He's Two.

On May 29 2008, babywhumpus freaked us out by arriving 14.5 weeks early. Back then, on the way to the hospital, wondering if I could donate fetal tissue to any worthy research cause, I had no idea of the statistics or the success rate for premature infants (12.5% of all births, 90% success rate). I didn't think there was anything they could do if they couldn't stop labor.

Incredibly, it's already been two years. People tell you it goes fast, and you blink and smile wearily at them because you have been awake for months, but it's true. That 2 pound, 14 inch baby just had his two-year check up, and he's 23 pounds, 12 ounces and 32.5 inches tall. He swings from the underside of his bunk bed, holding onto the metal bars, and he uses sentences like "Mama, ada pellow peas," which is "Mama, may I please nurse now." His favorite thing is to be outside, and he's very excited about doggies, but only in theory. The reality of dogs is much too slobbery and jumpy. He loves whole-fat plain yogurt and Indian food. He has no interest in using the potty himself, but he knows what we are doing there, and every once in a while, will tell me "Poop, icky," as I am hosing out his diapers. Yeah, no kidding, child. "You could use the potty." "Yeah," he says. I don't believe him. The one time I sat him on his little seat, he wailed like he was going to be sucked down into the center of the earth. Which, for all he knows, might be the case.

He's not having full-fledged tantrums, but his emotions are right at the surface, and just about anything can set of a miniature crying spurt. They are short and are easily redirected. It's toddler PMS. I think he takes after daddywhumpus in being a pain in the ass if he's hungry. The little note I got at the pediatrician calls this the "Trying Twos." Um, since when? I believe that the accepted phrase is "Terrible Twos," and there's nothing wrong with calling something terrible when it is terrible. The two switch has been flipped, and it's going to be an interesting year.

Not that it hasn't been an interesting two years already.

He loves Old School Sesame Street, though we need a new DVD because we may wind up insane from repetition, so I have started working in Doggies (101 Dalmations) and now Nemo. I'll bring in others as necessary, though he only shows interest in TV for short periods of time, which is how we like it.

Though when he wakes up at 5:00 for two mornings in a row, I admit, we were hoping Sesame Street was on PBS. It wasn't. It was BBC World Service, which is great, but I think it's a little early in his development to start explaining the situation in the Middle East, especially given that most grown ups have very little grasp of it.

At two years of age, preemies are considered "caught up," and he's on all the charts and still gaining on some. Basically, he's doing great. He still wakes up once a night, most nights, but he's a remarkably pleasant person during the day, so we'll take it. He had one shot today--a new one: Pneumococcal Conjugate 13, which is an updated PC (Prevnar) vaccine that protects against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria. It replaces the PC7, which only protected against 7 types. He had finished the PC7 course, which means he only needs one dose of this. He'll get his second HepA when he gets his flu shot in September.