Nate is 3 years old today

So, my baby is now a preschooler, I guess? I want to press a pause button on life.

Three years ago yesterday, I was in the hospital on bedrest, had been for a month. It was Saturday night, and Blake and I had just taken a tour of the NICU earlier that day in preparation for Nate being born. We hoped to make it a little more than a week longer to 34 weeks. I started feeling bad that night and thought I had eaten a bad hot dog. :) (Seriously, what kind of hospital feeds a pregnant woman a hot dog anyway?) But I was feeling bad ... oh, about every three minutes. After not being able to sleep, I called the nurse, and they decided to send me to Labor and Delivery for monitoring. I was on monitors all night, and they didn't show any contractions, but the nurse taking care of me KNEW I was laboring. Which was a big no-no after the in-utero surgery we'd had 9 weeks earlier. The next morning, my favorite doctor, Dr. Collins, came in to check me, and I was 3 cm dilated. That meant it was time for Nate to be born! He was 32 weeks and 5 days gestation. Blake was in the OR with me for the c-section, and I was soooo happy that Nate cried when he was born. He was 4lb, 10oz and 17.5 inches long, born around 1pm on Sunday, June 25, 2006. He was sent straight to the NICU, and all the grandparents came to the hospital and got to visit with him while I recovered. That evening I was finally well enough to get in a wheelchair to go see him. He was in his isolette fussing, and as soon as the nurse put him in my arms, he quieted down and was happy. He had tubes and wires all over him, but he was beautiful.

Nate's birthdays have been emotional for me as I remember all we went through with his pregnancy and NICU stay, and also as I reflect on how far he has come during the year. This year has been incredible. Right around his second birthday, he got his first set of braces, and the very next day he pulled up and cruised for the first time.

Then in September, he started walking in his walker!

In January he started walking with holding one hand.

And in early June, he began taking independent steps. :)

Besides the walking, he has just grown up so much. This time last year, he was saying a lot of words, but wasn't really putting too much together and was still babbling a lot. Now he can carry on a conversation with you. He's in a big boy bed. And he's just generally acting like a big boy these days. Soon he'll be a big brother and will be heading off to preschool.

This week we have had to say goodbye to his Early Intervention therapists. :( Monday was his last day of his developmental playgroup with Miss Leslie. Since October, he has come a long way--when he started, he avoided playing with other kids his age, and now he initiates play with other kids! On Tuesday, we went to the mall play area for our last session with Miss Dee, his PT. Dee was the first person who really "got" Nate. I'll never forget her second visit here, when we were trying unsuccessfully to get Nate to walk in his walker, after observing him for awhile she said, "It's not his legs. He has sensory issues." I had no idea what that meant, but that was the beginning of all of us really understanding Nate and how to help him progress. She gave us a lycra swing to swing him in, and the very next week he was walking in his walker. She's an amazing PT, and we're really going to miss her! Then yesterday was our last session with Miss Karol, the genius OT. We only had her for a few months, but I learned so much from her. Nate still has hippotherapy and aquatic therapy, and I'm relieved to cut back from 5 therapies a week to only 2. Except now we're probably going to add one more PT session per week. I really don't want to, but it seems he needs it.

Blake has been working really long hours this week, so he came home from work early today to celebrate Nate's birthday. We went to Hometown Pizza (yum), and Nate got free pizza and a brownie! Then we came home and played outside, where Nate got really, really dirty. I gave him a bath, and he decided he wanted to come downstairs and walk with me and Daddy. So for the next hour, he walked all over the living room, giggling and yelling. One time he said, "I can't stop! I can't stop!" laughing the whole time. Then I threw a ball for him to walk after, and I asked him if he could bend over and get it. He said, "Um, no. I sorry." :)

Anyway, it's been a wonderful three years since Nate came into our lives, and I'm so proud of him. Happy birthday, Nate!