Happy Birthday

Happy first birthday, baby Ollie. I'm sorry we scared you a little when we woke you up with our off-key Happy Birthday song.

Happy birthday, baby Avery. We are thinking about you all day long.

The Tatts, with FAQs

Very soon after we lost Avery, we decided to get tattoos in his memory. Larry already has tattoos for each of the boys (a Leo for Ollie, a Virgo for Logan) and for me (a Cancer sign), so it was natural for him to plan on a tattoo for Avery. For me it's a one-time event. FAQs below.

We mulled a few ideas: an "A" or his full name; a broken heart (double meaning there: his literally broken heart, and our figuratively broken hearts); a little white rose (if a baby dies, they put a white rose on the door of the mom's hospital room to signal the situation to people who are entering). When the NICU nurse presented us with a box containing his hat and a few other mementos, our quest was over: His little hospital footprints were included in the box, a perfect size for a tattoo.

Since my birthday is exactly two weeks from the day he died, we decided it would be ideal timing, and Larry offered it as my birthday gift. So off we went to Atomic Tattoo Sunday evening to see Brandi, who has done Larry's other tattoos. We asked her to try to duplicate the look of the footprint, so not completely uniform black in a cartoon-y way, but kind of faded in parts just like a real footprint would be.

The tattoos are near our hearts, as planned. Mine is still a little swollen (I think women's skin is thinner in that area) so here is a picture of Larry's (they had to shave his chest, which was amusing). Mine is in the same place and looks exactly the same. They are actual size, around the length of the first two joints of my pinky. He was very small.

Tattoo FAQs

Did it hurt?

Yeah, for sure. The outline didn't but the filling in did. However, it only took about 20 minutes for the actual tattoo.

Did Logan notice?

Logan asked me "what happened?" and offered to wash it off. I have no way to explain it to him right now, so I said Mommy and Daddy got stickers. He understands a love of stickers and didn't question this.

Are you a tattoo addict now?

No, that was my first and last visit to Atomic.

Do you think you're cool now?

Yes, but mainly because of my fancy iPhone.

Worth Every Penny

We got a collections notice today for a $44 bill for Avery. Really, Austin Radiological Association? Collections for $44...when you already received the contractual payment in a timely fashion from our primary insurance carrier?

Just FYI, many other providers waived portions of Avery's fees. But you win, your $44 is in the mail. Don't spend it all in one place.