Me and Milestones: Ethan Jeffery Copas

Born at 2:29 am on April 27th, 2013 weighing in at 5 lbs. 12 oz. and 19.5 inches.

This baby boy came into our world with gusto. His birth story will be up soon, as I've decided to let daddy write it from his point of view which I'm SO EXCITED to read. Birth stories are often from the mother's point of view but my sweet husband was the ultimate support person and I could not have done it without him. So, let's talk baby EJ. From that first moment we knew about him....

It was labor day weekend last year and being newlyweds and Still recovering from the entire month of July being a grand hullabaloo, we decided to stay in and just veg out. We got snacks galore and had a list of movies to watch (coincidentally, What To Expect When You're Expecting was on that list! Ha!) and hunkered down with our furry boys (Dozer and Kimo, our puppy babies). I had been feeling very tired for almost 2 weeks. By the end of the work day, I had been feeling completely exhausted and almost always needed an extra push in the middle of the day. My period was due the following week so I attributed everything to that. I also could not eat enough. I was both always hungry, and always craving SOMETHING. I couldn't pin this mystery craving down, which meant eating everything I could in every flavor profile. I had experienced some cramping the week before and my periods are almost always accompanied with an achy uterus. Again, nothing out of the norm. The only thing that was strange at the time was how my oldest pup, Dozer could not take his beautiful almond eyes off me. He's mama's baby so of course his level of affection was pretty much the same (aka we were always glued together) but when he wasn't cuddling with me, his eyes were darted on me. It got to the point where I would ask him WHAT it was that he was looking at but his answer would only be more stares. We joked about my appetite and his stares on Saturday, September 1st. Then, Sunday came and I was still as tired as ever, if not more. I even said to my husband that if I was still this tired after I got my period, then I should see a doctor because I just couldn't shake the exhaustion. It was in the middle of the day, and I just felt...off. The tiredness, my appetite, my pup not blinking. SOMETHING was trying to get my attention. I told my husband I was more concerned, and I just felt a certain way and he asked if I wanted to take a pregnancy test. I had taken one a couple of weeks before and it was negative and that was the last time we wanted to do that. We were both more sad than we thought we would be and truly did not want to experience that again. I guess the air just felt right to us because we were both excited that we would even be in the position to take a test. I mean, I hadn't even missed my period yet-- it was 5 days away! Those instincts women are blessed with sure do work, I must say! I went into the bathroom and already, I was shaking. I didn't know what it was, I don't recall being SO nervous when I peed on the last one. Once I peed, I went to wipe and that test that is suppose to take 3 minutes to give you results, gave me a BFP within seconds. At this point, my heart was jumping out of my chest and I was both on the verge of crying and laughing hysterically. This energy came out the best way and I ran to my husband and waved that positive pregnancy test in the air like a magic wand and he jumped to his feet and embraced me so tightly, I almost couldn't breath. We both cried into each other and stood there both speechless and swept off our feet. We couldn't believe! Like all couples thinking about baby, we had so many fears about conceiving. Would it be easy for us? What if it wasn't...? How long would it take? We felt so blessed and thanked God right then and there for blessing us with a baby so soon after we decided to try. (It was probably 2 weeks since I had began taking prenatal vitamins to help prepare my body for this little addition.) So now. We're pregnant! We want to scream it to the world but felt better waiting the standard 13 weeks just to be safe. BUT...of course my husband is bursting at the seams and he wants to tell our best friends who happen to live a lovely stroll away from us. So, we do and we celebrate and we can't wait for the next 9 months. From that moment on, I was a mother, my husband was a father and we were just chomping at the bits to meet this little baby growing inside me.

We were also blessed with an excellent pregnancy! I went through all the usual textbook bouts of nausea, body aches and pains but my body responded so well to the little bean. I was always in good spirits and didn't start feeling too uncomfortable until late into my pregnancy. Even on my worst day, I was as happy as ever and my husband always called me the happiest pregnant girl around. Being pregnant was such a joyous time for me. I often miss it because it's such a spiritual feeling that you just can not get again until you are pregnant again and pregnancies result in babies and for now, our little plumpy boy is just enough for us. Being pregnant means everyone around is pregnant too. My husband wanted to experience this pregnancy with me so we gave up all the good sinful things together. I couldn't eat my beloved salmon sashimi, so my husband decided he wouldn't indulge either. He shared my cravings, my sleepiness, and really made me feel beautiful as my body kept changing...and expanding. His usual attentiveness grew 100 fold, as if possible, and I still am so appreciative of this.

Now that EJ is here and almost 19 weeks old, he is the happiest, sweetest baby! Even though he was a newborn yesterday, today he is a bubbly baby who doesn't think he's a baby at all. He smiles constantly and loves loves loves looking people in the face, hearing their voice and just seeing them smile too. He's just like mama in mood and temperament but came out looking exactly like daddy. His favorite things right now are daddy and the many games they play, mommy and the many songs she's sings, bath time, nursing (that has been a constant since birth), Elliot the elephant, a Japanese Veggie Song and standing up with assistance...I'm sure this makes him feel like a big boy. His least favorite things are being on a car ride for too long, being gassy, changing his clothes, when daddy sneezes when he's sleeping or when daddy drops dishes in the sink when he's sleeping, being woken up before he's ready and not being able to put mommy's iphone in his mouth. He is a complete joy and wonder to us and every day, we learn something new about this little boy who has put us in a trance. WE'RE PARENTS. I can't get over it. I never will. Now...here's a lot of cuteness to look at.

Why, hello little guy!