April 23: Two Weeks Already?

We've now been home for 2 weeks as of today and it's been a bit of a blur. When I started a blog entry on our 2nd day home, I had every intention of filling in an update; all I was able to complete was the subject title if that tells you anything. I had no idea that such a little baby can consume so much of your time! I know my friends with baby's have told me as such, but I didn't quite understand the extent of it until now.

Ethan is doing great and Jon and I are loving having him home with us, although we have to admit to being a bit exhausted. Well, maybe more than a bit, but we're handling it the best we can. Grandma and Grandpa Kruse were here for a few days last week and Auntie Shell spent most of the first weekend here with us, so between their visits, it helped us relax a little as we didn't have to worry about Ethan needing attention. Grandma held Ethan for a record 9 hours one day; just giving him back when his diaper needed to be changed :)

The hospital has become a distant memory. Ethan is keeping true to character and has been a laid back and chill baby. He doesn't cry often and when he does, it's for a brief 3-5 seconds. We know we're lucky...so far :) And he's growing!! 11 1/2 oz in his first week. He is now above 6lbs and out of his preemie clothes and diapers and is close to fitting into newborn stuff. I was a little sad to put away the preemie clothes. Who would'a thought?

I was a little bit of a wreck the first couple of days home. He was so tiny and with no monitors telling us exactly what his heart rate and oxygen sat levels were, I was constantly checking on him to make sure he was breathing. But I suspect this is no different than any other new mom. So, it's nice to fit into normal new baby/new parents behavior now. I've calmed down since; especially since he is thriving so well outside of the hosptial. It's hard to even imagine Ethan as the same little baby that was in the hospital. He's just like any other new born. The only time I think of him as a preemie now is when I bring him out. People ask all the time, "how old"? 3 months. You can see the look in their faces? Yep, 3 months and 6 lbs. :) I have to give an explanation with each person. I think I'm just going to start saying 2 weeks and save the energy.

Even as good as Ethan has been, he is keeping us moving and as I mention above, it's hard to believe such a little thing that sleeps so much can take up so much of your time and energy. He's a little boy through and through. He makes lots of grunting, gremlin type sounds, especially at night when we're trying to sleep. These noises are something that I never expected. He has pee'd on me 4-5 times already and once he pooped an arc 3 feet long and doused his diaper organizer and ruined 6 diapers in that one instance. I just stood there in awe at that one. Who knew? There was also the time that he pee'd right onto my face. Jon was there to witness that one... I've never seen him laugh that hard...ever. And we're only through week 2. Oh, well, it's all worth it though. We just go through a sick amount of wet wipes. How life has changed. :)

Well, it's taken me 6 hours to try to get this post written and it now time for another feeding. :) I'll stop here for now but promise to post more often...or at least get new pictures posted.