Blueberry Burrito

This is our little blueberry burrito baby. So named by Travis as his swaddle is baby blue. Pronounced in the local vernacular as 'blue-bury' burrito. Finn likes being swaddled right now, the trick is to do it without making him too hot. It keeps his little hands from flailing around too much at night - and accidentally waking himself up (he's so small he doesn't have control over his arm and leg movements yet). Between swaddle, growing up, and we think the reflux meds he now sleeps from 7:30pm through to 4am. Didn't want to advertise that until he'd done it for a week or so...it's so exciting!
Things are looking up. The reflux medicine is working wonders, spit up is greatly reduced and fussing after bottles is getting much better. After our second visit yesterday to Evan the cranial osteopath Finn's settled a bit more. Evan has this thing I call the miracle touch. Yesterday Evan hit upon a muscle group in Finn's neck and shoulders and it was like flicking a switch. Finn went from a purple faced, flailing, screaming, seriously unhappy guy to peaceful, burbling, gurgling smiling Finn in two seconds flat. It was absolutely amazing. Apparently he's carrying some tension in his neck and shoulders...sounds a bit like something his mom tends to do :)
Today was round two of shots. And a weight/length check at my request. He's in the 97th percentile for his age - 10 weeks and 16lbs (he's a big little guy) but the GP and I created a good plan of attack to make sure he eats appropriately for his age and size. No nonsense about cutting back, he's not overweight, he's just SO long that he weighs an appropriate amount for his length. Finn has been BIG since conception, and neither Travis or I are shorties, but I still want to make sure he's as healthy as I can have him be. As big as he is I was getting concerned about the volume of formula he's eating, and at what point I'd have to start supplementing with solids. Age wise it's not recommended before 4 months, but he's so big that soon he'll need the additional calories to keep up. Many of you will not be surprised to hear that Travis' mom had to do the same thing (start solids early) when he was an infant. So in about 3 weeks the GP wants us to start with a couple of teaspoonfuls of rice cereal a day. Oh boy!
As far as what we adults have been doing, the big news for us is that we're excited to be getting back in the exercise groove. The weather has been glorious and Travis has started riding his bike to work. I'm trying to get to the pool for a swim more often, and Travis getting home a bit earlier helps that.

Rough Week

It's been a long week. Finn is not a very happy little guy these days and there's not much we've been able to figure out to change that. Due to various different circumstances in his short life Finn's seen FIVE different doctors (note, if you're going to have a baby in Ireland, or probably any of Europe, doctors tend to go on holiday for months at a time during the summer leaving you with non-contiguous health care). On one hand it's great that he's had so many different sets of eyes to check him out but on the other hand it's been hard to get people to listen when I tell them I truly think that there is something causing all this upset other than him just being a baby.
First couple of check ups it was just too early, and everything was fine, third check up we all just thought it was colic/growing pains/no big deal and frankly I was coping OK. Fourth check up it was getting exponentially worse and the doctor seemed totally unconcerned. Finally last week, when we went in for 2 month immunizations, someone started to listen. Luckily this is Finn's registered doctor so it will be the one he should see from now on, barring any more holidays. She thinks Finn is having reflux issues and put him on some meds which we hope will help...so far some improvement but nothing spectacular. I have to admit I'm a bit frustrated with the health care profession at the moment.
More medical adventures, we took Finn to a cranial osteopath. Touch therapy, I have high hopes, but we've only been once and Finn screamed the entire time (not due to anything going on during the appointment, it's just normal behavior for him now). Will update on this as it progresses.
We still are trooping onward, he seems to do OK hanging loose in the Baby Bjorn carrier which actually lends some credibility to the reflux diagnosis (staying upright is generally most comfortable for anyone suffering from reflux). He still hates his 'pram' and won't lay in it for any period of time at all. We go for walks during the day and he usually falls asleep in the BB, like a ton of bricks! I'm going to either have a strong or very sore back...
Pictures are from this past weekend and the one before...this past weekend Travis and Finn on the beach at Bull Island with Howth in the background. The heather is blooming and Howth is all purple. It was gorgeous. Even though Travis is wearing his coat the day was really quite nice, I made him wear the coat so he could zip it over Finn if the weather turned. Other picture is the weekend before at the Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire. Finn's hanging out on the pier in his CSM sweatshirt. I promise it really is him under there.
So, here's hoping that next week is better that last week...it may be a while before the next post if things don't improve soon...don't want to post again until I can do it without whining :/

Finn LIVE!

I posted a video of Finn:

My camera apparently doesn't have sound so I'll tell you what's going on. First Finn sneezes...that's the funny bit where he screws up his face and arms and legs all go flying at the same time. Then you'll see a practice smile (watch for it, it's really cute). About once a day he's calm and relaxed enough that I get real smiles, the rest of the time he's asleep, eating, frustrated/grumpy/cranky/tired, and then sometimes he still practices. He practices in his sleep, too. But those few smiles where I smile at him and he smiles right back are just priceless. He is cooing and sort of gurgling at his mobile and watching the critters go around.
Poor Finn, his mobile is attached to the coffee table. He doesn't have a true crib here so we don't have anything in the Boys' room to attach it to. He's got a really snazzy Pack 'n Play but they don't come with nice slats to put toys on. Luckily our coffee table here has this iron work on the sides that we can screw things through, so his 'crib' toys are all out in the living room where he can play with them during the day (since we keep the pack and play for night time sleeping only anyway). Maybe some day Finn will get a crib...although he does sleep really well in the PNP.
Picture is the guys having lunch in Dun Laoghaire last weekend. Travis had a sandwich and a Coke, Finn had formula :) Yes, Finn has a Broncos pacifier tether (even though he's rarely interested in a pacifier). GO BRONCOS!

Rugby Beefcake

My guesses were right, Finn tipped the scales at 1/2 oz shy of fifteen pounds today. He is indeed a very very very large baby for his age. He was fussed over and ooohhh and aaaahhhhed over at the doc's today. This was the follow up visit back to the office we spent our entire 40 weeks at (and the pediatrician was the one who saw him at the hospital not our normal everyday GP, we see him next week). They are a bit disappointed that we are leaving Ireland and taking what they are sure will be a future Irish rugby star with us...
So fifteen pounds is kind of heavy for a guy who wants to be held all the time and a new mom whose muscles haven't caught up yet (I know I get NO sympathy from you moms who are hefting around your toddlers). For the rest of you, try walking around with three bags of flour tucked up against your shoulder for three hours (and no sitting, that starts the howling, walking alternating with jiggling only please!). Or if you don't have any flour hanging around a couple of jugs of milk will do.
Ah, but it's all worth it :) Today I got the first real smile. And not just one, a whole variety pack. We've had a few test runs, but not the real thing yet and both Travis and I have been awaiting the real thing. I got so excited and I jumped up so fast to call Travis to brag about it I think I scared Finn. Added bonus, yesterday some serious cooing started! We still get plenty of grunts, but when he gets the least bit relaxed Finn will let go with some manly little coos. What a little guy... for those of you who have yet to meet him we just can't wait to introduce you to him.
Sorry no pictures with this post, will work on some more this weekend...check the last post if you missed it for some recent pics.

Elvis Baby

Finn's 7.5 weeks old, but looks older. He still seems huge to me, and has gi-normous cheeks that get exaggerated by the way he holds his head back and tucks his chin in. Travis had really big cheeks as a baby so I'm not too surprised, but Finn looks all cheeks and head when you look at him. Have no fear, there's plenty of the rest of him, trust me!

This is my view of Finn most of the time. Although generally a little better in focus :) A little less in focus at 3:30am.

This week we'll go to the Dr. for our '6' week check up. We're told it's normal to have this check up anywhere between 6-8 weeks. This appointment is with the pediatrician we saw at the hospital. Then next week I think we have to go get our first round of shots. I am NOT looking forward to that! Poor guy is grumpy enough as it is, I don't really want to subject him to pointy things in his pudgy little parts.
Speaking of grumpy, he's still windy and still having a rough go of things. Yes, if he's awake he's agitated and frustrated and crying or on the verge of tears. We're getting some noises that aren't grunting, but neither Travis or I are holding our breath for contented cooing.

Ah yes, the Elvis impersonations! Young babies 'root' or shake their head back and forth with pursed lips looking for food. Finn's been a great feeder, and 'rooted' from the beginning. There's a twist now, the rooting's been replaced by the Elvis. Now we get the lip curl. Picture that thing Elvis did with his lip where he curled it up. It's hilarious.

I haven't managed to capture a picture of Finn doing Elvis as it comes right before feeding time, you'll just have to picture it in your mind. Even if poor Finn's having a rough time at least Travis and I are enjoying ourselves.

I don't know how much Finn weighs right now, I should be able to update that after our appt this week. But here's a picture of him so you can see how much bigger he is. He's holding his head up and is getting good trunk control, so he's generally less 'floppy.' He hates tummy time, but will happily lay on his tummy on my tummy or Travis' tummy, or on my lap. Generally he falls asleep there so he's not really building up any of those muscles he's supposed to be working on but at least it will hopefully help to avoid the flat head. This picture makes him look like a fat little old man, and while he's big some of that is the camera angle and the way he's propped up.

Ah yes, and a bath picture. Travis asked for one of these. This is kind of cool b/c you can see that Finn does, indeed, have a neck. I missed out on the 'my first bath' picture. I was too focused on getting the bath done (this was weeks and weeks ago, please don't think we never bathe Finn) and not really thinking about taking pictures. Which was OK because for the first two weeks Finn hated baths. Then all of a sudden he started liking them. I accidentally ran a really warm bath once and it turns out he likes REALLY warm baths, so now we run them hot, stick his little bath thermometer in, and wait until it cools off just enough so that it says it's safe to stick him in. No tepid baths for this one. Travis also asked for the picture to be, uh, discreet. Enjoy.

Last bit of news, last day in Dublin 11/16 and we're flying home. Where next? Unknown. May be back to Denver, may be on to somewhere new. Will know more in a month or so and will keep the blog updated