He did it!

After lots of feeding and adjustments and the introduction of formula into our lives, Ethan has surpassed his birth weight! Our trip to the pediatrician early last week revealed that one little boy was still quite lazy and even though eating for 1 HOUR AND A HALF still was not eating enough. We have been supplementing with formula every other feeding time and on Friday, he was 8lbs 11oz. Yeah! He continues to need a little more help settling down than Elias ever did, but thanks to our friends the sLing and the sWing (easily confused in conversation...I led my mom to think for a second that I had taken Ethan to church in the swing, when I meant sling!) we are doing okay...
Elias continues to give us a run for our money (as if it has ever been easy) with lots of non-compliance and very disrespectful talking. He's fine as long as we don't require anything of him, like pottying, coming to meal times, going somewhere, or anything else he doesn't want to do. There is quite a lot of verbal abuse on his part, usually yelling and ending in a "I don't love you." We have received LOADS of advice, including ignoring, but this is becoming increasingly difficult. Christopher stays pretty calm, but it's me who is grieving the loss of my sweet little boy and eventually loses it. He has some really great moments...he is so tender and sweet with his little brother and remains constantly concerned about his needs.
We realize this is his way of dealing with his life being flipped upside down in the last couple of months. So, our strategies have been to discipline with losing priviledges and rewarding with good ones when he uses nice and loving words and is "quick to obey." We try to listen to him and validate his feelings when he says he is mad or when he begins to scream because we have asked him to potty, or something equally unreasonable to him. PRAY FOR US. It would be nice to tip the balance between good and bad days again.
In general, things are well here. We spent a day with the other Ammon family and I got to meet my nephew!!!!! It was fun beyond words to have all our children together. Pictures to come soon...
My mom will be here this week as Christopher heads to the coast for a pre-Stay-at-home-Dad trip. We are looking forward to a week of fun with Nana!

lil E update

Ethan has struggled with gaining weight this week which meant we visited our pediatrician a total of four times since last Monday to monitor his progress. Just a little drama for our first week home, complete with varying feeding regimens including pumping first and after, a nipple shield (recommended by lactation consultant and a long story for "offline" if you are interested in details) and increasing feeding frequency. Exhausted would be a good word here to describe how we feel about all this. All the hard work paid off, though, and we are almost back up to birth weight (which babies should be by week 2). Ethan was 8lbs, 3 oz today or 3.71kg. Apparently, newborns should start to gain 20-30 grams a day after day 3. Last Monday, Ethan was 3.59kg, and on Thursday, 3.6kg...a gain of only 10 grams. So, we made some adjustments and on Friday, he was up to 3.62kg, exactly where he should be. We checked again today and finally, in three days, he gained a whopping 95 grams!!! Way to go big boy! You can thank Mommy for her very sore upper chest region and the dark circles under her eyes later. Daddy has helped, too, with a couple of pumped milk bottle feedings to give Mommy a break. We are truly TEAM ETHAN around here and feel like today, we won GOLD in Olympic weight gaining.

Here is one of our favorite latest pics of Ethan. We think he is showing us what his name means...s-t-r-o-n-g.


One step closer and I will knock you out...

I am Ethan the great, see me grow big and strong.

ethan cole

Ethan Cole
2/19/10
8 lbs 8 oz, 20 1/2 inches

Hello friends & family!

Ethan Cole has finally arrived! He was delivered by a scheduled Cesearean birth at 4:23 p.m. Friday, February 19, 2010. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 15 oz. in the OR, but when they got him on the calibrated scale in the nursery, he was 8 lbs. 8 oz., which is what was recorded on his forms. He measured at 20.5 inches with lots of hair and a big nose : ) We are blessed to have a healthy baby, who has been a decent eater so far. Kristen is recovering well and we should be discharged no later than Monday. Check out the attached pictures. Thanks for all the well wishes & support!

If you want to hear the full story continue reading. We were scheduled for a C-section yesterday morning, but were bumped due to the overabundance of pregnant ladies in labor and the lack of beds. Since scheduled Cesearean births are considered elective, we were the last priority for the day. We were disappointed, but my grandmother was happy because her father's birthday was today, February 19.

We registered at the ED this morning at 10:30 a.m. (all laboring mothers go through the emergency department). We waited to go up to labor and delivery, where we waited a little more. Eventually we got a bed in a tiny triage room that seemed more like a storage closet than a birthing room. The last two days were apparently crazy here at labor & delivery, so this was the best they could do. We were definitely grateful to have a bed and to be starting the process, but from here on out I liken it to boarding a flight that has been delayed, and just when you get excited for take off the pilot says the plane has been grounded, leaving you sitting on the tarmac in pecking order for take-off. At 3:40 p.m. we finally got our clearance from the tower to proceed with take-off.

Kristen went back first, where she was prepped in the OR, and I was able to join her for the finale. It was amazing to get to witness the moment of birth this time around! The doctor let me peek over the sheet to see Ethan being pulled from Kristen's abdomen. Almost immediately he began to cry and therefore so did we. Kristen also got to see the baby just after he came out. This experience will not be soon forgotten.

After the OR, we headed back to our closet. While I was at the nursery with Elias, Kristen had to be moved into a new bed because the original one was broken. We finally made it to our post-partum room at 8:15 p.m. More adventure is ahead, but for now we are content in our immense joy at the successful birth of our second son.

Peace & love,

Christopher, Kristen, Elias & baby Ethan