Thanksgiving 2011

I had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. My baby Ethan was out of the NICU ( had been for a while, but you never know what can happen), and our whole family was able to get together. My grandpa had been sick for about a month so it was great seeing him and he got to meet Ethan for the first time. I loved spending time with everyone and of course everybody wanted to hold Ethan. I know Ethan was happy about that because he loves to be held! We ate a lot of food and took turns riding the go-cart. Ethan did not ride this year. Maybe in a few years Ethan! When you can hold your head up!

This Thanksgiving felt different than any other. I felt complete. I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband and my new,sweet baby Ethan. I couldn't be any happier and I will be forever grateful! Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's a picture of four generations:(so neat to have)

2 Months

Ethan is now 2 months old. I am really liking this stage of his life. He is sleeping longer at night (about 8-10 hours) most nights. He still has some not so long nights every once in a while. He is smiling a lot more too! I LOVE when he smiles! He also does this little thing where I'm feeding him (he's getting sleepy) and I'll look at him and he's just smiling at me. I take the bottle out of his mouth and start to talk to him. He waits for me to finish talking and then he makes a noise. We repeat this like 10 times. It's almost like we are having a conversation and he is smiling the entire time! Melts my heart! He loves is seat that has the toys hanging from it. When he hits one of the toys with his hands he starts kicking his little legs full speed. It's so funny!! He also loves to watch the ceiling fan spin while I change his diaper. As soon as I lay him down to change his diaper he looks up at the fan and then at me. ( Like he is silently telling me to SPIN THE FAN MAMA!) As soon as I spin the fan he starts smiling and laughing! He is such a joy to take care of! Ethan, I love you with all my heart and I love taking care of you! Happy 2 Months Sweet Boy!

Two Month Stats:

Weight: 14lbs 6 oz
Length: 24 1/4 inches

Halloween

Ethan had a great first Halloween! We went over to Aunt April and Uncle Matt's house. We handed out candy while Alexa and Ava trick or treated and then we took lots of pictures of Ethan in his Pea Pod costume! He was so cute!!!! Maybe in a year or so we can trick or treat too!

1 Month

Ethan is 1 Month! Time is just flying by and we are enjoying every minute of it! At his 1 month doctor's appointment he weighed 12lbs! We have a very big boy on our hands! He is eating about every 3-4 hours about 4 ounces each feeding. He is sleeping at night about 5-6 hours. So we are getting a little more rest! YAY!!! Ethan, Mommy and Daddy love you so much! Happy 1 Month Sweet Boy!

Pumpkins

We decided to take Ethan to the pumpkin patch to pick out his first pumpkin for Halloween. Even though he slept through most of it, Patrick and I had fun! We took a couple photos and found two pumpkins we liked. I love that Ethan was born in September! Such a great time of year!

Ethan's Coming Home!!!

This was such a GREAT day!!! My baby was coming HOME!!! We were so happy to find out that afternoon that we could take our baby home! Although Ethan did not pass the sleep study test ( he still had dips in his oxygen level when asleep) we were told we could take him home with a sleep apnea monitor. Before we could leave we had to learn all about the monitor. This was a little scary! During the teaching session I started thinking..um maybe he should just stay here at the hospital. Maybe that would be safer. Let me tell you why. There are 2 alarms that could go off. The first one is a steady beep this means his leads or sticky things on his belly have come off aka something is wrong with the monitor. The second alarm is a beeping noise on and off. This alarm means either he has stopped breathing for 20 seconds or more or his heart rate has dropped below 100. I know, 20 seconds!!!! So after learning about this monitor I was a little nervous about bringing Ethan home! It took me about 1-2 weeks to get used to this monitor and not freak out every time it went off. It went off about twice a day in the beginning (always the sleep apnea alarm. never the heart rate alarm) but now ( a month later) it rarely goes off. By the way, it sounds like a house alarm going off! Talk about a heart attack!!! I'm surprised the neighbors can't hear it! At the end of the day I'm glad we had the monitor to ease my mind and it allowed us to bring Ethan home when we did. Thankfully Ethan is doing well and the alarms don't go off anymore!
Here's some photo's of us before leaving the hospital and one on our way out of the hospital!! (YAY!)

All About Ethan

Just looking at Ethan makes me so happy! My favorite thing to do is feed him. I love watching the faces that he makes when I feed/burp him. Here are a couple of facts about him so far ( 2 weeks old):

-he has a temper, he holds both of his hands above his head and screams! He even holds his breathe.

- He does not like getting baths yet. He screams the entire time.

- He loves to eat!

- He loves to be held. ( rocking or shaking him a little is a plus) He loves the movement.

- He loves you to hold him and sing softly while rocking him to sleep.

- He loves you to rub him. ( is head especially)

- He loves breast milk

- He would only take a NUK bottle. They have wide nipples.

- He gets startled easily. When a door opens/shuts, tv, etc.. he jumps. Always goes back to sleep, but it startles him.

- He loves you to talk to him! He just stares at you like he knows exactly what you are saying.