Hangin' with Mommy

First, let me just announce that this post is my 100th post!! My gosh, I can't believe I have so much to say! :) But, on to the topic of the post for today...

Of course, Ethan is happiest after he gets done eating. I usually let him lay against my legs in front of me and we have a good heart-to-heart conversation. These are pics from this morning. Some are blurry and close up, because I was trying to take them without him being distracted by the camera in his face!!

This is his after meal "I'm pooping" face

Some smiling pics

And then a sleepy yawn

Week 5 Photos

This past week Ethan met even more new faces...we had the Great-grandparents in town last Monday, which was a nice treat. We didn't get to spend enough time with them on this visit honestly, but at least they were able to meet Ethan and there will be many more (longer) visits in the future. They drove up from Urbana especially to meet our little sweetie.
Ethan also met Bella, one of his future girlfriends! :-) Sure, mommy is setting him up now, at the age of 5 weeks, we'll see how I feel about it when he turns 16 and wants to have a girlfriend! (A sentiment I'm sure little Bella's parents agree with)
Last, but not least, some "oh so cute" pics of Ethan sleeping. The left photo demonstrates his fly-catching ability and the one on the right is his "I'm so angelic" sleeping pose.

Just an update from his 1 month doctor's appointment this week, he was 9 lbs, 2 oz and 21.5 inches. He's right on track with his weight gain! I swear he's already grown another inch since his appointment last Monday, he is just looking so long to me lately!!

1 month old!

Ethan officially turned 1 month today!! He was a very good boy on his 1 month birthday if I do say so myself! Yesterday was a bit of a rougher day, but he made up for it, in his angelic ways today!! Here is a pic from today vs. his 2 day old pic from the hospital












Here are some other photos from the weekend. Ethan having a conversation with daddy and Ethan waking up from a nap. We've got our 1 month appointment tomorrow, so I can't wait to see how much he's grown!

Almost 1 month old!

I can't believe that our little boy will already be 1 month old on Sunday! It's amazing to see how he's grown and is becoming more alert to his surroundings! I don't want to wish his early days away, but I honestly can't wait until he's interacting with us even more, sitting up, etc. This past week Ethan was visited by Grandpa Rochford and Uncle Patrick a few times. One time Grandpa got to play with him for quite a long time on his playmat and the other day, he slept the whole time!! We're still not on a schedule by any means, but we do have a cycle of eat, play, sleep. Amazingly last night he slept from 10:30-4:30 a.m. straight thru (although it took us almost 2 hours to get him to go to bed he was so fussy)!! I woke up at both 2:30 and 3:30 when he was stirring, but he never officially woke up. We bought this swaddle blanket with velcro that is basically a "baby straight-jacket" that I think helps him sleep longer. I felt bad putting him in it at first, but they say babies like to be swaddled. I just feel like it's abusive. He does look pretty cute in the thing though!






















This weekend Uncle Breck is coming to stay with us, so that should be fun. Ethan will also meet some more of our friends; people are slowly trickling in to see the little cutie.

Ethan has rolled over three times from his tummy to his back during tummy time...here he is in action









Today, I fed Ethan and tried to put him down for tummy time and he decided he'd rather nap! I was all paranoid because they always preach how babies aren't supposed to sleep on their tummies. I let him sleep for 30 minutes like this (while I checked him every 2 minutes almost) and then decided to take him out and let him sleep on me for his nap!

Tummy Time smiles...etc.

Yesterday Ethan gave Daddy lots of smiles while he had some tummy time. Dave took so many pictures trying to actually capture the smiles that I felt like we were at a photo shoot! But, his diligence paid off and we had a few that caught a grin.












I also took Sasha out for a walk yesterday to get a little exercise and let Dave have some bonding time...well, I came back to quite a cute picture opportunity with Daddy and Ethan both sleeping on the couch!
A couple days ago we tried the Baby Bjourn. It was a bit hard since Ethan doesn't have total head control yet, but he stayed in it while I ate half of my dinner, which was nice. Although I was paranoid during every bite I took if Imissed and spilled on his head..ha ha

Ethan also likes to play with his fish toys. This pic is from a week ago or so, just hadn't posted it. He is pretty attentive to the toys for at least 10 minutes. Every now and then, he realizes if he lifts his hands he can touch the toys...

Happy Halloween!

I couldn't let this Halloween go by without at least dressing Ethan up for the occasion. I didn't figure I'd buy a full blown costume since he's so small, but at least we captured the event. The outfit and hat were a bit big for him, but he still looks cute!!

I can't believe he's 3 weeks old tomorrow, time really does fly by! We continue to enjoy our time home together and anxiously await daddy to come home each day. Dave basically walks in the door and scoops him out of my arms so he can spend time with his "little man". Here are a few pics from yesterday. About 2 minutes after I took the picture of him in his frog outfit we had an emergency bath situation because Ethan had an explosive poop that ended up all up his back! Okay, probably too much information I know, but honestly...how can it really happen when he's sitting up?! Oh well, at least I got the picture to send to my friend who got him the cute froggy booties before the mishap! Then, Ethan fell fast asleep in Daddy's arms on the couch!

Week Two Pics

Well, Dave went back to work last week Thursday, so it was the end of our 2 week adventure in parenthood together. Ethan and I managed to cope....although we cried a lot because we missed Daddy! :-) Honestly, everything went well...the first day I was pretty lazy just laying around the house. I try to take a picture of Ethan each day and send to Dave at work so he can see him while he's working. I know it at least gives him a cheerful part of his day! I honestly can't believe I've already been with him for 2 weeks and I am just sure the rest of these weeks are going to fly by. But, I will just enjoy the time I have with him and when mid-January comes, I will try to be a trooper and go back to work.

Here are two cute photos from the past week. One shows of Ethan's strength during tummy time and the other didn't quite capture what I saw when I took it....a fuzzy head of hair. It was right after his bath and his hair wasn't combed down. But, the background is too dark to see the thin little hair standing on end! But, his facial expression is cute enough to post.

Sunday Pictures

Ethan was able to meet Uncle Breck and Uncle Adam on Sunday...he was also sporting his Bears uniform. He's got a bit of growing to do, but he does look cute!! We also tried out his little travel swing, which he likes!!

1st week of Parenthood

Dave and I have officially made it through our first week of parenthood and I think we're getting better and better each day...although of course I'm a bit biased. Ethan had his first doc appointment on Monday and hadn't started gaining his birth weight back, so we got some additional help with the feeding and went back for a second weigh-in and he was up 4 oz in 2 days, which is great. And I can testify that the little one no longer seems to have eating problems!! Dave and I ventured out with Ethan to JCPenney today for his 'newborn' photos that I had scheduled. He was such a good boy and the pics turned out adorable. Can't wait to send out our birth announcements in a few weeks when they come in.

Dave's been the GREATEST husband and father that I could ever ask for!! Helping with Ethan all the time, keeping up with the housework for me and he also did a Target run by himself to pick up diapers, baby blankets...oh yes and he picked up a Bears outfit for Ethan to sport on game days! Normally I'd oppose this move due to the fact that I'm a Packer fan, but I've learned to also love the Bears in recent years since Dave is a fan. :)

Here are a few pics from this past week. Most are sleepy Ethan. The one that looks like he has gas pain is actually a grimace while he was sleeping that I happened to catch.

Cute Pics

Everything is going good here at the Hickman household with the new arrival. I have learned to function with a lot less sleep and Ethan is definitely worth the lack of sleep. It's nice to be back at home and to start trying to get some sort of a routine going versus sitting in a hospital bed all day. We had lots of visitors at the hospital and we now have our official gender specific wardrobe started thanks to the many great gifts! We've also been lucky enough to have great neighbors who have brought over pre-cooked/prepared meals and desserts for us. We've enjoyed brownies, banana bread, tacos and lasagna so far...

Here are just some pics of the Grandparents with Ethan at the hospital.























Here are some cute pics of Ethan after his first bath at home and also a pic after Daddy posed him while sleeping...he definitely looks in deep thought!!

Ethan William Hickman - Oct. 11, 2007

Eventful Appointment

I guess before I get to the story about my appointment, I should say that I think everyone around me at work is "cheering" for me and anxious for Baby Hickman to arrive. I have at least 5 people a day come up to me now and say "you're still here"?! I have to remind them that I'm not actually due until Sunday, so they can't really make that comment until I come in on Monday. But, it was quite funny today when I got up to leave work early for my appointment and a large group of people looked at me and someone yelled out "are you leaving, Jamie??!!" As if I'd be calmly packing my computer etc. up if I was in labor...HELLO!! Anyway, it made me laugh and realize how many people are quite anxious to hear the good news.

My second funny story of the day came at the doctor's office. I was patiently waiting in the exam room for the doctor when all the sudden the fire alarm starts to go off and lights are flashing everywhere. My gosh...I wasn't sure what to really do. I glanced outside the door and asked the nurse if I was supposed to leave and they confirmed that was the case. I just thought it was rather amusing with the timing. Anyway, the whole building was evacuated for only about 10-15 minutes and then we went back in. So, my 10 minute appointment turned into an hour after the whole ordeal. The appointment was fine..no real change. Still 2-3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. So, just waiting for the rest to kick into action. I have one more appointment scheduled next Thursday where I'll also take a "stress test" to ensure everything is still okay with the baby. After that we'll at least have a date scheduled to induce me. They let me go a week and a half past my due date. So the longest would a little less than 2 weeks from today for inducing. Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but we'll take this Baby however...ha ha.

Hopefully my next blog will be with baby pics...

Out of Town Visitors

Last week my friend that moved out to Oregon came into town to visit with her family. Dave and I had a nice time visiting and we didn't even realize our house was so "kid friendly". I honestly don't think we'll need to buy any toys for the Baby, as our house was very entertaining for a 3-year and 1 1/2-year old for a couple of hours!! Amazing what two staircases and some beanie babies can do for little ones!

38 Weeks

Although we keep taking pics every two weeks, I sure feel like I really can't possibly get any bigger! But, by the measuring tape at the doctor's office, I am still slowly growing to accomodate the little one growing inside of me. So, here I am...at 38 weeks. Really just a few more weeks to go and then hopefully these pictures of the growing belly will start to be the shrinking belly...all in good time.

This week's doctor's appointment showed progress. I still hadn't gained any weight but I am now 90% efaced, almost 2cm dilated and the baby has moved from -2 to position 0. Dave went with me this time, which was nice...so he got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, it was 142. It's funny because I feel like since I'm making progress I'm sure to go into labor soon, but you just can't tell about these things. Whether the doctor really has no clue or they don't want to excite or depress you, they just don't give you a clue on whether your progress is normal/ahead of schedule etc. I did ask about the latest induction timeframe and they usually do let you go at least 1 1/2 weeks past your due date. So, I guess we can guarantee that in about 3 1/2 weeks we'll for sure be parents!!

On a "daddy" note...Dave insisted on putting the packed bags in my car this weekend. I've had them packed since last weekend, but that's not good enough (in case I go into labor at work or something). He's also been searching out cigars for the last two weeks. He tells me that it's a tradition that he refuses to miss out on! So, whether they end up being bubble gum, chocolate or real cigars...watch out boys because you're getting one!!