The Quilt

When Ethan was born, we found ourselves in quite the predicament. Heart issues aside, we were suddenly parents of a baby boy, who were expecting a baby girl. We had five showers worth of pink, with a little green and yellow thrown in there at the end, but no sign of blue.

Once Ethan was rushed to Duke, we knew that the need for gender appropriate clothing was a non-issue. However, we had no idea he would spend the first two and a half months of his life swaddled in striped hospital blankets.

Duke fan for life - April 4, 2009

Call it optimism, or just a huge help, but my Mama and sister spent a few days exchanging pink for blue, and buying some super cute boy clothes while they were at it. Many of you helped to expand Ethan's wardrobe, too!

Unfortunately, there were some outfits that he never got the chance to wear due to his extended hospital stay. The first that comes to mind is a precious "Baby's 1st Easter" outfit that his Auntie Tara bought for him. It came with a onesie, a cute hat (complete with bunny ears), and a pair of footed pants with a cotton-tail on the backside. Precious, I tell you.

Ethan had an Easter outfit of his own picked out, though. After a week of "quiet", with very little lines coming from his body, his blood sugar dropped and they had to insert an emergency IV. So, where does the IV team go when all other access points are no good? Yup. The scalp.

Ethan's Easter hat - April 11, 2009

Needless to say, there was no getting a onesie over that thing.


That's just one of the many stories that make up The Quilt. For over a year now, I've had this idea. I wanted my Mama to make a quilt out of outfits like the Easter one, as well as clothes that were significant during Ethan's first year. It took me a while to go through twelve months worth of itty bitty baby clothes, but I finally picked out all the pieces a couple of months ago.

The finished product?

Better than I ever imagined it to be. In fact, I cried like a baby when I opened it. Not only is it beautifully made, but seeing those familiar patterns brought back every memory associated with them.

The newborn-sized onesies that swallowed him whole while he was in the hospital.

The pajamas we had to cut to fit over his cast.

The blue and white plaid shirt he wore during his first birthday party.


They're all there, sewn together among others, to create the most valuable piece of cotton I'll ever own.

Mama, thank you for using your talents to so richly bless others! You know I'll cherish this quilt for as long as I live, and I can't wait to tell Ethan all about it as he gets older. I love you!