Photo Shoot Sneak Preview

Our photographer (Angela Kalthoff) posted a couple sneak peek shots from Ethan's session on Thursday on Facebook. So hard to wait another week to see all the proofs - love them!

First Pediatrician Appointment

Ethan had his first official pediatrician visit this morning and he got a great report. Here are his stats:

Weight: 7 lbs 8 oz (40th percentile)
Length: 21 inches (90th percentile)
Head: 14 and 1/2 inches (75th percentile)

His coloring is great and his circumcision is healed enough that we can stop using Vaseline and gauze at diaper changes - wohoo!

1 Week Old

We can not believe a week has gone by already - craziness! Couldn't be more in love with our little man and while it's been a week of learning and crying (me) and little sleep we feel so blessed to have this little miracle in our lives. Ethan decided to make all sorts of funny faces and poses for his 1 week milestone pics so I didn't get a "good" shot but these made me laugh:



We had an appointment this morning with a lactation consultant who was wonderful - well worth the trip. Ethan is up to 7.56lbs and is pooping and peeing like crazy. Pretty excited that yesterday was our last day of supplementing with formula. She categorized Ethan as disorganized eater (sounds better than lazy eater huh) and said that this is fairly common in overdue males and his under bite doesn't help. She is having me use a shield and a different position which seems to help and we have a written action plan to follow over the weekend - gotta love that Ethan has homework already.








We tried tummy time this afternoon which was adorable to watch but he wasn't a fan. He is so strong and can push himself up a little bit and lift his neck. The boppy made it a little more tolerable.









Brian ran an errand tonight so Ethan and Bella stole his favorite spot on the couch to lounge - they don't look like they'll give it back to him anytime soon.


I'm trying to sneak in more cuddle time with my little man - this is my favorite part of the day!



A fun milestone for me today as well. I had gained 25 lbs total during the pregnancy and stepped on the scale for the heck of it today and was really surprised to see that I have already lost 23. Hoping to start getting out on walks with Ethan aand Bella in the next couple weeks as soon as I'm recovered enough not to limp!

Day 6 - Belly Button & Bathtime

We hit two fun milestones this morning. Sometime between Ethan's 5am and 8am diaper change his umbilical cord stump fell out! So fun to see his little belly button - it's an inny! We found the cord this afternoon - can't believe it fell out in only 6 days. We followed the doctor's recommendation to not treat in with rubbing alcohol and it worked like a charm. Really nice to have one less thing to worry about during diaper changes and now he can get lots of belly kisses!

Brian gave little man his first bath this morning so he was all set to model at his photo shoot. It was a quick one since we were running late but Ethan did really well - barely cried.

It was a long but fun afternoon. The studio was about an hour drive each way and we were there for 3+ hours. Angela was fantastic - such a sweetheart and so good with newborns. We took a few family photos first and Ethan was wide awake and making all sorts of faces. Then it was time for him to fall sleep so she could get all of the fun bendy newborn poses. While he sleeps all the time at home, no such luck - he was just chillen with his eyes open despite the heaters keeping the studio toasty, the white noise machine, a full belly, and lots of rocking. Angela had the patience of a saint and would work with him for 20 minutes just to get one shot, and about 90 minutes in he finally conked out and she was able to get 4 or 5 more adorable poses in. So excited to see how they turn out!

Unfortunately Brian tweaked his back last night so he is really sore. Hoping it feels better soon - poor guy. So between his back and my recovery mama and papa are a sight for sore eyes, but Ethan is doing wonderfully.

Day 4 & 5

Days 4 and 5 are hazy - we're functioning in zombie mode and everything blends together. We had our home care nurse visit yesterday morning and she was very helpful and reassuring. Nursing is our biggest challenge right now so I'm pumping around the clock and we also had to start supplementing until he gets the hang of it to keep putting on weight. Never thought our Woods Baby would be tagged as a "lazy eater" but his sucking is unproductive at this point so we have a big learning curve ahead. He had a weight check this morning and is back up to 7lbs 3 oz so we're making progress - baby steps.

My check up went fairly well although I'm now on Vicodin for the crazy pain from the episiotomyy. Apparently it was a 4th degree cut deep into the muscle but the nurse said it's healing well. Made me feel better that I wasn't being a baby about the pain - she said it was the worst possible kind to have.

This afternoon Ethan and I went to our first Mommy and Me class. Since he was 10 days late he was by far the youngest. Brian drove us out there as I was nervous about my first adventure out with baby and being on Vicodin. I was dreading it but am so glad I went. It's a group of 10 new mommies with babies from 6 days old up to 8 weeks old and I think it will be a great support group. They made me feel like a rockstar for coming so close after birth and it was really nice to hear that I'm not the only hormonal weepy post partum mama - they are all feel the same way. We have class every Wednesday for the next 5 weeks.

Brian has been a rockstar taking care of me and a huge help with baby. He's a diaper pro and helps with the bottle feedings since I am constantly attached to the pump. We're starting to get the hang of things and learning more about Ethan every day. He's such a cutie patooty and quite the snuggle bug. He is a great sleeper thus and we dread waking him up to eat because he looks so peaceful. He'll get more alert as he puts on weight so we're holding our breath that the 2 hour naps after feeding continues.

We're hanging in there - thanks for all the love!

Day 3 - Meeting Bella

Baby Bear and Bella Bear finally met yesterday! It was so cute to watch and Brian did a great job supervising. She was so curious and wanted to give him lots of kisses but after the first 10 minutes she has generally ignored him. When he cries she seems concerns and will run over to him and look at us wagging her tail. Ethan is completely unaware of her at this point but think they'll be best buds eventually.

Ethan's Photo Shoot Part II

Like I mentioned in the last post, a photographer makes the rounds at the hospital and does a free shoot. I had very low expectations as the only space she had to work with was the end of my bed and the rocking chair in our tiny recovery room but am so glad we had them taken. Best impromptu baby purchase yet ;) I love love love baby feet so this pic is one of my favs - I'm holding his right foot and Brian has his left.

The file sizes were huge so I had to upload one by one, so if you use google reader or get an email alert when we put a new post up you'll want to click here to see the updated Part I post.

We cracked up at this picture and think that it kinda looks like "Blue Steel" from the movie Zoolander:




Should give credit to First Day Photo for these. They have a gallery up with a slideshow music and all - click here and the password is PNM072510aEthan but don't buy anything online as we purchased the rights to the images and have them on a CD so can get to you for free - just let us know.

Ethan's actual newborn session is on Thursday at Angela Kalthoff's studio out in Delano. Really hoping they turn out well - good thing E has a practice round under his belt!

Ethan's 1st Photo Shoot Part I