Ethan 2 and 4 months & Rose 4 and 2 months

Ethan

You have become very verbal.  You like to cuddle.  You waited for me for 45 minutes by the front window while I was at the library studying for my MBA class.  You are learning, and hearing me when I ask you to change.  You had been grabbing people’s personal space.  I kept putting you in time out, but it didn’t help.  I explained how it made Rose and I feel, and you finally stopped.  It did not happen this morning.   I was carrying you this morning, and as we turned off all of the lights you told me that you loved me and put your head on my shoulder, I told you I loved you too and gave you kiss on the cheek.  You are such a sweet little boy, when not being crazy.  We still need to work on you hitting when you get especially upset, but you are improving.

Rose,

You have been very needy lately, and I struggle to be patient with you at times.  I have started verbally stating when I am frustrated, so that I don’t yell.  It’s interesting that you have started parenting Ethan, letting him know he should say that rather than hitting.  You do such a good job sharing with Ethan, and being kind to him.  I enjoy the times we spend together.  I can’t believe we will be visiting St. Mary’s soon to get ready for you to start preschool.  I remember vividly the fun times we had when you were little. You have always had the best laugh.

Love you both,

Mama

Rose - almost 4

Rose,

I can’t believe you’re turning four tomorrow.  I have such mixed emotions about this.  It seems like just yesterday that we brought you  home from the hospital.  Sometimes you can be so trying.  Perhaps it is because we are both so similar, so sensitive to slights.  I hope that you can overcome this.  It’s not good to be as easily bruised emotionally as I have been in life. 

You are such a precious sweet girl.  You never hit Ethan, even when he hits you and pulls your hair.  In fact, sometimes I wish you would defend yourself a bit more.  I worry that others will take advantage of your sweet nature.  I worry in general that this world is so dark and dangerous.  I pray so often that no one hurts you, your soul, or your person. 

You are becoming a bit more picky in your eating.  I am also this way, but it is frustrating that when I do cook that you often reject it.   You love TV.  You could literally spend days focused on the TV if we let you.  You also love the Children’s Museum and the Zoo.  We have had passes this year, and have gone often.

You are so curious and ask many questions.  You challenge us with things that we say, about being careful.

I worry that I have been too stressed and hard on you as you have grown up.  I hope you remember the times that we played and had dance parties, and not just the times that I rushed you to get ready for bed or up in the morning.

You are so precious to me little one.

Love you,

Mama

3 years and 16 months

Rose,

You told me today that I was your best friend.  That was so sweet.  I have been able to use that to get you to behave a bit lately :).  I will have to remember this when you don't appreciate me so much.  You are loving Peppa Pig.  We try to keep it to only watching on the weekends.  You started at St. James a few weeks ago when we moved into our new house.  Johnna the director, and other teachers, are so kind there.  You seem to like it.  You are so smart.  I complained that I could not find a hammer the other night to put up a nail, and you told me to use a screw instead so I could use papa's screw driver.  You are still a bit sensitive, and independent.  You like to have things done just the right way.  We try to give you choices so you feel like you have control when possible.  Your teachers always tell me how great you are, and that they never have problems with you.

Ethan,

You are a sweet boy most of the time.  You give great hugs.  You know how to say a few things like hi, bye, mama, dada, wow, mine, and no.  You have been quite healthy this winter so far.  You have only had antibiotics once after staying with Ummichi.  Your Qvar is working well to keep your lungs clear.  We had tried going down to the 40 mcg, but then you got some congestion.  You are about to start at St. James on Monday Feb 13th.  I'm so excited for you and Rose to be at the same place.  You have not ever been together at a care facility.  You have about eight teeth, four on top and four on bottom.  You like to eat meat, and whatever we are eating.  You still love Cheerios.

Family

We are excited for Aunt Daisy to have her baby in March or April.  We are praying the baby grows well.  We have appreciated Ummichi being retired.  She often stays with us for a couple weeks at a time, especially when Papa is out of town.  

3 years and 15 months

Rose and Ethan,

The days are long, but the years are short.  That saying really resonates with me right now.  You are both so great, but patience is definitely something I am working on.  I do feel so blessed to have you both.

Ethan

You have spent a lot of time with your Ummichi since she retired.  We are so thankful she has been able to be with you when you are sick, when Papa is traveling, and recently since we started packing.  You can eat solid foods, but purees are still your favorite.  You have been walking since you were about 11 months old.  You love to climb EVERYTHING.  You're quite a monkey.  You are still a very happy guy.  It's quite easy to get you to sleep a night, and usually for naps.  You did not sleep through the night until you were about 1.  You still wake up at night sometimes, but you can usually make it to 5 or 6 am.  You have about six teeth.

Your health is much better now.  You had got some issues in your lungs around the first week of November.  We had tried to go down to 40 mcg of Qvar.  Going down in dosage did not seem to work well.  We went back up in dosage, and saw the Children's Pulmonary specialists again.  They agreed that we should do the higher dosage until we get through winter. We will try to do the lower dosage again at that point.

When you are not with Ummichi you have been going to Willow Tree.  It's a bit annoying to pay $32/day when you are not there.  But, we need to be able to take you there when Ummichi is needed in Lincoln.

Your favorite foods are meatballs, cheerios, and graham crackers.

Rose

You are definitely potty trained.  It has been that way for several months now.  You really never had any issues wetting the bed.  We did keep using pull ups to sleep for a bit after you were good during the day.  The ladies in the fox room really helped get you potty trained.  We have been trying to work through the fits that you have.  It seems like you need some time with me, and to have some choices so you feel like you have some control over things.  You have very strong opinions on what you want to wear, what cups to use, and just about everything! You are very sweet to Ethan most of the time though.  We had an issue at one point with you hitting and pushing him.  But, you have really gotten over that.  You do cry when he pulls your hair or does something, but you do not lash back at him.  You are a good big sister.  It's so fun to see you two play together.   You really want to be independent.  You get quite upset when you want to do something yourself, and we are in too much of a rush to let you do it. At the same time, you do still want to be a baby at times.  I know it is hard to share the attention.  You like to sit in Ethan's high chair sometimes, and to be carried.

You like to sing Christmas songs, and dance.  Your favorite thing to watch was Frozen around your birthday.  Lately it has been Peppa Pig.  You still like yogurt quite a bit.   You also like pears, peaches, bananas and cottage cheese.  It has gotten harder to get you to eat normal foods.  You will eat meat balls.

You have been at St. Luke's for about 1 year now.  You have gone through the Monkey room, the Fox room, and now the Owl Room with Mr. Andy.  Your friends seem to be Aliyah and Holly.

You can speak very well, but when you start to cry you lose the ability to articulate what is upsetting you.

First weekend potty training, ears, and eating

Almost 11 months and 2.5

Dear Ethan and Rose,

We have had a busy summer so far.  I took an MBA class in July, so you spent quite a bit of time with Ummichi in Lincoln.

Ethan

You started crawling in the normal style! You started out crawling by doing a worm style movement where you used your arms, legs and stomach.  You still cannot eat any solids.  When we try to throw up quite a bit.  You have had some great times for your breathing in the last few months.  A little bit of congestion and wheezing came back when you were in daycare for a few weeks.  So, we started Qvar.  The dose is a bit higher than I would like, but you will go down to a lower dose if they think it is helping.  We have an appointment later in August.  You got tubes put in on May 13th.  Your right ear keeps getting clogged.  We have been trying ear drops but can't seem to get it clear.

You are still quite a happy guy, even in the midst of teething.  You have one lower tooth that is mostly out.  Others on the bottom are trying to push through, and your two front teeth are trying to push through also. 

Rose

You are talking so much now! It’s great that you can tell us what is bothering you, and what makes you happy.  You were being funny last night saying “My name is NO!” and cracking yourself up.  You have been doing quite well with pull ups for awhile now and going potty.  Ms. Denae at St Luke’s really wants you to try underwear.  So, we will give it a try this weekend!  We just had all of your cousins in town last weekend.  I think it really motivated you that Tristan goes potty on his own.  You have enjoyed swimming in the pool this summer.  We have only gone to the park a few times, but I hope to go more in the next couple of weeks.

Love you both! 

Mama

Ethan 9 months - Rose 2.5 years

Dear Rose and Baby Ethan,

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I gave you an update! Life is definitely busy with the two of you.  I love you both so much.  You are so precious to me.  I am so blessed to have a lovely family with your hard working Papa.  Papa and I have been working on organizing and playing Monopoly lately.

Rose

Rose, you are talking up a storm these days.  You can still get frustrated and whine a bit when you can’t explain what you want.  But you can tell us the kind of foods you want, if something is hurting, and how you are feeling most of the time.  You have been so sweet to your little brother.  I know sharing is hard for you, but you do give him attention and have started calling him your Ethan.  We opened up our pool a few weeks ago.  You have enjoyed sitting on the ladder and kicking around. I hope you can get over any water issues you might have and enjoy swimming as the water gets warmer!

You are working on potty training.  We follow your lead.  When you ask to go potty, we take you.  You just moved into the “Fox” room at St. Luke’s a couple of weeks ago.  They try to go potty every hour.  The schedule has worked well getting you interested.  You also would love to start wearing your “Dora” underwear.

You had so much fun playing the piano when we were in Houston a few weeks ago.  Your Ummichi had bought Aunt Daisy a small keyboard in the 90s that still works.  You had fun playing with that this weekend.  We also  bought a play kitchen from my friend Sara recently.  You have so much fun making coffee, cooking spaghetti, and making other food for everyone.

Personality

You are a very sweet and sometimes serious little girl.  Your Papa helps keep things lightened up.  You love going to run errands with Papa.  You want to do everything yourself now.  I try to be patient with you.  You like to cuddle and get hugs.  You are so curious about what is happening around you.  You love to ask us what things are, and what we are doing.  Your Papa does a great job telling you what he is going.  He put together a little plant house you got from Menard's yesterday.

Food

You have gotten a bit more picky lately.  You do not eat your Ummichi’s buttery chicken.  You love yogurt, naan, pita, hummus, spaghetti, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets.

Ethan

I can’t believe you are almost 9 months old! You still do not sleep through the night.  You had been waking up around 10 and 2.  Now, I try to feed you before I go to bed.  Then you wake up again.  For example, the last few nights I fed you at 10 or 11, and you woke up again around 4 or 5.

You had tubes put in on May 13^th.  There has not been a dramatic difference.  But, I do hope this avoids some antibiotic use

You do have intermittent asthma.  We have tried several rounds of budesonide (an oral steroid).  Sometimes it helps.  But, for the  last week we have been doing it twice a day.  It has helped some.  But, you still have quite a bit of congestion and coughing.  I believe you also have seasonal allergies.  We give you Zyrtec at night now most often.  The Allergist Dr. Shakir says we can stop that if it doesn’t help.  I do think it helps cut down on the clear drainage

Development

You have definitely been slower to develop than Rose and Anna.  But, you definitely get there eventually.  You are sitting up very well now.  We try to keep a pillow or blanket around you because you still fall backwards sometimes though.  You can turn when on your tummy, and scoot backwards.  No forward progress yet though.  You still need to figure out how to pull your legs under you.  You are getting stronger though.  You started to do “plank” this weekend.  You can pick up small blocks with one or both hands.  You just started enjoying the jungle bouncer.  You do not bounce as much as Rose and Anna, but you enjoy turning around and bouncing a bit. You may like it more as you get taller.

Eating

You take your time, but you do like to eat.  We do puree 3 – 4 times a day. If you do not like something we can usually just mix it with something else and you will eat it.  We still do bottles several times a day too.  You have a very strong gag reflex, so I am not sure when we will transition to finger food.  I let you have fun playing with puree over the weekend.  I didn’t see you trying to feed yourself at all.  I know you will get there eventually though.

Personality

I cannot believe what a smiley and sweet boy you are.  You have a little tooth coming in on the bottom in the middle.  You have not been extra fussy at all.  The only times you get a bit fussy are when you are hungry or need a nap.  I am amazed at how smiley you have always been, even when you had ear infections all of the time.  Doctors would ask if you were extra fussy, and I had to say NO.  But you still had an ear infection ;(.  I pray those issues are resolved now that you have tubes though.

Dear Jesus, please heal our baby Ethan's remaining breathing issues.  We are so thankful that Rose has been so healthy, and has only been dealing with a bit of allergy drainage.  Please be with them both, and help them to be wonderful people that make it into heaven.  Please help me to be patient and a loving wife and mother.  Thank you for all of the blessings in my life.

Love!

Mama

Ethan 6 months and Rose 2 yrs - 4 months

Dear Rose and Ethan,

You are both such easy children in most ways, I so appreciate your happy dispositions.  Unfortunately Papa has had to work quite a bit lately to finish some projects.  So, I have been sort of single parenting lately.  I have been trying to be patient!

Rose

You are talking so much these days.  You communicate your wishes quite well, not quite in full sentences.  A commen request is “Ima raisins” or “What you doing Mommy?”.  You have become quite picky on food.  You prefer raisins, yogurt, sweet things, bananas, cutie oranges (sometimes).  You do not really like most vegetables.  You can sing several shorter songs by yourself, and the words are mostly correct.  The ones you often sing are The ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Slippery Fish.

Development

You are not really interested in going on the potty much.  You did go #2 on the big potty for the first time the other day.  It was quite a success because I saw you start bearing down, and you were willing to head into the potty.  Usually you say you do not want to.  You can pull your pants down on your own.  I need to have you start getting dressed on your own.  It’s hard because we are usually in a bit of a rush in the morning.  You talk and sing quite a bit.  You like to look through books.  You can identify many animals, and their sounds.  You get colors right some of the time.  You can count to 10, and perhaps 20. 

Likes
Eating, dancing/dance parties, being carried/held, reading books, Super Simple Songs on Youtube, going to church aka seeing Jesus, going to the park, being outside, drawing, drawing with sidewalk chalk

Dislikes
Washing your hair, brushing your hair, brushing your teeth, taking naps.  You usually go to bed quite easily, but sometimes you whine a bit about that.

Ethan

You are such a sweet and smiley boy.  You really do not cry unless you are quite hungry or something is wrong.  We had a bit of a scare in February.  You had a double ear infection, RSV, and the beginnings of viral pneumonia.  I believe you likely have asthma and potentially allergies also.  In the last week or so you have gotten much better.  We were having to suction you every couple of hours.  There is much less discharge these days.  When you are sick for some reason you like the disposable Enfamil bottle nipples better.  So, we go back and forth between normal nipples and those.  The disposable ones suck in quite easily, so it takes longer to have a bottle with them.  You are on Level 1 Dr Brown nipples.

Likes
Baths, being held, being in the upright bouncer, chewing on your hands or anything you can put in your mouth

Dislikes
Tummy time, having your nose suctioned when you are sleepy

Development
You roll over on your own very well these days.  You like to make babbling sounds.  You try to pull yourself when on your tummy.  You seem to get hungry for solid-ish food, but you often don’t seem to eat much of it.  Occasionally you will lap up a decent amount of oatmeal.  Only a couple of times have you enjoyed eating pureed veggies.  Your favorite has seemed to be butternut squash or sweet potatoes.  You really are not into pureed food much yet though.  You do not really jump in the jumper yet, but you like to play with the different gadgets.

Sleeping
You wake up most nights between 12 and 2, and then around 5 or 6.  You are definitely not sleeping through the night yet.  But you are getting better.  When you were dealing with allergies/congestion you were waking up every hour or so, and not able to each much at once.  Thank goodness we are over that!

I love you both so much!

Love,

Mama

Ethan 4 months - Rose 26 months (2 years 2 months)

Hi my babies!

Ethan had his 4 month check up today.  He is 13 pounds and 24.5 inches.  His height is in the 20th % for normal babies. Dr. Reiser was pretty impressed that he was trying to pull himself around already when on his tummy.  Ethan is now laughing some, and always smiling.  He had some bad congestion about a week ago, and was chocking on drainage.  He went to Dr. Reiser, and then the allergist.  He is on amoxicilin to deal with sinus infection and drainage, and budesinide to deal with the congestion in his chest.  He is already quite a bit better.

Sleeping
Ethan gets up once every night at this point, usually around 3 am.  He has woken up twice a night in the last couple nights though.  I then take him to Joshy for the second feeding.

Eating
Ethan eats between 60 - 120 ML depending on how long it has been since he last ate.  We are still doing mostly breast milk at this point.  He gets one formula bottle during the weekdays at daycare.

Development
He can hold his head up well on his own for quite a bit.  We need to let him do tummy time more so he can work on that.  His congestion was so bad, I was keeping him in chairs often.  But, now that he is better we can work on that.

Rose is so much fun these days.  She can say several words together.  We are still working on communicating though. For example, she says "go away Mommy" when she really means "excuse me" :).   She did say "pretty hair" the other day when I put her hair in a pony tail, it was quite cute.  She usually gets pig tails.

She eats quite well on her own, but likes to make a mess.  She also plays well on her own.  Often she will be up for a bit in her crib, and playing with her "quiet book" that Grandma gave her.  She can still be a bit whiney, but we are working on that.  She is very sweet with Ethan.  She likes to give him hugs.  Recently she has started playing in her crib instead of taking naps.   We try to leave her in there for a bit so she can try to go to sleep. 

Rose's health has been quite good.  She did have a bit of a runny nose for a bit, and some congestion just before Christmas.  But, we did breathing treatments for a bit and she improved and has not had issues since.

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