Happy Birthday!

Ethan Robert Jewett is one week old today! There really should have been two posts before this - one entitled, "Going into labor!" and another when he was actually born...those happened to be about 4 days apart, and I have to say that blogging wasn't really on my "To Do" list that week! So I'll try to catch up.

Here is the gorgeous boy:Such a modest mom, I know. I am positive that when people say, "How cute!" I'm supposed to say demurely, "Oh, thank you..." However, I just want to agree with them! I think he's amazing. And while Brian and I think that he looks like....well... a baby, we have heard from several family members that he looks like Brian. I hope so.

And I'm staring at him all day every day right now, being on maternity leave from work. But whenever Grandma Judy stops by, which is almost every day, she insists that he is changing all the time. So here he is with Auntie Andrea just two nights ago:
We are of course doing the New Parent Dance and worrying about everything - he didn't burp, will he spit up and choke? Did I get the right kind of wipes? He's breathing too fast - are his lungs ok? And is he eating too much, too little, too fast, too slow.... Jeez. Luckily for me Brian is a patient man and wonders about the same things. And I so appreciate the congratulatory emails we've gotten from friends and family that remind us how new parents always worry over every little thing - we'll get better at this!

I've already learned that as a new parent something everyone warned us about is so true - no one is ever ready for this! I believed that I had thought so many things through carefully, but found myself changing my plans pretty quickly. Here's my Top 5 list of "Week One Preconceptions":

Preconception Number 5: My house can be messy - who cares?
Yes, I assured everyone that since I'm far from a neat freak anyway, that letting the house go would not be a problem. However, we keep getting more STUFF for this kid, and it has to go somewhere! And I have to say that being home all the time in a messy house makes me feel as though I'm sick, not on leave with this wonderful kid, so I do have to straighten up sometimes.

Preconception Number 4: I can handle a baby crying - it's absolutely normal.
True. Babies cry, I get that. But you wouldn't believe how nervous I am to hear him get started, and how desperately we want to soothe him when he gets going!  Diaper changes are just the best, really. :P  (And I used to think that the wipe warmer was a non-essential, but Ethan begs to differ - he appreciates it especially after I wake him up to get fed and changed!)   Bathtime, also, which we are still doing out of the submerged water - just the washcloth at this point. "But it's cold!" he keeps trying to tell us.  

Preconception Number 3:  I'll sleep when the baby sleeps.

I sooooo want to do this one - I've heard this piece of advice for ages, and want to follow it!  However, if I really did this, when would I eat?  When would I talk to Brian?  And more importantly, when would I post pictures to the blog???  There's laundry (he's so small, I'm so surprised that he can make so much of it!), people to call, email to check, books to read on whatever I'm worried about on this particular day, preparation for the next time he's awake....the list is long.  I'm sleeping in bits and pieces when he's asleep, but not nearly as much as people suggest should be done.

Preconception Number 2: I've had disrupted sleep for many years. This won't be that much different.
I'm sure that my history of getting up multiple times during the night is helping me make this transition without losing my mind. However, when I would get up in the middle of the night over the last 7-8 years, I would have a snack and fall asleep in front of the television. Not quite the same thing when I'm waking up to undress a little sleepy boy, change his diaper, attempt to feed him, burp him, and then keep him awake just a tiny bit longer - just the right amount of time, of course - long enough so that he doesn't spit up immediately, but not too long that he wants to eat again. (This kid has a serious appetite.)

Preconception Number 1: I think I can handle natural childbirth.
Ha! This is my favorite one. I really was keeping my options open about drugs. After all, our mothers and grandmothers didn't use them, did they? However, plans changed and I have absolutely no regrets about having had every little bit of medication they shot into me when we finally got to the hospital! I went into "prodromal labor" (A Google search also turns up the names "false labor", "pre labor" and my personal favorite, "dysfunctional labor".) on Saturday at midnight, and for about four days had contractions that ranged from 7 minutes apart to 1.5 hours apart. As you can imagine, I was totally rested that week...and really nervous about how to get through the real thing! By Wednesday morning, when the pain between contractions wouldn't go away, I had had it. Wednesday evening we were in the hospital and I got a nice shot of drugs to help me sleep, which ironically helped labor progress! With the help of an epidural I had Ethan the next day. And he was perfect! Big, too! 9 pounds, 8 ounces. Totally healthy little boy from all accounts.

More gratuitous pictures of Ethan (and more to come!):