A Christmas Eve Eve Surprise

Even though he wasn't supposed to show up for another few weeks, Ethan Andrew Corbin decided to make an early appearance. I'm so glad Anthony was able to come home when he did because I don't know what I would have done without him and this little adventure. Anthony arrived on Saturday afternoon, and Will and I were very happy to see him. Will hesitated a little at first, but it seemed like the busy airport was throwing him as well. Once we got in the car, Will started talking more, and ever since, he wants Anthony to hold him all the time.

On Sunday morning, I started having a few contractions but they stopped, so we weren't too concerned. I had a doctor's appointment Monday, and the doctor said I could go anytime. An hour and a half later, I started having contractions again. I don't think he meant I would go into labor right away, but apparently Ethan took that as the go-ahead. Everything was off and on for a few hours, but by that evening, they were coming pretty regularly. I still debated about whether or not we should go to the hospital, so I went ahead and made dinner and followed my normal routine, but we decided to go ahead and ask Katie Corbin to come over and watch Will in case we did need to leave. A little after 9:00, we thought it would be best to at least go and check things out, and we ended up being admitted within the hour. Everything went very smoothly (once my second dose of the epidural kicked in), and luckily the doctor made it just in time so the nurse didn't have to deliver the baby herself. Ethan came so quickly that the nurse had to tell me to quit laughing with Anthony (which Anthony pointed out is probably not something she often has to tell patients) because it was making me accidentally push. Ethan was born at 5:07 a.m. on December 23, weighing 6 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/4 inches long. He was having some trouble breathing, which was something we had been concerned might happen since he was exactly 37 weeks. But the NICU team was able to stabilize him, and Anthony and I were able to hold him for a bit. On the way to the nursery, the nurse saw that he was still panting and grunting, so she went ahead and took him to the NICU for monitoring, and that's where he's been ever since. The next few days will tell us a lot about what needs to be done, and the doctors are still deciding whether it's an infection, fluid, or lung immaturity. From everything we've heard, no one is overly concerned about his condition. We just need to find out what will be best to help him breathe correctly. He does have a breathing tube, but it is not pumping oxygen--it is mostly to help him stretch out his lungs and make it easier to take breaths--and he has a feeding tube from his mouth to his stomach since he's not ready to suck and breathe at the same time. Whenever we visit him, he is doing very well, and he seems a little better each time. Hopefully he will be released in a few days, but it could be sometime next week. We'll continue to post info as we get it, and we'll have pictures later. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!