,11,2005)

This photo was taken this last weekend in Jamestown RI. We ate fancy ice cream in front of him and made him hungry for....more milk.

His stomach is still acting up which is making him crabby - sometimes. And this week we went to the doctors for an eye examination and he was very good while they put drops in his eyes and really squirmy later when they tried to look into them. Lately I find myself looking at the older photos of him in the hospital and wondering "how did we get through it all?" -- he's so different now. We can't believe he's real somtimes.

watch the video. it seems he has an ear for music. :-)

Mid-Summer's Dreams

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (May,30,2005)

Ah the middle of summer... YIKES!!!!
Where did it go? I am not even done with the mulching. Haven't been to the beach yet. Wait...we did go to Galilee last weekend. And we all walked the beach - didn't go into the water though - or wiggle toes in the sand. Does that count?

Nicolas has a stomach virus of some kind so we are sampling his poops for the doctor (sorry for that - TMI ) but hey that's life in babyland. He's been lots to handle - but has managed to be pretty good about it mood-wise. We went to visit the NICU in Boston where he was born early last week but most of his nurses weren't there - we will make another trip again sometime soon.

This week we have noticed that his hands are getting grabby. He pulls my glasses off now and shook one of the house plants yesterday with a grin. He also has begun to push himself a bit while on his belly and I forsee a time when hes crawling everywhere and using his powers for general chaos.

It will be a chaotic luau - he's dressed for it I think. :-)

How you feeling? (hot hot hot!)

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (May,30,2005)

WHAT A HOT WEEKEND. Wow. Nothing to do but water the plants and head to Newport and South County. First we went to visit my cousins who were having a yard sale and my cousin's daughters were there and were happy to touch a little baby. He enjoyed it mostly I think but as the heat bore down he got grumpy. Then after that we went to Newport to stroll around and look at stuff we can't afford anymore... like cool shoes. We tried them on and thought how we might look in them but in the end left them there. Next we went to Aunt Carries in Narragansett -- this is a great seafood shack -- for you non-Rhode Islanders -- and I tried several times to get Nicolas to eat a clamcake. No such luck.

Some thoughts:
1.Nicolas does NOT like the heat. Nope. He gets grumpy and refuses to smile
2.People are SO FRIENDLY when you have a baby in your hands. We were trying to take pictures by the dockside in Newport and 4 TOTAL strangers asked if they could take our picture. I have come to the conclusion it's due to Nicolas's charm. People are always giving us the "knowing smile" and holding doors open.
It doesn't suck. :-)

sunshine and giggles

More Photos: NEW!! PHOTO GALLERY | Old PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEO CLIP! (May,30,2005)

This weekend we discovered our little boy can laugh. We hold his toys above him and shake them and then drop them and he giggles. It's really really addicting for us. And so we spent part of our weekend watching this phenomenon.

(sigh) Lately, I find myself concentrating on his face or his hands or his eyes and holding him up with my hands while he stands on my lap and hoping that I never forget any of it. He is growing and changing and Martha and I are realizing its all happening way too fast.

Some things we did this weekend: introduced him to the neighbors, took him for lobsters (which he didn't eat), let him help us plant shrubs (he managed the project for us - see picture above), coaxed as many smiles out of him that we could, and again, we watched him laugh at his silly parents.

video (May,17,2005) | video (Apr,29,2005) | video (Apr,23,2005)
video (Mar,28,2005)

Nicolas's first laugh

Well it's the first one we caught on camera anyway. :-) I think it was sunday?

VIEW IT!!!

FREE AT LAST!!!

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY <--mabe click here :-P
VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,29,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,23,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

Yes... that's right... he's wearing ROBOTIC clothing (courtesy of ashley and cheri - who know my warped-ness).
And me I'm jealous - very.

This week the doctor gave Nicolas permission to GO OUT! Yes, at last, to walk freely amongst the other members of his species and so we went out... TO THE DELI!!!

Seriously. We did. :-)

We had to get groceries and the idea of going to a BIG supermarket was WAY too much for us. As for the deli, we got so many "ooohs" and "he's soooo cute" from total strangers we decided it might be better to shelter him a bit more -- before he gets a big head -- oops too late. :-)

Kidding. NEXT STOP --THE MALL!!!

Maybe. Stay tuned. Coming next: Nicolas' first on-camera giggle. :-)

10 pounds +

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY
NEW VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,29,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,23,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)


This week Nicolas weighed in at 10 lbs and 7 ounces.

We had a great weekend last weekend - it rained and we spent most of it indoors- cooking and cleaning and watching movies. Nicolas has been practicing making his noises and holding his head up. Little by little he is getting stronger and this afternoon my mom said he rolled over from his belly to his back.

I had to see this for myself - so I placed him face down on the playmat and he did it again! :-)

It's great to watch him make these changes and grow stronger -- we are looking forward to more adventures with him later this month when we are finally unshackled from staying away from crowds -- our doctors current advice.

patience. patience

nicolas noises

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY
NEW VIDEO CLIP! (Apr,23,2005)
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

Hello everyone - this fine family photo was taken while Nicolas was visiting me at work. He was stunned by all the great people that I work with. :-)

I will be updating this post later - but i wanted to get the new video clip online. :-) Enjoy!

oops - never updated it. sorry folks. busy busy. Scroll up. :-)

ah spring at last

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY
VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

Outside.

This weekend we tried to convey the concept of "outside" to nicolas. Don't know if it worked but we went to Goddard State Park and napped on the grass and it was mighty fine.

Nicolas is sleeping for longer stretches at night now -- ah at last -- (yawn) still doesn't seem to make me less tired though. Maybe its cumulative.

With the warm weather kicking in we are finding it harder to stay home. Nicolas's doctor says we should avoid having Nicolas around people (especially kids) due to the RSV season - but I hope we get the green light soon and can commence out-of-the-house activities on the weekends.

mucho leche + grandma

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY
New! VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

This week Nicolas decided that eating more would be a good idea - so now he is eating up to 4 ounces at a feed! It's crazy! And the talking goes on - he now tries to talk to us a couple of times a day - and he talks to his toys!. Martha and I are making "goo ga" sounds to motivate him - her's are in spanish. :-)

My mom is babysitting for us now 2 days a week (thanks mom) and we are glad to have the help - she's a natural with babies and we only hope that Nicolas's cooing doesn't begin to have a Rhode Island accent too soon. :-) Just kidding mom.

Seriously, things are better lately. We grabbed 10 hours of sleep this past weekend - a block of 6 and a block of 4 hours and I swear we feel like we overslept. We went to a party on saturday night and left him with my mom and dad for our first outing since November -- and had lots of fun! Although I admit I found it hard to have a conversation about any other subject than Nicolas. Ugh! Martha laughed at me all night as I pulled out pictures of him at every opportunity to show to total strangers. (sigh) My cool self totally deleted. :-)

Martha's B-day | Easter with her sisters

More Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY
New! VIDEO CLIP! (Mar,28,2005)

This Easter sunday was Martha's birthday and we celebrated it at my parent's house along with my brother and his family and Martha's sisters.

We have had a good week with their visit. Tina and Mabe took over some of the Nicolas caretaking and we slept for 2 nights - well not soundly but MUCH BETTER THAN lately. They in turn were exhausted those days. :-)

The photo above includes a solo shot of Nicolas (with a very nice smile) and an Easter shot with (from left to right) -- Martha, Nicolas, Mabe, Tina and Rachel (our niece).

Nicolas's surgery recovery continues - he's still fussing instead of eating well - which is tiring. But this week he seems to have discovered his hands - and he enjoys touching his finger tips together in a slightly mad-scientist sort of way. Like he's making plans for world domination - which...well... you never know do you?

It's obviously a world with cool headwear (see picture above).

smile baby smile

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

Last week many of my co-workers chipped in and bought Nicolas the amby-baby hammock to help his reflux. We started having him nap in it and as of this weekend he is sleeping soundly in it. A special thanks to everyone at RISD who made this possible. :-)

As of Friday he is 7 lbs and 10 ounces. Which is amazing. He seems to be more excited about eating as a whole and we are feeding him every 3 hours or so. He also has been playing with his gymini more and more - and he loves to be carried around the house. Changing him is no longer a traumatic event either - he likes to watch his little animal mobile while we attend to him. And the other day I sang a little Bob Marley to him and he smiled at me the entire time - an indication that he's got excellent taste in music already. :-)

Martha's sisters Tina and Mabe (surprise!) have come to visit and will be here throughout the week - we are very happy to have their company and hope they will have fun taking care of Nicolas and teaching him spanish. :-P

hernia...all gone!

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

This week was a tiring one for all of us. Wednesday morning Nicolas had his inguinal hernia surgery and in the process the doctor's also removed his appendix. Apparently it was caught in the hernia and it was easier to remove it completely. We are hoping this is a good thing for him in the long run and maybe its one less organ that can cause later problems in life. :-)

It was a mess for us that day - due in part to the secretary of the doctor who told us to be at the hospital at 7:30 am and forgot they don't do surgery on Wednesdays until 10am. So we were stuck with a starving child there for hours (we had to stop feeding him after 3am). We spent the night there - to make sure Nicolas didn't have any spells or complications - and came home at 3pm on Thursday - I taught class that night until 9:30pm and it was the most tired I've ever been.

So far Nicolas seems to be ok with it all. His little discomfort from time to time is treated with lots of holding -- and tylenol. :-)

Bigger boy

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

This week Nicolas weighs 7 pounds!!! Its unreal.

We had a rough week though as his reflux kicked up and he caught a cold. The little coughs were so tough to hear. His doctor changed his medication also - to Prevacid - so hes not on Zantac anymore (he hated its minty flavor). Prevacid is strawberry flavored which he likes alot.

Nicolas' inguinal hernia is scheduled to be fixed next wednesday morning at Hasbro Children's Hospital - we are looking forward to having this overwith.

Last night was the first night he was smiling -- alot. And it wasn't gas related - what happens is - he looks right at us and we stick out our tongues and then he smiles. It's great to see. He also wants to be held high looking over our shoulders whenever possible - and insists we walk around and show him the house.

Slow goings...

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

This week Nicolas had another bad spell with his reflux - we think - it was just one night but he was very unhappy eating and we were very unhappy as we are when he's not happy. getit?

Martha took him for a neonatal follow-up visit for preemies and they say he's still not growing very fast - his weight as faraswecantell is around 6 pounds and 10 ounces - and to us he looks bigger each day. Hey good things come in small packages right? :-)

He had his first playtime this week - that is - we placed him on the tiny love gymini and he swatted at the things and enjoyed looking around at it all. He also likes when Martha rings a little bell while he's on the changing table and it really calms him.

:-)

No pictures please just more food...

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

This week Nicolas has been eating like a....baby! Crazy! He's eating every 2 hours or so and it's like he's trying to catch up on all the times he didn't like to eat.

We are happy and tired.

His eyes seem bigger to me and he's very active looking around -- and he has noticed himself in the mirror a few times. The other night I swear his cheeks got bigger between one feed and the next. We have also begun to really decifer his different cries now - knowing when he's tired and knowing when he's hungry.

We are looking forward to the next things he does as he grows and becomes more aware of the world around him.

a big boy now

Today we went to the doctor's and Nicolas now weighs 6 pounds.

WOW!

zzzzzz....waaa!!! waaa!!!

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

Even though he's not quite 6 pounds - I really think his ability to scream has improved. He also has gotten good at spitting out his pacifier when he realizes its not a bottle and his hands are getting more coordinated at pulling it out as well. He burps loudly (though not easily) and gets freaked out by his own burps. He's also gotten good at closing his mouth tightly when he's not interested in eating anymore. I will try to get a photo of this sometime.

His eating has gotten better now that we are not adding the cereal and he seems to be gaining some weight -- but more slowly than is normal - and we are on track for having his hernia fixed sometime in March - after he's gotten a bit bigger.

Yeah that's your reward kiddo - surgery. (sigh)

home sweet home...hmmm

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

It's great to be here - all of us - in a house surrounded by snowdrifts and cold nights. If only Nicolas would enjoy himself a bit more. His reflux is making each time he eats a painful chore and so he doesn't grow very much. In fact, he didn't grow at all for a few days now. And so we are scheduled for a visit to Hasbro children's hospital early next week to have a gastrointestinal consultation and his hernia surgery consult as well. Between now and then we will plod along with our routine. Hopefully these will lead to better times for Nicolas's eating.

81 long days

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

Well I can't really believe it and neither can Martha - but Nicolas is home. He's really here. We dressed him in a handmade outfit Martha's godmother made and got all the instructions from the nurses. We put on our brave face while at the NICU in Kent Hospital but when we got to the elevators we lost it. Overwhelmed by it all. A very special thanks to Kent NICU -- especially the Angelas, Valerie, M.A., Carol, Kim, Barbara, the Jeans, the Kellys, the Chris's, (hmmm... never noticed all the duplicate names before) -- you all were patient with us and wonderful with our little boy. We can't wait to bring him back to see you - and who knows maybe he will be a little bit bigger. :-)

And in celebration, we drank a little champagne and toasted his homecoming. Cheers. Salud. Etc..

Today he was looking around at his new surroundings and settling in. He was fine in the car and in his first sunlight.

Hey it's only a blog and can only convey so much - but we want to say THANK YOU to everyone for your kind thoughts, prayers, gifts, apartment lending, and words of comfort and support (Martha's mom - muchos gracias! Stayed 2 months to help us!). It's been 81 long days since Nicolas was born - at 1lb and 14 ounces - and we couldn't have gotten through it all without the good people in our lives. Thank you.

:-)

No not yet.

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

Nicolas is coming home possibly thursday (cross your fingers and toes and whatever else please). Martha and I and my mom are to take an infant CPR class on wednesday - and we have an apnea monitor and oxygen at the house JUST IN CASE we need more reasons for freaking out.

Martha stayed with Nicolas overnight on Saturday. They enjoyed. Martha was very happy to wake up in the same room with him. I had planned to stay the night as well but in the afternoon I got a sore throat - which by night-time was a full-blown cold. The thought of me staying all night in the same room as Nicolas spreading my little cold germs all around him made me nuts and I went home. I was home all day on the couch sleeping through sunday and today I am still groggy. Martha has a bit of the cold too but not as much.

We plan on seeing Nicolas sometime today through masks.

That is all.

The long haul....

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

A tough week for us and Nicolas. He has been struggling with his reflux. His original due date was the 14th and his scheduled delivery was to be the 4th. And he's STILL NOT HOME. ugh (see previous).

However, Nicolas was baptized in the hospital this past sunday and it was a nice ceremony. Father Ricard is a cool priest and he made us all feel comfortable and happy with the situation as it was. We dressed Nicolas in a handmade gown that Martha's godmother made. He looked great and wasn't fussy. We had decided that it would be good for us to have the ceremony while Martha's family, especially her sister Mabe (the godmother) are still around.

It became clear to us earlier this past week that Nicolas was not going to be home to spend time with Martha's family (how's it go? .."the best laid plans of mice and men" -- damn high school english class! ). But we are happy knowing that he has had good care and will come home when he's ready. We are trying to spend as much time with him and Martha's family.

I think we are going to make a trip to BJ's this weekend and get some diapers and homestuff - maybe that's being a bit hopeful but I think we need it. :-)

The hope, that is.

A New Year

All Photos Here | PHOTO GALLERY

A list of recent purchases made on behalf of Nicolas:

Snuzzler -- This is supposed to go inside the car seat and make the baby "snuzzle" into it a bit more firmly. get it?

Bundle Me -- This do-dad is for the car seat as well - its a big sheepskin cover for the seat - with a zipper for strapping in the laddie.

Head rest -- ok I don't know if i should've bought this -- but then I thought of Nicolas's head bouncing around and i felt really guilty for thinking of NOT getting it.

Essential Guide to Preemies -- This book rocks. I mean if you have to know about all the preemie related terms and issues -- it's a straightforward read -- with charts and all the lingo presented in a completely accessible way.

Things are slow here. Nicolas has bad reflux and is not eating with enthusiasm. Poor eating = slow growth = reflux = spells = NO GOING HOME YET!!!!

ugh. yes ugh. It's past time now -- according to my optimism he was supposed to have come home on New Year's day and that hasn't happened.