Ethan's Blog

April 5 was the Padres home opener! We’ve been quite excited about the game for some time, and being season ticket holders we had tickets to the game! For Michael’s birthday, Ethan (then known to the world as Baby Mac) bought a little Padres outfit to wear to the home opener with his dad. Michael dressed in his Padres Jersey and Ethan in his Padres jacket, onesie, and pants. They looked sharp! Ethan had been sick all week, but he was a trooper and really seemed to enjoy the game. He liked watching the happenings on the field as well as the folks in the crowd. Of course, Ethan was a crowd pleaser too with everyone commenting how cute he was in his Padres gear! He was such a good boy!
After the top of the fourth inning, the Dodgers had scored some runs and Ethan was getting fussy so we decided to go and wander around the stadium, stop by the Padres store and then head home before Ethan’s bedtime. Stopping by the store had a specific purpose. A few weeks ago, Ethan’s friend Viola came over for a playdate. She has this super cute sock monkey and ever since I’ve been on the look out for a Padres sock monkey. Online I could only find Yankees and Phillies but was hopeful the the Padres store would have a sock monkey that was for Ethan’s team! Sure enough we found a sock monkey. We also picked up a little ball cap for Ethan too! What a lucky boy!

We’re really looking forward to the rest of the season and bringing Ethan to many games!

For the past few weeks Ethan has been able to roll from his back to his belly. But he always gets stuck there. Stuck and angry! Recently he has been tolerating it a lot better when he gets to his belly and trying to roll over, but his arms were just getting in the way. Well tonight, he finally figured it out and rolled from his back to his belly and then to his back again FOUR times! Boy were Mommy and Daddy proud! There was lots of celebrating! We can’t wait to tell his teachers at daycare tomorrow. They said Ethan worked so hard on trying to roll over all day but just couldn’t get it. We sure are glad he saved the first time for us tonight

Ethan was playing today in his room after daycare. After some good time on his back and his tummy I picked him up and sat him up. He sat without me holding him for a few minutes using his hands to keep himself up! I’ll be hopefully posting an update on all his developments, but this seemed to warrant a post of its own

On February 7th, Michael and I found ourselves both unable to pick Ethan up from daycare. I had an important work commitment and Michael had an important school commitment and both would keep us from picking up Ethan by 6 pm when his daycare closes. We were very stressed trying to figure out what to do about this. Fortunately, Kurt agreed to pick Ethan up from daycare and babysit him until we could get home. The night before Kurt came by the house to pick up the extra car seat base, get a quick intro to the car seat, talk through the pick up process, and a see where all of Ethan’s stuff is (diapers, clothes, toys, etc.). He was planning to pick Ethan up on Tuesday between 4 and 5 and bring him home.

On Tuesday both Michael and I came home to a very happy Ethan! Kurt had picked him up with no problems, brought him home for some play time and it sounded like the two of them had a great time! Kurt stayed for dinner and we had a great evening. We’re both very appreciative to Kurt for helping us out, and are very happy that he and Ethan had such a good time together. Kurt took some photos of his babysitting experience that I’ve posted below!

A huge thanks to Kurt for helping us out.

Ethan had a healthy first 14 weeks, but unfortunately daycare eventually caught up with us and Ethan got sick It was NOT FUN! On January 21 Ethan seemed to just have an off day. He was fussier than usual and just seemed to not feel too well. The day went on and eventually he vomited. Big time. In his swing. It’s very scary watching your little baby puke So I quickly called the nurse on the emergency line at the Mira Mesa Sharp Facility. Ethan had no fever and no other symptoms so we figured that he probably just had a stomach flu. The nurse said to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn’t get a fever, to keep his feedings quick and make sure he was wetting his diapers.

Fortunately he didn’t get any worse and even seemed much better the next day. So off we went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Sunday. Ethan LOVED it! He saw lots of animals and is just getting to the age when he thinks things are so cool to look at. Sunday was lots of fun!

Sunday night when we went to bed Ethan seemed fine and we prepared for a busy week. I started not feeling too well shortly after we went to bed and felt sick all night. In the morning, I got up and felt horrible. Nevertheless I got up and started prepping Ethan for daycare. I felt sick enough that I was going to stay home from work but we thought it would be good for me to rest while Ethan was at daycare. Unfortunately I got sick and we decided that I couldn’t pick Ethan up from daycare with as sick as I was so he was going to need to stay home with me.

Michael’s parents were visiting and weren’t supposed to leave on Monday until 11 am. So fortunately they helped care for Ethan while I rested and Karen cleaned the house, did some laundry, and did the dishes (Thank you Karen!). Then they left and Ethan and I had lots of cuddling and napping while we both worked to heal from the horrible stomach bug we had gotten. Ethan still seemed really fussy that day so I called the doctor and packed us both up and off we went. It turned out that poor Ethan had TWO ear infections! Poor little man!!! We picked up his RX for amoxicillin and some probiotics and we came home to heal! We napped for much of the afternoon and it seemed like we were both feeling better. We were playing in Ethan’s room on the floor singing songs when Ethan puked again! Well, that meant no daycare on Tuesday for Ethan and therefore no work for mommy too.

Ethan spent most of Tuesday sleeping while I worked. He still seemed off and I was still not feeling great so we stayed home on Wednesday too. Thursday Ethan was much better but I felt like I had been hit by a truck so Ethan went to daycare and I worked from home and recovered. By Friday we were both back at work/daycare and it seemed like all the sickness and disease was passed.

Unfortunately Friday night I came down with a cold! Sure enough a few days later Ethan got it! It’s now been over two weeks since Ethan first got sick and I’m still coughing and he is just starting to get passed his stuffy nose! I cannot believe that he and I have been sick pretty much for two weeks.

So we’ve survived Ethan’s first three illnesses (stomach flu, ear infections, and a cold) all within two weeks. And lucky Michael didn’t get sick at all!! I’ve learned that it is scary when your baby is sick. It’s no fun watching them not feeling well and it’s horrible when there is nothing you can do to help them feel better. It’s even worse when you are super sick yourself and you can’t give them the attention that you want because you are so sick. I do think, however, that we are better prepared for the next time Ethan gets sick, but I hope that doesn’t happen for a very very long time!

Here are some photos from our sick week!

While I have other backdated posts to do, I figured I’d take care of a more recent one first. This past weekend Nonnie, Papa, Aunt Kerilyn and Cousin Danielle came to visit. They came on Thursday night. For Danielle and Ethan it was love at first sight! Danielle helped give Ethan his bath and picked out his jammies. The two of them spent the weekend giggling together and did lots of playing. On Sunday we went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and saw lots of rhinos, giraffes, zebras, and all sorts of other animals! It was very cool. Ethan wore his safari hat! Unfortunately Ethan got sick during the visit which was no fun but he had lots of people to cuddle with and give him love! I’ve posted some photos from the visit. Once Nonnie shares her photos there will be more to come too!

This blog is a loooong time overdue! For Thanksgiving Nonnie and Papa came to visit Ethan! They were very excited to meet him and he was very excited to meet them! Nonnie came first to get a little Ethan time and then Papa came a few days later. Ethan got to cuddle a lot with Nonnie and Papa and enjoyed sleeping curled up on Papa listening to his heartbeat. Nonnie started calling him her little love bug (he even had an outfit that said lovebug all over it!). Nonnie cooked a lovely turkey dinner for thanksgiving. All in all it was a wonderful visit! The only regret I have is not getting any photos! I’ve asked Nonnie if she got any for me to share and if she did I will share them when I get them!

(Note Ethan helped his Mommy type this blog while drooling on her arm)

Alright…I’ve been a bad mommy! I haven’t been blogging nearly as much as I should. Ethan is an awesome little man and I’m waaaaay behind! Michael just suggested that I dedicate at least 30 minutes a week to blog so I’m going to do just that. I’ll try to get through the massive backlog of blogs I’ve assigned myself. Stay tuned…more to come (today even!)

Ethan started daycare this week! We chose a place that we really like. He is attending the FAA Merry-Go-Around. This daycare is awesome. He is in a class with other infants up to 12 months old. There is another class with advanced babies, typically 12-24 months depending. His class is called the fireflies. There are presently five other kids in his class, with two more starting in the upcoming months. His teachers are Miss Allison and Miss Martha. They are great! Right now Ethan is the youngest in his class, but that will change when the new babies start in Feb and March.

The facility is really nice. There is an outdoor play area for the kids. In the infant room there are cribs, cubbies for their stuff, a changing table, a rocking chair, lots and lots and lots of toys, and a fridge and freezer for milk. The facility is behind a security gate that we need to have car permits and badges” to get in. Once we are in we still need to be buzzed into the center by one of the employees.  Security cameras are also in every room. Ethan seems to be in a pretty safe place!

The center is also very welcoming. They accept calls all day long and put you straight through to the teachers. Additionally you can go and get your kid whenever you want and they encourage you to stay as long as you want during pick up and drop off. I like to stay for a few minutes in the morning when I drop Ethan off and watch him start smiling and playing with the toys, the other kids, and his teachers before I head off to work. It’s a good feeling heading off to work knowing that your baby is happy! While he is at daycare they have daily report cards that they fill in to let us know about his day. Most of it is boring stats…feedings, naps, diapers, etc. The fun part though is that they tell us what skills he worked on, what fun he had playing, and leave fun comments sometimes too! The teachers are also great about chatting during pick up and drop off about Ethan’s needs. They try to care for him as close to how we care for him as they possibly can.

I was nervous about his first day. Lots of questions ran through my head. Would he miss me? Would he take the bottles I had prepped for him? Would he be able to nap? How would he handle being put down so the teachers can take care of the other babies? Turns out all my worries were unnecessary! Ethan loves daycare! His first two days were shorter which I think helped ease him into it. After his first day of daycare he came home all chatty though!  Fortunately I was able to get a video of him telling me about his day!

The teachers said that he spent a lot of the day watching the other babies and playing with new toys. Apparently he and this baby girl named Ashlyn lay next to each other for a while cooing back and forth and staring at each other. (Ethan picked up a chick his first day of school, my baby is s stuf!) His teachers said that he adjusted really well on his first day and this continued through this week. Yesterday was his first full 10 hour day there. He got a little fussy near the end, wanting to be held more, but that is typical for him at the end of the day anyway. Today he went for a shorter day while I got some work done around the house. When I went to pick him up his glass was outside playing. He had fallen asleep so I stayed and hung out with his teachers and the other kids until he woke up. Then we played outside for a little whlie then came home. It was great being able to stay at daycare with him and see him enjoying it and his teachers enjoying him!

I also think Ethan is happier at night when he gets home! We usually have a meal when we get home, play, have a bath, cuddle, and then he is exhausted and off to bed!

It’s a busy day getting him to daycare, working, pick him, go through our evening routine, then cook and eat dinner, clean up, get ready for work the next day, and go to bed (only to wake up again a few hours later because Mr. Ethan has not learned that sleeping through the night is the game plan!). It’s rough but it’s worth it! Just the moments of cuddling and playing with Ethan at night are worth any stresses through the day

Here are some photos of his first day and him playing at daycare!