Today I want to celebrate my little man, Baby Ethan. Though he isn't so little. Nor is he much of a baby anymore. I cannot believe he is going to be one in a mere couple of weeks!
I am so truly blessed by him; he is our little miracle baby. We were scared he wouldn't make it to twenty weeks during my pregnancy because I was losing placenta while he was still in utero, and ended up on bed rest for about six weeks during the summer of 2010. But he decided to needed to wait it out! Four days before Thanksgiving last year, we were induced and six hours later, a nearly 10-pound Ethan Raymond Matthew entered the world, and fell right into our hearts.
We had an emotional up and down first few days, weeks, and months, in and out the hospital for his jaundice caused by our blood type incompatibility, and did we ever worry about his "funnel chest" (which thankfully has all but completely corrected itself on his own). He had trouble regaining his birth weight, which we soon found was due to an intestinal problem, so at six weeks he had an outpatient procedure to correct it. After that, he found room in his tummy again and very quickly regained his birth weight! Even though we nursed, he developed his first ear infection at three weeks old, and had six more before he had tubes put into his ears at the age of five months. Every cold turned into bronchitis. Croup. Lazy eye. Borderline pneumonia. Egg allergies. Night terrors. Completely addicted to his pacifier. Totally laid back and happy to be dependent on me forever. Raising Ethan has been a night-and-day difference from Emily, who had her first sick visit at eighteen months and still is an I'm-going-to-do-it-myself-by-myself ball of energy.
Yet even with his struggles, he is a joy. His smile is his own internal sun that lights up his crib the moment I walk into his room. His giggles make you laugh out loud. Cuddles with him warm my heart. His claps and "yays" of joy when he masters a toy or skill or plays with Emily make me count every day with him a joy. God, forgive me for the moments when I have just wanted to rush him into being more self-sufficient and not taken the time to enjoy him for the treasure that God has made him to be.
Mommy loves you, little man!
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| Happy Birth-day! |
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| Thinking and pondering... |
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| Emily (2 1/2 yrs) & Ethan (3 weeks) |
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| Playtime! |
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| All ready for Puggles class! |
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| Moving around! |
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