July 31, 2006
Ups and Downs Wow, so much to write about: good and bad.
I'll start with the bad news we got today (not Michael related). Today we learned that Gretchen's main doctor for the past 23 years passed away last weekend. He was 64 years old and out riding his bike with his wife when he had a massive heart attack. After 23 years, he had become more than just a doctor to Gretchen, and visa versa. In these recent years he had mentioned to Gretchen that she was like a fifth daughter to him, and that he was so excited that she was going to be able to experience being a mother. Also, many years ago he had said that he wasn't going to retire until Gretchen had had a baby. We had always replied that he was going to be practicing for a long time in that case. This definitely came as a big shock and will take quite some time to process. Not just because she now needs to find a competent replacement (which he himself had said was not going to be easy, one other reason he kept working), but because of the bond that had formed over those many, growing years.
On a much happier note, Michael finished two complete bottles today. One at 12:00p and one at 6:00p. Both fed by Gretchen. He was incredibly awake for the 6:00p one, and stayed up and alert for quite some time after he finished.
He is now half a hair closer to being 7 pounds after gaining 5 grams this past day. Much lower than his usual 100+ that he had been gaining. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
I'll start with the bad news we got today (not Michael related). Today we learned that Gretchen's main doctor for the past 23 years passed away last weekend. He was 64 years old and out riding his bike with his wife when he had a massive heart attack. After 23 years, he had become more than just a doctor to Gretchen, and visa versa. In these recent years he had mentioned to Gretchen that she was like a fifth daughter to him, and that he was so excited that she was going to be able to experience being a mother. Also, many years ago he had said that he wasn't going to retire until Gretchen had had a baby. We had always replied that he was going to be practicing for a long time in that case. This definitely came as a big shock and will take quite some time to process. Not just because she now needs to find a competent replacement (which he himself had said was not going to be easy, one other reason he kept working), but because of the bond that had formed over those many, growing years.
On a much happier note, Michael finished two complete bottles today. One at 12:00p and one at 6:00p. Both fed by Gretchen. He was incredibly awake for the 6:00p one, and stayed up and alert for quite some time after he finished.
He is now half a hair closer to being 7 pounds after gaining 5 grams this past day. Much lower than his usual 100+ that he had been gaining. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
