The Hanson Family: Ethan's 3rd Birthday

Monday, August 11, 2014

Ethan's 3rd Birthday

The plan for Ethan's was to go camping, when we weren't able to find a campground we improvised and decided to have a family camp out at Grandma and Grandpa's house. On Friday night we started things off with a campfire, marshmallows and of course cupcakes :)

I've debated on whether or not to share this part of the story, but since I'm probably the only one who reads this as a way to look back and remember, I figured it was significant, and a necessary part of the story... After the evenings events winded down, I headed for home, not that I don't love a good camp out, but I had a throbbing headache and since Camp Grandma and Grandpa was a whopping 2 miles from my nice comfortable bed, I opted for comfort and hopefully headache relief and slept at home. Jed stayed in the tent with the kids, what a good Daddy. I woke up early that morning to use the bathroom and as soon as I stood up out of bed, I knew something was wrong. I was bleeding...bad. I was alone, hysterical, and I had no idea what to do. I was only 15 weeks pregnant, so technically I needed to be taken to the ER, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't go there. I called Labor & Delivery and of course they told me to come right in. These were my peeps, early or not, they were going to take care of me. I was still devastated. I knew I was losing this baby. I called Jed, who immediately came home to get me and take me in. Poor Ethan was not forgotten, but things didn't go quite as planned. His birthday party was supposed to be at the splash park and wave pool in Tacoma that afternoon. But obviously we weren't able to take him. The family decided to take him to Chuck E Cheese instead. I appreciated them stepping in when Jed and I couldn't be there. After arriving at the hospital I was taken into the very best hands. My doctor wasn't working that weekend, but his partner was there and willingly agreed to see me. The triage nurse attempted to find heart tones, but wasn't successful. She then tried the doppler. Still no luck. I was no longer hysterical. I had begun to make peace with the fact that I had lost my baby. There was nothing I could do. The last step was to have Dr. Christen verify viability with an ultrasound. He came in a placed the US on my stomach, I couldn't look...and then I heard the most amazing words, "Everything is ok! The baby is fine. It is completely unaware of what's going on out here." What?! I couldn't believe it, what a relief. The baby was ok! There were some tears of joy, hugs and then we were out of there. Just in time to meet the family at Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Ethan's birthday. After Chuck E Cheese we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a redneck slip and slide.

The water was ice cold and every time Ethan would go down, he would jump up, grab his little bummy and run around yelling "Freezing! Freezing! Feel my bum! It's freezing!" It was hilarious!

Of course, we ate again....