Carter

Here are some more recent pictures of Carter. Most of his little outfits are still a little too big but these few outfits do fit so here are the pictures. The only thing that has changed with him is that his tear ducts are plugged in both eyes but I'm hoping they will open up eventually without any "help" from the doctor. Also-here is a picture of Grandma Blakeslee and Carter. She came for a week and was a great help. We loved having her here. Enjoy. Be sure to notice Carter's matching shoes with his baseball outfit. Those shoes only stay on about 3 minutes but it's worth it.

The Last Few Days

After posting about Carter's birth I realized that I never gave the "whole story." Monday morning it was determined that within the last few hours my body had developed the Hellp syndrome. (you may want to search it on the internet, it is very hard to explain) It is very rare and can be quite serious. My platelets dropped to a super low level which meant my blood may not be able to clot after childbirth. My liver enzymes had risen to a scary level which meant it could rupture if something wasn't done. So within a half an hour we were told we needed to have an immediate C-section and because my platelets were so low, I could have no spinal or epidural which is the normal way to do a C-section. I had to go completely under with general anesthesia, which means I missed everything and didn't get to see my baby until I came out of anesthesia. The C-section had to be done in about 2 minutes because they didn't want the baby to be put to sleep as well. And since this was real surgery, Neil didn't even get to be in the operating room and didn't see the baby until about 25 minutes after he was born. Right after surgery though, my body came out the Hellp syndrome and I have no lasting effects. The baby was never in danger during this whole thing, only I was. So now I have a nasty scar that I get to keep forever which means I will never get to be a bikini model!! Just kidding. But here are some pictures of Carter in the hospital and coming home. He was just as tired of having nurses come in every hour and poke and prod him as I was! We are just very glad that everything came out so well, we are very lucky and grateful. Here are some pictures of our stay in the hospital, coming home and our first day at home. Carter is a very sweet baby and very mellow.

Carter is FINALLY here!!

Carter Joseph Etherington arrived yesterday, Monday, June 16th at 11:53 am, via C-section. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. He is 21 inches long. Everything is going well for me and him. You can't really tell in these pictures but he has some really cute brown hair and a generous portion of it! More pics and details to come later.

No baby yet............

We still do not have a baby, and I'm beginning to think that we may never have one. After having regular (and excruciating) contractions on Wednesday for about 12 hours, they stopped as suddenly as they started. So who knows if they will start again or if I will carry this child till his high school graduation. The Dr. said he wouldn't let me be pregnant past June 28th and I almost cried at that date......one week past my due date. And as suddenly as my blood pressure went up 2 weeks ago, today it was better than ever! All these signs of toximia that presented themselves 2 weeks ago have basically disappeared. My body has been doing some crazy things lately. So that is the latest, nothing! I am dilated 2 cm but that could stay the same for a long time. So after reading this blog, do you feel as depressed as I feel? If not, please read again and imagine yourself in my shoes!-or my maternity pants for that matter.
As a side note, my sweet husband surprised me with a generous gift card to the mall, any store that I want. It's to use after I lose the baby weight and get some cute clothes. And the longer this baby takes to get here, the longer I have to wait to use it!

Carter's Room

Ok-here are a couple of pictures of Carter's room. I am still working on adding a bookshelf and maybe a couple of other things. The only thing really missing is Carter. He is in NO hurry to get here. One of the pictures is NOT straight so his name letters look all crooked. But believe me, I've checked his room a million times and they really aren't that crooked. Enjoy.

Fat Amanda

Ok-after many threats I will finally post a picture of myself. I hesitate to post this picture because it doesn't make me look my smallest.......but then again, let's be honest, I'm carrying a full term baby. Depending on what top I"m wearing, depends on how big/bigger I look. So enjoy-because I may be pulling this picture off after awhile. Or maybe I'll try and take some better pictures that don't make me look as big. But luckily there are some really pretty tulips in the background. Our tulips finally bloomed and look amazing.
Enjoy!

The Etherington Family

Here is my first post to see if it even works.