Last Year, Matthew turned 3...

...just wanted to document it :) December 17th, 2009

It was a great party...crazy, but great. Here are some pics of him and his little friends:

(From Left to Right)

Madison, Melania, Charlotte, Tanner and Emma, Lainee, Paul, and Matthew

The Thomas Cake I stayed up super late to make for him

Matthew danced for only a few seconds of his little party...but I thought these were just so funny I had to share....he may hate me for doing this, but this kid has some crazy abilities with that dancing ribbon thing!!

Utah Blessing

Matthew turned 3 on the 17th....so I have to post this before I post about his birthday and Christmas. What a bad mom, poor Ethan!

We were lucky enough to go to Utah and meet up with Spencer's family for Thanksgiving. We were able to bless Ethan there and it was wonderful! It is so great to be with family...we had so much fun and miss you all!!

All of us:
Ethan and Matthew loved being with their Granparents!


Playing cards and videogames....(I guess they are learning a little too early)


We were able to visit the beautifully decorated Temple Square

Matthew loved the Airplane Museum

And finally, we had such a special experience with Ethan's blessing! It was so nice to have so much family together for such a special moment :)

Wrong Holiday!!

Halloween in December?? Yeah, I know...it has been a while since I posted...but rather than skip through everything, I decided I should at least post some pics of Halloween before I skip to everything else :) Hope you enjoy!

Matthew insisted on being Thomas the Tank Engine (or a engineer riding him) so Spencer and I took on the crazy task of making his costume...Many paint cans, glue guns, and hours later, here it is...we were happily pleased...and Matthew was especially happy!


Ethan didn't even get dressed up for Halloween. It seemed like torture to put him in his costume (which I bought for $3 last year-yes I am proud of the bargain shopping) so I literally just took a few pics of him in his costume today...just so he has some when he gets older. He is still too small for the costume, but I think he looks cute...Mr. Panda....

Ethan is Home!

So, a LOT has happened since we last posted...We truly have been blessed with baby Ethan coming home and I have no doubt that your thoughts and prayers on our behalf have made a huge impact. Thank you once again! We REALLY appreciate all the love and concern shown to us...it will not be forgotten :)

Here is a little bit about the road home we took with Ethan:

-At the hospital, Ethan was treated with antibiotics for C Diff and was taken off of mother's milk and given the most elemental formula that would be soft on his digestive track.

-Once the bleeding in the stool ceased, the doctor re-introduced small amounts of mother's milk to rule out breast milk allergies.

--We had the occupational therapist work with Ethan on "nippling" the bottles....he was always so sleepy...but she gave us some great tips that helped.

-Ethan soon was tolerating all of the breast milk, and the doctor switched him to breast milk only

-Then, he started drinking 2 bottles a day (the rest went through a tube in his nose), and once he got 2 bottles down, he went to 3 bottles, every other bottle, and finally every feeding through bottle.

-August was a breakthrough day..they had Ethan try to breast feed and (with the help of a nipple shield) he did great!! Another HUGE breakthrough in our family that day- Matthew decided to go Pee and Poo in the Potty all by himself! We haven't been pushing the issue, but he seems to show some interest! Yes, we are very proud of our boys :)

- They kept telling us at the NICU that he was getting close to being let go....but we didn't want to get our hopes up....I kept on having daily sessions with the lactation consultants at Huntington (they are awesome!) and Ethan kept progressing on breast feeding...

-Finally, on Friday morning, after 3 weeks of being in the NICU and at 37 weeks (corrected age) Ethan was discharged from the hospital!!! We are so happy to have him in our home!!

He weighed 5 lbs. 11 oz. when he was discharged.

He is eating well (I am weighing him before and after feedings to check his milk intake) and he is finally now a little over 6 lbs!! Yay!!

He is such a sweet little guy who (like Matthew was as a baby) never really cries; he makes funny little goat noises (think ma-aaa-aa)...sleeps all the time and is so easy!

Matthew has been the best big brother and loves having Ethan at home (and also loves the tool set Ethan brought him)!

WE FEEL SO BLESSED AND SO GRATEFUL FOR THE OUTPOUR OF LOVE WE HAVE FELT.

MORE PICS TO FOLLOW SOON! (my computer is really slow)

Thank you!

Ethan Update

Here is an email Spencer sent out last night....thanks again for all your prayers; we need them (especially little Ethan)!

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update.

Ethan is doing well but has had a couple of minor setbacks lately. Please don’t be overly concerned. It may seem overly alarming but likely is not.

- Late Monday night he started having spots of red blood in his stool.
o Blood in stool could be…
§ C diff (a bacteria in most kids born causing an irritation to the colon).
§ Allergic reaction to mothers milk.
§ Hole in intestines or digestive track.
o Red blood means it’s typically lower in the track.
- Tuesday he had more significant blood in his stool.
- They also stopped giving him mother’s milk and providing him his a special formula that is easier to digest.
- They took cultures and he tested positive for C diff
o This does not mean it was causing the irritation but is a possibility.
o They started him on an antibiotic late yesterday.
- They took an X-ray of his intestinal track and did not see any gas.
o This would mean no hole. They believe.
- I gave him a priesthood blessing Tuesday night.
- Wednesday he had less blood and it was darker (meaning it was either healing or higher up in the intestinal track).

Debbie Update
- Because Debbie was running around everywhere yesterday and super stressed out she missed about half her pumping sessions (not good).
- It’s believed she has Mastitis (an infection in her breasts, not the milk but the breast).
- It has been helpful for her to get on her pumping schedule and to take Advil but the doctor will likely prescribe an antibiotic.
- Although she will continue to pump we will likely throw away the milk she pumps until after the antibiotic is out of her system.
- We bought a small freezer last night to keep up with her amazing milk production.
o She fooled her breasts into thinking she had twins.
o The bad side is they were on track to produce lots of milk and if it doesn’t come out can block the ducts and hurt very bad.

We’ll keep you posted the best we can as things progress. Thank you for your prayers.

Thanks,
Spencer J. Couts

Ethan Tyler Couts

We had our baby! Ethan Tyler Couts came into the world at just 34 weeks. Life has been emotionally challenging for me, but I feel so blessed to have him in our lives and that he is doing well. I just went into pre-term labor on my own, and even with the meds the doctor gave me to stop my contractions, labor just happened. After delivery, my doc checked my placenta and told me it was beginning to detach. If it had detached more than 25%, he says the baby would have died within minutes. What a blessing that he is alive; and though it is a challenge to have him in the NICU (it is really really hard to leave your baby there and go home), I feel so grateful that he is alive and well.

I cannot begin to say how much I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers. They have been so helpful!

The following is an email Spencer sent out to some of our friends...I have not been able to forward it on yet, but I am posting it here in hopes you can all get the update.

Dear Friends and Family,

Debbie and I are happy to share the news of the latest addition to our family. Although I thought we were way ahead in the game, I will never again doubt a mother’s intuition.

Just making it to 34 weeks in the womb, Ethan Tyler decided it was time to make his grand entrance into the world last Friday at around 9:30 in the morning. Mother and baby are doing well.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. They have been felt and appreciated!

Spencer & Debbie


In case you are interested, here are some essentials. Please do not be alarmed by the information. Things look very positive and any long term or severe risks are minimal. Ethan still has some minor hills to climb but he is doing really well and on his way. (Modern technology is amazing!)

- Again, mother and baby are doing well.
- Debbie was released late Sunday night.
- Ethan will likely be released towards the beginning of next week.
- Ethan was born at 4 lb. 14 oz and 18.5 cm.
- Ethan continues to make good progress.

Primary concerns with being born at 34 weeks
- Limited Strength & Energy
o 34 weekers have limited strength.
o They need to focus on the most important activities.
o Breathing / Digesting / Eating / Body Temp / Etc.
- Lung Development / Breathing
o Ethan is very blessed to be breathing on his own. (Very positive)
o Every now and then his breathing count (per minute) is a little high but still in an acceptable range.
- Digesting / Feeding Ability
o Ethan is doing really well digesting his food. (Very positive)
o He’s now up to 40 cc’s / 3 hours. (Very positive)
o Ethan does well sucking from a bottle but exhausts himself quickly. (Positive)
o He needs to switch off eating from a bottle and through a tube (gavage).
o We’re hoping to feed him strictly from a bottle in a day or two.
- Body Temperature
o Ethan is currently in an incubator to help maintain his body temperature.
o This allows him to allocate energy towards other important activities.
o He’s likely to be taken out of the incubator in a couple of days.
- Bilirubin Levels
o Ethan’s levels were a little high on Monday.
o He’s receiving a little light treatment and doing well.
o The levels came down yesterday.

Additional Notes
- The hospital is +/- 3.5 minutes from the house with no traffic at 70 mph.
- There is no advantage to sprinting out of the house at 3:30 a.m. if you are barefoot (you have to go back).
- We washed and folded all the infant cloths a week ago Saturday (because of Debbie’s strong prodding)
- Matthew is super excited about hugging and squeezing Ethan.
o We were concerned (and still are) about how jealousy might work into this but Matthew loves visiting Ethan and wants to hold him really bad.
o We’re now more concerned with Matthew being rough in showing affection.

Ethan soon after birth (this is a picture of a picture, hence the 80s look)

A baby Tan :)

Just Relaxing

Finally, Costa Rica picture updates

So I know it has been a while since we have been back from our trip but I am still going to post these pictures because there are so many other things I also want to post about soon :) I know there are a lot so I hope you enjoy and aren't too bored! We really had a fun time!

M started off enjoying a really nice Easter egg hunt with his cousin, Joshua, and loved his Easter basket too...

Then we headed out to the Beach for a week where Matthew ate sand (I have no idea why he still does this??), watched monkeys, birds, and iguanas and played, played, played in the pool

By Far, my most memorable outing on the trip was this trip to a Costa Rican Safari called "Africa Mia" (My Africa). We got to feed deer, ostrich, camels, etc. and got to see zebras, monkeys, antelope, etc. However, the highlight of the trip was this awesome encounter with a Giraffe! We got to pet and hug him!!! M was a little scared :)

We also went trout fishing at these little ponds and M really enjoyed spending time with his granparents here. He was so excited to catch fish!

We got to see and visit lots of animals: horses, a cow farm, a zoo/park, amusement park, and some beautiful gardens.

p.s. the cow farm WAS stinky (smelly, not un-fun)

But the most favorite part of all was spending time with Family! M loved hanging out with his cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He really enjoyed watering my parents backyard and gardening (a.k.a. picking green tomatoes) with his grandpa and just hanging out!

We can't wait to go back and miss everyone lots!