Bubba boy is 16 weeks!

Time is going by so fast and he's growing so much! Ethan is now on formula because I got mastitis again and I couldn't bear the thought of going through it again. I was getting that sick that I physically couldn't look after him and I thought formula was a better option for both of us. He took to it like a fish to water so we're all happy here. Josh looked after him while I was sick and he said that it would've been easier going to work! Glad he appreciates how hard caring for bubba boy is :-)

Ethan and I are going down to Melbourne to meet his Aunty Kathryn, Uncle Mat and cousin Ryan in 2 weeks. Can't wait!

Something must be funny :-)

Ethan is now 12 weeks and 5 days old. He has rolled a couple of times and seems to get really frustrated when he can't get all the way over.

He now smiles all the time and he chuckles! It is so cute!

I thought I would also add a comparison shot of Ethan and Josh. He looks like Daddy all over!

Ethan aged 12 weeks

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Josh age unknown

9 weeks old...

Ethan is now 9 weeks old and although it hasn't been without it's challenges, he's a relatively easy baby to look after. We go to bed at midnight and he wakes for a feed at around 4am and then up again at around 8am. If we're lucky, he'll let us sleep in until 9am.

He's growing faster and the breastfeeding is going good but I think I'll switch him to formula at around 6 months just so I can regain some independence from him. We can't really leave him for too long with anyone because he needs the boobs and pumping isn't that easy.

We were so excited the other day because he rolled over for the first time!!! It was rollong off his tummy time pillow but I say that still counts. He got half way over all by himself later in the night but didn't quite make it all the way over. Both me and Josh were standing there like idiots making rolling motions at him like the force of us moving would give him he tip he needed to get over.

Sleepy Bubba Boy

Smiles!!!

Ethan is 7.5 weeks old and we caught some smiles on camera finally :-)

This and that....

Well Ethan is now 5.5 weeks old but it feels like he's been here forever. We've seen one smile but that's it. He's a very serious young man. This pic was taken when he was 4 weeks old.

So far, it's had it's ups and down. Although I know he's not a difficult baby, I did think it would be pretty easy with both me and Josh home at the moment. Ethan is currently having a rare day sleep in his cradle but generally likes to be held all of the time so it has been tricky getting anything done. 

As soon as we try to lie him down, he wakes up. Thankfully he seems to recognise the difference between night and day and has good long blocks of sleep in his cradle while we're in bed. I was naive and thought that he would sleep most of the day in his cradle and it would be easy to get everything done LOL. 

Josh has been a bit grumpy because he's not getting as much "me" time as he would like but I would love to see how he would go if he had the boobs. Yesterday afternoon he gave me the afternoon between feeds off which was great. I fed Ethan and then closed myself in the bedroom for a few hours and as much as I love our little man, it was fantastic to just to be alone for a while. 

Next weekend, we're going to an ice hockey game in Sydney and we're leaving Ethan with Mum and Dad. We're having around 6 hours bub free. I'm looking forward to it but I'm also a little nervous that they won't be able to settle him or Dad will get frustrated at him crying while Mum is out working as she has one client while we're gone. I really hope it all goes well. 

Anyway that's about it. Not much to report at the moment. 

Life with Ethan :-)

Well so far we haven't been without a few hiccups on the beginning of our parenting journey. Josh caught a cold a few days before Ethan was born and unfortunately passed it on to our little guy. Poor Ethan has ended with quite a stuffy nose :-(

At one point, I was sitting with Ethan and trying to comfort him at 3am, all the while thinking "This is all Josh's fault." In the cold hard light of day the following morning, I knew those thoughts were completely terrible because Josh didn't purposely get sick. I was just very unfortunate timing.

We had an appointment with the baby nurse yesterday and she suggested saline nasal drops to clear his nose. We went to the chemist and I said to the girl behind the counter that we needed something for a 2 week old to clear his nose and she said that you can't give him anything. At this point I was really confused and said that nurse had suggested saline drops so she checked with the pharmacist and she assured her that saline drops were completely safe for newborns.

The saline drops have been a godsend because before that, we were just suctioning his nose to remove the mucus and it was taking hours to get him to sleep. Last night, he slept a thousand times better which meant that Mummy got to sleep a thousand times better.

Everyone has been saying that he is completely adorable and it is so true. I was so thankful that he is cute because I have always been really honest about other people's babies so I was worried that karma would come and bite me LOL.

Anyway here is a photo of our gorgeous son. We may be sleep deprived but it is worth every sleepless night.

He's here!!!

Well we ended up having a c-section but I don't regret it. He is a big boy and would've really hurt coming out the natural way. I was really nervous and emotional on the day of the c-section. I was excited/ sad/ happy/ scared and all of the above but all went well and I'm healing perfectly.

I hated the 24 hours of recovery straight after the c-section because I couldn't get off the bed. I had a catheter in, a drip and drainage. Generally a lot of tubes and wires coming off me. They had to take Ethan to the night nursery that night because I couldn't get up and care for him like I needed to. I didn't like them taking him but in hindsight, it was necessary and I got a good rest.

We got heaps of photos of the procedure and I'll upload them once they are saved on the computer. I have to also say that I am stoked that I decided to go a head with the procedure at Figtree Private. I was very seriously considering switching to Wollongong but so glad I didn't.

The staff at Figtree Private could not have been better. I know at Wollongong I would've been kicked out on day 3 as soon as I was physically able to leave and I would've been an emotional wreck. They wouldn't have been as helpful with breastfeeding and I would've been a mess by day 5 with the feeding and pain.

At Figtree, you press the buzzer and the staff are there immediately to help you with feeding or pain meds. I only had to wait a couple of times and they were so patient with me. Anyway I better make the intoduction.

Introducing

Ethan John Medley

Born 7th May, 2013

Weight: 4.2kg or 9 pounds 4 ounces

Length 52cm