100 Days of Max

It's hard to believe that Max shouldn't even be here yet. I was reminded today, by a silly little email that I get every week, that Max should still be inside me. I've kept receiving them each week, even after my early delivery, because I wanted to. It serves as a reminder to me, that everything happening to Max, should be happening inside my body, instead, he's doing it all on the outside, the hard way.

It's been amazing for Troy and I to read each week, and to compare it to what's actually happening with our baby. Here's what it said for this week. Week 39:

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

In reality, our Max is 8 lbs. He's more than 21 inches long, and his skin is pink and soft and squishy and wonderful now.

Today, we're celebrating 100 days of Max. It's hard to remember life before these 100 days in the NICU and sometimes, it's hard to imagine what life will be like after he leaves and comes home. But when I think that I wasn't due until this coming Friday, July 30, I realize what a miracle it is that we have Max with us. And how grateful I am for every moment of every one of these 100 days that I've been able to spend with him.