Teefees

Well my friends, the time has come. That time when your absolutely perfect baby starts to get slightly feverish, fussy, and a little more difficult. Ethan's teeth are starting to appear!!! WHAT?! you say, yes, it's true. They haven't broken the gums or anything, but you can see the whites of them and definitely feel them. Surprisingly enough, they aren't the front ones. They are the ones next to the front ones. We can see the outside of them. He has been more fussy than usual and ran a little fever last weekend, but that comes with the territory. The drool is for sure on high too! He has soppin wet shirts at times. I don't expect a tooth to cut through for another couple of months, but they are on their way!!

On another note, Ethan ate his first bowl of cereal. It was all over his face! I'll post those pics later. Here are some other ones.

Tailgating....Mike, Debbie, Dad, Mom, Me, Anna Catherine feeding Ethan, and Megan

Anna Catherine, Katy, Lindsey, Me, Ethan, Meghan, and Katie

Rollin, rollin, rollin.....

Well, much has happened the past few weeks in our lives. Where do I start?

First, Nick passed his agency interview. YAY!!!! Thanks for everyones thoughts and prayers. Nick worked very hard for that interview and it payed off! Our next step is to hurry up and wait. We are waiting for an agency opportunity in an area that Nick wants. Where you might ask. I don't know, where ever he wants to go. I'll keep you posted.

Second, we took a trip to AU to visit with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Mike who flew in to meet Ethan and to celebrate Aunt Debbie's b'day. It was a real good visit, just didn't last long. Ethan had his first tailgating experience and seemed to have fun. A bunch of my friends from high school were also in town and they came by to meet Ethan too. I wish that weekend would have lasted longer!

Third, Ethan has begun to roll over!!! He is going from tummy to back. Its so fun to watch him do this too. Its just like a roll and plop. He sucks his thumb during this entire time and it doesn't skip a beat. When he plops over he's like "whats up, yea I just rolled over, so" (in his best gangsta voice). He is giggling, slobbering, talking up a storm! He loves Nick too. All Nick has to do is look at him and he smiles and giggles. I discovered scratches on his fingers tonight and question whether he has a tooth coming in. I stuck my finger in his mouth and there is nothing cutting through, but there are definitely two teeth poking out, not his front teeth but the next ones, whatever they are called. I am afraid he is going to have teeth like his momma's...big. He is developing so much. He is not a big fan of laying on his back now. Since he as gained excellent control of his head and movements, he loves to sit up and look around. When we have him laying down, he'll try so hard to sit up. His little head raises and you hear him grunting to sit up.

Ethan turns four months on the 20th. Can you believe it? FOUR MONTHS! The time has just gone by so fast. I walk in the nursery at work and see all the newborns and just remember my chunky little thing when he was born. Those days were seem so long ago. We'll go back to the MD on the 28th for a check up. I'm anxious to get a wt and ht on him.

I'll keep you posted.

Read her story

Since I got pregnant, delivered, and am now back to work I have a different perspective doing my job. I use to be able to sympathize with my patients, but now I can empathize with the majority of them. I have noticed that I can do my job so much better. I know what it is like to have a c/section, recover, be at home with a newborn, have a baby that was jaundice, experience the baby blues and much much more. My job has become a bit more meaningful.

On Friday, I was sent by work to a seminar in the ham about post-partum depression. It was a fabulous seminar that lasted just a few hours! In those few hours I learned so much that I wish I knew before I delivered. To all the moms to be, your OB's may have discussed this with you, but I know mine didn't and I wish she had. Just a few facts: *There are three different mental illnesses that can occur post delivery 1) Baby Blues 2) Post-Partum Depression and 3) Post-Partum Psychosis. Me myself suffered from the baby blues. Thanks to my family that is all it turned into. The baby blues occur most of the time in 70% of women. PP Depression happen in 15% of women. Any signs of PPD need to be addressed with your OB and/or a counselor so it doesn't turn into Psychosis. When I say psychosis, I mean it. You would hear voices, have hallucinations, be irrational at times. True psychosis. I want y'all to read this story. Its about a women, upper middle class, IN BIRMINGHAM, who suffered from PP Psychosis. This girls best friend's came to the seminar to speak about their organization. You may have heard about this back around Christmas of 2007. What this story doesn't tell is how well Jenny hid her feelings. One speaker said that she was there a few days before this happened and they were trying on baby clothes, laughing, having a good time. Even the day it happened, they said that that morning is when she went to the sporting good store and that evening she cooked dinner, set the table, packed their bags for an upcoming Christmas trip then went out back. Can you believe this happened in Birmingham?! It is crazy! They said she seeked help from her OB, but nothing was done b/c "she didn't fit the mold". It just goes to show this can happen to anyone! This story just breaks my heart. For all you soon-to-be moms, new moms, new grandmothers, please educate yourself and learn more about these mental illnesses. Lets do all we can to help new moms deal with their feelings/thoughts/emotions through those first few months into the first year to cope. There is also a link on their page for additional info on PPD.

On a lighter side, E-buddy had a good weekend. We have moved up to size 3 diapers and are about out of size 6 month old clothes. I have taken new pics but haven't uploaded them just yet. Ethan is cooing, laughing, played peek-a-boo a few times this weekend, and looking all around. Everyday he does something new to fill us with joy!

Please keep us in your prayers! Nick is working hard! We'll post updated info later!