It has been over 3 weeks since we have been to a doctor’s appointment of any kind. While I am ecstatic our calendars aren’t filled with appointments with this doctor and that specialist (because our situation could’ve very well ended up that way) it does feel a bit weird NOT having to see a doctor and recount Nicholas’ full medical history. I admit I’ve had moments where I think “Wait, I’m supposed to just keep being ‘mommy’ without checking in with someone on how he is eating, or how his tummy time is going, or telling someone I don’t have any concerns with Nicholas’ development? That can’t be right….surely I’m supposed to speak with someone.”.

The hardest part about not going to see a doctor for Andy over these past 3 weeks has been not knowing the answer to the question “How much does he weigh now?”. After having spent the first 3 months of his life knowing how his weight changed almost everyday, to now not be able to say “Yesterday he weighed this much.” or “He has gained ____ since last week!” has been difficult for Andy.

At one point Andy threatened to take Nicholas to the grocery store and just slip him into one of the produce scales so he would know how much he weighed. I reminded Andy we weren’t “those people” – at least we don’t let people know we are “those people” so he never did. My dad tried to help Andy’s cause by suggesting I “let the man do what he wants” (he says this to me a lot – mostly about fishing trips but this time about his desire to weigh Nicholas by any means necessary) because, like Andy, he wanted to know how big his grandson was getting.

On Friday, we had our 4 month/1 month checkup with our pediatrician. I’m sure our appointments don’t go like most- we spend time talking about how Nicholas is doing for a 4 month old and then comparing our experience to a normal 1 month old to see where he is sitting on development scales (as most preemies we have hit some milestones and others are just around the corner but we haven’t quite made it there yet).

But most importantly for my husband and my dad, we got to weigh & measure a Nicholas. Nicholas’ head has grown by 1″ around, he has gotten taller by 2.5″ and he has gained 2 pounds – now tipping the scales at 8 pounds 2 ounces. 2 pounds in 3 weeks – I guess all those nights where I wake at 2 am to his “feed me now, please” cries and think ‘didn’t you just eat?’ have paid off. Our pediatrician is happy with what a big, healthy boy we have on our hands – and so are we!