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!

Busy Little Bees...

We were super busy this past weekend. We had a great visit with Nick's dad and Carlene, mom and Dewayne, and Grandmother and Granddaddy. All of them were able to come and visit us and Ethan.

The AU game was a bit disappointing, even more bummed about the AL game. Also sad that we missed Megan on her trip to AU for a visit. Hopefully we'll catch them, her and T, next come around.

Ethan is surprising us more and more each day. We have discovered that he gets a bit shy around new people. He'll dig his head into the shoulder of whoever is holding him when a new person comes around. He's a snuggle bug! He's doing good holding his head up and doing mini push ups. He had a laughing fit this evening when Nick and myself were playing with him. He just smiled and laughed while bouncing up and down in his bouncy chair. Oh, funny story, the other day I went to go pick him up at school. Him and his friends weren't in the room so I looked out in the hall and saw his teachers pushing the Bye-bye buggy (this big red stroller that sits six kiddos stadium style--2 in the front, 2 in the middle, and 2 sittin tall in the back). Well, I went ahead and got his things together and waited for his teacher to push them around. When I went back out into the hall and saw the buggy, I laughed out loud! There was my tank of a child sitting in the front of the buggy with his 'gangsta lean' just a looking around. His chunky little belly was just hanging out of the straps and his feet were just a dangling. I wish I had my camera but didn't. When he saw me standing there, he just smiled and flared his limbs. It was just too cute!

Here are some pics from the weekend and from the previous weekend when we went to Tabitha's baby shower.

Still introducing cereal to Big E...not a big fan

Things I have learned...

I learned two things about Ethan this weekend:

1. He loves to watch football. All the colorful little things running across the screen fascinates him. At one point he was super fussy so I turned him around to bounce him on my knees. He stared at the tv screen and was quiet from then on.

2. Stinky poots....E-buddy is a gassy baby! Just wait, yall will get a wiff of it soon!

Happy Fall!

Super cute!

Just a couple of cute pics! Nothing new going on here but a bunch of slobber, cooing, and thumb sucking!

Right on track..

Tomorrow is Ethan's 3 month old birthday. From what I am reading and learning Ethan's development is right on track! My sources are telling me he should:

• Recognize mommy and daddy's face and scent---Check
• Holds head steady---almost check, we are working on that. Still a bit wobbly
• Visually tracks moving objects---Check. He keeps his eyes on mommy and daddy when in his bouncy chair.
• Vocalizes: squeals, gurgles and coos---Check; and its great! He will just talk up a storm for about 15 seconds at a time. Its wonderful! He is even laughing a little. He has a deep chuckle. Kinda sounds like woody woodpecker for 2 seconds or so.
• Does mini push-ups---almost check, working on that too! He almost has it.
• Notices his hands---Check. He sucks on his right hand constantly. Some have told me he might be teething. I don't know though. No other signs of cutting teeth as of now. We'll keep an eye on it.
• Blows bubbles---Double Check! There is a constant flow of spit bubbles, doesn't stop!
• Bats at toys---Check. Uncle B and Aunt Coco gave him a wormy gym that we have been using. He swats at the toys all the time. If they were bugs they would totally be goners!
• Rolls from tummy to back---Not yet. Unless he has done it at school. We haven't seen it, but I think we are getting close. He has done it accidentally when he was smaller, but not recently. He is rolling though so I think it is coming.

All in all, we are right on track! This has been really fun! We are really enjoying watching him development. I love it!