Finley Meets His Great Granny!

My parents drove up from Virginia for a long weekend and our number one priority was a visit to Exeter, NH to see my Granny. She is Finley's Great Granny and she hadn't yet met him in person! She is an experienced Great Grandmother (she has 4 great grandsons all born between 2008 and 2010) and Finley took to her right away.

She even wanted to take a walk with Finley and he sure got a lot of attention from her neighbor and all the nurses!

My Aunt Sudie came down from Maine as well and it was a great time just sitting around together. I often complain about living so far from my parents, but I do have lots of family in New England that I need to appreciate more! Finley was a great sport and after getting a new outfit (you can guess why), he was happy as a clam.

Before we left, we just had to get a picture of the four generations of Mixters in one photo.

Jim Mixter, Allison (Mixter) Forseter, Finley Forseter, and Phebe Mixter.

This is a very special picture that will certainly be kept in a prominent place for years to come!

Despite many cameras flashing, Finley only had eyes for his dad's camera :)

Just Cute

Not too much to report this week, no wild adventures (sadly), but here are some fun pictures from our last few days!

Yes, we love Google :) But more importantly, we love our friend Zach who works for the web giant!

Two things to note: 1) stud (blueberry) muffin onesie from Auntie Annemarie 2) Fin's giant belly

Since his arms don't really fill out this suit, he looks a bit like a seal!

Playdate with our friend Celia who is just a few days older, but much more interested in Finley than he was in her...he'll learn...

All grown up, sitting like a big boy (sort of).

My parents just arrived today for a long visit, so hopefully we'll have more exciting things to share early next week!

New Endeavors

So the past couple weeks, we did some new things:

1. Instead of always reading to Finley, we let him do some reading himself:

2. Finley tried out our new spin bike in the basement (we have to get the infant adaptor so it will fit him better):

3. We went to visit my school (the kids were thrilled to meet him, sorry no picts.) and Dan's office:

4. Finley tried to entertain himself on the kitchen floor while I cooked (instead of being in the front carrier or the like). He did pretty well up until the end :) Thanks to the Silvers for this wonderful, padded mat/blanket! We also tried out these adorable booties, they stayed on better than any pair of socks!

One more overalls and booties picture!

Project Smile

Well, we thought Finley had been smiling for a couple weeks now (one every 3 to 4 days, but very hard to coax out) and he for sure gave his dad a big one during a rendition of American Pie when we were down in NY...but as I looked around at all the other babies at our last new mommy class this week, I began to feel like our perfect little baby was a bit of a grouch in comparison. Most of Fin's Great Beginnings classmates were all smiley at their moms or whatever inanimate object was being dangled in front of them...but not our boy, he was either sleeping or looking around with a furrowed brow :(

I complained to Dan over dinner last night...at length. I just wanted a little something in return for all my hard work, ya know? Then, Dan went off to coach frisbee practice at Tufts but I wasn't going to sleep another night without a true, social smile...hm...after a good evening snack, I got to work. Here is what I tried:

1. Singing (Itsy Bitsy Spider elicited one if his early grins)

2. Playing with his butterfly toy--zooming it up close and flying it far away, airplane style

3. Sitting him in the bouncy chair while I talked and made funny faces (oohs, ahhs, huge smile, sticking my tongue out, etc.)

4. Holding him to the mirror to see himself and me (still making faces)

What did I get? Bupkis!

Alas, Finley needed a diaper change so we went to the changing table to take care of business. Since he so enjoys laying there, I grabbed a book: Hop on Pop. I got to the page where all the words rhyme with "bee." As I read, the words (me, three, etc.) made my mouth smile and what happened? Finley smiled back! So, of course, I read the page 5 to 6 more times...but I should have settled for the one smile! At least we could both go to sleep now...

We were on the go most of the day today so Finley was spared from Smile Bootcamp. Around 5 or so, it was time for dinner so we settled onto the couch. Afterwards, I laid him in the boppy (u shaped nursing pillow) to face me and continue digesting. He was staring at me, which is great in the eye contact department, so I decided to sit there a bit longer with him. I started talking and smiling and his face just lit up with a huge smile! Again and again and again! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen (seriously)!

I looked around for our camera but it was in the diaper bag across the room...darn. Hooray for camera phones though! I held up the phone as Finley and I continued to smile back and forth. The first time I took a picture it was not centered and I only got his ear...imagine my worry that the smiling phase was over for the night and me without a photo as proof for daddy! 2nd time was the charm though...not great quality, but a clearly happy, smiling Finley!

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. ~Phyllis Diller

I couldn't agree more! Thanks, kiddo :)

Updates, Updates

Now that I've sucked you in with this irresistible photo...read on!

So now that this blog (and Finley) have been around for about 10 weeks, it is time to look back and update our readers on past news.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Sleep to Dream

Well...Finley never repeated that 5 hour first sleep block at night! Boo! He's fairly consistent with about 3 or 3.5 hrs when he first goes down. After that, it's 2 or 2.5 and repeats until it's time to get up. This means that I either get up 2 or 3 times during the night to feed the little guy. The biggest improvement is that I now bring him into bed anytime after 6am if he wakes up and usually we can then sleep until after 8am, which is awesome! We hope he gets to the point where he doesn't need to eat so often at night, but for now it is what it is. He usually goes down easily and never has a problem falling back asleep after eating throughout the night, so that's plenty to be happy with for now. Oh, and this weekend he slept in his own room for the very first time! We put his bassinet set up (complete with heating pad before sleeping and sleep sheep for white noise) into his crib. He slept great and while we did use the baby monitor (despite sharing a wall with his room and having our doors all open), I only made Dan check on him a couple times each night! Maybe in a week, we'll lay him in his crib out of the bassinet...maybe...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

2 Month Check Up

So he rolled from his front to his back at the doctor's office and then he did it twice more the following morning...but nothing since. We have tried and tried...perhaps the video camera is making him shy! One night he was SO close and perhaps we'll post that video of the near attempt once we get a full roll on tape :)

Also, Finley was well recovered from his shots by the next morning and has been happy ever since!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Finley Facts

We know a lot more about F-squared now that he's 10 weeks old. Some of his preferences from a month ago are still true, but here are some new facts:

1. Finley adores being on his changing table, as long as you don't try to put his arms in or out of his sleeves...we long for those summer tank tops!

2. He still loves being bounced on the exercise ball, Dan has even found a position where Finley is actually sitting on the ball himself while Dan sits and holds him.

3. He naps wonderfully in his swing (thank you, Aunt Ellie and Uncle Donny) and almost always falls asleep when I put him in "his pouch" (the great front carrier from Aunt Caitlin).

4. He has two toys that we think he really "likes." One is an elephant rattle and the other is a butterfly he got from his Grandma down in VA. Both keep his attention well and are our "go-to" objects when he's having a hard time.

5. Black and white are his two favorite colors (babies loves high contrast and can't see other colors yet). Finley and I went to the New England Mobil Bookfair today and got him a new black and white board book called Look at the Animals! and he spent quite a while with it today. While it seriously lacks in plot (Snails crawl, whales spout, etc.), the illustrations are baby captivating!

6. Tummy time is becoming more and more fun for Finley and he can hold us his own head quite impressively! He also likes "standing" while we hold him under his armpits, in fact, he likes it so much I can do the Hokey Pokey with him from start to finish most mornings!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Playing Dress Up

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Project Runway: Baby Challenge

I still LOVE getting Finley dressed up. I have HAD to buy him some additional clothes lately since he moved into the 0-3 month size and our piles of hand-me-downs don't really kick in until 3-6. It can be hard to resist the super cute stuff with ears, monkeys, furry appliques, etc. However, now that we know he won't wear things too long (babies grow really fast apparently) it is getting easier to buy just one or two items at a time. But if any of you out there just can't resist purchasing something outrageously adorable, I'm happy to send you Finley's mailing address! Oh and Dan's even getting in on the dress up fun, he selected a old school looking Superman shirt from Old Navy this weekend that Finley can wear this spring :)

And yes, Project Runway is back on Thursday nights at 10pm on Lifetime for the new season--so tune in just in case they do a baby wear challenge!

OK, you've read enough, here are some fun pictures from the past week!

2 Month Check Up

On Monday, I took Finley to the pediatrician for his two month check up. Sadly, we had to wait for quite a while before even getting into the smaller waiting room. Good thing I brought a blanket so we could play on the floor while we waited for our name to be called! I know this picture is a bit fuzzy, but you can see a hint of a smile (we're getting them more and more these days)!

When our name was finally called, it was time for Finley to get weighed and measured. Stripped down to nothing, our little guy weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs 11 oz!! That is a 3 lb gain from his one month check up! He is 23 inches long (1 inch from a month ago) and his head is 15 inches around (13 in at birth). This explains why my arms have been getting more tired these days and why I suspect I have carpal tunnel in my left wrist :) A healthy boy, no doubt!

After the doctor did his physical exam (all is well), I went into my list of questions about sleep patterns, bowel movement frequency (he went 5 days in between once!), eye contact, Tylenol dosage, etc. My final question was whether or not Fin's head was flattened at all (babies spend a great deal of time lying on their backs). The doctor looked closely and assured me all was fine (a slight flattening is expected) and reminded me that the more "tummy time" we can do the better. He put Finley down on the table to see what kind of head control he has when on his tummy and suddenly said, "Look at his right leg!" I looked over and it was lifted off the table and in a blink, Finley had rolled himself over onto his back!! Whoa!! I was shocked and the doctor laughed saying he knew it was going to happen once he had his leg off the table!! Who knows if he'll repeat this feat again soon, but what an amazing site to see.

The doctor wrapped things up and then explained the 4 immunizations the nurse would give Finley in a few minutes. Gulp. Three are shots and one is a liquid he will have to drink. Two shots in one thigh and one in the other. Okay, that sounds well dispersed, right? Before I knew it, the nurse came in and was ready to go. I'd never met this nurse before so I introduced myself and asked if she was the lucky staff member who gave all the shots. She said she was and then went on to say that when she got the job, she was so afraid of giving the infants the shots. Soon, however, she learned that infants are easy--it is those toddlers that are trouble because they can get up and run down the hall! We laughed and then got ready to give Finley the drink. He had to suck it out and swallow it down...oddly enough the plastic tube wasn't nipple or finger shaped--what baby would be interested in that? I held him closely while the nurse administered the drink. He took a while, but did a good job. Then, I put him down on the table for the shots. He looks happy here, I guess he had NO idea what was coming!

We turned him sideways and I hovered over his chest and held his hands. The nurse was really quick with the syringes, but Finley let out some blood curdling screams (3 to be exact, one per needle stick). I teared up and couldn't wait for her to put on the last band aid so I could scoop him up. Once held, he calmed down but his little face was SO red and his body was very tense. Poor thing :( I got him dressed and soon we were in the car. I nursed him in the backseat in hopes that it would make him feel better as well as fill up his empty belly. He then passed out asleep in the car seat and we ran some errands.

He slept for all the errands and continued to sleep once we got home. He woke up and was hungry, so I fed him. However, after eating he was quite hysterical and his cries were very strained. I knew he was in real pain because I couldn't soothe him with our usual techniques. He was crying so loudly, I called Dan and asked him to call the doctor to make sure it was okay to give him some baby Tylenol. I knew I wouldn't be able to hear the doctor/nurse if I called! After about ten minutes, Dan called me back and said they recommended getting his temperature before the Tylenol to have a baseline. I took his temperature (I won't get into the messy details) and it was normal, so I squirted the grape flavored gooey Tylenol into his mouth.

After about forty-five minutes, he seemed to relax. The rest of the night was up and down and we gave him more grape goo before bed in hopes that he wouldn't wake up in pain. The night was no different than usual, so I think we did the right thing.

It was certainly a tough day, but I was proud of him and of myself--we handled those shots like champs! Thankfully, round two isn't until March!

To the WP!

While we weren't able take full advantage of the long weekend (coming back Sunday afternoon), we still had a terrific time down in White Plains, NY. We drove down Friday after Dan got home from work and made great time down to his parents' house. Finley slept for 95% of the ride and since I had timed his feedings decently well, we didn't have to stop along the way...though he was more than ready to eat upon our arrival! Gilda and Murray had a tasty dinner waiting for us and it was so nice for the two of us to eat at the table at the same time since there were other arms to hold Finley. Although, he was so awake and alert that he laid on his back on their kitchen bench/couch and played with his adoring grandparents instead! Sorry...camera was still in the car for this :(

On Saturday, Dan's Uncle Carl came up from Manhattan with Finley's Aunt Ellie and her boyfriend, Donny. They hadn't seen Fin since his bris when he was only 8 days old and now he is 8 weeks, so they were impressed how he had grown.

Carl had to head back to work in the city and the rest of the us headed to services at Temple. While we aren't usually up for attending regular Saturday services, it was fun to show off Finley to his grandparents' friends and even Dan's preschool teacher!

Back at home, we relaxed for a while and later attempted to file/trim Fin's nails. It is still really hard for me to do even though we only try when he is sleeping...I just can't seem to really get them round and short. I am planning to invest in a more ergonomic infant nail clipper this week!

(Not sure why there is queso dip next to us, but oh well!)

Around 3pm, our many guests arrived! We had a lovely time chatting and passing Finley around to anyone that wanted to hold him. He slept through much of the pre-dinner festivities and woke up just in time to require Dan to hold him during the first part of the delicious meal.

Dan's Aunt Barbara and his cousin's daughter, Maggie.

My sister Caitlin and her boyfriend, Justin.

Grandma and her friend Bella (holding Fin).

Dan looking on as Maggie does a great job holding Finley.

Aunt Ellie and Aunt Caitlin, what a lucky nephew!

This is what Finley looked like for most of the evening, a shout out to my friend Rachel who knitted this ADORABLE sweater!!

When Finley finally did wake up, Maggie and her brother Harrison were very excited to play with him. Fin seemed equally excited!

After dinner as we awaited dessert, Finley tried to join us at the table. Dessert was great and then we began to clean up and say goodbye to all the wonderful family who came to see us.

On Sunday, we went to Buy Buy Baby (same owners has Bed Bath and Beyond, what is with all the Bs?) to look at strollers. We don't have this big box store near us and let me just say, WOW. It was laid out exactly like a Bed Bath and Beyond but with baby gear...kinda trippy. We took Fin and his grandparents stroller shopping in hopes of making our final decision for Finley's big boy stroller.

He looked pretty dope in his grizzly bear hoodie, don't you think?

Doesn't he deserve a pimpin' stroller?

After shopping (yes, we made our decision and will order it this week, more details to come in a future blog) we stopped for some Carvel milkshakes and went home to have lunch. Then, we packed up and headed back to Boston. It was a great visit and it was really nice to be around family :) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for having us!