No need to wake Tate to eat....

Josh and I talked this weekend and decided that since Tate has shown that he is growing well, we'd try to let him set his own feeding schedule (mostly because we thought Tate was ready for it, but partly because waking him up every three hours around the clock was getting old fast). We've been doing that for the past few nights and have thoroughly enjoyed getting four or five hours of sleep in one stretch! The test of whether our method was working was Tate's weigh in with the public health nurse (Terri) today. I can't remember if Josh explained why she comes to our house to check on Tate, but she's from a program (can't remember the name) that follows kids with special needs to ensure that they're growing adequately and meeting their developmental milestones. Anyway, the big news is that Tate gained another 9 ounces since last week- today's weight was 7 lbs. 3.5 ozs. Way to go Tate!

Tate and I have been enjoying our days at home. I try to get up and help get Avery ready for daycare around 6:45 and then Josh drops her off on his way to school. After they're off, Tate and I sneak back to bed until his next feeding. It feels strange being able to do that, but I figure if I only get a month of maternity leave I better enjoy every second of it! We still can't bring him out in public, so he and I just hang out at home until Josh and Avery get home after school. It's kind of nice being able to just enjoy him for a few hours each day rather than trying to balance his needs with chasing after Avery. I love her to death, but she's one busy little girl!

Speaking of Avery, she's still doing well with Tate. We have to watch to make sure she doesn't lay on top of him when she hugs him, but other than that she does great. The second she walks in the door from daycare she rushes over to him and wants to give him hugs and kisses (after hand sanitizing, of course :) Uncle Jeff and his girlfriend Terese were in town this weekend. Avery enjoyed playing with them and getting some extra attention.

My weekend at home with both kids (Josh was at work) went well. I realized rather quickly though, that I was not going to get anything done other than taking care of the two of them. We woke up at 9:30 on Saturday morning and after feeding Tate, changing diapers, etc., breakfast didn't hit the table until 11:00. I considered finding time to shower before Josh got home at 4:30 a major victory!

I think that's all I have for now. When life consists of feeding a baby, sleeping, and rarely leaving the house there's not much to write about. Don't get me wrong though, I'm loving every minute of it. How could I not when I get to spend my days with my sweet little boy?

Now I have time

Well, not really. I should be working, but it's a little slow at Scheel's Home & Hardware (great deals, great prices - shameless plug). I guess that's the way it goes after Christmas. Oh, and it is my first day back at my part-time job. I can't wait to hear how Liz's day is after having both kids by herself for the first extended period. She's a great mom, so she'll do well, no doubt.

Since I'm at work, I can't add any new pics, but I'll try to make sure that I add some more this weekend. We have some new great ones, as Avery has mostly recovered from her cold and had the opportunity to hold him again. Also, Uncle Jeff and Terese are in town this weekend, so we have some good pictures of him holding his new nephew for the first time!

Overall, things are going well. Avery was reluctant to head back to daycare on Tuesday morning, but once she got there she had fun. I know she missed playing with her best friends at daycare - Olivia, Evan, and Emma. Olivia, Evan, and Avery are all the same age, and then Emma is a year or two older. They are typically all we hear about during a normal evening after spending the day at Jo's.

Tate is doing well. He's still growing and getting stronger. We had our first meeting with Early Intervention Services yesterday. It is through the Moorhead School District and will be a great program for him as he grows and develops during the first five years of his life! We are excited to begin working with them!

Well, I hate to cut this short, but I do have to work now. I know that I had more to write again, but I can't think of it at this time. Sorry if this entry is short and choppy, but that's the way my mind is working right now!

Tate the Brute!

Well, our young lad is growing well. The lady from public health stopped by on Wednesday to measure him and see how he is doing. He weighed in at a robust 6 lbs, 10.6 ozs. For those of you keeping track, that was an increase of 7.6 ozs from his 2 week appointment last Friday. Considering that the doctor wanted him to gain an ounce a day, and he gained 1.5/day, we were very pleased.

In addition to putting on some weight, he has also grown lengthwise. He measured in at 20 1/2 inches, which is 1 1/4 inches longer than when he was born. His head has also gained an inch in circumference. Needless to say, we were pleased with his progress. She'll be back on Monday to measure him again. Hopefully we can try to start letting him determine his feedings, rather than us telling him to eat at regular intervals!

That's about it for now. Time is short. If I'm not too tired tonight, I might try to add more!

It's been almost a week...

... since our last update. I swear, we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. We've just been enjoying our family time the last five days, which includes resting (this is Tate sleeping on the couch. We swear, we don't cover him up like that. His hats get a little big and fall down over his face as he turns in his sleep. It's kind of funny). It has been awesome being at home just the four of us, with the occasional visitor. Reality hits tomorrow when I have to go back to being a productive member of society. It's hard to believe that the last time I taught in my classroom was two weeks ago today, Feb. 4th. After that it was six days of subs, a couple of evening of conferences, and then five days off. I've gotten used to sleeping in (relatively speaking) after being up for the nighttime feedings. Now I'll have to actually get up and get ready for the day like the rest of the world.

Enough about that, though, because I don't think most of you read this to hear about my days. Instead, everyone wants to know how the rest of the family is doing. I'll try to keep the post limited to the most exciting events since my last entry, but it probably will be a much less exciting read.

For starters, last Thursday was Valentine's Day, for those of you who were unaware. We told Avery it was Valentine's Day, and for the rest of the day she said, "Pretty soon we're going to go to Happy Valentine's Day!" She didn't get that it was just a day, not a "special place" that we were going to go. Grandma Jane stopped by to drop off presents for both kids, and one for us as well. The rest of the day was relaxing, as it was the first "real" day we had at home with just the four of us. Our Valentine's evening consisted of having a picnic on the living room floor while eating food from Bennigan's (our gift from Jane).

Friday was action-packed, as we had to be at the clinic by 11:30 for Tate's 2-week appointment. Thank goodness the appointment wasn't any earlier in the day. No joke, it took us just over 2 hours to get the four of us ready to leave the house. Granted, we probably could have gotten up sooner, but with all the nighttime feeding, who wants to set an alarm? In any case, we were still awake by 8:45 and left the house just after 11. We're going to have to work on our efficiancy, as I don't think we'll always have the luxury of having 2+ hours to get ready. I can only imagine what kind of a disaster a 9 am appointment would have been.

The appointment went well, for the most part. Tate was up to 6 lbs, 3 ozs, which was great to see that he was still gaining weight. Everything else checked out well, which is always a relief. We weren't thrilled with the pediatrician, though, so she probably won't be our "normal" pediatrician. She was actually our third choice, but our first two were out of town for a couple of weeks. She was nice enough, but seemed a little out of touch. She wanted to know how Liz and I were handling things, and that was fine to ask. But then she said that she knows it's probably tough on us because, "No one wants a Downs kid." I thought to myself, "No one wants a Downs kid? Did our highly educated, supposedly kid friendly pediatrician, just say, 'No one wants a Downs kid.' Isn't that a slightly insensitive remark?"

First off, I'll be the first to admit that I never imagined I would have a child that wasn't "typical". But to say that we didn't want a "Downs kid" is just stupid. Why couldn't she have just said something like, "I know that you probably didn't expect to have a child with Down Syndrome?" That would have been a much better way of putting it. In any case, we didn't care for her attitude, and won't be visiting her again.

While I'm on the topic of being insensitive, I want to vent a little. Liz and I appreciate all the support that we have received in the last two weeks, especially from our family, friends, and co-workers. However, if you are talking to us, please don't say, "I'm/We're sorry." We understand that hearing that Tate has Downs is unique, and that people probably just don't know what to say. "Congrats!" works best, and leave it at that. Nobody has to feel sorry, because nobody is at fault. Don't feel sorry for us, because we don't feel sorry for ourselves. While it isn't what either of us envisioned for our family, we wouldn't change it if we could, and we don't feel sorry for ourselves. Instead, we feel blessed. We are blessed to have two beautiful gifts from God, blessed to be healthy, happy, and well loved. We are blessed with wonderful family and friends. The following link says it best, and I would recommend everyone who reads this to visit. The web address is http://www.ndsccenter.org/resources/package1.php

Enough of that, thanks for understanding my need to vent. The rest of the weekend has been great. Other than running errands quickly on Saturday, we haven't gone outside, even though it made it into the 20's and 30's outside. It has been awesome. Tate is eating well, at least from the bottle, and staying awake more. He's even had some tummy time, which was a blast, as you can see. We keep hearing that children with Downs have weaker muscles than typical children, but it's hard to believe. He seems very strong.

Avery is doing well. She has had a cough most of the time, so it has been tough to try and keep her away from Tate. She's gotten really good at covering her mouth. And speaking of her mouth, it is still moving nonstop. The only time she isn't talking is when she is sleeping or coughing. Otherwise it doesn't stop. I swear, she must say a million words a day. She definitely has a future in some career that involves a lot of talking. She and I have also been playing "house" a lot during this break, which has been a lot of fun. Liz will play too, if she isn't nursing, pumping, or napping. Together, we have had a blast being able to play together as a family the last five days. It will be a big change for Avery tomorrow when she heads back to daycare.

Well, that's probably enough for now. I have probably said enough, or too much (no wonder Ave talks so much). Until next time...

Where did Tate Robert come from?

I know what you're thinking - he's a teacher, she's a doctor, and they feel the need to explain about "the birds and the bees."  Well, I hate to disappoint, but that is not what this post will be about, even if the title suggests it.  Hopefully, everyone reading this will have already had "the birds and the bees" talk, either in 4th/5th grade Health, or at home with a parent/guardian.  Instead, this post will be about the origins of Tate Robert's names, as we've both had a number of people ask.

The first thing we hear is, "Tate, what an awesome name!  Where ever did you come up with such a kick a** name?"  Well, it's a name that we've liked since before Avery was born.  I'm not sure exactly where we first heard it, or if we just stumbled across it in a baby name book.  I know we love that it is a short, strong name that will work well in childhood, and as he grows into an adult.  Additionally, it doesn't seem to be an overly popular name.  The only Tate we know of is Tate Donovan (sp?), the actor that dated Jennifer Anniston prior to Brad Pitt.  Otherwise, it doesn't seem to be overused, which is great because it means that he probably will be the only Tate in his class.

Tate's middle name, Robert, is in memory/honor of my dad.  As I'm sure everyone who reads this knows, my dad, Andre' Robert St. Louis, passed away last October after losing his battle with cancer.  We miss him deeply, and figured that the least we could do is name our second child after him.  It means a lot to us, and we think that Tate Robert will make my dad proud, and do the very best job of living up to such a great name.  We actually had chosen a middle name long before deciding on a first name.

St. Louis as a last name is unique, to say the least, but was the easiest name to give.  We based our decision to use St. Louis on a couple of factors:  First, it's a rather large city in Missouri, I've driven through it twice, and it seemed like a nice enough place, so why not use it as a name?  Second, it's great for screening calls, because most telemarketers have it listed as "Stlouis."  When they call, they say it like any other word that starts with "st", rather than saying "saint".  Third, and probably the biggest reason we gave Tate the last name St. Louis, is that it is our last name.  We thought it might be a little weird, and potentially awkward, if we gave him a last name that was different than either of ours.

So there it is in a nutshell.  The origin of the name Tate Robert St. Louis.  And probably the only entry in the history of posts that mentions both "the birds and the bees" and Jennifer Aniston.

It's official

Dr. Clutter, the pediatrician that visited the day Tate was born and gave us the "90 - 95 % certain" verdict called today. The chromosome mapping results came back and Tate has a "loose chromosome" attached to the 21st pair, which is Down Syndrome. We had been expecting to hear this, so it wasn't a shock. Actually, more than anything it was a relief, because there isn't any uncertainty regarding the situation. We also found out that it is the common form, so it is not likely to happen again, if we decide to have any more kids. He said that we will probably want to have some genetic testing done on us, just to be sure, though. It was good to hear from him, and we can now make sure we are focused on finding appropriate care for any needs that Tate might have, both now and in the future.

In related news, we went to the clinic yesterday to see how he was eating. They watched Tate for a feeding and said he is doing well. Liz needs to continue nursing and pumping, and after he nurses I typically will feed him about 50 mL of milk (1 2/3 ozs.) They also weighed him and he came in at a hefty 2.742 kg (6 lbs). This was great news because he was slightly heavier than his birth weight, which is great for being only 6 days old.

Additionally, it appears that the jaundice is clearing up. He was still looking like a summer squash yesterday with his yellow coloring, but that is not the case today. Tate is looking as handsome as ever, as you can tell from the picture!

The only downer right now is that Avery, who was coughing yesterday, woke up with a fever today. We are trying to make sure she is staying away from Tate, because she loves her little brother and wants to be around him a lot. Hopefully it's just a 24 hour thing and she'll be better tomorrow.

I think that's all I have for today. If I think of anything else, you know I'll add it.

Busy, busy, busy

I used to think that I was busy with just Avery, but now that Tate has arrived, I realize that "busy" is a relative term. I apologize that the last 2 posts have been short, but I just haven't had the time to write previously. Now, however, my mom is in town for the next couple of days, and with Avery and Tate both sleeping, I have a little bit of time.

For starters, we are at home and everything is going well. We've started to get into a routine at feeding time, which really helps a ton. The only trick is making sure that Avery has something to do to keep occupied during those 45 minute time periods, because otherwise she gets into "trouble". Once she is in bed for the night, it becomes much easier as well.

As for Tate's health, things seem to be going well so far. He still appears to have a little bit of a yellowish tint from the jaundice, but I guess the bilirubin levels are supposed to peek between days 4 - 6, and we are at day 5. Yes, bilirubin does sound like a made up word, but I guess its true. The lights that I mentioned the other day were called bililights (that is the picture above). He was under those (save for feedings) from 10 am Thursday until 7 am Friday, which seemed like a long time. Plus, he had to wear these foam "goggles" that kept the light out of his eyes. That was a hassle to keep on him, something which caused us much worry as the doctor said looking at the light could burn his retinas. Needless to say, we were worn out, and by the end of Friday we were just glad to get home. In any case, they said that as long as he is eating well and going to the bathroom regularly, the jaundice should clear up. We should know more tomorrow when we visit with a feeding specialist at the hospital.

As for his heart, the echo revealed that he has only one enlarged valve, we isn't out of the ordinary. Thankfully, there are no holes in his heart, and all of his arteries and veins are in the correct position. That was good to hear, because otherwise it probably would have meant some kind of heart surgery. We haven't heard about the chromosome mapping yet, (we didn't expect to by this point) but will probably know for sure when we attend his first checkup this Friday afternoon. We're pretty sure we know what the results will be, but it will be nice to have a definitive answer. We're grateful to live in an area where he will have many opportunities to receive any assistance that he/we might need.

Overall, we're very blessed with two wonderful gifts from God! The miracle of life continues to amaze us! We're also thankful for all the support we have from friends, family, and co-workers. Thank you all!

Well, it is way past my bedtime (at 10 pm; in college, 10 pm was either time to begin studying for the night, or time to go out with friends). More to come as we have time!

We made it home, finally!

After much delay, we finally made it home yesterday about 4:20 pm. Avery finally got to meet Tate, and boy was she excited. This picture was taken yesterday, and was the first time that she got to hold "Tate, Tate, bo bate, banana fanna fo fate" (That's her favorite thing to do right now). Anyway, I'll update later today the whole story when I'm not busy with both of the kids!

Update!

Well, we were supposed to come home today, but Tate has jaundice. To help correct that, he has been under the lights (I forget exactly what they're called) since about 10 am this morning. It appears to be working, but he has to spend the night at the hospital tonight. We'll be there with him, and hopefully we should be able to come home tomorrow. Once we really get home, then we'll update further. Ave and I our going to have some father/daughter time tonight, which will be nice. I'm taking her to get a flu shot (yippee), as were all advised to have one to reduce the risk of Tate getting something. Afterwards we'll go to gymnastics class.

Thanks to everyone who has visited the site!

Surprise!!! Tate Robert St. Louis

Well, Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 was a day full of surprises. For starters, Liz had been having contractions on and off through the night, as she previously posted. We debated whether or not I should head to work, but ultimately decided I should because she would probably be okay. By 7:30 she was calling me to tell me that contractions were occuring 8-11 minutes apart and that she wanted me home.

With the help of my wonderful secretaries at school I was able to secure a sub last minute, which allowed me to leave and head home. It wasn't long before the contractions were about 6 minutes apart, at which time I dropped Avery off at our friend Alissa's house so that Avery could play with her friends Marcus and Mallory, and I could concentrate on helping Liz to the best of my abilities.

By 11:20 we were calling Innovis because contractions were 5 minutes apart. They suggested resting in the tub, in hopes that it might slow them down. I filled the tub, but was informed shortly thereafter by the mother-to-be that there would be no tub sitting. We grabbed our bags and left the house by 11:50 to head to the hospital. We called on the way, and again they suggested the tub, but I told them it wasn't happening, that we were already on route, and they could expect to see us shortly.

Sure enough our second surprise came not long after we arrived. We got to the hospital about 12:15 pm, and by the time they got around to examing Liz, she was already dilated 8 cm. They quickly moved us to a proper room and alerted the on-call midwife. He walked into the room at 1:05 and after 2 pushes from Liz was holding our new baby. After laboring with Avery for 56 hours, Liz was pleasantly surprised, and relieved, at how quick our second came.

The third surprise was that our new child was actually a boy!! Tate Robert was born at 1:13 pm weighing 6 lbs, and measuring 19 1/4" in length. Liz said she had an idea that it was a boy, but she felt the same while she was pregnant with Avery. I assumed it was going to be another girl. I've always assumed I would have all girls, because I think I'm easy-going and would be able to handle all of the estrogen flowing through the house. Overall, we were both pleasantly surprised and excited!

Our fourth surprise came about a half an hour later. The midwife stopped back and informed us Tate probably has Down Syndrome, based on physical observations. Obviously we were a little stunned, as we wouldn't have guessed. The pediatrician came to the room around 6 pm and said he is 90 - 95% certain, but wanted to order an Echo on his heart, and a chromosome mapping do get a definitive answer. We should know within a week to ten days. Whatever is His will, we've accepted and are excited!

Overall, Liz and Tate our in good health and spirits! We should be leaving the hospital tomorrow, and will do our best to keep this updated!

38 week appt today

Okay, so I haven't updated for a few weeks. We've been pretty busy getting the house ready (read: organized) and I've been busy tying up loose ends at my office.

My 38 week ultrasound and appointment are today; I'm anxious to see how things are progressing. This is the first time I'll be checked, so I'm curious. The reason for the ultrasound at this late stage is to make sure the baby isn't to big for a natural birth. If I'm at least 2-3 cm dilated, the midwife is going to strip my membranes to help push my body into labor. My fingers are crossed!

I've been up since 1 AM with contractions every 10 minutes. The same thing happened last night, but they were farther apart and not nearly as painful. Hopefully this is the start of something!

Here's a pic of my enormous torpedo belly (don't mind the stretch marks; the same picture with my shirt down just doesn't do the belly justice!). I haven't really gotten any bigger anywhere except my belly, but check out the size of that thing! Yikes!

I'll update the blog again after my appointment (sometime this evening).