16 Weeks

Boy, what an interesting few weeks we've had!! The weekend of January 19th, we (Ethan, Marc, Mom and I) went to Virginia to visit my family. It was a great weekend, even though the weather was a little crappy on the drive up. We decided to drive overnight since it was Ethan's first car trip and we wanted him to sleep! It worked out fairly well. Marc drove most of the way while one of us stayed awake chatting with him and the other slept. We got to see almost everyone on our trip up there which was great.

But of course, all good things must come to an end and when we got home, Ethan and I were both sick. I took Ethan to the doctor to find out that he had a cold and a double ear infection!! We got some great medicine and are both just fine now. I took him back to the doctor on Friday to check his ears again. He now weighs 15 1/2 lbs. and is about 27 inches long. And to top it off...he's cutting two bottom teeth!!!! Holy cow, the kid is growing like a weed!!!!

Ethan's personality is REALLY starting to show. For the most part, he's a happy baby. He smiles and laughs a lot and loves people. We went to Felicia and Dave's last night for the Superbowl and Ethan had a blast with everyone. We definitely don't have a shy child on our hands! I think he has mastered rolling from his stomach to his back and he loves to stand up. Marc and I joke that he will walk before he crawls, and I'm starting to think that might be reality. Ethan is also mimicking sounds. If we make a noise a few times, he'll usually try to make the same sound.

Bath time is now a fun time. He HATED baths at first, but now he love them. He's even started splashing a little and doesn't mind water in his face. Good thing, since Marc give him a "shower" to rinse him off. We turn on the bathtub faucet and stick him under it to get all the soap off.

More exciting news...we get to start on baby food in a few weeks!!!! Right now we are adding rice cereal to his bottles, and in the next few days, we will start feeding it to him with a spoon. We go back to the doctor on the 23rd for his 4 month checkup and then we are on to solids!

Right now we are looking forward to a visit from my dad and step mom in two weeks and are just trying to make it through the winter and get ready for spring!!

3 Months Old!!!

On Sunday, Ethan will be 3 months old!!! Time has really flown by fast!! At our last doctor's appointment, he weighed in at 12 lb. 5 oz. and measured 25 inches long. I weighed him on our home scale today, and he's not tipping the scales at 14 lbs. 2 oz. He is growing so fast. He also had his first round of shots. He did really well!! He left the doctor's office with a Garfield band-aid and a neon orange one.

Ethan's personality is really starting to shine. He smiles and giggles and even "talks" to himself now. He's learned how to control his hands and they are forever in his mouth. His new favorite toys are the ExcerSaucer (thanks Shelley and Ryan), the Jumparoo (thanks Dad and Lisa!), and his Bumbo sitter.

Daycare is going well. One of the teachers constantly talks to him in Spanish. Who knows, maybe is first word will be "Hola!" I think that daycare has taught him to be independent. He seems to enjoy spending time by himself in the swing just talking away and chewing on his hands.

Nights are also getting better. We had one night last week that he didn't get up at all!!! I woke up around 6:00 and had to make sure he was still breathing!!! We are starting to add Rice Cereal to his nighttime bottle in hopes it will help with sleeping through the night.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone had a fantastic New Years!!

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!!

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!!

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...

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.

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!!