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 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!
I dropped off Finn’s breakfast this morning and got a quick update. He stayed on the room air setting on his CPAP all night and had no problems maintaining his saturation. When I saw him his breathing was not fast or labored like it has been in the past. He decided to take his IV out this morning so that had to be restarted and is in his foot now. We’re hoping that since he is a handsy little boy having his arms free will allow this IV to survive. He has a little bit of jaundice but as of right now, it doesn’t look like he is going to have to go under the lights. He did have to have a little formula last night because I’m not quite up to speed at keeping up with his feedings yet. Apparently, he just doesn’t like the formula because he spit that back up. Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me to keep up with the demands of His Highness.
Corey and I have both found that it is immensely difficult to go to the NICU and try to assess how well Finn is doing because a lot of it is dependent on his mood at the moment we happen to be there. If he is fussy or has just been adjusted in someway, it can seem that he isn’t doing as well as the last time we were there. However, overall he does seem to be improving. They have decreased the oxygen on the CPAP to a level near room air and he is maintaining his oxygen saturation. He continues to do well with feeding. He gets VERY angry about dirty diapers of any kind. He doesn’t like all the tubes and hoses (who can blame him) and had gone so far as to remove his own feeding tube today. I got there in time to try to calm him down while his poor nurse put everything back together. I got to hold him for a couple of his feedings today and it made Mommy feel better to see how his vitals stabilized while I rocked him. Daddy likes to hold his hand and talk to him and take lots of pictures of Mommy holding him.
I will be discharged tomorrow and have recovered far faster than the doctors have expected. I’m trying to not let that go to my head and get overzealous. Our plan is to return to Crawfordsville tomorrow evening to regroup and get a plan together. Finn will be in the NICU through the weekend and probably into next week. In that time, Corey will be doing what he can to get the house ready to move and I will be bumming rides back to the NICU when Corey has projects to work on. I plan on spending as much time as I can with Finn since I’m basically useless to Corey in the whole moving thing. I’m hoping that having me close helps to speed Finn’s progress so we can get him home sooner.
I went home today and got my missing cable so I could transfer over the images of Finn. The first few lack a certain quality that I kinda of expect but as the day has gone by I’ve refined the settings on my camera (wish I paid more attention to Wagoner’s photo introductions in art class…f-stops, apertures…etc..) Anyway the link below will take you to the Baby Finley album on PhotoBucket, enjoy!
Just click on the picture!
Baby Finley's Album
Finn continues to do very well. He has been put on C-Pap (continuous positive airway pressure) to help boost his oxygen saturation and he is responding well. His feedings have been increased and he doesn’t seem to be having problems keeping the formula down like he did initially. They are decreasing his IV fluids and hope to stop them completely soon if he does well with feeding.
Personality wise, he seems to be turning out like Daddy. He apparently has a very short fuse and no tolerance for dirty diapers. He doesn’t like the wires and tubes and tries to pull them off. He likes to be bundled up but doesn’t like to have his feet covered. Grandpa has been telling him all about ice cream and milkshakes and he gets very excited and waves his hand around.
Corey is on his way with the necessary cable to download the pictures and I believe will get that done tonight.
Needless to say, labor was not exactly what I had planned for this weekend. Also needless to say, when labor didn’t work, a C Section was really not what I had planned for this weekend. As most people will attest, I am a woman with a plan and a schedule. I like to be in charge of all aspects of my (and pretty much everyone else’s) lives. The only word I can think of to describe this whole experience is “surreal”. Between Corey and I, we have experienced every single emotion in the spectrum over the last 40 hours or so.
On to the best of it, though - Finley.
I’ve spent 34 weeks calling my little Peanut a girl and now that Finn is here, I can’t imagine how I could have thought otherwise. He truly is perfect. He has a little trace of red to his hair and he has his Daddy’s mouth and chin. I really think he’s going to be a heartbreaker one day. He still loves the sound of Daddy’s voice and calms down almost immediately when he hears him. He’s so strong, he grabs fingers and refuses to let go. He prefers to sleep on his belly and has already mastered the pacifier. The worst part is how much time I have to spend away from him. Between trying to recover from the C Section and him being in the NICU, I have only gotten to hold him once. I have gotten to spend quite a bit of time standing next to him and holding on to him.
Like I said, Wilson’s refuse to do anything the easy way. I think that Finn heard us talking about moving and thought we were referring to him. Now our challenge is figuring out when we are going to finish moving since I am basically out of comission for awhile. I’ve also had to adjust things since it appears I am going on maternity leave 6 weeks before I planned. But, while we don’t do anything the easy way, we are really good at overcoming whatever challenges we have to deal with and making the best of things.
And in the end, nothing else really matters when I get to look at that handsome face and feel him squeeze my finger and better than that, see the way he and Corey react to each other. It may not be the way I’d planned, but I’ve honestly never been happier in my entire life.
So at 2:00am this morning(Sat, May 2nd) Sarah wakes me and says she feels funny and has some less than pleasant leakage. We talked for a bit and decided to go to the hospital just to be sure. Turns out it was a good move as Sarah was leaking amniotic fluid…ie her water was breaking! Currently she is 33 weeks and 6 days so everything should be okay with the baby upon arrival…even if we totally are not prepared! (We were expecting another 6 weeks!)
We were transfered to St. Vincent in Indy since she was early and since being her she has continued now the path of fruitfull labor. As of 2:58pm she is 4 cm and 100% effaced (sp) We will be moving into the birthing suite shortly. Overall Sarah is doing well, more freaked out by the sudden arrival of Peanut but we will adapt (in case anyone didn’t know we were going to move this weekend!)
I have created a page just for Peanut. Check it out for updates, polls and eventually, pictures.
This morning as I surfed around the internet attempting to motivate myself for the day, I checked in on The Flatiron Life, blog of Corey’s friend Jake. I noticed that Jake had a post that discussed his son Jonah’s recent bout of roseola and then I noticed that my husband had posted a comment. It was entirely in jest but was something to the effect of looking forward to the challenges that childhood illnesses would present. Not the illnesses, but convincing me that little Chewbacca indeed does not have kuru. I laughed, but it did remind me of my biggest fear related to parenthood. I find that I’m not really freaking out about knowing whether it’s a hungry cry or a sleepy cry or a change my poopy diaper cry. I’m not really panicking about the quantity of lead in the baby’s toys. I’m not really suffering at all from most of the things that strike fear into the hearts of new parents. Indeed, my biggest worry comes from what I’ve done with my life leading up to parenthood. I often joke that I know just enough to be dangerous. What I’m humorously trying to say when I say that is that my work in emergency medicine has broadened my knowledge of how to recognize and treat illnesses from common to not so common. I’ve learned the initial steps to repair basic and severe injuries. I’ve come quite adept at calming parents frightened about their children’s illnesses. However, I’m not entirely confident of my ability to separate Sarah the PA and Sarah the Mom. I’ve had my trial run with the pregnancy and so far I think I’m doing alright. I was worried that after my time in the ED treating women having miscarriages, hyperemesis gravidarum, preterm labor, etc that I would jump to conclusions every time I experienced any symptom vaguely related to something severe. Up to this point, I’ve done fairly well at stopping to analyze something and then moving on. I’m hoping that this bodes well for the future once Peanut arrives. However, I still know enough to be dangerous. Will I be able to talk myself down as well as I do parents in the ED? Will I be able to stay away from the extremes, thinking every cough is a serious illness vs down-playing potentially severe symptoms? And the next step, assuming I manage to keep my head and differentiate common childhood illnesses from something serious that needs to be evaluated, will I be able to carry my baby into the ER, knowing that taking in a baby under 2 months old with a fever will result in blood work, cultures, cathed urine, chest xray, lumbar puncture and admission for observation? That I may actually have to sit back and let somebody else put stitches into the little one? God, I hope so.
So, Corey has quite the challenge on his hands, trying to keep me sane, or at least not slip further into insanity. And the answer is, no, chewbacca does not have kuru.
Time for an update on baby Peanut… Thus far, all of the OB appointments have been fairly quick. As the OB said this week, ‘you’re having a boring pregnancy, let’s keep it that way’. We had the 2nd, or as some refer to it the fun, ultrasound today. Here’s my complaint, and anyone who has been pregnant and had an ultrasound will understand. I am 19 and 1/2 weeks at this point. Instruction #1 for the ultrasound? Have a full bladder. Don’t urinate for several hours prior to the appointment and drink several glasses of water. By the time we left, I could barely stand to walk! I think it is some form of cruel punishment obviously thought up by a man. Anyway, so everything looked good on the ultrasound. Peanut has a head with a brain, 4 chamber heart, kidneys, stomach, hands, feet, fingers, toes and, according to my husband, there is one picture where the baby is sporting a penis as large as the baby itself. It’s actually the fist on top of the femur, but he won’t be swayed. Of course, he’s also referring to it as ’skeletor’ now, so that’s awesome. Currently Peanut weighs in at 11 oz and is on target for the predicted due date.
I’m sure the boys will notice what Corey has noticed about the above picture…
As for me, our big excitement of the week is that Peanut has figured out how to kick my bladder and is now doing so routinely, getting much encouragment from the daddy. It really is one of the strangest sensations in the world, to feel something inside of you kick something else inside of you. I’m currently thinking the kid is planning on a career in gymnastics because ever since I started feeling movement, it has steadily gotten more regular. There are times when I’m sure all four limbs are going simultaneously.
We got a videotape of the ultrasound as well today, so as soon as Corey finishes editing that, I will post it.
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