Tatum James

Little Tatum made a visit to the eye doctor this morning.  We parked at the wrong building so it was quite a walk for Mommy & Tate without their stroller!  But we made it and the eye doctor was wonderful!  Tate had his eyes dialated and the doctor looked deep inside… and everything looked just fine.  The doctor said Tate tracks wonderfully and unless problems arise, doesn’t need to be seen until he’s 3 1/2! The best part was - none of those awful eye clamps they used when Tate was teeny tiny.  The receptionist gave Tate a way-cool pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the sun until the eye drops wore off.  He thought he was soooooo cool! 

Tate had a little field trip on Friday and got to visit Daddy at work!  It was an inservice day, so Daddy showed Tate off to all of his teacher buddies. Boy, was he proud!

Last week Tate had his 9 month check up, and of course he passed with flying colors!!!!

Here’s a few stats:

Height:  25 1/2 inches (40 percentile)

Weight: 16 lbs 10 oz (65 percentile)

Head Circumference, I forget, but it was 90 percentile!  The pediatrician warned us this would happend…. preemies heads grow first and then their bodies catch up later.  It’s fine and perfectly normal, but a lot of his little clothes won’t go over his big head!

In a month or 2 he’ll be ready to add cheerios to his food repertoire, he’s not anemic, he had his first HepB shot, and developmentally he’s doing fine as the 6 month old he would have been if he’d been born on time.

Sometime in the next couple of months it looks like Tate will be having surgery to repair his inguinal hernia (I think thats the type it is) and he also needs to make a visit to the ENT to make sure his little nose wasn’t too damaged by the CPAP. 

We’re still having sleeping issues…. the pedi said let him cry it out in his crib, although the neonatologist said no way! Don’t do that.  Tate has an awesome pediatrician, but I’m leaning towards the neonatologist on this one.  We need to do something though, because Tate is really too old to be in the bouncy seat.  So for now, every night, we are laying him down in his super-sized bassinet (made just for parents like us who can’t bear to put their kid in their own room, lol, especially since he still eats twice in the night) and one night he stayed in it for 45 minutes!  That was amazing!  Of course, the following night he only lasted 5. But with patience and persistence we will all get there. 

The lactation consultant said it was time to get Tate to start drinking out of a sippy cup and that it would take him 6 months to learn.  She suggested taking the valves out and putting just a little bit of water in the bottom and let him play.  Well, we picked up some of those Infant Take and Toss sippies with the little handles (they are valveless) - they are small and lightweight.  In 2 days he had it down pat!  What a smart kiddo!

 Chicken Dance

   Good Morning!

    You Wanna Piece of Me?

  Learning a sippy   

 Which end leaked? 

Mommy’s are Fun!

    Udderly Speechless on this one 

 A little too much rock n roll…

The other day, Tate was sitting on the floor next to Mommy when he looked right at Indiana, the kitty, and said “meow”.  Clear as day.  Then, all day, he kept saying “Gee-Ke” “Gee-Ke”  That’s great that you can talk, Tate, but please don’t call Mommy names, even if they are true. LOL.  It took Daddy to figure out that Tate wasn’t talking to Mommy, he was saying “Kitty Cat” but its hard to say a “T” unless you have teeth! 

He learned to make raspberries, and of course, sprays drool all over anyone who is holding him at the time.  He had Mommy in hysterics and in need of a shower after saying pbbbbbbbbbbbbb pbbbbbbbbbb pbbbbbbbbbbb!  Look out world, because Tate has learned to say pbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb with a mouth full of sweet potatoes!   The dining room floor will never be the same.

Sweet Potatoe Fun

Typical Boy *sigh*

Since Tate was given his freedom, life has been crazy and hectic! Mostly because we are trying to make up for almost a years worth of not really going anywhere….  if you remember, I spent 5 weeks on bedrest, then Tate spent 2 months in the hospital while I was recuperating so all we did was go to the hospital and home except for an occasional visit to church and to the grocery.  And then we spent the following 6  1/2months keeping Tate as secluded as possible so he wouldn’t get a single germ! lol.  Now he is almost 9 months and allowed to be free!!!!   It is great, but now I can’t find my way around anymore…. what is this by-pass thing we have to drive on and where did all those new homes come from?  I feel like an alien in my own neighborhood, lol. But at least we’re getting a Dunkin’ Donuts!!!!!!

We’ve taken Tate to the Grocery store, (he slept through it) Wendy’s ( he wanted to eat , too), Target (he loved it), Babies RUS(zzzzz), out to breakfast (hungry again), and church (YAY!).  Its been fun! 

Meanwhile the camera is on the fritz, the cat pooped in the bathtub and puked on the carpet, the other cat has been hanging on the curtains, the plants are starving, the laundry is knee deep and we have to eat on paper plates ’cause all of the dishes are still sitting in the sink waiting to be washed.  But none of that matters because Tate is asleep on my lap and he has the most adorable bed head I’ve ever seen. 

Now for the good stuff….. Tate says “Hay!” and “Gee” (hard G), he reaches for Mommy (that’s so cool!), loves to play the piano (his own and mommy’s), knows his name, sits up, rolls over, babbles up a storm, can watch entire episodes of Baby Einstein  without getting bored, turns the pages of his 3 favorite books, hates green vegetables, can drink from a cup (usually mommy’s), and still won’t sleep through the night.  The pediatrician is going to have a field day with us when he finds out that Tate still won’t sleep anywhere but his but his bouncey seat or Mommy.  Of course, Mommy and Daddy think their Doodle Bug is the cutest, smartest, best baby in the whole wide world and we can’t possibly be biased.  I still thank God every night for my special baby and for another day of life together.  It doesn’t get any better than this!

  You can see how exciting Easter festivities were at our house!

  Doodle Bug

Tate plays piano 

Tate and his Giraffe

Naked Baby (with digital leaf to keep away scary people )

Hooray!  Tatum has been cleared for Take-Off! 

He is FINALLY - at 8 1/2 months old- allowed to be out and about!  A few restrictions:  no visits to sick people, no handling by the general public, no touching, no second hand (or first hand!! ha) smoke, and try to avoid going to places at the most crowded times. The doctors office said its time for Tate to SLOWLY start building up his own immunities to germs.  (Daddy would like me to stress the key world SLOWLY, lol).  So if you see us tooling around town (its been ages since we’ve gone anywhere but church and the grocery store) feel free to say hi! But please no touching and please please keep your distance if you’re feeling ill.  (THANKS!)

Can’t wait to bring the little Bug to church for all to see! 

Hi all,

Dad here.  This is my second attempt to add something to Tatum’s blog.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you…. for praying, caring, and loving us all.  It is hard to believe that Tatum is more than eight months old. 

We had our first taste of real life on Wednesday.  The three of us (our family) went to church for a rehearsal for Easter week.  With the help of my mom and dad watching Tatum during practice we were able to be somewhere other than our house at the same time.  It was wonderful that we could be at church for that first place.  After almost everyone had left we walked around for a few minutes to let Tatum check out the place.  With eyes wide open and smiles he decided that he loves Bethany. 

Help from Scott and Jen M. and parents we will all be able to be at church for all of Easter.  Because of his lung issues and rsv and cold and flu season still around he is not alowed out into crowds but he will be hidden away in the church offices.  Big thanks to Ken and Steve for lending us some space.

Happy Easter!  May you know the limitless love of God and the joy of know Jesus on His Resurrection Day!

Some of you wonderful folks in Tate’s fan club (lol) know he’s been having trouble sleeping through the night (as in - he doesn’t!) and he can’t self-soothe yet.  In some cases, these are behavioral things that need to be learned.  But not in Tate’s case.

Tate had an appointment at the preemie clinic today and they couldn’t say enough wonderful things about him.  The doctor and physical therapist both said he doesn’t look like a preemie anymore!  That was really exciting.  The nurses kept pphing and aahing over him, which is always fun for him and for us.  They said he is doing great - he is developing wonderfully and his skills are right on target.  He is 8 months old, but his adjusted age (according to his due date) is 5 months.  His motor skills are in the 90th percentile for a 5 month old and in the 10th percentile for an 8 month old!   The reason he scored so low for an 8 month old - because he hates tummy time!  They said it was just fine and Mommy was just happy that he even made it on the charts for an 8 month old, ha ha.   His height and weight are just right for a 5 month old and he was breathing at 36 respirations a minute - perfect!

We told them about the sleeping/crying issues and they said that Tate’s central nervous sytem is still immature and it will just take time for him to grow so that it catches up.  Its not something he can learn, just like he can’t learn to grow his teeth in.  In other words, its not a behavioral issue, he is hard wired to wake up frequently at night and crying it out won’t help him, it will only make things worse for him.  They weren’t at all concerned that he will only sleep in his bouncy seat (or on Mommy)  - preemies like to feel confined so it feels safe to him.  They did suggest trying to get him to sleep in the packnplay surrounded with safe toys so he feels confined.  They are going to put some information together for us that may help a bit but its largely a matter of time.  I guess we have many more sleepless nights ahead but at least now we know why. 

The physical therapist gave him lots of hugs and he rewarded her with lots of Tatum smiles!  The doctor said the nicu nurses would love it if we came for a visit.  The preemie clinic will check up on him in another 6 months!

Booboos - Tate’s last synergis vaccination! 

I forgot to add that the clinic was highly impressed that Tate didn’t have to be re-hospitalized this winter and I know that’s because of all your prayers and God’s blessings.  Even though we had a few scares, he has done amazingly well for a 27 weeker!  The doctor said that although his oxygen is gone, his lungs will take months if not years to completely heal and we need to be a little extra cautious.  Pretty soon you’ll be seeing him at church! 

 

  Tate on his TUMMY!  He doesn’t enjoy tummy time, he just loves getting his picture taken more than his dislike for his belly!  

  Awwwwwwwwwwww.

Grandma Smurf and Tate playing piano and reading a good book!

I have a couple days of stories to write…

If you need a good chuckle you’ll like this one!  A couple of days ago Tate needed to have some boogies cleared out of his nose.  He absolutely despises that booger-sucking-bulb-syringe.  But it was necessary, so I put a couple of saline drops in his nose and then went ‘boogie hungting’ as we call it.  Normally, Tate screams and squirms and lets us know in no uncertain terms that he is NOT happy.  This particular time, he just laid there and looked at me curiously.  This made me quite nervous, as Tate is not usually ’still’ nor ‘quiet’.  As soon as I was done, as I was pulling the bulb syringe away from his face, Tate very calmly reached up and stuck his finger IN MY NOSE!  I guess it’s true…. an eye for an eye…. a nose for a nose…. lol.  He rewarded me with a great big happy Tate smile!

Yesterday Grandma and Grandpa Smurf came for a visit!  And they even brought presents - noisy ones, Tate’s favorite!  For Easter, they gave him a duck that sings the Chicken Dance.  It’s hilarious and Tate had to watch it sing and dance about 20 times in a row.  They also brought him his very own piano!  I was pretty impressed at the complexity of this toy - its more of a keyboard than a digital piano, lol, and plays different tempos, different songs, it has solfege, counting, colors, and different styles of music.  Tate plays the keys with quite a dramatic flair and desperately wants to put the sun that sits on the music stand in his mouth. 

Last night we noticed Tate was breathing a little fast and a little hard.  We took him to the after-hours doctor in the practice (not his regular doctor) who couldn’t see the symptoms we were talking about.  She prescribed albuterol and sent Tate home.  It was a little scary - he had some epsiodes of fast breathing again today and a little congestion, but seems alright.  It is scary not to be able to rely on the oxygen anymore to help him through this, but on the other hand, he is much bigger and stronger, (and hopefully that much healthier as far as his lungs go!).  Tate is also being pretty fussy because he has a tooth or two ready to poke through at any time.  It must be owie!  Of course, it doesn’t slow him down any…. he just keeps on playing and fusses along the way.   Tylenol helps a little bit, and he has not interest in teething rings.  Poor kiddo!  Hopefully the teething and the virus will all be over fast! 

The pediatrician also said that cold and flu is at its WORST right now…. the worst its been all winter, and the worst winter in several years.  *sigh* This means that Tate can’t come out and play just yet…. we will be making weekly calls to the doctors office to find out the cold and flu stats.

By the way…Tate now weighs 15lbs 4oz

Noisy Cups:  I can bang two cups together and put them in my mouth.  I can also pour water on myself in the bath tub.

Tickling:  I giggle and laugh while getting tickled - and even when I know its coming.  I love raspberries!

Sitting:  I can sit up alone, but mostly holding onto someone’s finger.  I have excellent posture.

Standing:  I can pull myself up with a little help - Mommy and Daddy need to get me some big boy toys so I can practice!

TummyTime:  NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Rolling over:  I can roll from front to back when I remember where to put my arms.  I have no desire to roll from back to front.  See TummyTime above.

Eating:  More please!  Usually 2 containers of stage 1 or 1 of stage 2 plus nursing!  Cereal is yucky and I will spit it out.

Sleeping:  NO NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

unless I can sleep on Mommy.  Until then I REFUSE to sleep through the night.  I am on sleeping strike.  lol.  I will outlast the Mommy!  (ha ha ha ha ha)

Toys:  I can reach for, grasp, and pass a toy from one hand to the other. 

Music:  I love to play piano and I can watch an entire Baby Einstein DVD on Daddy’s lap (25 minutes!). 

I laugh when I burp, pull the kitties’ fur when I pet them (they don’t mind), poop in multi-colors, and decorate the dining room with sweet potatoes.  I am so cute I can control your every move with my little baby grin.