OUR LITTLE TIGER

by Trevin’s Mom, Nicole

Our precious baby boy, Trevin Patrick LaBeth was born May 28^th, 2005 at the Navel Medical Center Portsmouth.   He weighed five pounds 6.4 ounces and measured 19 ½ inches long. Twelve fingers and ten toes, he was perfect in our eyes. We found out that Trevin had trisomy 13 when we were twenty-one weeks pregnant.  We were devastated by the grim prognosis that we were given by all of the doctors and geneticists.  They had tried to get us to terminate the pregnancy, but that was unacceptable in our eyes. So, we started researching and looking for support through educating ourselves about Trevin’s condition.  We prepared ourselves the best we could and hoped and prayed for the best.  After 19 hours of labor, he was finally here, beginning the battle of his life in a world he had only begun to know.

            Trevin had gorgeous reddish blonde hair, and looked exactly like his Daddy.  He had the most amazing personality.  Before Trevin was even born he knew who his Daddy was. Every time my husband, Allen, would talk, Trevin would twist and turn, always going to the spot on my tummy where Daddy was talking. We had always joked about how Trevin would react to Daddy’s voice after he was born, and it was an amazing moment. As soon as he heard his Daddy’s voice, Trevin turned his little head to the sound and instantly stopped crying - it was as though he knew he was going to be okay. 

            Trevin went into the NICU immediately after delivery. This is where he was given his nickname “Tiger.” The reason we all called him Tiger was for his cry.  He had the cutest cry - but unlike most babies, his cry was a growl and a roar, like a little tiger cub.  We loved that sound. Trevin was a fighter, always beating the odds and showing the doctors that he had different plans.  Nine days after Trevin was born, we finally were able to take him home.  One day when Jill, one of Edmarc’s social workers, came to our house for a visit, she brought Trevin a little Tiger Beanie Baby.  That night we looked down at him in his bouncer and there he was hugging that little tiger. It fast became his favorite toy.  We would always laugh when we would find him sucking on his tiger’s nose.  There was never a place we went that little tiger didn’t go. 

            We were really lucky when we found that Trevin was able to suck and swallow.  Through a lot of the research we did, we found that a lot of trisomy 13 babies did not have a suck/swallow reflex.  But two days into life, Trevin finished his first of many bottles.  He always loved to eat, and would always let us know if we were even five minutes late for a feeding. It was wonderful bonding with him through feedings, especially since we had never expected to be able to do that with him. 

            Trevin became on angel on August 2^nd, 2005.  He taught us many things through his short time with us.  He showed us just how precious life is.  There will never be a day in which we are not thankful for the time we had with him. Though we miss him immensely, we know that we will be together again one day.  We were given an angel to love and cherish forever. He has taught us to be grateful for all the small things in life and to always let our loved ones know just how thankful we are to have each of them in our lives.

            Mommy, Daddy, and  Schylar love you Trevin Patrick!