We have all heard that girls mature faster than boys. However, this happens much earlier in life than most people realize.
In the world of the NICU, nurses and doctors from all over the nation know about the wimpy little white boy. For some reason, caucasian male premature infants do not do as well as little girls. Furthermore, babies of other races tend to do better than white babies (although, girls still tend to outperform boys). From what I've been told, here is the hierarchy of babies from the largest two racial groups in the US (I don't know how other races fit into this scheme):
Black girls
White girls
Black boys
White boys
So there you have it! Little girls tend to be more advanced and heartier than little boys (perhaps the sugar and spice helps in some way). Advanced, in a teeny tiny baby may seem like a foreign concept. I mean, they aren't doing calculus or running marathons. What does it mean to be more advanced, or to mature faster, as a preemie? At this point in gestation (33 weeks tomorrow), it means that our little diva will likely figure out how to coordinate her suck, swallow, breathe reflex faster than if she had a Y chromosome. This could either get her from feeding tube to eating from a bottle, or from the breast, faster, or could prevent the feeding tube entirely. Avoiding the feeding tube is a big reason why we are holding out for 34-35 weeks (as long as Gwen will allow it since she is the boss at this point).
So this is why we are glad that we are having a girl. Plus, the shoes are much cuter. :-)
In the world of the NICU, nurses and doctors from all over the nation know about the wimpy little white boy. For some reason, caucasian male premature infants do not do as well as little girls. Furthermore, babies of other races tend to do better than white babies (although, girls still tend to outperform boys). From what I've been told, here is the hierarchy of babies from the largest two racial groups in the US (I don't know how other races fit into this scheme):
Black girls
White girls
Black boys
White boys
So there you have it! Little girls tend to be more advanced and heartier than little boys (perhaps the sugar and spice helps in some way). Advanced, in a teeny tiny baby may seem like a foreign concept. I mean, they aren't doing calculus or running marathons. What does it mean to be more advanced, or to mature faster, as a preemie? At this point in gestation (33 weeks tomorrow), it means that our little diva will likely figure out how to coordinate her suck, swallow, breathe reflex faster than if she had a Y chromosome. This could either get her from feeding tube to eating from a bottle, or from the breast, faster, or could prevent the feeding tube entirely. Avoiding the feeding tube is a big reason why we are holding out for 34-35 weeks (as long as Gwen will allow it since she is the boss at this point).
So this is why we are glad that we are having a girl. Plus, the shoes are much cuter. :-)
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