Hey Ethan, What Time Is It?!?!?!

It's TUMMY TIME!!!!!

That's right. We've been trying to work on tummy time. Um....let's just say it lasts about 5 minutes max! No seriously, I took the pictures to prove it!! Elapsed time: 3 1/2 minutes!!



"WAIT!!! Did you say tummy time? But I dont think I like tummy time!!"



"Yes, I was right. I really dont like tummy time. Are we done yet?"



"Wait, is that a monkey down there?"



"Maybe I'll eat my bib while I'm on my tummy. Maybe Mommy will pick me up if I try to eat my bib!!"



"That's it!!! I've had it!!! I told you I didn't like tummy time!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So what does Ethan like you ask?!

He likes to ride in his new stroller. We walked to the library and back.



He likes to try sitting up in his new seat!!



He thinks elephants are hilarious!!



And he likes to wear Daddy's glasses!!!




At 8 weeks, he is now REACHING for toys!!! It is so cute! Every once in a while, he will even connect with his fist!

That's all for now!

All our love,
Charlie, Beth, and Ethan

Almost 7 weeks.........

Ethan is almost 7 weeks old! It has been both the longest and the shortest 7 weeks of our lives!

In eating news:

He is doing great on his golden formula! We don't have another (scheduled) appt with the pediatrician until mid-September for his two-month check up and shots. We are currently taking bets on whether we will make it four full weeks without a visit to Dr. M!! In his first 4 weeks of life, Ethan visited Dr. M at least 6 times......maybe more! What will she do without us?!?!

He loves to eat and his weight is showing it! In my most scientific of ways (I stepped on the scale and then stepped back on while holding him) I'm guessing he weighs around 10.5 pounds! No doubt he is gaining weight. He has outgrown all of his newborn clothes and newborn diapers!! When he has to give up his bottle to burp, he gets REALLY REALLY angry!! And when he wakes up from a long nap and realizes how hungry he is.......he is REALLY REALLY angry!!



In fun news:

Ethan loves his rainforest play mat. I know I told you that last time....but seriously, this kid adores those animals!! He smiles at them, and talks to them, and kicks to the music, and swings his arms like crazy. He is trying really hard to reach the toys except he hasn't quite mastered how to use his hands!!





He loves to smile at everything and is beginning to make noises that sound like laughs!! It is so reassuring to know that he can make noises other than "WAAAAAA WAAAA WAAAAA"




And sometimes he even sleeps!! We are starting to try and get him used to sleeping in his pack'n'play bassinet. It has to be elevated to help his reflux or he will spit up and get very uncomfortable. Right now he isn't very fond of sleeping in the bassinet and we honestly haven't even tried the crib!! But he does love to sit in his boppy and watch the ocean wonders in his crib while I fold his laundry!



And sometimes, when the planets are properly aligned and we say all the right magical words.....



In all honesty, about 4 or 5 nights a week ~ he will sleep about 6 hours at night! And we certainly can't complain about that!!

So that's what is new in our world for right now. Thanks for checking on us!

Ethan vs. ...................

I know!! I know!!!! It's been forever since I put an update on the blog. This kid keeps me really busy!! But right now he is sleeping in my lap - hopefully I can type faster than he can nap!!! Lots to catch you up on, so get comfy!!

Ethan vs. The Photographer

We had professional pictures done of Ethan when he was only 2 weeks old. We didn't expect a miracle out of him, but really just wanted to capture that time. He'll never be that tiny again.....in fact, he's already growing like a weed! Ethan was not extremely excited about cooperating with the photographer. We were mean parents and tricked our baby with his pacifier! We would give it to him just long enough to calm him down and then yank it away! His photographer was very quick on the trigger, catching some super cute pictures.

Here are some of our favorites: (all photos were taken at Portrait Innovations)










Ethan vs. his formula

My child DOES love to eat! No question about that!! It's just that he has been struggling with finding the right formula for his little tummy. He started off in the hospital with nursing. When he went into the NICU, he needed a formula supplement to keep his blood sugars up ~ so he was on Similac. He didn't do well on that, so his pedi changed him to Enfamil Gentlease. That was supposed to be easier on his tummy.....nope! So we gave up all milk-based products and went to soy. He was doing OK on the soy, less spitting up - but he wasnt properly digesting it. We learned this one Saturday afternoon while at Sams Club doing some shopping. Ethan was happily riding in the cart in his carseat and I noticed a little bit of dribble on his chin. As I went to wipe it off, he threw up ~ pretty seriously. Then I noticed he was choking!! He was turning purple :o( We grabbed him up as quickly as we could and started patting on his back. I'm sure the whole event lasted seconds, but it felt like hours!! We talked to his pediatrician and she agreed that he should not be working this hard to digest. So another change........and we are now on Enfamil Nutramigen. It's a hypoallergenic formula, not made of milk or soy. For the price we pay ~ I'm quite sure it is made of powdered GOLD! We are very very lucky that our pediatrician's office is good to us and we often leave there with free samples of his formula. In 3 weeks, we've only had to purchase one can so far! He has also started on Axid for acid reflux. It really seems to help him not to be so uncomfortable when he eats and when he spits up.

And speaking of spitting up......that hasn't stopped. Just to be sure we were still paying attention to him, Ethan decided to start spitting up again! His pedi sent us to Children's Mercy to have a sonogram done to rule out any problems with the formation/function of his stomach, kidneys, etc. The FANTASTIC news is that everything came back great! No major issues for us to worry about. But that means we just have a spitty baby. His tummy is a little slower to mature than the rest of his body so he is doing lots of spitting up. He WILL grow out of it, we just have to be patient. There is an elective surgery that we could have done (who in the world ELECTS to have surgery for their baby?!?! NOT US!!) but his dr doesn't recommend it. She said we are better off investing in a good laundry detergent and stain remover!!


Ethan vs. the playmat!!

Ethan has started noticing lights and sounds and toys! It really is sooo cute!! Last week while Donna and Sarah were visiting, we put his rainforest playmat together and put him down on it to see what he would do! He just loved watching the lights and listening to the music.

I took a short video of him playing. Sorry it appears to be upside down. I was sitting behind him so that he didn't notice me and cry to be picked up! Watch about 15ish seconds into the video for a little tiny laugh!!



And this is a picture from today's playtime! He noticed himself in the little red mirror!! Also, you can see that he is wearing the same outfit as in the 2 week pictures above - only now it fits him so much better!



Not a playmat, but just as entertaining ~ Ethan LOOOOVES to laugh at the ceiling fan!! It is his favorite morning activity! After his early morning bottle, he likes to hang out on his boppy and laugh/coo at the ceiling fan!! Yup, I caught that moment too!





Ethan vs. Mommy's Camera!!

Monday, August 11th was the official "1 month old" mark!! I tried all day to get a good picture of him with his little baby gnome (Thanks Tara!!) only he was having a particularly fussy day. Finally right before we changed him into his jammies, I got one. I even got a tiny little grin!!



But I have to include this one also so you can see what I was up against all day long!!!



His one month statistics from his doctor's appt yesterday:
Weight ~ 9lbs 4.2oz
Lenght ~ 21 inches
Head ~ 14 3/4 inches

Ethan vs. the GIRLS!!!!

Already a ladies man! I met two of my girlfriends for coffee on Thursday. Natalie has a little girl - Paige - who is 3 months old. Kim also has a little girl - McKenna - who just turned 2 weeks old today. So Ethan got to have his picture taken with two beautiful girls, one older and one younger! Every boy's dream right??!?!? Yeah, they didn't seem to care to notice one another at this age. Maybe in a few years!

Natalie and Paige


Kim's baby McKenna ~ asleep in my arms!! Ethan was NEVER this tiny, not even at birth!!


All the babies! L. to R. ~ Paige, Ethan, and McKenna


Ethan vs. Mommy!!

And finally, a quick look into my daily life!! This is how I trick my son into thinking that I'm holding him during the day!! This is how I get the chance to eat, change over a load of laundry, wash bottles, you name it!! Thanks to my good friend Kate for making me these sling carriers! They have saved me. Although, I must admit, I'm just waiting for the day that I accidentally drip jelly on his head!

Happy 2 Years to Us!!

Just a quick entry. Today is our 2nd wedding anniversary. What a difference two years can make. Our family has definitely changed from a family of 2 to a family of 3. We love our little guy with all our heart and couldn't dream of a better anniversary gift to each other!

....the rest of the story.............

In the words of Paul Harvey ~ most of you know how the story ends, but did you get the details in the middle?!? Get comfy!

Thursday, July 10th

40weeks and 3days pregnant.......heading to the hospital!


My doctor called us early Thursday and said she wanted to get me in to the hospital before the re-scheduled 7pm. She wanted to do two rounds of Cervidil thinking that would help speed up my induction the next day. We were anxious to get anything started in the right direction, so we agreed. We got to the hospital around 1pm. We were officially admitted and in our labor room by 1:30. I had all my bloodwork and IV stuff done.....pretty standard stuff. The first round of Cervidil (to help me dilate and prepare for labor) began at 3pm. It would continue until 11pm. Not much to report really. It made me a little crampy but other than that ~ I felt normal.....anxious but normal. Charlie's Mom and brother brought us dinner at around 6pm. This was my last meal for a while!

At 11pm, my nurse came in and checked me. Still no progress so she started my second round of Cervidil. This dose was supposed to run from 11pm - 6am. She said at 6am, she would wake me up and I could take a shower/brush my teeth/etc before they started the Pitocin at 7am. She gave me two Ambien to try and sleep and we settled in for the night. Apparently my body does not like Ambien!! I don't remember much about the following event....but I'll tell you what I know. As Charlie was climbing into his cot for the night, I started crying. I have no idea why! I asked him to get me a tissue from the bathroom. When he stood up to walk to the bathroom, I started crying even more. He asked me what was wrong and I told him he had a lot of eyes and I couldn't tell which ones were his. Seriously...that's why I was crying! As he came closer to give me my tissues, his face became even more contorted and blurry. There were at least 3 sets of eyes/glasses/ears/etc and it seriously freaked me out. That's all I remember. I'm pretty sure I passed out after that.

My 6am shower was never to be! My water broke on it's own at 3:30am. My nurse came in and verified that it was in fact my water (at first I was pretty sure I had peed myself!) and got my IV ready for the Pitocin - this is the medicine that would begin my contractions. My Pitocin was started at 4am and by 5:45am I was VERY uncomfortable. The thing about having your labor induced is that you don't get that natural progression of contractions. You don't start off having them 10 or so minutes apart. Mine started almost right away at 5 minutes apart. Every hour they would crank up my meds and the contractions would come a little more frequently. At 6am (when I should have been showering) I was asking for my epidural.

The epidural scared me the most going into this whole process. I mean, a needle in the back.....how can that NOT scare you?!?? But it really wasn't anywhere near as bad as I had imagined. And even better yet, I had near immediate relief after it was done. I was able to get a little bit of sleep on/off after the epidural. I'm not sure if Charlie was able to sleep at all after I woke him up in a panic at 3:30.

Friday, July 11th

My labor was progressing pretty quickly after the epidural and everyone was pretty sure we would have a baby by mid-afternoon. I had to have my epidural re-dosed a few times during labor when my contractions became stronger and closer together.

At around 1pm I was at 8cm. All the nurses and even my doctor kept saying that this baby was coming very soon. Not so.......... I got stuck at 8cm for about 2 hours. I finally got to 9cm by 3pm and then got stuck again. In an effort to get our little one moving along, I had to flip from one side to the other about every 15-30 mins. That was an interesting feat I can promise you! Remember, I have absolutely no feeling below my belly button!! So between Charlie and my nurse, they just sortof grabbed me and flipped me like a pancake every so often. It wasn't comfortable but I was VERY ready to meet this little one and was willing to do whatever was needed to get him out!!

By about 5:30pm I had finally reached 10cm and we could start pushing. We did some practice pushes to see if baby would make his way down. Not much moving on his part, but a little each time so we kept at it. By 6:30 when he was not moving at all, they called in the doctor to check on me. One contraction and one push later and the doctor said "This baby is not moving. It is no longer safe for you or the baby to continue to labor. We need to just go in and get him out."

It is safe to say I was devastated. :o( I had worked so hard all day only to be told that I was going to end up with a c-section anyway. But after hearing the words "not safe for baby" there was no decision needed. Off we go to the OR to finally meet this little critter that had been kicking me in the ribs for months and months!

I wont lie. The c-section was very scary and very uncomfortable. I was numbed from my toes all the way up to my fingertips. Even my chin was a bit tingly. The lights in the OR, together with the meds, made me sick to my stomach so they ended up putting a cold, wet washcloth over my eyes. But every moment was worth it when they pulled out our baby and told Charlie and I we had a son!! Even with no feeling in any part of my body, there was an amazing feeling right then that words can't even describe. He was here, and he was healthy, and he was ours! Our son!!

Happy Birthday Ethan Thomas!! 7lbs, 13oz 18inches 7:57pm


Big feet!!


Safe and comfy in Daddy's arms!!


Meeting Mommy for the first time!


Charlie went off with Ethan while the doctors put me back together again. I remember hearing him talking to Ethan and I remember hearing Ethan crying. The nurses were really good about telling me what was happening with my baby since my eyes were still covered and closed. After they weighed him and stamped his big ol' baby feet, they wrapped him up and gave him to Charlie to bring to me! Poor little guy. He looked like he had been in a horrible bar fight. The doctor and nurses said that his little head was wedged sideways in my pelvic bone. He had a knot on the top of his head and his eye was really puffy and purple. His first black eye and he was only minutes old.

We got to our room around 11:30pm and needless to say were EXHAUSTED. Sleep was very interrupted all through the night as I had to be checked every 2 hours since I was considered a post-op patient and not just a maternity patient.

Saturday, July 12th

The day started off normal enough. Ethan has slept pretty good during the night. He was a good little eater every few hours and we were so excited to have him with us! A few friends came by to visit, and we just enjoyed our little guy.

Until about noonish.........Ethan quite eating all together and started spitting up mucus. We were told this was very normal for c-section babies because they don't have the trip through the birth canal to help them clean out their tummy. They took him to the nursery and emptied out his belly of a LOT of mucus. We were told this would help him feel better. By 3pm, when our next round of visitors arrived, Ethan still wasn't eating very good at all. The nurse was really good about helping me try and coax him into eating but he was not having any part of that food. She tested his blood sugar and it was only 27, very very low. She said she needed to take him to the well-baby nursery and try to get him to eat some formula and then retest his sugars until they came back up to a safer level - around 50ish. We were told he would be back in about 30 minutes.

An hour later, we still hadn't seen our baby. I was still completely numb from the waist down and stuck in bed. In a panic, I sent Charlie to find out what was going on. He later admitted to me that as he left the room he ran into our nurse and she told him what was happening. He did not tell me when he got back to the room. He only said that the nurse was coming in to update us. And then we got the news no parent wants. Ethan spit up all his formula and his sugars were still way too low. An IV had been started and he was admitted to the NICU. He wasn't in any danger at this point, but as soon as an IV is started on a baby they become NICU patients for monitoring. They promised to get me in a wheelchair very soon and down to see my baby.

Saturday, July 12th (pm) - Wednesday, July 16th

I'm lumping all of these days together because they all ended up being an absolute blur. We got to the NICU on Saturday night to visit Ethan. It was so very hard to look at him all hooked up to the tubes and in the warmer. He looked so helpless and it just broke my heart. But the good news is that the IV was working. His fluid levels were coming back up and his sugars were getting more stable. We were able to hold him and feed him.

Cuddle time in the NICU


We spent the next days going back and forth to the NICU every 3 hours for his feedings. He was put on formula to make sure that his blood sugar stayed in a safe range. Charlie went to visit him as much as possible and I was there as often as I could drag myself down the hallway. Walking was a serious challenge, but I had quite a bit of motivation! We were told that if everything continued to go well, he would probably be released with me on Monday. That didn't happen.

By Sunday night, his sugars were doing good but his body temperature wouldn't stay up on its own. He would not be released on Monday. Fortunately, my insurance would allow me to stay another night because of the c-section so we didn't have to leave Ethan at the hospital. We were hopeful that he would be ready to go home with us on Tuesday. He needed to be able to maintain his own temperature in an open-air crib for 24 hours.

Staying warm


Daddy read to Ethan almost every day


Monday went very well and we were almost sure he would be coming home. Then Monday afternoon, his body temp took another nose dive and we had to start the 24-hour time frame all over again. I had no choice but to be discharged on Tuesday. My insurance would not allow me to stay. Fortunately for us, the hospital has a program where as long as they have an available room, they will allow you to "board" at the hospital. Basically, I was no longer a patient but they would give us a room to sleep in so we didn't have to leave our baby at the hospital. We would have to wait until late in the evening to find out if this would be possible.

At around 10pm, I was officially discharged and they moved us to a room over on the labor side. Ethan had been doing well all day with his temps and at midnight he was allowed to come and stay in our room with us. His NICU nurse came by every 2 - 3 hours to check his temps and his vitals. If his temp fell below 98, he would have to go back to his isolette and we started all over again. But he did a great job!!! His temp was perfect all night long.

Daddy feeding Ethan in the hospital room


Ethan's pediatrician came by around 7:30 Wednesday morning to see him. She said he was doing fantastic and would be discharged that day! Finally we would be home, all together!! They took him off to the nursery for his circumcision and then to the NICU to be checked over one last time. We started getting things together and in the car to go home.

Ready to go home!!


Ethan was discharged at noon on Wednesday, July 16th and we got to come home! It has been a rough couple of days (and nights!!) as we all get used to each other and work on some kind of schedule. But we wouldn't trade the lack of sleep for anything in the world. We are so in love with our little guy!!

Napping with his new baby gnome!!!


A little grin while sleeping in his boppy pillow

a NON update..........

Short and (not so) sweet..........We are home. ;o(

We got to the hospital at 8pm last night. After 30 mins of waiting, a nurse came to tell us that it was a very crazy night there and they didn't have a nurse for us yet. She sent us home to call her at 10pm. We came back home, killed a bunch of time and called at 10. We were told, "Nope. Sorry. We'll call you soon."

We got a call from the same nurse around 11. She said they still had nowhere for us and my doctor would call us in the morning. She tells us "Try to get a good night's sleep."......Yeah right!

Phone call came at 7am this morning. We go back and try again at 7pm tonight. :o(

So......no 7/10 baby for us. I'm beyond bummed. Only because I am just soooo ready and now this. I spend another day waiting and nervous and anxious and excited ~ all tied up in this one body......that I still have to share.

I'm pretty sure Charlie and I are just going to turn off all the phones and computers in the house and try to relax today. Don't be offended if you can't reach us.

Baby news tomorrow.........we hope!

Happy due date to me.........

So.......baby's due date has come and nothing......absolutely positively NOTHING!!!

The ultrasound was great. Baby is healthy and thriving. My fluids are getting lower, but that is to be expected since baby is taking up much more space. They are still in the completely normal range and nowhere near a level where we should worry. We had to wake up little critter to get some movement. Brat! The tech said s/he is definitely bigger this week than last week - but didn't say how much. Maybe she didn't want to scare me!

As for me ~ +2 more lbs. Still just under 2cm dialated and 80% effaced. The baby is head down but not really really low. Dr. K talked to us quite a bit about what to expect and I'm really thankful she did. Basically, I have to go in on Wednesday night for the cervidil because my body just isn't dialating and effacing on its own. Baby's head pushing on the cervix causes these things to happen. Because the baby dropped about 4 weeks ago, I started making progress. Because I have not made ANY progress at all in the past 3 weeks, this shows that the baby really hasn't dropped anymore at all.

This could be because my kid is a brat and is too comfortable!! Or it could be because I'm too small and baby is too big. No, baby isn't ginormous but I'm seriously not a large person (apparently fat doesn't count!!) There really isn't any way to tell which of these is happening without just inducing me and seeing if my body will pick up and figure this whole labor thing out! So I go in Wednesday and we hope that the cervidil opens things up and baby finds a path to the birth canal that s/he likes. Dr. K will come and check me early Thursday morning and see how I'm doing and start the pitocin, maybe break my water depending on any progress made.

We'll play the sit and wait game while the pitocin does its thing. If after cervidil, pitocin, water breaking and epidural I'm still not making progress to her liking - she said we will talk c-section. She isn't quick to jump to c-section (she isn't even a huge fan of induction) but she also said she isn't going to let me labor forever and not make any progress because if the baby is too big ~ it doesn't matter how long I labor, I'm not gonna be pushing it out.

So, yes ~ I'm bummed that I'm officially overdue, but at least I know that there is a clear end in sight. I'm on orders to put my feet up as much as possible over the next 48 hours because they are swelling like gigantic marshmallows!!!

And unless some magic fairy falls from the sky and makes me dialate and efface and breaks my water................our baby will be arriving exactly one year to the day of our loss. Maybe that was in God's plan all along.


All our love,
Charlie, Beth, and Baby!


P.S. ~ I dont have a 40w picture right now because I'm too lazy to go and take one! I promise I'll take one before I go to bed and I'll try to remember to post it tomorrow. I'm sure I'm bigger now than I was last week ~ and no, I'm not a glowing pregnant lady....I'm sweating!! It's really hot here!