Babies, Babies, and Babies

Ethan's first party! We really missed all our friends, so we invited everyone over for a mexican food get together. It was great because we got to visit and see how much all the babies had grown. I loved all the pictures we took because of the neat poses.

Going a little crazy

Having a baby is one of the most happy of my life, but it is almost the most challenging. I think this picture of Randy pictures sums up how crazy, scattered, and exhausted we felt those first few weeks.

Milk does a baby good

On Sunday, February 12, my milk came in....ouch, how painful and engorged I was. You wouldn't even latch on that day at all! I thought you were going to starve..finally I called the lactation consultant and she said thats normal. I pumped for about 45 minutes and got 3 ounces! I had to feed you with an eye dropper..stuck my pinky finger in your mouth for you to suck, the drop the milk in. Thank goodness, you didn't starve, but I was so worried and in pain the whole day! Randy took such good care of you. He said, "Amber, go take care of yourself, I can take care of Ethan until your ready!" A couple of hours later...I think I was ready to feed him! What a great husband and father he is!

WHOOO PIG SOOEEE

Ethan's Razorback outfit was so cute and really was too big for him! We had to get a picture of you with the football. It was the first real attempt for you to "pose" for the camera and it was the first time I had dressed you in anything other than white t-shirts. After changing so many diapers a day, I didn't have enough energy to change your outfits too! I think you wore the same white outfit from the hospital for at least 3 days before I even thought about changing your clothes! What a handsome Razorback fan you will be when you watch the Hogs with us in a few years!

Lots of visits

We had lots of visitors and lots of yummy food. Everyone wanted to see baby Ethan!
It was nice to show my beautiful baby boy to everyone and show them your room. I didn't have enough energy to get dressed up, so I stayed in my robe and pajamas!

First Week

It seemed a never ending time warp with a continuous three hour rotation of breastfeeding 40minutes, diaper change 5 minutes, stay awake 30 minutes, cry 30 minutes, sleep 45 minutes. I was so glad to have read the book "BabyWise" because I actually knew why you were crying and when you were hungry or sleepy. I was exhausted from giving birth and being on round the clock feeding duty and I remember my hands hurting from changing all those diapers. I didn't even have the energy to change you into to all those cute clothes that I had bought! I cherished the sleep I got and tried to rest when you were napping, but usually we had company and I felt obligated to visit. Everyone was really nice and brought great food, but I would have rather been sleeping! Something that was really neat is that it snowed that first week that you were home....we tried to take a picture, but you can't really see the snow!

Ronnie is a life saver

The second day seemed to be especially exhausting. We had been up all day visiting, cleaning, and taking care of all your needs and then that night we were ready to go to bed! But guess what???? You were ready to party! Ronnie was on his way home from a Mechanic Conference and called to ask if we needed anything before he went home. I asked, "Could you just come hold him and let us sleep?" Ronnie came right over and was delighted to hold his grandson! What a life saver he was that night..I will never forget what those almost 3 hours of sleep meant to me & Randy! When I got up around 11 pm to feed him again, I felt like a new woman! I felt recharged, energized, refocused, and ready to take on the challenges and joys of motherhood. What a major difference a little sleep can do for a person. Thank you Grandpa Ronnie!

First Day Home

We were so glad to be home! It was nice to curl up in our own bed and couch...even though you really didn't want to sleep by yourselft very much. Brutus wanted to smell you and even gave you a little lick on accident. I think he was really glad that we were finally home. It was exhausting, but we enjoyed every minute. Breastfeeding continued to go really well, but it was every 2 1/2 hours and in between that time I would change your diaper or rock you to sleep. Wow, I think i changed 15 diapers in one day! The first few days were all about learning about you, your cries, what you liked and didn't, and realizing that we were a little overwhelmed.

On the road again...

Finally on the way home! It was an ordeal to get packed and down to the car. We had to carry you in a car seat and I had to carry you in my wheelchair! Funny rules that the hospital had about that! It was wierd riding in my car instead of driving. When we got home, in our front year was a Welcome Home sign for Ethan! It told how much you weighed, date of birth, and length. On the front door, my mom had put a Baby boy wreath and it was so speical to see. We walked in the door and Ann had stocked our refrigerator with lunch meat, bread and snacks! What a neat surprise. The counter had gorgeous roses in a vase! I thought Randy had ordered them, but Ann had bought them and they were so beautiful. It was awesome to come home to all this pampering.

Friends and family visit!

Your "Aunt" Andrea came to see you after she got off work that day!
She still can't believe that I'm actually a mom!

Jill Brannon was so nice to come visit us in the hospital!
Aunt Stephanie has lots of practice holding little ones!
Mrs. Debbie and Mrs. Sharron came to see you too!
Ben & Veronica are such good freiends! We were excited to see them!

We had so much company, so there was no time to rest! It was nice visiting with family & friends though and they all loved seeing you! I was exhausted and ready to go home! I couldn't wait for a shower and to change into my real clothes. Also, Brutus had never been left alone before that long, so I was anxious to see him too! You would get to meet your puppy dog "Bru Bru" and we hoped you would like him and he would like you!

Family Visits

Everyone came for your arrival!
Mom was the first person to hold you, besides Randy & me.

It was so special to have Grandma Mac to hold you..she was such a good Grandma to me! My daddy thought you were so beautiful..no... handsome!
Your Aunt Melissa just adored you!

Lots of family came to see you on your first day in the world. They all couldn't believe how beautiful you were and how perfect your skin and head was! You looked just like your daddy, but had my mouth. Look at how everyone just loves you so much!

Happy Birthday

Ethan getting warm under the incubator!

Even the first day, I think we bonded, mother & son.

We loved you so much, right from the beginning! What a great, loving daddy you have!

What a wonderful birthday! February 7, 2006 at 11:35 a.m. You weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and were 19 inches long. I remember being so in love from the moment I looked at you...it was like I already had memorized your face and I had knew you all along. One of my first questions was, "When do I get to breastfeed?" They said as soon as you like..but we decided to let everyone come in first and see and hold you. It was about 1 hour after birth that I breastfeed you for the first time and it was wonderful. You latched so well and really enjoyed feeding. It was such a great bonding experience and I loved being able to give you the gift of breast milk.

The day seemed to go really fast, but I still remember a lot about that day. Like that Dustin came to visit you all the way from Fayetteville and then drove back the same night. What a great uncle he is! I remember that Melissa & Ann went to Denny's to get me a Superbird for dinner! YUMMY....and I was starving, even though I had eaten the cafetaria food just a few hours earlier. I remember not wanting them to take you to the nursery, even though I was exhausted. What a great first day we all had, just looking at you and learning about you!

Labor Pains

The nurses finally got my potocin started and Dr. Singleton came in and broke my water....that was soooo wierd and gross. I hope next time that it breaks that I'm standing up! The contractions were coming, but I still could not feel them...until about 5 minutes after my water broke. They were coming really fast then and hurting. Then, all of a sudden, the monitors and everything stopped working and we had to move to another room. They stopped the potocin after only 10 minutes and I was having contractions about every 3-4 minutes.

Then the epidural drama started! The anesthesiologist tried two different times, while I was in active labor to start the epidural. Unbelieveable!!! I was trying to hold extra still, but the contractions were coming every 1-2 minutes. The nurse wasn't even there to help me breath correctly. So, I was just crying my way through the contractions. I remember saying, "I can't have this baby without an epidural!" Randy, went to get my mom & his mom because it was almost time to push!

The nurse did a great job to calm and focus my attention! The easy part...pushing...HAHAHA

They came in the room and stood behind my shoulders and about 5 minutes later, I could feel that I needed to push. It actually felt good to push and I was in complete control of myself. My mom said, "Girl, you are a wonder woman." I only had to push for 15 minutes and we had a healthy, beautiful baby boy. Ann was so proud and said, "You did awesome!" I felt so accomplished and delighted to see my baby. It was all so surreal and amazing to see that the baby that we created and that kicked me all the time!

Morning Of....

We knew that we were having a baby that day, but it was still fun to call everyone that morning! We started called our parents about 5am to let them know that I would be induced at 7am that morning. They were so excited...I guess as excited as you can be at 5 in the morning.


Wow! What an exciting day! Even though it was "planned" for that day, we still didn't know what to expect. We started off in a room and the nurse recorded all my information. I was hooked up to a monitor for my heart rate and the baby heart rate. The nurse tried to put an IV in 3 different times and my hands were so swollen..she finally had to call another nurse in to get an IV started! She kept apologizing and hated that she had hurt me!

Last Doctor's Appointment

After a week of agony...not in the way I felt, but in my anxiety levels, I went back to the doctor. I was upset because he told me the previous week that he thought I would go into labor that week! I had been dialated to 4cm for that week and now when he checked, I was at 5cm, 90% effaced. He felt like it could be anytime..but that's what he said last week. I couldn't wait any longer because I felt so much anticipation and anxiety. Dr. Singleton asked me if I wanted to be induced and I felt relieved. It was just the solution I needed..plus I was already 38 weeks and ready to hold my baby! I told Randy, but I wanted it to be a surprise for everyone else. My mom knew because she was in the Doctor's office with me...but we waited to call everyone else! The next day, February 7, 2006 would be your birthday!