The Value of a Dollar

How much is one gram?

Wow, really, a dollar bill?

He gained 10 dollars!

My appreciation for the metric system blossomed in the NICU. I can't recall a time when I really needed it before, but it soon became the highlight of our day. Each night at the 8pm feed we would get to strip our little peanuts down and weigh them.

Their night nurse wheeled the scale over.

We checked last night's chart so we knew the number to beat.

We gently plopped a freshly-diapered baby on and watched the red numbers flash before settling...

Best case scenario: You gained 15 grams! Great work baby! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

That's 15 dollar bills--about half an ounce. It seems so insignificant in our English unit vernacular. But it's a heavy accomplishment for a guy who is burning precious calories learning to eat and maintain his body temperature all day.

Some days the numbers didn't change much from the night before. Those nights the nurses intercepted our disappointment with a swift "This is a different scale than the one they used last night. He will be back on track tomorrow." It was just enough consolation to keep our spirits from deflating. Those nurses sure knew all the tricks.

Fast forward to today. We just took the boys for their 8 month check up. For the very first time in their lives they made it onto the growth curves! 4th percentile!!! We couldn't be more proud.

Since their last check up? They gained 1,360 dollar bills!

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