Don't know what you got till it's gone

Nelson has been in Tampa since yesterday afternoon and doesn't return until tomorrow evening. He usually travels about two to four days a months for work, but this is actually his first trip since Oscar's birth. I have to say, I never realized how much he does around here and how much I really rely on his help. Taking care of a baby is hard work! Big props to all the single parents out there.

On another note, Oscar and I went to brunch at our friends Jane and Chris's house and met their six-month-old son, Gideon. I know Jane from college - she's one of my old feminist cronies. Her little guy is exactly two month's younger than Nelson and gosh darn if he didn't have a serious case of the cutes! Gideon made his debut a full two months early (!!) but you wouldn't even know it to meet him. At six months he's already 16 lbs, which is perfectly within the curve for a baby his age, and he's very cute and social. He was about three and a half pounds when he was born and over six when he left the hospital just after just one month of being in the NICU. And he never even needed oxygen - he just had to wait until his sucking reflex developed.

It was so interesting hearing about Jane's birth experience - it could not have been any more different than mine. She ended up delivering by C-Section after her water broke and contractions started in her 32nd week. Were it not for modern interventions, Gideon may not have made it. And me, I had natural childbirth at home in my 39th week. We both ended up being at the right place for our births, and I feel really grateful that we had the options and access we needed to have our beautiful, healthy baby boys.