The Birth Of Tate Part 2

At 5:30 it was time to start pushing.  It’s funny how you just know how to do it.  I could feel a contraction was happening but without the pain or discomfort, more like just a feeling something was happening.  That helped to know when to push.

I pushed for just under an hour when sweet Tate was born.  He had shoulder dysplasia, meaning his shoulders were stuck, so my dr. had to twist and turn and tug and pull to get him out.  Poor little guy.  Andy said he was super blue, it freaked him out.  But they got him out, rubbed him down and he finally started to cry!  They took him to the warmer and worked on him some more to make sure his shoulders weren’t hurt or his nerves in his shoulders.  It seemed to take forever for them to be comfortable that he was okay. 

Then they weighed him.  None of us were prepared for what the scale said!  Andy thought it was broken because the nurse had been messing with the buttons on it. But sure enough, 10lbs 6.6oz (rounded up to 7) is how much our little guy weighed. (His face is a bit purple because it was swollen and bruised. That went away by the next morning.)

 

Then they measured him, 22” even.  

Meanwhile the dr. was working on helping me deliver the placenta and then stitching me up.  Yep, she gave me an episiotomy.  She had to cut me to get her fingers in there to twist and turn and pull Tate out.  That seemed to take forever.  And finally, FINALLY, I got to hold our sweet little baby boy!

And then we named him.  Tate Andrew.  Tate is a name I have liked for a few months, and Andrew, of course, is after his daddy.  Other names we had written down were John (Andy’s middle name), Marshall, and Nathan/Nate.  For a girl they were Avery Louise or Katherine (Kate) Louise.  Louise was my grandma’s name. 

Right away Tate stuck his sweet little thumb in his mouth and started sucking.  It was so adorable!  And he barely cried.

Some of his adorable features:

Chubby thighs…

Sweet little feet…

Cute little face…

We called my mom first so we could tell the boys (who were with her) about Tate’s arrival.  They came straight to the hospital and immediately fell in love with Tate, too.

Tate has been such a good baby since the moment he was born.  He sleeps good, eats good, lays awake contentedly, fills his diapers like a good baby should.  He is the most content baby of my 3.  At a week old he slept for a 5 hour stretch that night.  He nurses every 4 hours during the day and is usually awake 2 or 3 times a day for anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

We left the hospital weighing 10lbs 1 oz., and on Wednesday the 19th, at 9 days old, he weighed 11lbs 8oz.  He is a growing boy!  We won’t be in size 1 diapers for very long, will we? And forget 0-3 month clothes, those days are numbered too. 

Some of the nicknames we have started using: Tater Tot, Tater Bug, Tate McGate, Monkey Pie (that’s from Brennan), and Tatie Pie. 

We couldn’t be any happier than we are with Mr. Tate.  We love him so very much!

This is Tate at 1 week old. 

Thanks for all of your well wishes and congratulations!

Erin