Downtown Adventure

This past Thursday, Finley and I went for an exciting adventure into downtown Boston. First, I bundled Finley into his much loved Patagonia snowsuit. It's a bit big for him (his hands and feet don't nearly fill out the sleeves and pants), but it is very snuggly warm! Also, he usually falls asleep once he is zipped into it, which is an unadvertised bonus. For example, I zipped him up and left him for two minutes so I could get my coat on, when I came back he was zonked out!

We drove to the T station, got Finley into his Becco (front carrier), and hopped onto the next redline train. Finley instantly fell asleep to the hum of the train and the rumbling along the tracks. His Granddad would be proud!

We got off the train at Park Street and out we popped right on the Boston Common! Still snow covered, the public garden was a lovely site as we walked through. We passed the state house and the frog pond, too bad Finley was too sleepy to watch the ice skaters on the pond! We left the Common and walked down Charles Street to Upper Crust where we picked up a delicious pizza. It was pretty awkward carrying Finley in his carrier and trying to hold a large pizza out in front (with mittens on!), but we managed to get the pizza over to our destination: my friend Deb's house :)

We went to see Deb's little baby (only 4 weeks old!), Edward. Deb and I taught together in Newton and were lucky enough to have babies really close together. I pulled Finley out of his carrier and we just had to see how the kids measured up!

Now Finley isn't really THAT much bigger, that snowsuit gives him some extra inches :) Finley looks like such a little man! Edward is a cute, little peanut and it really took me back to see how small he was...hard to believe I'm already experiencing that "they grow so fast" cliche, but I am! We hung out, had pizza, nursed, changed diapers, saw Edward's adorable nursery, and chatted and chatted and chatted. I love having so many fellow mommies in my life! I know Edward and Finley will be fast friends...once they realize the other is in the room!

We bundled ourselves back up, said our goodbyes and headed back to the T. However, halfway across the Common I realized we could stop in to visit my friend, Lisa, who works nearby. Luckily, she was available and we hung out with her in her really, really warm office before heading back out to the suburbs.

Our ride home was uneventful, except that since it was now rush hour the subway was packed and we got a lot more "oohs" and "ahhs" from commuters :) It was really fun and quite easy to go downtown, so I'm sure I'll come up with all sorts of excuses in the coming months to venture in!

Party Animal

On Sunday, Finley got to go to two birthday parties! We were amazed how our social lives have quickly turned from football and frisbee to diapers and cupcakes (not together hopefully)!

Around lunchtime, we drove to Natick to celebrate Charlotte's first birthday. Our friends Davey and Gabi threw a wonderfully laid back shin dig at their local rec center. Finley was much too small to enjoy the gym set up, but Dan certainly took advantage by shooting hoops and trying to get the grown ups to play dodge ball. It was awesome to see Charlotte crawling everywhere and climbing all around...amazing that Finley will be doing the same thing next Thanksgiving! He slept through 90% of the whole thing, but that was just fine with us.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte!

Later we went over to Sam and Betty's house to celebrate the dual birthdays of their sons, Benjamin (turning 1) and Andrew (turning 3). We walked in and knew we were in for a serious celebration because we saw the amazing homemade train cake! Ace of Cakes, eat your heart out! My mind began to swirl with ideas for Fin's first cake...but I digress...

The party was fun with lots of our friends and Finley's, too. Here is a picture of Aliza and Eliot dancing while Finley watched in amazement from behind the camera :)

It was adorable to watch Andrew and Ben while we sang "Happy Birthday" and Andrew did a great job blowing out the candles and patiently waiting to dig into the giant cake!

Finley only slept through half of this party, but we're pretty sure he enjoyed the evening. He did have a rare freak out before we left, it was really odd because he was nearly inconsolable despite being full and dry...it was the first time we couldn't satisfy him by bouncing him around or changing positions in our arms out in public. He caught us off guard and it just reminded us that we are still on the gigantic baby learning curve. We said quick goodbyes and made a run for it, perhaps he was OVERstimulated (I know I was!).

All in all, a great Sunday filled with friends and partying :) I know there will be many, many more kiddie birthday parties to come and it feels good to have the first couple under our belts!

Almost 8 weeks old

The past week or so, Finley began to be slightly more interested in stuff other than his parents. We learned how important it is to promote visual tracking using black and white images (babies see high contrast the best these days) and how we need to stimulate him without OVERstimulating him...a delicate balance, apparently.

He's become more entertained by hanging out in his bouncy seat (a gift from some Texas friends) but he is surprisingly more interested in the green turtle there as opposed to the high contrast penguin on the other side! What do those baby neurologists know anyways?

Now that he enjoys being flat on his back more, he thinks his playmat is pretty fun. We think he likes the bunny shaped rattle the best (but we are bunny-biased), though this morning he was finally locking eyes with the cow that has a mirror on his belly.

My beloved nursing pillow, the Boppy, is also good for elevated tummy time. Finley seems to have pretty advanced head control for a nearly 8 week old (who has been doing this for a couple weeks). Not only is this good for his neck muscles, but also pretty awesome for photo ops!

My best friend from high school, Kate, came to stay with us for three days this past week and Finley enjoyed his time with her--though not as much as I did :) It never ceases to amaze me how she and I reconnect in seconds after being apart for such a long time, a sign of true, long lasting friendship. It was awesome to have another adult around at home with us this week. I think it is good for Finley to be held, soothed, and fascinated by people other than his parents!

While this isn't "play" perhaps, we are pleased to find that Finley is often happiest just hanging out on his changing table. Who'd a thunk it? He still doesn't love being changed, but more and more he is just relaxed and happily looking around afterwards. Now we keep a couple toys nearby so we can have some fun while he's laying there. He's holding onto his o-ball here (a gift from our friends Moira and Ryan). It's neat how he can grasp small, thin stuff now. Not to mention he's occasionally been sucking his knuckles or thumb (since he won't take a pacifier, we're pretty excited).

I don't know why this is underlined...anyways...it's been fun to see what attracts Finley's attention: his black and white squirrel flashcard (for real!), ceiling fans, that green turtle, staring outside our living room window...and it will be interesting to see how these preferences change and develop in the coming weeks and months :)

Sleep to Dream

I apologize in advance for not having any Finley pictures that coordinate with this blog, but I really wanted to post about this topic: Baby Sleep.

Finley's a good sleeper in that he will sleep at night and doesn't have a difficult time falling asleep no matter how much he's slept during the day and/or evening. Since bringing him home, he's slept 95% of the time with us in our bed. We didn't plan on it, but he wouldn't sleep alone in his co-sleeper (small crib/bassinet next to our bed) and we all needed sleep so we reluctantly made a family bed. It was fine, in fact, it was very snuggly...but as time went on, we knew that he needed to transition.

He's a little young to "cry it out," so what else could we do? Consult friends with babies and endless google searches like "baby won't sleep alone" and "getting baby out of your bed." We learned a lot and got some great ideas. For example, we learned that babies do not fall into their deepest (REM) sleep until 20 minutes after they fall asleep, unlike adults who get there almost instantly. Therefore, if you want to rock your baby to sleep and then drop him/her into a crib, bassinet, etc., you should rock him for at least 20 minutes after he's closed his eyes and drifted off to dreamland. We polled the new moms we know and the web to come away with these assorted tips:

1. use a white noise machine on a heart beat or rainfall setting (mimics in the womb white noise)

2. baby should be tightly swaddled (we have been doing that, so it was good to know we were already doing something right)

3. at first, babies should sleep in a place that isn't very spacious (not a crib or co-sleeper) because they can feel the openness and aloneness of it and they don't like it

4. roll towels to put around the bottom half of where baby is sleeping, so he or she will "fit" into the space and feel snuggled

5. put a piece of clothing like a shirt that mom has been wearing that day as a sheet so that her familiar smell will comfort baby (apparently, I have a motherly scent these days)

6. at least 10 min. before putting baby to bed, put a heating pad into bassinet to warm it up so the transition from your arms won't be as jarring temperature wise

Okay, that's pretty high maintenance, right? Well, we figured let's try ALL of the above and see what we get in return. Finley's friend, Henry, lent us his padded bassinet to borrow that is just the right size for a boy of Fin's size and we put it in his co-sleeper so he'd still be next to our bed. We rolled up towels and put in a shirt I'd worn that evening. Another one of Finley's friends, Eliot, lent us one of her extra white noise machines (the sleep sheep) and it was ready to go.

Dan turned on the heating pad while I nursed and rocked Fin to sleep. Then, I took out the heating pad, smoothly made the transfer (after he was into his deepest sleep), turned on the rainstorm, and then slipped into bed. We held our breath and waited to see what would happen...suddenly two hours had passed and he was making hungry sounds because it was time to eat! Holy cow, two hours! He hadn't slept solo for close to 30 min. since his first couple weeks of life!

That's where we started New Year's Eve and it was interesting over the next few days to see if he'd develop a pattern. The second night, we only got 1.5 hrs to start with and it was harder to get him back to sleep after feedings throughout the night. But now, five days later we are into a good place. Last night he slept for 3 hours before needing to eat and that made for a total of 5.5 hours since he'd eaten last, a new Finley record. So he slept from 10:30pm to 1:30am, ate until 2, slept from 2 to 4, ate till 4:30, and slept until almost 6 when I lifted him into our bed where he slept until 7, ate until 7:15, and then slept until nearly 8:30!! Unheard of and quite mind boggling...especially since he's sleeping again as I type!

We're so proud of the kid and pretty impressed with ourselves for trying new things and sticking with them. Who knows what the next couple of weeks will bring in the nighttime hours, but this progress feels awesome. He gets more sleep, we get more sleep, and the world seems like a brighter, more wonderful place. Thanks for our friends and the internet for helping us achieve this terrific feeling.

Okay, here's an unrelated, but adorable picture:

Snow Day!

I said "no" last time it snowed and Dan wanted to take Finley sledding, but I caved this time around. So while Dan took a test run, I bundled Finley up in his new Patagonia fleece suit.

Then, I headed down to wait at the bottom of the hill (of our driveway) to video the experience as well as make sure no cars were coming. It may be hard to tell, but Finley is in there enjoying the ride :) Turn up your volume and watch!

This was our first official use of the Flip Video camera we got from my parents a while back and it is just so cool! Technology sure is something!

Project Runway: Baby Challenge

As a HUGE fan of the Bravo series Project Runway (tragically lost to the Lifetime network), I have been pondering the possibility of the show doing an infant wear challenge. They have done skinny models, teenage prom queens, stay at home moms, men's wear, a maternity outfit, and I believe there was one instance where doggie clothing was made to compliment their owner's look. I think it is high time they thought smaller, much smaller. Baby clothes these days are quite a site: most of them have some silly saying on the front like "mommy's little sweetie" or "grandma's treasure" or something odd on the rear end like a fire truck (I kid you not, we have a pair of pants like this). Not to mention the fit of baby clothes is not consistent across labels even though they claim to be the same size! A Gap 0-3 month might be the same length as a Children's Place 3-6 and what is with the idea that an item of clothing could be 0-12...I mean, it just doesn't make any sense unless it is a moo-moo! I think that Project Runway contestants would really be tested to create some excellent baby wear...though getting the models to go down the runway and do a turn at the end could be tricky!

One piece of advice I would give the contestants of this challenge: to be certain that a piece of baby clothing will FLY off the shelf and be highly photographed for baby scrapbooks, you must put ears onto the outfit. Yes, ears. Any hooded outfit or winter hat with ears (bunny, bear, etc) is instantly more adorable. See below for proof!

Here's Finley in his super-cute outfit from Ariel and Taylor, who could resist this look?

Now here is one of Finley's winter fleece outfits, he liked it at first but then changed his mind for a few seconds.

Finley always looks cute when he's in his car seat with his faux shearling pouch around him (Thanks to Great Aunt Lois and Great Uncle Doug!), but in this outfit it's even more fun!

So remember designers, EARS are essential. Make it work!

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

While we said hello to Finley in late 2009, we are already saying goodbye to some of his habits and belongings. As of this week, we have said goodbye to most of his newborn clothes as he has moved into some big boy 0-3 month items. Goodbye to the days when he slept 80% of the day and barely opened his eyes. Goodbye to him wearing sleeves with mittens to prevent him from scratching himself (while I learned to trim his nails), now he has earned "hand privileges" as Dan calls it. Goodbye to no neck control and hello to impressive head holding. Hm...what else...

Finley has also said goodbye to only breastfeeding, now he will accept and chug a bottle of homemade milk served by his dad. Now his mommy can be apart from him for more than an hour or so...oh, the possibilities!!

Dear lord, how adorable is that?? He's helping Dan with the bottle!

Finley said many goodbyes the last two weeks, but he is also enjoying some hello's like this one to his friend Lisa...

and his friend Annemarie (all the way from Paris!).

He said hello to Jerrel for the first time at Lisa and Jerrel's place as we celebrated New Year's Eve with some friends. We only stayed until 10:30, but I thought that was pretty good!

It's amazing how much Finley has changed and grown in his short life and we are excited to see all that he'll do in 2010.