5 ounces??!! Wha Wha Wha What??!

Amazingly, today at the doctors Chloe weighed 5 more ounces than she did 2 1/2 weeks ago! I don't know how it is possible, the way she has been eating! But I will take a gain over a loss or a stay the same any day! I kept looking at the scale after the nurse said 12 lb. 9.5 ounces, and then when the nurse left I kept putting her back on the scale to weigh her again, and again... I am like, holy moly Chloe! I don't know how you did it but you did it! As a good friend of mine's dad said, I wish people would get that excited when I gained weight! We have been sneaking in some more rice per bottle... but she has been eating half the minimum of what the GI doc wanted her to eat! Oh my, you have this weight obsession after having a micro-preemie baby, as if we girls don't have enough pressure! I have never been so ruled by numbers and scales in my whole life. 5 ounces, not such a huge weight gain, but it's a gain. She did have a miraculous day on Sunday where she ate double what she had been eating days before, so I keep feeling like maybe she is turning the corner, feeling better, and will start eating better. I learned never to have too high of hopes though, to precede with caution. Lesson from the NICU. Since I was once a half glass full kinda girl, it is sad for me to think this way, but one has to guard their heart and be prepared for the worst.  Ah, the scars of having a baby at 24 weeks and then a child in the NICU... On top of that we have some anticipation building in the house! Hurricane Irene heading this way! Might build up to Category 3! Haven't survived a cat 3 yet! My husband keeps singing, "Come on Irene," which is making this hurricane have association to a few frat parties in college and where I was in the 80's. I am a little on the fence about how I feel about this one, but hurricanes can't help but bring out this excitement with a little bit of the unknown fear attached. I do have a little bit of adrenaline junkie in me and hurricanes scream adrenaline. I mean there is a reason people who live in hurricane areas have what is called, hurricane parties. It brings out some human emotion or need to have a good time on what could be your last night on the planet, or to want to feel the danger of it being the last night...or well whatever. Reminds me of a story of another hurricane preparation... In Hatteras one year I made the 5 o'clock news while shopping at the grocery store. The news caster asked me what I was doing to prepare for the hurricane, buying water, stocking up on batteries. The camera scans down to my cart which is full of beer and chips I was picking up for the hurricane party. Oops. Yeah I said, I am stocking  up on water, haven't made it to that aisle yet. Preparing for this one is a little different, I mean having a kiddo and all. I mean how much excitement can one have in their life, I mean she is not even a year old! My dad flew down to the rescue a couple days ago to help with the Chloe being sick, and the not eating thing. She has improved since he got here, so maybe that was the magic trick. I mean, my dad is an ol' boy scout through and through so he spent quite a bit of time at Home Depot today getting ready for this storm. Let's just say we have flash light battery power for a few years, a flash light for every room in the house, including the bathroom, laundry room and closets. This is his first hurricane, so hopefully it will be a light hearted storm, no one will get hurt or suffer and we can just enjoy surviving it! Meanwhile my mom is have daily panic attacks about this whole scenario. We are lucky enough to not only have my dad for some help this week, but Evan's mom is coming in, in a couple of weeks. Always nice to have extra help and have family around. I am having some withdrawal of the Caring Bridge site. I didn't write on it too much lately, but I found it so nice knowing family and friends were reading and keeping up with Chloe. I could easily feel the support and I loved being able to read the people's comments. But I just felt the site was for the medically critical and even though the saga continues, there needed to be a stopping point. The site offers a nice option  which is turning all the journals, comments, tributes into a book. For Chloe's birthday she will get what mom and dad, and a whole bunch of friends and family wrote about her in her first year of life. I will make sure it doesn't get torn or eaten until she is old enough to appreciate it. (She does like to put books in her mouth, not food, but books.)I hope if some of the followers of Caring Bridge are on here, you continue to comment or become a follower of the blog! xoxo!