Home Sweet Home

All dressed up to go home. Coming home outfit
compliments of Auntie Ri.














A very happy mommy & daddy.














Mommy & Ethan ready to go home.


Meeting Grandpa




















Grandma is in love















Counsin Reyna waited a whole 7 days to get to hold him
...a long time when you're only 6 :o)

Date Night

Look at Those Lips!

Ethan & Mommy

Ethan & Daddy

Last night my sweet hubby took me on a dinner date to Spaghetti Eddie's. We had a wonderful dinner and talked about Ethan the entire time :o) Then we headed to the hospital to feed and visit the baby.

The Countdown to Coming Home

Snuggling With Daddy Last Night

Look Mom, No Wires or Tubes on my Face!

Trying to Wake Him Up Mid Feeding

Sleeping Happily After Eating


We headed to the hospital this morning to get some great news. Ethan is scheduled to come home on Monday. His jaundice is gone, he's eating enough that it's eliminated the need for additional IV fluids, he doesn't need any more oxygen, and his infection counts are down to "normal"!! All this means we're on course to bring him home on Monday. They'll maintain an IV port in his foot so that they can administer the last few doses of antibiotics over the next two days.

The greatest thing for me is that I got to see him for the first time with NO tubes and wires on his face and head. Although the best placement for the IV is in the side of their head, it's just horrible to look at. He still has a few little red patches on his face from stuff being taped in place, but those will fade quickly.

We are truly blessed to have so many prayers and support from those who love us. There are many other babies who are MUCH sicker and families that have to plan for extended stays in the NICU. It's experiences like this that reinforce the things that really matter in life. Enjoy the new photos!

Life As We Know It - Has Changed

Monday, September 22, God blessed our family with a miracle. On this first day of Fall 2008, Ethan James was born at 4:15 pm. Thankfully, my whole labor and delivery process was pretty much a non-event (yeah for epidurals!). However, it was clear pretty quickly after delivery that our little guy was having a hard time transitioning from life on the inside to life on the outside. I was only able to see him for a few seconds before he was transported to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit downstairs. James went with the baby while I was recovering. After a while James came back up to my room and said that Ethan would be staying in the NICU but that I could go see him as soon as I was able. That evening we learned that he had some sort of infection in his body and that he needed to stay a while for observation & antibiotics to treat his infection.

Since we knew that Ethan would not be coming home when I did, I asked to be discharged from the hospital on Tuesday night so that I could sleep in my own bed. We also decided that James should go back to work on Wednesday so that he could save his paternity leave for when Ethan comes home. He stops by the hospital on the way to work to see the baby and my mom takes me over in the afternoon to see him. Then when James gets home from work we go to see him at night together. As soon as the baby is home, James will be home with us for two weeks (yeah!).

Each visit we've received great progress reports and Ethan is continuing to do very well. I was able to feed him yesterday morning and he's been eating like a champ ever since. The doctors say that he'll need to stay at the hospital at least until Sunday to finish antibiotics and continue being observed, but possibly into next week. Of course, we're praying for Sunday! He's also being treated for a bit of Jaundice as well, which is really no big deal at all.

I apologize for not caling everyone upon his arrival, but due to the fact that we were unsure of his health, I was not up for calling lots of people. My focus has been soley on Ethan and his getting better...oh, and on taking care of recovering from birth as well :) It was very tough in the beginning to see him with the tubes and monitors, but it's getting easier on us as he continues to progress. We can't wait to bring him home. Please check back for updates and photos along the way.

Thank you for all the prayers and support on behalf of our little family.