Elephants and tigers but no bears

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus came to town for four days and we decided to go on opening night.  The tickets were half price and I wasn’t sure how Kendall would do for two reasons, mostly because it was so close to bedtime but also she would have to be in a seated area for a lengthy amount of time.  She did great!  It was incredible and to say Kendall loved it is an understatement.  She had a blast and so did her momma and daddy!  There was only one time I thought we were going to have to leave.  There were horses performing and she wanted to go touch them.  We explained to her that we had to stay in our seats with our friends and she was okay with that.  Kendall, Stryker and Faith all were treated to a glow necklace by daddy.  Can you tell they were a hit? The lights flickered in different colors and patterns, it kept Kendall quite occupied!Can you tell they are into it? (Please forgive the red eye, I need to learn to edit). So much fun!Kendall did not hold still for many pictures at all. This is the best we could get of the three of us, with the iPhone, using self portrait, with Kendall shoving cotton candy in her mouth. And, the way home. Zonked! She was awake and smiling the entire show.  I think we will be going again next year, for sure!  Our seats were great, on the second level and too far away for good pictures but perfect for a bouncing two year old.  All of the kids could stand up if they wanted  which was just what we needed since it was a two hour show.  I know I cant wait until next year.

Ethan’s photo shoot

Who can pass up a photo shoot with Aunt Michelle? Not me! I had to have a newborn session with my baby boy as I did with my baby girl.  Ethan was twenty one days old and did fairly well.  He wanted to stay awake so he got a little fussy at times but he gave us some good pictures. 

I love newborn pictures with just a diaper.   We used a few blankets and baskets, even a chair to pose this little cutie, although we aren’t the most creative baby posers.  Enjoy the pictures! One of my favorites!! Can you see his little smirk?Ethan had to show off his Carolina onesie before it is too small. Don’t worry, I have a Michigan one too, its just a bigger size. We’re a house divided!So sweet! Me and my son, love him.I always love all of the pictures my sister takes of my babies.   These are just a select few. Thank you so much for capturing Ethan in his newborn stage.  We’ll be seeing more of you along the way.    

Ethan’s first bath

Ethan’s umbilical cord fell off on February 13.  There was still an area that was healing so he didn’t get to have a real bath until today.  Of course he wasn’t too sure about it with the initial feel of the water but once he was adjusted, he really enjoyed it.  He was so relaxed and his favorite part was having his hair washed.  I love bathing my tiny boy, it’s such a sweet time. I didn’t get the greatest picture of him in his towel because he started to get upset with being cold. But isn’t he just so adorable?

Off we go…

To MUSC! We had an appointment for a routine post birth visit today.  Remember the bruise I spoke of in the previous post?  Well, it became quite red, warm and swollen basically overnight.  Our pediatrician consulted with another doctor in the practice and the consensus was for us to take our little man to the Medical University of SC Children’s Hospital.  The doctor’s suspected a blocked/infected tear duct and that he would need IV antibiotics and possibly a probe procedure to drain the area.  I know this condition is common in young children but not my FIVE day old.  I was nervous but knew it was for the best. We arrived at the MUSC ER department around 2:30pm and there we sat until around 8:30pm when they moved us to our room.  Ethan was a trooper and thankfully won’t remember all he had to endure, although his momma might.

This was a picture, Monday night in the ER and then our sweet boy in his hospital crib.I didn’t take a lot of pictures in the hospital, as 1) I did not like the hideous yellow gown, 2) I did not want to remember the IV in his arm and the board his arm was taped to, 3) there wasn’t much to take pictures of – no pretty view from a window, and Ethan didn’t do much but sleep and 4) our little man looked like he had a black eye until day three. 

Here’s Tuesday.   He woke up with a cute little smile and I caught it just in time!  The ophthalmologist came in Tuesday evening and evaluated Ethan’s eye.  The area to the tear duct was not any better and when he left the room, he said, “We’ll see you tomorrow at 11:30am for the probing procedure.”  Not what I wanted to hear.  We were told the best way for this to be done on an infant his age, was to keep him awake and hold him down for a 10-15 minute procedure. I couldn’t imagine how this was going to be done but I was trying to accept it.  Prayers were being said from SC to Michigan to Georgia for our sweet boy! And Wednesday!!!!! Prayers worked! No more knot, no more redness, no more swelling.  We even got a white shirt to put on instead of the yellow gown.  The antibiotics worked! There was nothing to do any probing to.  The doctors were surprised at how fast it cleared up.  It literally cleared overnight as fast as it became infected overnight.  I. COULDN’T. HAVE. BEEN. HAPPIER!!!

Doesn’t his sweet face look as if he’s thinking, “enough is enough!”  He slept very well while we were in the hospital but between all the vital sign checks, doctors and nurses poking and prodding, and multiple diaper changes from antibiotic use, we were ready to go home.

When the ophthalmologist came to the room at 11:25am on Wednesday, he was ready, with tools in hand to do the probe procedure.  When he left the room at 11:40am, he said, “okay, there is no justification to do the probing and the area shouldn’t become blocked anymore.  We will keep him here overnight to evaluate post antibiotic use and you can go home in the morning.”  Those words made my day!  We were at MUSC for three and a half days with IV antibiotics every eight hours and left with a prescription for oral antibiotics for seven days.

It was nice to bond with my son, just me and him in that hospital room but boy, did I miss Kendall and Ryan and my bed! Ryan came back and forth to hang out but also had to work and help to keep Kendall on her schedule.  I am so very thankful the antibiotics treated this infection and I want to thank everyone that was thinking and praying for us as well.

Going home

We left the hospital as fast as we could when we heard the word ‘discharged’ so I only took one picture and then it was dark out so I didn’t get to take a good first ride picture. Oh well, we were too excited to get home.

                                             ( sorry it’s not the best quality -  taken with iPhone)

The BIG sister

Boy, does she love her baby brother!! Kendall has taken quite well to Ethan! She wanted to hold him immediately when she walked over to meet him. She said, “I hold baby, momma.” Sure thing, sweet girl. It couldn’t have gone any better.  The smile on her face was priceless when she held him.  I am so excited to see how she’ll do at home!

The next day

Grandma and Aunt Michelle came to visit first thing before Aunt Michelle had to head back to Columbia.  More pictures were taken and Ethan’s footprints were painted and put on a few ceramic pieces just like we did with Kendall’s.  I can’t wait to see the final products!  Thanks, Aunt Michelle for bringing all the stuff from Mad Platter.

LOVE. THIS. PICTURE! See his little bruise? Grandpa was able to come visit too and we had to say bye to Aunt Michelle. We always miss her! The Grant Family, waiting to add our baby girl to the picture!

Today’s the day

I was at work today, expecting to finish out the day and then have Friday off to finish up some last minute errands I wanted to do. Well, Ethan had a different plan for me.

It was 10:45 am and my water broke! It took me off guard being that I was induced with Kendall. I surely thought I was just meant to “hold on to” the baby until it was time or just be induced.  I was so excited but the only thing that was going through my mind was- I haven’t packed my bag, I haven’t finished up everything at work, I put dinner in the crockpot, I didn’t take one last pregnant belly photo, I didn’t say bye to Kendall at daycare and most importantly, I didn’t get to buy Kendall a gift from Ethan to open at the hospital. I was trying to think of something really special and was going to buy Kendall a gift on Friday, when I had the day off. My other plan for Friday was to get Kendall out of school early and spend a mommy/daughter day with her.  Ethan wasn’t too worried about all of the things I wanted or needed to do.

THANKFULLY, Kendall got to come to the hospital and hang out for a bit before her dinner time and before Ethan arrived.  I really enjoyed seeing her and even got emotional when she had to leave.  I kept thinking about how the next time I saw her she would be a big sister and that she had to come to a silly hospital to say “night night” and that I didn’t get my mommy/daughter date with her. She’s growing so fast and I love her so much!After a busy day of labor, IV’s and monitors, Ethan Caleb entered this world at 8:12 pm after a mere FOUR minutes of pushing, weighing eight pounds five ounces and was twenty inches long.  It was such a beautiful sight to lay eyes on my son.  How perfect, a girl and a boy! We couldn’t be happier! Thank you to my sister, who captured such a special day. Beware of picture overload! Ethan was welcomed by his Grandma, two aunts and an uncle. He was so unexpected, alot of our other family members had different plans and were going to be available on and after the date of induction.Daddy checking out his boy, before his bath.   He wasn’t a huge fan of the bath but enjoyed getting his hair washed.All clean. Our sweet addition. Labor and delivery went very smoothly although Ethan was pushed out so quickly, he did receive a small bruise to his left tear duct.  The bruise was smaller then a pea and hardly noticeable. They say he bumped my pelvic bone on the way out.  We are so very excited to bring our baby boy home to meet his big sister and start our family of four.