He's a Fighter

Oh Dawson - you, buddy, were a fighter when you were still in the womb!  Your sister was ALL stretched out and you had to fight for every inch of space in the bottom corner.  Every ultrasound showed a little bundle of energy!  You never wanted to show us your face; it was a rarity if we got to see more of you than your back and bum. 

You came out almost a full pound and a half less and an inch shorter than your sister.  You may have been small, but you were mighty and full of life!  Typically, white males who are born early have more obstacles to overcome in the NICU.  They call it "wimpy, white boy syndrome."  You proved them wrong!  Just about every nurse and doctor said that you didn't get the memo that you were a preemie!  You were the first off of CPAP, the first to take a bottle, the first to nurse, the first to get out of the isolette and the first to go home.  Even at the tender age of two weeks old, you were paving the way to greatness!

Since then, you have proven your strength in both big and small ways.  You have an incredible pain tolerance - which is evidenced by the three ear infections and one sinus infection you have had in the last three months.  Your second ear infection was SO bad that it required four different antibiotics and three shots to clear it up.  You will go see the ENT on October 1st and are pretty much set to get tubes shortly thereafter.  I'm glad for this because then you'll be able to hear better and you will feel & sleep MUCH better!  I think you will have a massive growth spurt after the tubes.  Even through the pain of ear infections, you still smile and laugh!

Your smile - it lights up my heart!  You have this HUGE open mouthed smile and have had it since birth.  Your DD was the first to get you to giggle and now I can too!  To get you to laugh, you like it when we swing you REALLY big and sing "Rock a Bye Baby."  You love when we dorp you down really fast!  Hayden can get you to smile just with the sound of his voice.

You are going to be an early crawler, I think!  You can already roll all the way over and will scoot or roll yourself to wherever you want to go.  We need to start baby proofing!! 

Dawson - you already love football!  You are mesmerized whenever there is a game on.  This makes your Daddy VERY happy!! 

Your other loves include: the exersaucer, the primary colored plastic key ring, burp clothes, the blue or PINK bear pacifier (the pink is your absolute favorite one), your feet (which are ALWAYS so cold), the bath (you love to kick and make a HUGE mess), sleeping on your belly or with a fliptop head (the sign of needing tubes and maybe removal of tonsils and adenoids later on), your blue polka dot blanket from Kappy, Anger Steve, Uncle Jake and our housekeeper. 

When you don't feel good or are mad, you scratch your face, so we have to keep your nails really short.  You also have an eczema spot that flares up when you're really sad.  Your cry is loud and clear.  There is no mistaking when you're mad.  You wake up either babbling and happy or hungry and mad.  There is no in between!  You have to eat Nutramigen formula, as anything else upsets your belly.  You LOVE eating food!  I can't get it in you fast enough.  So far, apples are your favorite, but you'll really eat anything.  We have to watch out for the more acidic fruits, as they flare up your eczema.  We also found a spoon that works for your tongue thrust. You also had some cradle cap, but we got that under control with some special lotion.  You have your Mommy's sensitive skin, I'm afraid.  However, you've also got my smile and I love that!

Dawson - you have taught us so much in the past five and half months (and even before then).  You are so strong and I know that you are a natural born leader.  You want what you want, when you want it.  I see you standing up for what is right and I see you being a protector of your sister and for those who are unable to stand up for themselves.  I don't see you ever backing down.  You are so bright, so smart and so determined already!  We love you more than words can say!  You are the best big and little brother ever and you make our family complete!!