Ethan Hunter

Okay, so I know that I have been slacking with this website but we have been busy and taking alot of time to just be a family of four :)




I will be updating with some pictures and stuff soon but I wanted to add a video that my dear friend Erin Tukua made from a photo session we had yesterday. It is perfect! Enjoy!

9 Months

Ethan...
You are almost a year old...has it really been 9 months since that day? June 15th was a day of mixed emotions...we were scared but so thankful to have you here with us. So much has happened since that day but we are forever grateful for everything it has taught us. We appreciate everything you do...the littlest things you do makes me cry tears of happiness. I feel like I didn't savor all these moments when your brother was your age. I am going to tell you this for the rest of my life but you are the strongest person I know. You are going to have an amazing future...I can feel it!

You love laughing at your brother and being held by him. You love his kisses and his hugs. You love bath time now!

You are eating solids now...you love the fruit and is not a big fan of veggies.

Cause you were in the hospital for alot of your life your body was not the strongest when you came home but you have exceeded every ones expectations. You have been rolling over for a while now but now you are learning to sit up. It takes so much strength to do that...

You love your "piano" toy and your jumper. Your brother loves these toys too! :)

Your stats are:
Weight: 16 lbs
Height: 26 1/2 inches long
That's a major weight gain from just 3 1/2 pounds 9 months ago. Your are in 6-9 month clothes and do not mind all the little hats I put on you.

I love you big time my little monkey! Thank you for making my life so much better!

xo

Mommy

ShutterMomma

Through out this blog I mention one of my best friends, Erin Tukua. Not only is she an amazing friend but she is also an amazing photographer. She has been taking my family pictures for the past couple years and she was the one that captured our first family of four pictures.

I am so excited for Erin and her new venture and happy to introduce everyone to her new site that is specifically designed to teach all the mom's and dad's out there how to take "professional" looking pictures of your kiddos. I have a camera that I have no idea how to use, so I am extremely excited to start learning how to use it...correctly! She started it with another (amazing) local photographer and they have lessons and tips that us "non professionals" would understand :)

You have to go check it out!
http://shuttermomma.com/

Learn how to use your camera for free :)

just a week late...

So the past week was really busy for us so I have not been able to even get on the computer to post anything...I'm sorry! Ethan is home and has been since the day after his surgery. He was in ALOT of pain for a few days after he was discharged. In the most pain I have seen him actually. When they put this new shunt in they had to make an incision in his neck, so I think that was what was causing him so much pain. It is so hard to see your baby hurting so much and knowing there is not much I can do but give him a little pain medication. I was afraid to hold him wrong or to let him cry cause I knew it would be using the muscles in his neck. When Brayden got his first cold, I cried. When Brayden got his first scrap on his knee, I panicked and cried a bit more. But seeing Ethan, my 8 month old, suffer from pain from one of his numerous surgeries just about killed me.

The day I found out he would need another surgery I cried and kept asking why is this happening to us? Why him? I know Ethan is now considered an Ex- Preemie but he is still dealing with something that happened as a preemie baby...he kind of always will. Now that he has been home for a while (except for those two days) I find myself going back to his birthday day and all that time in the hospital. I cry, I get sad, I get angry and I try to figure out what I did wrong. It keeps me up at night but after I let myself "grieve" for a bit I think about the following poem that a friend of mine sent me right after Ethan's birth. I just have to remind myself that there is a reason I was chosen to be his mommy and how lucky I am that he is in my life.

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?



Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.


"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, Matthew.


Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia.


Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."


Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles.


"Give her a preemie."




The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."


"Exactly," smiles God.


"Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."


"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.


"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."


"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."


God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect She has just the right amount of selfishness."


The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"


God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary.


When her child says momma for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see-- ignorance, cruelty, prejudice-- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."


"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.


God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

Ethan has changed my life...for the good. He has made me view things with a whole new set of eyes. When he first did his "belly laugh" I cried so hard! I thought to myself why they heck am I crying...he is obviously so happy!!! Haha...but its because he is so happy that I was crying.:) Nothing brings this kid down.

Yes, he will have a few more surgeries in his life but he is healthy now. He has already overcame so much in his 8 months on the earth, he has already inspired so many.

We knew this day would come...

just did not think it would be so soon. On Monday I took Ethan to his GI appointment and it went great! The doc was impressed with how much weight he has gained. He is over 15 pounds which means he gained five pounds since he last saw him...which was only 20 days ago! His liver enzymes are back to normal now too(it was high due to a medication he was on before). So everything with that was good! Yesterday we had an appointment with his neurosurgeon for a followup...it was supposed to be an easy visit. So I decided taking Brayden with me would be fine...I was wrong. It was a long day! It turns out the shunt in his head that drains the fluid from his head to his tummy had stopped working!!! Ugh! He was not 100 percent sure at that time so he wanted Ethan to get a CT scan...lets just say an appointment that was supposed to be twenty min long turned into a whole day at the hospital getting tests done. After they confirmed that the shunt was in fact not working, he put Ethan down for surgery to fix the problem. That surgery happened today. We knew that he would need a revision, everybody with Shunts need revisions through out their life...was just hoping for it further down the road.

They started his surgery at 1 pm and it ended at 6...The longest 5 hours of our lives! They shunt stopped working where it was draining...it was in the beginning stages of another pseudo cyst. We had no idea! Thank god for that followup visit. He was acting fine and he was healthy! Before his surgery he was laughing and playing with his toys and doing all the things that he loves doing. The surgery went fine and it took so long because our surgeon is a perfectionist...they were no difficulties. They replaced the shunt and moved the end of the shunt to the heart. He now has a VA shunt. It is going to be more revisions and a little more complicated if he gets an infection but he is a strong baby...he has that on his side for sure.

Ethan is resting comfortably and they are keeping him overnight for observations. It was good that we caught the malfunction early before he started getting sick over it. Other than the malfunction he has been doing great and all the doctors are so impressed with him. We were in the cafeteria today after the surgery and we ran into one of the doctors that was in the OR today and he told my mom that he has dealt with so many preemies and he has never met an ex 28weeker who is doing so well and is so strong. He stressed how revisions with shunts are common...it is the piece of plastic a.k.a the shunt that is the problem...usually not the person. Yes, he spent a lot of time in the hospital before because of that pseudo cyst from his shunt but at the end of the day he is a lot luckier than other ex 28weekers. He has fought a tough fight and he has beat a lot of odds. I am so proud of him.

I have had a long 48 hours with little to no sleep. So I hope this all makes sense. We are praying that he does well tonight with pain and he doesn't get any fevers. I will write an update in a couple days. I can't wait to get my little monkey home.

Here is a picture of the lil man after his surgery...he is super sleepy cause they gave him some stuff for pain. But he is perfect...I love him so much!

Doctor Appointments and more...

Having Ethan home has been wonderful! He seems happy at home and has gotten into a schedule pretty well. I sometimes wonder if he remembers anything about the "hospital life". I know he is young but I just wonder if something will affect him from his life there...for example a certain smell. As his mom, I know things like that seem to affect me and probably will forever.

I knew when we brought Ethan home from the NICU (back in Sept) that he would have a few more doctors appointments than the average baby but I didn't realize how hard it would be to do it with two kiddos in tow. We usually have two to three appointments a week. He is followed by a few specialists on top of his regular pediatrician. Here is a little insight of all the doctor little man has to see :)

First one...When Ethan was in the hospital this last time he ended up with an infection so he is currently followed by someone who deals with infections. He doesn't have the infection anymore and hasn't but they follow their patients for a few months after to make sure it doesn't come back.

Second one...He is also followed by his neurosurgeon and this will be for his whole life. Since he has a shunt, he wants to see him to make sure everything is okay. After the first year it should move to once every 6 months then to once a year.

Third one...GI specialist. Ethan has a slight case of acid reflux and since he is a little behind on his weight GI wants to see him. And speaking of weight, Ethan in now 14pounds 3oz! That it great because in the hospital he wasn't gaining any weight and left there at 9 pounds. Home was where he needed to be!

Fourth one... Physical therapy. Being a preemie automatically qualifies him for PT because they usually start off a little behind. Add the extra months he was in the hospital makes PT alot more important for him.  They said that he is on schedule for his adjusted age but has a little problem with being tight on one side of his neck and that is caused from laying in bed those extra months in the hospital.

Fifth one...His pediatrician. He sees him about once every two weeks...Sometimes once a week.  Add sick season and and ear infections with Brayden...I see that guy as much as my hubby!

Sixth one...I think you can count this as 6. When Ethan had his infection the doctors put him on a antibiotic that cause his liver to be inflamed. Now that he is off of it..they numbers haven't really gotten better. So poor little Ethan has been getting blood drawn like every week. In fact, he has to get some taken tomorrow before PT.

So as you can see life can get a little hectic but I am accompanied by two amazing little boys through all the school drop off/doctors appointments/blood work...they make me smile.

I am in love with these faces...

Oh and this face too!!! :) My wonderful hubby. Side note this a picture from when Ethan first came home this last time. Look how skinny he was...he has a double chin now!!

Is the sick season over yet?

We have been fighting colds in this house for the past few weeks and we can not get rid of it! Last Monday Brayden woke up sick and my efforts of keeping Brayden and Ethan away from eachother did not work cause on Wednesday Ethan woke up with a cold too. Sick season with a preemie is always hard...it is RSV season so anytime he has a cold we have to watch him close! We took them to the doctors on Friday just to make sure and it is just the common cold along with an ear infection for Brayden. We caught Brayden's ear infection at the start so his ear is not bothering him at all...we are hopeful this is our last round of colds...crossing fingers and toes!

Besides trying to fight these never ending colds we have been just enjoying time as a family :)

March for Babies...

Prematurity is a scary and real thing that happens everyday!!! Most of the time it comes out of nowhere, what you may think is the perfect pregnancy comes crashing down when contractions start early or your water breaks. When Ethan was in the Children's Hospital NICU, there were close to 70 other babies in there. 70!!!! 70 babies who are in there fighting for their lives and as we know from experience it doesn't stop once they get discharged from the NICU. It is something that they will have to deal with everyday of their lives, of our lives.

I don't want anyone else to have to live the life we have. That is why March of Dimes- March for Babies walk is extremely important to me, scratch that to my whole family. I started Team Ethan Hunter to help raise money for all the future babies, so they can all be born healthy. I am will be walking for my son but also for all the little preemies I know. Sadly, I need two hands to count those babies.

Now that we have settled at home with Ethan, we are going to start promoting this walk. Its such an important cause to us. ( I am starting to recruit people too :) )The walk is on May 7th at Fashion Island in Newport. I am taking this post to ask my friends, family and the rest of the blog world to help join me in this fight. If you can join our team and walk for Ethan and help us reach our goal of $1000, we would be forever grateful. My boys will be there, in their stroller walking with us. :) Or if you would like to donate in honor of Ethan, you can click on the March of Dimes button I have on the sidebar of this blog(you can click on that as well if you want to join us and walk). All the money that is donated goes directly to the March of Dimes and to their research.

 Here is a picture of our preemie, Ethan, on the 17th day of his life. I am walking in honor of this little man and because of the research of the March of Dimes and his strength he in currently in his crib taking a nap :)

We are so thankful to everyone for all the support, the thoughts and the prayers we have received the past 8 months!!!

This is what life is all about...

I was laying in bed the other night after Ethan's 2am feeding and I looked over at Ethan on my right who was in his co-sleeper sleeping away, Brayden and my husband on my left and I just smiled. ( yes you read that right, we have both boys in our room with us and we couldn't be happier right now...it will change soon though :) ) It was like at that moment all the weight of the past seven months were lifted off my shoulders right then and there. I thought to myself... this is what life is supposed to be like, this is how a mommy to a new baby boy should feel like, this is what all of those other moms have been feeling like. It was good. I am in love with my family.
 
Okay so now on to a little update on Ethan. He is doing well at home. He has gained a little over a pound in the week he has been home. He is 11lbs now...left the hospital at 9lbs 13 oz. He just wasn't gaining much weight at the hospital and I guess being home was just what he needed. :) He has had a couple of followup appointments the past week and they were very happy with him and the progress he made the past week at home. One of our favorite PICU doctors told me that he helps children start to feel better but they will never heal at the hospital, they always heal at home. I 100 % agree with that.

Milestones are going to be a tough one for the first two years. As an ex preemie he is already going to be a little behind. When a doctor follows a preemies milestones they don't go by his actual age, they go by his gestational age. So what age he would have been if he was born full term. He would technically be 5 months on Feb 2nd and for that he is meeting most of his milestones. Which is not bad seeing he was in the hospital and on his back for almost 7 months. The Physical therapy people at the hospital did not expect him to be so strong...I worked with him every chance I got at the hospital. I was and still am a determined momma! Ethan can hold his head up and if I am holding his hips he can sit up. He has rolled from tummy to back a few times(just started this at home). He smiles, laughs, coos, reaches for objects. If he hears one of our voices he moves his head towards us to listen and raises his eyebrows like he is trying to understand what we are saying :) The only time he really cries is if we are in the car and stopped at a light or stop sign and if he has to wait for his bottle to be warmed. When he is hungry...he is expecting the bottle in his mouth asap. :)

Some of his favorite things to do are:
Blowing bubbles with his mouth
Still loves his pacifier
Splashing in his little bathtub
Smile at his brother
Loves being held

Here are a few pictures of his first week home...I have more but some are on my phone and on another computer. I will post a few more later. :)

Our first pictures as a family of four!

Since Ethan came home from the NICU, I have wanted to have pictures done as a family. Every time we planned on a date, he would end up back in the hospital before we could get them done. Well we have some now!! I am so happy! I have a wonderful best friend who happens to be an amazing photographer. Check them out here...family pictures.

Erin...you have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you for always being there for me the past 7 months. I love you so much!

I'm putting the picture below on this post (but check out the rest on her blog) because it is my first picture with my son without any wires attached or machines in the background. I am completely in love with it. This pictures brings tears to my eyes every time I look at it. It melts my heart. I am so in love with him and I admire him so.

We are so happy, the happiest we have been in a long time. We smile more, we laugh more and we are cherishing every moment.

He is home!

Ethan came home today!!! We are so happy and he is doing so well. He just went down for a nap and his been up all day bonding with his big bro. Brayden is so happy. I will post pictures and update over the weekend. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!!!

Alot better

Ethan is doing alot better today! He started eating last night and is back to his regular feeding schedule/amount. They need to move his medicine to oral meds and make sure the formula is right for him (make sure he is gaining the weight he should be) then he should be good to go. He is such a strong little one!

Recovery sucks

ethan is in alot of pain after this surgery. Its not as bad as yesterday but he is still in some pain. We are hoping it will get better as the days go by. He has not been to interested in eating and just wants to sleep. He deserves a break...hopefully soon! Just wanted to update everyone on the little guy.  Cant wait till he is home and to give him a normal life.

Had a good day!

Today was the day that we have been waiting for...Ethan had his surgery to internalize his shunt. That means he is SOOOOOOOOOO close to coming home. They said next week sometime we should be bringing him home. He needs to recouperate from this surgery and show them for about three days that he can gain weight. They just changed him from milk to formula. So he is doing well and we see a light at the end of this tunnel.

I think Brayden knew something was happening with Ethan today. He had school today but wanted us to pick him up and bring him to the hospital to see Ethan. I am so blessed that Brayden is absolutely in love with his little brother. I was afraid Brayden was going to have a hard time but he loves him so. He has a nickname for him too..."little guy" ;)

We are smiling more these days and can't wait to be a family of four again under one roof!

Polka Dot Monkey

Ever since Ethan was born, I have been calling him my little monkey. His room is monkey themed...alot of his outfits have little monkeys on it so its actually really perfect that his favorite toy is his Monkey. His uncle Chad got it for him for Christmas and its been his favorite since. If he is a little fussy or can't get comfortable to sleep, I put his monkey by him he takes his arm lays it on him and his eyes close instantly. Thinking i need to invest in a couple more of these monkeys!

My 365 day project

A few posts back I mentioned I was going to take a picture a day of my life and put it on the site. Well then I thought about it and decided to keep this site for updates of my family and I dont want to crowd this site so you have to go searching for Ethan updates...so I started a new blog in case you want to follow along with me. My plan is to make an album of all the pictures after the year is over.

http://burnsfampictures.blogspot.com/

I will put the link on the side :)

trying this picture a day thing...

Here is day two ;)
We went and saw Ethan today and spent a couple hours with him.

2011 is finally here!!!

Happy New Years!!!!

I have never wanted a year to be over so bad...I was really excited to start 2011. I was counting the hours on the 31st :) Don't get me wrong 2010 had its amazing moments...My husband and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary, Brayden turned two, I felt my little man kicking in my tummy and on June 15th I gave birth Ethan. But since that date life changed and I changed. Its been scary, its been hard, its been emotionally draining to sum it up its been a roller coaster!

Even though I was excited that's its over, I am actually really thankful for what it taught me. 2010 was the year in my life that changed me. I am no where near the woman I was on June 14th. I appreciate more, I savor every moment with my family, I am stronger, I have learned that if I truly believe in something to fight for it and the list goes on. But there is one thing that I regret not doing...Smiling more.

With that said, I have to say that I have a real good feeling about 2011. No, Ethan isn't home to start off the New Year with us but I know he will be soon :) He spent the first day of the year with his big brother and seeing them together has made me feel so positive about this year. There is no one that can make Ethan happier then his big brother. It made a day that should have been kind of sad actually really wonderful. We laughed and we smiled and we enjoyed being a family of four. Alot of people I know and some of the blogs I follow are starting this thing to take a picture a day for 365 days. I think I am going to do that too. Or at least try too :) I want to remember everything about this year, whether were in the hospital or not. That will be one of my resolutions!

So here is a list of my resolutions...hoping to keep them all this year!

1. Smile more
2. See the good in everything that happens.
3. Start jogging
4. Drink more water (been living off caffeine these days)
5. record everything that happens this year (the 365 picture thing)
6. try to stay more organized (my house has been lacking in this department)
7. Bring my baby home!!!!!!

Here is the first picture of the year