6 weeks. Or 33. Or -7. You decide.

Doug's age will always be a tough one to figure, depending on how you look at it. Friday night was 6 weeks from the night he was born. Tonight he turns 33 weeks in terms of gestation period. And, of course, if he were born today he'd still be 7 weeks premature. Whether you look at him as an Aquarius (when he came) or a Taurus (when he was supposed to come), we have to keep in mind what a miracle every day he's with us represents.

This has been a hard one for us at times this past week. He just seems to be progressing so quickly... putting on the pounds (ok, ounces), getting back on the little nasal cannula, mostly regulating his own temperature, and even taking a little milk from a bottle. But, as we were told to remember from the beginning, there will be setbacks, and there have been a few this week. Nothing major, just still having apnea episodes, so we had to cut back on the bottle action and the nuzzling, and now we are holding him for less time when we visit. Every little thing he does, including interacting with us, is alot of work for him given his age, however you measure it.

So, we and his amazing doctors and nurses are just backing off a bit, trying to give the little man some space and time to make these strides at his own pace, rather than rushing him through the paces as we get excited to do.

He did have another series of scans and tests, including his eyes and lungs (both always a worrying point with extreemie preemies) among other things, and everything is looking really good. He just needs to keep growing (he's still at 3lbs 12oz as of tonight, and 14 3/4 inches, for those counting). It does look like he'll be in an open air crib sometime this week, as he's doing fine with his body temp. That will be nice for mommy when she's changing and dressing him, which can be a challenge in 'the box' with all those wires in the way.

But, as you can see below, Maw manages just fine, getting our handsome little boy all dressed as if he's about to grab his backpack and head off to school with his sisters. :)