Thursday, November 30, 2006

7 Weeks




Well, we are almost to the 7 week mark. And it's strange...I can't really remember my life without Ethan. I love it! I love being a mom. I can't imagine life any other way.


The week before Thanksgiving, we all came down with a cold. Ethan and I had it a little worse than Marc did. But the doctor gave us some medicine and we are all just fine now.


On our last trip to the doctor, Ethan weighed in at 10 lbs. 9 oz. WOW!! He's growing so fast and his personality is starting to show. He has started smiling and he's even rolling over!!! Marc swears that he will walk before he's 1. I can't even imagine!!


I went back to work this week which means Ethan started "school." His first day went well. They said he was very calm...just taking it all in. The next day was a little different. He was pretty cranky most of the day but he did sleep in his crib for 2 hours!! YAHOO!!!! Leaving him wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I know he's in good hands and he seems happy when he's there.


We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

20 Days





A lot has happened since we came home. For starters, I've learned how to do a lot of things one-handed...like typing for instance. Right now I'm typing with two hands but I have a 9 lb. baby balanced ever-s0-carefully on my chest (this is one of his favorite sleeping positions).


Yesterday we went to the doctor for a weight check. Ethan has gained 1 lb. and 3 oz. since he was born. He now weighs in at 9 lbs. 4 oz. The doctor said that everything looks great. I'm excited because we no longer have to wake him up during the day to feed him. YAHOO!!!!! There's nothing worse than waking a sleeping baby.


On October 21, we had the Bris. From what I am told, Ethan handled it very well. I will admit...I am a wimp and didn't watch the procedure. I stood in the hallway and and heard the crying...that was about all I could handle. Ethan was also given his Hebrew name that day. Eilam Rishon means "eternal first." We picked those two names for obvious reasons...he will forever be our first born, no matter how many more we decide to have.


Ethan is doing well at night for the most part (night before last excluded). Usually he will sleep for 3-4 hours at a time, wake up, eat, and go right back to sleep. Every now and then (like the other night), he didn't want to go back to sleep. Marc walked laps with him through the kitchen and dining room singing "100 Bottle of Beer On the Wall". Ethan finally fell asleep with 57 bottle of beer left on the wall.


Parenthood is a total trip! I love it!!! For the first few days, I felt like a tourist taking pictures and video taping everything! Now we spend our days running errands, napping, and cleaning the house. It's amazing how quickly the place gets trashed. My new favorite past time is washing bottles. Oh, the joy of washing, sterilizing, and drying. If I had a nickel for every bottle I've washed in the past two weeks, I wouldn't have to go back to work.


Right now we are working on sleeping in the crib. For a while the only place Ethan would fall asleep was in his swing. After trial and error, we found out that the sheets in the crib were too cold and he had to be swaddled, but only on the bottom half. Ethan does NOT like to not have control over were his hands go. Probably because he likes to sleep with them on his face or over his head.
On Halloween we went to visit Gram (my Mom) and her work friends. Ethan had three different outfits to wear that day and somehow, we managed to wear them all! Thanks to Heather, Christine, and Gram for the cute outfits!!

Monday, October 16, 2006

Introducing Ethan Ryan Spector









Ethan is here!!! And he came into the world with a bang! Here's the recap...


I started having contractions around 5:00 Saturday morning. At first I wasn't really sure if they were contractions so Marc got me a Tylenol and I tried to sleep...no luck. I was just really uncomfortable. Around 7:00 am I started timing the contractions but there wasn't really a pattern to them. I kept this up for about 2 hours and then decided to call the doctor. The midwife told me to try to relax and take a warm bath. If the contractions slowed, we were ok. I called her back around 10:30 and told her that they were getting stronger and longer. She told me to go ahead and make my way to the hospital and they would call her when I got there.


Meanwhile, Marc was out running errands. Luckily we had family staying with us and Shelley kept me company the entire time. We called Marc and told him to come back to the house and then we started getting a few random things together. By the time we left the house, the contractions were probably less than 2 minutes apart. My water broke in the car right before we got to the hospital and not pushing was not an option. I tried my best to breathe, but it just wasn't happening. My body just kept screaming "PUSH!!"


We got to the hospital at 11:50 am. Marc helped me into the waiting room and the nice ladies kept telling me not to push. Well, they changed their tune when they saw that my water had broken. A nurse put me in a wheelchair and ran me into the delivery room. At 12:13 pm, Ethan was born. Yep, a whopping 23 minutes after we pulled up to the hospital. Needless to say, there was no time for a epidural or anything for that matter. There was only time to push. After about 12 pushes, he was here! Fast and furious!!


We spent the next two days in the hospital and now we are home. Marc is off for the entire week which is awesome! So far, the routine is pretty easy. Ethan eats every three hours and sleeps for most of the time in between.

Now it's time for Mom to take a nap before Ethan wakes up...




Friday, October 13, 2006

39 Down, One More To Go

Well, I wish I had some exciting news, but there isn't any just yet. I went to the doctor yesterday and I've made a little progress, but still not enough! I'm ALMOST 3cm dilated and still 50% effaced and at a -1 station. The doctor hooked me up to the fetal monitor when I told her that Ethan was less active than normal the past few days. I got to sit for 15 minutes and listen to his heart beat and press a button every time I felt him move. Everything was normal! She told me that if I haven't delivered by next Thursday, they will plan on inducing me the following Monday...October 23. So by October 24, we'll officially be parents!

Lately, every time I call someone I have to start the conversation with "No, it's not time yet!" Understandable, considering he could be here any day now. Samantha (our cat) was not a happy camper for a few days when we took "her" chair out of the living room and moved it to Ethan's room. For 3 years, that gliding rocker has been all hers, and now it's gone. We find her sleeping in the most random places now.

My nights are getting more and more restless as the days go by. Rolling over isn't an easy task these days and Marc is constantly waking me up because I'm snoring. Yep, that's right...I snore. I never thought I could say those words, but there they are. Luckily, that should stop very soon!

It's hard to believe that D-day is right around the corner. My bags are packed and in the car. The phone tree has been made. The nursery is pretty much done. The only thing missing is Ethan. I look at my belly and think "Wow, soon that won't be there." Crazy...but I know someone wonderful will take it's place.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Making Progress






Well, folks, we are making progress...in more ways than one! The nursery is almost done!! A few decorating touches, and it's finished! We received the new crib parts on Friday and now Ethan has a place to sleep. Marc also installed the curtains this weekend. There are two decorative pieces that don't fit the crib, but at least the rest is done! Now we just need to frame a few pictures and hang them up.

My nesting instinct kicked into high gear last week. Thursday morning I was up at 4:30 am sorting through baby stuff making piles of laundry and trying to figure out just how everything works. So everything is washed and put away...now the closet looks like a closet and not the place where you shove everything away that you don't want people to see when they come over!

Friday I went to the doctor. I am now 2 cm dialated but still 50% effaced. So I've made a little progress. My mom and a few others don't think I'll make it through the week before he's here. One of my coworkers keeps telling me "He's just waiting for his birthday!" I can say that we are ready for him now. The only thing I have left to do is install the car seat base in my car, and we are ready to roll!!

Friday, September 29, 2006

3 Weeks and Counting

This week started out with a bang! Monday I woke up with a nasty sore throat and cough. I called the doctor and was told that I could take Robitussin and Halls. Tuesday, we had the nursery painted and we bought a new car!! I am now the proud owner of an 07 Honda Pilot. As Marc says, we traded the Go-cart (Saturn) for the Baby Buggy (Pilot). I love it!!

On Thursday, I had an ultrasound. The first thing we did was confirm that yes, we are having a boy. Ethan weighs 6.5 pounds and is expected to gain a half pound a week from here on out. So we are looking at having an 8 - 8.5 lb. baby if I go full term. I got to see his face and we have pictures. I don't think he was too happy with the ultrasound because he was yawning and squirming big time.

Thursday night we started putting the furniture together. One piece down, two more to go. Marc is going to do the other two pieces tonight, so tomorrow night after work, I plan on unpacking the closet and getting the room together. I can't wait to see it all put together!!

I went to the doctor this morning. No new progress. I'm still 1 cm dialted and 50% effaced. So he may not be coming early after all. The new estimated due date is October 19. She did say that he is in a good position...head WAY down. Oh, the pressure!!! At least his head isn't on my bladder anymore!

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Home Stretch


Month 9 started with a bang!! Tuesday I went to the hospital after becoming extremely overheated and having a panic attack. I've never been to the ER before...first time for everything, right? They did a bunch of tests and everything was fine. After about 4 hours, I went home with nothing more than a paper bracelet with my name on it.

Friday I had a doctor's appointment and found out that I am still measuring ahead of my due date. I'm also 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced. SOOOO...we are having an ultrasound done this Thursday to find out just how big this baby is. My doctor (midwife) doesn't think I'll go full term, so I'm guessing we will have a baby in the next three weeks.

The room still isn't ready, but we are getting there. Someone is coming to paint this week and we have all the furniture (it's the right color now!) and I bought the crib mattress this week. His room should be ready by next weekend! In the mean time, I'm going to get my bag packed and pick out a pediatrician and a day care this week, so mark those things off the list!! Marc has already installed a carseat base in his car, and we are going shopping for a car for me today. YAHOO!!!

I'm getting really excited, but that's hard to see sometimes since I'm just a little...ok, a lot...uncomfortable. He's in a head-down position and we think he's dropped, so there's a lot of pressure in my lower abdoman that makes walking and standing for long periods of time pretty uncomfortable. It seems that I can't get enough sleep or fluids. If I'm not sleeping, I'm drinking whatever I can get my hands on. Milk and water are the drinks of choice lately. And spicy food...yummmmm.
The picture above of me, Olivia, and Cindy was taken on August 20 at my house. It's amazing how your stomach can grow in a month!! We just got our digital camera back, so I'll have some recent pictures next week.


Friday, September 08, 2006

34 Weeks Down, about 6 more to go!

We've bought the paint and ordered the furniture for the nursery...now it's time to put it all together! Hopefully Marc will paint next week so we can get this show on the road and our child can have his own room!

I went to the doctor today and met the midwife (Renee) who will do the delivery. Ethan's heartbeat was 142 and she said he's measuring a little big..."no peanut baby" for me, she said! She wants to do an ultrasound in 3 weeks to make sure he's not getting too big too fast. Who knows...he may surprise us and be here early! All the more reason to get the nursery done!!!

The house is starting to take on baby-form. Last weekend, Marc put the highchair, walker, and swing together. That along with the bouncy seat and stroller are now taking over the living room. And Faith gave us some great stuff that fits right in to the living room's new decor. It's definately turning into baby central!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Week 32


Marc finally felt the baby last night!! He had an extreme case of hiccups after I got home that lasted for about 30 minutes and Marc finally got to feel it! I'm glad he's finally able to experience what I have been for a few months now.


I'm in month 8, and there are only about 8 weeks left to go and so much to do. We finally found the nursery furniture that we want...what an ordeal that has been! So hopefully that will be here in a week or two and we can start putting the nursery together. I'll have to skedattle for a weekend while Marc paints, then the nursery is mine for the decorating! I can't wait. Right now everything is shoved in a closet.


As for me, nights are starting to get a bit restless. Maneuvering this belly is a little tougher than it seems and with his head resting on my bladder, the bathroom is my new best friend. We now sleep with two extra pillows that are supposed to keep me from sleeping on my back, but that doesn't always work. Marc makes sure to wake me up if he sees me sleeping on my back. I miss my ankles immensely but know that they will be back soon. I do love the nice glow that I have. I've only been out in the sun once, but I have more color this year than in previous years. All in all I would have to rate this as an excellent pregnancy. But I have to admit, I can't wait for it to be over...only because I want Ethan HERE!!!