The Hope of Spring
March 26th, 2009 
It’s been a long, hard winter for us. It seems that in spite of our best Germaphobe techniques, which included limiting Tate’s exposure to illness, he was sick a whole lot more than he was healthy. Since September, Tate has had 4 ear infections, 3 head colds, RSV, croup, and bronchitis, each one taking weeks for him to recover. He was a sad little boy and really only started feeling like himself a week or two ago. On the upside, although Tate needed a host of antibiotics, nebs, steroids, and a few ER and emergency clinic visits, he did not have to be hospitalized. That is a miracle all by itself! And, during Tate’s first winter we were told that if he contracted RSV it could be catastrophic. It certainly was a struggle this year but God’s hand was on Tate and he made it through. He does have determination!
He’s up to 31 inches tall and weighs in at a whopping 21 lbs 13 oz (that’s with clothes). At 20 1/2 months, Tate still has some growing room in most of his size 12 month clothes. So far, last summer’s clothes still fit great!!! He has dropped a few percentiles on the weight chart so we’re trying our best to beef him up a bit. This is quite a challenge between the egg allergy, a potential texture issue (he won’t eat meat or peanut butter- what kid doesn’t like peanut butter, lol) and general toddler finickiness. He loves his egg-free chocolate chip cookies!
Tate has quite a busy schedule-OT on Mondays, PT Tuesdays, and Speech on Thursdays. In Occupational Therapy we are working on sensory issues with a brushing technique, learning choices, motor planning, and balance. In Physical Thrapy we are working on crawling, squatting, depth perception, muscle tone, and crawling down steps, as well as a little bit of play with the other kids. Speech therapy is also working on choices, oral motor skills, oral sensory issues, repition of sounds, and spoken and sign language. Last week was the preemie clinic check up, tomorrow is the pediatric dentist, and very soon we have an appointment with a nutritionist to make sure he’s getting a good balance of foods.
Tate still doesn’t speak many words and I think that all of his illnesses have caused him to regress in a lot of areas. He does, however, sign a good amount of words-some of the most recent are story (which looks a lot like “more” ) and Jesus. The thrapist at the preemie clinic signed to him a lot and he seemed to understand her and was so happy that she spoke his language. He loves to play with her at his checkups, and we realized that she was the first person to play with him way back in the NICU. Somehow, I think that Tate remembers her.
It’s so much fun to see him learn and grow. I love that Tate cracks himself up with the silliest things, loves his Veggie Tales, and hangs onto my arm when I play piano. Sometimes it’s hard not to worry about his future when he struggles with certain things, but I know that God has a plan just for Tate. He has overcome so much already,,, I can’t wait to see what he does next!
Now that spring is creeping in, I’m hopeful that Tate will be healthy and strong, that we’ll get to play in the sun, dance in the rain, and make lots of progress.
Back to Normal
January 23rd, 2009 
Tate is better!!!! He is back to his old self…. playing, snacking, and chasing kitty-cat tails. He’s also been wanting to go to sleep earlier - and waking up earlier!!!! Tate’s wake up time has been between 4:30 and 5:30 am all week! He is ready to rock and roll, but Mommy’s still dragging at the hour of the day (Daddy does pretty good, though!).
Tate had his first OT session yesterday - and he did pretty well. No screaming like there was in PT. I think there may be a little ‘gloating’ on the OT’s part, since she is the sister of the PT, LOL. She said Tate was a lot better off than a lot of babies she sees, and she seems to have a LOT of experience working with preemies. She didn’t have all of Tate’s reports from EI yet, but she wants to do some things with deep pressure, which should be interesting. She did say that there are some things that Tate isn’t doing that he should be, like pointing and crawling down the steps. I’m just happy he didn’t scream the entire time!
A Rough Start to ‘09
January 10th, 2009Well, my tribute to 2008 didn’t come out to well since the website wouldn’t let me finish, but at least you got the idea. 
Every time I tried to hit save it undid all my changes.
Anyway, on to ‘09! Poor Tate has had a rough year already, and I hope we’re just getting the year’s bad stuff out of the way. So far, Tate has gotten 4 molars this year (2 top, 2 bottom), and is now sick with RSV. If you remember, Tate got vaccinations last year to prevent RSV, but they are so expensive that the insurance company wouldn’t pay for them a second year, and we couldn’t either. Thankfully, it is a ‘mild’ case - that just means he can be sick at home rather than in the hospital. On the upside, Tate’s now developing his OWN immunity to RSV, but on the downside, he needs regular nebulizer treatments. He is pretty terrified of the nebulizer and the medicine makes him very hyper, very munchie, and keeps him very, very awake.
Tate also had his annual developmental appointment with early intervention, and the results were confusing and disappointing. Tate needed to be more than 25% delayed to receive services and on almost everything he scored about 23% delayed (except for self-care, he is very delayed in that one). Something doesn’t seem right, though, because the test was 2 days before Tate turned 18 months, but because it was before his ‘birthday’ they scored him as a 17 month old. So it looks like if he had been scored as an 18 month old he would have been even more delayed than 25%. So we need to do a recheck somehow and see if we can get him more services. We didn’t really think Tate was that far behind, however, we’ve never had a full-term baby so how would we know what’s normal? Preemie is all we know.
Our hope is that the insurance co. will cover a full work up with a developmental pediatrician and then we can get the real scoop on things.
Tate is starting to do more signs - baby is the latest, and we are working on help (he did it today for his video) eat and drink. Our hope is to teach him that he can ask for what he needs instead of crying for them. He is very proud that he can walk backwards, wave, and boogie. He loves to play the piano and plays right along with mommy. He can even match the notes that mommy plays. (sometimes)
Did I mention Tater-tot is now officially 18 months??? Is that amazing or what? well, Tate was weighed at the doctor’s office on Friday and guess what - he finally broke 20 pounds! Well, sort of…. Tate was weighed with his diaper, onesie, and socks on so his weigh in at 20 lbs 3 ounces wasn’t completely accurate, so he probably still isn’t 20 lbs yet (some of the diapers are pretty heavy, LOL).
Tate no longer naps in his swing. He sleeps on a little toddler size futon.
Happy New Year!
January 10th, 2009And what a year 2008 was!
Need a little recap?
January - Tate went cordless! He finally came off of oxygen and started solids- rice cereal!
February-Tatum gave up his ‘fortified’ bottled milk and went completely to nursing and solids. And Tate’s best friend, Leslie, was born!
March- Finally - at the very end of March, Tate was allowed out of seclusion! He attended church on Easter weekend but hid out in the music office to avoid the crowds of sick people.
April Tate learns to say “geeke” (kitty cat) and is 16 lbs 10 oz at his 9 month checkup. He also starts learning how to use a sippy cup.
April Tate learns to say “geeke” (kitty cat) and is 16 lbs 10 oz at his 9 month checkup. He also starts learning how to use a sippy cup.
May - Tate learns to sign Mommy and Daddy and eat puffs! He visits Grammie for the first time at her 95th birthday party!
June - Tate had hearnia surgery and some bad apnea episodes earned him a stay overnight in the pediatrics unit. And his first tooth!
July Tate’s first birthday!
August Tate’s first trip to the beach, we discover he’s allergic to eggs, and he went to the Zoo for the first time (and slept through it)
September Tate walked across the room!
October Tate turns 1 year adjusted; He learns to stick his tongue out on demand and crawl.
November Tate finally sleeps through the night!
December Tate got to go to church on Christmas Eve and spend Christmas day with family!
Christmas Time Is Here
December 18th, 2008I can’t believe it’s Christmas…. (to quote Tate’s latest favorite movie, “The Toy That Saved Christmas” and I can’t believe how far Tate has come in a year. Last Christmas he was still on oxygen, still soooo fragile, still on ‘house arrest’ and since our families were sick, we spent Christmas alone, just the three of us (five if you count the cats!)
I used to spend a lot of time begging God to let Tate live - and I can’t thank God enough for answering all those desperate prayers. As a parent I think that I have gained a fuller (though still pretty meager) understanding of the incredible, unfathomable gift God gave us when He sent His precious Son to us in the form of a tiny, little child. It broke my heart when I had to leave Tate behind at the hospital, in the hands of some amazing doctors and nurses, in those early days - how could God bear it to leave His Son with the likes of us? That’s a whole lot of love.
This year, Tate is tinkering all over the place, walking like crazy, squatting (we had to work on that one), rough housing with Daddy (FLOP!), crawling up the steps (yup, had to add another baby gate) and chasing the cats everywhere. He LOVES to grab an ornament off the tree and run away like he’s got some great treasure (hey, if you consider cheap shatterproof oranments from Walmart a treasure, more power to ya!). He keeps us on our toes and constantly in stitches.
Tate’s amassing quite a little vocabulary: Momma, Dadda, Cat, Kitty Cat, SHH SHH Cat (Sushi cat), hi, hey, yeah, yum, God, Tate, and a host of things he knows but I can’t follow. He says 2 sentences: “Hi Cat” and the other day at church he went up to the front door, licked the window, and hollered “Hey, Yeah, God!” I guess we all worship in differnet ways. Tater-tot also signs Mommy, Daddy, More, All Done, occassionally drink, and we’re working on eat and today I saw him sign Help although I couldn’t figure out what he wanted help with. Who knows?
He is able to stack his rings in the right order by himself and can figure out how to nest his cups in order, too. He loves his little people - especially the sheep, his little cars and trucks, and of course his cups. He REALLY loves his kitty cats. They are very tolerant but not always appreciative of his affection. 
The other day at church Tate’s little friend Leslie, was crawling on the floor and having quite a nice time. Tater-tot walked over to her, patted her on the head, and very clearly said “CAT.” Guess Leslie has a new nickname!
It’s so much fun to see Tate learn and grow and explore. It’s also fun to see his personality began to bloom. He still is the same spunky, determined little boy from the NICU, but a whole lot healthier, stronger, and every day gets even more fun.
Nearly 17 Months and Finally some ZZZZZ’s
December 5th, 2008
What a guy! Tate is nearly 17 months old (14 months adjusted) and he is just amazing! Sometimes I just stop and watch him in awe because of how far he’s come…. God is good! I never thought I would have such a miracle.
Tate’s First Haircut (given by Mommy) on Dec. 2nd 
Every day is more and more fun, as Tate gets into more and more trouble, LOL! He spends his day chasing the kittycats, reading books, and making messes with his toys. His favorites are still the yellow ring, and blue sheep, but he also loves the little sheep from the Little People Farm and Nativity Set (thankfully, there are 3 of them!) and the yellow cookie from his cookie jar toy. We keep trying to introduce a lovey, but Tate prefers plastic.
Tate still signs: Mommy, Daddy, More, All Done, Milk, and he is learning Help, Drink, and Eat. He says a handful or words, too, but noone ever hears him but Mommy and Daddy: cat, Momma, Dadda, yeah, yum, hi, hey, and the other day he very clearly said “TATE” at the dinner table. He also tries to mimic our words a lot, which is a lot of fun.
The biggest news of all - Tate is sleeping through the night! For about 10 days now, Tate has been sleeping for 7 to 8, and maybe even 9 hours at night. AND he sleeps on the bed between us, and not in our arms. The first night, Mommy didn’t sleep at all, and the second night she just slept a little. By the third night it was old hat! Now Mommy feels 20 years younger after getting a few good nights of sleep! Of course, Tatum takes up most of the bed and Mommy and Daddy are falling off of each side, but who cares? We’re all asleep!
Of course, the sleeping at night means not so much sleeping during the day - Tate is down to 1 one hour or so nap a day. Not a lot of time for Momma to get stuff done. And today Tater-tot just about got himself out of his packnplay….now what?
Tate’s doing really well overall, and amazingly well for a 27 weeker. I am very grateful! That said, he had his 6 month pt eval today, and he tested at just 12 months for gross motor skills. The physical therapist said he also tends to be very rigid, which isn’t a good thing. So we still have things to work on…. Tate also has a very quick “cry switch” - he gets upset very easily, but thankfully he calms back down pretty easily, too. It’s probably a sign that his central nervous system is still immature. And of course, no daycare or nursery yet as we still have to be careful of germs, especially during cold and flu season. Tate is growing and the doctor is pleased with his growth, but he is sooo tiny! At 17 months, he’s not even 20 pounds and still wearing a lot of 6 to 9 month old clothes. The only thing big about Tate is his head and his feet! Tate’s 9 month old buddies are starting to surpass him in size…. but what he lacks in height, Tate certainly makes up for in personality and charm. We are so blessed!
Tate’s Latest Tricks
October 28th, 2008
It seems like Tate does something new every day, and it’s so much fun to watch him learn and explore. It’s amazing to see the world through his eyes, and experience the joy of everything he loves, from his “blue sheep” puzzle piece, to his yellow plastic ring, and especially his books. He loves his books!!! He will pull all the books off of the bookshelf, find the one he wants, and then run to our laps to read it. It’s wonderful!
Tate and His yellow ring and blue sheep
Tate finally learned to crawl!!! It is still very difficult for him and very tiring, but he can do it. We try to encourage him to crawl so that he gains the upper body strength that he needs, but Tate would still prefer to walk. He walks and he walks and he walks! The physical therapist started teaching Tate how to crawl up the steps… he is starting to get the idea, but isn’t strong enough to master it on his own yet. And besides, he would much rather WALK up the steps, lol. We let him walk around in public places and people are amazed that such a tiny kid can walk. They are always surprised that he is 15 months old, especially because he still wears 6 to 9 month clothes!
Tate- theres a cup on your head!
A few other fun things that Tate is up to: sticking out his tongue on command, starting to try to stack his cups, putting the “cookies” in his toy cookie jar, and he is able to put his little toy animals in their proper places in the barn and shut the gates for each one. Pretty clever!
Not sure what’s going on here, but they look guilty to me!
He says “Mommy” “geeka” (kittycat) “yum” “hey” and “Hi” and he will attempt to repeat the words “thank you” and “good job” (he hears that one A LOT). And he still signs Mommy, Daddy, Milk, More, and All Done. Not a bad vocab for a little peanut!
Tate and his Geeka
Tate loves to walk over to the french door and look outside and he loves to watch it rain. He loves to be around people, and he really loves his mommy and daddy. What a treat that is!
Awwwww.
Did I Tell You Tate Had Another Birthday?
October 14th, 2008Last week was Tate’s “should have been” birthday…. so if he was born when he “shouldabeen” he would now be 1 year old!
Tate had his 15 month checkup yesterday. He weighed in at a whopping 19 1/2 lbs and 28 1/2 inches tall, which puts him in the 10 % for both height and weight for a 12 month old! What a little peanut. He still fits in mostly 6 to 9 month clothes except that a lot of them won’t go over his large head (which is just right for a preemie!) Next month he will start his synagis shots.
He did just fine at the allergists - they did several tests to see if he would react to the flu shot and the first was negative and the second was a very mild reaction. Then they gave him a tiny dose and watched for half an hour, and since he did fine they gave him the rest of the dose. He will need a booster in a month but that should be no problem.
Tate is having a blast walking and babbling and making lots of messes! He still is up in the night to eat a few times, but his nighttime hours have extended a bit and that helps the family sleep deficet a lot!
Tate’s first hayride with his cousins
Our little virtuoso
Hammin’ it up.
Daddy, please change my diaper….
Tate’s First Shiner, and other Toddler Stuff
October 7th, 2008What a week it’s been for Tate….
Tate’s Chair
Friday a week ago, Tate was perfectly fine all day. When we went to change his diaper for the last time before bed, we discovered an infection that wasn’t there at the last diaper change. It was pretty yucky looking, so we called the pediatrician helpline and they sent us to the ER “just in case”. We got there around 11, and came home around 4 am. UGH. Basically, the ER docs said “it happens” and gave us a prescription cream which took care of the problem. Tate was kind of uncomfortable the next day, and we were all exhausted from being up all night so we took it easy and stayed close to home. The ER doctor that mostly took care of Tate had a cold - and guess what…. 2 days later, Tate had it. (2 days after that, Mommy got it!!!)
I suppose this wouldn’t be a big deal to a typical toddler, but for us, it was huge!!! The big deal was that Tate got sick, but not soooo sick that we had to rush him to the ER or even the doctor’s office. He didn’t even need nebulizer treatments - that is amazing!!! I’m actually teary-eye with relief because the last time he had a head cold we had to call 911. Of course, the doctors still want us to keep him away from sick people as much as possible and we’ll be bringing back the hand sanitizer, too. (If you’re sick, please stay away!!!)
In spite of being sick, Tate figured out that he can walk around all on his own! He’s been taking off and toddling all over the place, and of course, falling down a lot. Friday night Tate took off after the kitty-cat (or Gee-ka as he calls her) with Mommy right behind. Sushi the cat decided Tate was getting a little close for comfort, and took off up the stairs. Tate changed direction midstep to try to follow her, and crashed head first in the side of the stairs. We grabbed the ice, the tylenol, and got Tate calmed down (with the help of some Gerber snacks, of course) and he had a nice bruise on his forehead - a straightline from his eyebrow to his hairline from the trim on the steps. Ouchie! We debated another trip to the ER, but he seemed just fine so we just kept an eye on him instead.
The bruise on his head faded surprisingly fast, and I couldn’t figure out why, until Monday morning - all that old blood oozed from his forehead down into his eye area, and voila - Tate got his first shiner!!! Really it just looks like someone scribbled on him with a green marker, but the little guy seems none the worse for wear. And I’m sure it’s just the first of many….
This afternoon Tate has his appointment with the allergist to have a test to see if he can have the flu shot.
Tate dumped a bag of yogurt melts so he could eat them off the floor… the cat thought she might like some, too….
Oh, and I forgot to mention - Tate finally crawled!!!! He wanted his sippy cup and no one one was looking, so he crawled over and got it. And he can pull up “when he wants too.” Funny - in the NICU the nurses and doctors would comment on how active and strong-willed he was. Somethings just don’t change!!! LOL.
