Ethan - 3 months and Rose - 2 years and 1 month

Ethan

Ethan is awake more, but still sleeping a lot.  He has been healthy for the most part.  He has been coughing some the last week or two and seems to have some congestion in his chest.  He is going to be checked out by the allergist in late December to confirm whether he has a peanut allergy like Rose, and whether we can tell if he has asthma yet. 

Ethan is overall a very easy going baby.  He does cry sometimes when he wants to be held, and when he is hungry.  But, as long as you hold him he calms down quite quickly.  He seems to be a morning person.  I can usually get him to smile at me some in the morning.  He will gurgle and coo also.

Ethan receives pumped breastmilk for most feeds.  I pump three times a day for about 30 minutes each time.  Ethan wakes up around 12 am, 3 am, and 6 am most days.  I have been staying in Ethan's room with him.  I get up for the first feedings. Then, I take Ethan to Joshy for the last hour or two if Ethan wakes up 4 am or later.  When I get up with him he usually goes back to sleep quite easily after eating.  However, generally after 4 am he does not go back to sleep as much.

Ethan is currently eating about 100 ML at most feedings.  At night he might only have 60 ML though.  During the day on the weekends Ethan like to snack.  He does not usually take a whole bottle.  I probably need to try and get him on a schedule so he will take the whole bottle.  On the way back from KC for Thanksgiving he had part of a bottle several times.

At Ethan's last checkup on November 12th he was 22.17 in long and weighed 11 pounds.  He is in the 20th percentile for non-preemie babies.  So, I think he's doing well.

Rose is so much fun these days. She repeats words after us, and sometimes sentences with a few words.  She can identify several food items (apple, pizza, raisins), and can tell us some things that she wants.  She knows how to ask for a drink, raisins, and yogurt.  She does say some things in a funny way.  She says “Merry Krumpus” instead of Christmas.  She knows quite a few animals and the sounds they make (sheep, cows, cats, lions). 

Rose is very sweet with Ethan most of the time.  Sometimes when he cries and needs my attention, she yells "No Ethan" at him.  Otherwise she wants to give him kisses and hugs.  She has a toy baby doll that she is very good to and enjoys feeding, and wrapping him in blankets.

Rose started at St. Luke’s on her birthday.  Since then she has not had a runny nose.  She has started speaking in sentences more.  There is no TV in the room, and it is more of a classroom setting. 

Rose is getting to be a bit more picky.  She is still in her high chair for now, but could be in a booster seat.  She ate in a booster seat for Thanksgiving.

Evening dinner times after I pick her up from school can be a bit rough.  I’m wondering if I just need to let her choose the time to eat.  I know I need to direct her choices a bit to make sure she has a decent diet, but perhaps she could suggest some things she wants to eat.

Rose is in the 95% for her weight.  Her doctor is not super concerned.  But, I am trying to give her water rather than juice now.  She had a cough for a bit, so we started back on breathing treatments.  We do it once in the evening.  But, we may go to every other day now that the cough has been gone for a bit. At her one year appointment Rose was 34.45 in tall and 32 pounds. 

We have been seeing Daisy and baby Anna at least once a month.  We saw her twice in one weekend a week or two ago.  We visited the Omaha zoo.  Rose and I try to make it to story time on Saturdays.  Joshy usually takes care of Ethan and watches shows.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we (Joshy, Ethan, Rose and I) went down to KC.  We headed down on Wednesday afternoon.  We went to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner.  Then we went to Mom & Dad's house.  On Thanksgiving morning we went and saw the Raabs.  Then we had dinner all together at 12 pm.  We were hoping to make it to the Plaza lighting, and had to make it early for Kelli to spend time with James' family also.  Then we relaxed a bit, took a nap, and went and visited Uncle Bob and Aunt Deb.  The weather was a bit crazy with lots of rain and  a bit of ice.  On Friday we went to see the Zainalis, and then hung saw Grandma and Grandpa for a quick visit later in the day.  We had turkey carcass soup for dinner! We left on Saturday around 1:30.  We got to see the cousins for a bit

Four hour stretches - 2 weeks old

Dear Baby Ethan,

We got to bring you home from the NICU last Tuesday. It has been so great a

having my children at the same place!

We took you to the doctor last Friday. You were up to six pounds 3.3 ounces. 

Last night you slept for two longer 4 hour stretches. It ends up being only three hours of sleep for me though. Once we feed you and I pump an hour usually has gone by.

You are still quite sleepy outside of meal times. You are doing a little better keeping your temperature up. I had been putting an extra fleece onsie on you at night because your temp was just below 97.5. Last night you were at 97.5 or above.

Your sister Rose is doing very well with you. She loves to say "hi baby" and is starting to help get things we need.

You are still a very easy going baby. I pray that continues. I am also so thankful that your health and eating have been good. You normally eat 60 to 65 ml at meals. You go 2 to 3 hours between feeds during the day and up to 4 hours at night.

This is just before your first mass!

You are such a blessing to us!

Love you,

Mommy

Monday September 7th - 6th day in the NICU

Dear Baby Ethan,

You are doing well in the NICU. Yesterday you started taking in 55 ml for most of your feeds. You made it way over the 120ml per kg that they wanted! I finally figured out that you like when I talk to you while you're eating. We actually say the rosary while you're eating. It helps you not to fall asleep!

Some recent pics

They have taken the tube out that went to your tummy. Technically you pulled it out. They have not put it back in.

It sounds like during this on demand day they will not wake you up to feed you unless it has been 4 hours. I am going to try to be here for you feeds today to be sure your cues are not missed.

I think you are in good shape to go home. Now we just need the doctors to believe that!

Great news after talking to the doctor this  afternoon. You should be able to go home tomorrow. Provided your feeding overnight go well. Your 6 pm was 42 oz, and at your 9 pm you took all 55 oz. I will probably call around 12 or 1 to see how things are going. I may have to come back for your 3 am if 12 doesn't go well.

We should know between 9 am and 1 pm whether you have done well enough to be discharged! You do need to pass your car seat test also. You will be in your car seat for an hour with no oxygen issues.

We had a very good afternoon before I left at 2. You seemed more like a normal baby! You were more awake and made some noises. I actually felt bad leaving because you were half awake. We have had a very good nurse the last few days named Rita. She was so sweet to rock you for a bit so I could take a nap and see Rose for a bit.

I so hope you can come home tomorrow. It was so hard leaving Rose tonight. She cried so hard when I was leaving. Usually she is fine. She hardly ever cried when leaving the hospital, and never cries when I leave her at daycare.

Stats:

Weight 5 pounds 14 oz. on Sunday and 5 pounds 15 oz as of Monday! You had lost some weight and went down to 5 pounds 13. You gained an ounce each day!

Love you!

Mommy

Friday September 4th - Day 4 in the NICU

Dear Baby Ethan,

I have been praying so hard that you would have one of those rapid improvement evenings/mornings.  I ended up being awake and there for your 12 am, 6am, and 9 am feedings.  At your 9 am feeding you were crying to eat! It was great to have you aware and wanting to eat.  You then at the entire 40 ML with a bottle! It was so exciting! I am really hoping this is the developing the doctors would require for you to go home.  They might still want to wait a couple of days to be sure this continues.

I am checking out of the hospital tonight.  It is going to be so hard to come home without you.  I pray that you will not be far behind me!

Dear heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, and my Jesus - please be with my baby Ethan.  Help his brain to mature so that he will be hungry and want to eat, and be able to eat the entire amount without falling asleep.  Mother Mary, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Anthony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would dramatically improve on his desire to eat and his ability to eat his full feed amount.

Love you baby,

Mommy

Thursday September 3 rd - day 3 in the NICU

Dear Baby Ethan,

I was able to pump several vials of colostrum for you last night. I happened to be awake for your 6 am feeding. You took about 12 ml from the bottle. I then took a bit of a nap. I managed to pump 10 and 13 ml during my two morning sessions! I am so thankful I have been able to pump a bit to give you.

I caught this smile when I came down.

You have not lost too much weight. You were 6 pounds 3.5 ounces. You were six pounds six ounces when you were  born.  Unfortunately you did lose a bit more, and are now at 5 pounds 12 ounces.

As of 11:30 your incubator is down to 83 degrees. That means you will get to move to an open crib soon. You're one step closer to going home!

I was able to pump 45 ml on a few of my pumping sessions.  You did alight at a few of your pumping sessions, but you still were only doing about half of the amount and we had to gavage the rest.

Meeting with Doctor

Your doctor was fine with me taking pain medications.  He indicated that the doctors will call me if we are not around when he does his rounds.  You have now met two of the main goals babies must meet to leave.  You can keep your temperature well so you are not in an incubator.  You also have done well breathing and have not needed oxygen for some time.  The last issue is feeding.  He said you must wake up and want to be fed, and be able to eat the entire feeding on your own.  He cannot say when that will happen, but you could rapidly develop the skills in one day.  I have been praying so hard that will happen!

Your heart rate had been low from 90 - 120.  He said that was fine for a larger baby.  The monitors go off because they are set for the younger preemies that usually have a heart rate of 150.

Meeting with Nutritionist 

I need to take my pre-natal in the morning, calcium at night, 6000 IU of vitamin D per day, and 1000 mg of DHA.

Wednesday September 2 - 2nd day in the NICU

Dear Baby Ethan,

I got to come and see you for your 9 am feeding today.  I got to do skin to skin with you.  You even started rooting around a bit.  So you were on the breast for just a bit.  At your 12 pm feeding you also latched for a bit and did some good sucking motions.  At your 3 pm feeding unfortunately it did not go as well, you threw up a bit, AND the tube through your nose to your tummy came out! I felt so bad about that.  I saw that it had come untaped, but I did not realize it was so far out.  Then you got sick a few times.  Then, we put your clothes on.

You had your first bath at 2:30 pm today!  We wrapped you in a blanket and then put you in the tub. We just took out the arm or leg we were washing.  You did quite well.  You really did not cry much. Here you are dressed in clothes for the first time!

For your later feeds in the day you took part of them with a bottle!

Pumping
I started pumping last night at 11 pm.  Since then I have been pumping every 3 hours.  I have gotten a few drops of colostrum so far.  Not much.  But, I am also a bit sore.  We are trying some different cremes to help with that. Towards the evening I started to get a more legit amount of colostrum!

We are so thankful you are doing well.

Love you,

Mommy.

Tuesday September 1st - your birthday!

Baby Ethan,

We had planned to wait to deliver you until Saturday.  But, I ended up having a large clot/bleed on the morning of Tuesday September 1st.  We had thought about still trying to wait to deliver you, but I was worried about having a rushed c-section if I had a bad bleed.  I did not want you to lose too much blood either!  Apparently your platelets were a bit low after that bleed.  So, around 11 am we ended up deciding to deliver you at 1:30.  Your daddy came, and we packed up our long term room.

You were born at 2:02 PM.  You were 6 pounds 6 ounces! A bit more than we expected, which was great news.  I was in recovery until 4 pm or so.  I then was wheeled to your room so I could see you for a minute.  Your Aunt Daisy, Ummichi, Rose, and Anna came to see you. 

 I then went to my room.  I tried to eat, but ended up throwing up a few times.  I also was so itchy! I then took a nap, and finally got to see you around 7 pm. Your feeds and CARE (vitals) are at 9, 12, 3, and 6.  So I made it for the 9 pm vitals, and got to do skin to skin with you for awhile.  You had all of your feeds via gavage (a tube into your tummy). 

It was so great to meet you! You are such a cute and sweet little boy.

Love you,

Mommy

5 days until we meet you - Monday August 31st - 35 weeks + 2 days

Dear Baby Ethan,

We had a bit of a lame morning.  I woke up at 3 for my nifedipine.  I did not sleep well all night.  It was a very light, un-restful sleep.  Then I could not get back to sleep.  So, we did your monitoring a bit early.  As soon as I got up to go to the bathroom after the monitoring I saw some blood! Thank the Lord, it was not a lot.  There was a bit of bleeding from 4 - 5 am, then it seemed to stop.

It has been an interesting afternoon.  Apparently the NICU at Methodist Women;s Hospital is full and they have had to transfer babies to other hospitals in Omaha, Lincoln, and even Kansas City.  The NICUs in other hospitals in Omaha are getting full also.  If you are born tomorrow (at 35 weeks and 3 days), the hospital standard of care requires you to be monitored in the NICU for at least two days.  No one is in favor of having to transfer you away from where I am, where I cannot see you for several days.  So, my doctors have decided to push our delivery back to Saturday September 5^th.  We will be 36 weeks at that point, and not have to deal with a NICU stay unless you have issues.  If I have any serious issues they would certainly deliver you sooner.

I got a surprise visit from your Aunt, Anna, Ummichi, and Rose.   We have decided that Rose and Ummichi can go to Lincoln for Tuesday, Wednesday, and come back on Thursday afternoon.  Your Aunt Daisy has to go back to work next week.

So far we have spent 47 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 1 day until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it 35 weeks and two days!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Monday September 7th.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 13th.  Please help me to be safe during the c-section.

Your birthday will likely be September 5th!  Just 5 days!

Love you,

Mommy

2 days until we meet you - Sunday August 30th - 35 weeks + 1 day

Dear Baby Ethan,

It's Sunday today! I had a bit of a hard time sleeping last night.  My back is a bit sore.  So, I slept in until 9:30.  I won't get to do that for quite awhile once you arrive!

Two of my friends (Andrew and Anneliese) came by this afternoon with their little one year old.  They even brought some flowers!  It was great to chat with them.

Then your daddy, Rose, and Ummichi came over.  We had some dinner and played outside for a bit.  I can't believe we are down to our last days as a family of three!

So far we have spent 46 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 2 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.  Today is Saint Rose of Lima's Feast Day!

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it 35 weeks and a day!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.  Please help me to be safe during the c-section.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 2 days!

Love you,

Mommy

3 days until we meet you - Saturday August 29th - 35 weeks

Dear Baby Ethan,

We made it to 35 weeks! I am so thankful that you have had this time to grow.  This morning I had a hard time getting to bed after I took nifedipine at 3 am.  So we ended up doing your monitoring a bit early from 4-5.  Then one of the high risk doctors came by, and a medical student.

Then, your daddy ended up being close by getting one of the cars worked on.  So we had some tasty french toast together.  I had a pretty low key day reading and watching some TV.  I started reading the biography of Saint Catherine of Sienna by Sigrid Undset.

Your daddy, Rose, and Ummichi made it to the hospital around 7:30.  We had some dinner and Ummichi and I played with Rose.  Your daddy took a shower.  He had a busy day working on the cars.

I ended up reading quite a bit about babies born at 35 weeks.  It is so variable how well they do and how long they need to stay in the hospital.  I have been continually praying that you are in great shape when you are born.

So far we have spent 45 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 3 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it 35 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 3 days!

Love you,

Mommy

4 days until we meet you - Friday August 28th

Dear Baby Ethan,

It's Friday! Just one more work day for me after today.  I am praying that you and I are both going home one week from today.

Unfortunately my new IV spot is still quite sore.  It was actually even painful when the nurse was flushing it last night.  I was really hoping the IV spot would calm down.  I'm not sure that is going to happen though.

Your Aunt Daisy, Uncle Kevin, and Anna Beth came by.  They brought your Ummichi from Lincoln to stay with us for a bit.  It was great to see Anna again.  She's holding her head up very well now.  I have to get used to having a wee bobble headed baby again!

Then your daddy and Rose came by.  We ate dinner, daddy took a shower, and we went outside for a few minutes.  But, then it started misting!

After everyone left, my nurse Jenny came by.  Unfortunately my IV had entirely stopped flushing! Jenny was able to get an IV in quickly.  But, the location is less than ideal, it is in my wrist.  So, it is a bit sensitive.

So far we have spent 44 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 4 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to almost 35 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 4 days!

Love you,

Mommy

5 days until we meet you - Thursday August 27th

Dear Baby Ethan,

It's Thursday! Just one day until the weekend!  I decided to ask the Benedictines, Mary Queen of Apostles a group of nuns in Missouri to pray a novena for you starting on September 15th. I pray that you will be hope with us and doing great by then.  It might be a tougher time starting then because your Ummichi will be doing home to Liberal that day!

Mentally I am so ready to be out of this hospital.  But, I am starting to feel guilty about delivering you next week.  We have not had any bleeding issues since the 17th and 18th of August.  Even those were quite small.  I am hoping to talk to the high risk doctors about it.  It is Dr. Lovgren that is on today.  I spoke to Dr. Lovgren.  He feels strongly that the bleeding issues I had from weeks 28 to 35, when the lower part of the uterus was expanding, show that my placenta is a bit unstable.  He feels strongly 35 weeks should have been our due date for quite awhile because of my bleeding issues.  He understands that it would be good for you to have more days inside me.  But, you would be a health 35 weeks plus a few days.  If we wait too long and we have a bleed, and they have to cut through the placenta, you could lose a lot of blood.  A health younger baby is better off than a sick, anemic, older baby.  I spoke to your dad, we are going to leave the due date the same.  I definitely want this to be a planned calm delivery.  I would have rather you had all of the days possible.  But, I do not want either of us to have issues because we waited too long either.

Your daddy and Rose came by for a visit.  We had dinner, gave Rose a shower, and visited outside for a bit.

So far we have spent 43 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 5 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to almost 35 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 5 days!

Love you,

Mommy

6 days until we meet you - Wednesday August 26th

Dear Baby Ethan,

We have had a quiet few days.  Thank the Lord, we have not had any bleeding issues since last Tuesday.

It's hump day! Only three more work days after this.  I'm looking forward to getting to focus on you for awhile starting on Tuesday!

I met with one of the lactation nurses today as well as the nutritionist.  Apparently you will be fed every three hours.  I will be set up with a pumping kit to use in the hospital.  There will be some small vials that I am supposed to put my colostrum in.  I will be trying hand expression I'm sure to get that out.  If you are stable and going well, we can try feeding at the breast.

I found out you will likely have at least two bottles a day of Similac NeoSure for at least a month or two.  I have to call our insurance company tomorrow to find out how that works for us to buy it with the help of insurance.

The nutritionist indicated I would need to take DHA supplements (fish oil), because you will being born early.  You will be missing out on time in utero to develop your brain.  So you need a bit more DHA than most babies.

Your daddy and Rose came by for a bit. We had some dinner and went outside.

I had a rough evening after your daddy and Rose left. My IV looked a bit nasty so they took it out. They poked me FOUR times before they got a working one. It ended up taking several hours because the nurses had to leave and take care of other things. It's on the sensitive under side of my arm. Sleeping was rough trying not touch it. I'm hoping it calms down over the next couple days.  I had that IV from the 16th of August through the 26th, so just 10 days.  I am praying this last one will work

I do not want you to have to deal with being poked and prodded at the hospital.  I am feeling a bit guilty about delivering you next week given that we have not had any issues for the last week + now.

So far we have spent 42 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 8 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to 34 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 7 days!

Love you,

Mommy

7 days until we meet you - Tuesday August 25th

Dear Baby Ethan,

One week from now we get to meet you! I am so excited.  I am praying that you will be in good shape by then.  It is encouraging that you were doing a good job practicing breathing during our ultrasound yesterday.

I am down to my last four work days before maternity leave begins, and I get to focus on you for a bit.  Your daddy, Auntie Dainy, Uppuchen, and Rose came to spend a bit of time with me tonight.

So far we have spent 41 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 8 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to 34 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 8 days!

Love you,

Mommy

8 days until we meet you - Monday August 24th

Dear Baby Ethan,

They had to weigh me again today.  They do that every Monday here.  I am up to 163 :(.  I have gained 36 pounds so far.  I still think that is not too bad given that I have not been able to work out as I was last time.

Your growth scan showed that you are in the 58th percentile.  You weigh 5 pounds 8 ounces (2500 grams).  During the sonogram you were doing well practicing breathing movements.  You have lots of hair.  Your head is up and you are facing back.  The fluid is 13.6, no change.

Fluid last time on August 3, was 13.8, weight last time was 1800 grams (just over 4 pounds), 40%.

They also took my blood yesterday, and my platelets are finally getting better.  They are up to 130 from 11.

Your daddy came by for some dinner.  He forgot his cell phone, so he had to make an extra trip back.  I felt bad! He has a presentation tomorrow.

Rose is in Lincoln with our family there.  It looks like she is having a good time.  I miss her though, I'm excited to see her tonight!

So far we have spent 40 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 8 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to 34 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 8 days!

Love you,

Mommy

9 days until we meet you - Sunday August 23rd

Dear Baby Ethan,

I got a good night of sleep.  Things were quiet, and I am thankful we had another night with no issues.  We have not had any bleeding since Tuesday morning August 18th.  I am a bit depressed today.  It is very quiet here.  Your dad and Rose are with the family in Lincoln for baby Anna Beth's baptism.  I'm so sad to miss it.  But, it would not be safe for me to make that drive and be far away from a hospital if a bleed started in the middle of the drive.  We are also concerned that insurance could reject payment for my stay if I left.

Here are some pictures!

I did some online shopping today! I've been pretty good about staying away from that, but I am starting to see the end of the tunnel on being pregnant and getting to a normal life with you.  I am certainly thankful for every day that you get to grow inside me.  But, it has been a long road.

Your sister Rose is also staying in Lincoln for a few days.  Your daddy is feeling sick, so it is good he is getting a rest.  Rose should be back in Omaha on Tuesday night.  So, just a couple of days until I get to see her.

I got to have dinner with your daddy.  We went outside for a bit.  It was nice to get to chat with him for a bit.  We were figuring out our plan for the last weekend before you are here! I'm hoping he will be able to put in the outlet we need next to the treadmill.  I hope to get back to it once

So far we have spent 39 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 9 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to 34 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Upcoming Events.

We will likely get to see how your growth is this week.  They will consider doing a scan of you next week, perhaps on Monday the 24th, to be sure your growth is going well.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 9 days!

Love you,

Mommy

10 days until we meet you - Saturday August 22nd

Dear Baby Ethan,

We had a quiet night for the most part.  Around 4:30 am I felt a trickle and thought I might be bleeding.  But, the fluid was totally clear.  The doctors told me to let them know if I felt any other fluids come out, and we could do an ultrasound check.  They took my blood to make sure that I have some "typed" blood in the blood bank in case I need a transfusion.

Apparently it is quite a busy day at the hospital, they had already delivered 13 babies by 10 am! I had a hard time getting my medications.

So far we have spent 38 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, just 10 days until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, we made it to 34 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of us to get able to go to church together on September 6th.

Your Ummichi, Uppuchen, and Auntie Dainy are in town!  Auntie Dainey and Uppuchen are leaving next Wednesday.  Ummichi will be here until September 15th.  I am praying that you have been home a week or two by then.  They came by for a bit in the evening we were outside for just a bit, then everyone but your daddy all went to Lincoln.

Rose got some exciting ankle bracelets that jingle. So now we will always know where she is!

Your daddy stayed and watched a cute movie called echo with me. He was feeling a bit sick, so he did not stay the night.

Upcoming Events.

We will likely get to see how your growth is going next week.  They will consider doing a scan of you next week, perhaps on Monday the 24th, to be sure your growth is going well.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 10 days!

Love you,

Mommy

11 days until we meet you - Friday August 21st

Dear Baby Ethan,

We had a good quiet night.  I was actually able to get to sleep after taking my nifedipine at 3 am.  I did not end up taking graham crackers, so I did not have to get up to brush my teeth.  I might have to try that again tonight.

I spent some time today watching videos, and reading resources on pumping and breastfeeding preemie babies.  There were some great videos, and log sheets here http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/obgyn/maternity/newborn/nicu/spin/parents/Pages/default.aspx

I pray that you will have a great suck, swallow, and breathe skills! But if not, I will need to figure out pumping.

I got another visit from Deacon Michael from church.  I so appreciate still being able to have the body of Christ while I am here at the hospital.  I pray Lord that we will get to have my baby Ethan with us so we can go as a family of four for my first service in a month and a half on Sunday September 6th!

Your Ummichi, Uppachen, and Auntie Dainy came by.  We had some snacks with them, and went to play outside a bit and show them where we hang out every night.  I sent home some of your new clothes people have given you with them.  I wanted to be sure they were all washed and ready to go for you!

I found a good blog post on good period dramas that are streaming on Netflix.  I watched "Death Comes to Pemberly", it was quite good!  I saved one episode for tomorrow.

So far we have spent 37 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, less than two weeks until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, almost 34 weeks!  Please be with my baby Ethan and help him to be strong and healthy.  Please help him to be able to go home with us on Friday September 4th.  I know he will have to be in the NICU for at least two days for monitoring.  Please help all of his

Upcoming Events.

Your Ummichi, Uppuchen, and Auntie Dainy will be here today!  Auntie Dainey and Uppuchen are leaving next Wednesday.  Ummichi will be here until September 15th.  I am praying that you have been hope a week or two by then.

We will likely get to see how your growth is going next week.  They will consider doing a scan of you next week, perhaps on Monday the 24th, to be sure your growth is going well.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 11 days!

Love you,

Mommy

12 days until we meet you - Thursday August 20th

Dear Baby Ethan,

We had another quiet night.  I had a tough time getting back to sleep after taking my nifedipine at 3 am.  I ended up staying up to read for a few hours.  Your sister Rose is a little heavy for her age. I have a bit of guilt about that.  I was reading a book about children and it talked about how babies that it is an indication that a baby is overfed if they spit alot.  Rose has always drooled a lot.  It is tough to not feed a baby that is crying though.  Perhaps I should have tried other things to calm her down rather than feeding.

I got to have a nice dinner with your daddy and Rose.  Rose and I then read some books while your daddy took a shower.  Rose played in the sink and got quite wet, as always.  Then we changed her and went outside for a bit around 8.  It was getting dark by then.  I can't believe it is fall!

Sad frownie face as Rose got tired!

So far we have spent 36 days in the hospital.  I'm so excited that we are on the home stretch, less than two weeks until we meet you! I am praying you stay in me that long, so you can be healthy and strong.   Dear Lord, please help Ethan's lungs, digestive tract, GI tract, bowels, eyes, ears, and all systems to be in great working order.  Please help him to not have asthma and help pumping and breast feeding to go well.  Saint Blaise, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Antony please pray for my baby Ethan that he would stay inside until September 1st.

Thank you Lord that we have made it this far, almost 34 weeks!

Upcoming Events.

Your Ummichi, Uppuchen, and Auntie Dainy will be here Friday August  21st for baby Anna Beth's baptism.  Your Ummichi will be here for a bit to help take care of Anna and Rose.  That is just TOMORROW, when you will be almost 34 weeks along and in even better shape to be born.

We will likely get to see how your growth is going next week.  They will consider doing a scan of you next week, perhaps on Monday the 24th, to be sure your growth is going well.

Your birthday will likely be September 1st!  Just 12 days!

Love you,

Mommy