Matthew Tate Stanley

Yesterday couldn't have gone any more perfect! I didn't have too bad of a labor and delivery and it was much easier this time than it was with Madelyn. Tate was born at 2:53pm. He weighed 7lbs. 10 oz. and was 20 in. long. Not long after he was born, Torey went to the waiting room to get Madelyn so she could come in and see her baby brother. I knew she would be excited, but she was so much more excited than I ever imagined! I cried when I saw the look on her face because you could tell how much she loved her baby brother. It was the sweetest thing!

We had so many family and friends here yesterday and we appreciate each and everyone of you who came. We really appreciate Rachael for coming and taking pictures and capturing some of the sweetest moments with our baby boy!!!

Overall, yesterday was wonderful until about 11:30pm last night. Tate had been making grunting noises pretty much all day, but we never really thought much of it. I happened to mention it to the nurse when she came in my room last night and she said she would take him and do his assessment and give him a bath and bring him back in to us. Around 1:ooam the nurse called the Pediatrician on call who wanted a Neonatologist consult. After falling asleep for what seemed like 10 minutes, we were woken up by the Neonatologist around 3:30am informing us that Tate was going to be admitted to the NICU for further observation. Basically, they are just being extra cautious and really don't think anything is seriously wrong. I don't blame the doctors for being extra cautious because I would rather him be checked out and cleared of everything before we take him home. It is just so hard having another baby in the NICU and more than likely having to home without him tomorrow. His oxygen levels have been perfect and his chest x-ray looks great. He has to be on antibiotics for a minimum of 3 days and he had blood cultures drawn that will take a couple of days to grow and get results on. Right now, we are just waiting and hoping that nothing else changes because the nurses and doctors say that he is doing great. One of the hardest things about him being in there is having to explain everything to Madelyn and her wanting more than anything to hold him and being told that she can't. The hours for visitors are also not convenient for her because she is only allowed to come between 10:30am-12:00pm which is of course when she is suppose to be in school or between 8:00pm-9:00pm when she should be in bed. She was able to come up here tonight to spend some time with Tate, but she was so upset having to leave him! My Mom has gone home with her and will get her to school in the morning. Hopefully if they discharge me in time tomorrow, Torey and I can go pick her up from school and bring her back tomorrow night for another visit. Please keep us all in your prayers and pray that our baby boy gets to come home as soon as possible.