8 weeks already????

I can't believe Ethan is already 8 weeks old! I actually DO feel like 8 weeks has passed because staying home all day makes time go slower, but when I look at him, he's so big that I can't believe how much he's grown in 8 weeks. He is such a wonderful little boy! He's not sleeping for very long periods of time at night yet, but we're working on it. I'm hoping it will get better over this next month before I go back to work. That's my personal goal  :) We'll see what Ethan thinks about that...

We go to the doctor on Friday for his 2 month check up. I have a list of questions to ask him and most of them I'm embarrassed about because they're quite obviously first time parent questions, but they need to be asked  :) Dr. Rich is such a great pediatrician though, that I'm sure he'll humor me!

We had our first "play date" two weeks ago. Craig's co-worker Tiffany invited me over to spend some time with her and another new Mommy. I had such a great time! It's ironic because the other Mommy (Angela) had her little girl 2 days before Ethan...right down the hall from us! So, we were able to exchange stories and had a great time. It's nice to spend some time with other new mommies since don't know many other local mommies yet.

I'm dreading the last week of the month because Craig has to go to Fort Irwin (CA) for 5 days!!! I don't know how I'm going to handle being a temporary "single mom" for 5 days...especially with my mom out of town on a cruise! Everyone's leaving me!  :) Sooooo, feel free to come keep me company April 26-30  :) LOL...Seriously!   This is going to be a true test. Usually, Craig is my savior when I'm frustrated between 3am-7am when Ethan's fussiest and the most work. He "tags in" and always makes me feel better and not so over-whelmed. He also helps me keep my sanity when I haven't had adult conversation all day. I love you Craig! Everyone- Don't be surprised if Skype is down due to heavy traffic that week.

Here are some adorable pictures from this week...

 Grandpa and Ethan at Fantasy of Flight air show

 Grandpa and Grammy with Ethan at Fantasy of Flight

 A stolen moment caught on camera of my sweet boys

 Still in Newborn size, but starting to outgrown the items with "feetsies"

 Thank you Grandpa Floyd for my John Deer outfit!

Ethan is 6 weeks old!

Hi everyone! I can't believe it, but Ethan is 6 weeks old. I went to my OB today and I'm back to my old self- and pre-baby weight. :) Breastfeeding is a lifesaver. But, now it's back to the gym to get off the weight I started to lose before getting pregnant. My doctor granted me my wish to stay out another 6 weeks from work. (Insurance requires my doctor to say it's "medically necessary") I'm so glad to get to stay home another 6 weeks to watch my baby grow and bond with him more before heading back to work. My first day back to work should be May 10th. It will be bitter-sweet. I love every minute I'm with Ethan, but at the same time, I miss work. I have such a wonderful job that I feel really lucky to have it. It's going to break my heart the first time I have to leave him to go to Jacksonville or another market overnight. But, I know it will make him strong and independent one day. For now, I can still dream that my boss calls me and asks me to work 2-3 days a week instead of 5  :) That would be perfect!

Ethan is doing fantastic. As of our last doctors appointment, he weighted 7 lbs 1 oz and was ahead of schedule for his age. He's a very good eater and has started getting some meat on his bones. He's not chunky by any means, but he's very healthy. Still in Newborn size clothes and diapers, but I see a quick transition in the near future. The last time we saw the lactation consultant, she told me that Ethan has a weak palette because he drools about a quarter of what he's eating and develops a dimple on his right side when he eats. From her recommendation, we went to an oral motor clinic in Maitland and they taught me some exercises to do with him over the next few weeks that should fix his problem. Until it's fixed, we will continue to feed him breast milk via bottle since it's easier to monitor how much he's eating.

Craig's 30th birthday was this past week and we celebrated with a house party this past Saturday. We had a great turn out and had a wonderful time. I decorated the house with party paraphernalia and balloons and ate some delicious cake. During the party we played the Wii that Steph and Brett brought and beer pong by the pool. Ethan was a really good sport- he practically slept through the whole party. We passed him around from one person to another and he wasn't even phased by it. We also cranked the surround sound up to level 20 (we watch movies on level 10) and hung out by the pool and the music didn't phase him either. He's so laid back! He gets that from Craig  :)

Ethan and I took a trip to Palm Harbor on March 21st so he could meet his Great Grandparents (my maternal grandparents Mary Jo and Wayne Longair). We just went for the day, but it was an event since the drive each way was 3 hours (normally 2 hrs 15 min, but we had to stop for a feeding each way). Ethan was great on the drive there, fussy on the drive home. It was totally worth it though because we got to see so many people. On the way there we stopped at my friend Jill's work for her to meet Ethan. Then, at my parents house, we had multiple visitors over to meet Ethan for the first time- Randy Hale (family friend), Linda Smith (family friend), my grandparents, my grandparents best friends that were in town from Michigan, and my good friend Courtney (Ingram)Yarmesch. After all the visitors, Ethan and I had dinner with my parents and then headed back East home. Great trip and worth the effort!

Below are some more recent pictures (some of them from my trip to Palm Harbor)...

Craig with his babies

 My most recent favorite- Ethan in a bear hoodie towel

 Great Grandma (my Grandma, Mary Jo Longair) with Ethan

 Great Grandma (Mary Jo) and Great Grandpa (Wayne) with Ethan

 Four Generations

 Grandpa (my dad, Kit) with Ethan

Courtney stopped by for a visit- I love this picture because right now, Courtney is pregnant with her son Silas so Ethan is resting on her baby bump...AND loving it!

 "Aunt" Randy with Ethan

Pictures of Ethan thru 4 weeks

Dinner out at Carrabba's with Erica Fox and Aislyn

 

At Craig's staff meeting after work showing Ethan off to co-workers

 

Grandpa Kit at Friendly Confines today

 

Snuggling with my baby

So cute!

 

Craig and the "babies"

Such a wiggle worm

 

Dad sleeping with Ethan

I'm in love with his dinasaur outfits

 

Craig, Ethan and Kona having family time

 

Loving on

So sweet!

Grandma Sherry visiting this past week

Airplane outfit from Bunk & Linda

 

Thanks for the blanket Michele!

Ethan & Grammy

I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog. Sorry about that! We are all doing fantastic. Above are some more recent pictures. Ethan will be 4 weeks old on Tuesday. He's getting so big! If you're interested in coming to visit, let us know which dates because time is flying by and I'll be heading back to work on May 10th. Hope everyone is doing well.

Doing great!

Ethan is now 4.5 days old! He is just such a sweet baby. He barely makes a sound except when he's hungry and when he has the hiccups. :) He's just so content all day. At night he gets a little fussier, but once he's in our arms he calms down immediately. Kona has responded well to him too. She's getting just as much affection from Craig and I as before Ethan was here, but we both think Kona is jealous about not getting time with the baby for herself! She's constantly curious about him and starts to cry/whine when he cries. She nudges him with her nose when he's in our arms and wants to lick him all over. We let her lick his feet and legs but try to keep her away from his face. We think she's a big fan.

We're definitely not getting as much sleep these days, but at least 4-5 hours/night. Ethan seems to be hungrier at night than during the day so I have to get up more often. Craig is great about getting up with him too. I'm so lucky to have such an involved husband and sweet baby. I'm on top of the world right now!

We were released from the hopsital on Thursday around 2pm. It was so nice to be home. The next day, we took Ethan to his first pediatrician appointment. It went very well. He's only lost 4 ounces and is almost clear of his mild jaundice. Doctor said to take him outside this weekend and keep the blinds open in the house and he should be good as new by Monday. We gave him his first bath last night. He wasn't a big fan, but we figured he wouldn't be since he doesn't like to be naked. :) But gosh, there's nothing better than the smell of baby shampoo!

Overall, everything is going very well and we couldn't be happier. Thank you all for all your sweet comments and calls checking in. We love you all and we'll keep posting pictures soon.

He's here!

Well, the past 24 hours have been a whirlwind! Most of you have heard by now, but in case you haven't, Ethan came into the world 36 days early. It all started on Monday, February 14th. I had no idea that my water broke around 3pm. I thought I was just having some bladder issues. Little did I know that I'd start having contractions that night around 2am. I woke up with what I thought were "cramps" (later to discover they were really contractions). I woke Craig up around 3am and told him something wasn't right. We both agreed it was too early to be labor, but started counting the minutes between the "cramps", just in case. Around 3am, they were about 9-15 minutes apart. They started getting worse around 5am and so I got in the tub for an hour. That helped a little. After I got out of the tub, I told Craig that if this wasn't labor, I don't know what is! So, he suggested we call the doctor and after explaining the nights events, the doctor told us to head to labor and delivery. We packed up some stuff, but really didn't think we'd be staying so we missed a few things. We did remember the cord blood kit, thank goodness.

The drive to the hospital was the longest 40 minutes of my life. The contractions had picked up to only a couple minutes apart while we were in the car and that's when I thought I was going to die of pain. Once we got to the hospital, I was bent over in pain the whole time checking in and I think the nurses thought I was exaggerating since it's our first baby. They said I was early and treating me like it can't be that bad- maybe false labor. They checked us into the triage room to examine me and discovered that I was 5 cm dilated.

I immediately asked for the epidural and all the nurses pretty much ignored me during the mad rush that began once they determined that Ethan was coming SOON. There were about 8-10 nurses in the room rushing around as fast as they could. Within 15 minutes I was at 9 cm and still asking for the epidural. This time they didn't ignore my request and finally broke the news to me that by the time the anesthesiologist would get there, the baby would already be born naturally. I was devastated!!!! I wanted the epidural so bad. So, instead I was forced to delivery naturally. No drugs, no epidural, just pure pain. :) Luckily, it all happened so fast that I didn't have to endure the pain for as long as most.

A couple minutes later I was measuring at 10 cm (go time!) and ready to push. The nurses kept telling me not to push because the doctor wasn't there yet, but I chose to ignore that request, but tried my hardest not to. Thank goodness the doctor came in a minute later and said I could let my body do it's thing. After 2 pushes Ethan was here! We checked into the hospital at 7:15am and Ethan was born at 7:37am. Craig and I were both in shock.

Ethan was perfect when he was born, but was still required to go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 24 hours (this became hospital policy 2 weeks ago) because he was born under 35 weeks. We visited him every couple hours to feed him and drool over him. He's still doing fantastic- passed his hearing test, passed the jaundice test (meaning no jaundice), blood sugar tests, etc. We finally got him all to ourselves a couple hours ago so now he'll stay with us for our last night. He's eating very well and looking better and better each day. We don't know why he decided to bless us with his arrival early, but we're sooooo glad he did! Here are a few pictures...

33 weeks

33 weeks down, 7ish to go!

Yesterday, Craig and I went on another day care tour. This day care is much larger and more commercial. It's closer to the house, but neither Craig nor I got as good of a vibe. It was a little less expensive though so we'll keep it in mind. They keep 4-6 infants at a time with 1 "teacher" if there are 4 infants and 2 teachers if there are 5 or 6 infants. I'm sure the place is good, but it didn't feel like the right place for us. So, for now, we'll keep looking and if we don't find something better, we'll stick with the in-home care we found last week. But please, if you know of a great day care or in-home care center in the Lake Mary, Winter Park, Oviedo area, please send us their information.

The nursery is finally complete! Now that we have our crib sheet set and the decals up on the wall so it looks much more baby-friendly in the "guest room" now. :) Here are some pictures....

Getting bigger...and more uncomfortable

The sole purpose of this blog entry is to complain about the transition into the "dark side" of pregnancy. So, feel free to move on from this entry, but I must vent a little.

As of a couple weeks ago, pregnancy started getting "a little" more uncomfortable as far as sleeping positions, bathroom trips and waddling. Today, it kicked up a notch and went from slightly uncomfortable to "ugghhhhhh, I'm over pregnancy". I feel twice as big...truely, I need to take a belly shot because I swear I grew drastically today. My feet hurt, my hips hurt, everything hurts. I feel like I just did a triathalon...but didn't reap any of the rewards of doing one. Yesterday, I sat in meetings from 10am-6pm and when I got up to go to leave, I felt like a couldn't walk because my hips felt separate from my body- like my legs couldn't move right. So weird to be sore from sitting all day!

Up until this point, I really didn't have any complaints- I didn't have any morning sickness, my mood swings were really mild if they came at all, no swelling, no stretch marks, etc. I only had very slight pregnancy symptoms (besides being tired all the time- that one was, and still is, drastic) So, my body turning on me like this is quite a shock. I read about how it would get harder, but I didn't think it would be that bad since everything was going so well for me. Well, I'm NOT an exception to the pregnancy rule; I'm now on the same page as everyone else that told me that it gets bad toward the end.

Tonight I'm in a hotel in Jacksonville and don't have to start work until later than normal so I'm going to treat myself to sleeping in and breakfast in bed!!! Hmmm, I hope they have chocolate croissants on the menu- you know, for my mental health  ;)