1 Month Old

Okay, I know Finn is almost 6 weeks old now but I haven't been very good about keeping on blogging.

I cannot believe how big he is getting. He is such a good eater and is starting to get those cute baby rolls around his legs and arms. We have been having so much fun watching him change every day. He is starting to smile more and have more happy, awake time after each feeding. We have a pretty good routine going. He gets up around 3am and 6am to eat during the night and then we get up for the day around 8am. During the day he eats every 2 hours, except around noon when he takes a 2-2.5 hour nap. I love nap time!

Things Finn Loves

    * Bath time with Dad

    * Snoozing in his bouncy chair

    * Strolling with Mom at Seward Park

    * Eating!!!!

    * Rocking to sleep in the glider

Things Finn is So-So about

    * Tummy time

    * Being swaddled (he fights it at first, but it calms him down and keeps him asleep)

    * The pacifer aka The Sucky (loves it, but when he's done, he's done and can spit it miles)

Things Finn Hates

    * His Swing

    * The Moby wrap

    * Being hungry

Finn's Arrival-Part 2-The Birth

At 11:30pm, the doctor came in to break my water. The hope was this would really jump start things and boy did it! There was lots and lots of water and my stomach immediately looked smaller.

The doctor suggested I walked around a bit to help Finn drop down. I made it one lap around the hallway, before the contractions got so strong I couldn't walk or talk anymore. At 12:30am, I asked for my epidural. It took about 15 minutes for the anatheiologist to get there and get started. By then I was having really strong contractions and really glad I asked for the epidural when I did!

Things got a little crazy for a few minutes. The anatheiologist was working on the epidural in my back, I had 3 RN's trying to get Finn back on the monitor, and then my BP started dropping so I had another RN giving me oxygen and taking my BP. The anatheiologist said it would take 10-15 minutes for the epidural to kick in, but after 15 minutes I still wasn't getting any relief. One of my biggest fears was having the epidural not work, so I started to panic a bit. But he bumped up the dose a bit and then it kicked in.

Once the epidural kicked in, I was a happy camper. I was so excited to know that Finn was going to be here soon and so ready to meet him. They had me rest for a bit and then at 2am, I started pushing. I pushed for about an hour but then my contractions started spacing out. They bumped up the Pitocin and had me rest again, until the contractions were closer together.

At around 4:30am, the doctor came in to see how things were progressing. One practice push and she was calling everyone for delivery!

At 5:03am on August 10th, Finnegan Orion entered the world. He weighed 8lbs and was 20 inches long. Sean and I were immediately in love with him and in awe of this little person we had brought into the world.

Finn's Arrival-Part 1-The Induction

After going 2 full weeks past my due date, we finally headed to the hospital on Friday, August 7th for my induction. I thought for sure he was coming that day. Boy was I wrong. Here I am on Friday. Still in good spirits and texting updates to family and friends.

I was on a Pitocin IV pretty much all day to help induce labor, but by the end of the day very little had happened. I was having contractions, but they weren't doing anything. They turned off my IV overnight and decided we would re-group in the morning.

On Saturday, my doctor decided to try an oral medication that helps induce labor. I took this medicine every 4 hours throughout the day. I was still hooked up to the IV because they had such a hard time getting it in, we didn't want to lose the line. So we were pretty much stuck in the hospital room all day. Sean and I watched a bunch of movies (thumbs up to Gran Torino, thumbs down to Synecdoche, New York) and napped (Sean was loving his "vacation" from work!) My mom and sister came to visit and we paced the hallways for a bit. But by the end of the day, still nothing was happening.

Sunday, my doctor came in around 9am to discuss our options. I loved that she asked first about my emotional well-being and then about my physical well-being. I was getting frustrated at the lack of progress and ready to meet my little boy! She offered me a c-section, but we declined. Although I was ready to be done, I didn't want to have a c-section unless absolutely necessary. She gave us a pass to leave the hospital for a few hours, so Sean and I ran home for some clean clothes and then out to breakfast. I started back on the Pitocin IV around 3pm and the plan was to have the doctor break my water when the contractions started getting regular and stronger.

Finally at 11:30pm, I was having regular, strong contractions and ready to have the doctor break my water.

No Baby....But Another Pie

Have you seen the movie "Waitress"? I love this movie. Keri Russell's character is a pie maker and she is always giving the pies crazy names like "I Hate My Husband" pie and "Pregnant, Miserable, Self-Pitying Loser" pie.

So yesterday, I made "Get This Baby Out of My Uterus" Pie aka Coconut Cream Pie. Sean mentioned that he was in the mood for this pie and I didn't have anything better to do, since this baby has decided to stay put for the time being.

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

In a medium saucepan, combine half-and-half, coconut milk, eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 3/4 cup of the coconut and the vanilla extract. Pour into pie shell and chill 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.

Top with whipped topping, and with remaining 1/4 cup of coconut.

Note: To toast coconut, spread it in an ungreased pan and bake in a 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Waiting...

The good news is today is my due date. The bad news is that Finn is nowhere in sight! I went to the doctor today and I am only a fingertip dialated and not having any real progression. I was hoping to have my membranes stripped to help jumpstart things, but I wasn't dialated enough for her to do that. Luckily, Finn is doing great. He is still measuring on schedule, his heartrate was good, and my blood pressure was good. So now we just sit back and wait.

Unfortunately, this is the forecast of the next week in Seattle. Above 90 is unheard of around here and above 90 for five days in a row.....we might as well be living in hell! I have a feeling the waiting is going to get very uncomfortable. Tuesday looks like a good day to have a baby and spend a couple days in the air conditioned hospital. Cross your fingers.

Not Baby Related

No news to report on the baby front (due date is 4 days away!), so instead I thought I would share my favorite summer dessert recipe. My sister's birthday is tomorrow and she requested this pie for dinner. It is super easy to make and so yummy!

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

1 lb strawberries

8 oz cream cheese

1/3 cup + 2 TBSP sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 TBSP vanilla

8 oz whipped topping (thawed)

1 Graham Cracker Ready Crust

***Do not use fat-free or low-fat ingredients. Trust me, we've tried it before and the pie will not set up unless you use the full fat variety of the cream cheese, sour cream, and whipped topping. It's worth the extra calories!***

Slice the strawberries. Mix with 2 TBSP sugar and set aside until juicy. Crush lightly.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually blend in 1/3 cup sugar. Stir in sour cream, vanilla, and sliced strawberries. Blend thouroughly. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crust and chill for 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Finn's Nursery

As previously mentioned, I like monkeys. And therefore, my son better like monkeys.

My sister came over today and helped me finish putting together Finn's nursery. I love how it turned out. Is it possible to have too many monkeys? I think not!

And just for fun, here's a picture of me at 36w5d pregnant. As you can see, he is still sitting VERY high. I'm hoping he drops down soon, although I know this is not required before labor starts. I just think it would be cool to wake up one morning and see a dramatic change. We shall see.

Baby Shower #2

The women in my family lack the ability to throw a simple party. We always go over the top and the baby shower my sister threw me last weekend was no exception.

Me and my sister, Rachel

First, there were the handmade invitations:

Then, the surprise of having my two best friends from California come up for the weekend. I had NO idea, which is pretty impressive since even my husband knew and he can't keep a secret to save his life. Prior to the shower, I was suppose to meet my mom for a pedicure. Instead, LeAnn and Shelley were waiting for me at the nail salon.

I love this picture. At this point, I had no idea they were sitting there and LeAnn's face cracks me up.

LeAnn, me, and Shelley

Next, the monkeys! A note: if you tell people the "theme" of your nursery you will receive ever possible gift that follows that theme. Our nursery is going to be monkeys. Our son now owns every outfit known to man with a monkey on it. He has also started a large collection of stuffed monkeys. And of course, the shower was monkey themed.

Lastly, the presents. Holy heck, there were a lot of presents. My friends and family were incredible generous and we received many, many great items.

But my favorite gift was this toybox that my sister made. I told you, the women in my family have a tendency to be over the top.

Baby Names

So...naming a baby is hard work. A name can say everything about a person and will be with them for the rest of their life. There are so many things to consider when trying to find the perfect name for your baby.

When my parents were deciding what to name me, my mom wanted Erin and my dad wanted Colleen. My mom insisted you couldn't name a baby Colleen, because it was too grown-up. Apparently, she thought I was going to be a baby forever! They compromised. I'm Erin Colleen.

Sean's parents picked a middle name that his dad decided he hated so much, they went to the courthouse when he was a couple weeks old to have it officially changed.

I have always loved old fashioned names. I always tell people if I ever have twin girls, I will name them Millicent (Millie) and Matilda (Tillie). I'm mostly joking, but I do love both of those names. Sean has even agreed on those names if we have twin girls (he is clearly betting we don't!).

Sean and I tried to talk about baby names before we found out we were having a boy, but we lacked focus. We decided to give up until we knew it was a boy. Some people like to wait to see what the baby "looks" like, but we knew we wanted to have a name picked out in advance. I really wanted a name that had a good nickname. Sean wanted something that sounded sensitive and intelligent.

We did finally find a name we both agreed on, but it wasn't easy. Every name I suggested (Griffin, Seth), Sean would veto and visa versa (Lincoln, Malcolm). One day I brought home 2 copies of the top 500 boys names. We each went through and highligted names we liked and then compared lists. We had NO (ZERO) matches. I suggested the name we finally agreed on and Sean suggested the middle name. Sean wasn't completely sold at first, but about a week later he said "Maybe that isn't such a bad idea after all".

So in approximately 6 weeks we will be welcoming.....

Finnegan Orion (nickname: Finn)

Baby Shower #1

My awesome co-workers threw me and another co-worker a baby shower this past week. It was scheduled to occur before our due dates, but her little one decided to show up about 4 weeks early. Luckily, they were both feeling well enough to come to the shower for a bit. I have to admit, I appreciated the attention being diverted from me to the teeny, tiny baby.

My cubicle-mates (Irina, Lindsey, and Kelly)

I got lots of goodies from my registry, several cute monkey outfits (I really, really like monkeys), and a gift card to Babies R Us that will definitely come in handy. I am really lucky to work with such a great group of people.

Things I Miss

Forget caffeine, lunch meat, tuna, and soft cheeses (or other things I haven't completely given up since getting pregnant).....the one thing I miss is beer. I love beer. A nice cold beer on a summer day is just about heaven. 9 months without beer is a small price to pay for getting a kid out of the deal, but I sure will be happy to enjoy a frosty, cold one again soon!

What Happens When Fat Gets Pregnant

A brief pictorial of my pregnancy. I haven't taken a ton of pictures (bad mommy), but here's what I have so far.

5 weeks pregnant....just to establish I wasn't small to begin with.

20 weeks pregnant....no pictures between 5 weeks and 20 weeks because they all would have involved me with my head in the toilet.

21 weeks pregnant...at the big reveal party with all the grandparents. I made cupcakes and frosted half pink and half blue. The blue ones had a little prize inside. All the grandparents had the right idea, except my mom.

26 weeks pregnant...self portrait struggles.

31 weeks pregnant....with Sean on Alki Beach.

Blogging-Take Two

So clearly, I suck at blogging. But I'm going to give it another try.

Two days prior to my last post (in November....I told you, I suck!), I found out I was knocked up. Woot! Sean and I are beyond excited to welcome our little one into the world sometime around July 24th.

The beginning of my pregnancy was THE SUCK! I had horrible morning (all day) sickness and was puking all the time. I started taking meds for the nausea at 8 weeks. These helped with the puking, but didn't do much for the nausea. I spent the next 20ish weeks with varying degrees of nausea. I am still on meds at 32 weeks, but am finally enjoying pregnancy a bit more (just in time for the neverending heartburn, swollen feet, and inability to bend over part of my pregnancy!).

At 20 weeks, we had our big ultrasound and found out we are having a BOY! If I had a scanner, I'd scan the picture to prove it to you, but I'll save my son years of therapy by not posting his penis on the Internet. To be honest, I wanted a girl and it took me about 30 seconds to process when the tech said it was a boy. Amazing how quickly you get used to the idea. I am so excited to have a little boy in the family. I have lots and lots of girl cousins, but boys are a rare breed in my family.

So that's where I've been for the past 6 months. I have a feeling this blog is going to take a decidedly baby turn, but I'll try to keep it entertaining.