Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Pictures of baby Ethan








This is my sweet baby Ethan. He's so adorable. My dad took these pictures when he was about 2 1/2 weeks old. He's now 4 weeks old. I can't believe a month has gone by already since I had him! He's getting more filled out every day and is already developing a bit of a personality. We are trying to develop a bit of a routine, but as I've come to realize, that's easier said than done with a baby. Just when you think you've got them all figured out, they change and there's a whole new set of challenges and experiences that you weren't prepared for. For example, just recently I thought I figured out all the reasons he cried; wet diaper, hungry, tired, hot, etc. Well, yesterday he was pretty fussy all day no matter what I did, and then I finally realized that he wasn't getting enough to eat, so I think he's going through a growth spurt and needs more milk now. But it was frustrating at the time because he wouldn't take a nap all day and didn't finally go to sleep until 12:30 last night. Luckily he slept really well and is currently still sleeping :) It's great once you finally figure out what they need! He's growing really well and goes back to the pediatrician in a month. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the whole vaccine thing. My pediatrician is really great and strongly believes in letting the parent chose whether or not they want to vaccinate, which is nice, but now the decision is ultimately up to me. My husband doesn't really feel strongly either way, so he doesn't have much of an opinion. I guess I have a month to decide :)

I've slowly returned to work. This week has been an exception though because my husband has been working on my car and the past 2 days have been really icy outside, so I haven't been to work all week. It's been kind of nice though and I'm trying to enjoy the time off while I can even though I am starting to have cabin fever! I've been making dinner every night too, which is nice because I really enjoy cooking, but I don't enjoy it when I don't have time. We did figure out a way for me to only have to work 25 hours a week, which makes me happy. I thought I'd be able to handle more but I guess I didn't realize how much energy a baby can take out of one person! Not that he's difficult, but caring for a baby is certainly a job in and of itself. However, it is the most fulfilling and joyful job that I've ever had! I absolutely love my job working for Rachelle and it is the perfect job to have when you have a baby because I pretty much have all the freedom that I need to tend to my baby.

I think I've finally mastered the whole cloth diaper thing. It's really much easier than I expected it to be. I think my husband agrees. Granted, he's a newborn and washing the diapers is much easier now than it will be when he starts eating solid food, but still. I also feel much better about not throwing disposable diapers into the landfill. It's really not much more work. You just have an extra load of laundry to do every other day or so. The only downfall to me is that cloth is bulkier, so you need a bigger bag to carry them in when you go out. I'm sad because the diaper bag that my husband bought for me for Christmas is too bulky to carry around all the time (and it was expensive too!!) That, and Ethan doesn't last very long wearing a wet diaper without getting fussy because there's not that absorbant crap in them to wick the moisture away from their bum. He must be changed, and he must be changed now! Ah well, luckily the diapers we are using are cheap and washable, so it's fine! Anyway, that's been my life for the past month!