12 Month Update

Dear Tatum,

Happy Birthday. One year ago you surprised us all by arriving six and a half weeks early. You gave us quite a scare and then proved how strong you were. Daddy and I look back at the pictures from the first few weeks and can't believe how small you were, so tiny, yet so strong and determined. You were born weighing 3lbs. 14oz. and at one point dipped to 3lbs. 9oz. Instantly, we had nothing but pure love for you and realize now what a difficult time it was for us emotionally. I thought I was going to crumble the day they discharged me from the hospital and we had to leave you behind. I knew you were in good hands and they could care better for you than I, but I never prepared myself to be separated from you so quickly. My heart hurt more that day than it ever has, I couldn't breath and cried all the way home and for hours after that. Poor Daddy. He must have felt to same way, yet he consoled me throughout the next two weeks. We visited you in the hospital twice a day for hours each time and it still wasn't enough. I would call your nurses at 3am just to check on you. They would update me with how well you were eating, breathing and if you had gained or lost any weight. Those two weeks felt longer than the duration of my pregnancy. Looking back I realize now what a strong and healthy preemie you were and how fortunate we are.



One year later, you weigh 20lbs. 2oz. and measure 30in. in length. You are the beautiful daughter I always dreamed of. Your eyes sparkle and your personality fills Daddy and I with laughter. We had no idea that having a child would be this amazing. Every day you do something that makes us laugh or catches us off guard, you definitely keep us on our toes.


Watching you grow and develop this past year has been remarkable. We used to just sit and stare at you for hours. Now we are chasing you around the family room, blocking off areas of the house, negotiating deals to regain custody of our remotes, phones and magazines, singing Elmo songs, discussing the quality of your poop over breakfast and finding Cherrios in our socks. You crawl at the speed of light, try to climb anything you can get your leg around, clap, wave, point and dance when you hear music. You also like to yell, "hey," to strangers in the store to get their attention.


Did I mention how fun you are to dress? I have more fun finding stylish little outfits for you than I ever had shopping for myself. On several occasions, while out shopping, people will ask if you just had your pictures taken. They are surprised when I tell them "no" that we are just running errands.


There are two parts of my day that I look forward too. The first part is finding your bright smiling face as I enter your room in the morning. The second is the hug that Daddy and I often have in the hallway outside your bedroom door after one of us has successfully put you down for the night. There are no words to describe our love for you, but I want you to know that while Daddy and I hug outside your door, the words uttered from our hearts are usually something like this... "we made her," "she's so beautiful," "wow," "she is so smart," or the occasional "we are in so much trouble," and sometimes we just laugh about something you did that day.

You have changed our lives forever. We are so proud of you and love you so much. You are truly amazing and we can't imagine live without you.

Love,
Mommy