Almost 3 months old!

I am a bad blogger but we can blame it on motherhood! Our sweet little boy was released from the hospital when he was 3 weeks old on September 16th...that day is also Mexican Independence Day, kind of fitting that Tate got his independence from wires and such that day as well! It was the longest 21 days of my life, but now he is home and healthy!

When he was released from the hospital he weighed 4 pounds 10 ounces, up a whole pound from his birth weight. At his 2 month appointment he was 8 pounds 12 ounces...the boy can sure put on the weight!! Now is most likely already a 10 pounder! He has come so far and doesn't even look like the same skinny baby we brought home from the hospital.

He is a really good baby...not a big cryer, just a bad eater! He takes a long time to eat and seems to have bad gas. He was put on soy formula a few days ago and it seems to be helping. His intolerance for milk has given me a reason to stop pumping since he never would breast feed. I am not sure still how I feel about that...but I knew with a preemie that things would probably not go as I had pictured them in my mind, starting with his early birth. He is also really pretty good at nights since he was about 6 or 7 weeks old he has slept from about 11pm-4am and then 5am-9am. I can't really complain about that! Just waiting patiently for the night that he doesn't wake up...it will come!

We are so blessed and love this little guy so much. He started smiling for real this week at 11 weeks old, 4 weeks adjusted. Our doctor has assured us not to worry about him being behind, as long as he hits milestones by his adjusted age we have nothing to worry about! It was a long 11 weeks waiting for that smile but it was totally worth it! I have realized that when he is smiling at me, I have a constant smile on my face, so much that my cheeks start to hurt! He is also making progress on holding his head up but is not quite there yet.
We are getting ready to head to Texas for our 5 week Christmas break. We fly out the day after Thanksgiving which is also the day of Zach's last test and Tate's 3 month birthday. Can you tell we can't wait to get back home?!? Tate has yet to meet my dad, or any of our siblings or extended family. The only ones he has met are my mom and Zach's parents! Needless to say, he has a large fan club waiting to pounce on him! I am pretty sure that Zach and I will be fighting to hold our own baby!!

I will try to update more often...but most likely not until we get back to Mexico at the beginning of January. So Happy Holidays...Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's! We can't wait to celebrate our first holiday season with our amazing little gift!!

First day home from the hospital!

One of my all time favs...so tiny!!

Sweet little nugget!

I also love this one...well I love all of them!

Hanging out in his preemie pjs. He grew into newborn size at about 8 weeks, he is still in newborn size now!
Tiny hands!

This is skipping ahead a bit...it takes too long to upload pictures. I will post a link to my facebook album at the end...lots of photos there!

Mommy and her sweet baby. 11/15

Facebook album click here...

Tate James Stevenson

Our precious son decided to make his debut a little earlier than expected. Tate James Stevenson was born August 26th, 2010 at 12:06a.m. via emergency c-section. He was born at 33 weeks gestation...7 weeks early. He weighed in at 3 pounds 10 ounces and was 16.5 inches long, a tiny little guy. He let us know he was going to be okay by screaming a few seconds after birth...it was the most amazing sound I have ever heard!

The background on events leading up to that night...
The week before he was born, we learned at our regular doctor's appointment that Tate had an irregular heartbeat. After a fetal ecko with a cardiologist, we knew that everything was formed correctly with his heart but something else was causing the irregularity. Our doctor and the cardiologist both assumed it had to do with his cord being twisted or having pressure on it somewhere. Our doctor then wanted to see us weekly to watch it and told us at our appointment on Wed. the 25th that we would probably have to take him early to avoid putting too much strain on his heart. I was given a steroid shot to help him mature faster and be ready for an early arrival. Zach was supposed to give me a second dose on Thursday...that didn't happen! We made our peace with that and assumed we would have another 3-4 weeks before he would come...very wrong!

That night, the 25th, I went upstairs to get ready for bed and took my phone with me. A few minutes later I called Zach because I was 99% sure my water broke. He came upstairs flustered and scared and we called our doctor on her cell phone. She said she would meet us at the hospital. I knew it was bad but did not expect Tate to be born a few hours later.

We arrived at the ER at about 10:30 and our doctor got there just before 11:00. She checked me and told us I would be having a c-section that night. That was one of the scariest things I have ever heard. I knew that 7 weeks early was not a good thing. She told me that he had to come and there was nothing we could do, but that she felt confident he would be okay.

Zach made some phone calls to some very surprised and scared parents, signed some forms, and met me in the operating room. By the time he got to me I had already been given my epidural and was in panic mode...so worried about Tate. Less than 5 minutes after Zach got to the room, I was cut open and about 10 minutes later Tate was out of me, screaming, and Zach left with him at my request. I was much calmer after hearing him scream and seeing him for a few seconds...long enough to kiss his cheek (which I have not been able to do since).

As they were getting ready to sew me up, they started taking pictures...kind of strange...then showed me one on the camera screen and explained that my uterus has a problem. Apparently it is heart shaped and that happens to less than 1% of women...it was formed that way before I was born. Due to the shape, the baby runs out of space quicker...hence the early arrival. It is something that generally can't be diagnosed unless someone physically looks at your uterus...like during an emergency c-section. I have been told that I can have more children but will have to have a surgical procedure before another pregnancy and will never be able to carry a child to full-term, but will steroid preparation during pregnancy and the surgery it is safe to try again. That is something that Zach and I will approach prayerfully in a few years. For the time being we just want our little boy home!

Since being in the NICU, Tate has impressed the doctors. That fact that he has breathed on his own since birth is very impressive for a 33 week preemie and especially impressive for a boy. He also was back over his birth weight at 5 days...another impressive move from our little fighter. The doctors were hoping for him to gain 20-25 grams daily, but the last two days he has gained 50 and then 40 grams!! Again...he is a superstar! At this rate he will be home much sooner than the month we were initially told...hopefully in another week or so.

This has been, by far, the hardest thing I have ever had to do. To leave your baby at the hospital and only be able to see him twice a day for less than an hour is heartbreaking. His progress and the love and prayers of so many have helped me so much. I am having to take medicine for high blood pressure right now...due to stress...but that will pass eventually. I am trying to be calm!! Zach has been amazing to me through all of this. He lets me cry every night and his love for Tate warms my heart. We feel so very blessed and are already more than in love with Tate. We can't wait to have him home and feel like real parents!!

Yesterday we were each able to hold Tate for the first time. I can't even put that into words...8 days of waiting was enough! Zach was also able to take a picture of him...the NICU here is very strict, which is for the best. So enjoy our first photo of little Tate...notice the dimple and mohawk, my favorite parts!! The tube in his mouth goes to his stomach and is how he is fed right now. Once he gains a bit more weight he will be able to start bottle/breast feeding. Right now they don't want him to expend that much energy to eat...baby steps for our baby.

We also have a photo of the 3 of us that was taken in the operating room, but I have not scanned it in yet. I will get around to that soon...right now it is on the fridge and is for sure not the best shot of me! Pale, crying, shaking, and generally in shock...not really a good look on anyone!

Thanks to everyone for the prayers and love...keep them coming. We hope to have Tate home in the next week or so. After that there will be many photos of his handsome face!

Lots of Stuff!

Baby stuff in Mexico leaves much to be desired. The prenatal care is fabulous...which I am sure I have mentioned...but the baby stuff, not so good. Anything good that comes from the states literally costs 3 times as much and the brands from here scream not safe to me. Needless to say during our summer break in Texas we were determined to get as much as we could and get it on the plane with us. Not exactly easy!

I had a great baby shower in College Station and we did some shopping too. So I really had to bust out my master packing skills to get it all back here...and we had to pay to check extra bags. Stupid airlines and their stupid fees!!
Here is one of the 2 stuffed bags of baby stuff...not to mention what I put in each of our suitcases. And we still left stuff for parents to bring when they come for little Tate's birth!

Oh...and my mom and grandparent's bought us this car seat and matching stroller, which I am in love with. My dad is the person designated to bring the stroller on the place...but Zach and I carried this thing empty through the airport to take advantage of the free gate check for baby items. We got asked at least 3 times to see our baby...Zach just pointed to my belly and we moved on. People probably thought we were creepers!!Now we are just waiting for this crib to come in and I will get everything put together. Can't wait!! Obviously we have our own not so pink bedding which I will post later. My dad got us this crib...normal cribs in Mexico are hard to come by, so we are very proud of our find! We also got a great video camera from Zach's parents to film our little guy. We are feeling pretty prepared stuff wise. 9 weeks to go!!

New post...coming soon new person!!

I am terrible at this thing...but hopefully I will be better in the next little while since I actually have something to blog about besides my dog. Zachary and I are having a baby!!! We are so excited and I am due on October 14th. Almost 15 weeks already!

I have been feeling pretty good...not much morning sickness, just headaches and a few weird things that I never knew came from pregnancy. Examples...swollen sore gums, which are better now thanks to my doctor, and bad vision. Hormones do some crazy stuff! Also, I don't really crave things too often, but everything I do crave CAN'T be found here!! It is really rough...let's just say I ate good over the 2 week spring break and smuggled 2 boxes of Cheez-its back in my luggage!!

Anyways, we found out Feb. 10th and didn't tell our family until we went back to Texas for spring break on March 27th. It was a long time to keep it a secret but so worth it to tell in person! Everything is normal and moving right along. Obviously we just can't wait to find out the sex! And we already know...and are almost 100% set in...names for either gender. It wasn't hard for us. We agreed quite easily and both respected each others vetos...I guess I just have a super fab husband!!

My sister is about to pop! Anytime in the next week, we will be meeting our niece Emma. Well, I will...Zach has to stay here for stupid school! I am so excited that our babies will only be about 5 months apart...they are gonna be such little buddies!!

I will try to update more often and upload our ultrasound pictures soon. P.S. We are loving the medical care here...so affordable, such great doctors, easy to get appointments (no needing to call months in advance), and we can have the baby at an amazing new hospital in a suite for such a good price I shouldn't even say!! All without insurance! Just wanting to put in a little plug for one of the things that has impressed me here.Just so this isn't a boring post without pictures. (I didn't even take out my camera once in Texas...shame on me!) This is me at 8 weeks...just to show what we were starting with. Haven't taken anymore since then cause I haven't felt that it is noticeable, much more than just a little fat! Seems to be growing more this week...so maybe I will go for a picture. And for the record...after seeing my sister grow, I am almost more worried about how big my butt is gonna get than my belly! Love you Ashley!!