when I started this blog five years ago, I was a pet sitter and the name animal-crackers made sense. now I'm a stay-at-home-dad and freelance writer, but rather than confuse everyone by getting a different blog, it's just easier to keep posting things here.

Dylan will be 16 weeks old soon, and next Friday was his due date. (Which, by the way is also my dad's birthday. Can we get a whoop whoop!)

After all this time in the hospital, Dylan has one final obstacle. He needs to nurse eight times per day. He's at three -- which is where he's been for a couple of weeks.

So the NICU grand-pooh-ba has taken a renewed interest. He called yesterday and asked Andrea to try nursing six times per day.

This is what her day would look like: wake up, go to hospital, stay there 15 hours, come home, sleep. Each feeding takes 60 to 90 minutes. With traffic, she'd be lucky to have a hour to herself. No point in leaving the hospital.

She tried two yesterday, and the second one went horribly. Today, she's going for three.

Keep in mind she's still the breadwinner in the family, has a needy 3-year-old son and is still less than four months removed from a trauma that took more than half her blood and required two surgeries.

Somehow an ata-girl seems weak. There should be some sort of presidential medal for this.