Lil' Slugger

Okay so I haven't blogged in like - well 4-EVA!  Tonight was so awesome I guess it made me get back in the saddle.  I've said this before, but growing up in my adolescent years with all sisters, I assumed I'd have 2 girls, just like my parents did.  Boy - literally - Boy was I wrong.  Almost weekly I think to myself - God knew way better than I did because I love, absolutely LOVE being a mom to boys!  I've never been into sports but Tate started baseball/t-ball this fall and I have been the one to man practices.  Tonight was his first game and I loved every single moment of it.  It was so absolutely precious!  His first time at bat he hit the ball and then stood there.  We were all shouting to run and the coach was telling him to drop his bat and go.  He finally took off and there was such a commotion around 1st that he arced his run over to 2nd base.  I was laughing and he had the biggest grin ever on his face when he arrived on 2nd.  He obviously got out, but he was so excited.  Another mom said, well at least it was an RBI!  He seems to love the game, I'm so thrilled.  He played short stop and 2nd when he was in the field.  I am so proud of him and can't wait to celebrate this season with him.  Brian and I loved watching him while keeping track of Tucker at the same time.  This crazy life of 2 little ones, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I know these days will go all too fast!

 @ bat

Getting Tips from Coach Matt

This is his 2nd time at bat - man do I wish I was in video mode for the 1st one!  That would have been priceless - actually probably would have one some $ on funniest home videos!

Coach Matt with Stickers for their helmets after the game - a great coach. Definitely teaching them to love the game and have fun!

Tuck has to get in on the baseball action too.

Take Two

What do you think . . . Do they resemble to you?

I have said several times, that I guess yellow and blue always make green so I guess Amber and Brian make . . . what's below! Tucker is starting to look a little different as he grows, but still they resemble a good bit.

Our 1st Week Home

Well - I have yet to truely enter reality as we have had soooo much help this week. My mom was here from the time we when to the hospital until Thursday afternoon. It was such a blessing to have her with us those first few days. She predominately took care of Tate. They went to the park, Catch Air, Sams, and played, and played, and played. When she wasn't hanging with Tate she was cooking, doing laundry, grocery shopping, or holding a sweet baby boy! She also took a few of the shifts at night when he was done feeding and had a hard time getting back down. This was only about 3 or 4 times the whole visit b/c this man loves to sleep! Tate had a great time with Grandma here and was able to get some much needed individual attention from someone that could pick him up and play rough during the day when daddy was at work. Then, Friday around lunch, Aunt Megan, Uncle Jason, and McKenzie came for a visit. They brough yummy lunch and then took Tate back with them for the weekend to join up with Nana and Papa T as well who brought him back home today. It was nice to have a little down time with Brian. We did some shopping and went to dinner. It was like when we first had Tate, only then we thought the baby stage was difficult and now we realize how easy it can be because they sleep so much. It was as if we were on a date all day Saturday, just with a little baby in tow.

Tate helping with bathtime - Tucker loves it!

We went to the Avenue and the Easter Bunny was out so Tucker got his picture taken. He never even knew it b/c he slept through the whole experience.

This week has been great! Next week will be a little telling as I'll have the boys to myself while Brian works. I am going to up my stair activity to 2 times a day so I can put Tate down at naptime. Healing is going well, just different from a typical delivery. I must say that the most difficult thing has been the inability to pick up Tate. I have cried about it several times and then Saturday night it hit me. I became thankful for this time because it became clear that the reason I can't pick up Tate is that I can pick up Tucker. He arrived safely due to this surgery so I must be thankful for that and see also that this is only temporary and I will be able to pick up Tate and play rough with him soon.

Tucker sleeps between 3 to 6 hour stretches at night. That is from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of the next. Last night I only got up with him once - crazy!

Yep - I rode a rascal!

People have been so wonderful sending Tate cards and goodies. He has received this card many times with a huge Big Brother sticker - he loves it.

Tate and I on computers, mom has a netbook and he was reading on Starfall - Yes there is a baby under my blanket - talk about multi-tasking.

My sweet 2nd child!

First check up - Super healthy boy aready weighing 9 lbs 5 oz

Sweet Big Brother!

When 3 became 4 . . .

We are more than excited to introduce our sweet precious son, Tucker Merritt Lamb. His coming into this world was pretty eventful much like the pregnancy in general. However, he left his drama in the womb because he is a perfect baby. (I realize I may eat those words but for now I must brag.)

The Birth: If you want to know, if you don't scroll on down!

Well, we went in for my 40 week appt on the 5th of April and there was no progress so the doctors decided to do an ultrasound to see if there would be any reason to schedule an induction or just to let the baby stay for a little while longer. The baby checked out great, fluids were fine and he looked comfy but then came the concern. . . The ultrasound tech said well we would predict the weight at 9lbs, 9oz so I'm sure the doctor will want to talk with you. To which Brian and I began laughing and a serious of OH MY GOODNESS came from our mouths! In talking with Dixie, our midwife, she persuaded us to induce due to size and that the baby was not dropping. She mentioned that it was a 50/50 chance that I would have a c-section, not what I wanted to hear. With that being said, our nice 5minute trip to Northside Forsyth became the 25min drive to Northside Atlanta. I knew that with that type of monitoring for the surgery I wanted to be sure to have my doctors on hand. Oh am I ever thankful for that decision and the Brian was completely on board with it. We headed to the hospital to check in at 8:15p.m. that night and I was given cervidil. At around 2:00 a.m. I started contractions and had the epidural around 9:00 a.m. At that point I was about 3 cm but the baby had not dropped. They were placing internal monitors in around 10:40a.m. to monitor my contractions b/c they were not getting a good read from the external monitors. At that time, the baby's heart rate dropped from the 140s to the 40s and 50s. Instantly the midwife and nurses were pushing on my stomach, rocking me from one side to the the other, placing oxygen on me, and giving me medicine through the IV. Four to Five more people were rushing in, calling the NICU, organizing the OR, and I was being wheeled in that direction. They were great and reassured me the whole time that the baby and I would be fine. I must admit I thought they were just telling me that. Brian was instructed to stay and wait for scrubs, and he looks confident that things would be good, just a little shell-shocked. I prayed the entire length of the hallway that God would protect this baby, me too, but that he would protect this baby. We were in the OR, and they were putting everything in place. I could hear them making decisions and nixing many steps in order to get this show on the road. I heard the word STAT more times than an episode of Grey's Anatomy, all the meanwhile comforting me and keeping me informed. Before I knew it, I heard the cry of a sweet baby. They were checking him over and I thought I heard the word he, then the midwife realized that no one had said it and started over and over again with, "It's a Boy!" Mind you, his birth time was 10:49. Just 9 mins from the time my mother-in-law was asked to leave so they could put the monitor in. Wow - I was more than impressed. Brian entered about a min after sweet Tucker was born. Much different than with Tate when Brian could tell me what the baby was. The piece I didn't know is that my doctor was in the process of wheeling another patient from the practice to the OR when he got the call about me. He checked a nearby computer and saw that the heart rate was continuing to decrease and told her he was sorry but that she would have to wait. In my head I had wondered how he was there so fast. God had him on that hallway knowing I would need him. I told Tucker that he has already witnessed divine intervention. I should say we both did! The grandparents were able to make the big announcement after such a traumatic delivery so I'm glad they could hear the good news. We were out of recovery and meet up with them about 2 hours after he was born. We don't know what caused him to have the drop in heart rate, but the midwife said that either way he would not have come down b/c of his position and that the cord was wrapped around his neck - not really bad but that might have cause the drop. Yay that I had been given the epidural too b/c otherwise I would have been knocked out during the whole event. I'm glad I got to hear his cry right away!

Since then:

Tucker looks so much like Tate it is crazy! When someone holds him across the room, I see Tate's profile all over again. He nursed right away - so thankful and is doing awesome with feeding. The milk is in and all is well in that department. He eats, is awake, and sleeps like a champ. (sometimes not in the right order, but none-the-less) He goes the stretch every 3 hours to feed at night so he is sleeping about 2 to 2.5 hours at a time - amazing! He doesn't really cry much else. Tate is transitioning well, though we are having fits and he can't understand that I can't pick him up and the thought of weeks without picking him up are equally upsetting to me. Otherwise all is well at the Lamb household. We would love HEALTHY visitors any time.

A BIG thanks: This time having a baby was much more to manage b/c not only did we have to think of us, but also make arrangements for Tate. Our neighbors, The Bosters, were incredible and took Tate so that the grandparents could all be there for the birth or as it turned out announcement of our new son. They also took Tate another day for a play date. They are graciously giving us the gift of time as well as cute candies and dinner. Becky, a co-worker of mine, also gave the gift of time by spending the night with me at the hospital so my mom could be here with Tate and Brian could work one day. I love my school and my team is AMAZING! Of course our parents are pouring in the hours over the next couple of months. My mom is here now and soon others will come. We are truely blessed with our friends and family!

Woah Baby, though I'm still in denial of how large I got and I think Brian had a bad camera angle :) Our sweet boy in the recovery room- Tucker Merritt Lamb - named after Brian's grandfather, Jay Merritt Lamb

Completely Blessed Sweet Tucker (looking almost identical to sweet Tate at this age)

Big Brother Tate

Ready to leave the Hospital

- Home -

Lookin' at my sweet man tonight - - -

Those this would appear to be a welding tool, Tate is checking on the baby - - -

I nearly came to tears (I'm sure it's hormones) thinking about the fact that my days with only Tate are numbered. I am very excited about our new Lamb on the way, but I must admit that in some ways it's sad to end this chapter of life as a family of 3. Alone time with Tate will now need to be scheduled and won't come everyday. That is sad to me. However I realize that adding to our family has exponentially more rewards than drawbacks. I think of the love I have for my sister and pray for that same love between Tate and his sweet sibling. I am 37 weeks pregnant today and boy can I tell a difference between 35 weeks pregnant when I had Tate and the extra 2 I have now carried this one. Yet I am thankful for everyday that this child grows stronger on the inside to survive the outside even if it comes with days with no ankles, back pain, and a few grunts in order to reposition this large body.

She is better than me . . .

Okay so here are links to Megan's blog b/c she is faster and let's face it I just don't get to it anymore, but one day when sub plans are made and I have extra time - HA! I might get to it. I'll be 36 weeks on Tuesday and I think I'm down to one load of laundry left and a trip for batteries and I will be ready for this baby to come home. However in order to be ready at work - - - - I've got lots ahead of me. I think I was bound and determined to have the house ready since I was so shocked by Tate's arrival. I will hopefully update our page soon - but here's Meg's pages until I do.



Tate's Party: The only thing Meg fails to mention is that she made Tate's birthday cakes - yes she made 2! They were as good to eat as they were to look at.





Baby Wooly's Shower:

Obsessed doesn't even begin to describe . . .

Tate received a UGA football uniform for Christmas from Pop and Mimi and he wears it daily. He loves to play football with daddy in particular. He has tried on many accounts to have me play, but getting on my knees and crawling around is just too hard being so big. I honestly just don't have the love for the game anyway. We are even referring to the bathroom as the locker room these days. It is great incentive as well because anything we want done, all you have to say is that football players do it - wow a jock from the start. I does take time outs as well so the band can play - his other obsession. He seems to think he can pull of both come time. He intends on playing the drums during halftime - I guess he won't need any pointers from the coach at that
time. He has been on us about putting a number on the back of his jersey and for the past few days he has stayed consistent with the number 3, so last night we ironed it on. Daddy says that 3 is a good number for a QB so he is happy with his choice and I was thinking it was ironic b/c he will soon be 3! He was in awe after watching us iron it on. Daddy even put the 3 on the helmet. He kept rubbing his back and would turn and look at it in the mirror. He is so proud of his number. He even had to wear it to bed last night. We do have one rule that you must be dressed before you put on the uniform (so hopefully it is seen as play clothes) and that we don't wear it out. Okay so that last rule has been bent a few times. I just couldn't bring myself to have him show up everyday at school in the uniform. I must admit though, he is pretty stinkin' cute!

Playing with Nana -

With Daddy -