O Family Fun: 8 Weeks Oh My!

As every new mother will tell you, my time at home with Ethan is absolutely flying by and I was fortunate and took 12 weeks off for maternity leave. He turned 8 weeks Monday and I have only 3 1/2 short weeks left until I return to work :-( Part of me is really excited to go back and "Inspire the World to Fitness" but part (I must admit the bigger part) is dreading leaving my little guy all day. Once again I hear from my friends that they dreaded going back, that it gets better after a few weeks, and that they are glad that they did go back after they are settled in. I am going to try to live by that theory but it scares me a little bit! Until then I am soaking up every second with Ethan and trying to document as much as possible so that I can relive these moments as needed when I am away from him in the coming months.

Ethan amazes me every day because I think each day that the face he made or the sound he made could never be topped and then the next day he does something even better! He has such an adorable personality. It is like he genuinely loves to be around John and I and he wants to make us happy by being a good baby!

I would challenge any Non-Believer to deny God after becoming a mother or a father. Ethan is such a miracle that I would be an absolute FOOL to think that John and I could have created something so wonderful without our Lord Jesus. I have heard babies are miracles before, and I believed it, but trust me when you have your own baby the word miracle takes on an entirely new meaning. I sit here and type while I look down at his angelic face and I know that we have been blessed beyond comprehension! I get excited thinking about all the fun we will have as he grows and then I feel silly because I want to freeze time and keep him exactly the way he is! Having Ethan has definitely caused a mixture of emotions in me and I am glad for each and every one of them :-)

Over the past two weeks we have tried to create more of a schedule for our little man. We never want to be bound by the clock or our rules but we both agree that babies crave routine. We have been trying to put him to sleep between 7-8:00PM and it seems to be working well. He typically cries for about 10 minutes (not a serious cry but still not fun for Mommy & Daddy to hear) and then he is out! Sunday night was his first night in his crib in his nursery. He had been sleeping in his Pack N Play Bassinet right next to our bed. His first night home we put him in his crib and his startle reflex would wake him up every 2 minutes. His crib was just TOO big for the little guy. We knew we wanted him in his nursery as soon as possible so that we would all sleep better but that was definitely easier said than done. Having him more than an arms distance away was harder on me than Ethan but we both survived. He did wake up WAY more than usual but that was understandable considering his new sleep surroundings. He loves his musical mobile and I think he really enjoys his own room and space-He smiles a lot there! He has been in his crib every night since Sunday but after his 5:30AM feeding I put him in his swing in our room so that we can wake up together and get ready for our day :-) He has typically been getting up 2-3 times during the night. I am looking forward to stretching his night time sleep out as he continues to get bigger and esp. after I have to function back at work!

Ethan has his 2 month Dr appointment this Friday so I will be able to update his current stats then. I am not looking forward to his shots. I have asked John to go with us so that I can comfort Ethan and John can comfort me. I just hate when I hear my little guy cry. Maybe he will surprise me and not shed a tear! I sure hope so!

As I said, 8 weeks has flown by and Ethan has changed so much in such a short amount of time. Here is a picture glimpse of what has happened in the 8 weeks of my son's beautiful life!

Birth Feb 8, 2010