Tate's cuteness

It's about time I record some of the things Tate does/says these days for posterity so here goes.

• Just started saying "no mama" 
• Able to answer questions about his day. Ex: Did you play outside? Did you have a fun day? Did you drink milk this morning with daddy?
• Indicates when hungry by saying "I hunnry"
• Likes to play hide and seek (just started this week) and will say "um on, seek" (come on, seek). Actually understands the concept of both hiding and seeking
• Speaking in 2-3 word phrases consistently "I got it, I get it, no mama, come on, etc"
• Fav foods: Blueberries ("bewwy"), blackberries, bananas ("appums"), apple slices (also appum), squeezable fruit pouches, pasta ("patta"), pickles ("peekoh"), pizza, sprite ("pite"), and milk "meeohk")
• Drinks milk from sippy cup and all other liquids from straw. Just starting to work on open cup
• Still hates getting diaper changed and getting dressed
• Can put arms in shirt once his head is in
• Sometimes says "I poop" when he needs changed
• You love mama, daddy, geemaw, paw paw, todd, gamma fanny and geepa tarlie
• Can identify dogs by name and love to fill their food bowls and give them treats
• Favorite bedtime book (this week) is Corduroy
• Trying to climb everywhere, but still have some difficulty
• Obsessed with vacuuming
• Favorite show is still Caillou. We're planning a Caillou theme for your 2nd birthday party
• You are the funniest, cutest little boy we've ever seen. Everyone loves you (family members, strangers in stores, waitresses, etc). 

Water play

I think my child is a fish! He LOVES the water and being outside. I think he would live outside if we'd let him. We've had several days of playing in the hose and the sprinkler. Here's a photo overview of our time.

My big boy

With baby #2 on the way and Tate kicking me all night long, I finally made the decision to move him to a big boy bed in his own room. I can't even tell you how many times I changed my mind about what to do about his sleeping issues. AJ and I talked about moving Tate to his bed and letting him sleep with daddy and that was the plan for awhile. But, in the end, I finally bit the bullet and decided he'd be better off learning to self soothe and sleep alone. AJ and I bought a twin mattress about 2 weeks ago and were all set to start Tate in his new bed on Sunday night, but my dad came to stay for 2 nights so we postponed until Tuesday night. 

Let me tell ya, I was super sad to have 2 more nights with my sweet boy- NOT! I loved every minute of it! Thanks dad for giving me 2 more nights!!! 

So, Tuesday, we started in the big bed. His mattress is just on the floor in the nursery (which has never been used- ever). That way he won't fall out since he's always slept with an adult. We're waiting to find out the sex of the baby to see what we will do with the nursery. If it's another boy, we'll do bunk beds eventually. If it's a girl, well, we haven't gotten that far yet. Tate's crib turns into a full size bed so we'll just figure that out later I guess. 

Tate has done FABULOUSLY sleeping in his own bed in his own room. He slept on his own from about 8-12  Tuesday and then I ended up sleeping on his floor and ended up in his bed at some point. Wednesday night, AJ got up with him and was able to just find his binky and pat his back and Tate went right back to sleep. He only woke a few times Wed. Thursday and  Friday were very similar- I laid with him until he fell asleep and ended up falling asleep in his bed until about 10:30 pm. He only woke up twice each night and was easily put back to sleep. 

Saturday night (last night) I did have to stay with him for a few more minutes when he woke up around 4 and then I had a visitor at 5:40. I heard a little voice and looked over and he was heading for my bed. He walked right up to my face and said "Mama". I pulled him into bed, he cuddled up, and went back to sleep til 6. So sweet! He and I napped together Saturday morning in daddy's bed and then he napped in his bed Saturday afternoon. Today, he napped in his bed again and came walking out when he woke up. 

At the end of our co-sleeping time, Tate was waking up ALL night long screaming, rolling, kicking me, etc. That was really the final straw in co-sleeping. We did it originally so that we could all get some sleep. Since that was no longer the case, it was time for him to move. I honestly expected this process to be absolute hell for about 2 weeks with us taking turns comforting him every 5 minutes. I have been pleasantly SHOCKED at how well he's done. Guess he was just ready. Good job baby!!! I'm so proud of you!

While Tate has done fabulously, I have had a SUPER hard time with this. Part of it is pregnancy hormones and part of it is not being properly medicated (due to being pregnant), but it has been horrible for me. I spent  last Saturday night (what I thought was my last night sleeping with him) crying hysterically for hours. This was repeated Tuesday night when I was in my bed all alone for the first time in almost 2 years. My sweet baby boy is growing up and this Mama is having a VERY hard time accepting that. I just love him so much that it's hard to let go of each little stage. I'm coping much better now and cherish the cuddle time putting him to sleep and the occasional nap we sneak together. :)

The plan for Baby #2 is to have baby in the co-sleeper next to my bed until he/she gets too big. Then, baby will move into the crib in the nursery with big brother. No more co-sleeping for this mama. :( The goal is to get AJ and I back to sharing a bed- he needs a sleep apnea study first (that snoring makes me want to punch him!). As the kiddos get older, we'll figure out the next sleeping transition. 

I'll leave you with the very last pic I have of Tatey in my bed

Tate's birth story

Being pregnant this time around has made me think a lot about my pregnancy with Tate and his birth. The story of his birth is not written down anywhere so I figured it's about time to do that! 

I guess we'll start at the beginning. We found out we were pregnant on Saturday morning, Dec. 19, 2009 (wow that's a long time ago!). We were in total shock the whole weekend. I called my best friend, Ashley, and told her, but we decided to wait to tell our families until after Christmas. The morning sickness started almost immediately and it was kinda rough trying to hide that through Christmas at 2 houses. 

Pregnancy was not particularly fun, but let's focus on the positives. When I went for my dating ultrasound I thought I was 8 weeks 4 days along, but turns out I was 11 weeks. Fast forward a LONG time. Despite my best efforts to have him a week early, Tate hung on until his due date. Now for the actual birth story.

On the morning of August 10, 2010, I went to the OBGYN and begged to be induced. The doctor said that the hospital was too full and they weren't allowing inductions that day. I was devastated! She offered to strip my membranes and see if that would send me into labor on my own, but that it would only work if I was really ready. I agreed and that was a pretty painful procedure- let's just say she kinda has man hands and is not exactly a gentle person. That appointment was at 8 or 8:30 am. 

By 9:30 am, I was in labor. I had back labor and after several false alarms, I was determined to stay at home until I was absolutely positive that this was the real deal. Well, around noon, AJ finally convinced me it was time to go to the hospital and have a baby. I had thrown up and the contractions were so painful that I was on my hands and knees with AJ rubbing my back through each one. So, we grabbed some pillows and my bag, called my mom, and headed out. 

When we arrived at the hospital I sat in the lobby while AJ went to the bathroom and then we headed to labor and delivery. It's a secure area, so you have to pick up a phone and call the L&D front desk and then they buzz you in. On previous (false alarm) trips, we always had to call and explain why we were there. This time, we had our bags and pillows and I was leaning on the wall moaning. They have a camera and watch the entrance and they buzzed us in before we even picked up the phone. That made me chuckle. I spent a while in the triage area to make sure I was really in labor- I just laid in the bed and moaned the whole time while AJ answered questions. 

At some point, they finally moved me into my room and a bit later my mom arrived. From 9:30-5:30 is really hazy because I was so focused on dealing with the contractions. At 5:30 pm, I finally received my epidural- HALLELUJAH! That was the best decision ever. Things were much better after that and I was able to talk to my mom and then my dad and brother when they arrived. 

I think I started pushing around 10:30 pm (again, I was a little busy!). The whole pregnancy I was so scared of labor. I seriously have like a negative pain tolerance and I wasn't sure how the heck I was going to do this, but I was prepared for the absolute worst pain I could imagine and it really wasn't THAT bad. Don't get me wrong, it certainly wasn't fun, but the epidural held and I knew that baby wasn't coming out unless I did the work. I threw up the whole time I was pushing so that was interesting. 

Then, FINALLY, at 1:13 am on Wed 8/11/10 (his due date), by beautiful baby boy came into the world. He weighed 9 lbs 14 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. He was so perfect! 

My mom slept at the hospital with me and held him that whole first night (well, I guess it was only a few hours by the time we were all settled in). He was breathing really fast and she had to pat him the whole night to keep his breathing regular. His rapid breathing was labeled as TTN (transient tachypnia of the newborn) which basically just means that he had a rough transition to the real world. Tate was admitted to the Level 2 nursery Wed around lunch (for the breathing and then not digesting his food) and stayed there until Saturday when he was finally able to come room in with me. I was SO lucky that I got to stay at the hospital with him the whole time and my mom was able to stay as well. We came home on Sunday (I think) and started adjusting to life with a newborn.