Friday, April 24, 2009
The Much Awaited..."Ma Ma"
Yay! Ethan finally said "Ma Ma". Sajid swore that he said it sometime last week when it was just the two of them outside. But yesterday morning (April 23rd) as I was getting Ethan out of his carseat to go into school, he looked at me and said, "Ma Ma". It was the greatest feeling. Then, last night, everytime Sajid or I would say "Ma Ma", he'd repeat it after us. Yay!!!
Long Awaited Update
Yea - I'm not very good at keeping this thing up anymore...which is really sad b/c so many "milestones" have and are taking place and if I don't write it down or get a picture of it, chances are I will totally forget. Poo!
So, here's what I can remember from the last few weeks.
Monday, April 6th, I decided it was time for Ethan to move to his bedroom. Therefore, I asked my Dad to (once again) take down his crib (out of our room), move it upstairs to Ethan's room and put it back together.
Well, that very same day (April 6th), and to my surprise, Ethan started visiting the "baby blue" room at daycare. I would have thought that LCDC would have informed me prior to it actually taking place, but ... oh well. The good news is that Ethan LOVED it! However, I would have never moved him out of our room if I had known he would be undergoing another major transition. But, he handled both of them pretty well. Typically, the children "visit" for a week then permenantly move the next week, but he was doing so well AND a new baby had already taken over his crib in the infant room, that I went ahead asked them to permenantly move him after 3 days.
The baby blue room is a whole lot different than what I was used too. It used to take me forever to drop him off and pick him up. But now, I'm in and out in no time. I do wish the morning worker was more friendlier, but as long as she's taken good care of our boy, that's all that really matters. I love the fact that all the children lay down at the same time for their midmorning and midafternoon nap. And, Ethan LOVES that they go outside. I think he would sleep out there if we'd let him. He loves to be outdoors.
Thanks to my friend, Brandi Snider, Ethan also began a new eating schedule the same time as the "moves". He now eats...
- Breakfast at 8am - 1 stage 2 jar of oatmeal, granola or cereal and an 8oz bottle
- Lunch at 12pm - 1 stage 2 veggie and an 8oz bottle
- 4pm - 1 stage 2 fruit and 1 stage 3 dinner
- 7:30/8pm - he gets his last bottle which is when he goes to bed for the night.
The week before (March 30th I guess), I felt like it was time for Ethan to learn to go to sleep on his own instead having to be rocked to sleep. Which again was sad to me. I always said that I would rock Ethan 'til he was 18 if he'd let me. But he wouldn't let me anymore. Each night it was getting harder and harder to manage him and get him to relax and go to sleep. He was fighting it; wanting to get down and play. So, once again, I took Brandi's advice. I was very uneasy about letting him cry it out, but I must say that it went much better than I had expected. The first night, from the time I put him in his crib 'til he fell asleep was about 20 minutes...which I thought was good. The next night, it was only 5 minutes. And, the third night, Ethan was asleep before I ever got out of the bedroom and into the living room. Needless to say, that was the extent of that. Nana B visited that weekend and we had lots of stuff going on (Easter Extravaganza at NCC and Anna's prom). So, we were off schedule a good bit. And, as you read above, the following Monday is when he moved rooms at daycare and at home. Now, he is so pooped from playing so hard at school, that he falls right to sleep after his last bottle. Sometimes before he finishes his bottle.
Needless to say too that he has been sleeping back in our room again. But while he was in his own room, Ethan did sleep longer in the mornings which was great for me b/c I could get ready without having to juggle watching him at the same time. The reason he's been sleeping in our room again (in his pack-n-play) is b/c he got sick AGAIN (fluid on ears and eye infection). He was extremely clingy. It took me awhile but I think lying down was causing pressure on his ears. I eventually got smart and laid him on a pillow. Yes, an adult pillow. And, that seemed to work great. So, anyway, that's how he made it back to our room. I must admit though, I love having him in there with us. I don't have to worry about him being upstairs all by his little lonesome self. I did start noticing though that he wasn't sleeping as long in the mornings; waking up at 6am, then 5:30am, then 5am. Can't go back down that road again.
Not realizing that we were expecting Severe Thunderstorms, I made up my mind last night (April 23) that he was going back to his crib...which he did. But, I quickly brought him to our bed when the thunder and lightening started. I have a lot fears, but one of them is that when we have severe weather, that a tree will fall onto our house...which would hit him first seeing that he's upstairs. That might sound crazy, but we've had 3 trees fall in our yard in a year, damaging our fence twice and our shed. I'll try his crib again tonight; we'll see how it goes.
So, here's what I can remember from the last few weeks.
Monday, April 6th, I decided it was time for Ethan to move to his bedroom. Therefore, I asked my Dad to (once again) take down his crib (out of our room), move it upstairs to Ethan's room and put it back together.
Well, that very same day (April 6th), and to my surprise, Ethan started visiting the "baby blue" room at daycare. I would have thought that LCDC would have informed me prior to it actually taking place, but ... oh well. The good news is that Ethan LOVED it! However, I would have never moved him out of our room if I had known he would be undergoing another major transition. But, he handled both of them pretty well. Typically, the children "visit" for a week then permenantly move the next week, but he was doing so well AND a new baby had already taken over his crib in the infant room, that I went ahead asked them to permenantly move him after 3 days.
The baby blue room is a whole lot different than what I was used too. It used to take me forever to drop him off and pick him up. But now, I'm in and out in no time. I do wish the morning worker was more friendlier, but as long as she's taken good care of our boy, that's all that really matters. I love the fact that all the children lay down at the same time for their midmorning and midafternoon nap. And, Ethan LOVES that they go outside. I think he would sleep out there if we'd let him. He loves to be outdoors.
Thanks to my friend, Brandi Snider, Ethan also began a new eating schedule the same time as the "moves". He now eats...
- Breakfast at 8am - 1 stage 2 jar of oatmeal, granola or cereal and an 8oz bottle
- Lunch at 12pm - 1 stage 2 veggie and an 8oz bottle
- 4pm - 1 stage 2 fruit and 1 stage 3 dinner
- 7:30/8pm - he gets his last bottle which is when he goes to bed for the night.
The week before (March 30th I guess), I felt like it was time for Ethan to learn to go to sleep on his own instead having to be rocked to sleep. Which again was sad to me. I always said that I would rock Ethan 'til he was 18 if he'd let me. But he wouldn't let me anymore. Each night it was getting harder and harder to manage him and get him to relax and go to sleep. He was fighting it; wanting to get down and play. So, once again, I took Brandi's advice. I was very uneasy about letting him cry it out, but I must say that it went much better than I had expected. The first night, from the time I put him in his crib 'til he fell asleep was about 20 minutes...which I thought was good. The next night, it was only 5 minutes. And, the third night, Ethan was asleep before I ever got out of the bedroom and into the living room. Needless to say, that was the extent of that. Nana B visited that weekend and we had lots of stuff going on (Easter Extravaganza at NCC and Anna's prom). So, we were off schedule a good bit. And, as you read above, the following Monday is when he moved rooms at daycare and at home. Now, he is so pooped from playing so hard at school, that he falls right to sleep after his last bottle. Sometimes before he finishes his bottle.
Needless to say too that he has been sleeping back in our room again. But while he was in his own room, Ethan did sleep longer in the mornings which was great for me b/c I could get ready without having to juggle watching him at the same time. The reason he's been sleeping in our room again (in his pack-n-play) is b/c he got sick AGAIN (fluid on ears and eye infection). He was extremely clingy. It took me awhile but I think lying down was causing pressure on his ears. I eventually got smart and laid him on a pillow. Yes, an adult pillow. And, that seemed to work great. So, anyway, that's how he made it back to our room. I must admit though, I love having him in there with us. I don't have to worry about him being upstairs all by his little lonesome self. I did start noticing though that he wasn't sleeping as long in the mornings; waking up at 6am, then 5:30am, then 5am. Can't go back down that road again.
Not realizing that we were expecting Severe Thunderstorms, I made up my mind last night (April 23) that he was going back to his crib...which he did. But, I quickly brought him to our bed when the thunder and lightening started. I have a lot fears, but one of them is that when we have severe weather, that a tree will fall onto our house...which would hit him first seeing that he's upstairs. That might sound crazy, but we've had 3 trees fall in our yard in a year, damaging our fence twice and our shed. I'll try his crib again tonight; we'll see how it goes.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Ethan's Arrival
(From my recollection) I received the epidural between 4:30am - 5:00am Tuesday, July 29th at which time I was only dilated a whopping 2 centimeters. Before I knew it and 5 hours later, I was finally 10 centimeters. About 10:30am my nurse, Joy, instructed me on the proper delivery technique, and so we began to try to push little Ethan right on out. I must say that ...that whole scenario was nothing like I thought it would be. The doctor didn't even come in the room while I was trying to deliver. It was very quiet, and it was just me, Sajid and Joy. This part really isn't too exciting.
Once again before I knew it, 2 hours had passed (of pushing) and still no Ethan. He came a little ways down the birth canal, but he wasn't coming any further. Joy suggested that we take a break for a little while b/c she said that I was exhausted. At that point, my epidural was wearing off, and I requested another dose. After they administered the second dose, Joy and Dr. Brown informed me that I would have to have a C-section. There again, this was extremely upsetting to me. Looking back, I don't know why, but at the time it just broke my heart. When I ever imagined the birth of my child, I never imagined it by c-section. Plus, I was very scared. My wonderful mama reminded me that I had never had surgery before nor stayed overnight in the hospital. I was so upset, but I didn't have a choice. Sajid did an exellent job throughout the unsuccessful labor process and at comforting me.
So, they wheeled me down to O.R. And, boy when that door flung open it was a mad house. There were people (nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists) everywhere. They quickly lifted me from my bed to the operating table. Strapped my arms down, place tubes in my nose, put a blanket shield over me, and who knows what else. Sajid, dressed in his scrubs, sat down right next me and held onto my hand as best he could. He knew how scared I was.
So, they wheeled me down to O.R. And, boy when that door flung open it was a mad house. There were people (nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists) everywhere. They quickly lifted me from my bed to the operating table. Strapped my arms down, place tubes in my nose, put a blanket shield over me, and who knows what else. Sajid, dressed in his scrubs, sat down right next me and held onto my hand as best he could. He knew how scared I was.Then, someone else dressed in scrubs leaned over and said, "Amy, I'm here." I said, "ok." I gues she knew that I did not recognize who she was. In fact, at the time, I didn't even know if it was a man or woman. All that was visible was his/her eye glasses. Then, this individual said, "it's Dr. Palmer." I never doubted Dr. Brown's abilities - not once not for a second - but to know that Dr. Palmer was also in the room assisting with the c-section was a huge comfort. I can't explain that either, but it was. A few things I remember are:
1) the anesthesiologist who was at my head the entire time and wearing some sort of headphones said, "it's about to feel like I'm sitting on your chest." I remember thinking, "ok - whatever." 2 seconds later, Dr. Palmer comes around behind me, and it feels like she's literaly pushing on my chest, but now I know she was pushing from the top of my stomach downward I guess to help Ethan come out.
2) Sajid saying, "he's about to come; he's about to come." How did Sajid know that? Oh - he had his head peeped around the blue shield the entire time, watching the whole process. Then, sure enough I heard my baby's cry, and Sajid and I both burst into tears. Sajid leaned in towards me and we just cried tears of joy together.
3) Lastly, I remember Dr. Brown whisking Ethan to a table behind me where the nurses washed him off and wrapped him up. Then, Joy, breifly brought my precious bundle, swaddled in a blanket over to where I was still laying and let me see him. I think she brought him close enough to me where I could kiss him. 
(ALL Photos by: Kyle Hitchcock http://www.kylehitchcock.com/)
Ethan was born at 1:30pm on July 29, 2008 at Oconee Regional Medical Center.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Epidurals are Amazing
The cytatec sent me into contractions, but did nothing towards dilating me. I was 1 centimeter for about 4 weeks prior to "checking in" to the hospital, and after a very exhausting night of contractions, I was now dilated 2 centimeters.
They (I guess it was Dr. Brown) finally decided it was time for the epidural. At the time, I was so frustrated and a little angry that they wouldn't administer it sooner, but looking back I realize that doctors have to strategically time it just right since epidurals tend to slow the labor process instead of speeding it up. As I was sitting up, slightly hunched over, trying to be still and relaxed, I felt this gush of liquid leaving my body. I don't know why but that upset me a little. I didn't know why once again body fluid was involuntarily coming out of me. The nurse (Haley)said, "Your water just broke." Poor Haley, I was so out of it; I kept calling her Hillary. The 'gush' happened a second time before the anesthesiologist completed the epidural.
They (I guess it was Dr. Brown) finally decided it was time for the epidural. At the time, I was so frustrated and a little angry that they wouldn't administer it sooner, but looking back I realize that doctors have to strategically time it just right since epidurals tend to slow the labor process instead of speeding it up. As I was sitting up, slightly hunched over, trying to be still and relaxed, I felt this gush of liquid leaving my body. I don't know why but that upset me a little. I didn't know why once again body fluid was involuntarily coming out of me. The nurse (Haley)said, "Your water just broke." Poor Haley, I was so out of it; I kept calling her Hillary. The 'gush' happened a second time before the anesthesiologist completed the epidural.
It seemed like it only took about 2.5 seconds for the epidural to kick in. Boy - I had never been so relieved in my entire life. I told the anesthesiologist that she was an angel sent from heaven. I felt very tired and worn out, but I felt no pain. My whole body was numb except for my head and arms. My legs felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. From that point, things went pretty well - except for my delivery nurse (Joy); she was very aggrivating. She talked a lot about herself and what she had done for all her previous patients. Sajid was great. He kept feeding me ice chips. Some women are starving for food during the labor process, but that never crossed my mind. My mouth was just dry. We just watched the monitors for a few hours noticing how my contractions were becoming for intense and closer together. It's weird to see monitor charting that and not actually feeling it happen.
Photos by: Kyle Hitchcock (http://www.kylehitchcock.com/)
Headed to the Hospital
After reading through my blog, I realized that I left off with "Cozy as can be" explaining that I was past my due date and if Ethan didn't make his arrival over the weekend, Dr. Brown was going to perform a couple of tests on the following Monday to see what the next step should be towards Ethan's arrival. So, this is where I'll pick up with our life story.
No sign of Ethan over the weekend (July 26-27). Monday, July 28th, Sajid and I went to Dr. Brown's office. Kim, his nurse, hooked me up to the stress monitor. We had to stay there until Ethan moved 3 times. It was slow in the beginning. My baby was sleeping. So, they gave me (and Sajid) a soda to try to wake him up and get him moving. After a few hours, we accomplished the goal of 3 movements. It was at that time Dr. Brown strongly suggested that we induce labor. He said that I have a very healthy baby at this point and waiting for Ethan to "make the first move" could result in a more risky pregnancy/delivery. As much as I didn't want to induce labor (b/c of the horror stories of extremely loooong labor), I didn't want to create a more risky situation. Therefore, Dr. Brown called the hospital, and sure enough they asked that I "check in" - like it's a vacation getaway - between 5 and 8pm that night (Monday, July 28th).
Even though it was exciting to think about Ethan finally joining the outside world, it was kind of weird "planning" our trip to the hospital. Then agian, it was kind of nice. I was able to go home and get some much needed things accomplished around the house. I was able to miticuloulsy pack my bag, and make the necessary phone calls to our family and friends. Sajid was able to get in one last nap.
Our goal was to check in on the OB floor about 5:30pm. When we stepped off the elevator, it seemed like they were not expecting us. It was extremely quiet and stuffy. To our dismay, the maintenance man was changing air filters. Therefore, the air was cut off. So, the nurses basically told us to come back later. We filled out a few forms; left our bags in one of the rooms; then, went to eat :) We had a nice dinner at Sylvia's. I think we may have gone back home for a short while before heading back to ORMC. Our second check-in time was 8:30pm. In no time I was in the very fashionable hospital gown in the oh-so comfortable hospital bed with the monitor hooked around my big ole belly.
Of course, the nurse was a good bit later starting the Cytatec (spelling?) than originally planned. I think I was supposed to get it about 9pm. And, I think it was closer to 10:30pm. To my understanding, the Cytatec is used to thin the cervix and potentially start the labor process (contractions). Well, I guess it worked. I think (and I keeping saying "I think" b/c (1) it's been 4 months and (2) I now suffer from mommy brain) that the contractions started about 12:30 am. All I remember is squenching (if that's a word) my eyes closed and squeezing the crap out of Sajid's hand to try to endure the EXTREME pain for about 45 seconds to a minute every 2 minutes until about 4:30 AM. Then, once the contraction was over, my bladder automatically emptied. I could not control it. It just happened. This may be TMI for most people, but poor Sajid not only had a very sore hand, he also had to empty the bed pan after every contraction and replace it before the next one started. Once upon a time, I handled pain very well. Not these days. My famous quote while having the contractions was, "We're not having anymore!!!!" And, believe me, I meant every single word of it. There is no way I could go through that again. Yes, the nurse gave something for pain, but as she was handing it to me, she explained that it would not completely take the pain away, but it would reduce it a little. I would hate to know what it would have felt like with out any sort of pain reliever.
No sign of Ethan over the weekend (July 26-27). Monday, July 28th, Sajid and I went to Dr. Brown's office. Kim, his nurse, hooked me up to the stress monitor. We had to stay there until Ethan moved 3 times. It was slow in the beginning. My baby was sleeping. So, they gave me (and Sajid) a soda to try to wake him up and get him moving. After a few hours, we accomplished the goal of 3 movements. It was at that time Dr. Brown strongly suggested that we induce labor. He said that I have a very healthy baby at this point and waiting for Ethan to "make the first move" could result in a more risky pregnancy/delivery. As much as I didn't want to induce labor (b/c of the horror stories of extremely loooong labor), I didn't want to create a more risky situation. Therefore, Dr. Brown called the hospital, and sure enough they asked that I "check in" - like it's a vacation getaway - between 5 and 8pm that night (Monday, July 28th).
Even though it was exciting to think about Ethan finally joining the outside world, it was kind of weird "planning" our trip to the hospital. Then agian, it was kind of nice. I was able to go home and get some much needed things accomplished around the house. I was able to miticuloulsy pack my bag, and make the necessary phone calls to our family and friends. Sajid was able to get in one last nap.
Our goal was to check in on the OB floor about 5:30pm. When we stepped off the elevator, it seemed like they were not expecting us. It was extremely quiet and stuffy. To our dismay, the maintenance man was changing air filters. Therefore, the air was cut off. So, the nurses basically told us to come back later. We filled out a few forms; left our bags in one of the rooms; then, went to eat :) We had a nice dinner at Sylvia's. I think we may have gone back home for a short while before heading back to ORMC. Our second check-in time was 8:30pm. In no time I was in the very fashionable hospital gown in the oh-so comfortable hospital bed with the monitor hooked around my big ole belly.
Of course, the nurse was a good bit later starting the Cytatec (spelling?) than originally planned. I think I was supposed to get it about 9pm. And, I think it was closer to 10:30pm. To my understanding, the Cytatec is used to thin the cervix and potentially start the labor process (contractions). Well, I guess it worked. I think (and I keeping saying "I think" b/c (1) it's been 4 months and (2) I now suffer from mommy brain) that the contractions started about 12:30 am. All I remember is squenching (if that's a word) my eyes closed and squeezing the crap out of Sajid's hand to try to endure the EXTREME pain for about 45 seconds to a minute every 2 minutes until about 4:30 AM. Then, once the contraction was over, my bladder automatically emptied. I could not control it. It just happened. This may be TMI for most people, but poor Sajid not only had a very sore hand, he also had to empty the bed pan after every contraction and replace it before the next one started. Once upon a time, I handled pain very well. Not these days. My famous quote while having the contractions was, "We're not having anymore!!!!" And, believe me, I meant every single word of it. There is no way I could go through that again. Yes, the nurse gave something for pain, but as she was handing it to me, she explained that it would not completely take the pain away, but it would reduce it a little. I would hate to know what it would have felt like with out any sort of pain reliever.
Oh - Where do I Begin
As you can see I haven't posted an update since Ethan was about 2 weeks old. He turned 4 months this past Saturday (Nov 29, 2008). There's just so much I can and want to share, but it's very over whelming to think about chronologically updating the blog. I'm going to put a lot of effort towards it though. Just bare with me.
4 MONTHS OLD
Friday, August 8, 2008
Our Precious Angel
Ok - So - as most of you know, I have tons of updating to do. I'll include all the details at a later time. For now, I'd like to just share the most wonderful blessing we've ever received.
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