Blondie

Many of you know that Travis and I picked out Finn's name long before his arrival. You may not know that Finn means 'fair haired' and Felix means 'the lucky one.' We liked the name Finn and knew it would be an Irish name that would be easy for Americans to say and spell. We did not, however, expect our wee one to actually be fair haired. Finn's mop of fair hair has become his most commented upon feature around here, we only wish our far away friends and family could see it! It's still thick and blond, and just begs to be touched. After all the comments we got at the hospital we asked if blond babies were less common - it's not that, it's that blond babies are generally born with not very much hair and the unusual thing about baby Finn is that he's got a headful (at least for now).
We make a trip to the health clinic this past week to get weighed. 11lb 13oz at 3 weeks. Finn's now 4 weeks, (yikes, one month!) old, and we have indeed had to pack in some of his 0-3 month clothes already. Bring on the 3-6 month clothes!
This week has been a little drier so we've gotten out some more. We went to the farmer's market just around the corner for some falafels, yummy! Travis managed to get home from work a little early today and we're having a lovely evening at home enjoying each other. Next weekend is a bank holiday weekend so he'll have an extra day at home to play with Finn (and give mom a little break).
Pictures are his head of hair, reading his 'high contrast' book (mostly b&w images that are easy for babies to see) with dad, and chilling out with mom.

Belching, Junk Food, and Junk TV

If you hadn't already noticed, the blog has taken turn towards news about Finn. Well, that's just how it is around here these days. As I'm sure you understand my life is all about Finn right now and when Travis is home it's what his life is all about, too. Probably even some of the time when he's at work...
So Friday marked 3 weeks old and the 0-3 mos pjs are getting too small. Rompers and generous onsies are still doing OK but those pjs are going to have to go in a week or so. We're quick putting him in all our favorites before he can't wear them anymore. Picture this week is one of those favorites...it's got a froggie going after a fly and a fish on it. Plus it's stripy. We both think baby Finn looks really nice in bright colors and stripes.
Big week for us, Finn went for his first ride on the DART. We ventured all the way to city centre for lotion for mom and a couple more outfits for Finn. He slept through the whole thing. We also had our first al fresco lunch, Finn woke up on the train ride home and started howling. Luckily the sun was out so we sat on a bench at the Sandymount station and sucked down a bottle.
Also this week, VISION! He's always been able to see, of course, and way back in about week one he noticed the groovy mobile above the swing. Since we don't have a true crib, just the pack and play, there's no way for us to attach any cool stuff to his sleeping area. That includes the super cool Fisher Price Aquarium that we got from a friend (shout out to Eileen P.). Looking up at the light fixture on the ceiling is only entertaining for so long so we've gotten creative about placing baby friendly stuff within 8-12 inches from where Finn spends his time. This week we found a place to put the aquarium where he can see it from his nap spot. He even manages to turn it on and smack one of the toys occasionally with his random baby arm flailing. It's a bit surprising when I think he's asleep and all of a sudden the music just gets started...
We also discovered 'comfort sucking' this week. This was all Travis, and I'm sure glad he figured it out. Finn likes to suck, but once his bottle is gone it's not a good idea for him to gulp down air while sucking on the bottle. Or for him to suck on a not empty bottle when he's done eating (it gets really messy). Travis stuck a soother (you prob know them as pacifiers, but isn't the Irish way of calling it a soother nice?) in his mouth after he was done eating and voila! Happy baby, not throwing up, sucking merrily along satisfying the urge to suck but not having to eat to do it. He's not old enough to keep the soother in very well so it's well supervised sucking with lots of popping the soother back in, but he's a happy little camper.
So, I'm taking the picture that's posted this week and can't get over how much it looks like the baby version of junk food (soother) and junk tv (aquarium). Feeling a bit like a bad mummy, pacifying my child with battery powered-light up-noise making (it's really a quality toy that I love, the aquarium is allowed in my no-battery powered toy world b/c it makes nice music and has a timer so it turns itself off) and a silicone blob stuck in his mouth. Well, he's happy and calm and if it makes him feel good then I'm OK with it. One of the many ideals I'm sure I'll work through during this whole parenthood adventure!
The windy baby syndrome (gassy baby for Americans) is getting slightly better. We're using some drops that help 'bring up the wind.' Finn lets rip with some belches that have me thinking of Phil Q! I laughed out loud yesterday at one that truly should not have come from one so small. I was laughing so hard I think I startled Finn, he wasn't quite sure what was going on. We've been on the new formula about a week and a half now and it seems to be a bit gentler on his system than the previous stuff. Advice from other moms is that his tummy still has some developing to do and that by the time he's 3-4 months this will all be pretty much sorted out. That sounded like forever to me until I realized that 3 months is only 12 weeks and we're already 1/4 of the way there...all of a sudden it didn't sound so bad. In the meantime we do what we can to make Finn comfortable. Added bonus is that I never have to decide whether I should hang my clothes up and wear them one more time or just toss them in the wash. They always have spit up on them somewhere, I go through almost as many outfits a day as Finn!

Jazz Baby

Happy 2 weeks old to Finn today! Yesterday was his actual due date. Let me tell you, had he been born as big as he was yesterday I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it :) Picture on the left was about a week ago (note he wasn't quite at the foot of the buggy), Finn looking tiny in his buggy. Picture on the right was today, his 2 week birthday, looking like he's starting to fill up that very same carry cot! Apparantly newborns hit a growth spurt at 2 weeks, about 2 1/2 days ago Finn started eating like it might be the last time he ever gets to eat, and he's been sleeping VERY soundly. Sounds great, right? Well, it's actually not bad. He's up often to eat, but the inbetween times he's out like a light. He looks much bigger to me, and his clothes are all starting to look less huge.
Fun thing for mom today, I put on a belt to hold my pants up. Whoo hoo! My belts have not seen the light of day since somewhere in the middle of my 2nd trimester.
A couple of months ago our friend Delaney turned 2 and we made her a mix CD called "Delaney's Super Jazzy Dance Mix." See, Delaney likes to dance to the saxophonist at the farmer's market so we put together some tunes we thought she'd like. An added benefit to this project was that I learned in-utero Finn LOVED jazz. If you recall Finn was SUPER active all during pregnancy, so much so that it really wore me out. Turned out that if I played jammin' jazz for him he settled right down, right there in the womb. The fantastic news is that he STILL has great taste in music and we still listen to jazz! Wild jazz during diaper changes to get him calmed down, more mellow jazz at naptime to settle him to sleep.
So now I'm looking for suggestions of more jazz to get. Our favorites right now are Louis Armstrong (there's a fantastic album where he does Disney, my favorite), Quincy Jones, Paris Combo. For more laid back listening Four80East, Soel, Voodoo Dogs, US3, and the Straight No Chaser album. Nothing too fluffy, mom and dad have to listen, too (no Kenny G please).
It's been a rollercoaster week, the public health nurse visited on Wednesday and proclaimed that Finn looked gorgeous and healthy (always reassuring to hear), and our friends the Bebows stopped by with their 3 kids to visit (and bring dinner, yum!). We haven't gotten out much, the weather has been absolutely wretched here. My migraines became crippling, so we switched to formula this week so I could get back on my meds. The whole family is happier now, and things are starting to settle a bit.

Sweet Baby Finn

Baby Finn has arrived, one week ago today. Born two weeks early on Friday, June 29 at 3:41pm Irish Summer Time he weighed in at 8lb 12oz and 20 3/4" long.
Travis is home this week, waiting on us hand and foot. It's really quite helpful as lovely Finn likes to eat a lot and often. I'd like to send a special thank you to all the moms that emailed me advice, tips, and very importantly shopping tips. We are well prepared to care for wee Finn and are continually amazed at the good fortune in baby 'equipment' choices we have available to us. Finn throws some new adventure at us and often we discover we have the perfect item to help us tackle the fun! Who knew so much baby stuff really was going to be this helpful?!?! While he was totally supportive, I know Travis wondered if we really DID need the four duffel bags of baby stuff I brought back after my trip home in April. Now, he's thrilled to have pretty much everything we need at our fingertips (and just barely unpacked from the move, too!).
Thanks also go to everyone who has sent us their kind thoughts and wishes. It's really great to hear from all of you! The nurses at the hospital (I can't say enough good things about Mt. Carmel and the nursing staff there, it was a wonderful experience) were slightly concerned as ours was the only room not filled to overflowing with flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals. We assured them that we'd been well taken care of before the arrival of Finn by our American family and friends (the Irish do not throw baby showers, so gifts come after the arrival). We had enough to carry out of the hospital without having to worry about giant champagne bottle shaped balloons :)
The sleepless nights are here, although they aren't quite as bad as I'd expected. Some better than others... having zero responsibility other than caring for Finn makes it OK to be a zombie during the day. Travis is doing laundry, cooking, running any errands, and filling the freezer with dinners for the next couple of weeks. He'll be going back to work next week and we'll miss him, but his new work hours are much better so that makes it easier for us.
I got my first "Happy Birthday Mummy" card from our precocious son on Tuesday. It's up on the mantle in a place of honor
The pictures are of Finn on his way home from the hospital and then today, his one week birthday, hanging out with dad. We're as relaxed as I think new parents can be, and so so happy!