Chip off the Travis Block

Somewhere Finn has some of my genes, but other than the fussy, crying one I'm not sure which ones they are yet. This morning I was struck by how much he is *just* like Travis. I gave him a bath this morning and his little skin puckered up in the funny way that Travis' does (Travis' sister's skin does it, too). Then when he went down for his morning nap (yay!) in the pram (double yay!) he threw his arms up and put them under his head, elbows out, just like Travis does every night, and just like I've heard Travis Dad did, too.

Photos are from this weekend when Broncos played the Raiders at home. The game didn't air on TV here, but Travis dressed Finn as a true supporter anyway - all the way down to his socks. Finn fell asleep and napped this weekend sucking on his fingers, helpful for prolonging naps! We're still struggling with tummy time, but the new game with the inflatable tube (sort of like a beach ball which was suggested to me) has been a big hit. The picture is blurry as it's an action shot.
Broncos won the game, thanks to Jason Elam. What will we do when he retires!?!?!?! 2-0 for the season now :)

Be a Pepper

It's a good thing Dr. Pepper USED to be available in Dublin. For a very short window you could get Dr. Pepper here. When we moved here, no Dr. Pepper. About the beginning of June we could get Dr. Pepper, and up until about the beginning of September it was available in a few convenience stores in the area.
You may not know this, but I'm not much of a pop drinker. I don't do coffee or tea, so I don't really do caffeine, either. But I do like Dr. Pepper. Moving here it was OK to not have it, I really didn't miss it that much, but when I need a caffeine fix it's the thing I look for. As the parent of a newborn, I NEEDED CAFFEINE in a really bad way. Some caffeine distribution planets aligned and for a brief time Dr. Pepper was indeed available here in Dublin. Travis would go to Spar in Blackrock (one of the few places that carried it) and clean them out. He'd buy 12 bottles at a time. At 1.40euro a piece it wasn't a cheap trip to the store. Right now that's just less than $2 for a 500ml (16oz) bottle.
Now, my Dr. Pepper supply line has dried up. I prowl around in hopes that someone will start carrying it again. Travis has even asked around to see if anyone has any left buried in their storage closets. No luck. Apparently the floods in the UK have disrupted Dr. Pepper distribution and no one knows when we'll see it again, if ever. I've got three left, and they're going fast... it's a good thing Finn's sleeping pretty well these days or we'd truly be in a dire situation!

SMILE!

We're having a much better week this week. The picture is dark, but you should easily see the grin in this picture. Finn's been grinning all afternoon today and I can't help but giggle and be giddy about it. He's obviously feeling much much better, the tension in his body is less and less each day. Just shows what a little reflux medication, a little touch therapy, and just growing a week older can do. I am crossing my fingers but I am pretty sure the worst is behind us now. He still cries, but it's crying now, not the screaming of before, and it's not never-ending. Now he has several periods of lucidity a day which I treasure and I wish Travis was around to see more often. Pesky job that he goes to so he can provide for us to keep us both in smiles :o)

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 :/