We Made It

Today was my first day back to work after an entire year off on Mat. Leave. I had a very restless sleep waking up every hour since 1:00am. Thankfully, I did not have to drop Ethan off at the Day Home as Wackie works in the afternoon. Therefore, we can allow him to sleep till he wakes up on his own and feed him breakfast at home. Otherwise, he would be getting up at the crack of dawn with me so that I can make it to work on time.
My first day back at work was quite uneventful. I had 2 meetings in the morning that took up the entire morning, then a shopping trip out to Ikea with my co-worker to buy her a new desk as she will be relocating to a new office (otherwise there would be 3 of us in 1 office!). That was a nice ease into work. The next two days, I will be sitting on my butt listening and "learning" about managment things which somewhat doesn't apply as my role does not involve managing people...yet (still waiting for them to push that on me).
Anyway, when I picked up Ethan, he was very happy to see me and the drive home was plesant with no crying. Our Day Home lady said that he did well with little fussing. He even napped for 1.5 hours though she said he cried and fussed for a while first. He ate well, but didn't drink too much so when we got home, I fed him and he drank fast and long. Lets hope that he continues to do well at the Day Home.
I'm hoping for better sleep tonight as well.

Ethan's 1st Birthday

Well, an entire year has gone by. Ethan has turned 1! It's crazy to think that a year ago, I was still in the hospital recovering and getting "use" to the whole new baby thing. The months of lack of sleep, the feedings, diaper changes, and all those discoveries. It has been fun, frustrating, tiring, exciting and so very cool. Maybe I'll consider doing it all over again...maybe :)
This will be our first Thanksgiving together at home since last year we spent it in the hospital. I'm sure Ethan will love chomping on some turkey and stuffing. He's getting better at eating non baby food, though he still tends to swallow the entire thing, rather than chewing on it for a bit. He loves feeding himself, which usually ends up really messy. Laundry has now doubled!
Since his whole milk allergy scare, I have slowly started introducing dairy to him to see if he has outgrown the allergy. So far he is good with yogurt. Next will be cheese and then milk. I sure hope he isn't truly allergic.
Anyway, I thought I add in our video of Ethan on his birthday at home. To all our family who were unable to be here in person.
And to everyone who has been so incredibly kind and generous in giving Ethan a birthday gift, a huge Thank You! He has so many new toys, clothes and books that we don't even know were to put everything.
Thanks again to everyone for all your prayers, support and help over the past year. We really look forward in watching Ethan continue to develop into a little boy.

No Needles Today

Well, I had booked Ethan's 12 month shots 2 months in advance and had the date set for today. We arrived at the clinic and got measured and weighted. Ethan is still a "light weight" as he is 19.10lbs. He has not broken that 20lbs mark yet. He measures in at 28 1/4 inches. Hasn't grown in length too much since his 6 months check up :(
Anyway, as we sat waiting to be called, a nurse came and found us. Instead of inviting us to one of their rooms, she informs us that because Ethan is not exactly or past his 12 month, in "immunity world" (and yes, she said those exact words), he was unable to get his shots. Ethan is turning 1 in 3 days and they still would not do the shots. What a waste! They figured out that in their computer system, it allows the individual to book an appointment after a certain time after their previous shots (which works for other immunizations), but because this is his 12 month shot, apparently the system does not inform the reception person that it has to be on or after his birthday. So they are going to squeeze me in for this coming Monday, the day after this birthday... I think this is all just a little silly.
Anyway, on another note, it has been so nice out lately that Ethan and I have been spending most of our mornings outside on walks. We go walk through the parks and school yards so that Ethan can watch the big kids play. He loves the fall leaves blowing around and gets pretty excited when they are falling when we walk by them. He also likes pointing out trees for me to see. I hope he'll like trees and plants as much as I do.
Well, his big 1st Birthday party is coming up this weekend. We have been busy cleaning and preparing for all our friends and family to come help celebrate this big occasion. I have a feeling he's going to be pretty spoiled.