Presenting Ethan James

This is Jenn, Christine's sister, updating her blog with the news that Ethan James made his arrival earlier than expected. Four days before Christine's scheduled induction date, her water broke early Sunday morning around 6:00am. Ethan James made his arrival at 8:24am. But not before Christine dilated to a full 10cm... without drugs... again. Poor, poor girl. Her babies just come way too fast!

Without further ado...

Ethan James, 6 lbs, 10ozs, 18 inches long.

Mommy and Ethan. One of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen!

Daddy and Ethan, or as Caleb lovingly refers to him as "My Buddy".

Mom and Baby are doing well! He's nursing like a champ, sleeping all the time, and they're really enjoying this time with him. I'll leave the rest of the details of the little Mister's birth to his mama.

Nursery Pics

Caleb has been on spring break this past week and it has been so wonderful to get so much last minute family time in as a family of 3 before Ethan arrives. Caleb has been so good to me this week in fact, that I've gotten a lot of rest and my contractions have really slowed down this week. I think Ethan is happy to stay inside for a while longer.

Caleb spent the first part of the week painting Ethan's nursery. It turned out great! We are so pleased with how it turned out. We picked a very typical baby boy blue and we love it.

As promised, here are the pictures of the nursery:

This is the view standing at the door and looking into the room. Sorry the picture is so dark.


This is the crib and changing table.


This is a close up of the crib bedding. I love how "boy" it is!


This is Ethan's closet, I guess there's not much more to say about it. ;-)


Don't you just love all of those baby boy outfits?! They're just hanging and waiting to be worn by our sweet little boy. We have been so blessed by generous friends and family and Ethan is set in terms of clothes.


This is my favorite corner of the room. I love the "E" hanging on the wall for Ethan and the lamp that goes with the bedding set!


A close up of my favorite part of the room.


My sister Jenn had these shoes made for Ethan. They were too cute so I thought they had to be on display.


And finally, what Ethan's room will look like at night. I figure I better get used to seeing his room at night. Ha!


We are truly ready for Ethan to make his grand appearance any day now.

36 Weeks, almost there?!

I can't believe it's March 11 and it's the first time I've posted this month.

I guess that just shows how busy we've been, but also how I've just been surviving every day over the last week or two. I know I sound like a huge wuss about now, but keep in mind the fact that I'm 4'11" and I'm carrying my husband's baby-and he's 6'4".

I typically have very smooth and easy going pregnancies (believe me, I'm very thankful)-up until I get to the last trimester. Then I look and feel like someone that's carrying twins and about to burst open at any given moment.

This past week has been especially hard since I've had plenty of contractions, but they haven't developed into any kind of pattern to push me into full labor.

I had a Dr.'s visit this past Wednesday, and the Dr. reported that I'm 3cm dilated, 50% effaced, and Ethan's head is down and low. I think the Dr. said it best when she said "even thought you're scheduled for a c-section, your body doesn't know that and it's preparing you for labor." So I guess the question now is, will I make it until March 31st, or will I go into labor early on my own?

I'm not sure what I want to happen. I would love to go early, but I fear having the same experience that I did with Elliana. I really don't want to dilate to 9.5cm in a half hour without drugs again. This is one of those times when it's good to remind myself that God has a plan. I need to trust that plan, whatever it may be.

Thanks to my mom, we are now completely ready for Ethan's arrival. Mom came over yesterday and spent the afternoon and evening helping me organize Ethan's clothes, get the nursery ready and pack my bag should I go early. I can't wait to share pictures of the nursery, but I'll wait until Caleb has finished painting it. He's planning on painting the nursery this next week (he's on spring break-thank the Lord).

I'm sorry I don't have any current pictures to share, well I'm only a little sorry. I'm not loving my HUGE body these days. ;-) Plus, I usually ask Caleb to take my picture and it's been a crazy week for him.

Here are a couple pictures taken from Ethan's baby shower last weekend. You can't really see my belly, but trust me it's very big and very far away from my body. Ha!



By the way, we feel incredibly blessed by the many gifts and clothes we've received for Ethan! We have so much and we are so thankful. Thanks to each and every one of you for making the shower so wonderful.



Here are my 36 weeks stats:

How far along: 36 Weeks and 2 days.

Size of Baby: According to Baby Center, he's around 6 pounds and 18.5 inches long. My guess is he's slightly bigger than that.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Ugh. How I hate putting this on here. I've gained about 33 pounds. Thank goodness this pregnancy is almost over. I'm ready to watch my weight go back down again. :)

Maternity Clothes: Definitely- and still growing. I've even outgrown most of my maternity clothes. I figure there's no sense in buying new clothes for less than 3 weeks.

Gender: It's a boy! I'm growing more and more excited at the idea of raising a little boy. We are naming him Ethan James.

Movement: Ethan is still moving enough to let me know he's okay, but he must be cramped because he's not moving as much as he was weeks ago. Poor guy. This body isn't big enough for the two of us anymore.

Sleep: It's getting harder to roll over in bed and I have to get up a few times throughout the night to use the restroom. All that to say, I'm sleeping pretty well, but I miss being able to sleep on my stomach and roll over easily.

Symptoms: Ha! There's no denying that I am oh-so-pregnant.

Best Moment This Week: Ethan's baby shower and getting to open all of those cute boy clothes and boy blankets. It makes me even more excited to see our baby boy.

What I'm Most Looking Forward To: Meeting and holding Ethan and introducing him to Ellie.

I'll be taking pictures of the nursery this week and getting them on here asap. I can't wait to share with all of you!