First day of gymnastics

Ethan @ his 6mo ck up

Ethan @ 6mo

Ethan's 6 month Stats

21lb 2 oz

27 1/4 inches

• is cutting his 2 bottom front teeth
• is sitting up on his own
• has numerous folds on his thighs that make bath time fun
• is eating sold foods now
• not a big fan of rice cereal or oatmeal
• loves bananas, peas
• has cut down to 5 bottles a day
• was diagnosed with acid reflux and takes meds 2xday
• also diagnosed with asthma and has to have daily breathing treatments
• still does not like tummy time
• has rolled over a handful of times, but prefers to just cry until you come and rescue him
• still thinks his big sister is the bee's knees
• has an infectious smile
• is beginning to have definate ideas about what he wants
• cries when Mommy leaves the room
• still doesn't sleep through the night :-(

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY EMMA ROSE!

3 Year Stats

35 1/4 lbs (75%)
37.5 inches (75%)

Our baby is 3! I can't believe it. Some days it seems like she has been in our lives forever, and some days it seems she was just born. We have truly enjoyed watching her grow. She is a beautiful, strong willed, smart, and observant little girl who knows how to push her parents buttons and melt their hearts. Here are somethings Emma does at 3.....

-cuts with scissors
-counts to 20
-knows the alphabet and can identify about 10 letters and a word that starts with the letter
-identify her shapes and colors (since about 2yrs old)
-do a forward roll
-skip
-speaks in full sentences

Some fun facts about Emma at 3...

-has an imaginary friend named Tudy (she showed up on her birthday weekend)

-listens to wheels on the bus every night when going to sleep. She wants the CD on repeat so this is the only song she hears

-has a lisp when she says "s and th"

-has been potty trained since 2 1/2

-gave up her binkies after we took them wrapped in a present to her doctors appointment so babies that needed them could have them. She never asked for them back, and doesn't put Ethan's in her mouth.

-loves the pool, but prefers to be held onto while in the water

-hates to go fast on swings, and sometimes in the car tells me to slow down

-she is a cautions child, takes time to warm up to people, and doesn't like to take risks

-has beautiful strawberry blond curls, and has only had 2 hair cuts since birth

-has dark hazel/green eyes that often look brown

-is learning how to ride a bike, but hasn't mastered it yet. She hates that she isn't already proficient at it (she is a bit of a perfectionist)


So that's my baby girl at 3 in a nut shell! We can't wait to see what the next year has in store.-

5 months old...

Our chunky little monkey is already 5months old! He is weighing in at a whopping 19lb! He should be rolling by now, but he isn't. I asked the Dr if I should be concerned yet, and he said "look at him, he is huge, it's hard to get that much weight over!" Haha so we are giving him as much tummy time as he can handle, in hopes of him rolling soon.


Here are some things about Ethan at 5 mo...

• He is a total lover and loves to snuggle (mostly with his Mommy)
• He has two adorable dimples when he smiles
• He loves to watch Emma, and thinks she is the best thing since rice cereal
• He had to start cereal early because he was eating 42 oz of formula a day
• Said cereal constipated the poor little guy, so I'm holding off for a few more weeks
• We started putting him in his crib upstairs last week for the first half of the night, and I didn't sleep at all, anticipating him waking Emma up
• He has mastered the art of getting things into his mouth, his favorite is his thumb
• I think he is teething
• We still have to swaddle him to get him to sleep well
• He wakes about every 6ish hrs to eat at night, but as gone as long as 12 hrs
• He drinks 7oz of formula at each feeding (6 bottles a day)
• He loves to "talk" to us and is very vocal
• He is quickly outgrowing his 9mo clothing
• Loves the binky and having something cover his face when he sleeps
• Sleeps on his back
• Hates to be in his swing, loves his bouncy seat and Johnny Jump up
• Has stolen his Mommy's heat! ;-)

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Ethan 4mo
17lb 9oz
25.5 inches

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Still wants to be a thumb sucker

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Emma's 1st dental visit 

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Making brownies with Mommy. 

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I love my thumb! Nom nom

Emma holding Ethan

Random videos

Emma signing the "Muffin Man" this past summer.

2 months old

Ethan's 2 month stats..

14lb 4 oz

24 in

Wow lots has happened in the past two months. Our big boy has had a rough go of it. He was put in the hospital for 2 days last week with "respiratory distress" due to bronchiolitis. He had to have steroid shots, antibiotics and breathing treatments. All of his viral swabs came back negative for RSV, but the doctor's are sure that he did indeed have it. He is doing much better now and growing bigger by the minute. He is eating 6 oz of formula every 3-4 hrs during the day and is starting to sleep 5 -7 stretches at night (thank goodness). His personality is starting to come out more and more every day. He likes: cuddles, bottles, baths (but not getting out of the water), his pack in play with the vibration mode on, warm blankets, and his hands. Dislikes: loud noises, people moving him when he is sleeping, loud noises, mommy's constant cheek kisses ;-), waiting for his bottle to warm up, tummy time, and his sister climbing on him. He is smiling more and more each day, seems to know when his parents or sister is talking.

Emma is doing better. She had pneumonia the week before Ethan got sick, but was able to fight it at home with steroids, antibiotics, breathing treatments, allergy meds, and singulair for asthma. We had a allergy blood test done to see if she might be allergic to something in the house causing her to be sick all the time, but that test came back negative. The Dr. said we will test her at 4 with a skin test, but she has all the classic signs of having allergies. So for the rest of the winter she has to stay on allegra and singulair, and nebulizer treatments so she doesn't have a relaps.

I've been back at work for 2 weeks now, but the week I went back Emma got sick so I had to take off, then the next week Ethan got sick. Last week was my first full week back, and I did pretty good. Didn't miss the kiddos too much (just a little), and enjoyed some adult conversation. It helps so much to only work 20 hrs a week. I can't wait for summer to get here so the kids and I can get out and enjoy those days off.

Jon continues to work non stop trying to get his projects done. He leaves the house by 7am and doesn't get home until 7 or 8pm, sometimes later. We all hate that he works so much, but that's life. We just have to be thankful that he has a good job. He hopes to be getting some down time in the fall, so we are going to be taking a vacation sans kids for our anniversary. Definitely looking forward to that, but we are going to miss the kids.

Ethan's Birth Story

Ethan’s Birth Story:

We were scheduled for an induction on November 16th at 9am due to Ethan’s size and my blood pressure being high for the last few weeks. I was told to call labor and delivery at 7am and make sure that we could get a room. Well, we couldn’t, they were full but expected a mother to deliver soon, so we could have her room. So Jon and I took Emma to daycare and went out to breakfast, and waited on the phone call. 3 hours past, and I still hadn’t gotten a call, so I called the hospital and they told me that I could come in. So 11am we checked into our room, got the IV and antibiotics started. I had to have 2 doses of antibiotics before they baby could safely be born due to testing positive for Group B Strep.

I was hoping that I could get into active labor with just having my water broke, which is how I was induced with Emma. But Ethan had other plans. He was too high in my stomach for the doctors to break my water, so they went ahead and started the pitocin at 1pm (I was 3cm when they started). From 1pm to 1am, they slowly turned up the pitocin, and I was in a regular contraction pattern, but they were not strong enough to make change. The nurse told us that she knew the contractions were not strong enough to get things moving, but she was bound by new regulations and couldn’t turn up the Pit since I was in a good contraction pattern. This is why labor was so long, those first 12 hours were not productive.

Just before 1am the nurse turned up the Pit one more time, and within a few minutes, the familiar pain of true labor arrived! Heidi and Jon did a good job of helping me breathe and change positions, as I waited for the anestegiologist to come and give me the Epidural.
The Epi was in place, and started working great! I was relaxed and able to rest, until I noticed I couldn’t breathe very well, and was very sleepy. Jon looked at my blood pressure and saw that it was extremely low, and ran to get the nurse. Next thing I know I was getting a shot of adrenalin to counter act the epidural. After that I was fine and rested until about 330am when I thought my water broke, the nurse checked said it wasn’t my water but I was 7cm! I was sure we would be having a baby in no time, wrong! Shifts changed and at 6am my new nurse checked me and said I was 9cm! Woohoo, so I asked that she call the doctor and see if she would break my water so we could get this going.

Dr. Arrived, checked me and said I was only 7cm. Not sure how the nurse got 9, but she went ahead and broke my water and put an internal monitor on Ethan. His heart rate dropped after they broke my water, so they had to put fluid back into my uterus to help cushion him, and I had to lie on my left side for the next couple of hours.

Approximately 30 minutes after my water was broken, my epidural stopped working in all the wrong spots. The sides of my abdomen and thighs stayed numb, but that was it. Not exactly the parts that need to be numb during labor. So the last 2 hours of labor were pretty excruciating. But finally at 8:30ish am, I had an intense need to push. The Dr. came in and said I only had a lip left on my cervix and I could start pushing. A few pushes later he was about to be born, and I had to wait on the doctor to get his gloves on and catch. The nurse told me not to push until the Dr was ready, which was laughable, my body didn’t have an off switch! So 1 more push and Ethan was out at 8:48am.

I was relieved that labor was over and he was here, but I noticed he wasn’t breathing. I tried not to panic, I knew it could take a little bit to get his lungs clear, but it seemed to take longer than it should. The Dr. looked at Jon and said “I’m going to go ahead and cut the cord for you” and took Ethan over to the warmer so the nurses could get him breathing. I looked at Jon and just said “pray”. After what seemed like hours, they got him breathing and brought him over for a quick picture then took him right to the nursery to stabilize him.

He ended up having fluid on his lungs from being pushed out so quickly. He had to have a feeding tube in for 2 days because he was breathing to fast to eat without aspirating, and IV antibiotics for 7 days. On day 3 we found out that he had a left clavicle fracture that happened at birth, so we had to keep his arm stabilized for 2 weeks while it healed. We got him home on Nov. 24th, and he is a healthy, happy, laid back little boy.

Baby Ethan Is Here

Ethan William Rutledge arrived Tuesday Nov. 17 2009 at 848am. He weighed 9lb 2.5oz and was 20 inches long. We had a little bit of a rough start with him. He came out and was not breathing and required a trip to the nursery to get his lungs going.

He was pushed out so fast, he didn't have time to get the fluid squeezed out of his lungs during delivery, so as he came out there wasn't any room in his lungs for air. The nursery team got him breathing within a few minutes but his breathing was still very fast. He then required an IV and a feeding tube to keep him hydrated and healthy.


He is now 2 days old, and doing better. Today he got to start taking a bottle for the first time, and seems to be doing well with it. He is showing signs of infection so he has to stay in the nursery until that clears up and he is eating 100% on his own. We are hopeful for him to come home the first of the week, but no one seems to be able to give us an exact date.


I have been discharged from the hospital but am able to do what they call "bed and breakfast". We get to keep our room at the hospital until Ethan is discharged but we are allowed to come and go as we want. Last night we went home and had dinner with Emma and put her to bed.

We uploaded some hotos to our web album, here is a direct link. We will als attempt to keep the blog more up todate over the next few weeks. However our Facebook accounts have the most up to date data. If you aren't on Facebook, get in there and you can see our regular updates.

Below are photos of Baby Emma and Ethan. Emma is the top photo and Ethan is in the photo on the bottom.

And we have a name...

My wonderful husband sent me these flowers today with a note saying " I love you. You can name our son Ethan." This little guy's name has been a bit of a stresser in my life. We have been tossing around Ethan William, and William_____. I told Jon that is was ultimately his decision since I named Emma. He hasn't really been very committed to the name Ethan, so it was a great surprise that he agreed, and that he sent me flowers!

Sometimes I don't give him enough credit for being so great, so I'm putting it out to the blog universe, that he is indeed a great husband, and always a great father. I can't wait for Ethan to join our family, and watch father and son bond. I fell more in love with Jon the moment Emma was born, and expect I will do the same with Ethan's birth. Such an amazing time!

Okay, I'll stop the mushy stuff! lol Emma is doing great. She is very excited about being a big sister. We read books about it every night, and she is roll playing with her dolls. I hope and pray that she adjusts well, and loves her brother. I'm a little disapointed that she won't be able to visit us after I give birth. With the whole swine flu thing, the hospital is limiting visitors, and no one under 18 is allowed to come visit. I know she is only 2 1/2, and won't remember the experience but I wanted the memories.

As far as a pregnancy update, Ethan is doing well. I haven't dilated anymore, and have been given a modified bed rest schedule. I'm still having contractions, but the doctor's aren't too worried. They are more concerned that I'm so big. I'm measuring 5 weeks bigger then I really am. I had an ultra sound 2 weeks ago that said he was 5 1/2 lbs, but the doctors aren't convinced and I go back in on Tuesday for another growth ultrasound. If he is as big as they think, they want me to be induced again at 38 weeks like I did with Emma. That is only two weeks away! I can't believe that Ethan is going to be here that soon! This pregnancy has gone very quickly. The next post should be an introduction of our little boy!

Here are a few pictures of Emma from this month:

Put your feet up and relax awhile!

So I made it to 32 weeks before the dreaded bed rest order was declared! I've been having contractions for months now, but I thought nothing of it since "practice contractions" are normal after 28 weeks. Well turns out mine where more than just practice! I was getting said contractions every 10 min or so while I was at work, and they where uncomfortable, but not painful. I had an OB appt. that day so I mention the contractions to the nurse who says "oh thats normal". Okay, that's what I thought. As the doctor comes in, I have another contraction and she asks how many I'm having an hour. I tell her up to 6 and she quickly tells me that it is NOT normal, and I need to be checked to make sure they aren't changing my cervix. Sure enough, she checks, and I'm already 2cm dilated. I get put on medicine called Procardia, and told that I can keep working as long as I stop having the contractions.

So I start the meds that night, still have some contractions, but decide to try to go to work in hopes that the meds would work. Well I didn't even get to see a patient before the contractions started up again every 10 min. SO I went home. The next day was another OB appt with a different doctor, and he sees that I'm still contracting, doubles my Procardia, and puts me on bed rest. So here I am! I have another appointment tomorrow with an ultrasound to see how big this baby is, and to check for change. I'm really hoping to keep this little boy put for at least another 4 weeks. So keep the prayers coming!

It is still a boy!

Today we had a 4D ultrasound scheduled which is just a fun ultrasound that shows you the baby's features. We did this with Emma and wanted to do it for this baby too. Some of the pictures of Emma creeped us out, she really looked like something from outerspace at times! lol But it was still neat to see. Baby Boy Rutledge did a great job today and we got a few really good shots. We did the ultrasound earlier this time since Emma was almost to big to fit on the screen when we did hers. So enjoy our little man...

And here are some of Emma....

The big news....

We are having a boy!!!! We had our ultrasound today, and we are having a healthy little boy. He was not at all shy about showing us the "goods". lol As soon as the the technician put the wand on my belly, we got the butt shot, and right away I looked at Jon and said " Oh my gosh, it's a boy!" "Honey, its a boy!" Needless to say we are both very excited about this news. This little one completes our family. And to find out he is healthy, and growing right on track is a relief. He is 1lb 8 oz already, which is right where he should be, and he is kicking me all the time, which I love. Jon hasn't gotten to feel him kick yet, since it happens so sporadically, but he will soon. Now on to the hard part, a name!