Growing like a Weed

Bye Bye little monkey jammie-jams!

Week three started on Sunday, and by Sunday night, had completely turned our little worlds upside down. What happened to our sleeping baby?  We were had been doing so well!  Not only was he not sleeping, but he was screaming inconsolably with a new found vigor and was feeding constantly.  Although Sunday night was truly the worst, the sleepless episodes lasted for the entire first half of the week.  Apparently we had hit ourselves a growth spurt speed bump.  Little did we know that such a thing would turn our week upside down.  Low and behold, Ethan's footie jammies fit him on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday night, they were too short!  It's really amazing how big he's gotten already.  He's definitely starting to fill out those cheeks, but most of all, those legs and torso just keep getting longer!

"I hear, the secrets that you keep...when you're talking in your sleep"
The third week also marked the beginning of Ethan's stay in the nursery.  Turns out, he's quite the vocal sleeper! In an effort to better our parental zzzz's, it was goodbye bassinet, hello crib.  Ultimately, it works out best for all of us, and we were able to reclaim our dresser back from its temporary state of makeshift changing table.  Charlie also started giving Ethan a bottle during one nighttime feeding each night.  Although the system isn't without flaw, it's so refreshing to hear the cries, and keep on sleeping!  Thanks Daddy!!

This week I was also allowed to start driving again.  Ethan and I have taken full advantage and have gotten out to walk or run a few small errands during the day.  Turns out, even on a rough day, Ethan will fall asleep as soon as he's situated his car seat or stroller.  He tends to spend the better part of his afternoons fighting nodding off, so these naps are greatly appreciated.  It's also great for my mental health to get out and around for a brief bit each day.  Who knew that just walking around Target could be so relaxing?!?

And as the week draws to a close, we bid farewell to our first 300 newborn diapers.  Yikes!!

Teenie Little Super Guy

If you don't know already, I was the kid who addicted to Sesame Street (or as I fondly called it...Street.)  If they had Sesame Street Anonymous (SSA)  I would definitely have been a card carrying member.  In fact, I wouldn't only be the SSA President, but also a client!  That being said, my brain is stuffed full of 1980's Sesame Street.  Finally, it's coming in handy.  As I referenced in my last post, Dance Ourselves to Sleep is a popular song around here.  "We dance Ethan to sleep, oh yeah.  We dance Ethan to sleep. He's in his jammies.  We dance Ethan to sleep. And thank you Lamby."  Of course I sing that to him all the time...it's about him and Lamby, isn't it?

In some sort of random moment, I suddenly remembered this little nugget:  Teenie Little Super Guy.  Perfect.  "You can't tell a hero by his size, just a teenie little super guy. (oooooh yeah)"   Of course, there were a few words I was unsure of, so in an effort to dust the cobwebs out of my brain, I of course referenced YouTube.  Not only did I find Teenie Little Super Guy, but a segment about a little kid who didn't want to go to sleep for fear that he'd miss something.  Gosh that sounded familiar.  

I can't imagine that anyone would find this clip quite as amusing as I did....humor me!

And Thank You Lamby!

While we were waiting for Ethan, I spent countless hours researching exactly what baby products to buy.  I read magazines, Consumer Reports, online reviews, and polled numerous friends.  I was worried about things like quality, longevity, ease of use, convenience, and bang for the buck.  Any baby items we brought home had to fit all my criteria perfectly.  It was a bit like doing research for a college term paper, but by the time I was through, I was pretty certain that I had aced this part of the exam. So far, we're thrilled with our purchases!  My hard work has surely paid off!

It's been evident that perhaps one of the BEST investments I made came from a random trip to the Pottery Barn Kids outlet.  A super soft plush stuffed lamb.  He's not just any stuffed lamb however.  He's a super lamb who plays white noise on a timer (15 to 45 minutes) and who has a Velcro strap to attach to the rails of the crib.  I assure you that our switch is permanently set to the 45 setting!  A Cloud B Sleep Sheep to be specific.  Anyway, he plays a heartbeat sound, ocean waves, rain, and he even speaks whale!  When I saw him at the store, I figured he was cute enough.  I'd heard white noise makers were nice to have.  The price was right.  So home he came.  From the minute Ethan came home from the hospital, our Lamby has worked wonders!!  Sure, it's not a fix all, but we don't put him down to sleep without it!  Charlie and I give it rave reviews.
And of course...what kind of child of Sesame Street would I be if a sleep aide named Lamby didn't remind me of this classic clip???

You can find your own Lamby here:

Dos Semanas

Two weeks have quickly come and gone.  It's amazing how much can happen in such a short amount of time!!  A complicated labor and delivery. Three additional noisy and sleepless nights in a hospital room next to the supply closet. A tired realization in the 90 degree heat that we had put the car seat in the car, but hadn't bothered to learn how to use the restraints. Getting home and being confronted with the fact that I could not physically perform day to day baby care tasks (like lifting little Ethan in and our of his crib).  Luckily, we had set up the pack and play bassinet in the bedroom and with some minimal rearrangement, our bedroom became my home for the next two weeks, as well as baby central.  The nursery became my "kitchen," housing a mini fridge and snacks to better accommodate upstairs living.

The end of week one brought much improvement.  Ethan being a content baby and sleeping reasonably well though the nights played a large part.  My mobility was improving and I perfected picking items off the floor with my feet.  We were also so fortunate to have so many wonderful people bring us meals all week.  What a great help for now Chef Charlie!!   We also managed to make a trip out to Long's Park for some family photos with Stacey and her kids one evening.  Ethan found the fresh air very sleep worthy!

Photo thanks to Stacey Brooks :)

At exactly one week, determined to do our best and not become parental shut-ins, we escaped from our cave and took Ethan out to his first baseball game.  We were fortunate that some good friends of ours had use of a sky box for the Barnstormers game.  Ethan slept through most of the two hours we were at the game and we were able to grab some dinner.  Ethan was lucky enough to get a baseball signed by Cylo, the team mascot (special thanks to Greg's mom for hooking us up!!), to keep as a reminder of his first big outing.  We made sure to snap a few photos once he decided to open his eyes.

Week two Charlie headed back to work and I was lucky to have the help of friends and family all week. Things got easier by the day, and we started to fall into a bit of a schedule.  Both Ethan and I had doctor's appointments at the beginning of the week, and we both checked out well.  Ethan was back over his birth weight, and had grown almost a whole inch!  I was cleared to make an extra trip down the stairs (that's two per day!) on days where I was feeling up to it. Even though I rarely took advantage of the extra trip, it was very freeing to know that I could if I so chose.  And what about sleep??  Ethan is a much better night sleeper than I ever was as an infant, but in his Mother's footsteps, Ethan isn't a big fan of sleeping during the day.  By evening, he's usually so tired that he's quite the handful.  Thank goodness we have some wonderful tools that have helped make things much easier.  We made it out to the park once more this week as well (and though I tire quickly, how nice it was just to get out and walk!), and Ethan continued to have many visitors to welcome him home.  The second week ended with a visit to Greg and Dana's housewarming party.  It was the first time that we tested Ethan with a Breastflow bottle, allowing us to stay a bit longer, and Ethan to feed easily.  I'm happy to report that it was a success, and hasn't disrupted his regular feeding schedule.  We finished our second week by introducing Ethan to his first Steelers pre-season game.  He managed to stay awake though half of a quarter, and was quite amused by my explanations of the game until his eye lids got heavy.  He does however have to learn to not be startled when I yell at the TV. :)  (The photo on the left is Ethan during the second half of the game...how rarely we see him all curled up.)

As for Ethan...We're starting to figure out his signals, and can preemptively reduce the number of baby meltdowns that we have each day.  He loves to sit in the Boppy pillow, look out the windows, and work on moving his arms.  He focuses so closely on each move of his hands. Sometimes he can get his fingers or fist into his mouth.  He hates to be swaddled.  Nothing makes him more upset than his limbs being restrained.  Even the doctor noticed it as his last appointment.  He asked if Ethan could break out of the nurse's swaddles at the hospital.  He in fact could.  He said it takes Houdini to break out of a nurse's swaddle.  That's our Ethan.  He also hates his hands being covered, so we quickly learned that the little mittens and sleeve covers just weren't for him.  What he loves to do is stretch out.  He sleeps with his arms way up above his head and his legs stretched straight out.  I can tell you with much confidence that he tried to do the same thing before he was born.  Although most newborn sized clothing fits really well, he's so long and slender that his little shorts are all a bit large at the waist.  At this rate, I'd bet he'll soon need to wear 0-3 month clothing with newborn bottoms.  He likes to try and hold his head upright, and he is trying so hard to find his voice and make baby sounds.  Daddy calls him his little pooper (and for good reason).  We laugh about how embarrassing it would be if the nickname stuck into his teen years..."make sure my little pooper is home by 11!"

Tour de Nursery

As I promised, here's the official nursery tour:  A lot of the details I have covered in previous posts, but now you can get a full sense of the space.  I'm really happy with the way that everything came together.  I wanted to have a strong jungle theme, but what I wanted to avoid was purchasing a "matching" baby set (they're way too expensive and overly coordinated for my taste).  And of course, the creative side of me wanted to do it myself, and be able to add my own custom elements.  So, lets get on with it!

Starting behind the door is the stick on giraffe, the Ethan banner that I made, and the ribbon of wooden jungle animals that I also made.  The little bookshelf was mine when I was a kid.

And of course, my favorite monkeys surrounding the closet door!

Here again is the crib and animal photos, complete now with the jungle mobile.  The plant I got real inexpensive at The Christmas Tree Shops, and the zebra plant stand had been a Christmas gift from my brother a few years ago.  It seemed to fit in quite nicely!  The little basket on the floor is now the home to a number of Ethan's stuffed jungle friends!

Here's a closer look at the mobile.  I also really enjoy the giraffe hamper and the monkey night light.

Here you can see the corner of the leaf print curtains and the dressers.  Of course, there's Murphy in his banana car, and the Ethan train that I made (stay tuned for more about the train...)

So, there you have it!  I'll be sure to add more details later.

Ethan's Story

First day in the hospital.  Thanks Stacey Brooks for the amazing photos!!

The title of this really should be "Ethan's novel," but I'll try and keep it "short."  Ethan was due to arrive on Monday the 2nd of August.  On Friday the 6th when we went for a non-stress test and fluid level check to find that the amniotic fluid levels were too low for Ethan to continue taking his precious time.  The appointment was for 8am, and we were scheduled for an induction at 8pm.  That gave me the day to make sure that every last inch of the house was ready to go down to details like emptying the dishwasher.  The actual induction took place around 9pm.  Unfortunately, the Cervadil ended up causing one almost continuous contraction and had to be discontinued early in the morning.  I slept most of the night with small contractions on my own.  By somewhere around 6am the contractions had died down and they started Pitosin.  For the whole labor process, contractions were around two minutes apart.  At this point, I don't remember much about time except that I know we did a few hours of these contractions and three hours of really hard contractions until I finally ended up with the epidural.  We had had little progress all day, but towards the tail end, things went from zero to 60 in no time.  After 2.5 hrs of trying to deliver, the doctor determined that we were destined for a cesarian section.  The surgery was quickly prepped, and Ethan Michael was born at 10:51 pm (27 hrs after admission) on August 7th.  He weighed 8lbs 2oz.  Measured 20.5 inches.  Just a bit of trivia...in my immediate maternal family (my parents, brother, baby Ethan and myself), all five of us were born on Saturdays, and our birthdays are stacked one each month, April, May, June, July and August.

After what seemed like forever trapped in a bad hotel room, we finally escaped a day early today.  Lucky for me, the healing process is moving "quickly."  (or as quickly as you can recover after a long labor followed by surgery).  Things really sped up when I was finally disconnected from IV medication yesterday morning and could shower and put on pajamas!  Feeling refreshed and being able to move did wonders for how I was feeling physically.  I've been told that my progress is much ahead of most c-sections.  

Ethan's first night included mostly solid sleeping.  His first day he was amazingly content and slept often.  He was greeted later in the evening by a roomful of wonderful guests.  Then the second day and night hit.  Poor Ethan suffered a good deal of belly upset due to not being squeezed during birth.  Luckily for us, by this morning he a completely different baby....and tonight, he's doing his baby best at SLEEPING!  I'm so proud of him!!

Being bed bound for so long, baby care became quite the responsibility for a new daddy.  I have to say though that in most cases, Ethan is equally content with both of us....what a blessing!

We got home today at around 4pm.  I can't thank my lucky stars and our hard preparations getting the house ready.  Even though we were 6minutes from the hospital, we had to kick it right into baby gear the second that we walked in the door.....with one surprise element....my limited mobility and my restriction to using the stairs only once a day.  Not being able to bend made many baby tasks too difficult for me to accomplish, and we had to quickly think on our feet to create a setup where I could assist in the care giving.  Thank goodness we (by some stroke of luck) seem to have purchased all the right items to make what could have been an extremely difficult situations much easier.

So much more to share....some baby products have been worth their weight in gold and then some, even after just a few hours.  Photos and more photos...both of the family and the nursery.  And so much more.  Until then...I surrender this lengthy post!!!  (and apologize now for any nonsensical statements....it's been a long few days!!)

In August and Everything After....

Well, not only is it officially August, but the countdown on my iGoogle page says 5 hrs 12 minutes.  If only mother nature was that predictable!  Regardless, week 39 is almost past.  It started with some major thunderstorms that knocked out the power at work, leaving me with a surprise day off on Monday.  Tuesday finished out my time at work for the next 3 months.  The remainder of the week I was on "vacation."  Spent a good three days with some time relaxing poolside (oh, and acquiring a bit of a sunburn).  Friday the weather was amazing.  Sunny, "cool," and not humid.  Charlie and I took advantage of the weather and went mini-golfing.  Yup, I can still win even when I can't see my toes!  That's really been my last big "outing."  As a matter of fact, I've hit quite the slowdown and have decided that I didn't really want to leave the house this weekend.  Yes, I've spent a good bit of time this week just sitting around...and I'm ok with that!

PS-These photos were taken by my friend Jane last Sunday.  Sunday was the same day as the major thunderstorms, so we spend some of our time shooting in the rain as the storms finished.  The upside was that it was relatively cool, and the rain felt amazing.  It was also just really nice to be outside comfortably after all the hot weather we've been having.  Also, I really do like the raindrops and the extra ambiance that the rain provided!