One Year Ago

One year ago this weekend Ethan was born. The actual date was Nov. 19th, but tonight as Tim and I were leaving the house around 6:00, I thought about how it was kind of like a year ago tonight that we were going to the hospital to bring Ethan into the world.

We found out we were pregnant on a Thursday early in March. The next Sunday I left for Washington, D.C., with my students and a bad cold/case of the flu. I was feeling better by the end of the week. The next week was Spring Break, and we went to my parents to tell them and then on to St. George/Mesquite, where we were meeting Tim's parents for a short vacation. That was a lot of fun, because Gabe and Karen had been talking about having grandkids for quite some time.

I was really hungry and pretty tired those first few months of being pregnant. By the fourth month, everything seemed normal, except that I was getting bigger, but not quite looking pregnant. That was an awkward time--not fitting in my own clothes, but not big enough for maternity clothes. Tim and I went on vacation to California and stayed in Ritz-Carlton's almost the entire time, thanks to Tim's friend Paul, who got us a deal. One memory from the trip was the morning we went down to the beach for a yoga session led by the Yoga Nazi, who kept saying, "Christine, you must straighten your leg! I thought you said you had done yoga before!" while she grabbed Tim's hips to turn them into awkward positions. It was so not relaxing.

That summer during Ethan's pregnancy, I walked a lot. I continued exercising up until the week before Ethan was born. I also was finishing my Master's Degree, so I had to take an archaeology class and go digging in holes over one meter deep in the hot sun with no bathrooms somewhere near Glenn's Ferry, Idaho. I finished my final project for my last master's class on Nov. 1, about two weeks before Ethan was due, and gave my oral presentation on Nov. 30, two weeks after he was born. God was good in helping with the timing in getting everything done.

I worked really hard at school the fall before Ethan was born. Almost every Saturday I spent getting tests and plans ready for when I would be on maternity leave. When I would get home, my guilty pleasure for some reason was playing Yahtzee. I played hundreds of games of Yahtzee on my own while sitting on the couch. It was really weird, but I guess I enjoyed doing something that I knew I would never have the time or desire to do ever again.

As my due date approached, I did not seem to be getting closer to giving birth. I wasn't feeling too bad, although I was getting a little tired of people telling me their stories of long, painful, late labors. My due date was Friday, Nov. 10th, and that week we gave finals and my handbell choirs had their concert. Months before, I hadn't expected that I would still be around. It's a nostalgic feeling as I think about the final days of waiting. I got a really bad cold and was able to stay home the next week of school. That was the most wonderful blessing, because I didn't have to hear anyone else say, "You haven't had the baby yet?!" or ask me how I was doing. And I had time to reflect and relax and enjoy my last days of just being me and not a mom.

The Friday of that week I went to the library and got some really good books, then went to a bagel shop and enjoyed a treat and started reading one of the books. That's one of my favorite things to do, and I still go do that every once in a while, even with Ethan around. The next day Tim and I read together under cozy blankets all morning, then decided to go see a movie. We saw "Accepted" (I think that's what it was called; it had to do with kids who weren't accepted into college, so they started their own school). Towards the end of the movie, I had what I thought might have been my first contraction. We ran some errands after the movie and I kept having more contractions every 20 minutes or so. When we got home, Tim and I went for a walk around the block. Tim says that I couldn't even make it around the whole block, but obviously I did, because it's not like he had to carry me.

For the next few hours I straightened up the house, ate a little bit of food, and kept having contractions. Tim watched football, but that was good, because I was trying to occupy my mind and concentrate on doing whatever you're supposed to do when you're about to have a baby.

About 6 o'clock I decided that we needed to go to the hospital (I'm such a wimp, I just wanted to get that epidural as soon as possible). On the way, we ran into traffic as a football game let out. A traffic controller had us wait for a bunch of cars leaving the parking lot. Tim wanted to get out of the car and say, "Hey, my wife's having a baby! We need to get through."

At the hospital, I'm not sure that the nurses really thought that I was in real labor, but since I was already a week overdue and was scheduled to be induced the next day, they let me stay. They might have given me some drugs to help the process along. That was much appreciated. Those labor and delivery nurses are the absolute best. Ours was named April and she was so encouraging and kind about explaining the process and giving me suggestions. It's a little sad that she is there for such a special moment in your life, and then she drops you off in your hospital room several hours later and you never even get to talk to her again or thank her.

Well, Ethan was finally born the next morning at 12:19 a.m. He was 7 lbs. 14oz., 21 1/2 inches. The doctor that delivered him practically dropped him when he tried to sit down on a chair that wasn't there. Thankfully, he was pretty agile, and even though he fell down, he saved the baby. I didn't care. Those first few moments of meeting your child are so special. I just wanted to see whether he was a boy or a girl. I was somewhat surprised that he was a boy, but we really had no idea. I like waiting until the birth to find out, because it just increases the excitement all the more, but I don't know that I'll do that with every baby we have.

I loved being in the hospital room and waking up to feed Ethan. It's amazing when you have your own baby. I don't feel like I had much experience with babies before Ethan, but when you have one of your own, it's nice just knowing that he's all yours to hold and take care of.

We stayed at the hospital that night and one more night. That day, several friends from church came to visit--Tera, Mandy, Morris. And my parents drove all the way up from Utah to see us. They just stayed for less than an hour, but it was pretty cool that they made a special trip just to see their little grandson. Gabe and Karen and Kristi came to the hospital about an hour after he was born.

On Monday, we took Ethan home and learned how to take care of him and watch him grow.

Dear Ethan,

Monday you will turn one year old! Here are the things you like to do now:

• Take your pants off and throw them out of the crib before you take a nap.
• Play ball.
• Play in the kitchen.
• Play with your daddy and your grandma and grandpa.
• You love pizza and cottage cheese.
• You're learning to fold your hands when we pray.
• Your favorite book is "Hi, Pizza Man," but you also like nursery rhymes and many other books.
• You took your first steps this week!
• You are ticklish on your neck and by your arms.
• You love to take your bath every night before you go to bed.
• You love to play peek-a-boo!

We are so thankful you are in our life. May God always watch over you and walk by your side as you grow and learn.

Love, Mom and Dad