Bath time

Just shy of 3 weeks, Ethan's bellybutton fell off... however when this happened the bellybutton didn't look completely healed, so we opted to wait a few more days to do bath time...

The time finally came... Sorry little man, but you get to use your sisters old bathtub for a few months... (I like it 'cause it fits nicely on the sink) Please don't hold it against us!

Ramey helped too

He did very well and really enjoyed his first bath! Hope the trend continues (will load video later)

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As I mentioned in a previous post, we had a potential leak in the tub in our bathroom, so we stopped using it for a while... well Ramey still need to be cleaned...

Luckily the handheld shower head in the guest bathroom is the perfect height!!!

To say that she LOVES to take a shower is an understatement! She is always asking to take a "shaw-oh"

All clean!

She even will use the squeegy to clean the glass

Nighty Night

We have a fairly well established night time routine...

-bath (or now shower ~ see end note)

-jammies

-gathering of the bedtime necessities... blankie, baby, water... oh and the dog

That's right, Lefty is required to attend story time... she is such a good sport, she even knows when its time and will head towards the bedroom with us, we don't even need to call her! It's almost like Lefty has an internal clock that tells her when bedtime is and will automatically head to Ramey's room before we say anything about bedtime.

Once we have everything, it's story time...

If you've had the pleasure of putting Ramey to bed, you know that story time is not short nor easy... She has a collection of books which she wants read in a certain order... she will request books but not by the title, so you must be a little skilled at Ramey-ease.

After "boosh" time, we sing a few songs... "Tinkle, tinkle" would be a favorite; followed closely by "Bus" (wheels on the bus)

~ We had an issue/leak with the tub a few weeks ago so we had to use the guest bathroom which is only a shower... a rainshower head and a hand held shower head, which is mounted at the perfect height for Ramey... She now LOVES taking showers!!!

2 & 3 weeks

Two Weeks

I love how he crosses his feet!

Our first week home alone(ish)... so far so good!

All our "help" has headed home, so it's just the four of us now!!! It was wonderful having the help but it's nice to start working on/getting back into a routine.

Ethan and Lefty just hanging out

We went for Ethan's 2 week WBV Sunday.
weight 7-14
height 21
head 14
(The Dr didn't give us his percentiles)

Although he is gaining, the ped wants us back again next week for another weight check since he didn't make it back to his birthweight. We went thru this with Ramey, so am familiar with the drill... I guess I grow big-ish babies but make tall skinny kids. I'd be more worried if he didn't grow in length as well... but he is up an inch and half from birth.

As for me, I'm doing well and healing nicely...only need my meds occasionally (usually when I've over done it) but Ron has been great at entertaining Ramey in an attempt to keep me from over doing it. He even took her to see her first movie this week!!! (Toy Story 3) Jealous I wasn't there but glad they got in some daddy/daughter bonding time.

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Started this with the intent to post it durning week 2, but here I sit at 3 1/2 weeks without it posted... oops!

WEEK 3

We went in for our weight check on Sunday and Ethan was up to 8lbs 8oz!! I knew he would be fine with his weight gain but wasn't about to argue with the ped (it is neat to watch them gain and know how much they weigh) His jaundice is pretty much gone, even his eyes are almost back to normal. We go back on the 26th for his 4 week WBV... wow, 1 month... where does the time go!

He isn't a huge fan of tummy time, but it's a must! His neck is getting stronger and he is getting better at holding his head up! Overall he has been sleeping very well... every now and then I get a 5+ hour stretch at night, will be nice when it's a consistent thing...

Ramey "helping" with tummy time

This week was my first week home alone with 2 kids!!! We even made it out of the house, once... will shoot for twice next week! My daily goal of a shower, make-up and making the bed was met completely most days... It's amazing how much better I feel when I am able to accomplish these simple things, now I just need to try to have them all done before noon! (may be a challenge giving that the shower tends to take place while Ramey is napping, although once this week, she got to go swimming* while I showered (*play in the tub thanks to separate tub/shower)

Ramey does very well with Ethan... she asks to hold him and loves to give him kisses... and tell him "shh" to help him get to sleep. She even tries to get him to take his pacifier! (If only I could get her to help with diaper changes LOL)

Enough, mama... Time to go play!

Ramey initially refused to let Ethan use the bouncer... whenever we tried it was a massive screaming fit... Luckily things have changed:

Enjoying an afternoon on the deck:

Week 1

Well it's more like day 11, but close enough...

We all are doing well... eating well, sleeping well and pooping well (the jaundice is clearing up nicely)

A few pics:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QbN2blmzbsX0g

Camera fun... edits:
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0QbN2blmzbsX4Q

Donna and Grandma Betty have been her all week helping me and taking care of/entertaining Ramey

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you...thank you... thank you...thank you...thank you

THANK YOU!!

We have so many people to thank and are so very grateful for all the help we've been given since Ethan's arrival.

The girls sent us some beautiful flowers that brightened the room and my spirits!

Nana's help while I was in the hospital was above and beyond anything I ever expected! Thank you so much Nana!! Words can not express how grateful we are for all that she did!

Ramey with her blanket made by Nana and Ethan with his

Cindi and the girls stopped by and entertained Ramey plus did a little house work!! Apparently they love cleaning!! (especially other people's stuff)

Aunt Donna and Grandma Betty flew up to meet Ethan and to help me out while I recovered!! Grandma did a great job helping change Ethan, even though she got a shower or two in the process... boys will be boys!!

Donna was fabulous at entertaining Ramey! She took her for numerous walks and on countless trips to the park. They even sat and made pictures together.

I was able to get out of the house for a Target and Kohl's run with Donna, although it was great to get out of the house, I over did it and was a little extra tender the next day. We also spent a day cooking some meals to freeze, which will be nice for the next few weeks.

It is such a blessing to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

I can't say it enough:

Thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you... thank you...thank you... thank you...thank you...thank you

THANK YOU!!

Jaundice

We have been battling a little jaundice since leaving the hospital.

The ped order the bili lights for us to do at home... double lights (one for the front, one for the back) So home we headed...

The lights arrive and the guys show us how to use them... pretty easy... oh wait, how long and often do we use them for?!? Minor detail we didn't get (or remember) from when we were in the hospital. So it's 7:30 pm (right around shift change) and not sure if my discharge nurse would still be in... after a few tears (damn hormones) we got everything sorted out... for as long and often as possible.

So we got our little glow worm all set up

Nana was wonderful and slept on the couch so I could sleep in my bed and she would keep an eye on him plus give him a bottle if needed.

Off to the ped Friday morning for Ethan's 4 day check up and bili test... skin test showed a dramatic drop!!! We hadn't made it to the lab for the blood test, but given the drop she said not to worry about it, just to come back the next day as with the lights there can be a rebound effect.

Well not sure if it was the reader or what but the next day the skin test was much higher than anticipated and he was "tan" again... The readers at the office showed higher numbers with almost a 2 point difference between the readers so we opted to get the blood test, which was down from when we were in the hospital but still elevated... she suggested feeding every 2 hours (if/when possible) and giving bottles in between if/when possible plus keep on eye on poopy diapers and recheck Sunday.

The blood test Sunday showed that his level dropped (not a ton) but enough that she isn't worried... so we are to continue what we were doing. He is looking better, not as orange... still tan but given his level not surprising.

The Big Day!!!

We were not able to get a time slot for the 23rd, so we had to wait till the 26th to meet our little man!

We had a nice last weekend as a family of 3, nothing too exciting, just hung out together.

Nana and Papa came up Sunday night with the intention of staying with Ramey while we had the c/s... well I decided I wanted them at the hospital. We were lucky enough to have great friends willing to watch her that morning, so Nana and Papa dropped her off at their house then headed to the hospital to wait...

One last baby belly shot

Time to get ready...

And at 9:01 am on July 26, 2010 Ethan Thomas made his entrance into the world. (Apgar scores of 8 & 9, which when I hear thought was his weight...) He weighed 8lbs even and was 19 1/2 inches long, a bit smaller than Ramey, but looks exactly like she did, minus all the crazy hair.
It took a while to get things "closed up" as I had some scare tissue from when Ramey was born and the OB did stitches, rather than staples. (It's this last part of the c/s that I do not like... they did give something extra to help as well as something for the wave of nausea I felt, overall the drug guys took great care of me)

I did have a case of the Papa's... my heart rate kept dropping below 50, which the machine did not like so it kept setting off alarms, never got as low as Papa's but enough that the nurse kept a close eye on me. Guess I naturally have a low heart rate and blood pressure. I must have been doing well enough as she let me have ice chips before heading up to my postpartum room.

A room with a view doesn't do justice for my room. I remember doing the tour of the hospital before Ramey's arrival and thought how great it would be to have such a view... then Ramey wasn't even born at Prentice... well we ended up getting our view after all!!!

As I was being wheeled into the room I caught a glimpse of the lake between buildings and thought, nice we can see the lake! Little did I know that next to that building was a park which gave us an almost panoramic view! Well worth the wait.

The view from my bed... I could get used to this!

After Ramey's nap time (or what was supposed to be nap time) Nana brought her to meet her little brother! She was more interested in the buses (& boats) down below but eventually fell in love with him!!!
Before 24 hrs had passed... I was sitting up, eating and even walking!!! (I was determined to loose all cords/tubes attached to me as quickly as possible) I kept my feet elevated as much as possible and drank a lot of water to keep the swelling under control... it worked! The OB was impressed with my minimal/non-existent swelling!

Ron and Nana brought Ramey to visit each day, so I got my daily hugs and kisses from her! They took turns taking her to the park or for a long walk in hopes of a nap (only worked once) She loves her little brother and wants to give him kisses all day long. (have video of meeting, will have to upload later)

The hospital has a new hearing screening machine which a large portion of babies fail... Ethan was one of them... took 3 tries, but he finally passed!!

Ethan did have to come home with some bili lights for jaundice... more to come on that...

Blue Cross and my OB said I could stay till Fri, but choose to go home Thur afternoon... still undecided if that was a good idea or not... Was great to be able to sit on the couch and sleep in my own bed.

Overall, good experience and we couldn't be happier or more in love!!