The Wilson Universe

Last year was the year of “Finn’s first (fill in the blank)” but I think this year is way more fun because he has a lot more awareness of what’s going on around him.

To begin October, we made our annual trip to Priebe’s Pumpkin Patch. Corey and I started going a few years ago after we moved to Crawfordsville and had fun so we’ve been looking forward to being able to take Finn. We went last year but he was less than impressed.

This year, he was much more involved in the pumpkin picking process.  There was a lot of “oohs and aahs” when he saw the pumpkin selection.

He was also ecstatic to find the big green carts for hauling the pumpkins. I wasn’t sure we would be able to get him away from the wagon long enough to pick his pumpkin

Alas, he did finally get to the business of picking out pumpkins. We picked out a Daddy pumpkin, Mommy pumpkin and little Finley pumpkin.
Up next was a trip to Grampa’s pumpkin patch.

Grampa had some really big pumpkins! We contemplated hollowing one out and putting Finn in it for Halloween.

Finn decided to help us pick Grampa’s pumpkins.

Then he took charge of organizing the pumpkins that we loaded into the wagon

Up next, pumpkin carving time! He wasn’t sure what we were doing at first…

But he eventually got the hang of it!

I think he put just as much guts back into the pumpkin as he took out, though.

Finally, it was time to hit the streets and go Trick or Treating

“You mean we can knock on people’s doors and they give me candy?!! That’s AWESOME!” It took him a little time to warm up, but he eventually got into it

Then we came home and Finn decided to control the handing out of candy to other trick or treaters

While having a little cuddle time with Daddy

Or attacking Daddy, as needed

Pretty much the cutest monkey on the planet.

Overall, we all had an awesome Halloween. Like I said, I think this year of holidays will be even more fun than last year!

Finn is an extremely busy, active little boy. I took a ton of pictures of him today and thought I would give everyone a glimpse into the adventures of Finley

First, make sure you are well rested. Use whatever downtime you have to catch up on sleep

Then it’s time to head to the garden.

There are still lots of tomatoes to be picked and I like to help Mommy.

Then it’s off to help Daddy with his projects. He’s building a garden station for Mommy and needs my help.

I don’t fully understand how Daddy gets the boards to stay together, but I’m working on it

It’s important to stay hydrated when you are working outside. Sometimes that means stealing Mommy’s drink.

Next up, make sure Daddy’s truck is in good working order. It’s important to do routine safety maintenance.

Finally, it’s time to wind down with some dump truck work.

As you can see, Finley is a very busy little guy. We still aren’t sure just how we managed to get such an outdoorsy, adventurous kid, but it’s a lot of fun chasing after him!

As we’ve established, I’m a terrible blogger. Here is the ridiculously infrequent update:

Sarah: I am once again working (finally!). I am back at work in the ER, working at Union Hospital in Terre Haute. ER is my comfort zone. I’m good at it, I like what I do and it pays well. Don’t expect to see me stray away from ER again for awhile. If I do, someone made me an amazing offer. The drive to Terre Haute is long, but not as bad as I was afraid of. Beside work, I’m having a blast watching Finley grow. He’s getting so smart and he’s more adventursome than I’m entirely comfortable with. I also put in a huge garden this year with some help from Corey and my parents. We’ve already made plans to expand for next year.

Finley: Finn is meeting and exceeding his milestones. At his 15 month check up he was 27.5 lbs and 30.25 inches, making him 90th-95th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. His pediatrician is impressed with how well he is doing. He walks like a champ, he’s usually very steady on his feet and does an awesome job of catching himself before he tumbles. Usually. When he does  trip and fall, he does it with a flourish. He is on his second swollen and purple nose and he has had his share of goose eggs on his forehead. As I mentioned earlier, he is curious and has an amazing sense of adventure. Neither Corey nor I can figure out where he gets that trait from. Both the Dreher’s and the Wilson’s are pretty happy to find a comfortable spot and ride things out. He is also ALL boy. He loves tractors, trucks, dirt and being outside. He knows where the lawnmower is kept and checks on it every time he goes outside. He loves to ride the tractors or golf cart with Grampa. He is extremely affectionate and loves to make people laugh. He goes to the babysitter 3 days a week and has several friends there that he loves to spend time with. He has discovered the temper tantrum and is not afraid to use it but he generally gets over it pretty quickly. All in all, he continues to be an awesome kid.

Corey has been doing a ton of work around the house and outside, fixing up the outbuildings and getting things in order. He’s gotten more hours at work and with me working again he’s gotten to spend a lot more one on one time with the little man, which I think both of them enjoy. I’ll try to convince him to post a more detailed update on his projects

Pictures: I have tons, I just haven’t gotten them uploaded at this time. Trust me, the monkey is ridiculously adorable and we have some great pictures of him. I’ll try to get them put up in the next few days.

I do plan on trying to get more regular with my posts. We’ll see how things go with job, baby, house…

Alright, I suck as a blogger. In my defense, life is a little on the ridiculously crazy side these days. Finley is growing like a weed and is the world’s most amazing little boy. Corey and I are having a blast with him.
As for me, the job in Newport ended back in September and I went on to take a job in Lafayette with an Orthopaedic Surgeon. While it has been interesting, it hasn’t been the best fit for me so I am currently looking for something different. One of these days, I’ll figure out what I’m supposed to be doing.
Here’s my plan to catch up. Over the next week or two, I will write a post filling in on Finley pics and details for every month since the last post. Trust me, I have plenty of pictures.

To tide you over…

It’s been a little hectic in the Wilson Universe the last few weeks.  Our trip to Texas was a success.

Finley met, and subsequently charmed, his Great Grandma Corey as well as several other Texas relatives.  He enjoyed all the attention and was a very well behaved baby most of the time. The trip down and back were a little stressful for him.  I decided it was because he was stuck in the carseat for such long stretches of time, I think his poor little butt just got numb.  I found myself wishing for the days of my childhood, where carseats were optional and riding on Mommy’s lap was completely acceptable.  Besides that, he dealt with it fairly well.  He did have a couple of diaper changes perched on Mommy’s lap while on the side of a highway, but that will make good stories for when he is older!  I think his Great Grandma was trying to figure out where she could hide him so he could just stay with her.

When we returned from Texas, things got very busy for Mommy.  My time working at Newport will be drawing to a close at the end of September.  While I’m looking forward to no longer having to be away from Finn and Corey for 24 hours at a time, it did mean I had to begin the job search again.  I was lucky and found a position working for an Orthopaedic Surgeon in Lafayette.  I’ve spent the last couple of weeks working on paperwork and trying to figure out just how much I know about Orthopaedic Surgery.  I will officially start that job on October 1st.  I’m looking forward to it but I’m also terrified.  On the upside, it is Monday through Friday, no nights, no weekends, no holidays.  It has better benefits and better job security.  However, it will be far more challenging than any other job that I’ve ever done and while I’m not afraid of a challenge, it does make me very nervous.  It also presents more of a challenge as far as taking care of Finn since my schedule won’t be as flexible any more.  But as we have done thus far, we will figure it all out as we go along.

Finally, Finn has done a lot of growing up just in the last couple of weeks.  He is very chatty, he is interactive and playful and has recently discovered his hands and feet.  He’s still not entirely sure about eating baby food but he is intensely interested in what Daddy and I are eating.  For your viewing pleasure, a few of my favorite recent pics of him.  Enjoy

This is Finn with a teddy bear that Great Grandma Dreher sent him.  He posed himself, I just sat him up in the chair with the bear.

I wasn’t home for this one.  Corey had stripped him down before feeding him his carrots since he was going straight to bathtime afterward.  Apparently, he became fascinated watching a bad sci fi movie then dialed up the adorable afterward.

Check out the photo album (there’s a link in the Photo tab on the right) for more pics from Texas and the full series of pics with the teddy bear and after eating.

Yesterday marked the 4 month anniversary of Finley Theodore’s unexpectedly early arrival into this world.  I don’t think anyone would have guessed how far he would come in four short months.  As completely unbiased observers, Corey and I think that Finn is far and away the most exceptional baby on the planet.  Okay, so maybe we are a little biased, but we can say that he is completely on track for his age and he has quite the following of family and friends that believe he is very sweet and adorable.

We had his 4 month check up today.  He weighs 16 1/2 pounds which puts him between the 75th and 90th percentile.  His growth chart doesn’t so much curve as go straight up.  He is 23 1/2 inches tall which is in the 10th percentile.  I have already apologized to him for that.

His doctor is very pleased with his progress.  He is meeting all of his milestones.  He holds up his head, he smiles, he reaches for things.  His umbilical hernia has almost completely resolved as well as his hydrocele. He has had quite the appetite lately so we are going to begin introducing solids now.  I think he is excited about that!

To celebrate, we will be leaving tonight for Finley’s very first trip out of state!  We are heading to Texas so he can meet his great grandma.  I’m excited to have a few days to enjoy with my boys not worrying about houses, jobs and bills.

I’ve uploaded some new pics of Finn as well as a few more of the house. I’ve also added links to albums of turtle pics and our wedding pics, just for kicks and grins.

Just a quick update, no new pics but check out the link to the right often. We saw the doctor yesterday because we were worried about the decreasing number of dirty diapers lately.  While I don’t mind the lack of poop, we were concerned.  The doctor examined him and didn’t find any obstructions or anything.  Turns out, he just doesn’t have anything to move through.  2 1/2 weeks ago at his 2 month check up, he was in the 25th percentile for weight.  Yesterday, he was in the 75th percentile.  He is apparently entering a growth spurt and absorbing absolutely everything he eats.  As long as he is in no distress we don’t need to worry.  When he reaches 4 months, we will start fruits and vegetables to increase his fiber.  In the meantime, we are left with very little poo but LOTS of stinky gas to make up for it!

I’m not entirely sure what this face is, but he’s making it a lot these days.  I love how he seems to be trying to take everything in and he has an overwhelming desire to be a MUCH bigger boy than he is.  When I hold him, he will start to bounce himself as if he is trying to stand up, then gets frustrated when it doesn’t work.  And we are obviously starving him, if you couldn’t tell by those cheeks.

Over the last few days, Finn has grown more and more insistent that he be sitting up. He likes to look around, look out the window and make faces at Mommy and Daddy. We’ve been using the Boppy pillow but it is a little too reclined for his taste. He wants to sit UP. I finally decided he was big enough to try the Bumbo.

He loved sitting up all by himself checking out the world. He got a few swats in on the cat, made some faces at Daddy and generally soaked up the atmosphere.
He also had his 2 month check up last week. Mommy couldn’t go because I was back to work so it was up to Daddy to manage the long list of things I wanted to ask the pediatrician. He weighed in at 12 lb 10 oz, 22 inches long. We are going to try supplementing with a couple of different formulas because our boy is a gassy little guy and is having some trouble sleeping. He’s still getting breastmilk but we are trying a formula bottle every once in awhile to ease the gas. Other than that, the doctor said he looks good. We’ve got a few things we are keeping our eyes on but all very benign (umbilical hernia, hydrocele…) and will probably resolve all by themselves.
I have put up several more pictures. Some of them are recent, a few of them are older that I got from my mom and my mother-in-law. There is a link in the Pictures tab at the right.

It’s been a hectic week!  July 2nd Finley turned 2 months old, which I have a hard time believing.  He is now pushing himself up to hold his head up, he’s very chatty, he likes to make faces and sit and stare at things with a very intense look, like he’s concentrating very hard.  He’s working at rolling over and has gone from belly to back once.  He has a vicious combination of Mommy and Daddy’s temper and gets very frustrated when he wants to do something and can’t.  Besides that, he is so far a VERY easy going baby.  He will tolerate being held by anything, has no problem with the cats or dogs and is completely unfazed by loud noises.  He has slept through parties, thunderstorms and fireworks without so much as a cry. 

Speaking of fireworks, we threw open the doors of the new house and welcomed anyone who wished into our house for New Richmond’s 4th of July celebration.  It actually became a full weekend party due to the weather.  We learned that we could comfortably hold upwards of 15 people in our house and not feel terribly claustrophobic and still have room for the kids to run around.  The fireworks were pushed back to the 5th so we had two nights of grilling (thanks to my dad, the grillmaster).  The fireworks were awesome, although I think we will have to cut out a tree before next year!  They were actually setting them off almost directly behind our house so that was cool.

And finally, as of July 6th, I am no longer stay at home mom.  I have returned to the land of working folk.  Going back to the ER wasn’t bad.  I was close to home, it was only for 8 hours and if it got to bad, I could beg someone to bring him to see me.  Being back at Newport pretty much sucks, though.  It’s 24 hours and I can’t leave and he can’t come in.  Now, to be clear, I do not in any way think that he won’t be well cared for.  Right now, Daddy and Grandma are running the show and both are completely capable of caring for him.  What I hate is not being there.  He’s getting to such an interesting age, I’m afraid he’s going to do something awesome and I won’t be there to see it.  I’m really dreading tonight.  While it may be a perk to get some sleep without a baby in the room, I’m not looking forward to trying to deal with not being with him.

Yes, I have more pictures, I just haven’t gotten them uploaded yet.  And if Corey does what he’s promised, there should be lots more pics coming since I’ve asked him to take thousands of pictures while I’m at work.

I don’t really believe it, but Finley is now 6 weeks old. Of course, we will officially have reached his due date tomorrow so it shouldn’t be hard to believe that we have a 6 week old. In 6 weeks, we have gone from this to this
He is now holding his head up for longer periods of time and seems to be checking out the world, trying to figure things out. His appetite is growing exponentially, causing him to grow exponentially. He is now over 9 pounds! He is much more like a little person than he was 6 weeks ago. There doesn’t appear to be any adverse effects of his early arrival and given his current weight, I’m not as unhappy about him being early as I was. He was laying on my stomach earlier and I couldn’t fathom how all of that was supposed to fit inside me. Now if only we could get rid of the 3 am feeding…

We had Finn’s “newborn” pics taken today. A little late, we know, but it’s been a little hectic around here. We got some good pics and ordered bunches of prints for the family. We also got a photo CD so all of the pics are in his album on Photobucket. There is a link to the album in Finn’s page on the right.
Finn is doing exceptionally well. He’s spending more time awake between feedings and likes to check out the world around him. He holds his head up and moves it around, usually to give me or Corey dirty looks when we try to belch him. He also likes to hang out in his bouncer or swing if you get him at the right time. He will sit and watch whats going on while Daddy and I get chores done. And he still loves to cuddle!

The big news this visit - our weight.  Here’s the breakdown…

Birth, May 2 - 4 lb 15 oz

Discharge from NICU, May 18 - 5 lb 3 oz

First pediatrician visit, May 21 - 5 lb 11 oz

Check up, May 28 - 6 lb 12 oz

1 month visit, June 4 - 8 lb 6 oz

TOTAL WEIGHT GAIN - 3 lb 7 oz

His doctor is very impressed with his weight gain as well as his strength and development.  When we left the NICU, they sent us with special formula to add to the breast milk for some extra calories.  We were supposed to use this for about 6 months then stop.  If he continues like this, we are going to stop it next month.  I’d like to avoid infant obesity!

He’s now trying to hold his own head up and attempts to roll himself from side to side.  Over the last couple of days, he has really seemed to become aware of his surroundings and has been more willing to let me put him down, even when he isn’t sleeping.  His pediatrician’s opinion is that Finley knew what he was doing when he made his early appearance.  On my part, I’m becoming glad that he showed up early.  At this rate, I would have given birth to a 9 lb plus baby if he had been on time!

In the rest of the Wilsonverse, we are getting into a routine.  I am slowly but surely getting boxes unpacked and we are getting some order in place.  Corey is working on building the box for the turtles and I have been trying to get my flowers planted.  A plus side there, Finn seems to be an outdoorsy child and is content to hang out in his carseat while Mommy and Daddy work on outside projects.  He’s also immensely fond of our daily walks which helps keep me motivated so I can continue losing weight and getting in shape.

I have added more pictures, the link in the previous post will take you to them.  I try to add more every few days so keep checking.

Our little man has decided that he is tired of being a little man. We had a visit with the pediatrician again today because he has picked up a little bit of Daddy’s cold and we wanted to make sure we stayed ahead of things. He is in good health, a little cold and is having some problems with reflux and gas but nothing serious. Last week at the same office, on the same scale with the same nurse, he weighed 5 lb 11 1/2 oz. Today (exactly 7 days later), he weighed 6 lb 12 1/2 oz. We have no worries about his ability to gain weight. I’m more concerned with making sure he doesn’t become the next Michelin Man! He’s also trying to hold his head up and roll himself over, just in case I wasn’t enough of a nervous wreck as it is.
More importantly, I have uploaded pictures!
Check them out!

Today was Finley’s first trip out of the house since we got him home. We had our first visit with the pediatrician. He now weighs 5 lbs 11 1/2 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long. We are increasing his meals to 3 ounces and after one feeding, I can see the difference. He is sleeping much better with a full belly. The doctor said he looks fantastic and is in awesome shape. The office in general as well as the people in the waiting room concurred that he is absolutely adorable - which we already knew!

And our time with the NICU has come to an end. Finley earned all of his gold stars and was handed over to us this afternoon. He is steadily gaining weight and is now at 5 lbs and 4 oz. He is averaging 2 oz at every feeding, waking up before meals and sleeping soundly in between. He is, as we speak, grunting at me and letting me know it is getting close to time for some more food. He loves to cuddle. After he eats, he snuggles up to my chest before he falls asleep.
We have lots more pictures but Corey is in charge of downloading them for me. It will probably be tomorrow before I get them on the site.
The move is progressing. We had another weekend of work with lots of help from family and a few friends. Slowly but surely we are getting in and getting settled. I plan on taking the next couple of days to get into a rhythm with Finn that DOESN’T require daily trips to Indy. I imagine we will be having lots of visitors over the next several days and they are just going to have to ignore my lack of food and beverages and the massive number of boxes cluttering the house.

We haven’t dropped off the face of the earth, just to New Richmond where internet will not be hooked up until next week. Finley is doing very well. He has taken all of his milk from bottles for about 24 hours and that is the last thing standing between us and him coming home. In the meantime, my husband is working himself to death to have someplace to put Finn when he gets here. We are halfway done so we are sort of living in 2 houses right now. Most of the necessities are in New Richmond but we still make about a trip a day back to Crawfordsville to pick up something or other. Hopefully one more big workday and we will get the bulk of the work done (and by we I mean people other than myself since I am still recovering and not allowed to be useful).
I’ll try to keep things updated as best I can and get some new pics up soon!

We went to visit Finn today and were excited to see him completely off oxygen and no longer under bili lights. He had been put under the lights yesterday because he was jaundiced and I thought he would have to stay under for 48 hours but his bilirubin level had come down drastically since the day before. When his doctor checked on him this morning, he had his nasal cannula in his mouth and was sucking on it. We figured he was proving he didn’t need to wear it anymore. We tried a bottle feeding yesterday and he took a little bit but not much. We tried again today and he took over half before he got tired and fell asleep with his bottle in his mouth - in a very tight grip. According to his nurse he took all of his milk from the bottle for his next feeding. We are gradually increasing the feedings until he is getting about an ounce and a half every 3 hours. He is also now out of the bed with the heat lamp and on his own for heat. His temp has been staying steady. He will finish his antibiotics tomorrow. His doctor says he will be able to come home when he can maintain his body temp, sleep on his back, take a bottle and gain weight. I think we’re getting close!
I have lots more pictures we just have to charge the camera and download.

Finn has decided today that he is ready to be all better! Corey and I went down for the afternoon feeding at 11:30 and found our beautiful son without the headgear he has been strapped into. His nurse told us she had taken it off at 11:00 and he was responding well. He is still wearing a nasal cannula but it is set to room air and for a while he actually had that jammed in his mouth and was still breathing fine. We spoke with his doctor today and she thinks the pneumonia that was causing all of this is resolving. He still has to finish his antibiotics but she thinks we should try to bottle feed tomorrow. He is still a little jaundiced and if his numbers go up tomorrow he will have to go under the lights. He made my day today when I walked in and saw his little head uncovered, though!