28

Yesterday, Finn was 28 weeks gestational age, according to the calendar I have been using all this time. It may be a few days off by the one that they are using, but I see no reason to alter my math at this point.

At 28 weeks, the trusty book (out of which I WILL get my money!) says that Squirmy's eyes are beginning to open and we might be able to get an idea of eye color (though that could change). Our little early-over-achiever had at least one eye open at 25 weeks because I saw it in the transport womb. He had both open soon after that. Though it is true that they are open even more often as the days go by.



Right now, his eyes look to me like they will take after Pete's. We'll see as time goes by.

As far as his brain goes, the book says that it is continuing to develop and expand rapidly. It says nothing about his head expanding along with it, but I guess we are supposed to assume that the carrying case expands along with the contents. He's also accumulating layers of fat. In Finn's case, he's getting a lot of that from a supplement that is going into the breast milk to make up for what he would be getting from my placenta if he had stayed in his room like we asked him to, many times.

We may be in for quite a ride with this little man when it comes to following instructions.

He is gaining weight, though. The last number I had was 2.4 pounds, which is above his birth weight, which is very good to hear. Never mind that this experience is making me reacquaint myself with the metric system as I measure breast milk in milliliters, and he's measured in grams. He was 1020 grams on the board, which equals 2.25 pounds, so they must be behind on the board totals.

It's ok. It's just nice to see that total be over a thousand grams, even though my American brain does not really know what that means when it comes to, say, buying flour or hamburger.

Finn is already making me do math.

Supposedly, he's sleeping and waking on a regular schedule. I can believe that, at least when it pertains to the comfy environment of the womb. Now that he is in his plastic house, he probably has some patterns, but I imagine he gets woken up by his cares every four hours, or by the suppositories (I know that would wake ME up), or by the Vitamin A shots, or by the other numerous medical interventions that happen to him on a regular basis. Not to mention mama and daddy sticking their big mitts into his house unannounced, two or three times a day, though we try to plan our visits along with his cares, and I tend to be more reticent to disturb him if he seems relaxed because I want him to grow and not be upset.

The book says that he should be ten inches from crown to rump and weigh about two pounds. He's ahead of that curve, too.

Not that I am bragging.