January 27: Happy Birthday Dear Ethan!

It was Ethan's birthday last Friday. Can you believe it? I couldn't...the whole week prior. I kept finding myself reflecting on the situation and remembering exact moments from the same time last year. I went from...this is the day that I had cramping, to this is the moment I called Jon at school and he had to bring me in... it was all very surreal. I think about when they told me that they were going to have to deliver...3:30pm. Looking back, I now realize I had a weird reaction. Instead of panic or fear, I felt relief. We had just spent the last 20 hours wondering whether or not they would be able to hold off the labor. And the constant monitoring of Ethan's progress and all of the pokes and needles and no food or sleep were wearing on me. Not to mention the contractions. When they finally said it was time, I was relieved that something was happening. I remember being in the room where they did the C-section. It was so sterile and white and cold. It's like I can remember every minute of it. I just stared at the clock on the wall, watching the hands move slowly while I attempted to block out the anesthesiologist's idle babbling all the while keeping up an internal chant... "this too shall pass, this too shall pass". Then the little guy was here and it was like it was meant to be that way all along, no shock. All I was able to see before they rushed him off was this little monkey/alien type looking baby and I wasn't worried. I was just happy he was here. I still wonder why I wasn't more panicked or fearful?

Maybe I had some sort of crazy intuition that everything was going to be OK if we just got through that day. I don't know how, but the sense of calm when I first saw Ethan was enveloping and warm. I didn't see a little 1lb 15oz baby, I saw this incredibly cute little boy. I look back now and am shocked. There was nothing to him and he was, well, like I said, a little alien-like! But all I saw was the most handsome baby in the world. Which I told him repeatedly over the coming months by the way :)

I know I'm rambling, but I'm entitled, right? And where are we now? 1 year, 1 healthy, crazy little boy that doesn't slow down or show any fear. He will try to throw himself of the couch, the bed... any high surface without a second thought and finds it funny when you catch him in mid air or by the ankles. He loves to be swung around up side down. He loves to be rough housed and has a laugh that sounds maniacal. You can't help but crack up yourself every time he lets it go. I could never have imagined these things about him 1 year ago...he was so fragile, but I love it and it's a routine part of our life now.

Current Ethan update: I don't think I mentioned last time that he has 8 teeth...8! With all of the hair (5 haircuts to date) and the teeth, I really wonder if these are side effects from the hormones and steroids they were pumping in me just hours before his birth :) He had his 1 year check up on Monday and he's on track and doing well. He weighed in at 17lbs 14 oz. I was a bit surprised that he wasn't heavier, but he's in the 25th percentile for a 1 year old, so no one was concerned. He also has grown a lot taller, he now measures in at 28 1/2 inches, which is in the 33rd percentile for a 1 year old. Not too bad for being 9 months adjusted age :)

We had a 'little' birthday for him at Chuck E Cheese on Sunday. 30 of his friends and family showed up to join in on the festivities. I am the first to admit that Ethan is a little young to enjoy all that Chuck the Mouse had to offer, BUT it was fun to get everyone together. Ethan played games with Jon, enjoyed the virtual band, got a huge medal to wear around his neck and ate cake. The cake: I kinda went a little nuts... it was huge and green with monkeys. But it's his first birthday, and again...I'm entitled! Ethan got his first taste of frosting, which he loved. It was green and so was he by the time he threw in the towel, he looked like a miniature Hulk for the rest of the day. I have to say that the sugar rush stayed with him the rest of the afternoon. He skipped his afternoon nap and was still going strong when it was time to call it a night 6 hours later. Picture below illustrates his mood just minutes before he was whisked away to get into PJ's. :) and yes, that is his sock in his mouth.

On the downside, he's in the middle of his first cold. It's not bad, so I can't complain too much...it's a runny nose and a cough and isn't affecting his sleep or appetite, but he is a little snot faucet and seems to slime everything that he passes. Fun, fun. I follow him around with the battery operated bugger sucker.