Introducing Finn

It Would Have Been a Great Week at the Ranch

Last Monday, the sweetest little baby boy joined our family. His name is Finn and we cannot get enough of him. He weighed eight pounds two ounces and was 21 inches long. Today, one week later, he weighs four ounces more. He is a champion nurser. Pretty much a pro from the start. He has the softest, roundest head, the cutest little tummy, and the wrinkliest old man feet. He sleeps, eats, poops, occasionally stares us down, and snuggles like there is nothing better in the world.

Here are a few photos of our first week together.

Blogger didn't like my formatting and turned a few of these pictures. Sorry about that!

As a side note, and an explanation to the subtitle of this post, I was able to watch a bit of TV in the hospital. Since I don't regularly watch any shows it was a bit challenging to find something that I could just jump right into: enter Biggest Loser! It's pretty likely that I would have been safe from elimination this week. My total weight loss percentage for the last seven days is a whopping 12%. Of course I have little or no concern for that number on the scale at this point, but it still intrigues me!

60 Posts 60 Days: Day 60

Pretty Unbelievable

Wow. Sixty days is a long time for me to commit to anything let alone follow through. Add to that a pregnancy nearing an end (hopefully very soon) and it seems nearly miraculous. Okay, so not every entry was super exciting, probably most bordering on mundane, but it did make the time pass more quickly and gave me a bit of a challenge.

Today's chores for the visitors included cleaning up yard waste. Leaves, annual flowers, tomato plants, pepper plants, cabbage bottoms, etc. Tomorrow it is suppose to rain so getting it all out of the yard seemed appropriate. I meant to put some caulking around the edge of the porch where it comes in contact with the house but didn't get that accomplished. A little extra defense against water and bugs. I know there are plenty of small cracks and holes to fill along the sides of the house so perhaps I will try to get as many of those as possible too.

Where to from here? Well, I won't guarantee a blog post every day. I will update regularly though. And I will include pictures of the new wee one when he is born (hopefully very soon).

60 Posts 60 Days: Day 59

She Cooks, She Cleans

Aunt Gee Gee has really been working her tail off since her arrival. Yesterday she cleaned the toy room. Today she tackled the bathroom, the kitchen, made dinner, and cleaned leaf and branch debris off the roof, gutters, and snow stops. Thanks!!!! Additionally she gave me a little pedicure, complete with a lovely foot rub.

I managed to pull together a top for a dresser so it can be used as a changing table. It's been a while since I have used power tools and the tummy tends to get in the way when making long cuts with the circular saw but it turned out alright. I do love the compound miter saw with its straight, precise cuts. What a lovely piece of machinery.

Clare enjoyed more fun times playing with Cheda. Her favorite game is hiding Pudgy the Hedgehog under a blanket and having Cheda find him. Cheda plays along very nicely, pretending she has absolutely no clue where Pudgy might be hiding. They also enjoy bouncing Pudgy on the blanket until he falls on the ground and Clare bursts into uncontrollable giggling. Pure laughter from a three-year-old is one of the nicest sounds around.

And yeah, no new baby yet....

60 Posts 60 Days: Day 58

Running Out of Posts

Day 58. First of all, who knew that I would ever be able to stay on track for such a long time. There were a few days when I was actually headed to bed before I realized I'd forgotten to post something. This only leaves two more days in which I'll need to be on the ball. After that, no promises!

I had my 39 week doctor visit today. No progress. It was almost devastating in a way. A whole week of contractions, pain, discomfort, lack of sleep, and absolutely no change. Another reason to have all that extra pregnancy hair on your head - so you can pull it out!!! This baby's due date is Saturday, so he'd better decide to get a move on. And in a hurry.

Don't ask the pregnant lady if the baby has arrived...she'll be more than happy to tell you!

60 Days 60 Posts: Day 57

Playmates

It's as if Clare and Gee Gee were never separated after their time in Sitka. Clare views her aunt as the perfect playmate. "Come see this." "Let's go do that." Makes for a pretty relaxing day for the mom. I did a few (very few) chores, took a nap, made dinner, and worked on this agonizing quilt project (I'm sure I will love it when it is FINALLY done). We took a trip to the library as well which reminded me of the days when I was able to walk five blocks without having to pee!

Still playing the waiting game. Contractions come and go. Nothing consistent.

It would be disappointing to not make it to 60 Posts, wouldn't it? Hmmm......

The plum wine is in the finally purification stage.

60 Posts 60 Days: Day 56

Reinforcements

After a week of just the three of us, another wave of reinforcements has arrived. My mom and sister Brigid are here to act as crowd control (Clare) when the time comes for me to head off to the hospital. Hopefully that time will be soon as each day is just a wee bit more uncomfortable than the last. Lots of contractions today but no rhyme or reason to them.

I do believe that today may be my favorite day of the year. I love gaining that extra hour! Plus Clare slept in a bit later than usual both days this weekend so I think I may have gotten six hours of consecutive sleep last night. Dreamy!

Tomorrow is a full moon. Maybe that will bring new baby luck. It always seems to make kids crazy at school, so perhaps it will have the same effect on me tomorrow.