Ethan's Big Outing

Since the weather was nice today and mommy was getting house rot we decided to venture out to the country to Marian's domino party. We loaded up the car and headed out around 11 am. Ethan slept the entire way to Huntsville and wouldn't even wake up to see where mommy went to school. He enjoyed getting passed around so everyone could love on him. He's such a sweet baby. He took a nice long nap in his stroller while the ladies played dominoes. Later on he ventured upstairs with Papi to hang out with the men. He must not have been too impressed with their conversations either because when I went to find him he was passed out again. Oh well, at least he's experienced a longer car ride now. Maybe next time he'll actually be awake long enough to notice the cows and such.

Doctor's Appointments

Today we had a very busy day. We had an 8:45 am appointment with Dr. Chandler. Ethan is now up to 7 lbs. 5 oz. One more ounce and he'll be back to his birth weight. Ethan was measuring 20 inches long today. Not bad considering he was 21 inches with his conehead at the hospital. He also got his second heel stick today. No more pediatrician appointments until April! Yay!!!

Then we ran by Target to pick up a few items before heading to my doctor's appointment. Everyone at the doctor's office thought Ethan was absolutely adorable with his crocheted bear hat and pretty blue blanket that his aunt Mary made him. My incision is healing nicely and I got a prescription for my chest congestion. I can't wait to feel normal again! Next appointment for me is in 4 weeks.

After our doctor's appointments we went to lunch at Rico's. Ethan was very well behaved and enjoyed a bottle while enjoyed our mexican food.

No more stump!!!

BREAKING NEWS: Ethan's umbilical stump fell off this evening! Yay!!!!! We found it stuck inside his sleeve during a diaper change. Eww!!! At least Ethan can now enjoy a nice warm dip in the tub on this chilly wintry evening. I wish I could do the same.

Tomorrow Yaya will be taking both of us to our 2 week check-ups. We're looking forward to seeing how much more weight our little piggy has put on. He's been finishing almost all of his bottles lately. I'm hopeful that Dr. Richter will be able to give me some kind of antibiotic to clear up this chest congestion I've been having, so that I stop running fever and finally start to feel normal again. I'm also hoping she'll say my incision is healing nicely and that I can drive again.

Sorry to all of you who have been calling, texting & emailing us. I promise I do intend to get back in touch with the world just as soon as I feel up to it. I had the easiest pregnancy ever, but I had a heck of a delivery & recuperation is going slowly.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Today Ethan celebrated his very first Valentine's Day. Mommy & Daddy gave him some books. Yaya & Papi came over this morning after church to bring him a giant stuffed frog and love on him some more. Then a bit later Auntie Courtney came over with another present. She gave Ethan some puppets & an elephant toy.

The other big event of the day is Operation Dirty Diaper finally commenced today. Drew heard it from clear across the room! It was a huge success! Now we know that things are finally back on track since we came home.

Day 6 Hanging Out & Letting It All Out

Well today we have had lots of visitors. This morning Mommy's friend, Jessica Kana came to visit. She brought the baby lots of cute outfits and a blanket. Ethan also spent a long time in his swing this morning. He likes to swing while looking out the window! Then after that Kevin, Robin, Austin, and Abigail came over to see Ethan. They brought over Robin's famous bunt cake and shrimp dip. Yum Yum. Ethan has gas today and well he hasn't stopped farting all day! The doctor said to massage his tummy and hopefully that will make him go #2 since he hasn't in awhile. Yaya and Papi came over again to help wash clothes and make potato soup for dinner. Aunt Courtney is here too helping.

Day 5 Finally Settled In

Well today is Friday, February 12th and we are finally getting the hang of things. Ethan is eating every two 1/2 hours. He sure LOVES to eat. He HATES bright light and being naked. Mommy & Daddy played with Ethan all morning and after work Aunt Courtney came over to cook super. Later on Yaya & Papi came over to hold Ethan. We all agree he is super cute and we love him very much.

Day 4 Going Home

Well this morning was the big day. We finally get to go home. Unfortunately, it is cold and nasty outside, but don't worry we have baby Ethan all bundled up. Ethan is doing well at home. Mom and Dad are a bit tired, but nothing to serious. Auntie Courtney came over and held baby Ethan for a long time so Mommy & Daddy could shower and rest.

Ethan Day 3

Well the second full day is coming to a close and Kelly has freshened up a bit and did some walking around. No more IV's or butt view gowns. She's in comfy clothes.

This morning was a long one. Ethan slept good from about 2am to 7am thanks to a tight wrap and a ninny. Yes I said ninny. After a 10 minute fuss and cry fest it was the last resort and should have been the first thing we did. After he woke up the entire hospital staff decided to let us know they were working because it seemed like every 5 minutes, someone would come in and check something.

At about 8:30am the nurse came and got him ready for his circumcision. They did that while Kelly and I had breakfast. He of course was a little put out by the whole thing. It didn't help that we had to re-dress him because the nice lady that does portraits came in to take his and after a few pick ups and put downs we did manager to get a slew of pictures taken.

The wonderful portrait above we didn't notice till we were looking through the pictures and it was too funny for words though the only ones that came to mind were:

a) "I just had my tip nipped, got re-dressed, I'm hungry and had a bright light flashed repeatedly in my face.. and you expected me to smile for my photos? Whatever!"

b) "How was what? My day so far? This is how good it was."

c) "You want to do what? Where? I don't think so."

We always laugh at these photo's and think they are altered to be like that or composed but that was wasn't. That truly was priceless.

Day 2 More Pics

Yaya & Papi love baby Ethan. Yaya wants to hold Ethan all the time. It takes Ethan awhile to feed because all he wants to do is sleep. Kelly is feeling slightly better. She is eating chicken, spinach, and mashed potatoes for dinner. Yum Yum! Drew went home for some much needed rest and to take care of the furry babies, Riley and Chloe. Auntie Courtney has even changed baby Ethan's clothes all by herself.

Ethan Day 2

Today was a very busy day. After having a c-section Drew and Ethan came back to the room to run test and Kelly was in recovery for a little while. At about midnight Kelly got a chance to breast feed Ethan and then he was given a bath. Then everyone went to bed the best they could. This morning Ethan had three visitors, James, Marian, and Linda. Everyone agrees that he is super cute. He doesn't cry much, but he sure poops a lot. Kelly is still feeling sore from the surgery and a bit gassy from the operation too. Kelly likes to call Ethan, "punkin". Here are some new pics of Ethan.

Welcome Ethan

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my most profound pleasure to introduce to you and the world our son...

Ethan Gregory McNamee
Born: 2/8/10
Time: 11:02pm
Weight: 7lbs 6oz
Length: 21"
Hair: Black/dark brown

God truly is wonderful. We are truly blessed.

Ethan Watch 2010 10:20pm update

Ok.. 8cm for 4 hours equals one thing. C-section. Ethan's head is getting squished so it has been determined that a c-section is the way to go. So Ethan is going to be born in about an hour. Gotta go get ready now so my next post will have a daddy & baby pic. Joy!

Ethan Watch 2010 8:30pm update

Ok, last couple of hours have been interesting. Contractions are coming like clock work. Intense about a minute apart BUT!!! She is only at 8cm. On top of that, the epidural during the cartridge change began to stop working so for the last hour plus she's been feeling it and not just pressure but pain. We recalled the anethesiologyguywhodoesthisforaliving and he gave Kelly a shot and re-calibrated the dispenser. She said the pain is beginning to subside so we are hoping that at 10pm when they check her again, she will be at that point. Well my 5 star cuisine dinner of cheetos and coke is getting cold so I will close this for now.

Side note.. when this kid comes SOMEBODY!!! Even if it's me walking there.. is going to Whataburger.

Ethan Watch 2010 6:30pm update

Ok, the tummy sensor that showed the contractions was obviously not working. The nurse put in a different sensor and yeah, they were almost off the chart. Good news.. Kelly is not 7cm so it seems that little bundle of love will hopefully be arriving soon.

That's all for now.

Ethan Watch 2010 5:30pm update

Well contractions continue to slowly grow and it seems the more Kelly relaxes and tries to nap the more intense they are. Must be that island side to Ethan showing through. I swear I never told him "hurry make worry mon". Dis ya islan byoi doin tings is own pace, himya goin sho up when himya ready.

Well as things develop there will be more posts.

Ethan Watch 2010 3:45pm update

Well, nothing new has happened. Kelly depsite the meds is beginning to feel the contractions so that is a good thing. We are waiting for the doctor to show up which will be before 5pm. They certainly do things to their own schedules and I mean the baby not the doctors. When something new happens, more updates to come. This is Ginger our 7 - 3pm nurse.

Ethan Watch 2010 12:45pm update

Well it's now 12:45 and the good Doctor just left us. Kelly is now at 5cm after 5 hours so it look like its going to be about 5ish maybe 6pm at the current rate. Only Ethan knows for sure but we are still anxiously awaiting his arrival. Kelly is in good spirits though she is very hungry, I guess ice chips just don't cut it. She has requested tortillas and re-fried beans, girl scout cookies, peanuts and chips and salsa but of course she can't have any of those but that has not deterred her from wanting them and letting us know just how much she does.

Well that's all for now.

Ethan Watch 2010

Well, we've been at the hospital since 5:30am. We checked in but had to wait almost an hour due to 3 unscheduled arrivals. At about 6:15am we went to our room and Kelly changed into the "one size fits all but your butt sticks out" gown and at around 8:30am, Dr. Richter arrived and broke her water. After the IV and Potcin got hooked up, Kelly's been in bed since. Courtney, Chris and Carol have been with us all morning and Chris says he's going to come back and steal the glider chair in the room. I think he fell alseep on it a few times.

We had to leave the room for the epidural and I took the time to sample the fine cuisine at the hospital cafeteria. My breakfast taco of egg, bacon and cheese was actually quite good to my surprise. The four of us waited in the lobby area while Kelly was looked at and we explored the lobby gift shop and presents are in the works I hear. Well Dopey is all numb now and we are waiting for the nurse to come back to give Kelly her catheter and we'll be kicked out again I guess. Carol is just fascinated with the sounds, Kelly has a ultrasound sensor on her stomach so we can hear the heartbeat and when Ethan moves it sounds like furniture being dragged across the floor. We are joking that Kelly is evicting Ethan today and he's moving his furniture into storage.

Well I'm ending this post for now but attached are some pictures live from the birthing center room.

The Countdown

Make your own Countdown Clocks

37 Weeks

Final Doctor's Visit!!!

I just got home from my final visit with Dr. Richter. We are all set for my induction on Monday February 8th. I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am to get the party started. She said she'd be by around 8ish to break my water, and hopefully he'd make his arrival by 5 pm. I am so excited! We can't wait to meet Ethan!

My blood pressure was up to 140/90 but she's not worried about it between now and next Monday because I'm not spilling protein in my urine or anything. NST results were fine. Had quite a few lengthy contractions while hooked up to the monitor though. My cervix was at 2 cm, 70% effaced, and he was "very low". She said she was able to tap him on his head.

Dr. Richter seems to think Ethan will weigh 7 to 7 1/4 lbs and that we'll be able to go home on Wednesday Feb. 10th after his circumcision.

Our bags are packed, fridge & pantry stocked, & all his gear is ready to go. All we need is our baby. Hoping this week speeds by!

P.S. Final pregnancy weight gain 12 lbs!! Woot!