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Over the last couple of weeks, lots of changes have occurred! Ethan is getting much stronger and is able to straighten out his legs and hold his little body up (with some help of course) on our laps. He can hold his head up for about 30 seconds at a time, which makes looking around a whole lot more fun! He is really starting to take in the world around him and, if we are lucky, we get a big smile and some chatter when he spots us! Ethan also loves to give some of his biggest smiles and longest conversations to the ceiling fan, doorways, lights, and ceilings. We try to catch them on camera but haven't quite mastered it yet. Here is our best attempt below.
In preparation for me going back to work in a few weeks, we have started working with Ethan on taking the breastmilk in bottles and sleeping in his crib (in his own room) instead of the cradle at our bedside. He has taken to the bottles like a champ and chows them down. The crib is also going quite well for nap time. Ethan is going to sleep in his crib overnight tonight for the first time. I'm sure he will do just fine - I'll probably be the one who needs some comforting :)
Don't mind that he keeps his eyes open while sleeping!
Last weekend, we took a trip down to Rockford to see Ethan's great grandpa. He loved his bright red shirt and his funny noises. Great grandpa was the lucky recipient of lots of smiles and even some great stories by Ethan.
The video is of Ethan and his cousin Kileigh from yesterday. Kileigh loves loves loves Ethan and wants to make him happy. She wanted to hold him so, with some help, she got her wish! Ethan, however wasn't loving it. In case you can't understand Ki, she is saying blankey when she says "dicky." Also, notice the shushing she picked up on from watching us when Ethan cries. Just thought the video was a really sweet one.
P.S. Due to the weather, we had to reschedule our Madison kidney ultrasound. The new appointment will be on next Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday we have the ultrasound and on Wednesday we have the consultation with the doctor.
Merry late Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! We had a quite eventful holiday season. We spent Christmas eve with my mom's side of the family - family from Texas even made a return for the holiday season! It was great to see everyone and have them meet Ethan at such a young age.
To begin the holiday season, every year on Christmas Eve morning we go over to my mom's house for breakfast, coffee, hot cocoa, and present opening. This year was extra special because we of course had little Ethan, and because Kileigh had WAY more fun opening presents than she did last year. Following present opening, we went over to my aunt Mel's house for the big get together. There was a total of 15 adults and 7 kids this year - talk about a lot of activity!
Following the extended family Christmas, every year we go to church for the candlelit service. Luckily, Ethan slept through the whole thing - what a trooper!
On Christmas day, we went over to my dad's house. We had a turkey lunch/dinner, present opening, and played a game of Farkle. It was a much quieter day, which was nice for the little man..he needed his rest!
Our final Christmas was the day after and it was at Mike's mom's house. We played Family Feud and Funglish, opened gifts, and had a glazed ham dinner. Lainey, like Kileigh, really enjoyed opening gifts and wanted to help everyone else open theirs! This year we added the new tradition of everyone buying a "Kevin gift" and doing a white elephant gift exchange. This gift was something each of us found, on sale, that reminded us of something Kevin would have bought in large quantities and given everyone. We got a cooler with speakers and a 6 pack flashlight set.
We have had lots of questions about what kind of baby Ethan is. He has been great! He seems to be pretty laid back. He is quite content being awake and taking in the world around him and is a pretty alert baby. He does, however, already have things he loves and hates. He loves: being held, cuddling, baths (in the real tub), EATING, grunting, filling diapers (preferably right after we change him) and making funny faces. He hates: being hungry, being cold, and too much activity around him. He sleeps pretty well, about 3-4 hours in between feedings. We really couldn't be any happier with him and are enjoying every moment we get to spend together!
Over the weekend we had an opportunity to have some quality family time. On Saturday morning we went over to Mike's mom's house to bake and decorate Christmas cookies. It's a yearly tradition and we love doing it! This year was a little different in that of course Ethan was around and Lainey was old enough to help - kind of :)! Lainey had been a little jealous of the little man in the past, but she was great with him on cookie day! (She was even kissing him at the time this pic was taken - we just didn't catch it) Lainey helped uncle Mike change Ethan's diaper and was very concerned that he had his pacifier and blanket with him at all times! The super cute Christmas bib in the above pic was a present from aunt Kelly - don't you love it!?
Later on, we went to my mom's house to visit. Kileigh is also very interested in Ethan and is really wanting to help with anything we are doing. When it is diaper changing time, she gets our diaper bag and pulls out everything we will need. When it is time to feed, she is more than willing to help me (haha) feed him and to help pat his back to make him burp when he is finished - she even makes the sound for him sometimes. She has also started to imitate what we are doing with Ethan with her baby. She feeds her baby - under the shirt - rocks her, puts her in the swing, changes her diaper, etc. Right before the picture below, she was following Mike around, holding her baby the same way, rocking her to make her stop crying. The two little cousins are really fun and entertaining to be around. I can already tell they are going to be quite protective of their little boy cousin!
On Friday, Mike, Ethan, Courtney, Kileigh, my mom and I all went to the Janesville Mall to meet Santa. While we were in line, we tried to prep Ki by talking about "Ho Ho," as she calls him, and how nice he is and how we all wanted to sit with him. She was smiling and pointing at him and seemed to be really excited. We had planned on getting a picture with Ki and Ethan together with Santa, and, as you can see below, only Ethan is featured with Santa. Poor Co tried to give Ki to Santa and she FREAKED out! Kind of funny for all of us, not so much for her. She now calls him Ho Ho Scary :) Ethan on the other hand, slept through the whole thing. Santa wanted to take the rest of the day off with him.
Don't you love the little sweater vest?? This is going to be Ethan's outfit for Christmas Eve :)
Sorry it took us a whole week to post but we are proud to introduce our new little man Ethan Michael Ekedahl! For those of you who don't know the numbers, he was born at 5:48 on Thanksgiving morning, weighed 7 lb 15 oz, was 20 inches long, and came out screaming! The labor went really really well, I don't think I could have asked for better. My contractions started at my mom's house around 8:15pm after preparing my contribution for Thanksgiving. All that cooking must have made him excited for real food! We got to the hospital around 10pm and I was already 4cm! An hour later I was 6cm and decided it was time for an epidural before it was too late to get one. From there, I was complete at 4:15 am and delivered just before six. It was tough work but we couldn't be happier!
The first few days have gone really well. I am breastfeeding so the first few days were a little rough since my milk wasn't in yet, but things have greatly improved in the last few days. He is sleeping between 2 - 4 1/2 hours in between feedings at night, which is actually pretty nice! His awake time seems to be in the morning between 8am and 11am. We take full advantage of those big blue eyes during that time. Mike has become quite the pro at changing diapers. He says since I have to feed Ethan, the least he can do is change the dirty diapers. Overall, I would say Mike and I couldn't be any happier than we have been for the last week! Ethan has completed our little family - for now :) - and we couldn't love him more!
For the last tidbit of news, we went to Madison yesterday for Ethan's follow up appointment for his kidneys. He had an ultrasound and a VCUG (for this test they placed a catheter, injected dye into his bladder and watched to see if urine was backing up into his kidneys). The tests showed that his left kidney is 100% normal and his right one is still a little swollen. The doctor said it is the mildest form of the swelling so nothing to be all to concerned about. We have another ultrasound, no VCUG thank God, in another month to see if the right kidney improves.
That's it for now. I'll be updating pictures on here probably weekly since he changes so quickly! Until then, we will be busy cuddling and loving our new little man!
In preparation for me going back to work in a few weeks, we have started working with Ethan on taking the breastmilk in bottles and sleeping in his crib (in his own room) instead of the cradle at our bedside. He has taken to the bottles like a champ and chows them down. The crib is also going quite well for nap time. Ethan is going to sleep in his crib overnight tonight for the first time. I'm sure he will do just fine - I'll probably be the one who needs some comforting :)
Don't mind that he keeps his eyes open while sleeping!
Last weekend, we took a trip down to Rockford to see Ethan's great grandpa. He loved his bright red shirt and his funny noises. Great grandpa was the lucky recipient of lots of smiles and even some great stories by Ethan.
