with eric IV looking quite content much of the time ( except, of course, when his care routine requires that not-so-fun things are done to him ), i found myself wondering when he was having those tantrums that preemies are famous for. sure, he can get worked up sometimes, clenching his fists and thrusting his feet and making little squeaks. but i we’ve never seen a full-blown, let-out-all-the-stops tantrum. not that you want to see a tantrum, but still. and so, with perfect timing, soon after i arrived this evening, eric decided that something was not right ( of course, it couldn’t have been my voice. no, certainly it wasn’t that ) and started trying to launch himself right out of the bed. and the screaming. if there was any doubt, him pipes are developing well. this went on for about a minute and no amount of consolation from me or kris was helping one iota.

that’s when nurse jan decided it was time to bring in the passifier, because if he has a tantrum for too long then he’ll stop breathing and that’s no good.

the only problem is that he doesn’t really know how to suck on the passifier and breath at the same time, so it’s a delicate balance. eventually, he figures it out and i rest my hand on him, which helps a little too, i guess.

the postcards have started coming in! i’m not sure the nurses believed me when i told them that he was going to start getting cards from all over the world. we’ve just received a few so far, but is suspect they’ll be trickling in for awhile. we were very touched by the kind story from a nice person we don’t know who hails from santa clarita, california. it’s going to be hard to maintain my cynical side if people keep up with such random acts of kindness.

kris is continuing with her record setting ‘roo sessions. she might do two sessions a day at about 2 or 3 hours apiece ( i bet she’d go longer, but that’s the longest she can go before she has to “pump” ). as i said yesterday, there are many factors involved in how well eric is doing, but i really think all the kangaroo care is big factor. we’re fantastically fortunate that kris can spend so much time in the nicu. she teaches at the local college and has the summer off, so she can spend as much time as she likes with eric. and of course, she likes to spend a lot of time with him ( not that i don’t, silly. you know what i mean. ).

ahhhhhh. it’s the ol’, “put your wedding ring on his diaper to give a sense of perspective” trick. with all the close-ups, it’s easy to forget just how small he still remains ( although he has grown 3.5 inches centimeters ( arrgggh. there’s a big difference between inches in centimeters. i think 3.5 cm is a little over an inch. ) since birth. yeah!).