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!"