1 month check-up

Well, today was Ethan's 1 month check-up and everything looks great!!

Ethan now weighs 10 lbs 5 oz - he is 22 inches long. He also got a shot - OUCH!!! He did not like that at all...brought tears to my eyes. Poor baby boy!

Our next doctor's appointments are the end of June - we have our follow up echo-cardiogram scheduled as well as our next well-baby visit.

Our baby boy is growing so fast!! He is actually 5 weeks old today!

Ethan seems to sleep very well in the boppy that we have - so, the doctor said as long as we aren't too far away from him during his nap, he can go ahead and sleep in that until he either can tolerate sleeping on his back or he is older.

Well, that's all I have for today. We need to take more pictures - I will post as soon as we have them!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

No big plans here today - probably will go to Home Depot and look around....we like to go and just 'browse' for future home projects.

Otherwise, just wanted to post a new picture of Ethan.

He is doing good. We are trying to keep him from sleeping all day, as he then is up all night =(

Last night he did better....and it's much easier when Daddy is able to take some of the night shift, when he doesn't have to work the next day.

The next hurdle we must tackle is....Ethan does not like to sleep on his back in his bed. He would much rather lie on your tummy or just sleep in your arms. Of course, everyone says "just let him cry it out" - well, mommy can not stand to hear Ethan cry for too long...so, that really doesn't work. Although, I know I will have to suck it up eventually - can't really have him sleep on my chest forever!!

Well, hope everyone has a great long weekend.....

Today is My Birthday...1 month old

Well, today Ethan is one month old! My how time flys.

Mommy and Ethan got out a bit today - we went to Petco and Target! We weren't out long, but long enough for us to get some necessities for the animals and Ethan.

Other than that - no plans for the rest of the day!

It's been a quiet few days - definitely starting to get a routine down, which is really nice for everyone...even daddy!

Hope everyone has a terrific Memorial Day Weekend!

Ethan is 4 weeks old Today!!

WOW! It's been awhile since we posted anything.

Chuck and Shirley - Grandma and Grandpa Youngerman - were in town for about 10 days, so we've been visiting with them. Ethan took his first car 'road trip' last week. We drove out Mountain Loop Highway and took in the scenery. We found a little picnic area with a walkway to walk down to the river. Ethan was a very good boy as we strolled him down to the river in his new stroller!
This past Sunday, we met up with the Bath Family at Buca di Beppos for a nice Italian dinner. Again, our little Ethan was a very good boy - he actually slept through most of it....until it was time for mommy to eat, of course! I fed him - then grandma took over. After a few glasses of wine - Ethan was passed around for everyone to hold - he didn't open his eyes once!!

We are now trying to figure out a 'schedule' or at least some sort of routine. We haven't quite figured out what that is yet.

Well, my sweet Ethan is waking up from a short nap....We will post again soon!

Ethan and Mommy's first day out....ALONE!

Well, yesterday was Ethan and mommy's first day out....ALONE without daddy! I think Ethan handled it waaayyy better than I did. First thing that happened was his little head flopped forward....what did mommy do? Start crying....who's gonna sit in the back and hold his head still? I called my mom and she reassured me everything would be allright.

We made it to my doctor's appointment in one piece and all's well with my incision. Of course, I still must take it easy for another 6 weeks or so - she kept reminding me, even though you can move you still had major abdominal surgery; I am down 13lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight....WOOOHOOO!

Since everything was going smooth so far - we decided to stop and visit some friends at the bank: Jodi, Kristi, Cameron and Kim. Had to show off my beautiful boy! Everyone held him and said how cute he is!!

Then it was off for a real quick visit at Blue Ribbon. Ethan met Jennifer and Stephanie. They were busy so we didn't stay long. Grandpa was there too!

Also, Grandpa and Grandma Youngerman arrived on thursday from Florida. They came over last night to hang out with us - although I was sooo exhausted from our day, I thought I'd lie down and take a quick nap. Well my 'quick' nap turned into a 4 1/2 hour nap. Sorry about that Chuck and Shirley!

Tom went back to work yesterday. I was a tad anxious about handling Ethan on my own. Ethan makes it very easy but it's hard when you don't get to nap along with him. But we'll get it down....sooner or later! It's easier when we don't have to go out.

All in all - Ethan is just heaven! He is just an angel and I am sooo happy he is home and he is mine!

Baby's First Weekend

Ethan is enjoying his first weekend at home. On Friday he had his appointment with the pediatrician and was looking good. His weight is back above his birth weight by .5 ounces at 8lbs 3.5ozs. His appetite is steadily picking up steam also! The Bath family came over Saturday afternoon for a welcome home barbecue and Ethan was the star of the afternoon.

Ethan Comes Home

Ethan Youngerman left the hospital on Wednesday May 2nd. The Doctor said his heart was looking fine and that they will do another echo-cardiogram in 2-3 months. He is settling well at home and so are we. After a long and anxious week it is good to be home with the baby finally!

Day 5

It's day 5 in the hospital, Tracey and I spent the night at Swedish in what they call a "parent room", which is like a hotel room for parents with children in intensive care. Ethan did just fine over the weekend and today is the day for a second round of tests to see how things have progressed. Ethan had a steady stream of visitors all weekend, grandma & grandpa, Dan and Martha, Laura, and Tom & Gloria.

Baby Has Arrived

Hello All,
Ethan Thomas Youngerman arrived at 11:42pm on Wed April 25th via c-section. Tracey had an Ultrasound and Doctor's appointment on Wed, after the ultrasound and a blood pressure measurement they sent us over to the childbirth center for non-stress test. The doctor came in after viewing the ultrasound and wanted to start the induction immediately. After receiving Petocin to start contractions, about an 1.5hrs later the doctor came in, looked at the charts, and said that the baby couldn't handle the stress of a long induction period and she was going to do a c-section immdiately. Within the hour Tracey was being rolled into the OR, I walked into the OR at 11:30pm, the baby was out at by 11:42pm, and Tracey was back in the room at 12:30am! The problems started with Ethan after birth, he didn't need any oxygen right away but after a short time his pulse-ox started dropping and they had to put him on oxygen. When Tracey visited him at 4:30 am he was at 50% oxygen. The oxygen had to go even higher than that later in the morning, so the decision was made to transfer him to Swedish Hospital immediately. By the time he left for Swedish, he was down to 40%.
The reason for moving him to Swedish was that they have an echo-cardiogram machine for infants and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that Northwest hospital didn't have. It turns out that the ultrasound radiologist had found an irregularity with Ethan's heart and the echo could investigate that further. Ethan's right ventricle heart wall is thicker than the rest of the heart muscle, which means that the right ventricle has had to work harder than the rest of his heart recently.
I went down to Swedish on Thursday afternoon and talked to the cardiologist. He could not find a valid cause for his condition. All of Ethan's other numbers were fine, there were no heart defects and he wasn't having any trouble breathing. I talked to some more doctors today and the theory is that there is an artery that is open when the baby is still in-utero which bypasses the heart and relieves pressure on the heart because the lung are filled with fluid. This artery naturally closes after birth and they think it closed sometime before birth which caused that part of the heart to have to work harder. The heart should get back normal operation in a few days, is the hope.
Ethan was moved out of the NICU and down to the Special Infant Care Unit, which is less serious, on Friday night.

A very disappointing Friday...

Well, the induction did not work. The medicine the doctor gave me did absolutely nothing to get things started in the right direction. We spent 9 hours in the hospital and NOTHING!

Needless to say how dissappointed I am. All those emotions running through me and to be told that I was being sent home was just heartbreaking. I was not expecting to come home right away, let alone without a baby in my arms.

Ethan is doing just fine...my blood pressure was fine, but it usually is when I am just lieing on my side. So, the doctor did not see any medical reason to pursue a c-section. I have some follow up appointments next week and if Ethan still decides he does not want to come out by next weekend, I *think* the doctor will then proceed with a c-section, because I will be one week overdue by then.

I hope things will work out better this next week.