I haven't written about Ewan in months. Even though I've started updates in my head I've been bad and not actually posted anything... at all. I'm even behind on my picture posting. Bad Mama.

Ewan is pushing 8 months old... 8! He's been sitting up since he was 6 months old. He somewhat magically went from kind of sitting up to a pro up-sittinger. This image was taken just about that time.

He got his first tooth on a Thursday- the 17th of April, I think, and then got another one right next to it the following Thursday! And we haven't seen anymore since. However, those two little teeth are sharp enough to make up for only being two of them. Ewan... well, Ewan likes to bite things. He makes me yelp with pain. Little bugger.

He has grown so much. He was 16.5lbs at his 6 month doctor visit. I haven't weighed him since, but he's definitely grown. I would be surprised if he's pushing 19lbs. He's getting harder to carry around iin some ways. He's wearing everything from 6-9month clothes to 9-12 month clothes.

Ewan is getting really close to crawling. He's rolling all over the place and pushing up really well. He does the scoot thing and rocks back and forth on his hands and knees. I think he's also getting some of the walking concept. He loves to stand and be pulled up onto his feet. We seriously need to get on the child proofing thing. He already grabs everything and does the turn it over and over to look at it thing. His dexterity has really increased. He hasn't really gotten the hang of feeding himself with a spoon, but he's all over the bottle.

He's had more of the bottle than I'd really like. I haven't been taking very good care of myself and am having a really hard time keeping up with him. I basically can't at this point in time. So, he gets some of me, then some solids, and/or gets supplemented with a bottle. I think he may eat too much sometimes. This isn't really going as I had hoped.

Ewan is such a joy. He's hilarious. He does all sorts of funny things and I love his laugh. Dad has the market cornered on that one. He and Dad get along pretty well these days (when they're having fun). He says mama and dada sounds. He talks to the cats (which still scares them). He definitely remembers people. He's just one cool little dude and I love watching people light up when they meet him. And of course I love watching him light up when he sees me. I just wish I had things worked out a little better so that I could spend more time with that- but I think things are about to change pretty soon here. I always feel guilty when I'm away from him.

I will have to post some pictures soon... actual recent ones... with him covered in carrots.

Ewan had a big adventure last weekend. He, his Grandma Tamara, squidgyfishlove and myself went to Cannon Beach, OR after stopping off in Portland, OR to see kevbonium.

Some Firsts for Ewan:

Saturday, 10 November, 2007:

• Holiday/Road Trip


• Leaves WA State


• Visit to Oregon


• Meets Uncle Kevbo


• Unassisted High-5


• Visit to Portland


• Visit to Cannon Beach


• Stay in a Hotel

Sunday, 11 November, 2007:

• Visits the Pacific Ocean


• Alone with Dad (even though we were only 4 blocks and a text away)


• Receives first components of Brio Train collection

Monday, 12 November, 2007:

• One Month Old


• Category 2 Hurricane

( Developmental Progress )

I'm really looking forward to getting home and seeing him today.

Outlook says it's Wednesday the 24th already. How in the bloody hell did that happen? I swear it must be last week!

Ewan is almost 2 weeks old, and I think we're sort of getting settled in. Today I'm trying to get a few things done because I can't take any more of this resting crap. I feel lazy- and that's no good. I do realize that if I don't rest then I won't heal, but a girl can only take so much. So, Ewan is trying out the sling so I can type a little bit. I have 4 pages of a bigger update in draft on the laptop... I'll post it at some point.

Ewan Updates

Yesterday we went to our 2 week postpartum visit at the midwife. She checked out Ewan- he's good. She checked out me- I'm good, including my stitches, with which I was a little concerned. I've lost 20lbs of my pregnancy weight... still 14 to go. Apparently this is a good thing, but I was really hoping it would all be gone. Alas, I think I know where the rest of it can be found- most of it is in my bra... the rest is sitting on my hips. BAH! Freakin' mom body.

Oh yeah... I'm a mum. Weeeeeird.

Ewan's weight experienced the usual drop following birth. The bench mark is to regain weight and return to birth weight by two weeks. As of yesterday, Ewan weighed 7lbs 2oz, so he's a little ahead of the curve. He's definitely been eating enough! This means that nursing is triumphant. We had some major troubles with that for the first week, but I think we're getting the hang of it... mostly. Stephen and I both think he's getting/gotten his first growth spurt. He already looks bigger and I think he's put on a little more baby pudge- namely in his cheeks. He's already growing up! *sob* Ah well... it probably wouldn't hurt him to grow into the newborn sized clothing. He's still a little guy.

Sadly, Ewan got his first heal prick yesterday. He took it like a man, but I didn't enjoy it. So I guess we're getting the PKU after all.

Other than that... Ewan is super cute. He shows off his dimples pretty regularly. I found his ticklish spot on his neck and he seems to like a little bit of tickling. I definitely like the very near giggling. He also has semi ticklish feet. I think he and I are getting along pretty well. He likes sleeping on my chest and I don't like putting him down so that's working out alright. He really enjoys classical music (though right now we're listening to the bleepy stuff). He still keeps me up a lot of the night, but we're getting better all around.

squidyfishlove has had to go back to work this week, so it's been a bit harder for me, but we're getting the hang of it. I don't think I could have survived last week if Stephen had been working... somewhat literally. I've had to be on extreme rest to get these stitches to heal and I'm still bleeding. There is a very direct correlation between the amount of bleeding and the amount of rest I get. I spent the last two days pretty much hanging out on the couch and watching movies with Ewan and so was doing a little better- until I started running up and down the stairs last night and trying to get ready for company (there has a been a lot of that too). Today I'm trying to find a balance. I can't stand to sit on my arse anymore, but I don't want to end up with an infection. I actually have antibiotics here if I need them because I had a fever and some yucky symptoms at the end of last week, but I have held off on starting them because my stomach has been bad enough without allowing those to strip my system. No thank you. Eating is hard enough as it is. Especially since we've been living off of pizza for the last three days... I'm so glad it's gone. Thankfully the pizza was offset with a box of SUPER JUICY pears, apples and other goodies from Harry and David, sent by aunt Linda, uncle mark, and cousin Adam. (THANK YOU!) I wish I could just ask for a glass of juice and have it magically appear again like I was getting so accustomed to with Stephen free.

He's really kicked in with the housework- I've been pretty impressed. He won't let anyone touch the kitchen- it's his area. I haven't done a single load of laundry since Ewan was born- I also can't find a lot of things, but oh well. Mom has been over here and there, but she mainly just gets to hold Ewan while I sleep or hang out and make food for me while I feed the little dude. The few days she's been able to come over have been really good. Now that everyone is back to work, except for me, and it's been a couple of weeks, I'm trying to adjust to life with baby. It's weird. I don't know where the time goes. It seems like I'm constantly feeding and changing him, I'm still pretty tired. But I really enjoy him being around all the time. It makes me weepy- in a good way. I fear I've gone soft.

Things I would like to do, however: get an entire night of sleep, feel truly rested, put on make-up, spend some time on skin care, ride my motorcycle!, clean everything, frame some things, hang some things, go visit kevbonium in Portland, go have some really good coffee, go snowboarding, etc.

Ewan-8714
Originally uploaded by NicoleRaine

Ewan Andrew Terhune

Born 12 October, 2007, 02:14 AM. 7 lbs, 19.5 inches.

More pics of Ewan are here on Flickr.

So... Stephen is pretty great. He may not let me sit on him because apparently my belly is not a pillow, it's a bowling ball (his words not mine), but he did put the crib together while I was at work today.

Yay! It's rickety and I'm not entirely convinced it's safe, but it's in one piece!

I have provided yet another camera phone pic for your viewing pleasure. I guess this means we just need a couple of accessories (a crib bumper, bed skirt, and a twilight turtle) and we're well on our way to uber cuteness. Huzzah.




Edit/Note: We are planning to make another go at sturdying the crib and probably lowering the mattress- we, of course, would not use it unless we thought it was really safe. And, we are aware that there is a level of user error and McGuivery going on here as we had to take our best guess at what we needed, and that may not have been entirely correct.

Today's post is brought to you by the letters A and G (for anxious and grumpy). Just fair warning.

So! Today marks the first day of the Third Trimester. Good bye relative comfort and having energy again. Good bye to being able to see my feet and reach them. Good bye riding my motorcycle. Good bye to still "having a ways to go."

Hello edema. Hello being tired all the time again. Hello increased back pain. Hello Braxton-Hicks Contractions. Hello Colostrom production and swollen breasts. Hello increased mood swings and crying fits. Hello Anxiety Attacks?! (What's that all about anyway?!) Hello driving on four wheels all the time, everywhere. Hello count down to baby. Hello birthing classes. Hello buying the big ticket items we've been putting off (like a carseat, the pushchair, and a breast pump). Hello pregnant waddle and unrelenting acid reflux.

But most importantly... in three months, Hello Baby!!! That's right. For those of you who need a reminder, our due date is 9 October- three months from today. Just a staggering 12 weeks to go after this one.

( Second Trimester Wrap Up )
( Third Trimester )
( Baby Shower info and Registries )

So, someone was complaining today that we haven't updated since the 9th (five days ago). So I'm updating. May I please remind that person that we've been out of town from the 10th until today?

Geeze, and what should I say? My uterus is now sitting on top of my bladder and boy is that no fun!
I still feel like I'm just inflating and huge. Even though I know this is nothing... it will only get worse. However, I do feel somewhat vindicated in that my book says (and all the week 23 email newsletters) that from this week on the baby will be gaining some serious weight. Between now and week 27 (so just over three weeks), the baby's weight will double. It's just over a pound right now (supposedly)... Basically from here until week 27 (the beginning of the 3rd trimester), it will gain about 1/4 of a pound per week. After that, during the 3rd trimester, it will gain 1/2 a pound a week until it's born.
So... basically that doesn't mean good news for my waistline- or the BLOODY STRETCH MARKS!!! I've been battling those for a couple of weeks with cream that squidgyfishlove despises. I did not take it on vacation with us, and now, as of this weekend, the stretch marks are getting the upper hand. This makes me sad. I thought I was too fat to get these things. I thought that not being fit would be on my side in this matter. But no. No. NO. Hrumph. Maybe it's time for a different cream regime.

Other than that, the baby has been really active this weekend. Apparently it likes to travel and I think that's fabulous. It also has discovered the new trick of rolling over and initiating the urge use the loo. The fact that my uterus is now sitting, yes sitting on my bladder may explain this. It still likes to play with my fingers and follow them around my belly. It's also kicking Stephen more often. Go baby! :) However, this increased level of activity seems to make me hungry and tired.

Also, I have discovered that over-doing-it is getting much easier to do. Common side effects this are as follows: emotional instability, irritability, crying about stupid things, back pain, and the ever dreaded Pregnant Walk. I now completely understand this phenomenon. I thought I would be safe from this for a couple of months, but I was wrong. When tired, I have no defense. It's sad.

That's all you get today. At least in this installment.

P.S. Really. Horrible. Dreams.