Compare that to his one week old picture

It’s been two weeks since we brought the little boy home, and he’s doing great! Here are a few updates on our burgeoning family:

* Ethan is growing like a little weed. Yesterday, he measured in at 4 lbs 14 oz and 18″ long. He’s still in the 0th percentile for his age, but 20 ounces in 26 days feels like a lot!

* E’s newest adventure is tummy time. He’s pretty cute doing his “preemie pushups” (as the nurse called it). He tries really hard to roll over, but for now he gets stuck on his side. We have to time it right, though, because he gets so hungry that he’s crying his angry cry by the time we finish. Little boy has a temper.

* Mom and Dad are learning how to live on a feeding schedule and a lot less sleep. We’ve also learned that we need a short outing on most days. Otherwise, we get cabin fever like crazy!

* We’ve purchased three pounds of coffee in the last two days. That’s a lot…even for us.

* We just celebrated our first Christmas with Ethan. We dressed him in the onesie that you see in the picture, and it was HUGE on him even in a newborn size. I’m pretty sure it’ll fit him in a couple weeks, but he needed another 2″ at least to fill the length. We had a great time at home and spent the whole day in our pj’s watching episodes of Top Gear on netflix and drinking Martinelli’s. Our apartment was decorated with stockings and a burst-into-flames-it’s-so-dry wreath. Next year we can dress things up for Christmas, and we’ll have a little one year old to celebrate with!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! (And on that note, happy 3rd day of Christmas.) It’s time for me to go feed him again, but we’ll keep you updated with pics and info now that things are starting to normalize. Keep checking back!

We’re home! After 12 days in the NICU, Ethan was discharged from the hospital into our care. We couldn’t be happier.

Couple updates:

• Tube definitely gone. So thankful he just ripped that thing out himself!
• He’s eating really well – 35+ cc’s per feeding (there’s 8/day)
• Gaining weight like a banshee! Today he clocked in at 1900 grams (4lbs 3oz) as of 6am this morning.
• Sleeping well. With the white noise, he sleeps very well. I suppose its not surprising he’s a deep sleeper, as he’s growing more and more every day and he had to deal with some pretty intense noises in the NICU.
• After spending all this time in the NICU, he doesn’t like quiet (who’s child is this?!), so we have to keep some sort of white noise going when he’s sleeping. Thankfully he has a lamb that makes noises, so that’s comforting for him.
• Jenny and I stayed the two nights in a “Room in” room. This was to have the nurses right there in case we needed them, but still give us a bit of freedom. We did all the feedings, diaper changes and everything else that comes with a little boy. We could’ve come home after just one night, but we didn’t feel comfortable just yet with how to feed him. He’d learned really well how to feed and the doctors said he could go home with us, but Mom and Dad still hadn’t gotten the hang of feeding him all his food in the necessary time allotment given by the nurses (30 mins). That was a bit of a struggle for Jenny and I, but after getting even more advice from the nurses (who’ve fed countless babies in their career), we quickly learned how to feed him.

We are so incredibly thankful for all the thoughts and prayers from all our friends, and we can’t wait to see what our little monster grows up to become.